* Posts by Antron Argaiv

2181 publicly visible posts • joined 18 May 2016

The return of the classic Flying Toasters screensaver

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Re: There is only one classic toaster!

I’d pay to view that.

You might have hit on a sure fire moneymaker. Now get obit!

Turns out people don't like it when they suspect a machine's talking to them

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Re: Bing Knows

Well, there's the 8 oz standard liquid cup, but when you're brewing coffee, it seems a cup is whatever the maker of the brewer wants it to be, often 6 oz, but sometimes 4 oz. Oz being of course, a liquid ounce and not the 1/16th of a pound ounce. Remember, of course, that a pint's a pound, the world around...

When I got serious about brewimg my morning coffee, I went with ml and grams. So much easier and less confusing.

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Re: Bing Knows

My former company used to use Peakon and I always thought it was a tremendous waste of time. They have since gone to an in-house designed “anonymous” survey which I declined to participate in. They never seem to make much difference anyway.

NYC Mayor: Robo-pup 'out of the pound' and back to police work

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FAIL

K5 vs stairs

The last time it tackled stairs, it drowned itself.

US defense tech veterans call for a separate Cyber Force

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Re: Ninjas

ROMANES EUNT DOMUS

Microsoft axes 10,000, already breaking bad news to staff

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Linux

Re: Microsoft always follows IBM, with a 10-20 year delay.

eh...about that "Windows dominating the desk/laptop market..."

Data point: I recently met several tech workers from a major US defense comtractor. Asked them what kind of PC OS they used. Answer was "Microsoft for corporate email, paperwork, etc, Linux for real work", which I thought was interesting.

Don't count Linux out yet.

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Happy

Re: Any of these in QA?

Marketing?

They'll be first against the wall, when the revolution comes!

UK's Emergency Services Network unlikely to start operating until 2029

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Coat

Certainly no one in the US who remembers Nextel.

Motorola created Nextel to eliminate privately owned two-way radios. The idea was to replace all those private tow truck, plumber and taxi dispatch systems with a single, Motorola owned and operated cellular-like digital network, where Moto (through Nextel) would sell (proprietary, single source, natch) radio gear to the various customers, who would then be charged for use of the Nextel network.

I think it lasted about 30 years. It's gone now, replaced by cellular. Not sure if it was ever profitable or how the coverage was. Motorola loves to build proprietary communications networks and lock users into them. It's what they do. There's a similar integrated national first-responder network being proposed here in the US, but I'm not sure how far it has gotten. Agencies seem reluctant to put all their eggs in that basket (to use a seasonally appropriate metaphor), but maybe Motorola can pull another rabbit out of the hat...

Techie called out to customer ASAP, then: Do nothing

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Holmes

Re: The BOFH had a term for this

Rule number one of troubleshooting (and design):

Mechanical parts (connectors, switches, hardware) are the most unreliable parts in a design, and, therefore, the first place you should look if there's a problem.

Defunct comms link connected to nothing at a fire station – for 15 years

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Re: Fun(d) distribution

When I was in uni, the folks in charge of the lines running into the mainframe reconciled the monthly phone bills with care.

State Uni. Tight fisted would be understating it by quite a bit

Germany sours on Microsoft again, launches antitrust review

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Linux

Linux (Mint) desktop user

With a Windows 7 VM, and WINE, for those programs I cannot do without, I have been using Linux as a daily desktop for years. I use Win10 at work, and find no trouble in switching back and forth.

MS's recent efforts to turn Windows and Office into a subscription based ad server have completely soured me on ever again running Windows on a personal machine. I dislike the company intensely. Linux may not be perfect, but at least it doesn't suck any worse than Windows, and changes are at my discretion, not some company with its own agenda.

Uptime guarantees don't apply when you turn a machine off, then on again, to 'fix' it

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Re: When it isn't Joe-Proof

Or that at least ONE of the techs might have profitably spent their down time making legible stick-on labels with the serial numbers & stuck them on a part of the drive visible when it was installed.

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Re: Not support related, but...

You would hope...that the exhaust air from areas likely to have combustion (server rooms, etc) would not be shared with areas containing people.

You would hope.

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Re: Linux.... back when Slackware came on floppy disks

...and the excitement lasted much longer, (due to dialup Internet) too!

I still remember the joyful feeling when Walnut Creek CD started publishing the releases on CD.

Microsoft promises it's made Teams less confusing and resource hungry

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FAIL

Re: Basic UX problems

They have solved that problem. Linux client is discontinued, now we're supposed to use the web client, which only works with Edge or Chrome.

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Re: How about...

My current work machine came without an Ethernet connector (because we're all supposed to be on wireless now). No prob, I thought, I'll just pick up one of those USB-C hubs with the RJ on the end...which I did, and it works great*. I refuse to use Teams without a hardwired network connection.

* except Windows drops the damn wired connection occasionally

It seems, from what Google says, to be a problem with the generic USB to Ethernet chip and/or its Windows driver. I have reduced the frequency of occurrence, but have not yet totally eliminated the issue.

Botched migration resulted in a great deal: One for the price of two

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Re: The opposite problem

I feel your pain.

Corporate accounting periodically "loses" invoices from our parts vendor (to be fair, there are several orders per day). Parts vendor eventually freezes shipments until balance is paid. Lather, rinse and repeat. Corporate doesn't give a crap and, unfortunately, our group is very low on the totem pole.

From experience, corporate accounting is more error prone than they should be, which is a bit scary.

RIP Gordon Moore: Intel co-founder dies, aged 94

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Re: Has anyone ever wondered

If we had waited for Picturephone, I have no doubt at all that we would still be waiting.

Microprocessors and cheap PCs brought us worldwide free* video calling.

* for all intents and purposes

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Re: And I had just bought some more Xeons, too…

...as is mine :-)

// LJ5, vintage 1996

Turing Award goes to Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of the Ethernet

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Re: Drop out

That was Bell Labs/Western Electric, and, to be fair, it was never designed to be pulled backwards through a rats nest of cables.

Still, it's cheap, reliable, designed for CAT3 and CAT5 cable, and easy to install. On balance, its advantages outweigh the fishhook problem.

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[makes hex sign]

Token Ring was a nightmare from beginning to end. The shared media version, with the connector panels and bulky, finicky cables was a lot of work for 16 mbits, the interface cards were 3x the cost of an Ethernet card because of licensing fees, and the UTP version radiated like a banshee. A triumph of [IBM] marketing over engineering.

I developed TR cards at Data General and 3Com, and while it gave me a job, I always felt that Ethernet was going to be the winner.

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Re: Drop out

I'm currently using a 150 ft length of orange (plenum) ethernet cable as an antenna feedline. Works great at HF.

(and N connector >> vampire tap) At Data General, we very quickly learned that crimp on N connectors and 3Com transceivers were the reliable way to go. And I still despise the slide latch AUai connectors.

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In Honolulu right now, and there's a commemorative marker for ALOHAnet, not 10 miles from here at UHawaii Manoa.

Well deserved award, though, in my opinion, they should have given it earlier.

Microsoft to give more than microsecond's thought about your Windows 11 needs

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Re: It's sounded like a very long winded MS talkie toaster explanation, which ends with...

On my work issued Win10 PC, I get intermittent solid colored box popups, encouraging me to "try" an assortment of useless (to me) features, like importing photos from Android devices, as I try to use Office or Teams. They block further progress in whatever I'm doing, and won't go away until I click on their "got it" box.

These "tips", or "teaching callouts", or "training tips" are perhaps the most annoying feature, and it appears they can't be turned off globally. Most annoying to me is that this is the first time I have been marketed to while using a top-of-the line volume licensed Enterprise OS. I might expect this foolishness on a "Home Edition", but not on my work system.

I'm told that these popups are intended to help new users explore the many facets of Office and Teams. That may be so, but if I'm not interested, I should be able to turn them off, and they should definitely not affeft my ability to do my work. Sure, you say, you can just click them away, what's the harm? I counter that my company has provided a PC for me to do my work, and has paid handsomely for the hardware and software. I'm not getting full valuemoutisof a tool that interrupts me to advertise features I may be interested in (but, so far, none have held any interest for me).

(I won't comment on how much crapware I had to remove from the Start menu...XBox gaming on a work PC install???)

UNIX co-creator Ken Thompson is a… what user now?

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An old guy (who invented Unix) having fun.

FTFY

I have an incredible amount of respect for him. I'm interested in what he's up to. If you have a background like his I’d be interested in what you’re up to as well.

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Linux

Ken Thompson gets a lifetime pass

The reasoning should be obvious.

The man created an operating system still in use after almost 60 years. Sure, it has evolvved, but it's still very relevant. So, when he expresses an opinion on an OS, I'll listen to him.

Thank you, Dr. Thompson, for all you have done for computing.

Techie fired for inventing an acronym – and accidentally applying it to the boss

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Fair point.

But I submit, it's also incumbent on users to be as helpful and tolerant as possible. Because abusing or beng untruthful to folks who are trying to help you and many others who have problems is counter-productive.

Which is why I always remember my IT bods with a small thank you gift at the holidays.

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SUE = Some UsEr...problem solved.

ID-10-T errors...unsolveable without a modified cattle prod.

Techie wiped a server, nobody noticed, so a customer kept paying for six months

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Re: Would have done otherwise

The warm glow ensues when, after telling you to "buzz off", they call you back with a contract for the obscene amount of money you named.

Four charged with swiping $1m+ of gear from Microsoft cargo trucks

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Re: no title

Should have looked for computer recyclers who had old IBM Model M keyboards, which now go for $100+

Duelling techies debugged printer by testing the strength of electric shocks

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Coat

Re: You need to re-install

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 as a Linux laptop

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Re: Touchpads

Trackpoint is an abomination and should die. Trackpads are not much better, but useable in a pinch. I carry a small BT mouse, which makes life much better.

The less said about laptop keyboards the better. Mine is rigged with a USB expander and a Dell clicky AT101.

I have noticed that Linux supports 3-5 year old machines very well. Brand new ones usually have minor issues while the drivers for the new chips used for network, camera, sound, BT, etc are polished up. I would expect perfection on this machine within a release cycle or two at the most. I'm currently running a Dell Latitude 7480 (2016) and Mint 21.1 works beautifully on it.

BOFH: I care a lot ... about onion bhajis

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Well played!

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Windows

It's all online nowadays

Slide show presentations with interleaved quizzes, all provided by companies that make that stuff.

So you kick it off, pop up another window, and get some work done, checking back occasionally to see if it's quiz time. Wrong answers are flagged and you get a chance to do them over, apparently unlimited times, so you need to be a real thickie not to get though them. And then it's over until next year.

I particularly like the ones on bribery and conflict of interest. I also find that my answers tend to be more conservative than the training is looking for.

Whatever.

NASA fixes solar observation spacecraft by turning it off and turning it on again

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Re: Recover from latch-up

...and it's why we use hardware watchdog timers when it's important that the processor find its way back to running the code we want it to.

Don't worry, that system's not actually active – oh, wait …

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Childcatcher

Cheap.

Lower cost = higher profit.

'Twas ever thus.

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Re: Change window - cue the drums

Upvoted as I just received a video of my 2 yo grandson undoing the child "lock" on the under-sink cabinet, throwing something in the trash, closing the cabinet door, and with a huge smile, proudly reattaching the child "lock".

They're always cleverer than you think they are!

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Re: Why would one ...

Winner, winner (the one whose chicken dinner...it was?)

Linux Mint 21.2 and Cinnamon 5.8 desktop take shape

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Linux

Had an opportunity to speak with a relative who works in R&D for a major US defense comppany. He says he and all his coworkers use Linux for their work. Windows where absolutely necessary to interface with corporate IT, but their real work gets done on Linux systems. I was [pleasantly] surprised to hear that...well, perhaps not, as my boss was recently investigating how to dual boot his corporate laptop between Win10 to Linux.

I read that to indicate that the published percentage of desktops using Linux/Windows/MacOs may not be totally accurate.

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Linux

Mint MATE

Call me behind the curve, but I prefer MATE. Mint is my choice on my personal machines, which date from 2016. Still quite zippy with plenty of RAM and SDDs. I'm a happy penguinista and have been for many years.

I'm qute impressed with its stability. Only objection I have is that some of the packages in the repo are seriously behind the releases on their PPMs, but that's easily remedied.

Service desk tech saved consultancy Capita from VPN meltdown, got a smack for it

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Re: No good deed goes unpunished...

CONSULTING

If you can't be part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem.

-- stolen from despair.com

Microsoft pushed 'inaccurate' Windows 11 upgrade to unsupported devices

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Re: anything else would be too hard to learn

Linux user here (for over 10 years). I use Win10 on a work laptop, exclusively Linux on my personal gear. I have no trouble switching back and forth.

I have noticed that Windows has not really been improving from Win7 to Win10...it just seems to be moving the UI around as if the goal is to keep you from being able to effficiently work. Not my idea of progress. Sure, Linux is not perfect, but IMHO it doesn't suck any worse than Windows, and there's no malicious actor pulling the strings behind the scenes (I don't think so, at least)

I'll use Windows when necessary, but I prefer Linux.

BOFH: The PFY has won an award … for outstanding service?

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Re: Deja vu

Shouldn't "facilitated" be in quotes?

Google staff asked to share desk space in latest cost purge

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Re: American Capitalism - Greed

If you ever hear that phrase at work, start looking.

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Childcatcher

Re: Cloud Office Evolution

Why, when I were a lad...

...right out of school, I was treated as a professional and given an 8'x10' cubical. Later this shrunk to 8'x8'. Things have changed a bit.

Granted, I no longer need the bookcases full of books, or the tabletops to spread D size schematics out on. But the "treating like a professional" looks like it's long gone. No longer do you get any personal space at work. No place to sit and cogitate. No wonder wfh seems so attractive.

Oh, well, the management will eventually figure it out...after all the top employees leave.

A tip for content filter evaluators: erase the list of sites you tested, don't share them on 100 PCs

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Big Brother

Re: unexpected consequences

Re: private girls' schools

Newly married me and my newly minted maths/science teacher wife took a position at a PGS which included housing as we were to be live-in dormitory "parents"

The good parts:

- We could save for a house

- We had free child care (the girls loved our new son

- free "food" at the dining hall

The bad parts:

- immediate requirement on my part for selective blindness

- the girls were quite adept at sneaking out to meet boyfriends

- duty weekends

It lasted only a few years before we were able to put a down payment on a house. But it was a very interesting few years. Would not do it again, but enjoyed the experience.

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Linux

Re: A lot of El Reg Readers really are very old

Why, when I were a lad...

...I remember downloading ~15 3.5 diskette images to install Slackware Linux (was wonderful when Walnut Creek CD came onto the scene)

'twas shortly afterwards that I discovered Linux was noticeably more robust than Windows 3.1+DOS+QEMM+a bunch of TSRs.

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Re: I did the same thing

Uh...yeah :-)

Sunsite, SIMTEL ... decwrl and tsx-11...thanks for the memories!

Yukon UFO could have cost unfortunate balloon fan $12

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Happy

Re: Canada goose with laser beams.

I'm looking for a retired mechanical engineer to help me build the ultimate solution to the Canada Goose problem.

I envision an truck-mounted device with a large suction hose. Canada Geese in one end, and out the other end come goose-down insulated parkas on one side and pate de foie gras on the other side. I figure we could sell a few.