* Posts by bombastic bob

10507 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015

Old-school cruel: Dodgy PDF email attachments enjoying a renaissance

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Procedures

on Linux or FreeBSD I use atril which is the default for Mate, I believe. On windows I go ahead and use evince since it has a windows version available.

I stopped using Adobe's PDF reader years ago, after seeing it bundled with a Windows 7 machine [rconditioned] and it TRIED TO INSIST THAT I PROVIDE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS just to view a PDF. I couldn't uninstall it fast enough...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Very lacking in specifics ...

I would guess that anything using an adobe plugin or a browser built-in viewer is susceptible.

I suspect that a save to disk folllowed by 'file open' from the PDF viewer application (let's say evince or atril) wouldn't pose a problem. However, double-click from an "explorer" type view might, depending (even after saving the file with the right extension). In particular, windows would look at the file type which could be a PE executable even with PDF file extension...

and it's a fair bet that non-windows systems aren't affected so much, right?

IBM Watson Health cuts back Drug Discovery 'artificial intelligence' after lackluster sales

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

Re: Peak AI?

you patented AI ???

bombastic bob Silver badge
WTF?

Re: IBM’s Health division has been crumbling for a while.

well even if it really WAS caused by internal competition and workplace drama., who'd want to work in THAT kind of environment?

Someone that creates internal competition and allows workplace drama needs to be FIRED INSTEAD.

Hands off Brock! EFF pleads with Google not to kill its Privacy Badger with its Manifest destiny

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: What a surprise

I would say that assuming they want to STOP privacy plugins is probably incorrect.

I think it's one of several scenarious:

a) Google does NOT understand why anybody might want to protect privacy online, so they haven't got a clue that when they change an API at the whim of the developers, it might break privacy-related plugins

b) The API is Google's, they can do what they want, to hell with everyone else, we're Google

c) One hand not knowing what the other is doing [more or less], hyperfocused development efforts, API change and crap rolls downhill, no clue as to how it affects anyone else, just do it

d) all of the above

Idiot admits destroying scores of college PCs using USB Killer gizmo, filming himself doing it

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: People are strange and as a stranger I would like to say...

it would've been funnier if he'd used a permanent ink marker and drawn moustaches

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: What a fucking idiot

revisionist history, because someone said it, must be true. who'd a thunk it?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coat

Re: Silly "victims"!

Silly 'victims', USB-killer-sticks are for SCRIPT KIDDIES! (it's a reference to a US-ian breakfast cereal commercial, yeah, featuring multi-colored sugar balls and a cartoon rabbit)

and an 80's song re-written for the occasion:

Like a Script-kiddie

hacking for the very first time!

Like a Script-ki-i-i-dee

(I'll get my own coat)

Canadian woman fined for not holding escalator handrail finally reaches the top after 10 years

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Bilingual

good one - I was thinking of that but you said it better

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Other escalator laws

well, perhaps a stuffed dog. an enterprising business savvy individual could rent them at one side of the escalator, allowing passengers to carry a dog, then collect the stuffed dog at the end of the ride.

At $1 each, WAY less than the potential fine, you'd make a ton o' money. Not only that, it's kinda like renting snow chains that way... "chains required" on the sign, next to the sign, a group of people renting snow chains so you can proceed. Perfect!

We've read the Mueller report. Here's what you need to know: ██ ██ ███ ███████ █████ ███ ██ █████ ████████ █████

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

facepalm

seriously

China Mobile, you can kiss good Pai to America: FCC to ban 'spy risk' telco from US

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: Botnets, spies, and spammers

ack.

From the article: The company [Huawei] is owned by the Chinese government

and

Chinese companies are perhaps ahead of their American counterparts when it comes to 5G carrier equipment, and are able to produce their gear at a lower cost.

Because of 'slave labor' [essentially], working for government owned businesses [essentially], and by STEALING TRADE SECRETS FROM THE USA [not by actually INNOVATING]. Using iPhone dollars to purchase companies [or university research programs], and THEN ship all of the trade secrets over to Huawei, is NOT competition; it is PREDATORY.

And this is why China Telecom needs to stay out of the U.S. Market, and possibly Huawei equipment as well.

In a way it *might* be called protectionist, just like putting a stop to 'dumping' and other UNFAIR trade and business practices that were made illegal ~100 years ago in the USA.

Why should we JUST ALLOW the communist Chinese government to, effectively, TAKE OVER our telecommunications? I say we should NOT!

Otherwise, it's like doing the "bend 'em and spread 'em" voluntarily. And what, you did not say THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER afterwards??? Oh, how RUDE!

Microsoft debuts Bosque – a new programming language with no loops, inspired by TypeScript

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

the worst of all worlds...

"Presently, Bosque relies on an interpreter written in TypeScript, run on Node.js"

Doesn't that pretty much say it all? (I hear a loud 'Eeewwww')

How long before Micro-shaft starts CRAMMING it at us like:

a) Windows 10 and "the Store"

b) ".Net"

c) C-pound

d) Silverlight

e) 'the Metro' and UWP (in general)

f) A DevStudio that requires EXCESSIVE mousie-clickie in a "property sheet" instead of the old-style tabbed dialog boxen (with easiy discovered hot keys) that you used to see in the dialog editor and class wizard of earlier VC++ IDEs...

etc.

And how is this better than Python for doing that sort of thing?

And what's wrong with a loop?

and don't EVEN get me started about un-typed data storage and garbage collection... which from what I can tell, seem to be unspoken 'features'.

Why Qualcomm won – and why Tim Cook had to eat humble Apple pie

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Sad

why sad? It could be worse... it could be Huawei [and if they play their sueballs right, it could spell a LOT of trouble for Q and Apple as well].

I saw no mention of the Huawei+FTC lawsuit regarding Qualcomm. There was an El Reg article a while back...

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/01/08/qualcomm_in_antitrust_epic/

yeah let's keep 5G tech controlled within the "5 Eyes". Just because.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

Starz, meet the Streisand Effect. Cable telly giant apologizes for demented DMCA Twitter takedown spree

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: You all can screech all you like

how about "realize that Starz is a complete waste of time" and just IGNORE them... (after making fun of just how LAME they really are)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: American Gods

"Flog that dead horse. Flog it some more."

And then it becomes an UNDEAD series about zombie horses. or whatever.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Tell it to the lawyers

better still - force them to have a paper trail in any "takedown" process [subject to audits], an appeals process (along with notifications), and to make backups of everything they wipe out... and public apologies whenever THEY ARE WRONG.

the administrative and compliance costs ALONE would be a thorn in their side for DECADES...

/me thinks of a 'Tw[a,i]tter Appellate Court" and "lawyers" paid in bitcoin...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

"What's this Streisand thing?"

Other than 'Barbara Streisand' has the initials 'B.S.' and was one of the early hollywood SJW types lampooned by talk radio?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

hahaha - good one!

yeah when I saw 'Starz' and 'Twitter' in the article description, I expected it to be snark-worthy, sorta like watching a pair of gumbies in a Monty Python sketch [operate, operate!]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Your DMCA privileges have been revoked...

just stop using Tw[i,a]tter maybe?

IRC and USENET still exist...

US: We'll pull security co-operation if you lot buy from Huawei

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

"US tech world has suffered from many years of cutting costs, cutting staff and cutting R&D and sending jobs offshore so the capitalists can make more profit business can stay afloat, because of HIGH CORPORATE TAXES and overseas competition"

Fixed it for ya. Nobody should buy into the class envy and "99%-er" nonsense, EVAR. It's a big fat lie, fake news.

This is why Trump got Congress to lower tax rates for corporations, because THAT was the reason for downsizing and offshoring (etc.), and _NOT_ "corporate greed" [as evidenced by the current economy].

However, the greediest (the REAL "1%"-ers) all seem to be ON THE LEFT, because whenever THE LEFT runs things [and raise taxes on those trying to BECOME the rich], it stifles the economy for the "99%" _AND_ makes the "1%" EVEN RICHER, at EVERYONE ELSE's expense!!!

And yet, if they're big 'liberal cause' donors, "the left" will LOVE them, regardless of whether or not they represent the REAL "1%". And the end result, the divide between rich and poor WIDENS, because of the *kinds* of liberal policies they use their money to promote. You SHOULD be angry about it. I am.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Re: Bully

no. just no.

Seriously, there's this "5 I" agreement that I have become aware of, in which the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have agreed full cooperation on intelligence matters, and "not to spy on one another".

It seems reasonable (to me) to ALSO exclude 'non member state' equipment when it comes to intelligence matters. It's the general idea (well established) that malware specifically targeted for espionage could be introduced into equipment supported by a foreign manufacturer.

It also suggests that open source firmware on a compatible platform might be the ultimate solution to prevent espionage...

The biggest concern with Huawei is them seeking to dominate 5G, even going so far as to SUE QUALCOMM, and the FTC _ENABLING_ them!!! [in some circles, this is called CHUTZPAH]. Some people view this the same way that the space race was seen, having Russia (in the late 1950's) dominating space would be a _BAD_ thing for the world. Similarly, having China dominate 5G is _ALSO_ a bad thing for the world. If you doubt me, look what they're doing with "the great firewall" and their 'social credit' scoring system. Yeah. "You cannot get a job unless you have a good citizen social credit score'. Seen THAT coming. ONLY "approved" PEOPLE GET TO WORK! [could this be 'the mark of the beast' that so many people fear?]

Russian parliament waves through powers for internet iron curtain

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

"more and more worried about the draconian control that states are trying to exert over the Internet these days"

It is the nature of humans to want to live free. It is the nature of gummints to want to stop that...

This is because the most vile and corrupt people tend to get involved in gummint in order to MAKE THEMSELVES MORE POWERFUL, or to deal with "fear" issues that motivate them to CONTROL OTHERS.

In either case, without some kind of 'push back', communism will return to Russia (and infect the entire world), because, it is the nature of a large number of people in government to WANT TO DO THIS TO US, and for a few very wealthy elitists to ENABLE them.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: The rest of the world should help them out

Maybe just some extra (free) VPN services would do (like Tor maybe?).

When politicians overwhelming pass legislation to give themselves EVEN MORE power, you gotta watch out...

Maybe we can find a way to help Russian Libertarians that are standing up for individual rights, free speech, and privacy... and let them fix it from within?

They live: The US government is not killing its zombie servers fast enough say its auditors

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: """Federal Data Centers"""

this sounds like the need of an 'OpenStack' cloud provider, particularly if it's replicated in different locations, for the entire ".gov" (except military, intelligence, and DOJ + law enforcement, who should have their own 'even more secure' systems, based on a similar concept).

But leave to gummint to muck things up, add 'governmentium' to increase its cost and mass, and find a way to grease the pockets of specific civilian contractors who are politically favored at the moment...

post-note: having the military maintain the servers is a good idea. Air Force or Army, most likely. And that nuke-proof compound in the Colorado mountains would be a good place for one of them, with backups etc. stored there as well.

User secures floppies to a filing cabinet with a magnet, but at least they backed up daily... right?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Two true stories

most likely a crane magnet would be AC, not DC, and so would act like a degaussing coil. Then again I've never seen one. I'm simply speculating based on equipment expense for DC vs AC.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Two true stories

actually degausing coils (being AC) are like rubbing the magnet around. But they have to be strong enough to do the job...

it's all about hysteresis of the particles in the oxide layer. Must overcome that, and then the AC (or moving magnet) will scramble them. static field, not so much.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Magnets!

I posted earlier about how using a magnet on magnetic media might cause read errors, but it does not properly erase it unless the magnet actually contacts the medium and is moved around...

(so you'd have to slide the entire length of tape along the magnet, basically)

To properly erase something you'd need a bulk tape eraser or similar which would use an AC magnetic field to scramble things up, basically a degaussing coil.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Two true stories

as for a true story...

During the Win '95 beta [as I recall], I had an application that would format diskettes using a low level format. However, I noticed that using the disk format command only did a VERIFY format, and that my application wasn't low-level formatting through windows (I'm trying to recall details from >20 years ago here), I think the problem was that Win '9x was intercepting the calls and translating them. If the disk had NEVER been formatted, the problem showed up as an inability to format the disk (because it wouldn't low-level format, even when you told it to), and I was trying to work with MS engineers to replicate it so they could fix it. This program worked perfectly with windows 3.1 . (see I _USED_ to _LIKE_ Microsoft and windows!)

I was told that at Microsoft, they were using a large magnet to erase diskettes, essentially drop them into a box between the poles, and they used such 'erased' disks in their tests. But that really wasn't good enough. What I did to erase a diskette was more direct: use the smooth-faced magnet on the back-end of a geek-tweeker screwdriver and carefully rub it against both sides of the exposed oxide surface on a diskette. As it turns out, my erase method was the ONLY way they could successfully replicate (and solve) the problem. Buying "truly blank" diskettes was difficult - they were ALL pre-formatted.

This says a lot about diskettes though... (at least the 3.5" version)

a) a strong magnet isn't enough to erase them unless it's in physcal contact with the disk

b) even then, you have to deliberately move it around to successfully erase the entire thing

c) read errors may still crop up with strong magnetic field exposure, but it's not enough to fully erase the thing.

So all of those old diskettes, if you want them properly erased, you'll probably have to SHRED them, because a format that is NOT a low level format will leave old data behind, and using a magnet may not actually erase the thing.

Astronomer slams sexists trying to tear down black hole researcher's rep

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

"If she was ALSO the team lead, what kinda muppet moron* would expect her to write a majority of the code?"

You make a good point: the best managers hardly seem to work at all. And yet, without them 'being there', things never go right...

There are 3 basic management styles [ok others exist and there are variations between, but this is an illustration]:

1. The delegator: This manager does very little of the work himself. His #2 guy is probably one of the busiest people, and does must of the low-level detail kinds of management. Delegators step back to see the big picture, and solve those problems that 'big picture' people need to solve. There will typically be a hierarchy underneath, with delegated authority at each level, even if it's an informal one. Working for this manager is typically good, as long as you don't mind a good level of accountability. But it will usually be clear as to what you're accountable for, and to what extent.

2. The authoritarian: This person tends to micro-manage everything, getting into the detail, even doing the work himself. Working for someone like this can sometimes be good, as one person 'uber alles' might actually get things done faster. But it seems that most of the time its's like working for a dictator who hasn't got a clue. Authoritarians will try and punish people into compliance, EVERYONE staying late until things are done, yelling at people in meetings, breathing down your neck while you complete some bottleneck task until it's done, and so on.

3. The affiliator: This person is everyone's friend, wants to get along, wants to make everyone happy, doesn't want to upset the apple cart, doesn't want anyone quitting or have to fire anyone. Although with competent people working for him, his projects may be successful, usually it's a dismal failure in which the manager gets called on the carpet for being ineffective. His people, however, LOVE working for this guy, because there's no real accountability, and he takes all the heat.

So after "all that", if the project manager or 'team leader' only writes a small amount of code, even THAT might be "too much". In my case, the best "let's get it done" session with me at the helm involved asking the guy most familiar with the code "where's the part that does this", letting hm find it, taking a look and offering suggestions and "let's try this" to fix it, get feedback, etc. and let him do the editing. Project got back on track, too. It just needed some steering, that's all.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: ? ? ?

yeah, UNmoderated is usually better, leaving filtering and killfiles up to the consumer. USENET is a good example. I can understand why El Reg moderates their stuff, though. <suckup>they seem to be doing an excellent job</suckup>. It's because not everyone that they want participating has a thick skin and can just roll off the punches, then dare everyone to do it again. heh.

Long ago I read someplace how many people on 'teh intarwebs' couldn't get away with saying the things they do to/about other people IRL to their faces. So they do it online, with anonymity.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Megaphone

Re: From His Twitter Thread

"going to be unemployable if he said the wrong thing."

Therein lies the problem, among the SJWs and political correctness mafia. They seem to *FEEL* as if having "wrong thinking" (or worse, wrong speaking) according to THEIR rules means PERMA-BAN to society, career, everything.

Do we really want to empower people like this? I say NO. Give them the big middle finger whenever possible, those SJWs and Political Correctness MOB thugs... [they're really bullies]

but if someone is truly sexist, I think a better response is more like "seriously? You actually believe that?"

I didn't see one example of a truly sexist meme or comment, but I suppose there might have been. In certain ares of the internet, people go out of their way to behave like that. To characterize ALL of it as sexism, or any other '-ism' for that matter, does an injustice to identifying and stopping actual bigotry.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: Let's hoist one

agreed - beer all around for the science team! but if they want one particular young female scientist to be the face of their effort, no problem here.

Silk Road 2 + Dread Pirate Roberts 2 + 1 Liverpudlian = over 5 years in prison

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

setting up a hidden service? pretty easy...

setting up a hidden service is _easy_. Anyone can use a web server to listen on an unfiltered port, use a dynamic DNS (or onion address), and have a web server with whatever 'hidden' content you want. You could even require using a VPN into a private address space to view it.

The thing is, if you want people to see your 'hidden' site you have to tell people how to find it.

And if other people can find it, at least SOME of those 'other people' will be LAW ENFORCEMENT.

I guess that's a summary of what happened with Silk Road 2, as the article pointed out that the undercover cop was invited to the new network admin IRC channel.

"Dumb Crooks" indeed.

SANE people don't commit crimes because they fear punishment for them. At least, that's how it works with _ME_.

(or another way to state it, one definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different outcome)

They did it! US House reps pulled their finger out, voted to restore net neutrality in America!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

net neutrality = class envy

Why one person has the authority to block the "will of the people"

It is by design. The USA has 2 legislative bodies, each with different kinds of representation.

The Senate has 6 year terms and represents the states.

The House has 2 year terms and represents individuals.

The President has a 4 year term and must approve all legislation. However, a 2/3 majority in both the Senate and the House can override a veto.

The entire point is to prevent "tyrrany of the majority" by making it HARD to pass legislation.

Successful congresses learn how to compromise and not do everything "our way or the highway".

If they want 'net neutrality' so bad, they need to craft legislation that does not favor one party over another. Sensible legislation would be approved. What the FCC was doing prior to Trump, is NOT 'net neutrality'.

If this is all about network prioritization and filtering, then that needs to be debated. Personally, I like the idea of having a fast lane that I can pay for, so long as it isn't "butting anyone else out" to do so. So by adapting minimum performance standards, you could allow packet prioritization up to the point where the performance standards of 'regular traffic' still meet those standards. but yeah, once the fast lane clogs up it doesn't help a lot. but the extra revenue for it SHOULD enable the construction of faster pipelines, or else the ISPs and network providers will LOSE MONEY and NOT get revenue for a fast lane that does NOT work...

I'd like to add that socialist "equal outcomes for all" legislation only benefits the very few (elitists, uber-rich, and those in power, who never seem to be affected by what affects everyone else), because the masses will always have their mediocrity, but forcing EVERYONE to have the SAME mediocrity keeps everything mediocre... kinda like if you couldn't pay for UNLIMITED bandwidth on your phone, and because it's NOT fair to a poor person, you MUST have the same plan as the lowest service plan. Because, 'net neutrality'.

Intel shortages, weak-ass consumer spending, 'peak' Win10 refresh. No, global PC market didn't grow in Q1

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Doesnt really have to grow.

another way of saying this: the advancement in software to take advantage of the capabilities of modern hardware, from GPUs to multi-core, is WAY behind. It kinda reminds me of how it took FOREVER for a 32-bit Windows '95 to show up, even when most computers had 32-bit capable CPUs long before that.

Typical 'tricks' to consider, threaded and GPU-based algorithms, but NOT background busywork...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

"there's often no need to upgrade or replace existing computers"

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

"still transitioning to alternative mobile systems"

This perception is INACCURATE. It is, however, what the market-droids have been citing for WAY too long.

The truth is simpler: people get mobile and slabs for different reasons than PCs, and the PCs don't need to be replaced (yet) [and the reasons for this were outlined in my previous post]. Simple.

in other words, mobile+slabs are NOT "replacing" PCs. they are really 2 different markets.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

you are correct

Here's what I see as the top reasons why people aren't buying new computers:

a) don't have the disposable income or can't justify it right now [waiting for something to become unusable before buying a replacement]

b) Moore's law isn't giving '50% better' each year in technological growth any more

c) Win-10-nic on EVERY NEW PC [except for a few, and they often cost MORE]

d) Intel's (and to some extent, AMD's) security problems (meltdown, spectre)

e) chipsets with hidden "features" like REMOTE ADMIN that you can NOT easily shut off

In summary: new computers are NOT perceived as being significantly better than OLD ones. Save money, and upgrade/repair the old one instead.

Patch blues-day: Microsoft yanks code after some PCs are rendered super secure (and unbootable) following update

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

"these programs which hook undocumented API calls"

back in the 90's, MS got sued over having undocumented API calls that Word and other MS applications leveraged in order to "not crash all of the time". I had just started doing windows development for Windows 3.0 and ran into some of these problems with 'GlobalLock' etc. which could occasionally UAE when you had a bad handle, not necessarily your fault either.

The solution, for me, was to validate the param by using the undocumented 'GlobalHandleNoRIP()' and fail gracefully. At the next dev conference, Microsoft introduced the 'ToolHelp' library [to assist with things they'd been doing internally, cough cough] and DOCUMENT all of those undocumented calls...

[they also separated the applications from the OS as separate 'business units' and complied with 'no information between OS and applications units that is not disclosed to EVERYONE']

So - with respect to 'undocumented calls' - which ones are those again? Microsoft may be forced to DOCUMENT them...

London's Metropolitan Police arrest Julian Assange

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Does he yet have a ticket to the USA ?

"The real reason is that he embarrassed the USA by exposing things and some there want revenge."

with the current DOJ and President Trump _not_ wanting 'revenge', Assange is more likely to become a material witness for other investigations...

(it would be different if Mrs. Clinton had actually been elected)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: International Law

yeah about that - there are a LOT of asylum claims that _I_ would like to see terminated... AT THE BORDER!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Interesting timing ....

"Assange has been linked to Trumps Russia connections"

you mean the NON-EXISTENT connections, right? The existence of both the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny has more credibility...

(fake news)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

"They could have actually spent it catching some real criminals."

uh, bail jumping IS a crime, so it makes him a 'real criminal'.

I'm sure the cops are doing their jobs. Spending too many resources to go after a high profile crime helps to DISCOURAGE criminals, so it all works out. It's unlikely anyone else will try the 'asylum to hide in an embassy' trick. It was like Assange was in a kind of 'jail' for the last few years, am I right?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Only one charge remains...

"Because he jumped bail and caused a bit of a political mess costing millions in overtime for the plod, they can send him there w guards and probably in cuffs."

Easier for UK to wash their hands of him. agreed.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: final straw?

"He'd hate it much more if it turned out the world doesn't actually give a shit about him."

Yeah, he's a bit like Kevin Mitnick huh? (not in the detail, but to some extent, in the public image 'things')

In truth, having Assange 'available' for extradition to the USA might play out well (for him AND the rest of the world) with respect to D&CDNC e-mails leaked in 2016. Hannity did an interview with Assange a while back regarding this specific thing. And now that "certain investigations" are complete, it's time to open a few *NEW* ones, and Assange COULD be a key witness...

Aside from that, the Manning releases probably weren't a crime so long as Assange was only involved in their release to the world. If he had attempted to influence Manning to break the law, it'd be conspiracy of something-or-other. Most likely the DOJ would grant him immunity to get more information regarding the DNC e-mails, something that is likely to become very important over the next year.

I smell some behind-the-scenes activity. This timing is _very_ suspicious! [then again it's probably best for all concerned at this point, especially the Ecuadorians not having to put up with him any more]

RIP: Microsoft finally pulls plug on last XP survivor... POSReady 2009

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

Re: Rest. In. Peace.

"childishly coloured" you could change that, you know... [like Win 2k appearance in the start menu]

Whereas, you CAN! NOT! CHANGE! THAT! 2D! FLATTY! McFLATFACE! FLUGLY! FLATSO! appearance in Win-10-nic. Or get rid of the ads/slurp/store/start-thing/forced-updates [particularly on 'Home' versions] without some major hoop jumping that doesn't seem to work very well. 'Classic Shell' and other start menu replacements are lipstick on the non-oinky end of the boar. You still have 'Settings' (since Control Panel does less and less these days) to deal with...

and no 'metered connection' option for ethernet, last I checked.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Stop

Re: Hardware requirements

"If the tills go titsup on a Saturday afternoon, you can't log onto an Ubuntu support forum in the hope that some well-intentioned nerd is gonna help you."

Uh, you've heard of COMMERCIAL Linux distros like Red Hat, right?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Hardware requirements

"You need to install windows 10 and an SSD. Or stop using computers."

You forgot to say "get out of the stone age, grampa, and get a MODERN operating system" or something equally pejorative.

(so typical of win-10-nic fans, to be so smug about it)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: I just want my Aero-plane

"for me - the kiddy-komputer 2D-ism actually makes it slower to use."

Yes, the taste of bile and "bad feng shui" appearance is distracting in an "anti-productivity" kind of way... like horrible paint colors and "open bay" desk farms.

more reasons to miss XP... [I actually like it better than 7, particularly when the shortcut icons next to the start button don't move around and turn into an application icon whenever I use one of them - most hated 'feature' of Vista and 7]