Posts by Zippy´s Sausage Factory

Verified: UK.gov launching plans for yet another digital identity scheme

The government today argued digital identities could help reduce cases of online fraud because they are much harder for criminals to access and replicate than other types of online personal data such as dates of birth.

Hackers: challenge accepted.

That said, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Home Secretary will insist they not be encrypted securely, so that the security services can see what's going on, in order to demonstrate that following the government's encryption rules means only the good guys can read things. Which will mean that all the identities in the scheme will be available for purchase on the Russian dark web a week after the scheme launches...

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

Re: Can't they just drop the GUI and boot to powershell

If PowerShell is the best thing ever to come from Microsoft we're really in trouble.

Personally I'd ban PowerShell and fire its designers, but I know a lot of people will criticise me for my leniency in allowing them and their families to live.

Re: "old WIndows"

The difference being that on MacOS you can go in and customise what the "hot corners" actually do. I turned them all off except for moving the mouse to the top right locks the mac straight away.

I use that a lot, and I started having gone to the kitchen to make a coffee and coming back to a cat sitting on my keyboard and a document full of several thousand occurrences of the letter "u".

Re: Classic Shell

Classic Shell does that to recalibrate itself. Now that it's discontinued Open-Shell seems to be doing a good job of continuing the good fight.

11-year-old graduate announces plans to achieve immortality by 'replacing body parts with mechanical parts'

Do you want Cybermen?

Because this is how you get Cybermen.

Literally, it's the premise they were introduced with in The Tenth Planet, way back at the end of Hartnell's reign on Doctor Who.

I'm only surprised it's taken this long for someone to decide it's actually a good idea...

Although to be fair it'll end up only being rich people who get to do it anyway so it's probably nothing to worry about. Maybe.

Icon because I'm not sure whether the kid's serious or just trolling.

Opera browser tries to make sweet music for the ears of Chromebook users

Re: integrated WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook Messenger.

I guess if you used Flock back in the day, then this is the sort of thing you'll like.

Not for children: Audacity fans drop the f-bomb after privacy agreement changes

Anyone remember what Wireshark used to be called before someone trademarked the old name? Yeah, some of us greybeards do but even I have trouble remembering it.

I think the same will be true after we all start using the forked version, we'll all remember the new name (whatever it is) and forget audacity ever existed.

The PrintNightmare continues: Microsoft confirms presence of vulnerable code in all versions of Windows

Re: All versions of Windows?

Actually, if you put it that way, it's somehow a bit less terrifying. Thank you for that. Have a virtual beer on me!

Five words everyone wants to hear: Microsoft has 'visually refreshed' Office

Re: And

Excel is a horror for that. All the shortcuts are different from everything else, and in the last version they took away the ability to customise them. Almost immediately someone opened a uservoice to get them back, and after a whole year and loads of votes they just replied "hahaha nope".

And they wonder why people use LibreOffice...

John McAfee dead: Antivirus tycoon killed himself in prison after court OK'd extradition, says lawyer

Re: Why was he in a Spanish prison?

Also if you're a US citizen, Uncle Sam insists you pay US taxes even though you may not live in the US. Only the US and Eritrea do this, as someone who's both British and Irish but lives in neither country, I pay only the taxes where I live.

Campaigners warn of an 'algorithm-driven censorship' future if UK Online Safety Bill gets through Parliament

Re: Look at last time.

But this bill makes other people responsible for doing things. So instead of actually trying to comply with the legislation, the companies will just do the absolute minimum work required while looking for loopholes to give themselves wriggle room should the government try to fine them.

If it makes any genuine difference, they'll threaten to shut down in the UK which will panic businesses enough that they will pressure the government... continue until the government makes the nasty law go away.

I'd say I'm being cynical but I'm no longer sure if that's true.

UK financial watchdog dithers over £680k refund from Google (in ad credits, mind you) for running anti-fraud ads

Re: Is Google blamed for the existence of online scams?

Ford don't profit from the bank robberies. I mean, the car's usually stolen in the first place...

Windows 11: Meet the new OS, same as the old OS (or close enough)

I remember NT 4 workstation with great nostalgia... it never got better for me after that.

Re: Going back in time

Adding features in a service pack? Like that want to get into trouble for doing that AGAIN...

No I think they basically seem to be saying "we'll do UI revisions as a major version number, everybody that actually cares about what it does under the hood, well, just carry on as normal".

Which is sensible, but I also think there may be a danger of them very quickly saying "ah, Windows 10 is legacy, we're not going to do any updates other than security", in hopes of driving hardware sales worldwide (mainly as a favour to HP, Dell, etc). Which is a handy thing to do, just at the time there's a worldwide chip shortage.

Oh, I'm confused. Clearly I need more coffee.

Racist malware blocks The Pirate Bay by tampering with victims' Windows hosts file

"This racist tirade makes it unlikely (but not impossible) that the malware was made by an aggrieved company angry at cheapskates downloading pirated copies of paid-for software"

While this may be true, it reminds me of the nonsense that Prenda Law used to pull, and I can't help wondering whether someone has decided to do the same sort of thing. The racism could, of course, be there "to foul the trail", as it were. Equally, it could just be some rogue game dev who got laid off, who decided to blame piracy for their woes.

Vissles V84: Mechanical keyboard hits all the right buttons for Mac power users

My LMP is a great clone of the Apple one. It even has the built in USB connectors. Unlike a real Apple keyboard, however, they actually form a proper USB2 hub, rather than a USB1 hub, which is nice.

I'm always on the lookout for something better and this Vissles would be tempting if it was USB rather than Bluetooth as mine plugs into a KVM and does duty for 4 computers, not just the Mac.

Roger Waters tells Facebook CEO to Zuck off after 'huge' song rights request

I thought his latest solo effort was his best for years, myself. If anything, a little less whinge than usual.

What Microsoft's Windows 11 will probably look like

Re: Just

They'll get there. Teams is already available for Linux.

Anyone other than Micros~1? I still remember having clients screaming down the phone that IIS 4 broke IE 4, while Netscape carried on quite happily.

I still have an IE 4 install CD that came with my Windows 98 one. Maybe I should auction it on eBay as nostalgiaware?

We've been shown time and again that strong encryption puts crims behind bars, so why do politicos hate it?

Re: The argument is a bit beyond Priti Patel

Politicians, sadly, seem to be immune to such things as evidence and facts, preferring instead to trust in ideology and "donations".

Pre-orders open for the Mini PET 40/80, the closest thing to Commodore's classic around

Re: The PETs inspired me.

There was me thinking "oooh, I really want one."

Then I read the price.

And I thought, "yeah I don't want one that much."

I can think of a lot more fun things to do with the money, thanks.

Version 8 of open-source code editor Notepad++ brings Dark Mode and an ARM64 build, but bans Bing from web searches

Re: Notepad++ is genius

The one reason I actually use snaps on Linux is to install Notepad++. Otherwise I don't trust 'em I don't.

Microsoft flips request to port Visual Studio Tools for Office to .NET Core from 'Sure, we'll take a look' to 'No'

Wait, there were still VSTO developers?

Twitter’s new subscription service costs the same as a cup of coffee a month – though much less stimulating

I assume it's not advertising free then? Decluttering my timeline would probably be the only thing that would even make me consider a Twitter subscription.

First Forth, C and Python, now comp.lang.tcl latest Usenet programming forum nuked by Google Groups

Re: Recall what Deja Vu was...

Maybe it's time I got back on Usenet. Although generally all I ever do is post boring trivia about Pink Floyd, so I can probably do that on Facebook just as easily.

Microsoft: Behold, at some later date, the next generation of Windows

Re: Poor Show, The Register

Could you imagine if Clive Sinclair was running Microsoft? They'd be touting all sorts of good things, all of which would be delayed, overpriced, wouldn't work properly or if they did, wouldn't work for long...

ah yeah, that does sound a bit familiar now I come to think about it.

Re: monetize applications.

My wife's Windows PC broke, and I installed Linux for her to try as a stopgap measure while I ordered some Windows media (this was a while ago, when you still had to have EXACTLY the right OEM disc or your product key wouldn't work...)

Anyway, when the disc finally arrived, I asked if she wanted to go back to Windows. And nope. The DVD has been languiishing, unused and unloved, in the drawer ever since. Fear the power of Windows 8...

Computer Misuse Act: Tell the Home Office infosec needs a public interest defence in law, says CyberUp campaign

My worry here is that the UK government are only too happy to rely on promises and soothing words, rather than legislation, on the grounds that they can then still get revenge on prosecute anyone who embarrasses them.

"Found a bug in the DSS* systems, have you? No, you're not a bug hunter, that's benefit fraud mate, you're nicked. Oh wait, you also found an unsecured page on the MI5 site? National security, espionage, you're nicked. No, we know you told us about it, we don't care, you're still going to jail."

That's the sort of thing I worry about...

* Is it still the DSS? Haven't had to deal with them in years

Lessons have not been learned: Microsoft's Modern Comments leave users reaching for the rollback button

No doubt Microsoft's response will be the same as usual...

...every single complaint will get "we have considered this feedback and decided that no change is required at this time. The new comment experience provides a much more robust and consistent UI and will be the default in all Office apps going forward".

Which, as usual, translates as "we don't care, we do what we like and you either live with it or... well, there isn't really a choice as far as the average IT-illiterate manager is concerned, is there?"

Internet Explorer downgraded to 'Walking Dead' status as Microsoft sets date for demise

Re: I’ll start digging the grave

And everyone else can get their dancing shoes ready...

Microsoft hits Alt-F4 on Windows 10X: OS designed for dual-screen PCs axed

Re: So you might say ...

I love codes like this, although when I had my ham licence the Q codes where my favourites*. Anyone complains about text speak should try learning Morse. The endless stream of shorthand there is absolutely mind boggling.

* Not that I can remember them now, of course. It was many years ago, and I've since moved country so I'd have to redo all the exams again if I want a licence again, and that feels too much like hard work to me.

NHS-backed org reacted to GitHub leak disclosure with legal threats and police call, complains IT pro

I'd totally missed they were an NFP. Clearly I was running a caffeine deficiency that morning.

I have a feeling that some investors might interpret this as management incompetence, and a misuse of company funds summoning lawyers to cover up their incompetence.

For the benefit of any lawyers listening, I'd like to point out that I am not investor in said company, so such thoughts could not possibly cross my mind, but I can easily imagine there are some corporate entities less charitable than I am that might take that view.

We'd love to report on the outcome of the CREST exam cheatsheet probe, but UK infosec body won't publish it

Re: "It's not something I can speak out about"

"How can we bury this, Sir Humphrey?"

"Data Protection legislation, Minister"

"Excellent idea."

Apple sent my data to the FBI, says boss of controversial research paper trove Sci-Hub

Re: "You have NO privacy. Get over it"

I go one better. There isn't a camera on my Mac Mini. Let's see them get out of that one!

'Biggest data grab' in NHS history stuffs GP records in a central store for 'research' – and the time to opt out is now

Re: Why opt out ?

Given that I've moved abroad, how do I stop my historic data being shared? Because I no longer have a GP practice, I guess I probably can't.

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

Re: Order is important

If they really believe it to be used exclusively by criminals, then they should be taking steps to block it at the network level and get Apple and Google to remove the app from their app stores.

The fact that they're not raises interesting questions. Questions such as "do they really think they can get away with such a bold faced lie"?

Re: Really ????

Doesn't affect Facebook until May 15th when they finally roll it out, as the big splash screen in WhatsApp keeps telling me.

‘Staggering’ cost of vintage Sun workstations sees OpenSolaris-fork Illumos drop SPARC support

I have fond memories of Solaris. Now I want to see if I can get OpenSolaris running on a VM, with a view to that maybe being my next operating system on my Thinkpad (it's due an update, Ubuntu 18.04 is getting a bit long in the tooth)

Audacity 'scared and excited' to be bought and brought under Muse Group's roof, promises to stay free and open source

I still have an old MacBook running Snow Leopard. Using that is way preferable to any Mac that came afterwards, in the same way that Windows 7 is much friendlier than later versions of Windows.

Now, when it comes to iOS... every time I see an iOS 6 phone in a movie I almost cry. The beauty we lost...

GCHQ boss warns China can rewrite 'the global operating system' in its own authoritarian image

Re: Who are they addressing?

I think they are basically addressing the people who sign off their budget, using the time honoured strategy:

1. There is a big external threat over there

2. We are the only people who know how to save you from it

3. So give us more money for executive bonuses enhanced capabilities to deal with the threat

Works more often than not, if I recall. :(

39 Post Office convictions quashed after Fujitsu evidence about Horizon IT platform called into question

Re: Lock up

No reason not to prosecute? A large donation to each major political party should be enough reason, I think. At least, that's how it normally seems to work...

Cynical, moi? Yes.

iFixit wants you to be legally able to break software locks to repair gizmos. Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are less keen

Re: 100% behind iFixit

I'll second that, iFixit are amazing. More power (and virtual beer) to them, I say!

George Clooney of IT: Dribbling disaster and damp disk warnings scare the life out of innocent user

Re: User or loser

Oh I remember a call from a customer saying there was some urgent data that they had they needed to recover from a backup.

Oh good, I thought. They're diligently backing things up and remembered to ask how to do this when things went wrong.

After an hour or two of the backups not working, I realised it was from a later version of DOS. From someone else's PC. And the "urgent data" was a cracked version of a flight simulator their friend had got hold of somehow.

I didn't rat him out to his own boss but quietly explained this was a bit illegal and probably nut the sort of thing he ought to be doing with a company PC...

Microsoft loves Linux – as in, it loves Linux users running Linux desktop apps on Windows PCs

Re: Yes, of course

Or, alternatively, they may encourage Linux developers to stop releasing Windows versions altogether. After all, why bother if the "Windows Subsystem for Linux" will handle it?

University duo thought it would be cool to sneak bad code into Linux as an experiment. Of course, it absolutely backfired

Re: A punitive sanction against the Uni for approving it

The "we're open source so our time is more valuable than anyone else" attitude simply comes from the fact that a lot of this time is people doing the work on a volunteer basis, without any payment.

Just to give a more real-world metaphor, can you imagine what would happen if you went into a soup kitchen and said "I've peed in one of the stews you're about to feed to people - but don't worry, nobody will ever eat it because I've just told you about it, it's just a scientific experiment to test for a vulnerability in your processes"?

Microsoft realises constant meetings stress people out, adds Office 365 settings to cut them short or start them late

Oh good

Another new "feature" that the users will complain is distracting them when they're in meetings and sys admins will have to find out how to turn off.

Because you know that the ones who want the meetings to overrun so they can shout at their underlings are going to be the only ones that complain, so upper management will decide "well nobody likes this feature"...

Won't somebody please think of the children!!! UK to mount fresh assault on end-to-end encryption in Facebook

Re: What's good for the goose ..

I don't think Facebook would have to give the backdoors to other governments, I suspect most other governments who are remotely interested would have people who could find them fairly rapidly.

How not to apply for a new job: Apply for it on a job site

Re: LinkedOut.

Weirdly, it started to go downhill after Microsoft bought it. They really did seem to want to Facebook-ify it.

And I'm being serious - about a year (or so) after MS bought it they changed the notifications so that there are (or it feels like there are) about a hundred different types of notifications that you need to turn off separately.

Another astonishingly successful acquisition, just like Danger, or Nokia. Sigh.

Pigeon fanciers in a flap over Brexit quarantine flock-up, seek exemption from EU laws

Re: Brexit.

1970s? I'd argue it's back to the 1950s, myself.

That said, Boris's new "Project Love*" seems to be designed to bring the UK back to 1967, which bodes well for getting to the mid 70s faster and rejoining...