
Re: Because now it is going to be built on generative AI!
How sad it is that NFTs are already forgotten!
142 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Feb 2017
I keep punch cards (the ones I used at the university!), 8-inch floppy disks, and such in my office, in a small museum/shrine. Recently I got hold of some Jaz disks and some hard disks for 1980's computers. I'm still looking forward to buying a ZX-81-like model we had in Brazil in the 1980s...
Old fart icon because...
Being banned from submitting papers to major journals would kill an academic career, since 99% of universities work on the principle that the number of articles produced in major papers is the only way to tell if an academic is any good or not. (The other 1% prefer nepotism).
Depends on the university. Predatory Publishing and Vanity Publishing rose just because for many universities quantity is better than quality.
I get a lot of spam from "publishers" asking for my "contributions" on fields I know nothing about, or asking to resubmit a paper ("as is, no need for new material") to a conference to their journals, all for a tiny little contribution to keep the journals open access.
Out of curiosity and boredom, I clicked on this link to see what it was. Twitter started to ask me questions about my (old, seldom used) account, then sent me an e-mail with an alert about whatever.
I decided that I wasn't that curious, and realized (again) that I don't really care about most of the information on Twitter and just came back to El Reg.
I guess I just don't see the value of it as a medium for communication.
Just for reference: the basic iPhone 13 mini costs 699 US dollars in the US store. It sells for 6599 Brazilian reais.
According to Google's currency converter, 6599 Brazilian reais is 1257.34 US dollars.
I know that there are many taxes on electronics in Brazil, but at that price range, they could at least include a voucher. The charger bought separately goes for the equivalent of 36,39 dollars.
Icon because you can get lots of good beer in a local pub for 36,39 dollars.
Some 20 years ago I was teaching CS at a local college and was managing a laboratory with Linux machines for the programming classes. The computers had just the basics: a text editor, one free IDE, browsers, etc.
The lab worked great for our purpose.
Some people in a local branch of the government got wind of this and decided to copy the idea to save money on Windows licenses. After they converted one of their labs their boss came to visit and asked about the software they planned to use, and I got a frantic call asking "where can we download Autocad for Linux". They got really upset when they learned that they could not run all their applications on Linux as if it were a free, compatible version of Windows.
(icon for the "20 years ago" bit)
Lucky you. Whenever I try to contact my provider I get passed from one to other specialists like a very hot, very poisonous potato.
All those specialists start with "please let me know what's your problem", and after I explain, "I'll pass you to another specialist".
Apparently, my problem is that I keep using the same company.
It is worse -- sometimes when you search for a specific XYZ error message you get, as top results, pages like "Problem XYZ - SOLVED!!!1!" or "How to completely and permanently solve issue XYZ".
Usually, the steps are just like the ones Dobbs listed (ranging from "uninstall and reinstall the software" to "format and reinstall the whole OS"), with an additional "buy our software that will not only solve XYZ but also clean your registry, your basement, your face's skin and the nastiest entries in your browsers' history".
Lovely.
Or they could use the money for other very useful military equipment.
I for one am sick and tired of spam messages with either a link to a Google Document (never clicked, probably contains the spam contents?) or a fake sender and a "contact us at weretotallylegitweswear127361286@gmail.com for your bazillion US DOLLAR cash prize".
No way to report either case. Spammers rejoice.
The Battery Status API specification defines a means for web developers to programmatically determine the battery status of the hosting device. Without knowing the battery status of a device, a web developer must design the web application with an assumption of sufficient battery level for the task at hand.
Determine is a funny word.
Determine, verb 1. cause (something) to occur in a particular way... 2. ascertain or establish exactly
So they can 1. use all my battery charge and 2. ascertain my battery level so they can... what? Display a huge pop-up with a Dennis Nedry video telling me I am about to run out of juice?
Technology may help, but a solution to reduce the divide must involve policies and resources *and long-term planning* -- education must be seen as a strategic investment. Just spending money on technology benefits only the sellers of said technology.
Case in point: some years ago, some cities in Brazil decided to equip public schools with low-cost computers and provide schools with Internet access (which wasn't common at the time). Absolutely no money was earmarked to train teachers, hire tech staff, replace equipment when it inevitably broke, or even prepare a plan for using the resources adequately. Of course, the idea failed, but the money was spent, so the politicians who endorsed the whole boondoggle were happy.
More recently, due to the pandemic, some public schools (never adequately funded in Brazil) suggested students use their cell phones and provided cheap 4G access. Again, no plan, no tech or any kind of support -- just thrown some technology and hope the users can sort it out.
Also, remember One Laptop per Child?
You no longer would have to buy fancy furniture
Nor fancy pants, or pants at all. And I can pretend that what's I am drinking is coffee.
But I can still do that with a computer, no need for a VR that will add another nausea-inducing layer to the experience.
(1.5 years of this and still we didn't get a no-pants icon?)
That's because, in France, average Joe (librarian, sex shop owner, me, your neighbour) doesn't have any authority to ask for your ID card or passport
Here on the other side of the Atlantic (and of the equator line), even shopkeepers are allowed to ask for a photo ID. Some do, some don't, it depends on the type of transaction. We sort of got used to it.
Even so, identity fraud is rampant. To get a prepaid SIM you just need to inform your national registry number, which is not checked against any document. As a result, our meek citizens have to check from time to time how many SIMs are registered in their names.
Or if I buy a lawnmower online (because I've obviously had an aneurysm), then you wait a year and show me ads for lawnmower repairmen in my area.
Do you need medicine for your aneurysm? CI1AAL1S XANAXX V1@GRA CANADIAN PHARMACY CHEAP
(sorry. I agree with your rant but could not resist)
Let me be clear: in dialogs or web forms where we have to fill many many fields the "OK" button should be located WAY APART from the ones that will ignore the data we've just laboriously entered.
It is a pet peeve of mine since my hands shake because <del>I drink a lot on the job</del> they're tired from petting puppies and kittens.
> 1. Their ads provide a dreadful ROI, no idea why people use them.
I'd guess there's a bit of "we need to advertise because the competition is doing it!" mentality -- perhaps one bright, young, relentlessly perky graduate from a marketing school "consulted" on those small companies on how they could increase profit?