* Posts by ITMA

1112 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Aug 2019

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Teens used encrypted chats to recruit for 'violence as a service' murder ring, Europol says

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Devil

Re: So How is that Supposed to Work?

Que Rick Moranis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1ijfPwmCc

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Devil

Re: Encryption?

These are the children..... Using the very same encryption to get up to nefarious activities.

Techie traveled 4 hours to fix software that worked perfectly until a new hire used it

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Devil

Definition of a cat toy - anything not nailed down.

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Devil

Making things "fool proof" is one thing....

Making them "people proof" is an entirely different thing...

New GitHub Copilot limits push AI users to pricier tiers

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Devil

Re: Perfect

Microsoft applying practises straight from the "Drug Dealers Handbook".

UK students flock to AI to help them cheat

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Devil

Re: Glorified calculators

How about this - posted a year ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNP_unReOpw

I think he makes some valid points as to why leanring to use a slide rule could still beneficial.

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Devil

Re: A shift in weighting

"Some teachers (at least in the earlier years of schooling, primary and early secondary) are actually against testing as it is executed today, because it doesn't necessarily reflect the abilities of a pupil. It's possible for some pupils to absolutely smash exams, but be crap at everything else and the other way around"

I found something similar with aptitude tests.

I started my college course with my best friend from school and getting on the course started with an (abstract) aptitude test. He scored very highly, I scored "average".

At the end of the (two year BTEC) course the two of us both passed with the highests grades they'd ever had for that course by quite a way (this was an old technical college).

My view is that all these "abstract" aptitude tests do is test your ability to do aptitude tests.

Oh, my friend read a book on how to do aptitude tests before sitting the one for the college course.

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Devil

Re: Glorified calculators

Never said it (mental arithmetic) was.

To put a bit of context to it - slide rules and logbooks were the calculators of the day. Electronic calculators of the time would more than likely have crushed a desk never mind sat on top of it.

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Devil

Re: Glorified calculators

But there is also the argument that if schoolkids can't do basic mental arithmetic, even if only to get an approximate answer, how will they know when their calculator has given them the wrong result due to "operator error".

BTW - medical leeches are very good at maintaining bloodflow particularly in challenging plastic surgery situations (reconstructive skin flaps etc) when standard surgical techniques just don't "cut it".

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Devil

Re: Glorified calculators

"I don't suppose most younger people nowadays would have a clue what those are, much less how to use them!"

I remember - but then I suppose I don't fall into the category of "younger". Prehistoric perhaps....

If you want real punishment, try doing manual double entry book keeping and manual PAYE using (the old) HMRC tax tables. I had to do that as part of the business studies modules (in a computing qualification course) at college.

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Devil

Re: Glorified calculators

Plus, exams in earlier years should have already tested your basic ability to do arithmetic.

When you are allowed to use a calculator, you are no longer (or primarily) being tested on your ability to do mental arithmetic.

You are being tested on your ability to use the necessary principles to solve a mathemetical problem - hence the reason for points for showing your "working out". You are demonstrating not just the fact you arrived at the correct answer, but followed the correct method to get there.

Besides, many great mathematicians were rubbish at mental arithmetic.

And what was there before electronic calculators? Slide rules and printed log/trig table books.

Windows 11 migration heats up... on desktops

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Devil

Re: El Reg, winning!!

I think there words you were looking for were:

"It's a pox computing. A canker on users PCs".

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Devil

Re: 10 years

And Microsoft couldn't give a monkeys....

SpaceX's Starship explodes again ... while still on the ground

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Devil

Like his cars and Cybertrucks?

Logitech's latest keyboard and mouse combo is wired, quiet, and suspiciously sensible

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Mushroom

Re: Why, oh why?

My pet hate about laptops is the way ALL manufacturers default to "tap to click" ON.

I bloody LOATHE that!

Hateful spiteful function. Until I find out how to kill it the bloody thing is constantly misinterpreting my normal finger movements on the touchpad as taps resulting in God knows what being selected, dragged and dropped to God knows where. All because of bloody tap to click.

TURN THE BLOODY THING OFF BY DEFAULT.

‘AI is not doing its job and should leave us alone’ says Gartner’s top analyst

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Devil

Re: The org now uses AI to automate all steps in parallel...

I think your experience sums up an infectious attitude spreading among many companies.

An attitude towards existing and potential customers of "Fuck off. We don't want to know."

BT won't budge over pay hike for manager grade employees

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Devil

Re: Help

Especially when the "help line/customer services" is on a premium rate number.

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Devil

Re: Help

Like bollocks it is....

Blocking stolen phones from the cloud can be done, should be done, won't be done

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Devil

Re: Nice idea

"Why not just make all stolen phones worthless"

Call them Windows Phones, that'll make em worthless overnight.

Mysterious leaker GangExposed outs Conti kingpins in massive ransomware data dump

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Devil

Re: GangExposed

"We can end ransomware anytime we want, we simply lack the will to make paying ransom illegal"

In the same way Prohibition worked in the USA (1920-1933) and making lots of drugs "illegal" has driven the drug dealers and cartels out of business...

Dream on.

Ex-Meta exec: Copyright consent obligation = end of AI biz

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Devil

Re: But my bank robbing business would shut down

Your "robberies" would be downgraded to mere run of the mill withdrawls".

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Devil

I think what you are saying is....

Copyright is outmoded and so, in theory, Meta et al should be able to use what ever they like to train their AI, because it will make them lots of money.

The flipside is that the whole world should therefore be free to copy Microsoft, Meta and everyone eles's software as they like with impunity.

Sounds a fair argument to me LOL

Microsoft dumps AI into Notepad as 'Copilot all the things' mania takes hold in Redmond

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Devil

Three (or maybe four) words for Microsoft

Twats!

Fucking useless twats!

Apartment living to get worse in 5 years as 6 GHz Wi-Fi nears ‘exhaustion’

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Re: Leading from the rear

A pertinent questions is:

- What the hell do a washing machine and vacuum cleaner need WiFi for?

I can understand if the vacuum cleaner is one of those robotic ones. But if not..... But a bloody washing machine???

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Devil

"This is why I try to used wired Ethernet for as much as possible"

Precisely!

People have become almost brainwashed into thinking WiFi IS the internet and the ONLY way to connect devices to a network.

They forget that WiFi solves ONE and ONLY ONE problem - not being able to connect a device to your network using a physical network cable (or if posh a length of proper optical fibre). It comes with a whole raft of its own problems.

There is even that old BT "unbreakable WiFi" add: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pkokABBg3w

The reality is that most of the time it is NOT your internet playing up, its the WiFi connection to your own internal network. Stop using WiFi for everything.

Builder.ai coded itself into a corner – now it's bankrupt

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Devil

Re: "to leverage AI tool"

"(Ugh. I hate myself for typing all that.)"

We hate you for typing that - we had to read it!

LOL

Ransomware attack on food distributor spells more pain for UK supermarkets

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Devil

Re: These are terrorist attacks and the response should be appropriate.

There's a fatal and fundamental flaw in both Tron's and Docto Syntax's arguments.

The contain that two word obscene phase - "Common Sense".

They also have that - for the markets - unnerving feature of hitting the short term bottom line/share price. In other words they cost money.

Both things which get consigned to that strong metal box which management want to take deep into the woods, bury somewhere unmemorable and never speak of again.

AI skills shortage more than doubles for UK tech leaders

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Devil

Re: What skills?

Ah.... You mean politicians.

In which case the Houses of Parliament are full of AI skilled individuals....

Annual electronic waste footprint per person is 11.2 kg

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Re: Microsoft - yes you!

That's going to be a hard sell...

"I have several 40 foot containers of PCs to dispose of. All fully working except they don't meet the Windows 11 requirements".

I've a regular source of reconditioned PCs who buys just such corporate disposals. If he can't flog them easily, he's not going to buy them. In the UK we have laws about selling goods under false pretenses or using misleading descriptions such as not stating they not compatible with Windows 11.

Yes there are hacks which seem to work at getting Windows 11 to run on hardware Microsoft don't want it to. But you really don't want to be running a corporate network on a wing and a prayer that Microsoft aren't going to cripple those with one update. Hell, they manage to cripple enough PCs which DO meet the requirements and legitimately running Windows 11 with crap updates.

The hardware requirements and ending support for Windows 10 are just another attempt to force customers to buy a "pig in a poke" - Windows 11. An OS that has zero reason (for customers) to exist other than to flog new hardware and for Microsoft to force new shit features that nobody wants or needs.

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Re: I need (well, want) a new (to me) laptop

Here's a question for you.

Why do you think a manufacturer's "business" range is more expensive than their "consumer" range?

At least partly because the consumer range are built with cheaper parts.

A rough rule of thumb - if a manufacturer offers most of a particular range with Windows Home, it's likely to be consumer.

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Devil

Microsoft - yes you!

"When we need a new smartphone or tablet or PC, we rush to the store to buy it new, and that needs to change, and there are 62 million tons of reasons why it matters."

Microsoft - deliberately trying to generate millions of tons of e-waste with Windows 11.

Linux isn't going to make much of a dent in the mountain of corporate e-waste that will be generated by Windows 11 and its hardware requirements.

Microsoft winnows: Layoffs hit software engineers hard

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Devil

Re: The MS Enshitiffication Project

Very well put...

Microsoft now give the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation a good run for its money as "the shittiest outfit in the galaxy"

Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson wants AIs fighting AIs so those most fit to live with us survive

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Devil

Re: "...and have learned to get along with them."

Said the Great White to his mate as he munched on the tourist who'd waded out too far.

"Not too keen on that rubbery skin (wetsuit) some of them have, it gives me the shits".

Everyone's deploying AI, but no one's securing it – what could go wrong?

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Re: AI system controls

" 'asked the CYBERUK audience for a show of hands: how many had banned generative AI in their organizations? Three hands went up'

Three are not using generative AI. As for the rest not banning generative AI does not mean they are using generative AI"

But, people being people, unless you've actively blocked all access to generative AI (eg via web browsers etc and hard to when Microsoft et al are all trying to force AI onto everything), then there are probably people using it simply because it is there.

The infamous "Oh look! Shiny!" and if they can use AI to (try) and do their work for them rather than do it themselves, they will.

Meta's still violating GDPR rules with latest plan to train AI on EU user data, says noyb

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Devil

Re: activists?

Depends what you think ITMA refers to or comes from ;)

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Devil

Re: activists?

I think it is quite telling, if a bit ironic, that when I were a wee nipper (back in the late pre-Cambrian), "Trump" was a verb meaning "to break wind".

aka FART.

"To emit foul smelling gaseous odours".

VPN Secure parent company CEO explains why he had to axe thousands of 'lifetime' deals

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Devil

Maybe some burly bloke with a meat cleaver pays you a visit....

Microsoft boots 3% of staff in latest cull, middle managers first in line

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Devil

Re: Translation required

"busy work"

A definition of Windows 11 using only two words! I'm impressed.

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Devil

Re: Translation required

"busy work"

A summary of Windows 11 in only two words!

I'm impressed!

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Jobsworths

Maybe they should just fire all the "jobsworths" who come up with all the shite features nobody wants to justify their continued existence.

Most of the shite doesn't work anyway.

Boffins warn that AI paper mills are swamping science with garbage studies

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Devil

"carbon-credit science" ???

The whole idea of "carbon credits" is just the "markets" reaction to "Oh, we must do something about climate change!"

The Markets:

"I know, we'll create a new fictional financial instrument, let's call them Carbon Credits, which polluters can use to make it appear they are doing something (when they are usually just throwing money at more ways of doing nothing) and we can trade to make shit loads more money for doing absolutely bugger all".

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Re: Way Back...

"AI just seems to be capable of producing a lot of sh*t a lot faster"

Perhaps we should coin a new term:

"A.I. Diarrhea"

People find amazing ways to break computers. Cats are even more creative

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Devil

Dogs have teeth.

Cats are Freddy Krueger in a fur coat:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/555068722800528017/

A Nightmare on Catnip.

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Devil

When I get "video bombed" by my cat during Teams meetings, I just say:

"Video blocked by my high security fur-wall".

Watchguard Firebox security "appliances" have their trademark red colour.

My high security fur-wall is ginger.

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Devil

Which is normally quoted as:

"Dogs have owners, cats have domestic staff"

Or

"Dogs have owners, cats have slaves".

Hang on... My feline overlord is calling.... LOL

Microsoft updates the Windows 11 Start Menu

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Re: Settings

And..... if it is already broken, break it some more!

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"According to Microsoft, one of the most common frustrations is 'finding and changing settings on your PC.' "

You left out the most obvious cause for said frustration - morons in Microsoft who keep changing where the settings are and which ones the deem us lowly users to fiddle with. Just leave the effing things alone!

If it ain't broke DON'T FIX IT!

Red, white, and blew it? Trump tariffs may cost America the AI race

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Surely you mean the A.I. zit?

Nationwide power outages knock Spain, Portugal offline

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Re: Anybody know?

Like their accounting processes LOL

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Anybody know?

What is ENRON in Spanish?

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