* Posts by bombastic bob

10507 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015

HPE CEO Meg Whitman endorses Hillary Clinton, dumps on Trump

bombastic bob Silver badge
Big Brother

Whitman lost my respect

well, Meg Whitman lost my respect. OK I knew she was a 'RINO' and she lost HUGE against Jerry Brown (2nd time around Brown) for gov of Cali-fornicate-you [probably because she's a RINO], but she at least had SOME respect from me, until now.

But I think I know why she did it: CORPORATE WELFARE. Won't get any with Trump. WILL get PLENTY with Mrs. Clinton. So is it in HP's "best interest" she has done this? Or her own?

Limbaugh thinks she'll only strengthen support for Trump by doing this. I wouldn't be surprised.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: This design needs a dictator

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

crowdsourced - by ARROGANT FANBOIS

The 'crowdsource' aspect of Win-10-nic was FIRST demonstrated during the insider program, where a LOT of us VERY vocal 'insiders' on the answers.microsoft forum, who wanted Windows 7.1, but got "Ape point Two" instead, FRANTICALLY tried to convince Micro-shaft that their direction was WAY wrong. THEN, Micro-shaft started BANNING the dissenting voices, and didn't even try to HIDE it.

The vocal fanbois would regularly BULLY the dissenting voices, requesting they be banned, backstabbing and ganging up on them and getting all-too-willing moderators to go along.

And the TRUTH was that Micro-shaft ITSELF was it's own BIGGEST FANBOI. And 'crowdsourcing' became a small percentage of users that were VOCAL, SYCOPHANTIC towards Micro-shaft, and RUDE to anyone to disagreed.

So the observation in the article, that a FEW users are "voting often", while MOST do not vote at all, is probably a LOT closer to reality than a lot of people might realize.

Windows 10: Happy with Anniversary Update?

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Cortana loves you so much

install Cygwin, learn to use 'find' and 'grep'. solved?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Use a firewall to block Cortana

"Use Spybot Anti-Beacon to disable the MS data slurping."

yet Linux (specific 'flavors' notwithstanding) does NOT require you to purchase 3rd party software or tweek your firewall in order to avoid being spied upon.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Megaphone

Re: They can't win.

"They chose short-term money instead."

not entirely. They chose ".Not" instead, and tried to migrate everyone to using C-pound instead of C or C++. Even VB programmers have held out against ".Not". Not having taken over the world with THAT, they THEN went to silverlight, then WinRT, then Universal. Nobody is biting, now...

it wasn't short-term money at all. It was LEVERAGING THE PLATFORM FOR THE FUTURE that they were interested in, locking EVERYONE into "their solution", so they could do what they're doing NOW with Win-10-nic. Except we STILL have a choice, in the current environment.

"No sympathy" indeed.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

you forgot one...

"I love windows 10 because :"

11) That 2D FLUGLY look is SO much better than the "BULBOUS" 3D skeumorphic 'happy colors' 'takes more CPU cycles to draw it' look, in which my multi-core multi-ghz multi-gbyte mega-computer has to waste at least an extra nanosecond or two to draw those 3D skeumorphic versions of a button or window border in lieu of the glorious, flat, "modern", crayon-art Win-10-nic (aka Windows 1.01) version of things...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: Don't care!

"newly converted Linux zealots " " So why are you here?"

human nature. 'share' with others what you like. try to convince others of what you've discovered. It's a strange form of 'political correctness' to try and silence open source advocates. Let people say what they want to, even if you do NOT agree. that would be true "free speech". [making counterpoints would ALSO be 'free speech']

I disagree with the general tone of the article. I think that Win-10-nic is nothing BUT fail on ALL levels, with the exception of the multiple desktop feature, the ONLY redeeming feature I could think of [and I really honestly gave it a try]. NOW it's getting WORSE, where fanbois of 10 _HAD_ been saying "you can turn it off" with respect to the ads and tracking. But we already KNOW from previous El Reg (and other) articles, that only Enterprise [for which you can't get just ONE license for YOU] or Educational [claim to be 'a school' maybe?] versions can shut off the more heinous "features" of Win-10-nic.

So why am _I_ here? Because I _WANT_ to be. Too bad.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: Cant turn off Cortana without lose of search ? ? ?

"You trust Google more than MS? LOL again!"

NO, which is why I use 'duckduckgo' for searching, and run things like 'NoScript' in the browser for normal intarweb access.

Yes, there _ARE_ alternatives. This kind of advert+tracking nonsense is *NOT* inevitable, nor unescapable. And for those times when I have to use an unprotected browser (because of the massive 3rd-party-scripting dependencies - godaddy, that's YOU), I do so from a Linux VM, using iceweasel, pre-configured to wipe ALL history and ALL cached data after it closes (thus defeating the purpose of the tracking garbage).

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: You can put lipstick on a pig

"Having a nested directory structure that runs to over 256 characters is 'sensible'??"

more like 'flexible' - 256 character file path name limits are "so 90's". I think bash may have a 4k limit, though. But can't 21st century software be written INTELLIGENTLY ENOUGH to simply ALLOW FOR arbitrarily long path names?

(now, when Microsoft puts SPACES in standard file/directory names - forcing me to add QUOTE MARKS to paths on the command line... ew)

Windows 10 grabs 22 per cent desktop market share in a year

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

hey I'm a "0.0015%"-er

FreeBSD gets 30k! I'm glad it's more than just a tiny blip on the radar.

Also STILL nearly twice as many XP+7 compared to 8+10, though win-10-nic managed to pass that mark in the last month. I have to wonder how long that will last...

Also, were these unique computers? Or just "total hits" ?

Encyclopedia Dramatica user hit with £10k damages after calling ex-councillor a 'paedo'

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Just been on for a reconnoitre

"there's a lot of gifs and the contributers don't seem to like anything or anyone."

It's been like that forever, I think (though I think they were shut down a while back, then re-started 'under new management' ???). I went there once or twice (or maybe a few more times) for a laugh, but not for YEARS. I first heard of it when someone prominent on IRC said "hey I have an article about me on E.D." and it was both scathing and cruel.

So now someone does a libel lawsuit, no doubt some kind of judge's order to locate the various anonymized people, which gives legal searches and seizure the teeth they need, and makes a point to the 'anonymous' ranters on E.D.: You are NOT 'anonymous' any more.

And, I'd say that about sums it all up. I doubt the plaintiff will EVER get his judgement paid, and the people who did it may not even be within jurisdiction of the U.K.. They didn't bother showing up to the trial, and got a summary judgement against them. And now, if it's like it is in the USA, *all* of that is a matter of public record now, so anybody wanting the info could find out the REAL names of the defendants.

That may be 'enough retribution' in and of itself.

Windows 10 still free, even the Anniversary Update, if you're crass

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

desktop OS's will be the minority by 2020 (?)

"desktop OS's will be the minority by 2020"

I disagree. More recent phone sales statistics tend to suggest that smartphones. like slabs, have had their "bubble". Also, you can't use sales statistics to judge the size of the user base for desktops and notebooks. Assuming you mean operating systems, and not devices, you'll ALWAYS have a need for something more powerful than a phone OS, and you'll need a desktop or notebook computer to run it on. Putting a phone OS (like Win-10-nic? "Ape"?) onto a desktop is just REDONKULOUS. And there's only "just so much" that you can do on a 4 inch screen... (and I don't see VR headsets becoming all that popular within 4 years to replace relatively large and easier-to-read laptop/notebook screens).

And, if you consider ACCESSIBILITY, old eyes can't see tiny screens very well...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Good OS

"I expect down votes, but I've yet to have a problem with it in my company."

no down vote from me. Only pity.

Don't worry, you'll have "that problem" soon enough. It begins with Pro being unable to avoid the ads now. You think Micro-shaft will stop THERE? You think they won't force-upgrade some new "feature" on you that REALLY causes you grief? Past behavior often predicts future performance, and so far Micro-shaft's past (and current) behavior supports MY predictions pretty well.

Back in the early 90's, Ernie Ball (makers of guitar strings and related stuff) suffered a rather nasty surprise audit and was fined $100k or so. The owner of the company said "@#$% Microsoft" and switched over to a Red Hat-based solution. Saved enough money in a year to PAY! THE! FINES!. After that, it was all SIGNIFICANT cost savings.

here's a link to the article

And, I bet it's even EASIER to UPgrade your company to Linux, now, than it was >10 years ago.

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Twisting in the wind

"Let's not forget the forced advertising in the start menu."

or the 2D FLUGLY that is SO distracting it makes the OS "unusable" (and 'Ape' as well).

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: tell em a tree

"so t'all andicapped can now eggspect tailored ads for reading glasses, cataract operations and hearing aids?"

I'd much rather have the ability to configure things SUCH AS the window borders, making them thicker (and 3D looking) so I can see them and resize windows WITHOUT using the 'magnifier', or at LEAST pick colors that are "more readable" to *ME*... in the name of ACCESSIBILITY if nothing else.

And while we're at it, give me back the OTHER personalized 'appearance' settings. And a 3D skeumorphic appearance in general, because it makes the various components EASIER TO RECOGNIZE ON THE SCREEN (i.e. 'Accessibility). And no more nagware, adware, spyware, and pre-loaded CRAPware (it's distracting, and MAKES IT HARDER TO USE THE COMPUTER). And make ALL of the configuration stuff available through the CONTROL PANEL, and WITHOUT invoking the 'Settings' app(sic) to do it (you know, so I don't have to RE-LEARN to use my own computer after an "up"grade, for ACCESSIBILITY reasons). And how about an actual 'start menu' like 7 has... wait, am I now describing 7?

I guess I'll stick with 7, then.

Microsoft buries the bad Windows Phone news: Mobile sales collapse

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Serves 'em right

It's actually the 'Extinguish' part of "Embrace, Extend Extinguish"

Dem-owned-crats: Now its congressional committee is hacked

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Five minutes later

"So, Twitter is not the reason Don is pulling ahead of HRC in the polls?"

HRC - that would be "Her Royal Clinton-ness" ??

somehow I suspect a) policy, b) trustworthiness, c) likeability all play a part

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: misdirection

"So, with access to some of the best minds from wallstreet to Apple genius bar...haha... how can a smart organization get hack"

they went with their buddy Bill's solution: Windows server running Exchange, with Outlook mail clients. ok I'm guessing but I bet I guessed _RIGHT_ since THAT would be a 'worst case scenario' for any level of security.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: "Cat's name is Родина, why you ask?"

"I read somewhere that Mrs. Clinton doesn't like cats."

is THAT why she barked like a dog?

Milk IN the teapot: Innovation or abomination?

bombastic bob Silver badge

I use a Mr. Coffee, but no milk/cream

Whenever I brew tea, I use a Mr. Coffee, with 3 bags in a coffee filter [it holds the water longer], dripping through the bags. It works pretty well, though milk NEVER goes into the pot! Tea comes out STRONG. If I want cream (not milk), I add it to the cup. It helps prevent tongue-scalding that way.

(though I admit, it's slightly better, but more time-consuming, to pour hot water into a cup and dunk an individual bag for each cup - it also uses more bags that way)

My Microsoft Office 365 woes: Constant crashes, malware macros – and settings from Hell

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: What does putting my Windows installation in a VM do for me?

6) makes it much easier to do a "whole system" backup and restore of a VM by essentially cloning the virtual hard drive.

bombastic bob Silver badge

alternate mail/calendar client

couldn't something like Thunderbird or Evolution do what you want? Thunderbird works very well for POP and IMAP, and I haven't seen anything in the calendar extension for Thunderbird that lacks usability. So maybe the thing you want is an even BIGGER/BETTER calendar extension for T-bird? There might be one available. It's worth checking into, I think.

I've been using Open/Libre office on non-windows systems for a long time. It does what I need, and seems to have BETTER compatibility for "that type of document", i.e. NOT being forced to "UP"grade just to read a particular document format. I had that happen with Office '95, so I bought '97, and ended up with (@#$*(&^(*@#$) CLIPPY on my desktop, when '95 worked perfectly well. Eventually, '97 stopped working properly with XP machines that had 1Gb or more of RAM, so I simply started using Open/Libre Office on Windows machines as well. I *NEVER* went back.

seems like "lack of a mail client" that you like is a nice OPPORTUNITY for the Mozilla project, or for T-bird addon makers. I'm sure that a 'pay for' add-on is WAY cheaper than your 365 subscription.

Windows 10 Pro Anniversary Update tweaked to stop you disabling app promos

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

Re: As M$ loves locked down versions:

"Turns out if you have VPN software installed the downgrade to Win 10 screws your wireless connection completely, even when you go back."

*violently shakes head*

WHAT? THE? **FEEL**???

This reminds me of that Sony CD ROM driver thing from a while back, where inserting an 'equipped' Sony music CD would "update" your computer's CD handler, without your knowledge or permission, often breaking the ability to listen to audio CDs (a lawsuit forced them to make removal tools available, as I recall, and the bad press hurt them significantly).

Now, certain nations are ALREADY making VPN illegal, so you cannot AVOID being snooped on. Is this just a way of FORCING THIS UPON THE WORLD ???

At this point, NOTHING of the sort would surprise me.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

"uneducated" users? Try "indoctrinate" ones!

"I only used Trump because of his statement that he loves the 'uneducated voter' "

well, it's been MY view that "education" is highly overrated, ESPECIALLY if the 'education' is merely 'indoctrination' into a specific method of thinking. Self-taught programmers are GENERALLY BETTER than the drones that colleges excrete. Well, I'm generally self-taught so there you go! I took night classes to improve my skills, of course, but no paper pedegree, just decades of experience that PROVES I can ACTUALLY get the job done. Too bad the snooty-snobs think that a paper pedegree is important. They can continue with their 'mediocre hires' and skip the truly great ones over that. I'll just do work for the startups that need someone who's fast, efficient, and gets things DONE, and can't afford to pay an "occupant" to effectively just sit there filling up a chair.

that being said...

It's not "uneducated users" that would fall into the Win-10-nic trap. It may, in fact, be the INDOCTRINATED users that "feel" that Win-10-nic is so great, and are WILLING TO TOLERATE the advertising.

As one of the first posters pointed out, "slowly turning the screw". Or, the classic 'frog in a pot' that doesn't notice the water heating up until he falls asleep from the nice hot bath and ends up as frog soup.

If Linux distros were to try that, the distro forks (and widespread competition) would force them out of the way.

It's really time for the computer makers to solidly consider shipping Linux-loaded computers at the REDUCED PRICE that "no Win-10-nic" would allow for, so that people MUST pay extra to get Win-10-nic. New computer sales WILL rise, though slowly at first, as more software makers get on board and produce Linux versions. BUT... the "consumer only" crowd will QUICKLY LEARN that their favorite browsers can STILL access Face-barph and Tw[a,i]tter, they can read their e-mail, they can watch YouTube videos, and do it WITHOUT Micro-Shaft's intrusive ADVERTISING.

(ok they'll still have ads within the browsers, but you can filter that more easily in browsers like Firefox by using things like NoScript)

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Microsoft Account vs Local Account

"So this won't affect people using a Local account then?"

No, I read on infoworld that the "feature" (aka intrusive and irritating ADVERTISING) creeps into the 'lock screen' now, which can no longer be BYPASSED in the 'Pro' version. At least, that's my understanding.

So, regardless of 'Micro-shaft Account" preferences, I bet you'll see ads when you boot up, and you won't be able to bypass them.

Thanks, Micro-Shaft !!! You're inventing NEW ways to circle the drain, on your way to the cesspit of formerly successful companies that managed to go from the top to the dung heap.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Revenue enhancement suggestion

"we will be DOOMED"

No, just Powerpoint. There are small mercies.

who needs Powerpoint anyway? I once did a full-length presentation using web pages on github.io, for a related open source project. Web pages were intended to "look like powerpoint". Then I just needed a web browser, and click the 'next' button. Simple, effective. not a lot of work, either. Just need to code the HTML. Probably took less time than it WOULD have, wrangling Powerpoint's mousie-clickie interface.

Which segue's into 'Captain Obvious' mode: how long before IT managers and financial officers discover that LIBRE OFFICE does everything Micro-Shaft office does, for FREE, without the need of Win-10-nic, "the cloud", or subscriptions, in order to use it?? Swap in commercial Linux if they must have IT support, or a free one if they can roll their own. I think an in-house Linux expert would cost considerably less...

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

'sauce' please

"They're not only forcing adware and crapware down the throats of all users, but they're also strongarming other companies to not support any apps not written for Win10."

where was THIS reported? Is this REALLY happening? because, if it is, I'd like to see the evidence of it [so I can snark all over it on USENET and make sure everybody knows about it]

With Windows 7 STILL outnumbering 8 + 10 by about 2:1, *NOT* targeting 7 for your appLICATIONS is like committing 'customer base' suicide. If appLICATIONS that target Windows 7 STILL RUN on W10, then there's EVERY reason to do THAT. Otherwise, Universal [CR]apps(sic) are ugly and I dont' wanna see that on my nice, 3D skeumorphic 7 system anyway.

/me considering windows toolkit to draw everything 3D skeumorphic, even on 10

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: I know this is beside the point ...

"but you could always install Start10 for your users, to replace builtin start menu."

only a partial fix. Classic Shell is FREE, but that's not enough either. You still have:

a) adware

b) spyware

c) 2D FLUGLY interface

d) "the METRO" all over the place, particularly "Settings" vs Control Panel.

no thanks. I'd rather switch to an open source OS like Linux or BSD, or "go MAC".

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

double-double down on STUPID

"If I were someone like Dell, I would call Nadella and tell him to stop this idiocy because it's going to impact sales"

Whoops. too late. [negative sales impact since Win "Ape" actually]

Micro-shaft doing THIS reminds me of a Futurama episode where everybody became stupid because of giant space brains. On the news, the reporter talked about a huge train wreck, but then she mentioned that "the governor lady" was going to fix everything by "sending MORE TRAINS".

So in Micro-Shaft's case, they'll just DOUBLE-DOUBLE DOWN on STUPID, hoping it will WORK this time.

The 3 stooges, Ballmer, Turner, Sinofsky: turning a profitable technology leader into a laughing stock, since 2005. (now all 3 have been 'canned' and the direction is STILL not changing, it's just getting WORSE)

IPv6 now faster than IPv4 when visiting 20% of top websites – and just as fast for the rest

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: I'm sure many of the punters here

(re: set up IPv6 from scratch)

"It is an abomination."

well, it's DIFFERENT that's for sure. once you understand, not so hard. just make sure you firewall it properly. Someone else besides me already mentioned that last part...

One problem I ran into was an older WiFi router that aggressively kept trying to route things via its own WAN port, even if I shut OFF the IPv6 support on it. My solution: assign static IPv6 to both the LAN and WAN interfaces, then use an ethernet cable to plug the WAN into the 5 port LAN side. That way, if it insists on routing, it's back onto the network. [biggest problem was that it affected things on the ETHERNET side too, not just the wifi].

So you have PROBLEMATIC DEVICES like *that* as well, announcing themselves as 'routers' whether you want them to or not, then B0RKING the routes that aren't statically configured, because they're so aggressive and effectively unconfigurable.

In any case, as long as you're using Linux or BSD as your gateway, you should be able to set the daemons up that you need to make it all work, with plenty of instructions on how to do so online.

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Why is IPv6 faster?

"Who still uses old connectivity such as RS485 / RS232, X21, X25, Arcnet, Token Ring, IPX, etc. etc."

RS232 and 485 are common with test equipment, as well as devices that have no ethernet. It's also common to have a serial port login for an embedded device so you can flash it with custom firmware (typical for GPL compliance), and of course things that have NO ethernet on them (like remote data collection devices). NOT being on the intarwebs or cellular networks is a form of security (so you'll see dial-up phone modems being used for data transfer with remote data collection devices).

So: Even though you don't see a serial port on your latest PC, it doesn't mean they're not still being used... particularly by people working with microcontrollers.

"The world moved on, embrace the change."

Usually when I hear that, it sounds arrogant, like people who are Win-10-nic fans telling me I have to "embrace the change" or be pejoratively labeled a stone-age Neanderthal for NOT embracing it.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: We didn't run out of ipv4

"getting rid of NAT is good, and I operate an ipv6-only website which really helps to keep the peasant scum out."

the common misconception here is that NAT is bad, though there ARE cetain security advantages to using it.

First of all: do you REALLY want publically accessible IP addresses on EVERY device you own? Isn't it a good idea to have your PCs and other things at home behind some kind of NAT-based firewall? It's a fair bet that NONE of your devices that support IPv6 are properly firewalled for it. This goes TRIPLE for Windows. Try a 'netstat -an' some time, and see what's listening... and other machines, ALSO listening on the SAME ports. It should scare you a bit, because NEARLY EVERY IPv6 address is publically visible and routable, and discoverable whenever you 'hit' a web site with an IPv6 request.

I've personally been using IPv6 for a few years now, using a tunnel through he.net . My ISP doesn't support IPv6 and probably never will. No biggee, it works fine this way. HOWEVER, after early experiments, I determined that windows boxen that have IPv6 configured are DANGEROUS security craters waiting for some 0-day that exploits the "somewhat well known" listening ports. So I scan all of the windows boxen, and add these ports specifically to my (FreeBSD-based) firewall and router box. But I also see the pathetic support for IPv6 that exists on typical NAT-based routers, particularly wifi, particularly older ones.

Sadly, I think that widespread adoption of IPv6 would yield more virus outbreaks than ever before. Too bad, because it SHOULD be "the standard" by now. Perhaps if we can convince Micro-shaft that it needs to STOP IT with the listening ports on "::" and "0.0.0.0" then security *might* improve. If they MUST listen for connections on these 'somewhat well known' ports, they need to listen on LOCALHOST ONLY, and *NOT* every stinking IP address (and IPv6 address) you've configured. And that just about sums it up.

We're not looking for MH370 in the wrong place say investigators

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Given that they haven't found it...

"..or they're not done yet."

how long did it take to find the Titanic with modern equipment? I'd figure something smaller than Titanic might be harder to find, and it may be deeper there.

I suspect classified military information might have already pinpointed its location, right after the crash, even [which is why they keep searching "those areas"]. But revealing classified information can lead to "oh, you have THOSE capabilities!" revelations to people who shouldn't know such things...

So the only help they could give is a circle drawn on a map, and a "we think it's within this area someplace". And if there wasn't a submarine on station within a few days of the crash, listening to the underwater beacon in order to get a proper fix on it, I'd be VERY surprised. But underwater, sound does NOT travel in a straight line, the detailed knowledge of oceanographic and other factors that affect sound propagation is probably STILL classified, and even the locations of a submarine is classified as SECRET and above (for the U.S. Navy), and probably similar for Australia, Russia, and China, and any OTHER country that might have a sub in the area. So there you go.

Did Donald Trump really just ask Russia to hack the US govt? Yes, he did

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

Re: Americans...

"Honestly, who is better qualified to run the free world?"

How about the one who wants to make America BETTER? Not pandering to groups, dividing people by race and religion, showing favoritism to certain races, religions, behaviors etc. and paying groups of people with "other people's money" in order to purchase their votes. Yes, that would be 'Business as Usual' for the Demo-Rat party, and the ones who run it, i.e. the Clint-stones and (formerly) Debbie "Blabbermouth" Schultz.

I'd say TRUMP is better qualified.

Trump already wants to lower tax rates, make 'gummint' (so-called because it nearly always GUMS THINGS UP) more business friendly [so we can have JOBS instead of 'unemployment' or 'welfare'], and THEN go after the gummint WASTE FRAUD AND ABUSE to make the annual budget actually go DOWN for once. I can hardly wait for a bunch of gummint dweebs that merely punch a clock everyday, and spend 'work' time surfing the intarweb all day, to get those pink notices from Trump's administration: YOU'RE FIRED! And the national debt - doubled under Obaka - needs to be dealt with as well. I'm sure Mrs. Clinton would TRIPLE IT.

But I digress...

Trump's habit of saying whatever the hell he wants to say is actually *REFRESHING*, particularly for people like *ME* who are *SICK* and *FORNICATING* *TIRED* of "political correctness" and the hypersensitive chip-on-shoulder HOWLER MONKEYS who go into full poo-sling mode every time they even THINK they (or anyone else) *might* be offended. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Exactly! Only free to say what the howler monkeys LET you say according to P.C.. And I know that *I* am sick of it, and seeing Trump say this stuff and *CHANGE* *THE* *NARRATIVE* every time just makes me smile...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Treason

"Trump was going under the assumption that the Russians ALREADY HAVE the Clinton email, from a server that no longer exists."

that was MY first impression as well.

A thumb-UP from me, even though the 'howler monkeys' are thumbing you down [a badge of honor, heh]

and, did ANYONE ever think that Trump *might* be telling a JOKE? *I* thought it was UPROARIOUSLY funny!

Why Agile is like flossing and regular sex

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: When the business mandates Agile but still thinks Waterfall

"To be hip and trendy the latest multi year project I'm involved in is being run on Agile principles."

"The customer mandated the product be managed using Agile"

etc.

reading your intro reminded me of some of the BOFH articles. well done! Simon would've been snarkier, of course.

as for me, I'll fill in the blanks as I see it:

1. Customer exec read an article that had the word 'Agile' in it.

2. This filtered down to the contract manager as a "requirement"

3. Agile 'as a requirement' became part of your development contract, with no explanation as to what that actually means.

4. People on YOUR end head-scratched for a while, trying to document how they were fulfilling the contract, and "came up with something"

and the result (as you described it):

"its all a complete cluster fuck trying to keep the new age customer happy, the old age executives happy and still deliver a credible product in the short term."

It can't be said any better.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

'waterfall with dithering'

It's amazing - I've worked at a handful of places that do "Agile" but none that do Agile. If you see what I mean. At the best it's waterfall with dithering.

My current place does "scrum" - an hour long meeting in the pub every other Friday.

this looks like a PRACTICAL approach, not a hard-line stick-to-the-definition approach. Isn't that what we REALLY want?

I've never seen pure 'waterfall' design. Normally things are done "top down", that is 'definining the spec' but the spec CAN change if it's necessary. It becomes more difficult as you go further along, but if you need to change an API before it's published, that should be fine. If you need to change it AFTER, you have a 'compatibility' version. I think APIs have been managed like this for as long as they've existed. So you have to think *REALLY* hard about "that kind of design work" before you actually implement it.

But you could still be 'agile' without diving 100% into the concept known as 'Agile'. So your comment about 'waterfall with dithering' makes sense.

And, it probably ships product ON TIME and UNDER BUDGET. then you can work on 'Rev 2.0' (that deals everything you COULD still be working on if you'd done Agile, but you wanted revenue from sales of 1.0 didn't you?)

AND, bi-weekly "scrum" meetings at the local pub, yeah. In my part of the world, it might be an actual BREWERY.

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: The Way Good Software Is Done?

"an old dinosaur who has been coding for 40+ years and can still teach these youngsters a thing or two."

yeah I like your rant against this 'Agile' thing, which I've only seen ABused. meeting, after meeting, after meeting, and a year (and 400 direction changes) later, they're *STILL* using the prototype I hacked together BY MYSELF in 3 weeks [and spent maybe a week's worth of intermittent time making fixes] to DEMO THE PRODUCT's CONCEPT to prospective clients.

4 weeks' worth, done by me, by myself. OR, a YEAR by a team of 3 [one manager, one 'programming pair']. I was NOT in on those meetings. They knew better. I was working on OTHER things. After the layoffs, I assisted the more senior guy in FIXING IT UP so it would actually WORK "as advertised".

yeah, NOT a fan of "Agile". Analysis paralysis, meetings in lieu of actual work done, and "the junior guy" *ALWAYS* gets HIS way, because it's not FAIR to exclude junior programmers and their impractical [reflecting their extreme inexperience] ideas.

You want a team to work on something? DESIGN THE 'CONTRACT', then implement to it. Separate duties so nobody steps on anyone else's toes. Then, MANAGE the programmers by periodically asking "how's it going?" and "when will this be done?". then, solve the problems as they show up (you know, like CLASSIC management, not this "touchy feely" garbage).

Captain Piccard's planet-orbiting solar aircraft in warped drive drama

bombastic bob Silver badge
Megaphone

oil is "liquid energy"

keep in mind that the energy density of fossil fuels is STILL much better than electric storage batteries, and is likely to be so for a VERY! LONG! TIME! to come.

besides, CO2 isn't killing the planet. CO2 is depleted by rain, and kept at a chemically balanced equlibrium level in the atmosphere, forming carbonates in the ocean (and other bodies of water) when it reacts with Mg, Ca, etc.. Higher water temperatures cause the oceans to EFFERVESCE CO2, and zealous "scientists" take measurements and try to prove the CO2 caused the warm, but it was really the WARM that caused the CO2. Besides, CO2 has 1/10 the absorption spectrum for infrared than does WATER, and I don't see anyone complaining about WATER VAPOR. The blanketing effect of WATER VAPOR could be 100 times or more than CO2, and it changes so unpredictably (whereas CO2 tends to be a constant by comparison).

But this kind of common sense analysis is NOT what the warmists want to hear.

So I'll say "Solar plane, COOL! Geek-factor-major" and I think it's a fun thing to accomplish, too. But for practical energy storage, particularly for FLIGHT, it looks like good old-fashioned FOSSIL FUELS will be the way to go, for a long, long time.

Did the Russians really hack the DNC or is this another Sony Pictures moment? You decide

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Really?

"They're all managed by Elite VPN. They are probably all VM clones of the same machine."

that's pretty sloppy, though. re-generating a server key isn't that hard...

ssh-keygen -A [I think that's right]

if you delete the old ones first, this should give you all of the ones you need. It would be a good idea, if you plan on using a hosted server to anonymize you, to re-generate the keys periodically... UNLESS you *INTEND* for people to "find" you.

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: It's funny

"I'd vote for Putin over Hillary. At least he's an honest bastard."

I'd vote CTHULHU or SATAN over Mrs. Clinton. Either would be the LESSER evil.

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: FWIIW

"At kindergarden they told us not to point fingers - it is not polite and while you point at others, three of your fingers point back at yourself."

Unless you're a Clintstone; then, everything "slicks" off of you, and doesn't stick.

Mrs. Clinton's native tongue is "the lie". The DNC is nearly as bad. Debbie "Blabbermouth" Schultz has quit her position over this already, but Mrs. Clinton is still in there, ready to become the next "Liar in Chief". You can expect LOTS of finger-pointing as the USA circles the drain, if SHE gets elected. "It was a MOVIE on YOUTUBE that caused it!"

Microsoft offers admins free Win 10 upgrade lube

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: El Reg at its best

"Round of applause and please everybody raise your hat!"

I'd wear one just to raise it

also reminds me of a 'Bob & Tom' parody song... something about a guy in prison... the falsetto ending, in particular.

thanks, MicroMega-shaft!

The very latest on the DNC email conspiracy. Which conspiracy? All of them, of course!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Thanks, Vlad!

Thanks, Vlad! Your contributions to our nation's future are greatly appreciated!

(because, U.S. law enforcement is all too blatantly, all too corrupt at the moment to do a proper investigation of the Clintons, the DNC, and all of their dirty dealings, so it takes a foreign government that "has it in" for the Clintons to do it on our behalf)

MI6, you guys wanna give it a go as well?

Silicon Valley's contribution to the US Republican Convention: Gayness

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

"Most cultures in this world are in agreement with Republicans on this issue, regardless of how the press tries to make it appear the opposite."

and, apparently, the DOWN votes in this forum (trying to make it appear the opposite)

[badge of honor again, thank you!]

Free Windows 10 upgrade: Time is running out – should you do it?

bombastic bob Silver badge

hmmm.... that's not how I remember things. went to the PDC for the 3.1 beta also. As I recall, the Win 3.0 SDK cost me about $300, MS C/C++ 6.0 was another $300, and I had to purchase a 2nd monitor and hercules-compatible adaptor to get CodeView to work under windows. It was a rather big commitment, actually, to do Windows coding, and I didn't see ANY lack of demand for the same stuff I was buying...

I also recall a number of "we're working on it" comments. Lotus went with an OS/2 version at about that time, but didn't make a windows version quickly enough (which they later regretted). Maybe we're just reading the facts differently, but there _was_ a bit of a scramble. It's also not an easy port, going from MS-DOS character mode to Windows GUI. It takes a bit of time.

Paradox for Windows, Lotus for Windows, and Word Perfect for windows took a year or so to become available. But everyone was blind-sided by it.

The intent HERE, of course, is to NOT blindside developers with making LINUX versions. We get them on board, NOW, and get the manufacturers to start shipping more linux OS 'preloads', and at REDUCED PRICES while we're at it (since Linux is, essentially, FREE).

bombastic bob Silver badge

Re: Actually

"Actually in terms of the efficiency of the base coding of 10 you may well be right but there is a problem and its name is telemetry."

We got PROBLEMS! Right here in Micro-shaft city! With a capital P that rhymes with T and that stands for TELEMETRY!

Aside from THAT obvious thing, there's the 2D FLUGLY that just irritates the *BLANK* out of me. I can't even use "Ape" (8.x), not even with 'Classic Shell', it's too distractingly UGLY. Tried. Couldn't stomach it. I don't even have an "Ape" VM any more.

And Win-10-nic is much, much, worse in that regard. 'Start Thing' comes to mind...

bombastic bob Silver badge

"All new CPUs will ONLY run Win 10."

Actually, not *entirely* true, but there is NO move by Micro-shaft to support newer architectures with older OSs. THAT being said... Micro-shaft appears to NO LONGER BE INTERESTED in other businesses that have (in the past) derived THEIR success from the success of Micro-shaft, and Micro-shaft continues to proceed over the lemming-cliff at full speed, cracking whips behind the stampeding mass in order to speed it up.

If I were Intel and AMD, _I_ would invest in making LINUX the next major OS that people WANT to get in order to run the APPLICATIONS that they want. This would mean a LOT of marketing effort in getting software vendors on board, from games to accounting. All of those applications that run ONLY ON WINDOWS will need to be PORTED.

Remember how Windows 3.0 changed the rules for MS-DOS applications, and EVERYBODY scrambled to "get on board" ? Well... how about a SIMILAR scramble for Linux!!!

THAT is what we need, a mass migration AWAY from Micro-shaft, who can NO LONGER BE TRUSTED to bring success to anyone ELSE... or themselves, for that matter.

Oh, and I'm sure Linux and the BSDs will support the new CPU architecture. Just not Micro-shaft, with any OLDER operating system than Win-10-nic.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Down

Re: "....should you do it?"

"No if you own and wear a tinfoil hat which has a propeller on it."

a big "thumbs down" for more smug, snooty-snob arrogance, and the pejorative 'tin foil hat' commentary.

unless you were being facetious. but it seems you were not.

you seem to think there are no LEGITIMATE reasons for *NOT* embracing Win-10-nic. I find the 2D FLUGLY to be #1 - I can't stand seeing it in Win "Ape" (8.x) either. So I use 7.

the advertising and spyware and EULA "anti-privacy" are just MORE reasons to NOT use it.

About 2/3 of desktop computer users are NOT using Win-10-nic, despite it being FREE, for a YEAR. MOST of these people use W7. Many online resources, such as statcounter, support this.

(the ratio of 7 to "Ape" users was about the same, 2:1, before Win-10-nic released).

Your 99.99% "should upgrade" argument doesn't hold much water. It's like some claim that a LOT of idiots, who don't have facts to back up what they say, would make: they just make schhhtuff up, rectally atmospherically extrapolated, as if it's "truth", to "prove" their points.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Down

Re: dont forget your tin foil

"windows 10 is actually significantly better than windows 7, is it different yes, so oh no you have to learn something, so scary."

typical. arrogant. snooty-snob. snot-nosed-baby. pejoratively criticizing those who simply DISAGREE.

What, is their something CLINICALLY WRONG WITH US (tin foil hat insanity) if we do NOT embrace "the glory and wonder" of Win-10-nic ??? *AND* become EVANGELISTS for it? "The cult of Redmond" indeed.

'oh no you have to learn something'. So much arrogance and snobbery in THAT statement alone, I don't know where to begin criticizing it, except to point it out again.

Yeah we're all a bunch of WACKY NEANDERTHALS for *not* "getting on the bandwagon" with Win-10-nic, REFUSING TO LEARN, evolutionary THROWBACKS now doomed to EXTINCTION for NOT ADAPTING to "the new normal".

In a year I'll offer you a special dish, Crow a la humility sauce. enjoy.

[since we're "going to have to learn something" I suggest learning LINUX instead!]