Posts by Sleep deprived

Iran military manages to keep a straight face while waggling miracle widget that 'can detect coronavirus from 100m away'

No wonder Iran officially reports so few cases

...if testing is done with this device.

So how do the coronavirus smartphone tracking apps actually work and should you download one to help?

Re: Good for data-less phone plans

Canada has the most expensive cell phone rates in the world. I pay 10$CDN per month (7,5€ incl. taxes) for 100 minutes and 100 SMS. I could pay more and get data access, I can afford it, but I don't feel I need it so much and decided to vote with my feet.

For example, a Bell plan with unlimited calls and 2Gb would be 38$CDN a month (28€ incl. taxes). See https://www.planhub.ca

Re: Good for data-less phone plans

My minimal cell phone plan offers calls and SMS. I can also use my smartphone for offline GPS navigation, and email or browsing whenever I have wifi (in malls, stores, hotels, libraries, theaters, airports, etc.).

Good for data-less phone plans

An app that only uses Bluetooth and stores data locally also doesn't require constant Internet access. That's a good thing for folks like me whose smartphone only accesses the internet through wifi.

We could all do with a bit of empathy in our systems, says Mozilla as it ships Firefox 75 in the thick of global pandemic

Re: I wish they'd stop messing with things that don't need "fixing"!

As a Firefox enthusiast and advocate, I'd be much tempted to make them a donation, but if it's to support constant unwanted UI "improvements" like this not-so-awesome address/search, I'll think twice. Maybe they still have too many engineers with too much spare time on their hands.

Google tests hiding Chrome extension icons by default, developers definitely not amused by the change

Now avoiding Chrome everywhere

For me, Manifest v3 was the turning point. Before that, when I had a problem rendering a page with Firefox, I'd launch Chrome, sometimes with success. Now, I do everything I can to avoid Chrome, both under Windows and Android, instead trying to fix the problem with Firefox, eventually sending them a report with URL and relevant data. Google has become a despicable software publisher with every move making the attached strings ever less subtle.

COBOL-coding volunteers sought as slammed mainframes slow New Jersey's coronavirus response

Volunteer to program in COBOL?

You'd have to pay me for that!

Apple's latest macOS Catalina update mysteriously borks SSH for some unlucky fans. What could be the cause?

You're using the wrong protocol prefix

It's oops://

What happens when the maintainer of a JS library downloaded 26m times a week goes to prison for killing someone with a motorbike? Core-js just found out

Working from the prison library computer?

But he may have to buy his cellmates' computer time with his Kickstarter gains.

Uber takes a downer as ride-sharing app service crashes

So all those lonely motorists...

who wanted to share a ride will have to travel alone? Bummer!

Not a Genius move after all: Apple must cough up $$$ in back pay for store staff forced to wait for bag searches

Conclusions

1- Ridicule does not kill

2- Apple did not become rich for nothing

3- Geniuses should get an Android kit to speed up searches

4- I'd be afraid to waste unpaid search time exiting an Apple store, so I'll skip

Bada Bing, bada bork: Windows 10 is not happy, and Microsoft's search engine has something to do with it

Isn't disabling Bing a good idea in any case?

Even when you do get results, they're poor at best.

No backdoors needed: Apple ditched plans to fully encrypt iCloud backups after heavy pressure from FBI – claim

Who needs encryption...

...when you can decide who testifies at your trial?

What can we rid the world of, thinks Google... Poverty? Disease? Yeah, yeah, but first: Third-party cookies – and classic user-agent strings

Why would I want to use Chrome even if Google pretends to play nice?

I started disabling third-party cookies in Firefox and Chrome the day I learned about them. Then I stopped using Chrome when Google released its hypocritical V3 Manifest, soon before Firefox strengthened its anti-tracking features. I only launch Chrome if a website doesn't load properly to check whether it's browser or plugin-related (UBlock, Privacy Badger and Cookie Autodelete - NoScript prevents so many websites from working I was always whitelisting). Or maybe I should launch MS Edge in those cases ;)

Are you getting it? Yes, armageddon it: Mass hysteria takes hold as the Windows 7 axe falls

Re: "plugging the holes in that decade-old code"

It worked! You did better than Windows Updates, where clicking on the failure code would never yield any useful advice, month after month. If you need a referral letter to apply for a job at Microsoft, let me know :)

Re: "plugging the holes in that decade-old code"

No doubt the problem is in my system, but how can I fix Microsoft's inabilities at applying fixes to its own OS with an error message just saying "update failed"? Or is this all open-source code and I missed it?

"plugging the holes in that decade-old code"

It'll take forever actually: Windows Updates is repeatedly failing at installing KB4516065 from last September on my W7 Thinkpad...

Is it a make-up mirror? Is it a tiny frisbee? No, it's the bonkers Cyrcle Phone, with its TWO headphone jacks

Round display?

I don't see a round display. Rather a square display on a a curvy, hard-to-hold device.

Google tightens the screw on 'less secure apps', will block most access from June 2020

Thunderbird OK but

Thunderbird is fine, but the setting authorizing LSAs gets reset about every three months. Then I have to update my parents' Google account to re-enable their Thunderbird access (at 87, they seemingly can't get used to the Web interface). I foresee the day Google decides they must see ads to access their mail.

Americans should have strong privacy-protecting encryption ...that the Feds and cops can break, say senators

"authoritarian regimes [...] would persecute dissidents, journalists, and their political opponents"

Don't tempt Mr Trump, in his mind, journalists are enemies of the people, while dissidents and political oponents are personal ennemies, and all of them must be fiercely fought, if not jailed. So a backdoor to persecute them can only be a good thing.

Final update doled out to those who let Google sit on their face: Glass Explorer Edition cut off from the mothership

El Reg feeding itself

The Register's articles about this particular project have always been very biased editorials disguised as news reports. The public didn't name the wearers Glassholes, The Register did. Of course there were a few incidents, highlighted to death by The Register, but is there any technology with 100% approval rate? (cars may be everywhere, yet, they are much despised by a lot of people). The idea of augmented reality is indeed appealing. That being said, I'd rather these smart glasses not be made by Google and serve to accumulate yet even more personal data.

Elon Musk gets thumbs up from jury for use of 'pedo guy' in cave diver defamation lawsuit

Re: What did you expect

It looks like I got downvoted for forgetting to put brilliant between quotes. My irony went unnoticed.

What did you expect

The current US president insults about everyone daily on Twitter. Why would a brilliant US entrepreneur like Musk not be allowed to do the same?

Samsung Galaxy S11 tipped to escalate the phone cam arms race with 108MP sensor

a fairly pronounced camera bump on the phone's derriere

Then they should locate that bump higher up on the phone to reduce the part that sticks out of the pocket on the user's derriere.

Explain yourself, mister: Fresh efforts at Google to understand why an AI system says yes or no

Re: debuggability

Yet I like this concept. I sometimes have a hard time finding out the reason my non-AI code behaves the way it does.

But what if it also has canine teeth?

Planets may lurk in harshest environments. Not that Novell NetWare server you can't unplug – black holes

"Planets can only form if parts of the disk is shielded from the hostile radiation"

Is this hostile radiation breaking up structures, heating up the dust or ?

After five losses, Apple finally wins a round in $600m VirnetX FaceTime patent mega-battle

"Apple’s entire legal strategy [is] to drag out the fight for as long as it can"

Could it be called a DoJ attack, as in Denial of Justice, against VirnetX ?

Absolutely smashing: Musk shows off Tesla's 'bulletproof' low-poly pickup, hilarity ensues

Uglier than a Pontiac Aztek

Has Tesla replaced it design software by something simpler that doesn't support splines, only straight lines?

Thanks, Brexit. Tesla boss Elon Musk reveals Berlin as location for Euro Gigafactory

Re: No, the UK was never in the running

The steering wheel would've been on the wrong side. Or is Autopilot making it unnecessary?

Remember the Uber self-driving car that killed a woman crossing the street? The AI had no clue about jaywalkers

Jaywalking?

Must pedestrians wear pants with large white bands to convince Uber's AI they're walking on a pedestrian crossing and not get mowed down? Maybe Uber could provide them, but they're already going broke.

It's back: The mercifully normal-looking Moto 360 smartwatch

Re: 1 day battery?

I'll keep my 1975 Seiko automatic dive watch that remains alive so long as I am too and move from time to time.

Franco-stein's on the move: Spanish dictator turfed out of decadent mountaintop mausoleum

Wondering

What was the point of burying Franco at Valle de los Caídos in the first place? He's not a war victim, he died in 1975. As for the Falange leader, he remains more equal than others to have his sole grave marked among the 30,000 unidentified victims?

Welcome to the World Of Tomorrow, where fridges suffer certificate errors. Just like everything else

So the interior light doesn't turn off after all

As a kid, I wondered whether the interior light truly turned itself off when closing the fridge door. Now I finally learn it doesn't so as to allow cameras to see what's inside.

So, what's fashion going to look like on the Moon in 2024? NASA's ready to show you the goods

What's that blue bottle on the right calf?

Bourbon? With glasses in the shin pockets?

Black holes are like buses: You wait for one – and three turn up at once in galaxy merger

Re: Oops

Because it involves fusing nuculi?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moves to shut Parliament

Canadians learned the word "prorogue" under the Conservatives

In 2008, Canadian PM Stephen Harper prorogued the parliament before his minority government was about to lose a confidence vote. He then maintained himself in power for 7 years, gaining a majority at the next federal election. Just sayin'

My god, it's full of tsars: A gun-toting Russian humanoid robot is on its way to the International Space Station

Re: "the bot will be carrying out menial tasks"

I think the ISS crew would be happier with a gun/screwdriver-less robot from Realbotix.

Don't trust Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, boffins warn: Zuck & Co know that hash is king

Re: "could lead to biased decision-making"

Install the FB Purity plugin and ads are gone. You also get control over FB-pushed suggestions.

As many as 100,000 IBM staff axed in recent years as Big Blue battles to reinvent itself from IT's 'old fuddy duddy'

Don't tell my girlfriend I work at IBM

She thinks I'm a disruption engineer at Uber.

Pair programming? That's so 2017. Try out this deep-learning AI bot that autocompletes lines of source code for you

AI-assisted Copy+Paste

I often half-jokingly suggested programmers' editors shouldn't have a Copy+Paste feature as this is the biggest single source of programming errors. Now, let AI help you further.

Elon Musk's new idea is to hook your noggin up to an AI – but is he just insane about the brain?

Human-assist for Autopilot?

Hooked to Tesla's Autopilot, these BMIs could provide an emergency stop by detecting the passengers' terror in case of an imminent crash. Provided they're not asleep or engaged in more distracting activities.

Scumbags can program vulnerable MedTronic insulin pumps over the air to murder diabetics – insecure kit recalled

Re: Why is the word "Scumbags" used for the potential "hackers"?

Sounds like tabloid language to me.

Mike Lynch in court: I was not aware of every single thing Autonomy did around the world (so don't blame me)

That being Autonomy

It makes sense that the thing has a life of its own.

PowerPoint to start telling you that your presentation is bad and you should feel bad

OS wizard now?

Could Microsoft now release an OS design advisor and run it against its own Windows versions?

Gonna be so cool when we finally get into space, float among the stars, work out every day, inject testosterone...

Pressure differentials?

Like just pulling/pushing against elastic bands?

Uncle Sam wants to read your tweets, check out your Instagram, log your email addresses before you enter the Land of the Free on a visa

After TSA padlocks...

For your convenience, the TSA now runs a password generator.

Sinister secret backdoor found in networking gear perfect for government espionage: The Chinese are – oh no, wait, it's Cisco again

So China doesn't need Huawei gear after all

They may spy as well with US gear.

Facebook: Yeah, we hoovered up 1.5 million email address books without permission. But it was an accident!

The devil finds work for idle hands

As a programmer, I'm amazed to learn those at Facebook have so much spare time on their hands they can afford coding the hoovering of contact lists, their storage and analysis, all this without being asked for it...