Posts by Robert Moore

BOFH takes a visit to retro computing land

Re: cluterr free mee

LGR is a gateway drug. Manyl of my machines were purchased after watching one of his videos.

Microsoft Defender shoots down legit URLs as malicious

Working as designed.

I mean, from MS perspective Zoom and Google are very detrimental to their bottom line, so obviously should be blocked.

Microsoft to snatch Visio app away from iOS users this summer

For the other cheap bastards out there.

There is also yEd.

https://www.yworks.com/products/yed

Nowhere near the power of Visio, but for a quick diagram it can be just the thing.

Win/Mac/Linux

Twitter algorithm to be open sourced 'next week,' says Musk

Re: Make Twitter a public utility

They did. It is called "Truth" Social.

This is the end, Windows 7 and 8 friends: Microsoft drops support this week

Mint and steam

I game on LinuxMint. Steam works really well under Mint.

Musk's Hotel California erected at Twitter HQ, as some offices converted into bedrooms

Finally!

With this news I will finally be able to get purchase approval for the business hammock I have wanted ever since I saw them on the Simpsons.

Husband and wife nuclear warship 'spy' team get 20 years each

Looking at it another way.

Room and board for 2 people for 20 years at $350 a month. $168000 This spy game pays. Not great, but not too bad. Although I hear winters at Leavenworth are a bitch.

Economic headwinds be damned, cloud migrations 'not stopping'

Exactly what I came here to say.

Have Gartner EVER been right?

Businesses should dump Windows for the Linux desktop

Re: LibreOffice is not as good as MS Office

Let's also not forget that LO opens file types that MS Office will have nothing to do with. (Wordperfect files come to mind.)

I have used LO many times to open and repair MS Office docs that Office would choke on.

Like Ubuntu, just a bit less hassle: Linux Mint 21 'Vanessa'

Not only a beginners Linux

I am far from a Linux noob. I installed my first Linux in the late 90's Slackware. I admin a large number of Linux servers and Mint is my go to desktop Linux. I have been working in IT for long enough that the last thing I need it to make things harder for myself. Mint works really well and painlessly for most desktops and laptops. Instructions written for Ubuntu almost always work unchanged for Mint.

My gaming PC runs Mint, my new laptop runs Mint, I have one work laptop that runs Mint. My GF dumped Windows the day she got her new laptop and installed Mint on it (By herself.)

The servers I admin, are mostly a mix of Ubuntu server, and Centos (And whatever the replacement for centos is.)

Need baby formula? Buy a pregnancy test at Walgreens

Re: The Data Enfamil Purchased

Any business who wants my phone number in exchange for a discount, gets my landline phone number from 40 years ago. If they want an email address they get [e-mail]

The employee behind the counter does not care what you provide and will enter it, usually without comment. If they ask, tell them the truth. I have never had anyone refuse to enter my email address.

I love the Linux desktop, but that doesn't mean I don't see its problems all too well

Re: Computing smarts in the cloud

I moved my extremely non-technical mother over to Linux. After about 2 weeks of "What do I click to go to Google?" type questions, her support calls dropped of to almost nothing. She used it happily for the last couple of years before her death.

My lovely Fiancee got frustrated with Windows on her old laptop, (Very old) and I offered Linux, she tried it, and really liked it. When her old laptop had a hardware failure a year later, she asked me what laptop to buy that was Linux compatible. I did make her go through the initial setup of Win 10 on the off chance she ever wants it in the future. She even installed it (Mint) herself.

Keeping your head as an entire database goes pear-shaped

I am sure you could script something up. Just bring the critical system down just long enough for people to start coming to you, then shortly after you say "I'm on it." it comes right back up.

Google opens the pod doors on Bay View campus

Want an office people will go back to?

Give me a private office and I'll go in.

Add a meeting room down the hall so I can work with my team when I need to, and work in my office when I need to get actual work done. Forget this open plan stupidity, because it doesn't work, and is universally hated by everyone who has to work in it.

Microsoft tests ‘Suggested Actions’ in Windows 11. Insiders: Can we turn it off?

Re: It already exists

Do people want windows 11 that can be installed nasally?

Dev rigs up receipt printer to spit out GitHub issues

Re: Needs audio

I don't know how to use the 3 seashells.

I quite enjoy Stranger. Just finished reading it again. Of course I discovered it when I was quite young, so I may be reading through rose coloured glasses.

Apple's Mac Studio exposed: A spare storage slot and built-in RAM

Re: Reasonably priced Mac Pro

You are wrong on a few points.

Build quality is decent. Most of the Macs I see are still useable after 3-5 years. PC laptops are about 3 years tops. (Yes Mac repairability sucks.)

Most Macs are retired because Apple releases a new OS version that make it too slow.

Those overpriced fanboy machines. They actually sell for those prices. (At least local to me they do.)

Apple does offer a buy-back plan, but I seriously doubt anyone uses it. They really don't pay well for the hardware.

Personally I am done with Apple. No RAM upgrades is a total dealbreaker for me.

My new Linux'ed up Thinkpad is pretty sweet. But I accept it lacks any style.

Are we springing into a Y2K-class nightmare?

Re: USA change its date format ...

Canada uses a sensible date format. Don't go lumping us in with those crazy Yankies.

BOFH: Gaming rig for your home office? Yeah right

Re: Please do remember...

@pcaldredbann

You are aware that the BOFH is fiction right?

Maybe a little bit of virtual wish fulfillment as well.

Global consultancies quit Russia

Don't give them too much credit,

With the Ruble in freefall, they are probably looking mostly to cut their financial losses.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Saving a loved one from a document disaster

Re: Imperrfect

I was the first person in my school to be allowed to hand in assignments printed from my CoCo 2 and my DMP-105.

I had to fight teachers and administration to be allowed this. It was worth it though.

ARPANET pioneer Jack Haverty says the internet was never finished

Re: What about IPv4?

I have thought this myself. It would solve the problem, and would be easy.

Impact would not be felt for a few years until people with out of date networking gear start being unable to reach certain addresses.

Best of all I won't have to try to hold an IPv6 address in my head, which is clearly impossible.

A tale of two dishwashers: Buy one, buy it again, and again

Re: Bought a shed

I have an absolute shed load of sheds.

How to get banned from social media without posting a thing

Re: There's your answer!

Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. I trust it is entirely blank.

Robot vacuum cleaner employed by Brit budget hotel chain Travelodge flees

Re: silent running away eh...

IIRC it is Louie that made a break for it. Leaving a leg behind in the process. Although it has been a while since I watched that movie. (One of my favourites.) Guess I know what I am watching tonight.

COVID-19 was a generational opportunity for change at work – and corporate blew it

> And B should pay you for your home office, heating, electricity etc.

Grow up!

Working from home saves me about $500 per month. Between the train and an occasional lunch out. Not to mention the 2.5 hours a day I would spend on the train, the $1-2 a month on electricity is a massive win for me. Heat is about the same as I don't shut it off. (The dog gets cold) and I already have an office space at home.

Could BYOB (Bring Your Own Battery) offer a solution for charging electric vehicles? Microlino seems to think so

Re: Battery swaps

You are missing the point.

You don't own the battery. You never owned the battery. If/when you get a bad one, you just go to the charging place and get another.

O course no manufacturer will ever do it so the point is really irrelevant.

Linux Mint 20.3 appears – now with more Mozilla flavor: Why this distro switched Firefox defaults back to Google

Re: I shall be investigating

Quick fix for the stupid skinny scroll bars.

Open a terminal.

echo ".scrollbar.vertical slider," >> ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

echo "scrollbar.vertical slider {" >> ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

echo "min-width: 13px;" >> ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

echo "}" >> ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

You don't even have to reboot, every new window opened has reasonable sized scroll bars.

I do all my gaming on a Linux Mint desktop.

I admit my requirements are not particularly high, but it works fantastic for me.

My girlfriend also has Mint on her laptop.

When civilisation ends, a Xenix box will be running a long-forgotten job somewhere

Re: Digital archeology

@imanidiot

Is that a riff off the opening of Ark 2? Because I loved that show when I was a kid.

Re: If I've learned one lesson...

> never name a server something-temp

This is possibly the most important lesson I ever learned.

Also if there is any chance that you might in future need a second system doing the same job. be sure to name the machine something-1 put the number in right from the start, there are few thing more annoying than:

something-server

something-server-2

You could also start numbering with 0 if you like, but I find it confuses management.

Or maybe that is just me.

BOFH: What if International Bad Actors designed the vaccine to make us watch more Steven Seagal movies?

Re: brilliant

> I'd love to have this conversation with one of these loonies, although i fear patience would wear thin fairly quickly

I can introduce you to my step father if you like.

Cisco requires COVID-19 shots for all US staff – even remote workers

Re: Get rid of the religious exemption.

> I can only imagine those who choose not to get the jab would chafe under your over-bearing employment practices, so they're far better off working somewhere less opinionated.

Too bad for them. It is a good job, my one employee is very happy with it. She is also vaccinated. If she were to choose to leave, I would have people lined up around the block wanting to take her place.

I have always said stupid should hurt. Looks like it finally will.

Re: Get rid of the religious exemption.

Anyone too stupid to get vaccinated (Yes talking to you Bob.) Is too stupid to work for me. (Looking right at you Bob.)

I personally love that companies are taking this approach. Although I do wish the local school boards would take the same approach.

Sharing is caring, except when it's your internet connection

Re: My Fav

Let me add to the list with:

[e-mail]

Yes, I have used it.

Raising the price of in-demand processors really helps the bottom line, says AMD

>OK but can it run Windows

No, you need something much more powerful to run Windows. Neither AMD nor Intel currently produce a CPU that is truly capable of "Running" Windows.

Singaporean minister touts internet 'kill switch' that finds kids reading net nasties and cuts 'em off ASAP

Re: "...real-time crowdsourced content rating scheme..."

Finally I will become the internets "Sexiest man alive."

Samsung boss Lee Jae-Yong convicted and fined for drug abuse

Re: Explains some of the recent Galaxy devices quirks.

> Better watch out though, weapons grade anesthetics can have lethal consequences for those that abuse them, no matter how famous the potential victim is.

You can't make a bold statement like that with siting an example. This is why no one ever believes you AC.

Facebook may soon reveal new name – we're sure Reg readers will be more creative than Zuck's marketroids

Re: It doesn’t need a new name

You realize that your criteria would bar just about everyone currently in a position of power from the position they are currently in?

I am not saying you are wrong. As always, Douglas Adams said it best:

"To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”

Just substitute CEO for President.

Shatner breaks the age barrier, goes where no nonagenarian has gone before with Blue Origin rocket trip

Re: NCC-1701

> Awesome. Quite surreal though. Now I need to know who he snogged and who he fought.

The Gorn for both.

One-size-fits-all chargers? What a great idea! Of course Apple would hate it

Re: Apple don't like it?

> I think you were trying to say, become a hermit and live in a barrel.

Have you seen the price of barrels these days?

Memory prices to dive in late 2022, says Gartner

I am buying up all the RAM I can find. because we know prices are about to skyrocket.

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

You are not alone Stumpy. I never met the man, but my first computer was the TimexSinclair-1000 with the truly abysmal keyboard, and the 16K RAM pack that would crash the computer if you even looked at it.

Think I am going to go play with it tonight.

Oh the humanity: McDonald's out of milkshakes across Great Britain

Re: A number of sound decisions?

Why would KFC need chickens? It is not like they sell anything that even resembles Chicken.

Judge dismisses objections to spaceport in Scotland from billionaire who also wants to build spaceport in Scotland

Re: Priorities

> do people want fire that can be fitted nasally?

Yes. Yes they do.

Magna Carta mayhem: Protesters lay siege to Edinburgh Castle, citing obscure Latin text that has never applied in Scotland

> The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one.

Yeah, but those million to 1 chances happen 9 times out of 10.

I believe if you read it carefully. You will find that ARTICLE 61 OF THE MAGNA CARTA, equally applies to Mars and to all spacecraft heading to or from Mars.

Do you even read!?!???!!????!?

The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Microsoft has pulled support for Internet Explorer in Microsoft 365

Re: It's sad...

If they kill off Clippy, I am switching back to my abacus.

Scalpel! Superglue! This mouse won't fix its own ball

Re: Ball crud

I still have a mouse pad. I picked it up at a thrift shop. The only reason I bought it is because it has printed on it the floor plan of Riverview Mental hospital, with all the fire exits shown.

I thought that this mouse pad was such a monumentally bad idea, that I just had to buy it.

Mine is the one with the really long sleeves.