Posts by CJ_C

Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'

Phone, txt, web, gps

Look at Ubuntu Touch which works for me: ubports.com

UK unis to cough up to £10M on Java to keep Oracle off their backs

Oracle licensing: a real risk

This can come as no great surprise! When I retired from UK HE in 2007, I regarded Oracle licensing as perhaps our greatest risk. The University had been running business systems based on Oracle database technologies for over 20 years. Every year Oracle picked off a few institutions, generally where there was a new IT director unaware of the licencing history or the huge discounts HE typically had. A lot of money was paid over. I always talked to Oracle salesmen in great detail about our exit strategy, but it was unfunded and would have been costly and disruptive. I escaped without my employer being hit, but I do not know what has happened since.

Oracle is like a bear, it may be happy with honey for a while but eventually it will demand flesh.

Google begs owners of crippled Chromecasts not to hit factory reset

I was lucky, up to a point.hh

I nearly bought a Chromecast audio. I only did not when I learned that Google were so desperate for data that the device would not work locally without an internet connection to call home. That was the beginning of the end of my relationship with Google. Not that the alternative QED uPlay Stream was supported for very long,..

Euro-cloud Anexia moves 12,000 VMs off VMware to homebrew KVM platform

Heroic!

Am I really the first to offer Windbichler and his team a (virtual) beer? Because of their efforts, Broadcom are less likely to succeed in extracting (extorting?) more money long term.

Million GPU clusters, gigawatts of power – the scale of AI defies logic

A Mystery to Me

Where will the revenue come from? From you and me, I guess. Or at least from you. My 2025 New Year resolution is to disengage entirely from US mega corporations.

Your air fryer might be snitching on you to China

Re: They want data?

My relationship with Google ended so far as possible when I realised that the Google Chromecast Audio woiud not play local music locally unless ithe broadband was up so it could call home. They are that desparate for data.

Not much smart here. Microwave has a mechanical dial timer which goes ping. 4 mechanical timers for bathroom fans and towel rails. Ceiling fans have IR rermotes, like the TV

Anthropic's Claude vulnerable to 'emotional manipulation'

GIGO (1957)

Trained on garbage, witterings from social media. Unsurprisingly, all you get out is wittering: garbage. Is this surprising?

So how's Microsoft's Secure Future Initiative going?

Buggered my email

They have just stopped my use of IMP and SMTP with Outlook, so I can no longer conveniently use their mail. But I am sure I am much more secure. Great.

Campaigners claim 'Privacy Preserving Attribution' in Firefox does the opposite

Seems Reasonable To Me

It was off by default for me.

I carefully read Mozilla's description: click the ? on the option. It does seem to preserve privacy. If it gains traction it would be much better than the current illegal cookie situation where when I search for something, my wife gets the advertising...

I have clicked it on. I wish them luck!

Is Lenovo a blind spot in US anti-China security measures?

Trackpoint

For me, for 20 years or so, the trackpoint has trumped all other considerations. Recently bought my fourth (or fifth?) Thinkpad. A new one (not second hand!) configured to suite me with an AMD processor. Still messing with different Linux distros but the time to switch is approaching as my unloved X240 is falling apart and the battery is only good for 30 minutes or so.

Is the trackpoint beholden to CCP? It is certainly red in colour...

Real-time and Core editions of Ubuntu arrive

Ubuntu Touch

Also eorth noting that the Ububtu Touch phone OS supported by Ubports is also immutable, but not a SNAP in sight. Works for me, every time!

OpenAI to buy electricity from CEO Sam Altman's nuclear fusion side hustle

Re: I would love for Helion to succeed

Fusion has been only 25 years away, ever since I was in my 20s, 50 years ago...

More layoffs at Microsoft: What's really going on here?

Truss

The use of Truss in this context can only be admired and in future emulated. Thanks!

EU tells Meta it can't paywall privacy

Re: Freetard Clickbait

I have no Facebook account, so when occasionally cookies are not blocked, my wife gets my targetted advertising instead of me. So I am interrogated by her along the lines of: Have you (me) been buying wine again... You do not need another Raspberry Pi. We are doing no more jigsaws until Christmas...

Apple makes it official: No Home Screen web apps in European Union

Re: Yes, you really are the product

Ubuntu Touch *is* still a thing, supported by UBports (see https://ubports.com/), used by thousands, now based on Ubuntu 20.04, and running on modernish hardware such as PIxel 3a and Fairphone 4. It might seem very barebone to those used to modern smart phones, but it is Google and Apple free and it suits me.

AI is changing search, for better or for worse

Re: Source Verification in the Age of AI

Too much balanced dense argument here. I declare this to be AI or largely so.

The Post Office systems scandal demands a critical response

Many many more people damaged

This article grossly understates the damage. There were over 900 prosecutions of subpostmasters, but many many more people had their lives damaged or ruined. The Post Office falsely demanded money from many that it never prosecuted and suspicion fell on all the staff in a branch. Families were ruined through the feelings of guilt and shame. Friendships were lost and whole communities were affected. The stress caused suicides and illness. In a few cases the friendships were so strong that the community were brought together but even so the stress caused by the untrustworthy evidence from Horizon and bullying by enforcers was enormous. The current Post Office and Fujitsu organisations need to be replaced with bosses losing their jobs.

Europe bans Meta from using personal data to target ads

Re: And nothing was lost

And I will not buy again from those that nag repeatedly for review...

Consent??

I have not consented to ads related to my searches being shown to my wife on her Facebook account, presumably because I have no Facebook account. And I am not alone. Facebook has no f**king idea about how to process personal information properly, and doesn't care.

When is a privacy button not a privacy button? When Google runs it, claims lawsuit

The only way

The only way to deal with Google is not to deal with them. So it has to be Linux, Firefox, DuckDuckGo and on my phone UBports Ubuntu Touch.

I went this way, over 5 years ago, when I discovered that Google were so desperate for private data that the Chromecast Audio Streamer ceased playing local media files if the broadband went down. Google were not and are not playing nice. Will the legislators make them behave, eventually?

Sadly I have real solution for the (Android) TV except trying to set settings, not using YouTV, and using accounts dedicated to the device.

Police ignored the laws of datacenter climate control

Re: Fun with magnets.

Sounds like a Tektronix 14"storage tube graphics didplay to me. Probably cost over £20k in the 1970s. They were not common. As I recall the whole unit shook and made DUNG noise when the degauss was pressed.

Tesla hackers turn to voltage glitching to unlock paywalled features

Re: soft locks on optional, but installed, features

I also hate rental, but ULEZ is not about perpetual rental. It is also not about saving the planet from warming due to CO2 emissions, whatever tories and the popular press may say. It is instead about deterring the use of dirty diesels in built up areas because the emissions damage and kill the young.

Apple demands app makers explain use of sensitive APIs

Data Leaking

The behaviour whereby when I do a search, my wife gets relevant ads, is surely illegal; a data protection breach? However it has recently become routine again, despite the precautions I take.

Post Office Horizon Inquiry calls for compensation to be brought forward

Fifthly

Bonuses were awarded to current bosses on the basis of lies in the latest accounts about completing tasks for the enquiry. This was spotted and money repaid. But they still have their jobs...

Samsung’s midrange A54 is lovely, but users won't feel seen

Re: Reviews are pretty pointless these days

Support and screen size are why I have a Pixel 3a running Ubuntu Touch and supported by UBports. Now on 20.04 with only a few wrinkles.

I have had mine for a couple of years and I expect it to last the same again. It cost over £100 secondhand. I needed a protective cover and replace screen protectors from time to time. Battery still fine but not user replaceable. Lack of memory card not currently an issue.

YMMV.

I am 71 and don't do social media...

The FBI as advanced persistent threat – and what to do about it

Re: Mobile phone equals no privacy

You still can have linux on a mobile. Ubuntu Touch, supported by Ubports, runs just fine for me on a Pixel 3a.

No more free API access, says Twitter: You pay for that data

Re: They just did this in the wrong order

No!

Advertising does not drive anybody to anything. It certainly drives me away

Ubuntu Touch OTA-23 is coming: Do you have one of the older model phones that can test it?

Re: From "3arn0wl", above...

UBports works really well on a number of phones, like Nexus5 and Pixel 3a. It depends on your use set but it is good enought to be my only phone. There are big development issues, including VOLTE and up to date linux base (Ubuntu 20.04), but there is a good community working well together. It is one of the few phone systems independent of Apple and Google, with I hope a good long future. Give it a go!

Start using Modern Auth now for Exchange Online

Re: The whole thing is a worsening nightmare

The first embarrasdment on this holiday was booking new flight after the first was cancelled. No mobile data so logged into the wifi. MS bleated but safe UK so did not suspend. Ordered tickets. Bank wanted verfication. Was too slow realising why no txt, so bank froze account...

Was able to get tickets later, but this is all getting too hard for me.

IMAP and SMPT Support

I am dependent on these. Are they going to end. MS already making them harder. I have had to givr up on Gmail.

When I log into a new wifi, MS warns, but now having travelled to unsafe France, my accounts were suspended. Embarrassing when try to accesss flight tickets...

Do I need to transition? If so to what? Needs to work with UBports and conventional Linux

The Return of Gopher: Pre-web hypertext service is still around

Re: Internet via JANET in mid-1980s?

UK Universities had extensive but not fully connected networks by 1973, based mainly around the Regional Centres. The Wells report from the Network working Party of that year eventually led to the formation of JNT (Joint Network Team) in 1979. By 1986 a recognisable national JANET network running a single set of protocols with with backbone was in place. See: Janet: The First 25 Years, by Christoper S. Cooper, ISBN 0954920724.

Linux Snap package tool fixes make-me-root bugs

Ubuntu Touch

I really like that the headline image for this article is of core Ubuntu Touch (UBports) devices. Touch was dropped by Ubuntu in 2017, but UBports really does need the free publicity!

Open hardware smartphone PinePhone Pro starts to ship – to developers only, for now

Pinephone not for users

It would be nice if the Pinephone worked as a phone. Really nice. Currently it cannot wake quickly enough for a call to be answered, if I understand correctly. I hope the Pro is better.

In the meantime there are phones repurposed from Android which work well with Linux if you can do without apps. I recently ran up a modern(Ish) version of Android, to update the kernel of a Pixel 3a for UBPorts. What an unpleasant experience that was, but now UBPorts runs like a dream...

Reg reader returns Samsung TV after finding giant ads splattered everywhere

Sony as bad

To end the nightmare of multiple remotes, we (I) bought a Sony only to discover that it is Android. It was a big mistake. You need a Google account just to get updates to apps. The default TV app(!) is YouTV which monitors even broadcast watching. The satellite tuner is unusable without monitoring because its EPG comes from the internet via YouTV. It will record but on to a hard disk only ( you know the old fashioned spinny things) and you can't watch TV while recording!

I think we will disconnect it from the internet and go back to the past of using the Humax box with proper record for satellite and a ROKU for internet.

Do not get me started on the BBC who now insist you have a linked smart phone/tablet to watch iPlayer.

Ubuntu on a phone, anyone? UBports reaches 18th stable update, but it's still based on 16.04

Re: Linux phone

Ubports is indeed a proper Linux phone. It has a bash shell. New volunteers and users are wanted.

Google fined €500m for not paying French publishers after using their words on web

Jail!

Arrest Google execs next time they set foot in EU.

Google to ban emoji, deceptive marketing, and ALL CAPS from Play Store metadata later this year

There are on :F-Droid...

Ad blocking made Google throw its toys out of the pram – and now even more control is being taken from us

Re: "...the stuff that reaches only the right people is worth far more..."

This used to be my world, but using private browsing on firefox and duck duck go it is not now.

If at first you don't succeed, Fold? Nope. Samsung redesigns bendy screen for fresh launch in September

Re: $1,980 ?!?

For that price, I would expect a gorilla glass screen...

Just look at Q! Watch out Microsoft, the next Android has a proper desktop PC mode

Re: Nope!

Canonical did give up, but Ubuntu Touch for mobiles is thriving under the UBports project.

It's a lot of work, being popular: Apple, Tim Cook and the gilets jaunes

Re: India is a race to the bottom

India is a market, a huge one that is getting richer. The top names are not unknown in the UK: Samsung and Xiaomi are top with nearly 50%...

Spoiler alert: Google's would-be iPhone killer Pixel 3 – so many leaks

Brand new Nexus 5 (and other models) still available on ebay £125. Nexus 5 on Ubports works for me

Why is my cheapo Android red hot and switching off Wi-Fi?

Perhaps the only way

Is a Fairphone on Ubports...

Reg writer Richard went to the cupboard, seeking a Windows Phone...

A Third Way

2018 may not be the year of Linux on smartphone for the masses, but you can buy a new old Nexus 5 and run Ubports Ubuntu Touch on it. It works for me. It is not windows but more importantly it is not Android or IOS!

Dark fibre arts: Ofcom is determined to open up BT's network

Fibre is the prize!

Fibre to the premises, with the right to light it, opens up all sorts of possibilities for scalability, cost saving through consolidation and improved disaster recovery. Higher education has depended on such services for over 10 years. Telcos will still generally only trade it with other telcos and BT will not deal at all. UK industry generally is the loser.

Farewell Unity, you challenged desktop Linux. Oh well, here's Ubuntu 17.04

DLNA client

AFIK all file managers for Linux are stuck in the 20th century, with no DLNA support. To my mind, less angst about look and feel and more effort on useful features would be good

Smartphones crashed, Samsung burned: Mobile in 2016

Two horse race became two horse race

At the end of 2015, there were still ousiders like Blackberry, Sailfish, Ubuntu and Windows. Backberry and Sailfish have passed. Ubuntu has not had a phone to buy for 6 months. Windows share is miniscule with no hope of improvement. I would mention Tizen if there was anything to say. The Android, IOS duopoly looks here to stay and is bad for consumers.

Isis crisis: Facebook makes Bristol lass an unperson

Shakespeare and the reverse Scunthorpe problem

As many quizzers will know, Shakespeare was very rude and wished to refer to issues of lust, sex and womens bits. He used the term "country matters", which is an unexpected delight for teenagers.who study the texts in schools where the works have not been censored. Handle that with your porn filters!

Professor slams digital efforts of 'website-obsessed' government

I am often asked to comment

on the appearance, but not the (generally lacking) content. They often ask for and I always offer my services to draft and/or review content. I am however clearly square peg because they never come back to me. Also Most .gov.uk sites (and almost all others) are flouting the law by saying they will track you. They only give me an option to delete the tracking information notice, not to stop tacking...

I am also tired of commercial sites, which continually invite me to review them. The most annoying pop up is from Rcher Sounds, try it. I now longer us such sites.

Can we have an icon for Luddites?

TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding pockets £2.8m

Honesty with customers?

So I was assured that my detail were not leaked, but I still got phishing calls where the caller seemed to know a surprising amount about my TalkTalk account, but what do I know? I still get calls offering to help fix my Windows PCs and there are none.

I then get this helpful email (headers clipped,, personal information redacted and the layout has been messed up)

Important safety information – stay safe from scams

16 Jun (5 days ago)

Stay safe from scams

TalkTalk

Beat the scammers

Hello [My Christian Name]

Phone and email scams are on the rise. Over 2.5 million UK households received a scam call in the last month, this shows scams can happen to anyone.

That’s why we have made your security our priority.

We're the only provider to offer free privacy features, allowing you to block calls from withheld numbers, block the last number that called you, and to see the phone numbers of incoming calls.

We offer a free reporting service for nuisance and malicious calls.

We actively review incoming calls to find malicious callers and we block 70 million calls a month.

But unfortunately we can’t block them all, which is why we’ve launched a national campaign with our partner Get Safe Online. It’s called Beat the Scammers and helps you spot the scammers and stop them in their tracks.

What you should do to protect yourself:

Set up your free privacy features – Caller Display, Last Caller Barring and Anonymous Caller Reject – in My Account.

Trust your instincts. If you suspect a scammer is calling you, hang up, wait a few minutes and call back on an official number.

Report suspicious calls to us. We have advisors who will investigate the suspicious activity for you and block these numbers for all TalkTalk customers if they are found to be scammers.

Visit talktalk.co.uk/scamcalls for more information.

How to spot a scam call

There are common techniques scammers use to get you to part with your cash and personal information. These range from pretending to be from a trusted company to asking you to stay on the line so your bank can’t call to verify a transaction.

Remember:

We will NEVER ASK you for your full password or your bank details to process a refund; ask you to send money through services like MoneyGram or Western Union; nor quote your TalkTalk account number to prove the call is genuine.

Take a look at our video below to learn more about how to spot scams.

Tips from our Experts

Our security help, all in one place

Knowing how to avoid scams is only part of the fight to stay secure. There’s a wealth of up-to-date information on our Security Hub, including more information on our Beat the Scammers campaign and details of the security products that all TalkTalk customers get for free – HomeSafe® and SuperSafe Boost.

Find out more

Keep an eye out for more security updates over the next few months.

Tristia Harrison

Managing Director

TalkTalk Consumer

Is this email genuine?

Click here for help and advice on how to stay safe online

Please do not reply to this email, emails are not monitored.

TalkTalk Telecom Limited, 11 Evesham Street, London W11 4AR.

Registered in England & Wales No. 4633015.

But most of the calls I get (three in the last week?) are about TalkTalk and there is nothing about a further breach of data here. Instead I have to learn of that via the Register. I am a patient person but even I have my my limits...

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