Posts by bombastic bob

‘Artificial Intelligence’ was 2016's fake news

Re: Great to see.

also 'photographic reading' takes too much practice and has limited benefit. better to just allow your mind to run at high speed, don't audio-lize the words but let it flow phonetically into your mind faster than you could possibly vocalize. that's what I do. unless I'm trying to absorb the context better. and yeah, I miss the spelling errors, dyslexic letters, and things like that.

/me thinks: Do you suffer from 'dylsexia'?

[in the 1960's, some mensa candidate decided to teach children to read using look/say rather than phonics. the result was a bunch of kids who couldn't read]

Folders return to Windows 10's Start Thing

Re: "Classic Shell"

"But apparently marketing people rule the roost at MS and are notoriously hard to educate."

Ack.. Let me into the Halls of Redmond carrying a Clue-By-4, a Clue-bat, a Cat-5-o-9-tails, and a few other odds and ends, and maybe I can "educate" them a bit...

or not. they may be beyond hope.

Re: "It’s a mystery why Microsoft..."

I think there are several explanations, all converging:

a) Ballmer's "take over the world" approach, wanted something unique and patentable that could be used to squeeze out competition forever

b) Sinofsky's "new, shiny" approach to the GUI created the tile screen, because he failed to see EXISTING INSTALL BASE as "important". _EVERYBODY_ was on a slab or phone now, right?

c) The marketing guy who was canned early last year [forget his name] was a big part of this. His market research was *WAY* too narrow in scope, basically interviewing shills and fanbois to get feedback, and ignoring "the rest of us". Keep in mind THAT guy was around for several F-ups, including Vista, "The Ribbon", Silverlight, Win "APE", _AND_ Win-10-nic.

d) Senior development staff "now retired" - and ONLY! ARROGANT! MILLENIAL! CHILDREN! seem to be running the asylum... (it's THEIR TURN to do it THEIR WAY, now, and those old guys just DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING, so NOW it will be done *PROPERLY* by YOUNG people!!! W00T LOL text-text-text 4" rules)

e) FIRING of the testing groups, so that end-users become "the new testers" for Enterprise. Not even PRO users escape, THIS time!!!

yeah, all of that ARROGANCE and WRONG THINKING had to come from SOMEWHERE, and it happened right there in Redmond, with a capital T and that rhymes with 'C' and that stands for CRAP (which is what Micro-shaft has been EXCRETING these past few years)

"Maybe it's because I like cutting edge hardware and have a lot of it, but no Linux distribution is as out-of-the-box ready to run as Windows 10"

thanks for the 'shilling'

Re: Stardock Start10

even if I use that, or classic shell [which is FREE last I checked], it DOES! NOT! FIX! THE! 2D! FLATSO! FLUGLY! [nor does it fix the 'settings' vs 'control panel' horsecrap]

and the adware+spyware and FORCED UPDATES are _STILL_ there

Re: Can you imagine Windows 95 going at the speed of today's hardware?

you know, 7 works just fine on a 10 year old laptop. thing is, the software that RUNS on 7 is just as piggy as evar... (like devstudio, for one)

I had FreeBSD running on that same machine, at one time. It ran fine as well. The gnome 2 desktop does well enough on the older hardware, *WITH* nice 3D skeuomorphic appearance (the way 7 is). That laptop came with XP on it [also worked well].

So _WHY_ do we need Win-10-nic ???

Prez Obama expels 35 Russian spies over election meddling

if Russia WAS behind the e-mail hacks...

if Russia WAS behind the e-mail hacks...

THEY! DESERVE! A! BEER!

Thanks, guys! Cheers! Das Vadania! (or however you spell it)

Re: Evidence it was the Russians what dunnit

"There is something wrong with the system when a Lame Duck President can be issuing Executive Orders from his holiday complex in Hawaii three weeks before he is made redundant."

more like irrelevant.

Obaka's just doing whatever damage he can on the way out the door. Of course HE doesn't see it that way, but that's the overall effect. Hell, might as well screw Israel as much as possible to placate the Islamists while we're at it, blame Russia, make a stupid lame attempt at "retaliation" like we're on a kindergarten playground or something.

What a Maroon! Well, some people at least expected this kind of thing. So you have a pile of executive orders being issued, while he can, without a care as to the consequences, since the election is OVER and HIS SIDE LOST. So he'll get his "digs" in anyway.

Let's see how long it takes for Congress and Trump to undo it all...

How Google.org stole the Christmas Spirit

deductable "charity" and the very wealthy

It's well known that the VERY wealthy often "give" to charities, with significant tax deductions, because they're "buying something".

In Google's case, as a corporation they appear to be "buying customers" and getting a nice fat writeoff in the process. Can you blame them?

In George Soros' case [and other wealthy lefty-libs], he's buying POLITICAL INFLUENCE by "giving" money to "charities" like MoveOn.org etc. (and politicians).

The problem here is not how "giving" is being ABused. The problem is the TAX CODE that not only allows it, but appears to PROMOTE it.

I would favor a flat tax with a standard per-person deduction and THAT IS IT. Same rate for everyone, regardless. Combine all incomes in a household, then subtract the standard deduction (for each person), tax anything over that at a flat rate. NO other deductions.

Then, "charity" would TRULY be CHARITABLE, and NOT just a way to limit your tax bill (and also, "get something" in return).

Tesla set to up prices by 5% in new year because of 'currency fluctuations'

wait until corporate welfare is shut off...

wait until the 'corporate welfare' for electric vehicles (like Tesla) is shut off... THEN you'll see prices actually reflecting the cost of producing the vehicle.

http://www.redstate.com/diary/qstarweb/2016/04/22/federal-energy-bill-includes-corporate-welfare-elon-musk-companies/

I don't think the free market supports electric cars anyway, at least not until the price of "all those batteries" etc. drops below the price for a gasoline engine, the charge lasts for more then a handful of miles, _AND_ you can fully recharge in under 5 minutes. Hybrids, on the other hand, tend to pay for themselves by the spectacular improvement in fuel economy, while NOT losing the ability to drive for hundreds of miles and 'recharge' (i.e. fill up the tank) in only a few minutes' time.

gasoline = liquid energy, stored in a form that's size/weight efficient and relatively easy to make use of. It's why we've been using it for over a century, and will continue to use it, for decades to come.

And anyway, only the "very rich" can AFFORD a Tesla, so why is anyone complaining?

Netgear: Nothing to see here, please disperse. Just another really bad router security hole

Re: Since we're kicking Netgear

some of the gripes I've had over Netgear in the past, are their ridiculous wifi G solutions with multiple antennae. OK I worked for an antenna company that helped to produce the Siemens SE568, which did REAL antenna steering for 2.4Ghz G wifi back in the day, but I still remember all of the crap performance that was MEASURED by the techs at Airgain, which slapped in the face of Netgear's ridiculous claims. They even claimed 'MIMO' for their "solution", before the pre-N spec even. what a crock! And I never liked the way their cardbus software worked on windows boxen. It was always a bit of a pain to set up a netgear client on a windows laptop, and their access point configuration wasn't much better [as I recall].

One of the Netgear devices (from the late noughties) actually sent most of the signal STRAIGHT UP, due to its overall shape. Antenna pattern basically STANK. And that was MEASURED in an anechoic antenna chamber designed specifically to measure radiation patterns. It looked like an oversized chip clip. Yeah, THAT one.

Some of the easiest things to set up: DLink. Linksys installs their crapware and it "takes over" too much. Netgear is difficult to work with, and doesn't [or didn't] play well with others [i.e. don't install another Atheros-based card in the computer, or driver conflict may ensue]. Admittedly, however, if you didn't use THEIR DRIVERS you'd be ok [and that includes Linux or FreeBSD].

But the DLink was usually one of the easier ones to deal with. /me has an older DLink wifi router that I bought for cheap online and it's still working. Has its bugs but they've been dealt with. If it angers me, at some point I'll just put OpenWRT on it or something.

US healthcare under siege: Got good insurance?

"Any premium increase you had when the ACA came into effect will be dwarfed by the ones your insurance company will introduce if it's repealed."

that is SO wrong on SO many levels, it's hard to find a starting point.

Say that AGAIN, 6 months from now. See how "smart" you look.

On a related note, having everyone's medical records in a national [crackable] database isn't a good thing, either. I don't care HOW damn convenient it is for medical pros to get your records "that way". It's also possible for those who have NO DAMN BUSINESS knowing ANYTHING about you or your medical history to get information that COULD be used against you [including perhaps knowing what kind of pacemaker you have... so it can be *cracked* and ransomware loaded, let's say... and would you DARE *NOT* pay it?]

Twas the week before Xmas ... not a creature was stirring – except Microsoft admitting its Windows 10 upgrade pop-up went 'too far'

Re: Next OS

VMWare has a Linux version, FYI

Re: 'We want people to be running Windows 10 from a security perspective'

"my old card doesn't let passing strangers read my banking details or take up to €20 without asking"

you need tin-foil in your wallet to act like a mini faraday cage and block the RFID.

Re: 'We want people to be running Windows 10 from a security perspective'

That entire statement deserves dissection:

"We know we want people to be running Windows 10 from a security perspective"

i.e. Micro-shaft "more secure" in their pwning you as a revenue generator

"but finding the right balance where you're not stepping over the line of being too aggressive"

i.e. not getting caught nor being criticized too much

"is something we tried and for a lot of the year I think we got it right"

i.e. didn't rock the boat enough to make water come in

"but there was one particular moment in particular where, you know, the red X in the dialog box which typically means you cancel didn't mean cancel"

i.e. "we got caught and it's obvious now"

Everyone who gets caught is SO sorry afterwards...

Re: Microsoft has been getting it wrong with user interfaces

"How is Win10 so unusable?"

the 2D FLATSO FLUGLY bugs me to the point that it affects my productivity. "Ape" is the same way. I actually gave "Ape" a fair try (with classic shell, even!), then QUICKLY went back to "XP or 7 only" for Windows-related things to avoid the unnecessary nausea.

Microsoft scores nearly $1bn non-compete contract with US military

waste, fraud, and abuse - no need to look further

seems to ME that this has been an example of 'waste, fraud, and abuse' rather than ensuring readiness. Micro-shaft's last-minute reward for contributing to OBAKA and Mrs. Clinton, perhaps?

As the old guard leaves the white house, they get in some last minute return of favors. "Corporate Welfare" indeed.

Chinese boffins: We're testing an 'impossible' EM Drive IN SPAAAACE

Re: It works this way:

"thus the speed of microwave photons is slower there"

yeah, the 'venturi' effect except it's photons... no, wait.

sounds just as plausible as any OTHER (B.S.) explanation, aside from just shining a light/heat and letting photon impulse push you the other way

(you forgot the joke icon)

Re: Nothing but the universe comes for free

"The mass lost is quite small but not nonexistent so it could be used for thrust in the production of EM waves."

exactly. shine a light, and you accelerate the opposite way in space, with nothing to stop it from working. problem is, photon rest mass is tiny, and it just takes too much energy to make them [compared to the tiny thrust they provide].

"impulse drive" indeed.

Re: Ridiculous power for a result

I expect that it's like shining a light to get thrust. rest mass of photons * speed of light = momentum change, or similar. It's incredibly inefficient because of the fact that the energy it takes to accelerate a propellant is proportional to the SQUARE of its velocity, but the momentum it generates is proportional to velocity NOT squared. So faster moving propellant, less efficiency. The propellant in this case is photons, which could be radiated from heating by the microwave, or could be the microwave energy itself. whatever, same effect.

So, the most efficient rocket would accelerate 100% of its mass, one time, as the propellant. Not a very effective design. So yeah it's a balance between propellant mass and the energy it takes to accelerate it.

the only way to get around this would be to generate gravity waves or graviton particles and make a warp bubble, which would eliminate the mass:mass interaction related to relativity, gravity, etc.. Yeah all that science-fictiony stuff. In theory you could create gravitons by spinning things [apparently at the center of a rapidly spinning disc you get a 'reverse gravity' effect that's barely measurable] though I expect that physical properties and required energies are the reason why we don't have warp drives yet...

We've been Trumped! China's Alibaba is a 'notorious' knock-offs souk, says US watchdog

"Great examples of this can be found in the Canarian Islands electronic shops, very dodgy purchasing experiences."

back in the 80's, Hong Kong [then a UK territory] was infamous for its knockoffs. Being in the Navy at the time, when I was there, we were warned *not* to purchase ANYTHING outside of the China Fleet Club for that very reason - you just couldn't tell what was real, and what was fake! Apparently, there was also a risk of getting something like a name-brand camera that was only a shell [no workings], and so on. Or, so we were told...

Re: "complaints pages were often not available in English,"

"Chinese website for some reason must have English language on all it's pages."

Ah, hell, just run it through google's web page translator, right? If nothing else, the comedic factor alone will put you in a better mood.

Re: "threaten America's creative industries"

"Living wage" rant... <facepalm>

if these things were made in the USA, instead of China, they'd be built by robots. And usually the 'knockoff' part is harming the ENGINEERING side, not so much the manufacturing side.

I saw a knockoff of an antenna once that, when X rayed, showed the original company's logo. The antenna was designed such that having the logo affected the tuning. So the cloners made a copy that looked like it was made FROM an x ray, complete with the logo [which was only visible in an X ray]. Clever, but not so clever. So the antenna cost MAYBE a penny to actually make; selling the knockoffs really only hurt the engineering side of the business, where all of the R&D and whatnot wasn't being paid for by antenna sales.

Anyway, that whole "living wage" thing is ridiculous. A job is worth the money that the employee earns for the company. Paying someone MORE than what his job earns is bad economics. And that includes all of those "other costs" from payroll taxes to "OBAKACARE" (which is thankfully GOING AWAY). So you factor in how much it costs for an employee, and how much work that employee does, and what that work is worth to the employer. And if it's a net loss, you go elsewhere, or invent a ROBOT to do it.

Virgin America mid-flight panic after moron sets phone Wi-Fi hotspot to 'Samsung Galaxy Note 7'

Re: How about...

I can think of SO many wifi hotspot names that would be funny as hell. Best to have them randomly cycle through a list of no-no-names automatically. Should make things more interesting that way. Calling it "Explosion" for example... or "Trigger"... or "Revenge"... or maybe "Aloha ACK Bar" might raise a few eyebrows.

Then there's "Get Ready For A Surprise" (a little 'Total Recall' reference), and "Oh, HELL, No!" and then ANY movie line spoken by Samuel L. Jackson [particularly one with profanity in it]. "Snakes on a Plane" might just draw some fun attention, too.

Still, if you ask me, there's JUST TOO MUCH PARANOIA OUT THERE.

That calls for another worthy mention: "DON'T PANIC!"

/me considers writing "an app for that" for 'droid phones. just download the APK from wherever the hell I post it online, enable the appropriate developer mode, and you're good to go. No "store" to get in the way, etc.. You provide the name list to rotate through every few minutes while nobody's actually using the hotspot. Might as well rotate mac addresses, too.

What gifts did ol' kitten heels May get this year?

how about...

how about a copy of Margaret Thatcher's book?

(a used version might be 'under the limit')

/me ducks as mentioning the Iron Lady is likely to get me more downvotes than a Trump or Brexit supporter... no, wait.

Firefox to give all extensions their own process in January

Re: I dream..

you dream of a day when developers stop "feeling" and start THINKING again! You dream of a day when it's not necessary for junior dev #483 to get HIS way this time! A day when [FR]Agile development goes back to a top-down system with actual CODE REVIEW from a MANAGER (think Linus), instead of a "junior guy gets his way, too" daily SCRUM. Yotta yotta yotta.

[I bet I _nailed_ it, too!]

The code is being written by _INEXPERIENCED_ _MILLENIAL_ _CHILDREN_. Like Win-10-nic. Must. Go. Back. Path. Going. Over. Cliff. Must. Turn. Away. From. Edge. [pun intended]

Re: Please Mozilla

"I miss the old Firefox that had clever new stuff."

wouldn't it be AWESOME if they'd just PATCH the old versions for security vulnerabilities? I can't run auto-updates anyway - I'm using FreeBSD and it's BUILT FROM SOURCE. But a patch would be nice, not "latest and greatest new/shiny that I don't actually WANT".

Re: From memory...

"My gripe isn't so much that FF will hog a lot of memory, but that it usually fails to give it back properly when it's no longer needed."

when I see background firefox CPU load at 100% of one of the cores [or higher] I usually do a 'killall firefox' - which so nicely saves its open tab/page state - then I reload it, putting the windows/tabs back the way I had it [on specific desktops, etc.] . yeah, I'm NOT running Windows, heh.

I'm actually running a 2 year old Firefox, on FreeBSD, with gnome 2. Who needs "bleeding edge" ? Stable has its advantage, "not a moving target" being one of them. "New, shiny" is _HIGHLY_ overrated! [that goes DOUBLE when a 'hamburger' menu is added, or other "touchy-feely screen" so-called *ENHANCEMENTS* are added that decrease the amount of crap I can cram into a single desktop instance, or make the menu require more space than my ancient, yet fully functional, monitor can display]

Yeah, "new, shiny" "up"grade is HIGHLY overrated. Unless it's ACTUALLY something worth UPgrading to.

(how about security-patching the OLD versions instead? hmmm?????)

Re: From memory...

"So unless an HTML6 comes along demanding lean, mean web pages that can be downloaded completely over a dialup in less than a minute, with all content being required to fit a local domain hierarchy tree before it'll even be requested"

THAT sounds like an EXCELLENT proposal! I vote we move that one forward, NOW.

On a related note, I hope that putting NoScript into its own process won't negatively impact page load times - though I expect that NOT running the script would be a POSITIVE that could easily make up for it.

Raspberry Pi Foundation releases operating system for PCs, Macs

Re: What's the point?

it's not JUST about schools; it's about having an operating system that's tweeked to run WELL on a lightweight system. Micro-shaft tried producing those lightweight ARM-based surface machines with WIndows "Ape" on them and it *TOTALLY* *FAILED*. Some Linux netbooks have done 'ok' but none really seem to be that prevalent in the market.

So this may be the first truly successful attempt to make a desktop suitable for lightweight computing, with updated versions of things *like* Libre Office pre-installed, a nice stable Linux on the back-end, and NO! MORE! DAMN! BLOAT!!

and 3D skeuomorphic _DESKTOP_ instead of 2D FLATSO "phoney". *much* better!

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"You've actually managed to get MS Office running on it?"

it appears to have Libre Office pre-installed (see graphic). I abandoned MS Office for Libre Office and/or Open Office some time ago. [it does everything I need]. Assuming PIXEL is like Raspbian, I would expect it to work just fine on an RPi, particularly one of the newer model 2/3 versions.

/me most recently put FreeBSD 11.0 on an RPi model 2 and a 1B, and with my [submitted] kernel patch [needed for the ATX Raspi power control board], everything appears to work just fine.

And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

I was moderately pleased when I zoomed in on the screenshot and saw actual BUTTONS for minimize/maximize/close and other 3D skeuomorphic features. I'm also *REALLY* glad to see a 3D skeuomorphic appearance being referred to as a "modern interface". I am *SO* *SICK* *AND* *TIRED* of the 2D FLATSO FLUGLY being excreted by Micro-shaft for windows "Ape" and win-10-nic, and the equally irritating fat-finger-friendliness of gnome 3, Unity, etc..

_SO_ _REFRESHING_ !!! Well done, RPi Foundation. You deserve a beer!

This has the real potential of becoming the operating system that _UNSEATS_ _WINDOWS_, particularly with the potential backlash against the spying and the 2D FLUGLY. I hope this happens. I really, really do.

/me trying to imagine a name that relates 'Pixel' to an exit from windows... maybe rhyming with the word 'exit' (and perhaps a few other things).

Non-existent sex robots already burning holes in men’s pockets

Re: I want one.

you reminded me of Harry Mudd and the original Star Trek. His X wife ('Stella?') and the gift that Kirk and the others left for him...

"Nag-bot"

Uber's self-driving cars can't handle bike lanes, forcing drivers to kill autonomous mode

Re: Not Surprised

"there is a tendency to rush the technology out too early forgetting that software problems almost certainly will kill people."

Win-10-nic comes to mind, when you say that... [except maybe for the 'kill people' part]

"Microshaft Uber". Or "Microshaft Drive". ew.

if software devs can program the TAX LAWS into software for doing your taxes, you'd think they could program DRIVING LAWS into the code, based on your geo-location via GPS. "In this city, you can't turn on a red light" for example. [though I think ALL cities now in the USA allow right turn on red after a complete stop, 'when safe' etc. unlike the way it was a couple of decades ago, at least, where in NYC it was illegal and you'd get ticketed for it and probably called "tourist" in a pejorative manner]

Stupid law of the week: South Carolina wants anti-porno chips in PCs that cost $20 to disable

Re: Anonymous

obscene.("repulsive by reason of crass disregard of moral or ethical principles", or "so excessive as to be offensive" - Merriam Webster)

in the realm of legalese and ninny-nanny anti-pr0n laws, they usually include the words "prurient content" to distinguish smut from art. And like watching paint dry for several hours to rate a rather funny effort at thumbing nose and 'dropping trou' at the sensors, these people have to actually *WATCH* the content in order to BAN it.

Just sayin'

Re: Anonymous

"I wonder who decides what is obscene?"

It's the usual bunch. The 'ninny-nanny' moral guardians. It's "for the children" !!!

They'd have a cow over a good portion of the anime I like to watch. I'm sure they'd ban it and arrest me if they could, and none of it is really "porn". After all, to THESE people, men have a DISEASE because they like looking at the naked bodies of YOUNGER women [even in animation or photographs or art], and both the religious ninny-nannies _AND_ the feminista ninny-nannies are "in bed together" (ha ha ha) on THIS one. It's all about "the control", but they SAY it's for "the children", right?

Re: Anonymous

"Oh it's real"

I had no doubt as to the validity of the article's claim. Never underestimate the ability of "feely" politicians to manipulate their constituents into voting for your re-election, and maybe create a gummint revenue stream at the same time, by the use of stupid legislation that has no practical way of actually doing any good...

and worse, it's a "rider" on something that may actually do some good [in name, that is, not the actual final legislation].

"for the children" indeed...

Oi! Linux users! Want some really insecure closed-source software?

why can't adobe just open-source the thing?

I have to wonder what they're hiding...

there was a gnu project for flash called 'gnash'. It wasn't being maintained, and then one day web sites stopped working with it. Some "thing" changed, a standard, a new feature, ??? and then you couldn't play embedded flash content any more [downloading flash files works fine, just no "live" play].

HTML5 seems to be the only real alternative now, which is fine [as long as I can BLOCK it]. I don't need html5 ads "flashing" content in my face and/or wasting my limited bandwidth.

Sexbots could ‘over-exert’ their human lovers, academic warns

"now someone will invent a robot-lawyer"

it's all "part of the experience" - seems to be an inevitability from the 'fleshy' variety, so why not robots too?

water is wet... sky is blue... etc.

"What I want to know is why academics are spending so much time thinkin' 'bout sex robots."

yeah answer is probably obvious. but I'll enumerate my thoughts anyway..

1. why play "the game" when (if you're a geek) you can INVENT something

2. the consequences following a sexual encounter with a 'fleshy' female are potentially life-damaging

(and that includes a lifetime of legal problems, from false accusations to paternity issues)

3. except for certain parts of the world, it seems that females are being conditioned into becoming man-hating b.i.itches, particularly in colleges.

4. who wants to raise offspring in *THIS* kind of environment? ninny-nanny neighbors, helicopter parenting, public schools that are indoctrination centers, yotta yotta yotta

Robots are looking pretty damn good!

[I always figured that the p0rn industry would be where all of the really cool development for human-like androids would be made, particularly gynoids]

So, when you're tired of pretending to be someone you are NOT in order to get women to even TALK to you, or forking over huge amounts of money and/or expensive gifts in the hope of 'getting lucky', or marrying some lady that was pretending to be 'what you wanted' so that she [later] can take you for everything you've got, or told "no means no [unless it means yes]" by every female you even ask to go to Starbucks, and maybe fired once or twice for 'harassment' because you asked a lady at work [or AT SCHOOL] out on a date, or been forced to endure "sensitivity training" simply because you looked at a woman's boobs once too many, MAYBE, just MAYBE, it's time for an *ALTERNATIVE* ???

And then 'death by snu snu' not such a bad thing, perhaps...

Re: "you're probably not going to be that bothered about human sex"

the 'rental' problem is solved as long as the bot has detachable/replaceable "parts" that can be properly cleaned/sterilized, or simply "you have to buy your own". 99% of the bot could be 'rented' and 1% purchased.

And of course, it wouldn't demand "palimony", expensive gifts. It wouldn't gripe at you for no reason, lie about you to your friends/enemies and/or take you to court, etc. etc. etc.

And if people don't accept your "Robosexuality", you can call them "Robo-phobes".

[there's a term for something a lot *like* this on certain image boards... yeah, 'moot' point]

Brussels cunning plan to save the EU: No more Cookie Popups

Re: Cookie law

"Google are also somehow changing Firefox so when Google is blocked they are unblocked and you get their cookies back and then a day or so later their malicious multipage contract terms."

uh, whuh?

if FF is changed like that, time to fork it! [then again it was time to fork FF when the hamburger menu first showed up]

Re: Love the EU again?

"all powers now reside in Brussels, in the hands of unelected bureaucrats"

upvote anyway, even if you got the Trump part wrong

'Upset' Linus Torvalds gets sweary and gets results

git needs a 'profanity' button for crappy pull requests

"is it true they checked in code that didnt compile?"

apparently [if I read the article right] it was a pull request, which is like a 'moderated commit'. Someone has to actually commit the change to the main branch based on the request. I've never actually had to do that in git but it's one of it's primary features for managing a project *like* the Linux kernel.

That being said, git needs a "profanity" button to allow for a quick response to crappy pull requests. Forget downvotes or simple rejection; a good old fashioned FLAME response will do nicely! [a 'steaming poo' icon would do well for implementing that function]

I once had someone submit a "fix" for something I wrote, complete with K&R formatting, additional global variables, and a few other irritating "features", all to address an edge case that I later implemented [trivially] on my own.

boneheaded 'pull requests' _MUST_ be a constant irritation for Linus!

Microsoft's Edge to flush Adobe Flash in Windows 10 Creator’s Update

a 'slow clap' for Microsoft

Microsoft gets the "slow clap" for doing something right. This time.

(yet I can't see an icon that's appropriate for 'slow clap' - oh well)

Re: Not possible to ban smoking in the office?

"no one, not even ME ;) , should be inflicting that dangerous substance on others"

you have the right attitude. thank you.

Would your company allow you to VAPE indoors? That seems to be a good solution in my view, as vaping doesn't cause the kinds of problems that smoke does for people around the person vaping; in fact, early studies showed it has NO effect! so there ya go, I'd be in favor of it.

Re: Not possible to ban smoking in the office?

"most seem to think that littering isn't a problem and just throw their butts either wherever they happen to be at the time or into a nearby small area"

I think it's not "most", more like a small number of highly irritating and highly visible asshats. They justify polluting other people's air, and sometimes INSIST on their "rights" to do so at others' inconvenience, so why not throw trash wherever they 'feel' as well? It goes with that kind of thinking, after all, that it's ok to grossly inconvenience others, based on their personal feelings.

yeah, the 'F' word 'Feel' again, at the root of it all...

NASA – get this – just launched 8 satellites from a rocket dropped from a plane at 40,000ft

Re: hmmmm

"vaguely familiar" - indeed. Virgin should patent-troll-sue them [maybe] ?

Re: well it makes a change...

"from faking climate data"

no, I'd havd to downvote that one, too. The data isn't fake. The predictive models are just wrong. No 'hockey stick' and California hasn't flooded [as predicted by AlGore]. Yeah he had to revise his numbers when reality caught up.

But NASA's data isn't fake. I doubt even the most aggresively political engineer could stomach the idea of faking data. The beauty of science is that, even if you're wrong about something, it's still just as interesting when you get to the right conclusion [based on experimentation, actual data, etc.]

[minor correction: AlGore believed the sea levels would rise significantly due to polar ice cap melting, which would flood california; however, the actual prediction would be that the earth would become a 'Frying Pan' by January 2016, 10 years after the Washington Post article]