Statement from Elon Musk
Full Self Driving coming in 2027!
Posts by trevorde
1304 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Jun 2015
Tesla drops 'Autopilot' branding in California after DMV order
Flush with potential? Activist investor insists Japanese toilet giant is an AI sleeper
React survey shows TanStack gains, doubts over server components
£111M later, frictionless post-Brexit border dream 'brought to early closure'
GPT-5 bests human judges in legal smack down
$8K laundry bot knows when to hold ’em, knows when to fold ’em, and knows it has help standing by
AI can predict your future salary based on your photo, boffins claim
Linus Torvalds keeps his ‘fingers and toes’ rule by decreeing next Linux will be version 7.0
Kyndryl to review accounting practices as several execs leave
Oracle Java licensing worries are percolating through the userbase
SpaceX wants to fill Earth orbit with a million datacenter satellites
Techie's one ring brought darkness by shorting a server
Monday 2nd February 2026 10:47 GMT 
Spanner in the works
There was an electrical engineer in the year above me at Uni. He was super smart but a mechanical klutz. He was part of a joint electrical-mechanical engineering project developing an electric vehicle. During one session, he managed to drop a spanner directly across the battery terminals, shorting everything and melting the spanner! He really put the 'spark' into 'sparky'! Once in industry, the rumour was that he was chaperoned on-site by an electrician, to make sure he didn't electrocute himself or bring down the whole plant.
Sword of Damocles hangs over UK military’s Ajax as minister says back it or scrap it
Sunday 1st February 2026 17:41 GMT
Not sure why the down votes because I've seen this in engineering and software. Each company thinks what they are doing is *so* unique that none of the existing solutions could possibly work and they must have a custom solution, just for them. The competitive advantage of a totally customised solution is always grossly overestimated. In all cases, the company would be better off accepting a COTS (Commodity Off The Shelf) solution and accepting any limitations.
Nudify app proliferation shows naked ambition of Apple and Google
Wednesday 28th January 2026 18:29 GMT
Nudification doesn't work with everybody
[AI Overview - apologies]
The "Sukarno videotape" refers to a Cold War-era incident in the late 1950s or early 1960s, where intelligence agencies—specifically the KGB (Soviet Union) and allegedly the CIA (United States)—attempted to blackmail Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, with recorded sexual encounters.
Key Details of the Incident:
The Trap:
During a visit to Moscow, the KGB allegedly bugged a hotel room and recorded Sukarno with women, intending to use the footage to force him into compliance.
The Reaction:
Rather than being intimidated, Sukarno reportedly laughed at the attempt and requested multiple copies of the tapes, jokingly suggesting they be distributed in Indonesia to show his "manly" prowess.
CIA Involvement:
The CIA also allegedly considered, or attempted, similar tactics to damage his reputation in the conservative, predominantly Muslim nation.
Outcome:
The blackmail attempt failed completely to damage his image, and in some narratives, actually backfired on the intelligence agencies.
Some reports indicate that the KGB's attempt was the primary incident, while others suggest the CIA was also involved in creating, or planning to create, such a film.
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01365R000300100003-3.pdf
Cops put Microsoft Copilot in holding cell after controversial hallucination
France to replace US videoconferencing wares with unfortunately named sovereign alternative
Tuesday 27th January 2026 13:27 GMT
Worked on a software product which the product manager, in his infinite wisdom, decided to call 'Xchange'. Everybody pointed out the name was confusingly similar to a certain Microsoft product. He was adamant that there would be no problem for our customers. I suggested all the devs chip in a fiver to buy him a clue.
Tuesday 27th January 2026 13:22 GMT
Deja vue all over again
Worked on a new product for quite a while at a software company. Marketing came up with a name for the product, which was announced to big fanfare. All of us devs immediately googled the name and, 2 seconds later, found an IBM product with exactly the same name! Unfortunately, we were bought by IBM a year later who changed the name.
Future of UK's multibillion Ajax armored vehicle program looks shaky
Moon hotel startup hopes you get lunar lunacy, drop $1M deposit for 2032 stay
Wednesday 14th January 2026 15:50 GMT
4 In A Bed Lunar Special
Can just imagine 'Payment Day':
Hosting:
* 'entertainment' consisted of a 'moon walk' - boring
* hotel is miles from anywhere
* evening meal was same as breakfast
* Elon Musk kept banging on 'my Mars hotel is so much better'
Cleanliness:
* room had not been cleaned and was covered in regolith
* bed sheets had not been washed since hotel opened
* hairs on bed from previous guests
Facilities:
* room should really have an ensuite
* room decor very bland
* no privacy in communal bathroom
* no tea or coffee making equipment in room
* room very small for price
* internet very expensive
* no mobile phone reception
* no car park
Sleep quality:
* walls paper thin
* could not sleep due to science experiments going on all night
* air mattress kept deflating
Breakfast:
* freeze dried and not local produce
* should have cooked breakfast option
* milk was UHT and not fresh
Would you stay here again:
* no
Price: $10M USD
Payment: $1M USD (an under payment of $9M USD)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_in_a_Bed
Boffins probe commercial AI models, find an entire Harry Potter book
IBM's AI agent Bob easily duped to run malware, researchers show
British Palantir rival, whose founder touted UK tech sovereignty, sells to Accenture
Venezuela loses president, but gains empty Starlink internet offer
Claude is his copilot: Rust veteran designs new Rue programming language with help from AI bot
Headset hype meets harsh reality as Apple and Meta VR shipments fizzle in 2025
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella becomes AI influencer, asks us all to move beyond slop
How Microsoft gave customers what they wanted: An audience with Bill Gates
The most durable tech is boring, old, and everywhere
AMD Strix Halo vs Nvidia DGX Spark: Which AI workstation comes out on top?
Like a Virgin Airways bot, planning for the very first time
Tuesday 23rd December 2025 23:00 GMT
What AI did next
'I want to go to New York in March next year, long weekend for our anniversary. It would be fantastic if we could stay somewhere like 20 minutes walking distance from Central Park, but not too expensive in terms of the hotel. We'd like to spend the money on maybe flying upper class'
* books flight to San Francisco
* in February leap day
* last year (which is not a leap year)
* changing planes in Sydney, Australia
* with a -45 min changeover
* booking a penthouse in Hilton hotel
* in Paris, France
* flying coach class on outward journey
* Greyhound bus for return journey
Memory is running out, and so are excuses for software bloat
The Roomba failed because it just kind of sucked
New boss was bad, his attitude was ugly, so the tech team pranked him good
Faith in the internet is fading among young Brits
MI6 chief: We'll be as fluent in Python as we are in Russian
Wednesday 17th December 2025 09:59 GMT
Re: Alternate reality
Linus Torvalds forks Mossad code, ostensibly to "check for compatibility with the Linux kernel". CIA put him on terrorist watch list. DHS make him the 1,048,577 illegal immigrant. Unfortunately, due to an Excel overflow bug, Linus replaces Melania Trump, who cannot hide her disappointment at *not* being deported. Linus is duly sent back to Finland where he realises it isn't such a bad place after all. For the first time in 30 years, he's relaxed, stops swearing and actually becomes nice to work with. The LKML (Linux Kernel Mailing List) becomes the chillest place on the internet. The C language surges in popularity and all new programmers aspire to be as chill as Linus. Every new dev wants to be a Linux kernel dev. All the greybeards retire. Mossad submit a pull request for their Rust Stuxnet code to be merged into the Linux kernel.
In North Korea, Python is the only programming language available because it was invented by Dear Leader, Kim Jon Un. It has no known bugs and is Kim (aka Turing) complete, their Supreme Leader having also invented computer science, just after he invented computers. Python is meant to be used for their missile control systems but all the programmers are too busy outsourcing to the West.
Tuesday 16th December 2025 23:13 GMT
Re: Alternate reality
Donald Trump (US President for Life) mandates that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) use Excel because "it's what my mate, Boris Johnson, used in COVID and it's better than that LOUSY database made by that reclusive LOONY Larry Ellison". CNN reports that a maximum of only 1,048,576 illegal immigrants can ever be deported. Donald Trump blames Biden and a "woke left conspiracy". Boris Johnson is on holiday and unavailable for comment.
Tuesday 16th December 2025 17:45 GMT
Alternate reality
Mi6 uses Java because it's "enterprise grade". KGB also uses Java because that's what their mole told them MI6 is using. Larry Ellison springs a surprise license audit and figures both of the owe him billions. MI6 and KGB dispatch assassins who try to "make it look like an accident" but end up killing each other. Larry flees to his Hawaiian island and stops all work on Java which stagnates.
Mossad use Rust to develop a memory correct version of their Stuxnet virus. Unfortunately, Iran is enriching uranium by hand, so it is all in vain. Mossad release the code on GitHub under a GPL3 license. CIA forks the code and changes it to a proprietary license. Open Software Foundation threatens to sue CIA but their lawyers disappear in mysterious circumstances.
FBI continues to use COBOL and wonder why they can't recruit any devs under the age of 50. They hack into IBM and find out every dev who is subject to a 'Resource Action' is over 50 *and* knows COBOL. FBI then blackmails devs into working for them.
India and China use Javascript to take control of every browser, phone and tablet in the world. They assemble the biggest botnet ever seen and DDOS's the whole web, rendering it unusable. Social media dies. Teletext makes a comeback. Bricks and mortar shops abound. Jeff Bezos becomes homeless.
Guido van Rossum (Python's Benevolent Dictator for Life) continues to practice his evil genius laugh and wonder what might have been.
Nvidia pledges more openness as it slurps up Slurm
Roomba maker iRobot gets cleaned out in Chapter 11
The future of long-term data storage is clear and will last 14 billion years
AI datacenter boom could end badly, Goldman Sachs warns
British Airways fears a future where AI agents pick flights and brands get ghosted
Workday project at Washington University hits $266M
Affection for Excel spans generations, from Boomers to Zoomers
Tuesday 9th December 2025 15:38 GMT
Spreadsheet replacement
One of my first software jobs was to write a program to replace a Lotus-1-2-3 spreadsheet which was used to generate estimates and quotes. Only problem was that there were at least 3 different versions of the spreadsheet and no one could tell me which was the most current one. The project was doomed from the start.
As humanoid robots enter the mainstream, security pros flag the risk of botnets on legs
IBM drops $11B on Confluent to feed next-gen AI ambitions
Untrained techie broke the rules, made a mistake, and found a better way to work
Death in the dollhouse as Microsoft marketing reboots digital soap operas
Monday 8th December 2025 17:05 GMT
Avoiding slander
Worked for a software company whose main product was used to investigate money laundering, amongst other things. The criminal company in the sample and training material was a fictional 'Diamond Securities'. We were bought by IBM, who did a review of all our code and other assets. Guess what? In the interim, 'Diamond Securities' was now a real company. IBM's legal department went into a massive panic at the mere thought of a slander lawsuit, ordered us to immediately change the name and clear it with them.
Judge hints Vizio TV buyers may have rights to source code licensed under GPL
Saturday 6th December 2025 15:56 GMT
Incompetent compliance
Years ago, a software company I worked for was looking at buying another software company. The other company's developer had died (!) and I was asked to look at their source code. First off, there were no project files, just a mass of source files. It went downhill from there with loads of missing files and masses of compiler errors. How they managed to build it was beyond me as the only person who knew how was, err, 'permanently uncontactable'. We passed on that acquisition.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
