Posts by BenMyers

Microsoft winnows: Layoffs hit software engineers hard

Windows done with AI adds to the Windows disaster

So Satya says that 30% of Windows is coded by AI. What was used to train the AI that generates the code? Doubtless Windows itself, maybe Windows 10, and surely not Windows 8! All the modern versions of Windows are littered with code defects, as evidenced by the monthly Patch Tuesday release of sometimes hundreds of updates, and occasional "must fix" updates on other days.

My conclusion here is simple and it seems logical. AI is helping to generate even more Windows defects and faster.

Fired US govt workers, Uncle Xi wants you! – to apply for this fake consulting gig

LinkedIn is 1000% useless for jobs!

I have been a member of LinkedIn for at least a decade. It enables me to keep in touch with other professionals I know, almost a Facebook for professionals. I have provided a thumbnail sketch of my CV and indicated that I work for big bucks, especially when travel is involved. Nevertheless, I get bombarded with job requests mostly from people outside the US for ill-described work I could probably do. They usually need the work done by next week, impossible. I simply delete these requests which would amount to nothing. My guess is that these are scam requests.

To progress as an engineer career-wise, become a great communicator

Yes, engineers MUST communicate well to succeed

My career accomplishments are not so sparkling, but I've made a decent living for years as an engineer who could write and present to audiences.

In my large American high school, I was denied participation in the first-ever advanced placement course in English, despite straight A's previously. The single guidance counselor for 1300 students advised me to seek a technical education because I had straight A's in math and science. I was worthy and financially deserving of a scholarship for full tuition and books at Case Institute of Technology, a forerunner of Case Western Reserve. I did passably well in courses there, including two programming courses and four semesters each of Calculus/Differential Equations, Chemistry and Physics, including lab work. But my liberal arts leanings made Case and uncomfortable fit. I gave up the scholarship, began working as a programmer, transferred to Western Reserve next door, losing credit only for a course in which I attained a "D", a barely passing grade. I completed my studies with a BA in English Literature, taking graduate level courses in linguistics, old English and non-Shakespearean middle English literature. I graduated at the end of the summer rather than the spring of my senior year.

So I have been an English lit major masquerading as an engineer for decades, working variously as a software developer, customer-facing support person, project leader, manager, presenter to a couple of thousand tech people, negotiator and self-employed personal computer fixit guy. It has worked out well for me, enabling me to live in different areas and climates including one year in the old Yugoslavia, one year in Belgium and four years in Italy, fulfilling my dream of living outside the monolithic and provincial United States. Financially, it has been good, but I am not exceptionally wealthy.

Being able to communcate clearly and succinctly is most important, in engineering and in ANY career.

The 'End of 10' is nigh, but don't bury your PC just yet

Linux Mint Cinnamon

Linux Mint Cinnamon on a USB stick is my go-to quick hardware diagnostic. It is easy to use. I have a project in the works to install it on a wonderful laptop (large screen, powerful CPU, 32GB memory, 500GB SSD) to become the tool for me to become more familiar with Linux.

People promoting Linux rarely take into account the grunt work and tedium of finding Linux apps comparable to Windows apps and then converting ones data to be usable with the Linux app. However, as more and more apps become web-based like QuickBooks, data movement becomes less of an issue. I wonder if the web-based Microsoft 365 will run in Chrome on a Mint system? I'll find out.

Microsoft to preload Word minutes after boot

Since when is 8GB "beefy"?

Microsoft continually avoids the real world to make it easier for 3rd tier brands and even name brands with schlock computers to sell underpowered computers to an unwitting and uninformed public. Sorry, Satya, but a computer with only 8GB of memory running Windows 11 is a recipe for a computer that impersonates a slug. Worse yet, with so little memory, one of these 8GB computers will wear out an SSD with constant swapping of data and code segments as the user changes the focus from one app to another.

So let's say that 16GB is the bare minimum for Windows 11, and 32GB for any computer used for heavy lifting.

One would hope that it is possible to disable the preloading of Word to free up memory for other regularly used tasks. And when one finishes using preloaded Word, does it still remain in memory?

Microsoft goes off the rails again, doing something questionable, when actual software design and engineering are called for.

Official HP toner not official enough after dodgy update, say users

HP's zeal for toner revenue is enough to start killing off its printer business. What a strategic vision!

Trump eyes up to 100% tariffs on foreign semiconductors, TSMC in crosshairs

Re: Elections

Nope. Trump has made it real easy. Jump on the Trump train, pledge absolute fealty, and you re-election will be smooth as can be. But if you cross Trump, don't do or say what he wants, be prepared for a Republican opponent backed by Trump dollars in the 2026 primaries.

Rubbish!

All that the tariffs would do is raise prices for buyers of products, because THEY pay the tariffs, not the country that exports its stuff. This is utterly brain-damaged thinking by the US felon-in-chief, who only wants to look out for himself and his personal mafia, and to hell with regular everyday Americans. Did I mention that the lizard-felon is pissing off a lot of countries, and his reasoning is always half-assed.

Linux Mint 22.1 Xia arrives fashionably late

No reason for 32-bit Mint unless...

The only reason to run 32-bit Mint is if one has a computer that cannot be upgraded above 3GB, and those are few and far between. Even 4GB of memory gives a boost from the extra ~500MB of addressable memory. The cost of DDR2 or DDR3 memory for upgrading an old computer is now almost negligible.

Apple drops soldered storage for 2024 Mac Mini

Proprietary is part of Apple DNA, too

Proprietary is part of Apple DNA, just like degree of difficulty to repair. Like competitive diving, Apple gets a perfect 10 on both difficult to repair and proprietary. That's why their products cash machines, and they've dupe the Apple cult into spend, spend, spend big bucks.

Same old, same old Apple

Yes, Apple used proprietary SSDs in older Intel-based MacBooks, so why not in the newer Mac Mini? Apple always finds a way to destroy a good idea about repair and maintenance of its computer products. All this does is open the door for extremely pricey SSD upgrades from Apple and maybe a company the dotes on Apple upgrades like OWC.

M4 MacBook Pro shows Apple is still glued to the idea of unfixable laptops

It's in the Apple DNA!

It's in the Apple DNA that devices cannot be repaired or maybe repaired with a great deal of difficulty. What is new here? Same old, same old Apple.

Windows 10 given an extra year of supported life, for $30

Windows 11 is a mess cobbled in Redmond

Not only does Windows 11 require newer hardware, but it's desktop UI is a regression in usability from Windows 10. Here we are with the OS claimed to be the best ever UI, but the start menu is so cumbersome that it is faster for me to type the program name in the search bar and then hit enter. Worse yet, the Microsofties have not listened to three years of unrelenting criticism about Windows' design, and they have not changed anything significant.

Floppy discs still run a U.S. metro? Japan steps in with 'project kill floppy'

What? 5.25" floppys

Why didn't these people use 3.5" floppies, newer and more reliable? Or use FreeDOS, giving them access to USB? How stinking old are the motherboards for these computers? Many questions raised about total IT incompetence in San Francisco.

Buying a PC for local AI? These are the specs that actually matter

As described in the article, I have to agree with your completely.

This article, though very thorough, makes no mention whether multi-core CPUs have a positive effect on the time it takes to run an AI model.

Re: This space is evolving quickly...

Which makes and models of video cards come with 16GB?

Microsoft pushing, pushing, pushing Edge in Defender slammed as a 'dark pattern'

It's not only Edge

My laptop has Windows 11 installed, and every time it boots up, it nags me to set up one version of Teams or another. I have no present need to use Teams, so Ctrl-Alt-Del and Task Manager seems to be the only way to rid my system of the setu-up-Teams app. This does not appear to be controlled by the launch of a program during startuo, so I can't edit the list of program to run at startup. Hard coded? Sheesh! How serious can Microsoft get pushing its own unwanted products? Anybody know how to eliminate this annoyance? Of course, it will come right back with the next Windows up date to improve security and to peddle its products.

UK Royal Mint mining PCBs for precious metals in e-waste recovery effort

A nice side business

I have a nice side business, collecting and aggregating memory and other circuit boards to sell to a nearby e-scrap company for top dollar.

Raptor Lake microcode patch arrives for Intel motherboards this month, ASUS and MSI say

Obvious why

It is obvious why MSI and Asus are at the head of the queue for Raptor Lake microcode updates. Both focus on gaming computers, often overclocked.

The Reg did not try top contact Lenovo? And what about Gigabyte, also big in the world of gaming? And SuperMicro?

Secure Boot useless on hundreds of PCs from major vendors after key leak

Binarily free scannng tool is not usable by regular people.

"Binarily has released a free scanning tool", but it is not friendly. It uploads a UEFI firmware image, which most of us do not have available for our computers. SO regular computer owners cannot use it. I think that the purpose is to all to the growing list of motherboards that test positive for PKFAIL.

Yet another message here says that someone managed to run the Binarily PKFAIL test. I wonder how.

Windows Patch Tuesday update might send a user to the BitLocker recovery screen

Re: Dont panic.

What!!!! Yes, BitLocker works on Windows 10/11 Home. It is set up by default when one brings a computer home from the store, powers it up and creates a login. Managed to "repair" a dead Windows 10 Home laptop a couple of years ago by mouting the Bitlockered SSD in another computer, typing in the 48-bit BitLocker key and ridding the owner of BitLocker.

Another reason

One more reason not to use BitLocker.

The months and days before and after CrowdStrike's fatal Friday

An oxymoron

Given the McAfee XP disaster in 2009 or thereabouts and the recent CrowdStrike debacle, saying the name of ex-McAfee CTO and CrowdStrike founder George Kurtz and "computer security" in the same breath is an all-time great oxymoron.

FreeDOS and FreeBSD prove old code never dies, just gets nifty updates

Re: Why?

I was tasked recently with replacing a dead Gateway 486 running MS_DOS 6.2 to control a factory device through a serial port. I chose a Dell Optiplex 7050, AFAIK one of the last modern computer generation to support legacy boot. Everything since is UEFI-only. The minimum amount of memory for the Optiplex is 2GB, enough to cause HIMEM.SYS to hang during system boot. I substituted the FreeDOS equivalent with a command line parameter to limit the high memory to 512MB. The replacement computer runs well.

The big picture is that many companies use very old but highly reliable industrial or medical equipment controlled by very old computers, and that's why people use MS-DOS 6.2 and FreeDOS today.

Windows: Insecure by design

SJVN is an industry expert, but...

SJVN is an industry expert, but in railing against Microsoft (for good reason!), he trots out the old saw that we all have to migrate to Linux. From his POV, this is easy, because he has been there for decades. But in telling us all to move to Linux, he disregards entirely the problems of finding apps to replace our Windows app, moving all our data, and, finally, the likely onerous task of making our data compatible with whatever Linux replacement apps we choose.

But I repeat, SJVN is 1000% correct in pointing out how insecure Windows is, and the US govt does not levy fines or take anti-trust action. The EU, though, is well positioned to whack Microsoft, and its regulators have the mindset to do so.

Do you really need that GPU or NPU for your AI apps?

Excellent insights!

Thank you for dealing with at least some of the AI hype.

Microsoft PC Manager app bizarrely suggests Bing as a Windows fix-all

Re: Why are apps like this needed?

Because children, not just Microsoft children, write software for Windows and their programs leave cruft behind. Because the Windows registry is a house of cards that nobody understands completely. More cruft. Because the people who design successive versions of Windows are enamored with the idea of having a beautiful desktop, never mind a smooth running and secure operating system.

PC Manager Review

Not long ago, I did a review of PC Manager for AskWoody.com . My quick summary is that PC Manager is little more than propaganda to convince (sometimes coerce) people into doing things the MIcrosoft way. Here's the link to my article, the free teaser article for AskWoody that week.

https://www.askwoody.com/newsletter/free-edition-what-can-microsoft-pc-manager-do-for-you/

Hubble Space Telescope has gyro problems again

I am deeply sympathetic with Hubble. At my age, things don't seem to work how they used to either.

SWIFT embraces central bank digital currencies after sandbox success

What about NFTs?

Will SWIFT venture into the world of handling NFTs, too? Inquiring minds want to know.

UN: E-waste is growing 5x faster than it can be recycled

Right to repair is almost a non-starter

Right to repair sounds very nice. How about "Design to be repaired?" That would put Apple out of business without a complete redesign of it product lines, built as difficult to repair so we'll throw it away. Microsoft Surface is in the same cetegory, and lots of other computer electronics.

US task force aims to plug security leaks in water sector

Not strong-arming

This is not the EPA putting a strong arm on municipal water facilities. The action simply speaks to the gaping security holes in public-facing computer systems everywhere. And no so public facing. The US is the biggest target for cybercriminals, and likely the most lucrative one.

The municipal water systems, both fresh water at the tap and waste water full of whatever are a series of disconnected operations. This is not a "system" in my country.

I have my own personal water systems, water drawn from a well and waste flowing into a septic system, pumped every couple of years. My systems are as disconnected from any grid and as secure as possible, with the well pump relying on electricity delivered to our house.

The end of classic Outlook for Windows is coming. Are you ready?

Stay calm about COM

Regarding COM: What Microsoft giveth, Microsoft taketh away.

Microsoft confirms Russian spies stole source code, accessed internal systems

Exfiltrated? How about stolen?

In typical Microsoft-speak, a concept exfiltrated from various authoritarian regimes, the reality of theft and stealing is obfuscated by its use of the word "exfiltrated".

Hold up world, HP's all-in-one print subscription's about to land, and don't forget AI PCs

HP inkjet printers are not for buying

HP does everything possible to mine gold from sale of its inkjet cartridges, with cartridge expiration dates and refusal to allow 3rd party cartridges. Why would anyone in their right mind buy an HP inkjet device? Ignorance? Some nonsensical brand loyalty? Nothing HP can do for its shabby treatment of customers and its effect on HP's reputation as a printer vendor, except change, treating customers like real people. And you know that will not happen.

Starting over: Rebooting the OS stack for fun and profit

The Achilles heel of NVDIMMs

"A programmer friend of mine, who is a lot smarter than me and often shoots my ideas down, pointed out a snag. Even though NVDIMMs are orders of magnitude tougher than Flash SSDs, they do still wear out. One loop just incrementing a variable would burn out some memory cells in minutes."

NVDIMMs sound like agreat idea, but unless they are robust and not prone to failure, there does not seem to be a good reason to bet the farm or your OS on them.

Microsoft catches the Wi-Fi 7 wave with Windows 11

Pie in the sky

Microsoft-think believes that the entire world will go racing ahead with wifi7, and we all trip over one another getting there. This a true pipe dream, a dream which comes about from smoking one of several substances.

This is what I see down here on the ground. Billions of mobile phones and computers still use Wifi5 (802.11ac), even new computers sold as cheap consumer models. Routinely, I still see decade-old 802.11n routers. If it's not broke, people do not fix or replace routers, never mind that they waste hours of time with slow wifi access. Only recently has 802.11ax (Wifi6) gotten any traction. Upgrading the wifi in laptop or desktop is a fraught proposition, as name brand computer manufacturers continue to use BIOS white lists to lock out "unauthorized" wifi cards.

As usual, we get a lot of meaningless PR puffery from Microsoft.

Moving to Windows 11 is so easy! You just need to buy a PC that supports it!

Re: It is easy

"only superficially different"? True. THAT is the point of Windows 11. To be superficially different. The major Windows underpinnings and bloated obtuse registry remain the same. But superficial is a big deal. It is what you see every day, rather than spending 8 hours admiring registry entries.

Propaganda of the finest kind

I sure don't think Windows 11 offers me a fresh start. Without registry mods, I have to click more buttons to do the same routine tasks that I did under Windows 10. A Mac-style centered taskbar is a fresh start? What if I like the Windows 10 desktop better? Well, I'm stuck with what Microsoft gave me with Windows 11. Like many other people. The slow migration to Windows 11 is caused in part by the expense of new hardware, and also because people just do not like it as much as Windows 10. Nadella, take note!

Ukraine claims Russian military is using Starlink

Smuggled Starlink gear?

Isn't it in the realm of possibility that at least one StarLink ground station has been smuggled into Russia? How about two, one to use and the other to hack and replicate many times over.

How did China get so good at chips and AI? Congressional investigation blames American venture capitalists

A light bulb lights up somewhere in Congress

US electronics manufacturers have long been fleeced by the Chinese, going back to Digital Equipment moving some hardware manufacturing there in the 1990's. China has no laws about intellectual property, and many joint ventures resulting in IP falling into Chinese hands.

Consider 3COM and Huawei. They did a joint venture. 3COM is no more. Huawei does very well in the worlds of electronics and networking.

The United States is simply too damned parochial and too naïve in business to do really well dealing with foreign businesses. And until recently, the US government has stayed away from any involvement whatsoever in businesses strategic to the long term health of the country. US public school education has worsen, especially in the red states, and far too many kids do not or cannot learn mathematics, the underpinnings of STEM and finance.

Suddenly someone in Congress with an iota of insight wakes up and gets worried about everything past. How much thought are our lawmakers giving to the long term and the future of this country? Close enough to none to be recognized as none.

Ben in the United States

TSMC to build second fab in Japan, backed by local investment

What is the US doing?

The United States continues with its collective Congressional thumb up its backside, with few government initiatives to manufacture sub-10nm chips here.

You're not imagining things – USB memory sticks are getting worse

Can't be as reliable as SSDs

Unlike SSDs, flash sticks generally do not have controllers with firmware to replace failed blocks with spares. As I have found out the hard way, once you delete and rewrite memory some number of times, the flash stick becomes inoperative. Ditto with SD and microSD cards.

Memtest86+, the little RAM tester, flexes FOSS muscles with v7.0

Memtest86+ is super

I've kept up with the latest Memtest86+ and I found the 6.xx versions very good, and far better than Passmark's product. Can't wait to get version 7.0. Will download it now.

Windows boss takes on taskbar turmoil, pledges to 'make Start menu great again'

Re: It's TASKBAR that needs fixing more

Well, way back in Windows 10 days, one could move the task bar to any of the four margins, left, right, top and bottom. Some brilliant Microsoft genius decided to make the change. Or was it a committee of geniuses?

Start menu a step back in time, almost to DOS days

In this wondrous GUI world, why is it easier and faster for me to type a program name, or even a task function, into the search bar, rather than click-click-click-click-click down the list of programs to find the one I want? Windows 10 has degraded muchly in this respect and it is now as bad and deficient as Window 11.

Windows 11 unable to escape the shadow of Windows 10

Let's go back further

With Windows, Microsoft seems to be echoing Intel's tick-tock CPU strategy.

Windows NT - good but limited

Windows 2000 - even better, but still limited to 32 bits

Windows XP - another improvement, but XP x64 is a disaster

and now, tick-tock kicks in.

Windows Vista - a world-class horror show

Windows 7 - a very fine release, thank you, with excellent 64-bit support, finally!

Windows 8 - a disaster, not know if it wants to be an OS for tablets or for desktops.

Windows 8.1 - a mild recovery, not well accepted

Windows 10 - another very usable release

Windows 11 - using Windows 11, I am better off typing in program names than using the convoluted start button. Lots of useless eye candy and inflexibility like MacOS.

Microsoft remains tight-lipped about Windows 11 CPU requirements. Give Microsoft a BIG FAIL!

The issue of where Microsoft drew the line on supported CPUs has been raised countless times, with Microsoft remaining moot instead of explaining with some credible details. All we have heard is some whining about degraded performance with older processors, but no specific benchmark data.

I am quite certain that my 10-core Xeon with 64GB of memory and TPM 2.0 and all SSDs would run Windows 11 very nicely, and replacing it in kind would cost me a lot.

Law secretly drafted by ChatGPT makes it onto the books

Re: No problem

The ability to read and parse words and sentences is not among the requirements mandated for legislators. In these United States, the House of Representatives is no longer burdened by George Santos, but it still has the estimable Lauren Boebert as a model of legislative know-how, especially groping a guy in a Denver theatre.