Posts by The Central Scrutinizer

Missouri governor demands prosecution of reporter for 'decoding HTML source code' and reporting a data breach

Re: Another example of the GoP leadership championing freedom

Stop talking about Australia like that! Oh, wait....

This is AUKUS for China – US, UK, Australia reveal defence tech-sharing pact

Re: Shenzen, Shanghai, Beijing

Xi Jinping, where you been hiding? We've missed you!

Australia gave police power to compel sysadmins into assisting account takeovers – so they plan to use it

Politicians are, by and large, technologically clueless. The cops say "we need this and that and the other", so to be seen to be "tough on crime", the government mindlessly rams this sort of legislation through parliament. The opposition dare not oppose anything because the government head kickers will inevitably claim they are soft on crime and child porn.

"You're either with us or you are supporting the pedophiles" is a common refrain. There is absolutely no room for a sensible debate on these sorts of matters.

And interfering with encryption is also such a great idea that keeps us all so, so safe.

Australia rules Facebook page operators are legally liable for user comments under posts

Re: Innocent until proven guilty

"A victim of systemic abuse and an A grade jerkoff because of it."

How very fucking sensitive of you. Aboriginal people are way over-represented in jails in Australia, partly because of that systemic abuse. Heard of "Black Deaths in Custody", have we? The treatment given to him was absolutely outrageous, disgusting and over the top. I don't agree with the court's decision, but your comment barely hides your contempt for the vast number of Aboriginal people who have suffered appalling treatment at the hands of white man for over 200 years.

Start or Please Stop? Power users mourn features lost in Windows 11 'simplification'

"Roger Sir, dumbin', it down".

Facebook sat on report that reveals most-shared post for months was questionable COVID story

What I mostly see on Facebook is a shitload of ads and "suggested for you" shite,plus a another load of conspiracy theory fuckwits. I know, I know....

Once again, Facebook champions privacy ... of its algorithms: Independent probe into Instagram shut down

Yes we value your privacy so much that we'll sue your arse off if you even so much as dare to try to find out how much shit we collect about you. Facebook is such a lovey, caring company.

Apple responds to critics of CSAM scan plan with FAQs, says it'd block governments subverting its system

Apple says they will never cave in to governments for surveillance.

That's OK then.

What could possibly go wrong?

Apple is about to start scanning iPhone users' devices for banned content, professor warns

This has got "clusterfuck" written all over it.

Microsoft's Cloud PCs debut – priced between $20 and $158 a month

The third paragraph made my eyes glaze over. TLDR

Ex-health secretary said 'vast majority' were 'onside' with GP data grab. Consumer champion Which? reckons 20 million don't even know what it is

Re: Down the rabbit hole

It sounds like typical government weasel words....i.e., we'll build a legal wall around ourselves and do what we want, regardless of what you opted in or out of.

Here in Australia we have My Health Record, which I have opted out of. Yeah, giving the government access to your health record is SUCH a good idea. Wait till the health insurance companies come knocking. Colour me extremely cynical.

Slacking off? It used to be there was pretty much one place to chat with your fellow developers: IRC

I used to belong to a 3D graphics SIG on IRC many years ago. We used to share tips and tricks, engage in discussions about this and that. It was actually really good. Social media before there was the abomination that is now called "social media".

The cockroach of Windows, XP, lives on in London's Victoria Coach Station

Coaches are arriving and departing? You know we have thingies powered by internal combustion engines and electricity now, right?

Windows 11: What we like and don't like about Microsoft's operating system so far

"Android software support aside, these are relatively superficial features, and Microsoft will not dare to introduce changes that might break application compatibility with Windows 10. "

Err, you're writing about Microsoft, yeah?

Imagine a world where Apple shacked up with Xerox in the '80s: How might it look today?

Re: Xerox

I worked for Rank and then Fuji Xerox in the 80s and 90s. 9700s, 9790s and 4135s were my thing then. Fun times, especially at 3am on a Saturday when a laser shit itself.

Tens of millions of NeXT devices and Apple buying Xerox. Good one!

Audacity users stick the knife – and fork – in to strip audio editor of unwanted features

The Open Source Sound Engineer and Recorder, or TOSSER.

Reverb maybe?

The splitting image: Sufferer of hurty wrist pain? Logitech's K860 a potential answer

I'm wedded to my mechanical Ducky Zero. A satisfying click and enough tactile response to keep me happy. To each their own of course.

UK artists seek 'luvvie levy' on new gadgets to make up for all the media that consumers access online

In breaking news, restaurant owners demand a tax on all kitchenware that is then paid to them, because people are *gasp* cooking at home!

London Greenwich station: A reminder of former glories. Like Windows XP

Re: re" FORMAT C:

Now stop that....

Blessed are the cryptographers, labelling them criminal enablers is just foolish

Welcome to the world of Australian policy making. That's why we have such god awful asylum seeker policies; fear of the other or unknown.

We seem to have materialized in a universe in which Barney the Purple Dinosaur is designing iPhones for Apple

What's next, tangerine iMacs? Oh, wait....

Australian ponders requiring multiple IDs to sign up for social media, plus more crypto-busting backdoors

Here we go again

with this bullshit. Technologically incompetent politicians desperate to be seen "doing something". There is no way in hell I'm providing my driving license details, with my picture on it, or any other forms of ID to any social media company. Not. Gonna. Happen.

In the end I'm guessing this has about as much chance of becoming law as there is of me walking across Lake Burley Griffin.

Don't be a fool, cover your tool: How IBM's mighty XT keyboard was felled by toxic atmosphere of the '80s

Re: Keyboard covers are 'mandatory' in the healthcare sector...

Not they ain't. Was in hospital last week for a few hours. No sign of plastic covered computers, mice or anything else.

Facebook bans sharing of news in Australia – starting now – rather than submit to pay-for-news-plan

Oh yeah bring on the downvotes with no comments. Go for it, gutless wondes!

Re: re: Blocking the ABC is downright dangerous

Ooooo lots of downvotes for the cheap shots. Excellent!

Re: re: Blocking the ABC is downright dangerous

Like it or not, that's how millions of people get information quickly. I'm no fan of facebook at all. It used to be a bit of a fun way to keep in touch with people, but these days it's just a cesspit of conspiracy theory shit.

Look forward to you setting up the National Bushfire Network. It's run on a state by state basis, so good luck.

Re: re: Blocking the ABC is downright dangerous

abc.net.au actually. Our national broadcaster, affectionately known as "Auntie". There is a ton of community groups that post on facebook to quickly share breaking news during bushfire/flood etc emergencies. That's why blocking sites like the ABC is dangerous.

I've had both attempts at posting news links blocked today, including this article. Facebook is chucking a huge tanty with the thermonuclear option as its default position. Blocking the ABC is downright dangerous, as they are the go to source during natural disasters. Hello, it's bushfire season here!

On the other hand, Rupert calls and Scotty from Marketing says "yes boss"!

The whole thing is sickening.

helloSystem: Pre-alpha FreeBSD project chases simplicity and elegance by taking cues from macOS

Re: Global menu bars?

Pie menus are great. Blender and quite a few of its third party add-ons use them. They certainly save a lot of excessive mouse movement.

Microsoft backs Australia’s pay-for-news plan, risks massive blowback over a lousy $3bn and change

Re: “one of his major successes”

The country was literally burning and he was fucking holidaying. That is not leadership. I'm guessing you don't live in Australia.

We'd rather go down in Down Under, says Google: Search biz threatens to quit Australia if forced to pay for news

Re: Farewell then

Or may 60 to 70,0000 years of continuous Aboriginal culture. It is with some irony that I'm posting this on Australia Day.

Re: Farewell then

More cultural achievements than you know about, obviously.

Indian government slams Facebook over WhatsApp 'privacy' update, wants its own Europe-style opt-out switch

Re: GDPR

speeling....

Attack of the cryptidiots: One wants Bitcoin-flush hard drive he threw out in 2013 back, the other lost USB stick password

Re: Best practices

10 mm drill bits and a nice water bath....

Linux Mint sticks by Snap decision – meaning store is still disabled by default in 20.1

I only updated to 19.3 a couple of weeks ago, due to the current version of Blender refusing to start under 18.3. My philosophy is to be one step back from the bleeding edge. I want an OS, not a shiny new toy every few months. It works and works well. In nearly 7 years of heavy Mint usage, I have not had one genuine system crash. That is good enough for me.

This product is terrible. Can you deliver it in 20 years’ time when it becomes popular?

Re: You never know what might catch on

As Steve Jobs said in an interview, "they were a bunch of copier heads who basically had no idea what the guys at PARC were doing".

China unleashes fearsome new cyber-weapon: A very provocative meme

Ad unconscionable and reprehensible as any war crimes may have been, the whole ADF is being smeared by the actions of a small minority. Not trying to defend their actions, just saying.

China's government is waging economic warfare on Australia with basically non-existent arguments.

They've got the shits with us because we dare to stand up for ourselves.

Let's talk about suppression of the Uighur people, building illegal islands in the South China Sea and "re-education" camps.

Pot, kettle, black.

Mysterious Utah monolith mysteriously disappears without trace

The AE 35 unit went TITSUP. Oops, wrong planet.

Mysterious metal monolith found in 'very remote' part of Utah

Most Australian states are bigger than the UK. Just saying.... It's a tiny Island up there.

In 2016 Australia's online census failed. Preparations for the 2021 edition have been rated 'partly effective'

Government and IT security

or preparedness.... is an oxymoron. This is just another amongst the growing list of successive government screw ups. Census fail, Robodebt, trying to break encryption, the list goes on.

Seriously, we deserve better.

Australia to track coronavirus encounters with payment card records

"noting that privacy rules will apply and in some jurisdictions legislative change may be required"

Yeah, about that. The Australian government has an absolutely appalling track record of IT stuff ups.

I'm off to the ATM.

Tech support scammer dialed random number and Australian Police’s cybercrime squad answered

I managed to keep a scam caller going for about 20 minutes once before he said "are you a bloody fkn arsehole"? and hung up. Made my day.

Let's... drawer a veil over why this laser printer would decide to stop working randomly

Many years ago a colleague and I serviced a laser printer (they were 600 grand a pop). Test everything is working properly, hand it back to the customer, leave the premises.

An hour or so later, the same customer puts in a service call because the prints were horribly skewed. Couldn't fix it over the phone so back I go, only to find the guides in the paper tray were nowhere near the edges of the paper.

Definitely my quickest fix ever. The look on the clown's face was priceless when I showed him the "problem".

Did I or did I not ask you to double-check that the socket was on? Now I've driven 15 miles, what have we found?

Never gets old, just like talkie toaster....

Will there be no end to govt attempts to break encryption? Hand over your data or the kiddies get it, threaten Five Eyes spies

The usual drivel from the usual bunch of wankers who have no idea how computing works, I suspect.

UK govt advert encouraging re-skilling for cyber jobs implodes spectacularly

Re: You missed off...

Huh, I'm reading that at the moment and am at the Claude Shannon part. Fascinating stuff.

Flying camera drones, cuddly Echo gadgets... it's all a smoke screen for Amazon to lead you gently down the Sidewalk – and you'll probably like it

I'll keep living in my gloriously dumb home....

thanks very much. I have to put a key in the front door lock to get inside. The horror!

This is surveillance capitalism gone totally mad.

And of course there will never be any data breaches, cos they have the best suckurity systems in place on all their devices.