Posts by bombastic bob

Social media flame wars to be illegal, says top Crown prosecutor

Re: chief prosecutor Alison Saunders boasted

You[all] may want to consider that if there's a law that's "being ignored", it's WORSE than prosecuting it to the fullest extent.

Reason: a society ruled by LAW (not by 'whim' or 'feel') is more stable, less prone to corruption.

I mean, just look at Obaka's non-prosecution of IMMIGRATION laws for a clear example. It's almost like "such laws" can and maybe WILL be used at some time to 'get even' with those who don't "play along" like they're supposed to, or to favor those who've contributed funds in some "expected" way... (almost like a tin-horn dictatorship, where 'anger dear leader' is a crime, punishable by whatever 'feel' dictates).

So it's like: it's a law or it's NOT. It's prosecuted or it's NOT. but make it "grey" and the abuse and corruption is likely to thrive within the 'greyness'.

[I rarely consider using the 'think of the children' icon, but hey, it fits, in snarky and more realistic ways at the same time]

"legal imposition" - good one. like calling all Lawyers 'Lyers'.

/me adds that one to "the list"

Re: Re : As ever, age is fair game for discrimination. Kids!!

careful, you said something BAD about living in a Muslim country. Islam has special protected "you can never say anything negative about it" political correctness status, at the moment, and the Crown Prosecutor will COME! AFTER! YOU! now. [as for me I'm across the pond and give the 'digitus impudicus' to all of that, ha ha ha ha ha 1st ammendment]

Astronauts on long-haul space flights risk getting 'space brains'

Re: "...Earth’s magnetosphere deflected harmful radiation particles away."

(Pavel Checkov voice): Kep-tin, the compass is spinnink like ballet dancer...

I guess they had better radiation shielding in the 22nd century.

Seriously, though, you need an earth-sized magnetic field to do the job THAT way. high velocity radiation is best blocked by mass, the denser the better [except for neutrons, which need to be thermalized and then absorbed]. So yeah, lead and borated polyethylene.

Another good shielding option is water. If you can basically put the entire "people tank" inside a water tank, it would be highly effective. If the water tank can be part of a recycling system, it wouldn't be depleted. So for a 3 year Mars mission, the crew spends MOST of their time inside of the shielded 'people tank', surrounded by a foot or more of water on all sides. Water with borax in it.

[for the unaware, boron absorbs neutrons]

Re: @kain .... Not sure if serious...

another point, good sarcasm is funny no matter who you support. If a Trump supporter can't laugh at 'Hair Force One' or sending him to Mars, he needs a reality check or something. As for me, I think it's pretty damn funny. Just like calling Mrs. Clinton "Her Royal Heinous" or "mother of lies", right?

The Donald has made a characature (spelling?) of himself for years, on national media. Is it any wonder he's said one or two things (understatement) that *might* offend someone? So yeah, lots of late night material making fun of the things he's done in public. No problem there.

The only problems I have is when Trump is completely mischaracterized, and the mischaracterizations are THEN harped on as if they're truth, in an ATTEMPT at humor. But that's pretty much the case for ANYONE who isn't a leftist-communist liberal politically correct "one of them" type, these days...

In any case, if the rocket to Mars has an orange 'Trump wig' on it (painted or otherwise) I'd be laughing.

Re: What problem?

Lead-foil hats, lined with borated polyethelyne. needs to be at least an inch thick.

Robots blamed for wiping 10 per cent off the value of sterling

bot-based currency manipulation

ya think MAYBE someone made money off of this?

nobody comes to mind... not even George Soros. He'd never do THAT, right? No, wait...

Windows updates? Just trust us, says Microsoft executive

Re: How does microsoft say screw you?

Reminds me of a joke, "How do you say F.U. in New York City"

So it's "How do you say F.U. in Redmond WA" now

"Trust Us"

/me keeps hearing the old Jungle Book from the 60's in my head, with Kaa singing "Trust in meeeeee..."

Re: El Reg sat down with....? Wow!

"easily 99% of you who say that Windows 10 is the last straw said that about Vista and said that about Windows 95. then you moved to Linux and then tried to listen to an mp3 or print a file or read a Word document"

etc.

I don't remember people saying _bad_ things about '95. In fact, it was 'huge popular'. it fixed a lot of problems with 16-bit applications limiting performance, etc. etc. If you must blame ANYTHING, blame Micro-shaft's crappy software architecture on the negatives [not the OS at that time, but the Office applications and things of THAT nature].

then again, they TRIED to get it right for '9x.

what I see NOW is a whole lot of "the opposite" of the way it was for '9x. '9x got a LOT of user-customization ADDED to it [now taken away].

In ANY case, what "drove me to POSIX" (not necessarily Linux) was the ".Net initiative" and the OBVIOUS "wrong direction" that was taking, from Passport to C-pound to that redonkulous monolithic PIG collectively known as ".Net runtime".

(applications load/run faster when you statically link, and with proper library organization [_not_ the latest MFC, they broke it] won't add more than 100k or so to the application's image, pathetically small on a 'modern' computer)

anyway, Micro-shafts "all eggs, one basket" thinking has resulted in MORE security craters than open source, by a very large margin, obvious based on CERTS and the constant "security patch for" updates.

And I like using FreeBSD. It's really "a developer's OS".

US govt straight up accuses Russia of hacking prez election

Re: I can believe that the Russians are intentionally trying to influence/compromise things.

"you might want to make sure that the foundation is a solidly constructed one, where pests find it hard to do much damage."

sadly, even though the U.S. Constitution TRIES to make it hard for pests to do much damage, the "stacking" of the U.S. Supreme Court with extremely liberal judges essentially overrides any such attempts by "re-interpreting" it whatever way they 'feel'. It's how the liberal-lefties get what they want done. nevermind the majority, nevermind what's right, it's THEIR power grab and they're going to do what they do to grab and maintain as much power and control as they can.

[it IS the nature of gummints to do this, unfortunately, as elitists seek power and manipulate their way to the top]

(more howler downvotes, thank you)

Obaka is just angry over his "legacy"

the only reason the fingers are being pointed at Russia is that Obaka's "legacy" is threatened by a Trump presidency, basically rolling back EVERYTHING that Obaka and the Demo-Rats have been trying to shove up our as... down our throats since 2009.

And so, like most politicians, he "does the sidestep" and points fingers elsewhere, to distract media coverage away from the REAL issues...

Right now Russia is the current target for finger-pointing. Nevermind that the Demo-Rat-tic national committee, Mrs. Clinton, and "others" were likely cracked by them (that's the accusation anyway), meaning potential blackmail later on, far WORSE than interfering in elections. yeah, no security risk THERE.

So with the way Russian media has covered Mrs. Clinton, is it any surprise? I think not. Typical 'media matters' style tactics going on here. Obaka is a 'civil unrest' kinda guy, and this plays right into his strategery book.

[and the anti-Trump "howler monkey" downvotes are a badge of honor, thank you]

Russia looks out for themselves and their own best interests. If they 'interfere', that's the only reason. Personally, I think helping Trump would help _US_, but that's just my opinion, right?

FBI wants to unlock another jihadist’s iPhone

FBI needs to stop "the lazy" and do REAL police work

The FBI just needs to stop being "the lazy" and do some REAL police work. You know, like the way things were BEFORE smart phones.

Bullying corporations into bending over and "saying hello" like a female bonobo monkey, and accepting whatever 'end around' in evidence rules that the FBI coughs up at themoment, is NOT doing things the RIGHT way.

Or maybe they just need to ASK NICE instead of bashing everything in sight with a (willing accomplice) judge's gavel...

[yeah this is about getting 'special investigative rights' and/or forcing encryption to go away]

of course, you KNOW that some non-US-ian developer will make it possible to encrypt WITHOUT Apple's help, and THEN the FBI can COMPLETELY pack sand. Their best bet: work WITH Apple, not against them.

I bet some clever tech can hook up a JTAG to the device and force decryption on all of the data using Apple's inside knowledge of the system. So maybe all the FBI needs to do is *THAT*, and play nice, and get APPROVAL from a judge to LET Apple do this, and not a commandment for Apple's legal team to object over, ORDERING Apple to COMPLY.

[and they can keep it all "quiet like" and not irritate Apple customers wanting real privacy and protection AGAINST unwanted gummint (or other) snooping]

Windows 10 market share fell in September

Re: Spammer Stats

"won't show up for StatCounter or NetMarketShare which rely on JS running in the browser."

REALLY??? So users of 'NoScript' (like me) aren't being "counted" then?

Interesting...

(regarding spoofed browser identifier strings)

"mine say I'm running Lynx on a Commodore Vic-20."

awesome! I'm changing mine, next

Re: ... we know mass enterprise adoption is still to come - ?

"Please do not pretend to perform any analysis where you've already determined the conclusion"

ok how about MY story then?

a) got into insider program in january 2014 so I could help microsoft correct the problems they CREATED when they created windows "Ape" aka 2D FLUGLY and tile screen.

b) saw what was happening, made LOTS of noise about it (along with MANY others) as part of the insider program AND on the answers.microsoft forum. Was generally IGNORED.

c) watched win-10-nic roll out, hit icebergs, still trying to stay afloat but LAST month took on more water than the pumps could handle. Let's see what happens NEXT...

So yeah, I _GAVE_ _IT_ _A_ _CHANCE_, Microsoft COMPLETELY screwed it up, rolled out a WORSE version of windows than "Ape", and I most definitely _HATE_ it.

I didn't determine the conclusion before my analysis. I honestly wanted micro-shaft to succeed. But they don't listen to customers any more. It's "take what we shove into your orifice" in lieu of "have it your way", on a daily basis. No *WONDER* it declined in September!

Oh, and keep in mind: end of availability of Win 7 Pro is looming over our heads.

‘You can’t opt out of IoT’: Our future is the Rise of the Sensor Machines

Re: Resistance is right!

As already mentioned, the 'microwave on high' method is probably the easiest. and you'll get a light show to go with it.

(hey it works for destroying DVDs, as an equivalent to shredding, and makes a cool-looking pattern)

Re: Even the "positive impact" example is rubbish

"The environment senses you’re feeling a bit drowsy"

and ups the rate/dosage on the caffeine injector pump.

'My REPLACEMENT Samsung Galaxy Note 7 blew up on plane'

has there been any news on WHY they catch fire?

has there been any news on WHY they catch fire?

I do things with LiPo batteries and I use a charging control IC (by Microchip) to prevent this kind of thing. I charge at less than '1C' (basically the amp-hour rating of most batteries) and it takes 2-3 hours for a full charge because of it. The charge control chip limits charge current to a value you set, then when it hits a max voltage, maintains that voltage and lets charge current drop until the charge is complete. Pretty straightforward, but if you charge it too fast, or at wrong voltages, you could get a battery fire.

Another possibility is wiring, or insulation, being inadequate - the proverbial short circuit. You know, when Murphy's law says that if there is a short circuit, it will always be between power and ground...

So what's Sammy doing wrong with their phones and slabs to cause battery fires? Charging too quickly and damaging the LiPo's internal structures? [that would do it, actually...]

Microchip makes several battery control ICs for this purpose, as an example. perhaps they just chose the wrong one? Or the wrong brand?

anyway... I'd like to see "why" but don't expect it to be made public any time soon.

‘Andromeda’ will be Google’s Windows NT

Re: Curtains for Windows

many of us HOPE for a replacement for Win-10-nic to "surface" (PUN-ishment deliberate) but I don't think _this_ is it.

Then again, who knows? Win-10-nic assumes we're all content consumers. Chrome kinda does, from what I've seen, and 'droid DEFINITELY does. All I can see is "content consumption" here, no actual work getting done. So, slab-fad, 2nd time around. Just keep the barphing cat away, we don't want to "inspire" anything with the '2nd time around' concept...

what chance is there that 'ghostbsd' would be the 'new windows'? Probably none...

True man-in-the-middle: Transmitting logins through the human body

Re: Prior Art

"I have also noted, with much discomfort, that the human body can conduct signals at 50Hz."

I've heard it works at 400Hz as well. Definitely works at 60Hz.

Re: Is it a good idea?

"In any case, 25 b/s still gives only 10 seconds to transmit a 256 bit key."

if you use ONLY ONE frequency to send with, perhaps [I'm guessing they're not using multiple frequencies already]. If we're going to compare to old modems, let's start by sending 'multiple FSK frequency tones' simultaneously. You know, like touch tone phones and old modems. Later we can apply Heddy Lamar's method (spread spectrum), or graduate to full-blown multi-path Q.A.M. (with error correction so you can increase the data rate) to speed it up even further.

just don't chip my head/hands, I don't want the 666. ha ha ha ha ha.

Apple to automatically cram macOS Sierra into Macs – 'cos that worked well for Windows 10

"we all know you don't support printer drivers correctly on models a few years old."

can't you still use CUPS on a Mac ?

Re: This is a much smaller update than going from Windows 7 to Windows 10

"People wouldn't have complained so much about it if Microsoft had:"

5) NOT forced the '2D FLUGLY' down our throats beginning with 'Ape' (and THEN called it "modern"), and ALSO had NOT taken away MOST of our user customization preferences [aside from the obvious one, 'manual updates only'] and NOT forced their "updates" to ALSO remove them from time to time...

6) had NOT assumed that we're all content consumers using our PCs as if they were PHONES or SLABS

this list can get LONG, so I'll stop now.

Re: Typical anti-Apple rant...

I didn't think it was anti-Apple at all. A bit of a snark-tone, but that's normal.

Criticize Donald Trump, get your site smashed offline from Russia

Re: Hmmm...

"Did anyone else have problems connecting to El Reg over the weekend?"

none at all, even with MY crappy intarwebs connection.

maybe your browser cache and/or cookies need purging...

/me sticks finger down Firefox's throat - there, that's better. have some epicac, too.

IT'S A CONSPIRACY! [had to do that one, heh]

Re: The Russian Connection

"Like him or not, that are other forces at work and they are probably not what they are made to look like."

that there are. some use downvotes to attempt to discredit those who support Trump...

that would be a) badge of honor for me, and b) "howler monkey" behavior for them [with the flood of downvoting anything even REMOTELY pro-Trump]

(related to another comment directed at me) As for news media, I happen to like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity [his radio show], a local talk show guy (Carl DeMaio) who's been criticizing Trump for MONTHS on how he's handling his campaign. Worthy of mention, Carl DeMaio is a gay conservative Republican. He gets plenty of flack from every direction, and a sign in my yard [twice] when he ran for mayor, then congress, against 2 different crooked politicians. One of them (former mayor Bob Filner) "got caught". The other is in Con-Grab running for re-election. And yet, THEY won... being filthy dirty Demo-Rat politicians.

I probably get MORE news than the average person, and not the filtered pap excreted by the lame-stream American media. Seeing people PARROT the lies and opinions of the lame-stream American media as if it were truth or fact is pretty nauseating. And of course, coming to the defense of Donald Trump with the truth about him, and his policies, gets me the downvote bullet hell from the howler monkeys.

Figures, right?

Trump wants to:

a) repeal [and replace with market-friendly methods] Obaka-care

b) lower taxes and streamline regulations to support businesses and job creation

c) build a wall at the Mexican border, and deport illegal alien criminals

d) come up with a 'vetting' process for immigrants from specific Islamic nations (such as Syria) that have significant ISIS presence, to make sure they're not faking it and coming into our country to terrorize us. Temporarily banning all moslem immigrants is ONE proposed idea, but focusing on specific countries (instead) is his latest [moderated] proposal.

e) have illegal immigrants "go back home and get in line and do it LEGALLY". I think that's the only common sense approach, and I've been saying that for YEARS.

f) domestic energy production, making the USA 'energy independent'.

and so on.

I don't know where people get the idea that he's wanting to run our personal lives like a tinhorn dictator. Trump is a DELEGATOR in his management style. He hires OTHERS to do the work for him, a fact he's been criticized for with phrases like "getting rich on the sweat of others' browes". Only an AUTHORITARIAN would want something like 'controlling individuals and their lives'. That would be Mrs. Clinton and the Demo-Rats wanting THAT. [and they use LIES and MANIPULATION to do it].

So now back to the Russians: why do they want TRUMP? They dislike Mrs. Clintstone, that's one reason. But what if Trump and Putin have an UNDERSTANDING with one another? Trump seems willing to partner with Putin on areas of national interest, like dealing with ISIS. Putin must LOVE that. It looks good on the front page of the local newspaper in Moscow. Additionally, Trump would improve the U.S. economy, and there are businesses in Russia that are tied with the U.S. economy [I know, I worked with one of them a while back, a think tank out of St. Petersberg]. If the USA does well, then Russia does well. If the USA is strong, then Russia is strong, particularly in the current environment. But weak US foreign policy (like Obaka) is actually BAD for Russia, because NOW they end up having to take a more active role in world affairs, something they really can't afford to do (monetarily AND politically), for their own national interests even.

sorry if TLDR, need to get back to work, it's Monday.

Re: Well, well

"So instead of MS shills, now we have Trump shills in the commentard community?"

based on the ratio of downvotes, I'd say the SHILLS are anti-Trump

Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

"You mention (to paraphrase) that under Hillary's rule that 'elitists and the rich would rule and get richer'. Just exactly in what way do you somehow believe that Mr. Trump doesn't utterly epitomize elitist behavior and getting rich on the sweat of others?"

well, aside from the potential leading question, it's pretty obvious: when you do business, you hire people to do work. The investors and top-level managers normally make the most money. Otherwise, why take the risks if there is no "big payoff"?

And here's the rub with socialism and liberalism: when you TAX the high income earners and risk takers at rates that cause their payoffs to be LOWER, they take FEWER RISKS. Risks include business expansion, R&D, new products, new markets, and so forth. When you put a higher cost on the *kinds* of risk-taking that would make the economy IMPROVE, you get "less improvement".

The world of finance drives the world of business, and the world of business drives the economy. Propping up the stock market [via 'Quantitative Easing'] does NOTHING for R&D nor for new products. In fact, it generally helps the HEDGE FUNDS [like George Soros is so [in]famous for] and those who play games with market fluctuations, PARTICULARLY when the 'quantitative easing' funds are going to KNOWN PLACES [which smacks of insider trading, hint hint].

Yes, the Federal Reserve AND the Obaka administration were engaging in this *kind* of behavior. I would expect MORE OF THE SAME under a 'Her Royal Heinous' Mrs. Clinton administration.

So Donald Trump is in the business of MAKING MONEY. His means to do so is REAL ESTATE. He buys and sells and rents property, and constructs buildings, and so on. He hires a LOT of people, who "do the work for him". If you call THAT "exploitation" then you're complaining about the very nature of Capitalism, and nothing I say will convince you otherwise.

Now, if Donald Trump actually engaged in ANTI-COMPETITIVE and/or criminal activities in order to get ahead, then he would most likely have been investigated by the justice department already. Unfair business practices are actually ILLEGAL.

As for me, I consider being paid properly for my work "a fair exchange". I expect that Donald Trump's employees would say the same thing. A fair day's wage for a fair day's work. If he wasn't doing THAT, i.e. paying fair wages, you KNOW we'd be hearing about it. The Labor Unions would be the first ones to point it out (it's their "thing" after all).

So what part of "the sweat off of other people's browes" is NOT fair, if you PAY people to SWEAT?

I see NOTHING wrong with that. After all, those people ended up with JOBS, because of Donald Trump, his risk-taking, his efforts, and whatever "deals" he artfully negotiated. I'd be pretty happy about THAT, if I were THEM.

Now... let's consider a TRUE SOCIALIST [and former Nazi collaborator] George Soros. Why do I not hear SCREAMS about what THIS guy is up to, including his relationship with MRS. CLINTON and the DEMO-RAT PARTY???

Re: If this asshat gets elected..

"Mr Bob, little hint"

what, you think I _CARE_ about things like that? [keep in mind, use of capitalization and punctuation for emphasis exists frequently enough in El Reg articles; you could consider that to be "borrowing a style consistent for the web site"].

besides, I view "hints" like that as a) arrogant, b) condescending, c) an attempt to reduce my effectiveness, d) all of the above. What, other people know better how _I_ should run _MY_ life? It's as bad as "political correctness", which I deliberately do NOT do (and lampoon whenever possible).

So thanks, but no thanks, for the "hints". Your opinions are noted, but not paid attention to.

[and thanks for getting personal - a subtle version of the ad hominem attack]

besides, if Trump does what he says he's going to do, then the U.S. economy will recover rapidly, beginning with new spending on things _LIKE_ R&D and expansion within USA's borders. You know, 'supply side economics', people having more of their own money, LESS money being paid to people to "pay them to stay poor" [i.e. welfare, 'on the dole', etc. - you get what you pay for when you pay people to stay poor], criminal aliens being deported, fewer problems with "underground economy", fewer problems with smuggling, actually ENFORCING the law instead of making excuses NOT to [for political reasons] and NOT "just enforcing it SELECTIVELY" [like Obaka], and so on.

Yeah, I liked Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister, and also Ronald Reagan when HE was president. I expect similar things with a President Trump.

And... do you think that _MAYBE_ the RUSSIANS expect these kinds of things ALSO, with a President Trump??? That, and 'win-win' foreign policy. 'Art of the deal' and all of that.

Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

"Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops? "

because the liberal lame-stream media has BROADCASTING and PRINTING instead... [to echo what you've parroted from them in your post].

(and we've gotten our fill of THAT pile of lies for too long, and it's tiring).

you also forgot to mention Mrs. Clinton's e-mails, the Clint-stone foundation "payola for political favors" slush fund, how Mrs. Clinton treats the "bimbos" that her husband had sex with, how Mrs. Clinton treats 12 year old RAPE VICTIMS using a "she was asking for it" defense in the 1970's as a young upwardly mobile attorney looking for a stepping stool to advance her career by...

Re: If this asshat gets elected..

" hope we're not all perceived as being gun-toting hillbillies with rebel flags on our pickup trucks,"

That's MISTER gun-toting hillbilly, etc.

And if "that asshat" (assuming Trump) does *NOT* get elected, enjoy your "socialist paradise", with the rich elitists getting richer, everyone else getting POORER, the "friends of Clinton" getting their political paybacks, other countries taking over our internal affairs, a mass migration of social dependents waiting to suck from the teet of public welfare (and then vote DEMO-RAT as they become insta-citizens), higher taxes on those trying to BECOME "the rich" (because "the rich" already HAVE their money, and don't earn wage income, and are currently taxed at a LOWER rate than high wage earners, because, Demo-rats and weak-willed Republo-crats), and "I feel" instead of "the law" (as in "Obaka FEELS as if he can IGNORE the law, so he DOES via executive order", and Mrs. Clinton will be WORSE than THAT, even).

Do we REALLY want a gummint that's more like a tin-horn dictatorship than a democratic-replublic?

(that's what Mrs. Clinton would be like - just think 'Obaka on steroids" and that should be close enough)

Keep in mind, that like it was in the 80's, when the U.S. economy does WELL, the ENTIRE world benefits. It's the "rising tide lifts all boats" thing. Mrs. Clinton wants to tax CARBON, meaning expensive energy, meaning economic DECLINE. Mrs. Clinton wants to stop domestic oil, meaning that SAUDI ARABIA can charge whatever they WANT for oil, and other countries will have to PAY it [when the USA is buying its own oil, the world's oil prices DROP, meaning better world-wide economy].

Anyway, Trump's portrayal in the media is nothing like who he really is. Too many "feelers" out there who refuse to THINK, with politically correct chips on their shoulder, waiting to be offended, who will go full "howler monkey" the first time Trump says what he's thinking at the moment [which is pretty close to what _I_ am thinking, most likely, given the same circumstances].

Russian govt apparently doesn't like Mrs. Clinton

"It's interesting to point out that much of the attack sourced from Russia."

I don't think Russians are pro-Trump, per-se, they're more likely to be "anti-Clinton".

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/31/russian-television-shows-what-kremlin-thinks-clinton.html

"it was enough to watch Russian state television coverage of her accepting the Democratic nomination."

"Viewers were told that Clinton sees Russia as an enemy and cannot be trusted"

etc.

So, if there's a motivation behind any state-sponsored hacking from Russia, this might be it.

Microsoft widens Edge browser bug hunt for bounty hunters

Re: Runs on windows 10

can I report the 2D FLUGLY as a bug?

Russian hackers target MH17 journalists for embarrassing Putin

Re: Bellingcat

"Anyone else reading that in the voice of Jeremy Clarkson?"

I thought of John Cleese... and for the quoted parts, Michael Palin doing the 'Spanish Inquisition' voice

then again, I'm a 'merkin' so I've only got monty python DVDs to fall back on for that kinda thing.

Got a great IoT story to tell? You have until Friday to let us know

IoT a bit overrated

I think the IoT thing is a bit overrated - like "the cloud"

IoT still has potential, but I don't need to know on a smartphone reminder application whether my fridge has enough beer in it [I can just look myself], or if my dog is outside in the yard relieving himself while I'm gone [or doing it on the rug to spite me]. But knowing if the server closet is too hot - THAT might be important enough to IoT and notify me on the a smartphone.

Then there are those wireless home security systems you can buy. They're kinda *like* IoT, from what I've heard about them [or COULD be, anyway]. And those front door cameras with doorbell alarms. Answer your doorbell with a smartphone, see who it is, scare away potential intruders. Not a bad idea.

So yeah, SOME good IoT things going on out there. But whenever I think about it, my mind chirps rhythmically like a bunch of crickets...

Ludicrous Patent of the Week: Rectangles on a computer screen

Re: Hope they have deep pockets

"Cue the round / eliptical windows."

already done in Win-10-nic - the user pic is NOW rounded. nevermind if you WANTED the corners, you can't have them any more...

troll icon because it's an opportunity to slam Win-10-nic and Micro-shaft

Re: Rounded corners

yes, but the XP versions were 3D skeuomorphic, and so the "modern" 2D FLUGLY ones are now "up for patent grabs"! Yeah, see if a rounded corner 2D FLUGLY rectangle can pass the patent troll test!

Re: I'm happy with this

"Prior Art"

(cued up)

prior art didn't stop Apple from suing Micro-shaft over windows overlapping windows...

(they were just ticked off because MS was running their thing on cheap clone boxen, or they'd have gone after IBM over OS/2 - which interestingly enough was ALSO written by Micro-shaft! )

needless to say, they ALL ripped off Xerox!

I should patent the phrase "F-off"

I should patent the phrase "F-off" so that when the patent trollers attempt to sue EVERYONE and their next door neighbor over a frivolous claim of violation, and everyone tells them to "F-off", I get a royalty...

Firefox to doctor Pepper so it can run Chrome's PDF, Flash plugins

Re: try pale moon

"This can't be overstated! Anyone looking for a good Firefox fork, look no further!"

I'll consider it, thanks. saves me the trouble of doing it myself, like when Mate forked from gnome 2.

Re: time to fork FF and make something better?

"FF doesn't auto-update on any decent Linux distro, since it's a compile-time switch."

I'm seeing hits on the update server in the latest Mint. And I checked the settings, and it seemed to be enabled in 'about:config' as 'app.update.enable' (etc). I turned it off. Still seeing plugin update scans, though, but no more hitting "app.update.url" since I shut the other stuff off.

so yeah, it was obviously happening. and now it's not. But you're right, any DECENT Linux distro should NOT have this on, and having to use about:config to turn it OFF was irritating.

Re: time to fork FF and make something better?

RE: "there was so much cluelessness in this post that I couldn't decently let it slip."

I've been doing this stuff for so long that my brain is getting full, so if I slip on a detail or two, especially late at night, who cares. I don't. Details details details. Whoopee twiddle.

Nit-pickiness is just an irritant. what I meant and how you interpreted it apparently differ. so what if 'nodejs' is server-side, I probably was thinking of another thing, another monolithc package. whatever. And if I use the word 'merge' instead of some OTHER term, who gives a blank. So thanks for the nit-pick. NOT.

I've been doing this schtuff for so damn long anyway that nit-pickiness is just an irritant. Usually the YOJNG and INEXPERIENCED dwell on such pointlessness. For the rest of us who are *NOT* *CLUELESS*, and probably write better and more complex [kernel level] code in a fraction of the time than the nit-pickers, it's JUST an irritant. Probably need to spray it with disinfectant or something...

time to fork FF and make something better?

is it time to fork Firefox and make something batter?

I don't like the "hamburger menu", nor the tendency towards 2D FLATSO, nor the "flatso-looking touch friendly" preferences that are now web pages [and missing the "automatic updates" turn-off-ability which I don't want happening in my LINUX DISTRO, thank-you-very-much].

I'd like to ROLL BACK to something more _SANE_, like a TRADITIONAL interface. Let it NOT open PDFs in a java-based PDF viewer, thanks. In fact, let's just DISABLE JAVA entirely. And flash. And support HTML5, but let people selectively SHUT IT OFF if they want [to avoid ads ABusing it].

And how about BUILDING IN the capabilities of the 'NoScript' plugin? Either that, or ship it INSTALLED BY DEFAULT.

I just hope that disabling NPAPI won't affect NoScript [and some of the other plugins I like to use].

(it's amazing how FAST a site will load without jquery or nodejs loading EVERY! SINGLE! TIME! because some dweeb is ALWAYS making a tiny tweek to the ginormous libraries, one that forces a re-re-re-download of all of that monolithic scripting crap EVERY! SINGLE! TIME! )

[I noticed that debian seems to have merged their iceweasel fork with firefox... bummer if I'm right about that]

Microsoft preps defence against the dark arts for enterprise customers

safe surfing seems to work pretty well...

all of these scanners/plugins/OS-sandboxers/whatever and the REAL problems aren't being addressed.

I usually recommend 'safe surfing' to people to combat viruses/trojans and it works pretty well.

a) don't go online with an account that has 'admin' privileges. just don't.

b) use a browser that allows you to DISABLE 3rd party scripting, or ALL scripting for that matter. Firefox with 'noscript' plugin is my choice.

c) NEVER view e-mail as HTML. ONLY view as plain-text, don't allow images to preview in-line, and NEVER "just click on a link" [or worse, "open" an attachment to see what it is] if it's in an e-mail, even if you trust the sender. Yes, this means NOT using a web client for e-mail.

d) do NOT use a Micro-shaft OS for web surfing unless you have no other choice.

Follow these rules, and the likelihood that you get some zero-day infection from across the intarwebs is pretty small. [this doesn't mention the more obvious things like firwealling your connection and explicitly running virus scans on attachments and downloaded files before "opening" them with a GUI file manager or whatever].

No surprise: Microsoft seeks Windows Update boss with 'ability to reduce chaos, stress'

Re: No

"Make Windows a VM. The OS would be managed by a new ultra-barebones hypervisor."

better idea: make windows linux at the core, with the GUI front-end entirely in userland, and open source so end-users can peer-review it and do pull requests

oh, that's kinda what a Linux distro is like, isn't it?

Re: Previous Manager

"What happened to the previous Manager of the Update Team - fired, retired, promoted, demoted or quit?"

you forgot 'padded cell'

all eggs in one Micro-shaft basket

"Microsoft wants everything to be dependent on everything else - thus a patch to any part causes problems for all the OTHER parts as well."

you're probably right. that would DEFINITELY explain it, yes.

The next question is: why? why put all eggs in ONE basket like that? What kind of CONTROL does Micro-shaft INSIST on having over our computers? [this deserves the W.T.F. emblem]

apt-get is what debian, ubuntu, mint, and others use. it works pretty well for me on my various installed Linux distros. And it's NOT forced.

Re: Windows Update: Clunky bag of nails, needs new hammer.

maybe the Ubuntu update system would work for Micro-shaft?

(they've been getting cozy with Canonical somewhat recently...)

Re: Why don't they just summon a daemon?

"Because that is product development."

yes, but sacrificing chickens and dancing on one leg isn't helping them very much these days...

Re: Microsoft attempting to hire someone competent?

"Its not the Window's Update Boss that will fix the problem, its removing the CEO and starting again to produce an OS that the majority of users want."

you got THAT right...

what I find interesting is they require a 4 year degree.

MANY competent software engineers (and quite possibly the MOST competent engineers) either have no degree, or it's in something else (like music). A requirement for a degree would only satisfy a bunch of CLUELESS H.R. dweebs. Yes, I have no degree, except in the school of ACTUAL APPLIED SCIENCES AND EXPERIENCE [where it REALLY matters].

A 4 year degree THESE days (in the USA anyway, where education ranks pretty low) requires suffering through 4 years of excessive tuition and liberal indoctrination. no thanks. I'd get 'F's if I were honest, or else have to "suck up and say the right key words and tricky phrases" to get the 'A' (like MOST people probably do).

THAT as opposed to 30 years of competent success...

So the person Micro-shaft REALLY wants isn't who they're advertising for. But the person they're advertising for will most l ikely "go along to get along", and that's what *certain* *people* inside Micro-shaft probably want...

[so YEAH if they wanted to FIX IT, they'd hire *ME*]