Posts by bombastic bob

OS-busting bug so bad that Microsoft blocks Windows Insider release

Re: Where is the website suggesting more outlandish uses for AI ?

AI malware [no, wait...]

Re: HOW DID IT GET MERGED INTO THE TREE AT ALL?

someone in an earlier post already mentioned it - "BROWN Screen Of Death"

Re: I wonder what it is

"Desktop Experience" ad slinger mistaken for ransomware by Defender?

Re: cynical me thinks...

"Microsoft Rust"-compiled code getting stuck in a garbage collection loop - because THE ENTIRE OS is garbage - muahahahaha!!!

Microsoft moved the goalposts once. Will Windows 12 bring another shift?

Re: Reasons not to upgrade to Windows 12

I just use open office or libre office, even on windows. works JUST fine!

Top sci-fi convention gets an earful from authors after using AI to screen panelists

Re: Sword and Scandals

STNG handled the "build a population from a limited gene pool" in an interesting (yet practical) way in one episode. Can't recall the title though...

The problem is NOT the AI...

I guess J.K. Rowling won't be on their panel, REGARDLESS of her contributions to science fiction and fantasy literature, and her reasonable handling of gay characters, prejudice, even "cancel culture", and other (similar) issues in books targeted at middle and high school kids. [I'm sure Dumbledore was in many ways a shoutout to Turing]

All because she's taken a stance against biological males in women's spaces... which many argue is "trans-phobic" [a ridiculous term, in my bombastic opinion].

[that is one of the criteria listed in the article for screening panelists, just to point out]

From article: Volunteers entered the applicants' names into a ChatGPT prompt directing the chatbot to gather background information about that person, as an alternative to potentially time-consuming search engine queries.

AI as a search engine. I've been doing that with grok. Often the results are vastly superior.

The problem is the QUERY ITSELF, which SMACKS of CANCEL CULTURE:

Using the list of names provided, please evaluate each person for scandals. Scandals include but are not limited to homophobia, transphobia, racism, harassment, sexual misconduct, sexism, fraud.

Does mere accusation get you cancelled, or does it REQUIRE DEFINITIVE JUDICIAL OUTCOMES (as it SHOULD)?

Linux kernel to drop 486 and early 586 support

Re: "anyone still making new"

You should try FreeBSD and find out. There are features (like built-in ZFS) that have been there for years, there is NO systemD (nor will there EVER be one) and it's not encumbered with license paranoia [you can have "non-free" modules in the kernel if you want, or ship a modified kernel as a binary]

packages and ports ALWAYS install with libs and headers for building things that depend on them. It's meant for "build from source", actually.

There are downsides, too, but in general if you're a software dev it's MUCH better than Linux for that kind of thing In My Bombastic Opinion.

Re: Hubble Telescope.......

It's not likely Hubble will need the kinds of updates that "more modern" devices need. That and PC-104 devices and other embedded things.

I use an older version of Debian for an old Toshiba laptop that in my opinion still has uses... and the Debian distro had stopped supporting it around 8 years ago.

So basically, if you have an old CPU, you'll need to track (and maybe fork+maintain) an older version. Works for me, anyway.

FreeBSD has traditionally supported ancient hardware, However, according to grok, "starting with FreeBSD 13.0, the minimum requirement shifted to an i686-class processor (Pentium Pro or better),"

Curl project founder snaps over deluge of time-sucking AI slop bug reports

Re: Sorry to nitpick, but...

could an AI screen/filter reports as having been written by an AI...?

Trump's wind farm funding freeze is so much hot air, say states as they blow sueball to Washington

Re: Erm

It seems many commenters of this article failed to read Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority", or at least did not fully integrate its obvious warning.

Wind (along with 'solar farms') is the unreliable "new tech" that seeks to replace the old RELIABLE tech (coal, oil, gas) for REALLY STUPID [climate scam FUD] reasons.

Diversifying means having many different sources, such as coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, hydro, etc. for continuous operation, as well as peaker plants located where the demand is highest, with plenty of extra capacity available at any point in time should the need arise. This is how it WAS... until the anti-CO2 MORONS repeatedly lied often enough to SCARE people into going along with expensive "renewables", to their OWN demise...

EU tells US scientists to dump Trump for a lab in Europe

Re: Europeanuts (InB4 political bashing begins - oops, too late)

extremely reliable. Try it some time.

Re: Exodus

the TDS is strong with this one...

Re: I think you’ll find…

humo[u]r appreciated

Re: Europeanuts (InB4 political bashing begins - oops, too late)

According to research on grok, a large number of the "disgruntled scientists" responding to the Nature magazine poll are probably POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS. But as the article is behind a paywall it's hard to search it or read it without coughing up the cash [damn them].

Here's what I found: https://x.com/i/grok/share/M3UkPNZ4VCkRecPw3IwtPQe6F

The issue here is public funds for research, and the kinds of research being axed. From what I can glean, it is mostly climate change research, sociology and DEI-related research, certain kinds of health research (fired NIH researchers), plus anything previously funded by USAID, and primarily affects new graduates and post-grad researchers.

In short, if your only funders were the U.S. gummint before 2025, and the funds were cut off, and you read Nature magazine and responded to the poll (a 'self-selected' group) then it explains why 3/4 of respondents wanted to "go elsewhere" after losing their gummint funds.

[if this offer affects a LOT of people, competing for the limited funds from EU will be fierce]

Meta blames Trump tariffs for ballooning AI infra bills

why not just build a foundry in the USA and sell chips?

Simple solution, avoid tariffs by building the stuff in the USA. I think you'll find the skids well greased at this time for making it happen. Just avoid putting them in "blue states". CA and NY haven't been very "business friendly" lately... and with the latest robotics, GPU and discrete component production may ultimately cost LESS.

When you build things in China their tightly locked up supply system is leveraged upon you by a complex VAT structure that makes competing suppliers COST MORE. THEN you are "locked in" possibly with capital investment. And nothing stops them from cloning your designs for "china only" distribution. Taiwan is much better, and their engineers are competent, so THAT tariff structure will probably be worked out quickly.. But I understand Foxconn is building a USA foundry, etc. and that ends the tariff problem!

So only a short time from now tariffs won't matter much. You'll see. THIS has been the plan all along.

Trump wants to fire quarter of NASA budget into black hole – and not in a good way

Re: Whither MSR

Maybe we can land the first humans on Mars nearby, and just pick them up and bring them back on the return trip.

Re: What was .... *ponder* ...

The first few Artemis missions will be needed to pave the way for followup missions by the private sector. Artemis can go away afterwards. Elon's chopstick rocket catcher and matching "space truck" should be ready by then. That may be why Artemis goes away, being replaced by Starship 1 at lower cost.

And Bezos could get into the game, too. Amazon Lunar deliveries. Heh.

You KNOW the next steps may shift to military "Space Force" missions, separate from private sector RESEARCH and TOURISM missions.

Re: Make Aerospace Grotty Again

a) 'humans in space' is NOT "a vanity project"

b) Artemis' design is way too expensive and Elon is already proving the private sector CAN do it better

c) Climate change nonsense is NOT "useful science"

d) Boeing represents the OLD way of thinking with regards to NASA contracts

e) given opportunity, OTHERS can build rockets besides Elon. For some unknown reason, Bezos hasn't gotten people into orbit yet. But he COULD.

A private space station would not be limited by "international diversity" [i.e. one part run by USA, another by Russia, another by EU, etc.] but WOULD be open to all nations. Most likely it would use less expensive construction than "a government build", be more repairable, and modular enough to swap things out, and may also have some form of artificial gravity available. Most usefully it could be a refuelling station and cargo hub, like a modern day international airport, and possibly allow for construction in space.

Back when I was in the Navy, they spent YEARS working on the new officer's barracks at the Sub base, and had not even finished it when I left. But when McDonalds was given the go-ahead to build a restaurant, it went from bare dirt to serving burgers in 3-4 months. Imagine THAT!!! I think the private sector CAN do it better and it makes sense to DO SO *WITHOUT* "old style" COST OVERRUN-DRIVEN BUREAUCRATIC *FOREVER*-CONTRACTS - INCLUDING cost-inefficient development in-house BY NASA.

[if it were me I'd start a space construction and cargo company using robots and Falcon launches, focusing on easily swapped-out inflatable modules to build mini-stations that can be stuck together and/or reconfigured easily]

Trump admin freaks out over mere suggestion Amazon was going to show tariff impact on prices

Re: Not just the US

a few years back when the CCP-China tariffs began, Digikey posted the tariff impact on components. Since I was procuring parts for a new product, I went for the parts from Taiwan (and other places) with NO tariff [which became less expensive on the BOM] whenever I could. The boards were being made in the USA.

So THANKS Amazon, we really do NOT need to prop up the CCP-China regime that engages in IP theft, industrial espionage, "4th shift" copyright and patent violations, and underhanded business practices (like slave-wage labor and "dumping") to deliberately WIPE OUT the competition.

The State of Open Source in 2025? Honestly, it's a mess but you knew that already

JUST keep it 'up to date' and working

I prefer things that way - just keep it up to date and working. Several projects (like gimp and audacity) THANKFULLY do this!

NO NEED to RUIN IT like they did with GNOME and FIREFOX's basic UI appearance and functionality... (you know, the 2D FLATTY/FLATSO/FLATASS, hamburger menu, "phone on a desktop", and "Adwaita" vs "what it used to be" 3D skeuomorphic)

"UP"grading [to crappy "new,shiny" interfaces, etc.] is HIGHLY overrated. Right, Poettering? Right, Micros~1? RIGHT, Gnome 3 and KDE devs?

year of the Linux Desktop

Sadly without 100% compatibility with Micros~1 via Wine or similar, this seems less and less likely these days.

After all, people continue to put up with Winders 10 and now 11...

(If Wine could be easily sandboxed it might be more popular but I really don't want it polluting my Linux or BSD boxen)

Elon Musk's X revenues in the UK crashed in 2023, down 66%

Re: Still, there IS a chill8ing effect,,,

Do you have some specific examples to share?

[I support the rabbits by the way - heh]

Re: Still, there IS a chilling effect...

bomb threat, no (this is like th classic 'yelling FIRE in a crowded theater' argument). Calling a biological male "he", THAT is fine. ['he' after all is the universal inclusive pronoun]

If feelings are hurt (poor widdle babies), TOO BAD. And how many OTHER "FEELZ got hurt on social media" arrests have been made in UK ?

For some specifically GROSS examples of "online policing overreach", I did a GROK analysis.

Re: In defence of B-Bob

uh, defense of what, exactly...?

Re: Still, there IS a chill8ing effect,,,

"misgendering" arrests - THAT is the kind of thing I'm referring to (thank you for mentioning it)

Still, there IS a chill8ing effect,,,

Still, there IS a chilling effect on posting to social media and, in particular, free speech itself, when people can ACTUALLY BE ARRESTED for making a social media post!

The one interview question that will protect you from North Korean fake workers

Re: You could do the same if you wanted to screen out MAGA crazies

Using that same logic I figure it's ok to round-file any CV/resume with pronouns on it

Re: How fat is Kim Jong Un?

[see if the interviewee laughs at these]

Kim Jong Un is *SO* fat...

* he needs both hands and an electric urethra detector in order to pee

* You can tie his moobs into a windsor knot

* his inflatable sneakers need an additional 42psi

* He gets pulled over at weigh stations along the highway

* The gravitational pull of the moon is tidal locked to him

* Getting too close to him causes time dilation

* Slapping his ass causes aftershocks

* Insects get lost for weeks in his butt crack

* Every chair he owns is the width of a 'love seat'

* whenever they drive him around, the car has to have double springs on the side he rides in

* He makes Eric Cartman look anorexic

* Livery stable horses run away in fear

* Laughing Buddha statues call him "fatso"

[and I haven't even started on his HAIRCUT!]

Tesla's Optimus can't roll without rare earth magnets, and Beijing ain't budging yet

Re: Oh the irony...

this is just the beginning, by the way...

https://korhogominerals.com/where-is-neodymium-found-in-the-us/

Mostly just need to get/keep Cali-Fornicate-You bureaucrats out of the way under a Federal Emergency declaration so they can't STALL IT for 30+ years...

Re: Oh the irony...

DOGE is probably making DOMESTIC sources of rare earths easier to mine, by eliminating the multiple layers of CRAPPY RED TAPE that has kep mining uinterests at bay for OVER 20 YEARS! [I posted a link in another response, HERE IT IS again]

Re: What will China want in return?

To **HELL** with CCP China!!!

U.S. Dept of Interior is currently HYPER-FOCUSED on green-lighting DOMESTIC sources for all of that.

CCP will see PLENTY of BATTLE DROIDS (OURS, not theirs) in the near-enough future, made 100% in the USA.

And we won't let the CCP STEAL the I.P. on them, either!!! Good luck actually INVENTING THINGS under COMMUNIST OPPRESSION!

[if the CCP tries to control/manipulate US, they'll **LOSE** **EVERYTHING** from their #1 market - enjoy your economic depression, CCP!]

IBM dragged down by DOGE contract cancellation roulette

contract terminations

I've been following DOGE activity, more or less, and it often consists of finding an excess number of software licences, or renewable licenses for software not being used.

So, it "goes byby". Good riddance to the tune of $BILLIONS.

IBM is no longer on the "brother-in-law" list, it seems...

Microsoft mystery folder fix might need a fix of its own

Re: Quality control - yes we’ve heard of it

yes, but MONEY is only a means by which they achieve the REAL goal... (see icon)

America's cyber defenses are being dismantled from the inside

Re: Surely

I see TDS FUD.

How to stay on Windows 10 instead of installing Linux

Re: Same here :)

I'm still waiting for a version of Wine running on Linux that will give me sufficient compatibility to run Intuit tax software and (older) accounting software, in a VM, running on FreeBSD.

I currently use 10 (64-bit) in a VM for tax software. And I'm sure NEXT YEAR it'll require 11. Bastards...

I'd rather use Wine+Linux, but if i have to, I'll get the cheapest hunk of China-made CRAP-x64 that runs, and turn it on a few times a year for taxes (or "test it in 11") until I can't.

[For everything else I can use 7, a 10 VM, and either FreeBSD or Linux - and to HELL with MS Logons and "The Store" TIFKAM "CRapps"]

Re: I may be old and set in my ways ...

I may be one of those who would just lob £50 at Microsoft to buy those security upgrades that are being developed anyway for LTSC releases for the next few years ... no cost to MS, all profit.

To Micros~1 it's NOT about the money, it's about the *CONTROL*...

Re: "using modified Windows builds may breach Microsoft's terms of service"

or to rapidly and repeatedly switch between them

Re: "using modified Windows builds may breach Microsoft's terms of service"

42 upvotes - do I get a prize for being the 42'nd?

It's fun making Studio Ghibli-style images with ChatGPT – but intellectual property is no laughing matter

Re: EFF shows it lacks the historical context of copyright.

how do you legitimately copyright a STYLE?

If it were music, any band playing a remotely similar-styled song as another band would be responsible for royalty payments... which is RIDICULOUS

Americans set to pay more on all imports: Trump activates blanket tariffs

of course the common sense post gets a tremendous number of downvotes...

[UP-vote from me]

To avoid disaster-recovery disasters, learn from Reg readers' experiences

Re: And theres

Murphy's Law applies with users' backup "solutions"

Yet in the world of computers and IT, Murphy was an OPTIMIST

Windows 11 roadmap great for knowing what's coming next week. Not so good for next year

maybe a "wine only" install of Linux might work for ya? [I still need to try that, earlier observations were that Wine + Linux-things may not be a good idea, as Wine seems to want to "take over" too much - need to see how it has evolved since then]

Re: CLIFF!!!

"satnav" - so bad it's BRILLIANT!

here's your icon

Rockin' on without Micros~1

It was for Ernie Ball 20 years ago...

https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/rockin-on-without-microsoft/

Re: Stay on win 10.

I still need winders for software development and for Tax software (especially business corporation taxes). I hope I can get the tax software to work in Wine. If not, next Feb or so I'll probably have to buy some el cheapo pile o' crap Win 11 "Home" box for under $200 and wire it up to my KVM...

As for software dev I use 7 and write in C++ for MFC with ZERO shared lib dependencies [all static linking] *ESPECIALLY* NO Dot-NOT! Still does everything anyone needs!

use Wine instead?

I need to seriously test a new "special VM" that runs a Wine-only installation o some bleeding edge Linux distro, like Mint. If I'm right, it's close to the point of full compatibility, or at least I'd HOPE so...

manage change for your estate

Article: Microsoft reckons there is a "need for more transparency around what's shipping and when so that you can manage change for your estate."

Change is NOT always for the better. Change (esp for the SAKE of change) is HIGHLY overrated.

“Have you no idea of progress, of development?"

"I have seen them both in an egg," said Caspian. "We call it 'Going Bad' in Narnia”

C.S. Lewis, 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader '

Congress takes another swing at Uncle Sam's software licensing mess

Re: wandel ! ! ! ! ! machin vecchi

not even good satire...

DOGE is the one FINDING this!

Most of this was uncovered by DOGE in the first place, over the last month or so. El Reg needs to have more X presence, where the bleeding edge of all o' this is being revealed and discussed. But I haven't seen any ElReg X posts since early February! Politicians are slow on the uptake, can't rely on THEM...

I have recommended multiple times to everyone I can send it to in gummint, DOGE, etc. to USE OPEN SOURCE!! That includes, of course, Linux and BSD's. See icon.

From article: according to the NetChoice study, the government spent $112 million more on Microsoft Office than it would've spent on Google Workspace to avoid the perceived costs of switching. We note that Google is a NetChoice member, while Microsoft is not, so you may want to take that study with a grain of salt.

And, like I sorta mentioned previously, Open Source (like Libre Office) would save even MORE MONEY!!! To HELL with Google and Micros~1!!!