* Posts by ITMA

1039 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Aug 2019

Tech support chap showed boss how to use a browser for a year – he still didn't get it

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Devil

Re: Thermostats

Thernostats should, like all HVAC controls, be locked off so staff can't fiddle with 'em.

What ever temperature is set, someone will not be happy.

The best way is to pick a sensible temperature, say 20 degrees C, and ensure everyone is equally unhappy.

:)

Brits are scrolling away from X and aren't that interested in AI

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Devil

Quick - get him into the deep fat fryer!

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Devil

Re: It's not just Brits...

You think companies such as First Essex gives a monkey about their "duty to inform the public"?

They can't even be arsed to run a barely acceptable bus service - what they currently run is shite and most of the information they give on Twatter is stuff like the vacous, content free "due to operational issues".

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Devil

Don't you mean worrying low?

Unless you are talking about the 82% who don't trust it.

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Devil

Re: It's not just Brits...

You'd be surprised how many organisations have made Twatter their primary communication route for customers/users, especially when you want/need to find out what the hell is going on:

- Train companies.

- Bus companies.

- Road/traffic incidents.

Abstract, theoretical computing qualifications are turning teens off

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Devil

Re: WYF!

Did you have a hand in CESIL ? That abortion that was foisted on many a youngling using the ICL CES books?

LOL

NHS major 'cyber incident' forces hospitals to use pen and paper

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Devil

Re: The COVID internet

Have you stopped taking your medication again?

QNAP NAS users locked out after firmware update snafu

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Devil

Yeah, their instructions are frankly crap when the problem is that you CAN'T log in to the effing web UI.

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Devil

Re: Errrrr???

I've three of their units - luckily none of them affected, but then I don't generally upgrade firmware as soon as it is released.

Best to let others find any "show stoppers" first, then upgrade.

QNAP have done themselves no favours in the way this has been communicated - badly.

Trying to hide "bad news" does nothing but piss customers off.

If you want to take them with you, be open and honest and keep them informed.

Now’s your chance to try Microsoft’s controversial Windows Recall ... maybe

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Devil

Re: Seems something's semantic somewhere

You've copied that from me! Bar steward! :)

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Devil

Re: Seems something's semantic somewhere

"Agreed, precisely what is meant by 'sensitive material'?"

I would wager that Microsoft's definition of "sensitive material" which it won't scan/record is anything it can't find a way to monetise and/or sell. So not worth bothering with.

Anything else is fair game.

AI PCs: 'Something will have to give in 2025, and I think it's pricing'

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Devil

Re: What in the heck even IS an AI PC?

No no no.

The ads wikll be plaastered on the sides of council shit carts where they belong.

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Devil

Gartner - Businesses want to move to AI PCs

Bullshit.

I think businesses would much rather not have to scrap shed loads of perfectly serviceable PCs and spend shed loads on new ones just because Microsoft says so.

Andrew Tate's site ransacked, subscriber data stolen

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Devil

Sorry to be pedantic, but Cnut died 12th November 1035 and was apparently not a bald twat.

Well, he may have been a right twat, but wasn't follicly challenged.

Thousands of AI agents later, who even remembers what they do?

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Devil

Re: Their outputs are not predetermined

"Their outputs are not predetermined"

aka "they are full of shite"

Microsoft flashes Win10 users with more full-screen ads for Windows 11

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Devil

Careful!

The buggers will take that as a challenge.

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Devil

Erm...

The things that bork will still bork but you won't get a new load of borking things borking every Tuesday.

Microsh1te will still ignore problems... So no real change there.

Job seekers call BS on the workplace AI revolution

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Devil

Re: Time savings

Boss thinks a bit more.

"If you are using A.I. to do most of the work, why I am employing you? You're fired."

Microsoft goes thin client with $349 Windows 365 Link mini PC

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Devil

Re: But but but

Good luck with that - "speaking to Microshite directly".

Judges not impressed by Amazon, SpaceX's attempt to have NLRB declared unconstitutional

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Devil

Re: These people...

Which is, arguably, a significant driver behind much of the social reform which took place in the UK after WW2 ended - massive social house building programme, the NHS, state pensions, welfare benefits etc

The government had a choice - continue as things had been before the war, or annoy the "plebs" (aka everyday working people).

However, something significant had changed. The huge number of "plebs" who went to war came back as disciplined, well trained soldiers who could focus on objectives, highly capable of organising to do what ever was needed to achieve them.

Things could have got very, very ugly, very very quickly.

UK energy watchdog slaps down Capita's £130M smart meter splurge

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Devil

Re: Failed roll out.

The "remote disconnection" etc are all there.

However, the ultimate real reason for "smart" meters is going to be real time variable peak demand pricing.

The more people want to use electrickery at the same time, increasing demand, they ramp up the price and fuck everyone over. They'd make Kenneth Ley and Jeff Skilling (ENRON) proud.

The energy market equivilant of Ticket Master's "surge pricing".

Ambitious overclocker cools Raspberry Pi 5 with liquid nitrogen

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Devil

Pah!

All we had was a BBC B with a Solidisk Fourmeg board to replace the 2MHz 6502A with a 4MHz 65C02.

Those were the days!

https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/32298/Solidisk-Fourmeg-BBC-Micro-Expansion-Card/

Airbus A380 flew for 300 hours with metre-long tool left inside engine

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Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

As long as it is not coming from a crocodile... Peter....

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Devil

Re: " The odds of a tool such as this causing a catastrophic engine failure would be quite high,"

"Either way, modern jet engines are tough beasts, capable of ingesting thousands of golf ball sized hailstones in a few seconds, and sometimes surviving ingesting quite large birds..."

And the occasional member of airport ground staff....

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Devil

Re: "as it would pass through the rotating blades during flight"

No no no no.

The PARTridge is a networking metric used in evaluating performance of the Pear Tree Spanning Algorithm,

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Devil

Re: Specialisation

A couple of very sad/tragic cases of this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51y1g08d3lo

A guy who was scavanging metal from a derelict site unaware that 11KV switchboard he was attemtping to recover metal from was live!

Or this very tragic one:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6vw5nz961o

It makes one wonder, what went wrong for a person who is in the back of a police car - for what ever reason - to be able to let themselves out on the side of a motorway?

ITMA Silver badge
Devil

Re: "as it would pass through the rotating blades during flight"

So does that make this nylon rod a 6 starling object or a full "frozen turkey"?

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Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

It may have been YOUR watch (says the surgeon).

It is now MY watch LOL

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Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

Not to mention the lives of (in the case of a Qantas A380) upto 486 passengers and 25 crew.

Viewing it in terms of the $ value of the engine is, I would argue, part of the problem.

ITMA Silver badge
Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

And don't forget...

"Ok, so that is one left leg successfully amputated.

Erm - the notes said the RIGHT.

Oopps".

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Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

Starting with the Qantas manager who requested the "missing tool" report be "removed/downgraded" because it was "causing problems".

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Devil

Re: "as it would pass through the rotating blades during flight"

Is there is scale for meauring the strength of items ingested into commercial jet liner engines?

Maybe "Bird Equivilant"?

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Devil

Depends what you leave inside....

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Devil

Re: Multi-Fail

"My friend gave me a look, and said, 'Always count your tools.' "

And it's standard operating theatre practise - you count everything (instruments, swabs etc) before starting and count everything at the end to make sure you've not left anything in the patient.

Though people being people, mistakes do happen.

This Qantas incident, however, is a classic example of how a string of simple errors can produce a situation with a potentially catastrophic outcome. Thankfully it didn't on this occassion.

NatWest blocks bevy of apps in clampdown on unmonitorable comms

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Devil

"Unfortunately, I work in a very litigious industry!"

You're a lawyer aren't you! LOL

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Devil

A good many less regulated businesses should take note.

It is very easy for these "unofficial" channels to become engrained in working practises because they get started by employees with no governance. Often without even talking to IT.

Apart from the other issues, it means almost requiring employees to give out their personal mobile numbers to other staff members without proper informed consent. A GDPR issue.

I've seen it used as a way of scheduling and organising work amongst teams, again started by individuals without proper thought for the implications - simply because it is "easy".

That hardware will be more reliable if you stop stabbing it all day

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Devil

Re: Common-Sense Failure

Obvious solution!

You don't modify the LRT to have a box cutter knife taped to it.

You BUILD your LRT into a box cutter knife!

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Devil

Re: smart decision

Making things "fool proof" is one thing.

Making them "people proof" is entirely different matter.

All bark, no bite? Musk's DOGE unlikely to have any real power

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Devil

Re: if it's anything like his ability to run a car company...

Besides, it is 240+ years out of warranty.

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Devil

Re: if it's anything like his ability to run a car company...

A "factory recall" would mean the UK having to accept the USA back for fixing.

They can bugger off! We have our own problems. LOL

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Devil

Re: if it's anything like his ability to run a car company...

Ah, you mean fire anyone who knows anything about how things work - and renege on severance pay promises - then treat who's left like slaves and tell them to "suck it up or feck off".

Such as inspirational leader.. NOT.

Tech support world record? 8.5 seconds from seeing to fixing

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Devil

Re: Doh..

"!I walked over and opened the camera cover."

C'mon, that's a hardware problem.

You can't expect a software developer to know how to fix hardware issues. LOL

Killer app for AI is still years away, says industry analyst

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Devil

New Headline!

"A.I. killed your app."

There, that's better.

Your air fryer might be snitching on you to China

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Devil

I find that judicious waving of one of those orange plastic dead blow mallets - used to assemble stell shelving - near said device in a threatening manner works quite well.

Classic Outlook explodes when opening more than 60 emails

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Devil

Opening more than 60 emails at the same time....

Reminds me of the old "doctor" joke.

Patient: "Doctor, doctor, every time I do this I get a terrible shooting pain in my neck"

Doctor: "Well stop doing it then".

60 emails, at the same time... Seriously!

Some people need to learn how to use a bloody computer....

Sketchy financials send Supermicro auditors running for the hills

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Devil

"Even with Windows, it just would not crash. Not one BSOD!"

Yes, but you are supposed to turn it on.... LOL

Fired Disney staffer accused of hacking menu to add profanity, wingdings, removes allergen info

ITMA Silver badge
Devil

Re: Sounds like they really need to fire more people!

"It may or may not be the fault of the account admin"

Quite. They can only do something about it they've been told an employee is being "let go" and also the priority - i.e. "we're firing him now so need him to be locked out of everything now".

I wonder how this "misuse of computers" compares to Microsoft's constant and blatant "misuse" every time they force their crap on users despite them having said "No!" - such as the almost forced Windows 11 upgrades happening now.

Yes I know you can use a GPO to block it. But damn it we bloody well shouldn't have to! When will Microsoft lean "No" means "NO".

Is Microsoft's AI Copilot? CoPilot? Co-pilot? MVP creates site to help get it right

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Devil

Re: How do you pronounce Azure

I suggest:

Crap-Pilot

or

Crash-Pilot

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Devil

Don't care what it is called

What ever Microsoft call their AI garbage, the only place I want to see it is in the IT mortuary then cemetery, where it belongs.

Fujitsu claims 634-gram 14-inch Core i7 laptop is world's lightest

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Devil

Re: Lenovo please take heed

In our environment to enable 24/7 remote endpoint management, all machines, including laptops, are meant to be left powered up.

Machines connected via wired ethernet can (usually) be remotely woken up but on WiFi, forget it.

However, that doesn't stop users from separating laptops from their power supplies and then letting them run down on battery until the battery dies or it goes to sleep (due to low battery). Then, after tracking down errant laptops it is another very annoying, waste of time, hunt to track down their PSU.

I'm sorely tempted to GLUE the bloody DC jacks into the damned things.