Posts by bittenhand

Log right in, the water's fine, whispers Microsoft as it adds autofill to Authenticator app

KeePass

An upvote for KeePass that I've used for years - open source, uses a local encrypted file and not tied to any service. To unlock the vault can just be a master password, but it can also require access to a specified file, perhaps on a remote USB stick for extra security.

It runs on on all desktop OSs and there's an app for Android, not sure about iOS. On Android it can auto fill if required and makes it easy to copy and paste if not.

I chose to share my password file on Dropbox to keep the versions on the phone and desktop in sync - yes, that's a security hole I've opened but my choice to balance convenience. I'd use OwnCloud if I had it set up.

Right-to-repair warriors seek broader DMCA exemptions to bypass digital locks on the stuff we own

Trammell Hudson, director of special projects at Lower Layer Labs

Trammell, really? You must have taken that from the plot of a video game.

But I'd love to have it on my business card.

Windows 10 to let you know that your SSD is dying rather than throwing out a BSOD when it's already too late

Powertoys Video Mute

I see that the Mute Powertoy has a virtual video driver that just passes through the video stream from a selected camera. When you mute, it just mutes the audio and sends a black screen instead.

What it should do (as seen in Speed, Mission Impossible etc) is just loop the previous 30 seconds allowing you to go out and something less boring instead.

UK transport's 'ludicrous' robocar code may 'put lives at risk'

So why aren't all cars automatic?

Cars should be more efficient than a human at selecting the correct gear. The tech has been around for decades. These days it could scan the road and be better than just relying on current speed. Cars used to have a choke - now they don't, we got over that. We could even lose the accelerator as well as the gear pedal. Just have steering and brake, if you don't mind the car choosing your speed for you based on the conditions and the speedlimit.

I can't see true AVs ever working for the general case unless every car is an AV. Maybe for certain restrictied applications like a taxi on private land - or a Mars rover. There will always be people who want to drive themselves, which will confuse the AVs. But maybe self-drive won't be an option one day.

What I can see is more cars with driver assistance tech to make driving easier for the human (automatic parking, emergency breaking, lane following, heads-up displays - all available today). Some good tech may come out of AVs, but a car that can drive itself on roads anywhere on the planet? Probably not.

Where are all the autonomous trains? (OK, there's the docklands light railway) It's a much easier problem to solve. Get that done first, then fully autonomous planes, and then we can think about cars.

Video games used to be an escape. Now not even they are safe from ads

I have a casual mobile game in the play store. The first few levels were free to play with the rest requiring one in-app payment to unlock. Less than 1% of players paid and all the comments complained about it. I made almost no money.

I changed it to have all levels free but an advert (mobile gaming related) appeared beween each level. One in-app payment removed all adverts. Less than 1% of people pay to remove them, and very few people complain about them - I made several times more money than before.

The implication is that most people won't pay for anything (even 79p from their £500 phone) and they are happy to accept adverts in free games.

I'm sure most people don't actually sit and watch them - I certainly wouldn't as I'd pay to hide them. But if advertising companies are willing to pay me to show an advert that no-one sees, who am I to complain?