* Posts by bombastic bob

10507 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015

The shelves may be empty, but the disk is full: Not even Linux can resist the bork at times

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Interpretation

this is actually distro-dependent but is reminiscent of a typical SysV init. I normally disabled the session managers and booted to console by altering the S01gdm to be a K01gdm in the most common run level (2 I think, on debian-based systems) and using startx. I like startx and console logins. They give the USER more control.

if you do 'man init' on your older SysV system, you'll get a breakdown of how it was set up by the distro-maker.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Interpretation

even on very old systems, logs tend to rotate. you keep the last 10 or something...

Now, if there's some application that keeps creating temp files that are never deleted, someone forgot to enable "clear out /tmp and /var/tmp on boot" which is a simple fix, but I suspect it's not that.

Most likely just an old system with failing hardware. SD cards and hard drives don't last forever. Let's say 10 years of continuous use... that'd be about right I think, to kill off an early solid state drive... or just your average hard drive.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: This can't be Linux

yeah I wish that were true, but probably - since it's using LILO - it's a very very very old distro with a pile of uptime, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the SD card storage [assuming it uses that] or maybe hard disk [if it uses that] has enough bad sectors by now to create problems like this...

meanwhile the occasional fsck may have corrected things up until now, until drive-cancer is larger than free space, and, well, there she blows!!!

/me replaced hard drives recently on 2 different FreeBSD systems because ZFS warned me of their impending doom... and so got new brain-storage, a few months apart, the same 2TB drive that was going for for around $70

AND, I might add, I'd much rather re-build a Linux or FreeBSD system from scratch onto a new hard drive (or restore via a file-by-file tarball backup) than to replace an ailing hard drive from a Windows box... [hello MS? I need an activation code. No, I'm NOT running Windows 10. I have XP. Oh, you can't give me a code any more? What the HELL??? It's an OLD system and it came WITH XP on it... but you don't care? Thanks a LOT, Slurp!]

Taiwan collars coronavirus quarantine scofflaws with smartphone geo-fences. So, which nation will be next?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: Which is more important, Privacy or Death?

*PRIVACY* and *FREEDOM* are *THE* *MOST* *IMPORTANT*!

Why do you even ASK that?

I'd rather *DIE* *FREE* than *LIVE* *AS* *A* *PRISONER*!

using personal devices to DOG COLLAR people - THAT! IS! INSANE!!!

(at least those ankle bracelets that home-confined prisoners wear are *DESERVED* and an *ALTERNATIVE* to a *REAL* *LOCKUP* - "locking up" people who are sick is *JUST* *PLAIN* *WRONG* and is what *COMMUNISTS* and *EVIL* *DICTATORS* do!!!))

Freed from the office, home workers roam sunlit uplands of IPv6... 2 metres apart

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Colour me disappointed...

it must be their ISP. Though for some odd reason, in the past, I've had problems with IPv6 connectivity via their cloud content provider, something about not honoring MTUs during https/SSL key exchange (or something like that). Well, maybe that's fixed now, haven't seen that pop up its ugly head in a while (ALSO not El Reg's fault).

It might actually explain the entire problem, depending on how you look at things.

It's 2020 and hackers are still hijacking Windows PCs by exploiting font parser security holes. No patch, either

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Aaaaaah, yes. Another security hole in Windows.

"Microsoft says it's C++'s fault."

Blame the COMPILER and LIBRARY author!!! No, wait...

So what fix will we do in "older windows"? My guess: don't view documents with MS office products... ESPECIALLY not documents with embedded fonts!!!

(I'll want to know what effect it has with Libre Office)

Forget about those pesky closures, Windows 10 has an important message for you

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Windows is not for anyone

" They would be better to use Linux for such a task."

YES!

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

Re: "not giving Windows 10 enough headroom"

"If you don't want to wait, you can always run disk-cleanup manually"

how is this going to work well on a system that's in a kiosk?

*crickets*

and THAT is my point!!!

"maintaining windows" is *NOT* my number one priority if I sell furniture...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Not really their fault

I easily fit a Linux image in 16Gb on a micro SD card with more than enough room to spare, with chromium, a web server, custom daemons, and short instructional videos, yotta yotta yotta, operating in 'kiosk mode' on a Raspberry Pi. Set it up properly [and config the browser to only check for updates after 1000 years have passed] and you're all set! Well, you DO have to code it properly...

[and if you're worried about the GPL, you can try FreeBSD instead]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: "not giving Windows 10 enough headroom"

"Just how much is enough ?"

'all of it' plus 10% ?

early on I noticed that Win-10-nic does NOT clean up after itself when it "up"dates/grades. And so you can expect it to grow like *THE BLOB*

"Beware of The Blob it creeps, and leaps, and glides, and slides across the floor..." [Burt Bacharach, 1959 I think - theme song for the movie of the same name - "The Blob"]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: The long, dark teatime of the next few months

"There wasn't even any tea in the supermarket the other day. Or milk."

I'm sure there were plenty of HOARDERS there to prevent anyone ELSE from having any before THEY get to it... (with nothing better to do than create shortages for EVERYONE ELSE).

as for Win-10-nic on a kiosk - it's like a self-inflicted wound.

got, Linux?

Linus Torvalds ponders: Is Linux 5.6 going well because it's bug-free, or thanks to that other bug?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

shift Linux 5.6 out the door.

I nearly mis-read that. Had to look again. It's 4:47 AM here...

Tech won't save you from lockdown disaster: How to manage family and free time while working from home

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coffee/keyboard

Re: Add to the singing ban

"when I designed a JarJarBinks meets Yoda costume celebrating the glory of Rule 34."

OW - you broke my brain with that image. Well, it was already broken...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Add to the singing ban

bagpipes are much preferred to 70's disco "music",... ESPECIALLY the Bee Gees.

(I wish I could brain bleach the disco crap from the 70's out of my memory - ~shudder~)

[I am suddenly reminded of a "banjo mute" - the best ones look like LARGE HAMMERS]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Add to the singing ban

I find that leaving a radio on [when you don't have to be on a phone, etc.] helps me get work done. Usually it's conservative talk radio in the AM and music in the afternoon. I have an icecast server that randomly plays songs I've ripped on to my hard drive or I can set up a playlist easily enough, and an "internet radio" that can "tune into" my private icecast server, or any of a number of streaming radio stations for that matter.

Seriously it's a cool thing, doing the work-from-home with the radio on.

But... advice from someone who has done this a LONG time - do NOT TURN ON THE TELEVISION! TV is an attention whore and will RUIN your productivity.

It's time to track people's smartphones to ensure they self-isolate during this global pandemic, says WHO boffin

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

solution: PRIVATIZE MEDICINE!!!

(no I'm not trolling, I'm serious)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

I've worked on site a few times with people who'd recently been to China last December. One guy came back with a bad cold. who knows, it could have been Corona, but I don't know of anyone who's tested positive for the virus. I'm fine, he's fine, they're all fine, it was weeks ago, and for all I know we all caught it, and got over it. Or not. Can't say, because symptoms are often so mild you don't know you have it, or think it's just the passing flu crap (as usual), which I've had off and on for several weeks like every year. (hot showers, staying warm, spicy food, mentholatum up my nose, and liquor all seem to help).

And I might add, DON"T PANIC. No need or tracking people. That's just WRONG.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Megaphone

accuracy could be improved, disease state measured better, etc. - that is true, but also there is a general lack of accuracy on the INFECTION rate, which can only be confirmed via accurate testing. Since "accurate testing" is expensive, it only makes sense to test people who are at risk and who have related symptoms. Asymptomatic people really don't need to be tested, as long as they are aware that they could spread disease, so they should behave "courteously" and do reasonable precautions, not sneeze on people, and so on.

It's up to indiv9duals, and NOT "Big Nanny". Treat people as if they are intelligent, and it's a fair bet they'll act like they're intelligent. We don't need a "Big Nanny" to think and control FOR us.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

Re: But I don't have a so-called "smart" phone.

it can only be tracked when it is ON. There's this thing called 'voice mail'. It generally works well when you do things like drive, etc. and leave the phone OFF (which you should do while driving, regardless). Then the phone is STILL good for use in emergencies, and you can listen to incoming messages when you get back home {or arrive at your destination, as needed).

besides, it's NOBODY'S BUSINESS where you are, except YOURS. "Big Nanny" can KISS my HAIRY FREEDOM LOVING ASS!

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

Re: But I don't have a so-called "smart" phone.

"It's time to track people's smartphones"

that's a reason NOT to have a so-called "smart" phone. And I leave my dumb-phone OFF unless I need to call someone [for an emergency, most likely, the only reason to have one on me as I see it].

If I want to know where I am, I'll read a map, thanks... (and I can print directions to wherever before I leave).

I need a *finger* icon with the caption "TRACK THIS!"

Surge in home working highlights Microsoft licensing issue: If you are not on subscription, working remotely is a premium feature

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Home PC accessing the corporate network? Hell no!

open listening ports for RDP or VNC are a _BAD_ idea, encrypted or otherwise.

best to use an end-end enrypted VPN, and all access to the corporate network (including remote desktops) is through THAT alone. With some creative firewalling, you could prevent normal network access via the VPN, and only allow the remote desktop-ing.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: Appropriate it's about virii...

here, have another

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Working from home guide

tightVNC lacks proper support, last I checked.

Tiger VNC was forked from it. [that's what I've been using]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Open source never looked better

My customers who are on 95% open source setups [snip] are in a very much better situation today than those who have stuck with a 100% MS setup

awesome!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: The most simple way is not mentioned here?

RDP is interesting, if it's supported [it's likely a smaller business has HOME versions of windows, which don't allow remote-in].

There is a VERY SIMPLE solution, however:

a) VPN login to corporate network

b) VNC server running on the desktop [you'll need to log in first and leave it logged in, turn off those annoying lock screens, etc.]

BUT... if you run Linux or another POSIX operating system chances are you have OTHER things available, too, like ssh, "remote desktop" via the DISPLAY environment variable, and so on.

VNC is probably the easiest (so long as you don't lose the login on the desktop)

and when it comes to outright performance, remote X11 desktops are probably as good as (or maybe even better) than RDP...

[I do not know if there's an open source RDP server out there for windows, but there MIGHT be one for POSIX systems...)

It's also possible, on a POSIX system, to use something like 'Tiger VNC' to operate on its very own desktop. I do this a LOT to test X11 applicaitons. Run vncviewer on the main desktop, run the test applications on the tigervnc's X server with a different desktop (usually loalhost:1). There's really no reason you cannot have that secondary desktop running on a network-visible IP address, and then you just need to be able to VPN into the corporate network to access it.

Finally – news that something is guaranteed to be healthy and well looked-after for the next six months. That something is Windows 10 1709

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Death of WaaS

Bloat-as-a-(dis)Service

good name for it!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: GRRRRRRR

Remove all profiles you dont need

does that SPECIFICALLY include profiles that do NOT have a "microsoft logon" - would THAT be the trigger, by any chance?

Having extra profiles is something I always do. I typically have at least 2 profiles on ANY system, even a VM. And more as required by the circumstances, ones that are never used except for that specific purpose requiring them (like maybe one WITH a cloudy login on a Win-10-nic test VM, for only those things needing it, to test things maybe).

So yeah at least 2 users, ALWAYS, one admin, one deliberately NOT admin. And then a bunch of others, as needed.

And MS updates had trouble with systems set up like THIS, right?? I'm sure I'm not the ONLY one being this cautious about personal privacy and data/system protection, ya know...

I know MS has gone nutzie coo-coo with the admin-level thing again, for "the Store" and the 'Microsoft Cloudy Logon' in general. Those who fell for their scam, you have at least a fraction of my pity.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: GRRRRRRR

Good luck Bill finding a cure for malaria

I heard there already WAS at least a treatment for it... something that ALSO appears to work on Corona virus. Some MD in France found it as I recall. Being tested in several places now, with lots of optimism. That happened without Bill's involvement [I think that particular medicine was invented in the 1940's].

Just think - if Bill G. had actually CURED malaria, we might not have discovered this particular drug that treats malaria... because [if i have my info correct] the people being treated with this medication (maybe as a prophylactic?) were apparently NOT getting corona virus, and that's (apparently) what tipped off the researchers!

something to consider...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Libre Office works for me... (and reads/writes docs compatible with O-365)

haven't seen any OS restrictions with it, either. [guess which OS _I_ run it on??]

If they're forcing you into "the latest Win-10-nic" to use O-365, it _SHOULD_ be a "deal breaker" and you THEN switch to some OTHER office... (and then, 'welcome aboard' frustrated customer!)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

we have better things to do with our lives than upgrade Windows

not just RIGHT NOW, but *THE* *REST* *OF* *THE* *TIME* *TOO* !!!

(why does nobody at Micro-shaft seem to CARE???)

Data centres are warm and designed to move air very efficiently. Are they safe to visit during the pandemic?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: 70% iso + 30% water? that's 49% alcohol, too low

the drinking alcohol is NOT for your hands... you're supposed to DRINK it, so that the alcohol in your LUNGS is an "uncomfortable environment" for the bugs to grow in!!!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Warmer the better

yeah that's what I'e heard, too - warm and moist.

server rooms, when air conditioned, tend to be cool and dry...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: All the biometrics are annoying though

I prefer the RFID badges since you can put it in a pocket inside your briefcase, never touch the badge, never touch the reader, just hold your briefcase up to it with the badge-pocket nearest to the reader

(when I have to work on site at a company that uses badges like that, anyway)

yeah biometric entry systems become a vector for disease spread. who'd a thunk it?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: "viruses don’t like the low humidity"

also if there are electrostatic precipitator air filters or just plain ionizers it should help a LOT. High voltage electricity, etc.

Seriously ANY place with this kind of filtration system should be good.

(my home air filters are old and wearing/worn out - I should get some new ones)

I was hearing earlier that warmer weather helps to kill of the viruses, and that LOW humidity is easier for them to live in. Conflicting information then...

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, surely has no frozen water, right? Guess again: Solar winds form ice

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: So there is ice and fog in Mercury?

I would expect there to be a lot of heavier elements on Mercury, too - rare earths and gold and platinum and uranium and other such things, in higher concentrations than Earth. Proximity to the sun - outer planets are less rocky, inner planets more rocky. I expect the "rockiest" one to be Mercury.

The nights are long - you could land on the dark side and conduct mining operations during the night, when it's cold instead of roasting [easier to heat people and things than to cool them]. And apparently there'd be water there as well [like on the moon I guess].

I think the planet mercury in Japanese is 'Suisei' - 'liquid star', best understanding. So the Sailor Mercury reference to water, etc..

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: When hell

"You've frozen EVERYTHING! Do you have any idea how long it takes to get the pilot lit?"

(from an Animaniacs cartoon - they went to hell, yeah - and froze it over)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coat

"Making Water"

couldn't help myself...

/me gives thumbs-up for interesting article on the way out - coat, please

Looming ventilator shortage amid pandemic sparks rise of open-source DIY medical kit. Good thinking – but safe?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: It's not just the mechanicals that are needed

a positive pressure air system ventilator that's kitbashed together, and works acceptably, can help a less serious case and can be the difference between recovering at home and ending up in hospital.

I like your thinking. It's also LESS STRESSFUL TO THE PATIENT if you don't have to paralyze parts of his body to keep him alive, ya know??? And if I am paying for it myself [which I would be], I'd want the less expensive, less biologically stressful, 'does not require a hospital bed' version, thankyouverymuch [assuming it would be sufficient]. After all, who needs a BMW when a Ford will do [and the Ford is afFORDable - ha ha bad PUNishment].

There used to be these things called "iron lungs". They worked.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Apollo 13 anyone?

not so much a joke really. It's amazing what a hackish mind and some "odd stuff laying around" can make happen.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Do not let perfect be the enemy of good.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: When you have nothing...

"stop anyone suing the health service should they feel"

Corona virus as a motivator for TORT REFORM? Sounds good to me!

(yeah that whole "*FEEL*" thing causes SO many problems...)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Hospitals _will_ be overwhelmed.

"OK Doomer" /snark

Seriously though there's too much FEAR going on out there. Sure, hospitals will need ventilators for some of their patients, and the potential for overwhelming hospitals DOES exist. The thing is, only the _sickest_ patients are initially going in for treatment, which skews the numbers quite a bit. It causes an inaccurate picture of the situation which THEN prompts "the doomers" and "the panickers" to do what they do.

I would expect that within the next month you'll see a significant drop in the number of new cases for various reasons, just like has been the case in China already.

All that needs to happen is a _slowing_ _down_ of the spread, and some preparation [i.e. having the equipment available at the hospitals]. Older ventilators may not have all of the same features, but apparently they were good enough "back then" to help out. So yeah, you use what you have.

"DON'T PANIC!" <-- like it says in the Hitchhiker's Guide

Microsoft frees Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 from the shackles of, er, Windows?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Windows Subsystem for Linux 2

hopefully doesn't involve WAYLAND nor SYSTEMD, either...

(/me adds 'Devuan' and 'FreeBSD' to your list)

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

"an issue that could stop ActiveX content loading"

WHY in the HELL are they STILL SUPPORTING THIS?

WHY has it NOT been NUKED from HIGH ORBIT along with FLASH ???

(YES. STOP ActiveX CONTENT from LOADING - by STOPPING ActiveX !!!)

We checked in with the new Windows 10X build, and let's just say getting this ready for late 2020 will be a challenge

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Sounds terrible

"the result is always awful"

you are being KIND with that description...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Megaphone

Re: UWP

"Win32 apps just work"

and do NOT ridiculously LIMIT what you can do with YOUR application!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Please, no more.....

There are only THREE reasons why Linux desktops aren't generally replacing windows.

1. Software compatibility - WINE isn't quite ready for prime time.

2. the willingness for major commercial software houses to product Linux versions. Some do [like CAD software, databases], but most STILL do not.

3. Micro-shaft's past (evil) marketing practices, in which they strong-armed computer makers into pre-loading windows onto ALL of the computers they make. Yeah, a decade or so of THAT and even when they can't do it any MORE, they still benefit from having done it...

To reverse this, you have to do better than what IBM tried with OS/2. You have to put a LOT of money up against Micro-shaft's marketing engine.

Microshaft (in effect) sells CRAPPY ice to Eskimos, having convinced everyone that their ice is somehow better than the free stuff, when the OPPOSITE is actually true... (the power of 'marketing')

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

Re: Please, no more.....

Are you going to actually tell me that (almost) every man and his mother isn't wining about Windows 10's Tiles???

*NOT* 'whining'. Ranting. Lamenting. Venting. Complaining in the hopes that OTHERS will know, agree, and force it to go away. But Certainly Not 'Whining'.

Do you live in a society where going against what "big brother" wants to do TO you is somehow 'whining' ? Just curious... Because if you cannot get your grievances addressed somehow, the NEXT move is to "move on" (unless, by some quirk of fate or evil overlord take-over move, it's a MONOPOLY now and your at "the master's whims"). The whole BAD THING about Win-10-nic is centered on the FORCING of "CHANGE" upon the rest of us, becuase a small number of bureaucratially-minded Micro-shaft "engineers": *FEEL*...

And voicing our STRONG opposition to such "change" is _NOT_ 'whining'!!! (no matter how much you *FEEL* otherwise - and 'feel' to me is the 'F' word, and nearly always pejorative when I use it).

How's this for a JEDI mind trick? AWS waves hand, has Uncle Sam 'reconsider' $10bn contract award to Microsoft

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

overall savings... you DO have a point.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

"Job Security"

a cloud provider will no doubt work relentlessly to lock in any customer in a number of ways

Oracle has probably been doing this for YEARS with THEIR solutions...

and you've heard of "job security" with contractors, right?

What the Feds need to do is scope it out properly so that the risk of this is minimized, knowing it CAN (and probably WILL) happen if it is NOT in the contract.

Trump is a 'contract guy". I hope he and his people are involved enough in the process to address this very REAL concern.