Posts by Boufin

Google Drive misplaces months' worth of customer files

Another rclone user here

Daily rsync to a local disk, and daily rclone to one of the cloudy services as a backup to my backup (that I can also access on my phone if needed). I can sleep.

It’s official: Vodafone and Three to tie the knot in the UK

Re: Lies

Wifi Calling does support SMS (on Voda and O2 - not sure about Three)

For password protection, dump LastPass for open source Bitwarden

There is a great Android client for Password Safe too. I use the Phone copy as my backup (master is on my main machine).

Unable to write 'Amusing Weekly Column'. Abort, Retry, Fail?

Posture Assessment Failed

Cisco AnyConnect VPN keeps telling me "Posture Assessment Failed". Even when I'm sitting up nice and straight.

Microsoft gives Notepad a minimalist makeover to match Windows 11 style

Just say EMACS

^X^C

Oh my, Grandma, what a big meteorite you have right there on your pillow under that hole in the roof

Re: A meteor shower in Golden

What's the difference between a lentil and a chickpea? A certain Orange Person has never had a lentil on his chest.

Meatballs, Abba, and bork: 3 things Sweden is famous for

Björn Bork!

Years of development, millions of lines of code, and Android can't even run a toilet

Video over IP? Or IP over Video?

Volkswagen to stop making its best-selling product for Wolfsburg workers: VW-branded sausages

I used to have a sausage phobia, but now I only fear the wurst.

Mention of LinkedIn and sausages in the same sentence? Was waiting tor the punchline.

'No' does not mean 'yes'... unless you are a scriptwriter for software user interfaces

Re: Diarrhee of a Wimpy Kid

Gave you a thumbs up, but in the context of this thread I'm not so sure that's a good idea!

Re: Diarrhee of a Wimpy Kid

I'm veggie, and by that scale I am not normal!

LastPass to limit fans of free password manager to one device type only – computer or mobile – from next month

Re: Software as a service? no way

Another happy PasswordSafe user (on desktop and with Android port), but only for about 10 years. I manually sync the file between devices once per month (or more often if I create a new login that I need). Would not trust any cloud server with that file.

Bixby users. Yes, both of you! Samsung's unloved voice assistant now works with its unloved DeX desktop mode

Re: Grr...

I use the Levin 7-in-one USB hub (from a certain on-line retailer beginning with A) with a newer Sammy Note. Was £20, but it's actually a nicely made bit of kit. Works really well, but as noted does need the phone power supply to be connected to it for DeX mode (not mirroring curiously).

You can now pepper your Windows 10 desktop with Android apps... if you have a Samsung phone, that is

Re: What? Why?

Google Messages (SMS/text app) can run a session in a web browser for that use case. Life changing.

Office 365 for the iPad will feel a little more desktop-ish now Microsoft has tossed it trackpad, mouse support

Re: Madness

Why should a device not support different interfaces? I use a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard with my phone all the time, have done for years. I hate typing (and copy/pasting) on glass, and Android has the support baked in. Much easier for bashing out a text or whatever when I am at my desk. The Microsoft apps support it really nicely too on Android - all the common keyboard shortcuts work too.

Remember the days when signs were signs and operating systems didn't need constant patching?

Many moons ago when travel was still a thing, I had the misfortune to travel from Reading to Heathrow on a bus. The bus started in Reading, so when I boarded the engine wasn't running. When the (bus) driver started the engine a large screen at the front powered up, and I was pleased to see a Linux boot sequence commence. It was clearly quite a slow system, because the boot took quite some time to complete. I found myself speculating what this was going to show. Traffic conditions? Flight terminal and gate number information? Weather? Eventually the boot completed, and some window manager kicked off. At the end of this, the screen simply said "Fasten Seat Belt" - and it stayed like that for the rest of the journey. I found the while experience quite depressing.

It's Google's hardware launch day, and what do we get? A few Pixel phones, Nest kit, and another Chromecast

Anyone old enough to remember Dial-a-Disc on 160? That took distortion to a new level, and I'm not just talking about Gary Glitter here.

Behold the Bloo Screen of Death: Bathroom borkage stops spray play

Video over IP?

Or the converse...

Dropbox attempts to muscle into password manager market with passphrase wrangler, document vault

Password Safe for all your password need. Nice Android client too.

Serial killer spotted on the night train from Newcastle

I can't work out if it is a driver problem, or simply the wrong platform? OK, I'll fetch my slippers.

Tinfoil hat brigade switches brand allegiance to bog paper

Re: you'd still struggle to get through a couple of rolls

I'm sure there must be web sites with details of the female anatomy.

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

Re: The interns are early this year

The one before that was Internet Explorer only, and used some port that my employer would not allow. Mind you in those days they had branches, so it was not such a huge problem.

All that Samsung users found on UK website after weird Find my Mobile push notification was... other people's details

I created a Samsung account, but only to disable the friggin' Bixby button. I saw the 1 1 notification too, but assumed it was a "butt dial" issue!

Help! I'm trapped on Schrodinger's runaway train! Or am I..?

Re: Charity and Anarchy

The Nectar app recently told me the top three items (by count, not value) that I apparently purchased in Sainsbury's in 2019 under the heading "What did your 2019 Taste Like?". Don't often shop there, so I think the data looks to be a little bit suspect. At number 3, Cucumbers. Number 2 is Grapefruit Juice (not from concentrate, don't you know). And proudly occupying the number 1 slot is Cat Litter Tray Liners. Yummy.

Beware the trainee with time on his hands and an Acorn manual on his desk

In the 80s (yikes), I was in a lab with some networked HP machines connected to assorted measuring equipment over HP-IB. But I digress. The network "printer" was a repurposed Teletype Model 43, placed right beside the single lab telephone (a GP0 700 series). I wrote HP BASIC program to stream BEL characters to the printer and make it ring like a telephone. Amazing how many people I could get to stand up and walk over to the phone to answer it. What fun.

The eagle has handed.... scientists a serious text message bill after flying through Iran, Pakistan

Just as well eagles don't Tweet!

Consumer campaign to keep receiving printed till receipts looks like a good move – on paper

Assistant: "Do you want a receipt?"

Me: "No"

Assistant: Takes receipt and tosses it in the bin.

We don't know whether 737 Max MCAS update is coming or Boeing: Anti-stall safety fix delayed

Re: Question for the experts

Re: The engines on the 737 MAX series were moved slightly forward and up to maintain the necessary ground clearance. (ever wondered why the engines have flatted bottoms on the nacelle)

Why did Boing persist with developing and stretching the low-slung 737? The longer and then more modern 757 had much better ground clearance. The competing A320 also has better clearance, with no need for squashed nacelles or engines mounted fore and up. This to me seems the be the central problem here.

Oh Deer! Poacher sentenced to 12 months of regular Bambi screenings in the cooler

That's an expensive punishment. That DVD is of a deer.

BlackBerry KEY2 LE: The first budget Android QWERTY for years

I really miss my Nokia 9300i