Posts by Wayland

Cloudflare explains how it managed to break the internet

Re: CDNs are evil!

IPFS, or Inter Planetary File System would have routed round the problem if used as a CDN.

Turing Pi 2 crowdfunding goal smashed within a day

Re: I'm guessing that...

I expect it will run Doom.

Heresy: Hare programming language an alternative to C

Re: Can someone explain the advantages in the language please?

In an object orientated language where basically a procedure is used to add data to a storage structure that can check how full it is. That would throw an error rather than over fill it. In C you create a memory area with memory allocation or a static and then pass the pointer to this. There is nothing about the pointer which says how big the memory area is therefore no way to ensure you don't over fill it.

C is a stupid language in this respect.

Google bans third-party call-recording apps from Play Store

This call may be recorded for training purposes...

...the message says when you phone up to complain. You think ah good, permission to record the call, thanks. With the fancy smartphone with gigabytes of storage that ought to be easy, heck, it should be on by default. It's not on by default and it's not easy. This means that others who you maybe in legal dispute with 'may' have recordings they can use if it suits them but you don't.

You also know that some AI is listening to what you're saying and may make recordings if you say trigger words or perhaps everything it simply recorded by default, why not, I'm sure the storage exists. Everything I've ever said on the phone would probably fit on a flash drive.

Microsoft plans to drop SMB1 binaries from Windows 11

Re: WinHelp

HLP files were perfectly servicable tech but they just abandoned them like a chained up bicycle after someone stole the wheels.

Re: Problems ahead for old Sonos units

Same problem on a Brother Printer Scanner after replacing ClearOS 7.7 with TrueNAS Core. Won't scan to the file server.

Brother Printer SCanner

I have an old Brother Scanner which scans to a network folder. I won't since I installed TrueNAS because SMB1 is off.

Re: That NAS under the stairs

"Windows 10 Home and Pro still had the client just in case. It would, however, be uninstalled automatically in unmanaged environments if not used for 15 days (excluding time during which the computer is off)."

Oh so that's why my client's Windows 10 PC stopped being able to connect to the server under the stairs. He only used it for archiving. ClearOS 5.

European Right to Repair resolution headed for vote

Re: My wishlist

A bit of work would be required but an on board memory slot could be provided in addition to the on-chip memory.

There are new laptops available with upgradable and maintainable designs. What he means is the storage should be removable, readable in another system and replaceable with a higher capacity. The problem with soldered on storage is if the computer breaks the user can't access their data.

Modern laptops have the battery inside the case rather than plugged onto the back. This is a bit of a downgrade but does simplify the battery and case design and still allows for replacement with a screw driver.

I would suggest a bit of standardisation for the position on the keyboard connector. This could vastly cut down the number of different keyboards there are when they only differ in the position of the connector. Likewise with the battery which have become far more similar now they are just a bunch of cells wrapped in shrink plastic.

IBM set the standard with the PC AT in 1983 and it's been going ever since. One can argue that this standardisation was good for business.

Re: (Yet) another regulation the UK will need to abide by

In this case the legislation is beneficial. The ability to maintain our own property is key to our freedom as much as the right to own it in the first place. The manufacturers may feel that taking hostages is a good business model for them the same as highway robbery is profitable until the law is enforced against it.

AMD confirms Ryzen chips' stuttering performance on Windows 10, 11

Re: Missing Something?

I agree, it's a power grab but they just want the option to smash up all your stuff, not that they will do it yet. Nothing would be as simple as just being a power grab, TPM will perform some vital function that regulatory authorities will insist on. Want to use credit cards in your business, well you must have TPM. They already stiff people for something called PCI where they port scan your router and charge you £40 for the privilege every year.

This is really quite insidious and although I don't like the EU it will probably be the EU who put a halt to it. Once they realise the power Microsoft are grabbing for themselves they will not want to share their power with MS.

Microsoft is having to re-invent itself. They are in the process of trying to make themselves essential, not from the perspective that they are wonderful but that they are mandated. Clearly with the Steam Deck their days as gaming PC king are numbered. It's only a few stubborn programs that are keeping them essential.

Re: Yuck.

Any computer where the user is sitting in front of it making it do things is real time. The alternative is batch processing where the job gets done when it gets done. I really hate any delay when I'm using my computer. Obviously gaming is real time as is CNC and audio work. However even typing should be considered real time because any perceptible delay between hitting the key and the character appearing is irritating.

Ukraine asks ICANN to delete all Russian domains

Re: proportionality

This one is different. It's a war on woke.

Re: Block the internet?

Probably about money. The fishing sites pay like anyone else. How big will the financial cost of taking down .RU and how much profit will they gain by going Woke? The phrase is not Go Woke Get Rich.

The world's Woke are backing sanctions against Russia. The Woke claim this is a war against LGBT. Head of MI6 clamed that LGBT rights is what made us better than Putin. Not sure who US is, could be MI6, UK or the west but he boldly asserted it was a war of the Woke against Putin's Bigots.

Is it any wonder the email was an emotional response to a violent war on LGBT rights?

The majority of Americas are behind Trump.

'Please download in Microsoft Excel': Meet the tech set to monitor IT performance across central UK government

Pulling data from spreadsheets after the users have modified them is a nightmare.

Re: Ideal for data

My customer used Lotus Notes back in the 1990's. When the boss needed to collect some data from the employees his PA would create a questionnaire in Notes and email it to as many as 15,000 employees. They would dutifully answer the questionnaire, which might be an invite to the corporate picnic. The PA would then have a database full of answers which she can present to the boss as charts or tables or allow access to the database.

This would typically take about 10 minutes to create. This is now lost technology. I think there are survey tools that the average person can quickly push out a survey but emailing a spreadsheet is not it.

It was not the solution back in 1997 nor has it got any better in the last quarter century.

Seaberry carrier board turns a Raspberry Pi into a desktop PC with 11 PCIe slots

Re: Phun and games

The engineers are not making a flying rocket car for Joe Public, it's a tricked out Raspberry PI. I've long figured out that a PC running Proxmox is a better option than loads of RPI modules. However this is a whole 'scene' in itself now. All over the world people are doing interesting things with the PI. There are loads of computing tasks which only require a little computer and the PI fits well. The ability to extend the PI massively with this new board is very popular. I'm going to enjoy seeing what Jeff Gearling and others do with this.

FYI: If the latest Windows 11 really wants to use Edge, it will use Edge no matter what

Linux Mint can play far more Steam games well than is indicated by the little Linux icon on games. I expect all games will play on Linux soon. VR seems to be a problem. MS Access is a problem. Nothing else causes me a problem. 10 years on Linux Mint I think now.

Re: Sym link?

That's probably why they increased security on Windows 11, so they can make sure people only use Edge.

England's Data Guardian warns of plans to grant police access to patient data

Vaccine Passports - Plan B (from outer space)

Plan B which is for Vaccine Passports will come into effect mid December after the current Plan A fails. The police will need to check people's medical status in the case where they are not presenting a vaccine passport.

Re: It's a bit late now

Same as mine. Always agrees with the gov.

RIP Sir Clive Sinclair: British home computer trailblazer dies aged 81

QL

Potentially the QL was world beating. If it had had a proper disk drive then a machine based on the 68000 range was capable of doing real work. All the things expected of a computer. The Atari ST was used in business, it had a proper disk drive. The Amiga was used in music production. Apple also used the 68000 CPU.

One reason we use the IBM PC clone today is because the PC came complete with a proper screen, not a TV and proper disk drives so you can save those accounts you've been working on. Not because the 8086 was so great although it was able to do something the Z80 could not do and that's address large amounts of RAM. 68000 was designed from scratch to do that making it the technical winner.

Sinclair should have simply built an IBM PC Clone based on the 68000 and called it the QL. It would have been expensive but it would have been able to do actual work.

Re: Rest in peace

POKE 32768,65 puts A on the top left of a P.E.T screen.

Re: RIP Sir Clive

A very British inventor. It was the fact he got the price right down that made his products successful. There were far better computers for a bit more money but it was too much more.

The BBC Micro was a proper computer and I really wanted one. Everything about it was proper. 80 column capable screen and really decent Teletext output for your humble TV set. ROM based operating system with the ability to add more features by plugging in ROMs. Amazing machine capable of proper work.

I could not afford one, I could afford a ZX Spectrum or a Dragon 32. I went with the Dragon because it had a decent keyboard and MS Basic. I discovered assembly programming on it was excellent because of the advanced 6809 CPU.

The Spectrum on the other hand had the advantage of better graphics for gaming which in the end was what helped create the UK gaming industry. Those programmers in their bedrooms went on to found the game developer companies.

Yes both the Spectrum and the Dragon lacked features a proper computer like the BBC Micro had but really that just forced you to get down and dirty and learn how it really worked. This may have made us better programmers.

My first successful programming was on a Sinclair Programmable Calculator. This slim space-age (Space 1999) looking white calculator with a power bulge for the PP3 could be programmed. Endless hours of fun keying in the code to make it do something.

Thank you Clive Sinclair R.I.P.

Ex-DJI veep: There was no drone at Gatwick during 2018's hysterical shutdown

To maintain regular drone sightings the drone would have to keep going back to get a recharge. If it existed then it would have been followed.

There was a disturbance in the force as if tiny blades were slicing their air into millions of pieces.

Re: Follow the money

Gatwick was up for sale that week. Also parliament was pushing a drone bill through.

Re: Police and Drones Are A Joke.

It better that the police stay on the ground and fly drones. When the police are in the sky both the pilot and the spotter get caught up in the search and then the pilot crashes the aircraft. At least a drone crash is unlikely to kill anyone.

Re: surely, its the money?

I did wonder if that was simply cover for the airport being out of action but then parliament pushed through some drone regulations.

Helps to reduce the spread of Covid too.

Re: Er Er Er Er, not quite!

Once the story is over and the government have passed their drone legislation off the back of this non-event they don't then repeal it.

Re: That must be...

I wrote to my MP at the time describing the technical problems of holding the airport hostage with a drone for a week. The drone would fly for say 15 minutes and then have to fly back to base for a recharge. This would have to happen a lot giving ample opportunities to follow the drone back to it's owner.

MP called that a conspiracy theory.

Banned: The 1,170 words you can't use with GitHub Copilot

Re: Usage

Because in the USA liberals are such terrible people. The word itself is generally describes something good such as a liberal serving of chocolate sauce.

Re: Usage

Yeah, should do but then if you just want to get the job done you write it the easy way. If it's successful you can re-write it better.

Confessions of a ransomware negotiator: Well, somebody's got to talk to the criminals holding data hostage

Re: Pointing the finger of blame

My company wrote a bit of software that put 28 out of 30 people out of a job and saved them rent on a whole office building. The work was now done in a quarter of the time too. You can't just employ people at great expense in order that things are done badly. You must make improvements.

Re: Disgusting

He agrees that "contract assassination is a perfectly sane and just response". If you can be sure to kill the right people and the assassin is comfortable with the deal and won't take a better offer and kill you instead then possibly a good way of reducing this type of extortion. However probably better to make sure your data is safe.

Do you go private or trust the state to deal with the problem?

Re: A must listen to is the BBC File on 4 Podcast - Held to Ransom

Don't give the BBC your time or attention.

Following Torvalds' nudge, Paragon's NTFS driver for Linux is on track for kernel

Re: There is no guarantee of that

Paragon is known for specialising in this area so their driver could be better than Microsoft's. However Microsoft would be able to carry over the bugs and quirks flawlessly.

Well obviously! Mixed environments.

NTFS is probably the largest environment for files on this planet.

Re: What's the use case for NTFS?

Always in the kitchen at parties.

Re: What's the use case for NTFS?

I presume it would help when presented with a removable drive. You might not be the person choosing the disk format.

What you need to know about Microsoft Windows 11: It will run Android apps

Firstly the reason I won't have Android is I won't have a Google account.

Secondly Microsoft are not forcing the MS account they are just urging strongly. You can install with a local account.

Someone asked me for laptop advice for their young child. They had found a Windows 10 machine with 4GB RAM. I assumed that when they said Laptop they wanted Windows so I said that 4GB would be horrible to use. Instead we selected a Chromebook which was cheaper than the Windows 10 machine but worked much better. No complaints that it was not Windows 10, perfectly happy with what the Chromebook does.

I think Windows is only needed for legacy support. If the user does not have prior Windows requirements then they more choices.

Re: No choice at all

I'm running Windows 11 with a local account.

Re: KDE? Android apps?

Better if they run like WINE runs Windows programs on Linux. The programs run normally and not in a little box.