Posts by cb7

Health Sec Hancock says UK will use Apple-Google API for virus contact-tracing app after all (even though Apple were right rotters)

Why don't Google and Apple co-operate and develop the app and roll it out as a critical public safety update across the globe?

They could have done this months ago.

It would save countries across he whole world duplicating effort and going down rabbit holes. And think of the number of lives it could have saved / would save.

And the app would also work once international travel resumes.

They routinely push out updates that help them maintain their not so insignificant income streams.

They have the technological prowess to make it happen.

About time they did something that gives something meaningful back to the public.

If you're despairing at staff sharing admin passwords, look on the bright side. That's CIA-grade security

I wonder if they came up with any Linux exploits?

Windows Server to require TPM2.0 and Secure boot by default in future release

Re: Well now....

"It is rare for Windows Server to be deployed nowadays for any reason other than to run Microsoft's own server programs (Active Directory, Exchange, Sharepoint, etc)"

Incorrect. There's a whole swathe of shared applications, from various vendors, in the health care, logistics, CRM, SRM, finance, HR and other fields that rely on Windows Server OS. Applications with decades of man hours of development behind them.

It's easier and cheaper, though not necessarily painless, to migrate these to new hardware running a newer version of the Windows OS they were written for than it would be to switch OS completely and re-develop the apps for a completely different OS.

The whole reason Windows remains dominant in many areas is due to these legacy apps.

Japan to test self-destructing satellite to shrink space junk with string and an inanimate carbon blob

So if you reverse the polarity, you could speed up and hence raise the orbit of a satellite using electricity? Sounds cool.

Obviously I've over simplified. You might have to modulate and pulsate at the right moments and have the tether face the other way to achieve the end goal, but it seems plausible to, in effect, use the earth's magnetic field for this "motor".

How many? 28 million fewer PCs and tablets to find a home in 2020

There are some lovely (used) HP ProBooks selling on ebay right now. 7th Gen Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 14" screen for less then £300. Go for an immaculate one.

Even the 15" Full HD screen versions are under your budget.

Alternatively try the Lenovo L560.

Lenovo certifies all desktop and mobile workstations for Linux – and will even upstream driver updates

If an "unsupported" cheaper model laptop uses the same model wifi card as a supported model, what's to stop a user installing and using the driver from the supported model?

FYI: There are thousands of Chrome extensions with so, so many fake installations to trick you into using them

How does one turn off the ability to install Chrome extensions?

I have some users who need to be protected from themselves.

Apple promises third, no, fourth, er, fifth time's a charm when it comes to macOS Catalina: 10.15.5 now out

Catalina broke Google Drive too.

And yes I've gone into Security settings and turned on full drive access for it already.

Apple and Google support were "about as useful as a chocolate teapot".

I don't even understand Apple's desire to rush out an OS update full of bugs. It's not like it's going to bring in additional revenue or something.

Apple, Google begin to spread pro-privacy, batt-friendly coronavirus contact-tracing API for phone apps

Aww bless. Apple actually collaborating with others for a change. Shame it took a global pandemic to make it happen.

I still can't see it becoming a habit though.

Project Reunion: Microsoft's attempt to tear down all those barriers it's built for Windows developers over the years

The Metro/modern/manky UI sucks big time.

In an attempt to ape simpleton iOS, MS have taken for granted, the eminently usable UI of Windows past and lost 90% of what made it slick and usable.

Abandoned and lost are logical keyboard shortcuts, mouse shortcuts, vibrant and distinctive colour schemes and layouts.

Instead we have bland plain window backdrops with no borders and no colour. Open up a handful of randomly overlapping windows, and it becomes impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends.

Even the OS itself has no impressive, consistently clear style guide any more. What hope is there for "apps"?

Instead of building on the efficient and usable UI it had before, we see half baked redesigns of a bad idea again and again with apparently no usability testing whatsoever.

Whoever's in charge of this mightily clusterfluck should have their atoms strung out in a long thin line and sent towards the nearest black hole.

Russia admits, yup, the Americans are right: One of our rocket's tanks just disintegrated in Earth's orbit

One day, someone will invent shields. You know, like the ones spacecraft have in Star Trek.

But me thinks we're a long way off from that.

Re: Did part of it fall?

I doubt it. Must have been something else.

The article says these pieces are 400kms up. So not low enough to enter the atmosphere.

Mad dash for webcams with surge in videoconferencing has turned out rather nicely for Logitech

I'm surprised no one's come up with a way to use a smartphone camera as a computer/laptop webcam.

Yes you could Zoom/Skype directly from the phone, but if you need to screen share at the same time, that's better done from a bigger screen.

Apple owes us big time for bungled display-killing cable design in MacBook Pro kit, lawsuit claims

Whatever damages Apple ends up paying, it'll still only be pocket change for the vain bully.

Australian contact-tracing app sent no data to contact-tracers for at least ten days after hurried launch

Apparently the UK NHS app is using the same centralised approach that, apart from the privacy concerns, relies on iPhone users bringing the app to the foreground periodically to ensure it keeps Bluetooth on.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/critical-mass-of-android-users-needed-for-success-of-nhs-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app

Though this article seems to suggest the Aussies are working with Apple to address this.

But this also shows we don't have a unified approach across the whole globe.

Faster than reflection: Microsoft previews Source Generators for C#

I always found a well designed relational database, with optimized datatype tables, with well thought out indexes with SQL native queries and stored procedures can be paired with even a VB asp.NET front end and deliver much better performance than a front end and queries written in C#.

Mystery cloud added 10,000 new AMD Epyc servers in under ten days to handle demand for you know what

I wish I hadn't sold my AMD shares now.

Outages batter UK's Virgin Media into wee hours as broadband failures spike 77% globally

Being with (a) virgin offers no protection.

your fat pipe is broken

Tata Consultancy Services tells staff to go to their rooms and stay there, even after the pandemic passes

I'm always more productive when wfh.

Fewer distractions and interruptions and

Given that I typically save 2.5-3 hours travel time everyday, I don't mind putting in an extra hour or more to knock a few more things out.

And I always eat healthier when wfh. I can eat when I'm hungry instead of forcing my body to take on food first thing in the morning when it's not really ready for it.

This allows me to eat all my days meals within an 8-10 hour window which has been demonstrated to have numerous health benefits.

Airbus and Rolls-Royce hit eject on hybrid-electric airliner testbed after E-Fan X project fails to get off the ground

Re: Electric planes?

As well as reduced noise (hopefully), if the electrics are used only during take off and landing, you also gain the benefit of lower emissions in densely populated areas.

That gets rid of two of the main objections to airport expansion in densely populated areas. And most of the world's airports are in urban neighbourhoods.

And even if its a small reduction in emissions overall, it's a good stop gap measure until we can go fully electric.

Microsoft throws extended support lifeline for folk stuck on car-crash Windows 10 1809

Re: Still a lot of Windows 7 out there

Strictly speaking those migrations should have been completed way before Jan 2020.

Unless of course people like chancing things more than is already necessary.

Ransomware scumbags leak Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX documents after contractor refuses to pay

Yes I know most end point infections are the result of user error, but that's exactly why it's Microsoft's job to make a secure operating system.

Allowing random snippets of code carte blanche access to user files is not my idea of a secure operating environment.

Fewer infections leads to less money for the criminals which leads to even fewer infections till it basically becomes a worthless endeavour for the criminally minded.

Ffs Microshit, sort this out already.

1. How hard can it be allow a user to only allow apps they recognise to create/modify/delete files in standard user folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos)?

2. Disable VB script by default, allowing users to turn it on on a case by case basis

3. Granted, any user daft enough to enable macros when opening a random file deserves what they get.

I reckon that should prevent most if not all ransomware dead in its tracks?

Taiwan to develop military exoskeleton because it's not like these things are open-sourced or one-size-fits-all

I wonder how well they hold up against machine gun fire? Or grenades? Or other artillery?

And if they're powered, which I imagine they are, otherwise it's just a suit of armour, how long does the battery or other power source last?

I suspect they'll only be good for a few niche applications until the technology improves markedly beyond what we have now.

Another day, another Google cull: Chocolate Factory axes 49 malicious Chrome extensions from web store

Duh, why doesn't Google check the extensions before letting them into the store?

Ditto the Android Play store.

I'm not a huge Apple fan, but this is one thing Apple have done well.

Microsoft expands AI features in Office, but are they any good? Mixed, according to our vulture

"Microsoft Editor, a service which the company claims will help you "write polished prose, craft impressive emails"...

It's a shame MS is unable to develop polished impressive software, despite earning $125 billion in revenue last year.

What's happened to me? I've become an MS basher.

Surge in home working highlights Microsoft licensing issue: If you are not on subscription, working remotely is a premium feature

Re: On the cheap

Google Chrome Remote Desktop also works a treat if you have the option

Bad news: Coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the world. Good news: Nitrogen dioxide levels are decreasing and the air on Earth is cleaner

Air quality has been fantastic here (UK, near an airport and two major motorways) since Monday when many flights got cancelled and many people started working from home.

It's almost like being in the countryside. I'm loving it. Even if all cars went electric, the air wouldn’t be this clean around here unless the airport shutdown too - or we had a revolution in aircraft propulsion.

I do wish a speedy recovery to anyone suffering.

Apple grudgingly opens up its check book, pays VirnetX $454m in patent royalties after a decade of wrangling

What a bunch of cnuts.

Good on VirnetX for having the resources to do battle against this hedious monstrosity.

$454m just doesn't seem like enough. Especially considering how hard Apple tried to avoid paying. The award should double for each failed appeal.

The number of iPads and iPhones people buy and use purely so they can Facetime other Apple worshippers is huge. That award should have been a few $Bn at least.

Broken lab equipment led boffins to solve a 58-year-old physics problem by mistake

Am I the only one here who knows fuck all about Quantum computers?

Broadband providers can now flog Openreach's new IP voice network in bid to ditch UK's copper phone lines by 2025

I wouldn't mind if a) VoIP didn't suffer from random (and fucking annoying) delays and b) broadband was actually reliable enough not to drop out multiple times a day/week/month depending on the weather, the alignment of the planets and fuck knows what else.

RIP Katherine Johnson: The extraordinary NASA mathematician astronauts trusted over computers

What an amazing woman

RIP Katherine Johnson

Don't use natwest.co.uk for online banking, Natwest bank tells baffled customer

Of course profits are up. They cut the miserly interest they were paying on savings accounts to a whole 0.1%.

Maybe I need to become a SAS (Savings Account Slut) and regularly move my money to whichever bank pays the highest interest.

Google burns down more than 500 private-data-stealing, ad-defrauding Chrome extensions installed by 1.7m netizens

Re: Excellent job, Google

If the recipient telco's customer database wasn't leaked in the first place, the spammers wouldn't have any names and numbers to use as a dialling list.

Bu I agree there appears to be no incentive for the telcos to do anything. Perhaps an investigation and massive fine from the ICO would make them pay more attention... But short of bringing their call centres all back on-shore, not sure there are any other solutions. Meanwhile all existing records are loose anyway...

Don't break your swanky new Motorola Razr, you probably won't be able to get it fixed

Beam me up Scotty.

Or maybe not.

I wonder how long before someone makes a badge style phone a la ST TNG.

A Bluetooth version is already available:

https://forbiddenplanet.com/211535-star-trek-the-next-generation-bluetooth-communicator-badge

Ever wondered how Google-less Android might look? Step right this Huawei: Mate 30 Pro arrives on British shores

I thought the whole point of the embargo was to stop Huawei kit proliferating alleged Chinese gov controlled backdoors into the UK and US.

By allowing phones in and keeping network equipment out, the message is, they can have backdoors at the edge of the network, in users hands, but not in the core network.

Tens of millions of biz Dell PCs smacked by privilege-escalation bug in bundled troubleshooting tool

Having worked on machines from pretty much all the vendors, I don't like the way Dell's are designed.

And no, I'm not taking about aesthetics.

I'm talking about crucial things like:

Desktops: Non industry standard cases and power supplies.

Laptops: hard drive connectors that sit on mini daughter boards bolted (I kid u not) to the motherboard. One drop and the connector shears off.

Poorly designed motherboards that need 5 or more ribbon connectors for peripherals whilst most others get by with one. And don't get me started on buggy firmware that doesn't handle sleep transitions properly resulting in data loss / corruption.

You couldn't pay me to buy a Dell.

B-but it doesn't get viruses! Not so, Apple fanbois: Mac malware is growing faster than nasties going for Windows

Re: Malware infections on PCs and Mac are so passé

Keep with it. Barely any kid I know still uses Facebook. Ad overload has driven them all away.

Most kids I know use only Snapchat and Instagram nowadays.

Just because they used it once, doesn't mean they'll carry on using it forever.

Ever had a script you just can't scratch? Excel on the web now has just the thing

The text under the 1st XLOOKUP example should say "the formula in cell D3" not E3.

And the sum of the numbers is out by 1 cent.

Should be $110.69 not $110.70.

I'm hoping it's just a lazy writer and not a bug in Excel.

Malware infection attempts appear to be shrinking... possibly because miscreants are less spammy and more focused on specific targets

Even Microsoft's own attempt at producing Ransomware protection is next to useless.

If you turn on Protected Folder Access (PFA), expect numerous legitimate programs to stop working. And it's not possible to allow exceptions for them without rendering the protection useless.

Why? Because, some programs call Rundll and so do various flavours of Ransomware.

The last time I looked, PFA only allows exceptions by executable.

Ever wondered what Microsoft really thought about the iPad? Ex-Windows boss spills beans

"Windows 10 is now well enough liked by business users"

Windows 10 is not liked. People are putting up with it only because Windows 7 is no longer supported and they need a "supported" OS in order not to get shafted when the next vulnerability exploit comes along.

Cache flow problems continue for Intel: Yet more data-leaking processor design blunders discovered, patches due soon

FFS just start making SRAM DIMMs already.

Yes RAM will become more expensive, but CPU's will be cheaper because they won't need massive caches, branch prediction, speculative execution and all this other complicated shit that nobody knows how to fix without killing performance.

Re: Won't someone think of the Reviewers!

"unless the reviewer re-tests each example with the current microcode and OS patch sets"

Except the current microcode and OS patch sets don't fully fix the issues. Given how long ago the SPECTRE and MELTDOWN vulnerabilities were revealed and Intel's hitherto apparent inability to mitigate along with the fab cock-ups, I'm beginning to wonder if there's anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together left at Intel?

Teenagers today. Can't take them anywhere, eh? 18-year-old kid accused of $50m SIM-swap cryptocurrency heist

So is there a free/cheap secure remote access alternative to RDP?

10nm woes, CPU supply shortages, competition from AMD... What? Sorry? Intel can't hear you over the cash register going bonkers

Meh. It took me 3 months to get hold of a couple of NUCs after pre-ordering 3 times, only to get let down each time with no stock appearing after the stock due date.

It beggars belief that a company the size of Intel can balls things up this bad.

Thank fuck AMD's been getting its act together or we'd be up the proverbial creek.

No Mo'zilla for about 100 techies today: Firefox maker lays off staff as boss talks of 'difficult choices' and funding

Re: Step up the game

"I can't think of any home/SMB/prosumers who would pay for a browser."

Many moons ago, I used to pay for iBrowse on AmigaOS. I'm pretty sure iBrowse was the first browser to introduce tabs. AFAIK, it's still for sale, though I seriously doubt anyone's paid for it recently. I gave up on it after waiting a few years in vain for it to support CSS/DOM. 15 years later and it's still missing. But I digress.

It would indeed be sad if FF disappeared. It is my main browser again right now. I think I'll start preloading it on all customer builds/re-builds.

Ring of fired: Amazon axes multiple workers who secretly snooped on netizens' surveillance camera footage

Maybe the perps were stalkers / ex's and somehow let on to the victims that they'd been watching them?

Windows 7 and Server 2008 end of support: What will change on 14 January?

Bizarrely Small Business Server (SBS) 2011 reaches end of support in four days time too, not next year as release date + 10 years might suggest.

Dixons fined £500,000 by ICO for crap security that exposed 5.6 million customers' payment cards

They're still around? I thought they disappeared ages ago.

You leak our secrets? We'll leak your book sales, speech fees – into our coffers: Uncle Sam wins royalties fight against Edward Snowden

One man vs uncle Sam.

Snowden has bigger balls than any man I know.