Posts by bombastic bob

Microsoft's UWP = Unwanted Windows Platform?

Re: The writing was on the wall...

UWP on X-box. wheee.

Re: "Once again you abandon a framework"

you trusted Microsoft

in the 90's, this was the right choice to make.

not so much in the 21st century, though. Not since after XP released.

Re: It becomes emabarrassing

yes, actually. I preferred XP's way of keeping the launchers next to the start button, as compared to 7's behavior of moving things around based on what's running.

Re: It becomes emabarrassing

not ironic. just sad.

Re: "Windows file selector"

well In My Bombastic Opinion it was BETTER in older windows versions, particularly the 'File Open' 'common dialog' box. It loaded faster because it DID NOT HAVE TO DO ANALYSIS ON EVERY STINKING FILE EVERY TIME IT LISTED THEM so that MAYBE some shell extension would do something later IF you selected it. They could always populate icon lists and tree diagrams based on a cache or in a background thread, and NOT delay the selection of files for A SINGLE MOMENT LONGER than absolutely necessary.

Admittedly, gnome is just as bad - open up the /usr/bin directory some time in a 'File Open' box and ask "why is this thing SO SLOW???" [same reason why Micros~1 file open boxes are so slow, I say]

Re: "MS lost the plot when..."

Each iteration of software removes options from the users to make things easier to use.

If you play with your toys the way Micros~1 TELLS you to, this will not be a problem...

</snark>

Re: Unpopular opinion

Meanwhile, you're bigging up a tech stack built on Windows 9x which is totally unsuited to modern programming challenges

etc.

(I don't know whether to laugh or facepalm)

that word "modern" - I do not think it means what you think it means

And as for wax cylinders, believe it or not, audio recording on a wax cylinder (with current tech, and slightly better materials) is likely to sound VERY good, as it is on high quality vinyl. Some people prefer the sound of vinyl recordings. They also like tube/valve amplifiers better. Just because it is old does not make it obsolete.

Microsoft have only done what a sensible business would do - try to predict what the future is going to bring

How's that working out for them, since the early noughties when Ballmer took over and introduced the ".Not" initiative ... ?

(they need to FIRE their astrologers and crystal gazers)

I cannot shout this loud enough: WIN32 and 3D SKEUOMORPHIC!!

If Micros~1 gets THAT right, we'll all be better off for it. But they won't. They're too busy trying to find the right lipstick to put on the non-oinky-end of the boar, i.e. TIFKAM and UWP and that eldritch abomination, ".Not".

Twitter's machine learning algorithms amplify tweets from right-wing politicians over those on the left

Re: That's easy

If you are thinking "the right makes better memes" then your probably uncomfortably far left compared to the rest of the population.

no, I think the idea that the left is currently stifling humor is correct. That is, applying "cancel culture" means that the only thing left for, uh, "the left", is to PANDER TO THE PERCEPTION. And that's usually not funny except to those who laugh at whatever makes themselves look better at others' expense. Yeah, it's an "ego thing". My Bombastic Opinion.

good satire and humor is rooted in truth. Something like "How many cancel culture advocates does it take to change a light bulb? HOW DARE YOU SAY LIGHT BULB!!!" (yeah I just made that up. but some of these jokes just write themselves, ya know?) And THAT is why "The Left cannot meme".

Re: That's easy

see icon

Re: Tweet Bias

what exactly does anyone think "the right" is? (kinda the same argument)

Stranger still, "far right" (fascism, racism) and "far left" (communism, cancel culture) are too similar NOT to notice...

I think Twitter may be "compensating". Banning Trump alienated a LOT of people.

Either that, or their algorithm detects TRUTH (for the more 'Conservative' posts, anyway. heh)

Also worth pointing out: right wing (usually wacky fascist and/or racist stuff) does not equal 'conservative' so I have to wonder exactly what they classify as "right wing". left wing is generally obvious when it orients towards socialism, social justice, universal basic income, and taxing "the rich": right wing (racist, fascist) may be more difficult to detect if it does not contain actual pejorative terms. And I wonder how they would even detect conservative posting unless it includes discussion about C.R.T. or parental involvement in schools or school choice or lower taxes/regulation or illegal immigration or states rights or less government in our lives (in general). [these concepts may be a little more vague for an algorithm so maybe they are detected as 'something else' ?].

I'd just conclude that algorithms really can't understand political things.

Windows XP@20: From the killer of ME to banging out patches for yet another vulnerability

at least in XP you could easily revert to the win 2k interface

Something Micros~1 used to do, back in the day, is NOT force people to change.

You could easily see a Win2k menu from the start button if you wanted to.

It's too bad that Micros~1 does not let us choose an XP APPEARANCE in any version of windows since then.

(and that goes TRIPLE for the excessively-layered touch-friendly "setings" in Win-10-nic etc.)

I miss XP. It was always easy to find info and set up devices. All Micros~1 needed to do was keep the kernel and applications patched, NOT re-invent the "user experience".

Boeing's Starliner capsule corroded due to high humidity levels, NASA explains, and the spaceship won't fly this year

Re: Cheap & cheerful, but mostly cheap

maybe purging them with ammonia gas would neutralize the acidity ?? Metals in a slightly basic pH tend to form protective oxide layers.

OK that would be too simple and obvious. Just vent some ammonia into the thruster exhaust ports to keep the pH under control and voila! Problem solved! So what if it smells like glass cleaner.

Re: an issue with the spacecraft’s valves

I remember seeing one of those Nuvistor tubes/valves in a color TV tuner (a TV from the early 70's).

(and it did not rust in hot humid weather, lasting over 15 years until I sold it at a swap meet in the mid 80's)

Re: an issue with the spacecraft’s valves

fortunately I found a great place online to buy transformers (replacements for guitar amps anyway) for tube(valve) amplifiers, like 6L6 and KT88 (and other) power stages, even Hammond brand (but mostly amp replacements).

And I bet those transfomers won't corrode in Florida summertime weather, unlike Boeing's rocket fuel valves.

I spent the summer in Orlando back in the early 80's when I went to U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School there. Hot, humid, and gnats spiraling in clouds. And you could set your watch by the afternoon thunderstorms.

[Launches take place from Canaveral because it's one of the lowest latitude spots in the continental USA, and so earth spin gives you a slight boost on takeoff, saving fuel. So if you make a rocket it BETTER be Florida weather proof]

When I was in the Navy I was so used to electrical, electronic, and mechanical/pipe systems being weatherproof and salt-water tolerant that I'm kind of amazed that Starliner's engineers missed this obvious operational condition.

Apple's Safari browser runs the risk of becoming the new Internet Explorer – holding the web back for everyone

Re: How do you think web standards work?

what if the ad slingers sell replacement batteries? THEY want to know!!!

Re: How do you think web standards work?

The web goes through standards bodies of very hard working people from many companies, all trying extremely hard to make a safe, secure web experience.

you have minutes from these collaborative meetings and/or mailing list archives available someplace? just curious...

(yes I'd like to see the actual discussion/debate that reportedly did NOT happen)

Most likely the "hard working people" are just a bunch of moderately sycophantic 3rd party marketeers brown-nosing Google to get what THEY want (and damn the end users, we're just being monetized after all)

Re: To anyone who desires a slowdown...

no, the users do NOT demand a rapidly changing web. At least, none of the users I have known.

It's the MARKETEERS and AD SLINGERS who demand it. "New Shiny" - right?

Most people get tired of the CONSTANT UPDATING very quickly, especially if they get throttled for excess cell phone bandwidth usage or have their windows workstations taken over by all-too-frequent updates for several hours (when they really needed to use their computers) a few times too many.

All that moving target updating and "New Shiny" is HIGHLY overrated. And I think nearly everybody KNOWS this.

Re: myopia

young kids these days. they need to program with punch cards for a while on an old big-iron machine that only has FORTRAN 66, a card reader, and a line printer.

yeah they lack the experience to know when their ideas are stupid and meaningless, but they *FEEL* good about them (and are arrogantly willing to foist this upon the rest of us, with NO concern about customer wants or needs).

and there is also the "it's MY turn now" syndrome. Fresh out of school, want THEIR CHANCE. Everything ELSE done before THEM is all CRAP and needs CHANGE. That sort of thing.

Re: A man after my own heart

I have often made similar appeals to logic. Back in the Win '95 beta one of the engineers agreed with me on some of the performance problems with the 'exchange' mail client it shipped with, it's RAM hungriness, and other serious performance problems. He even tested things with a slower 386 machine. Yet, the product shipped 'that way' anyway. So the problem may be way higher up the chain when "the boss" has a more capable machine than the engineers or customers... (and therefore can not see the problem).

Re: 'holding back' ?

stability has its virtues

bleeding edge is overrated

"moving targets" for development (especially in the planning stage) is NEARLY ALWAYS a BAD thing.

it's why I will not target any new, shiny from Micros~1 (like UWP and previously, Silverlight). So why tolerate it from GOOGLE?

at least there's no ActiveX any more - that was the DUMBEST thing IE supported. It may have sounded 'cool' in 1998 and I actually wrote a couple of these, but there is NO security in ActiveX and it's a HUGE vector for infecting computer systems (and S. Korea had ActiveX required for anyone doing online banking within that country for NEARLY 2 DECADES)

Re: Odd post

why exactly do you need all that again? What does it REALLY get you?

My suspicion is you're trying to do too much, your web site is a monolithic high-bandwidth scripty nightmare, and end-users have performance issues with simple UI actions, on ANY browser, because of it all. Or maybe not, but it kinda *smells* that way to me.

A lightweight web does NOT need a heavyweight browser. And yeah, I hand-code my HTML and use limited CSS where needed, usually in a "<STYLE>" element block in the head section and NOT some ginormous all-in-one style sheet that's necessarily delivered by a CDN.

Still wanting to do a webkit browser that looks more like OLD Firefox with the 3D Skeuomorphic UI.

(I just do not want to do it in Python)

We regret to inform you there's an RCE vuln in old version of WinRAR. Yes, the file decompression utility

at least in Russia

At least in Russia, when you discover security-related bugs in software, you can report them to the world without being SUED or THREATENED WITH PROSECUTION

(even if maybe Vlad & comrades have to get the heads-up on the new vulnerability FIRST?)

GIMP 2.99.8 is here but what's happened to 3.0? If only stuff would not break all the time

adding new features, yes. CHANGING THE UI, **NO**

I use the classic UI for gimp. I am used to it and I like it. Changing to it (from the default 'dockable single window') on a new Linux installation is a little difficult because I always forget how. But it has been possible. Let's hope that remains to be the case (have not verified this on the newest version).

As long as they improve the functionality and do NOT "GO AUSTRALIS" (or similar) on us, I'll remain happy.

when I see "new developer": in an announcement, I *ALWAYS* *FEAR* *THE* *FLATSO* because the perception is that WAY TOO MANY "new devs" seem to WANT that... whereas long time users generally want NO changes at all (except new features and stability).

Email phishing crapcannon operators TA505 are back from the dead, researchers warn

Re: And they call ME incompatible..

It's the lack of 32-bit ActiveX support UNDER LINUX (or FreeBSD)

Not just deprecated, but deleted: Google finally strips File Transfer Protocol code from Chrome browser

Re: Soon HTTP as well?

if http disappears then a LOT of embedded devices may have trouble with web interfaces.

It is often VERY hard to implement SSL within the confines of a tiny CPU's NVRAM code space, even for ARM devices. Eliminating http support would add unnecessary cost factors for embedded devices, or require you to use "the cloud" or some proprietary protocol/app.

I have toyed with even an Arduino (with a network or wifi shield) serving up config pages. I even added graphics to it. Limited to ~30k of code space there's only so much you can do, but for a simple device it can "just work", maybe just to config the network interface, even.

using https for that - just NOT possible.

(and it becomes a road block for independent inventors and software developers)

[and do you REALLY want to be FORCED to get an SSL cert JUST to have a private web server?]

Re: "frankly, Google and pals would rather users opted for a dedicated transfer app"

I agree with you about sftp (and also scp and ssh when available). cPanel (and any equivalent) is one of those necessary evils for things like DNS or aliases or e-mail or otherwise managing services. But actual file management? No. Just No.

I smell a new 0lugin for things like ftp in firefox. There WAS one for gopher but last I checked it is no more. Maybe a "legacy protocol" plugin for educational purposes at the very least...

Facebook may soon reveal new name – we're sure Reg readers will be more creative than Zuck's marketroids

Re: They'll want something starting with A

AAAAA!!! (with all 3 bangs at the end)

(the sound you make when you're stuck in their circling drain of social media content hell)

Re: Network 23

shhh... don't give them ideas, they might actually try making BLIP-VERTS

"The network that literally blows your mind"

"Face Palm"

here's your icon!

Re: What ever the choice

heh

you just put the pressure on...

I know: SEMPRINI!!! (and keep all 3 bangs at the end)

(or maybe 'Bad Wolf')

Re: Omni Consumer Products

Nuke 'Em! The game for all the family to play!

"You crossed my LINE OF DEATH"

*BOOM*

(icon for the visuals)

From the original Robocop if I remember correctly. And yet, the line I prefer to remember: "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!" (it's a good swap for "that's what she said")

Re: It doesn’t need a new name

I left Silly Valley in 1980. Visited a couple of times since then, for business, high school reunion, etc..

It was silly then, and even sillier now, from what I can tell.

So FB's owning "umbrella corp" might become "JustGoHome Inc"? [eh, sounded better in my head]

Re: DataSlurp Incorperated?

I was thinking "Umbrella Corporation" but I suppose if I read all 100+ comments that someone else probably beat me to it. (for the survey I picked 'SPECTRE')

BlackMatter ransomware gang will target agriculture for its next harvest – Uncle Sam

Cyber Privateers - reminds me of Sir Francis Drake

From the article: Vladimir Putin's country has been acused of hosting criminal extortionists on condition their online theft campaigns are never turned against ex-Soviet Union nations

Back in the day nations hired privateers to attack rival/enemy shipping, and leave theirs alone. In Sir Francis Drake's case, he was (probably) operating under Naval orders to attack and plunder Spanish ships.

So if these ransomware gangs are more like PRIVATEERS, are they REALLY being SANCTIONED to do their evil deeds? And, as part of a MILITARY strategy?

(and what would it take to drop a weapon on their heads, while they're operating from inside of Russia, without causing a war?)

If your apps or gadgets break down on Sunday, this may be why: Gpsd bug to roll back clocks to 2002

Re: Thank you Miller, Lord of Time

he's a Time Lord? Where's his TARDIS ?

Re: 21 years late

as far as I know it only affects 32-bit systems that still have time_t defined as a 32-bit integer. There are certain backwards compatibility issues in 32-btt Linux, though, and there are time functions (as I recall) that support a 64-bit time_t on 32-bit. But legacy applications could still fall on their faces if they rely on time_t not rolling over.

FreeBSD's headers defines time_t as 64bit when the pointer size is 64bit. I do not have a convenient 32-bit linux handy but in a 64-bit version it is also a 64-bit value for time_t. As far as I recall 32-bit Linux is also a 32-bit value for time_t.

still embedded may need 32-bit in 2038 so probably best to change it to ALWAYS 64-bit at some point.

Re: XKCD strikes again!

real world emulated by Jenga

Allegations of favoring visa holders over US workers for jobs cost Facebook just 4 hours of annual profit

Re: Its a quirk of the (immiegration) system

a quirk that was apparently by design - allegedly bought and paid for by big tech's alleged influence on politicians and electioneering and 'contributions in kind' in its various forms. You know, the best politicians money can buy!!!

(In My Bombastic Opinion)

We've seen examples of this sort of thing from time to time in Silicon Valley, sometimes ending up as an article in 'El Reg', often in the form of non-compete/non-recruit agreements and that sort of thing, or at least that's how it surfaced in the past.

"4 hours of annual profit", indeed.

And so that fine of a few million dollars is just a pittance, a token amount, from their point of view. It's a most likely just another ledger entry, filed under "expenses", probably a mere FRACTION of what they're already forking over to get what they want [in my opinion] from the politicians.

and, sadly, it seems to be working for them...

(FAR worse than the military industrial complex we were warned about by Eisenhower, at the height of the cold war)

Computer scientists at University of Edinburgh contemplate courses without 'Alice' and 'Bob'

Re: Poor little Alice.

"You can get anything you want..."

(at Alice's Restaurant)

we now use the "plural" form for 2nd person

that would be BAD GRAMMAR. even an old American knows that. I don't care WHAT the diaper babies cry over. I'll continue to use good grammar whenever I can.

In the case where the sex of the subject or object of a sentence is not known, you always use the masculine pronoun. That is well understood by ANYONE that understands grammar, even in languages like SPANISH where there are actual 'genders' i.e. masculine and feminine nouns.

And another thing - "de-COLON-ize, sounds ilke ripping something out of a 'colon', kinda like saying "ass pull".

Oops, they did it again – rogue Soyuz spurt gave ISS an attitude problem

* Tilt *

obligatory pinball reference

Ubuntu 21.10: Plan to do yourself an Indri? Here's what's inside... including a bit of GNOME schooling

Re: Activities of the Damned

when I read about the rounded corners and comparison to Windows II I wonder if maybe the SAME driving force exists in BOTH the Gnome 3 and Windows desktop projects...

still I'll look forward to what Mint might do in its derived version, if for nothing else but updates and fixes to various things. I guess I'll need to update my Mint VM.

(I really do like the general stability of Ubu and Mint coupled with being slightly newer than Debian and Devuan, aside from the other obvious things)

Missouri governor demands prosecution of reporter for 'decoding HTML source code' and reporting a data breach

Re: Another example of the GoP leadership championing freedom

when Demo[n,c]rats do these things, I bet you say NOTHING. (my opinion this guy needs to hand in his Republican card and and exchange it for a HYPOCRISY card)

They are politicians, (allegedly) manipulative gaslighting dishonest ignoramuses, who's primary occupation is to get a bunch of people to [re]elect them every few years, and NOT do what is best for anyone EXCEPT themselves.

Re: Dare I admit to the govenor ...

(see icon)

Re: Dare I admit to the govenor ...

just don't install those tools on Linux, the 3v1L h4x0r OS of CHOICE...

(at that point it's lock-up-and-throw-away-the-key time)

Re: Dare I admit to the govenor ...

last I checked ROT13 did not include numbers... nor dashes

(am I the only one who knows this? heh probably not, by a factor of EVERY! SINGLE! EL! REG! READER!)

Re: The Register - Organ of Record

He needs to forfeit his "Trump Card" then. Chances are he's only a Trump supporter to motivate the base to re-elect him. As another person said, "Typical politician".

On a related note, would you have had EQUAL kinds of criticism if he had been a DEMOCRAT?

(knee jerk reactions and manipulative gaslighting are their specialty, even MORE so than Republicans)

(Too many examples of this kind of arrogance+ignorance throughout government for too many years, frm DMCA to this current fear-based idiocy)

Boeing 737 Max chief technical pilot charged with deceiving US aviation regulators over MCAS

once the 737 MAX has been sufficiently scrutinized and fixed, it might become the safest plane in the air...

(and then I'd fly on it no problem)