Posts by ITMA

Parents take school to court after student punished for using AI

Re: School rules

Really?

How would an AI handle two students trying to kill each other?

Recommend they all sit down in a circle and sing "Kumbaya"?

UK ponders USB-C as common charging standard

Re: What next?

In 40+ years of using them, I still encounter devices which don't work properly with rechargeables.

Particulart wireless devices which are designed to work on 1, 2 or 3 AA or AAA batteries. Most of which are supplied with alkaline batteries.

I've seen quite a few where users have experienced erratic device behaviour typical of exhuasted batteries, replaced them with fully charged AA/AAA rechargeables only for the same symptoms to return just 2 or 3 days later. Replace them with alakaline battereis and the problem goes away and they work normally for weeks/months.

https://www.tycorun.com/blogs/news/all-about-1-5v-battery#:~:text=v%20battery%20dead%3F-,How%20to%20test%3F,cutoff%20point%20for%20practical%20purposes.

The 1.2V cell voltage of NiMH (and older NiCD) batteries is within the 1.0V to 1.2V zone at which alkaline batteries are considered "exhuasted". That creates issues. Especially with devices which use buck/boost circuitry to generate higher voltages (then regulated down) to drive electronics.

That difference seems small but is in fact substantial.

Re: What next?

"From my experience, the only good application for rechargeable AAA cells "

Now you are wandering into more confusing waters since your standard "dry" (i.e. normally alkaline) non rechargeable cells have a different cell voltage to rechargeables

There are a lot of devices designed for AA or AAA alakaline "dry" cells which just do not work with AA or AAA NiMH (or older NiCd) rechargeables because the rechargeables have a nominal cell voltage of 1.2V. The dry cells have somewhat higher nominal 1.5V cell voltage. The two (alkaline vs rechargeable) also have very different discharge curves. Rechargeables tend to much "flatter".

Using AA or AAA rechargeables in devices not designed for rechargeables can lead to them malfunctioning, constantly saying "low battery" or just not working at all.

It all comes down the fundemental difference in cell chemistry and not the physical form factor (i.e. AA or AAA size).

Sysadmins rage over Apple’s ‘nightmarish’ SSL/TLS cert lifespan cuts plot

Re: The solution...

"They still inject ads into DNS misses, but if you're still using your ISP's DNS servers, that's on you"

Absolutely! And YES we're talking about YOU TalkTalk....

AI amplifies systemic risk to financial sector, says India's Reserve Bank boss

Re: Das one smart guy

Or as I used to call it when working in IT for an Italian investment bank in London - conjuring tricks with numbers.

First time's the charm: SpaceX catches a descending Super Heavy Booster

Maybe even slightly phallic....

Techie took five minutes to fix problem Adobe and Microsoft couldn't solve in two weeks

Re: PITT

Another of the many things "Fast startup" breaks is Wake On Lan - at least on machines with particular Intel LAN adaptors.

Took me bloody ages to find that f***er....

The power state "Fast startup" puts the machine into kills power to the NIC totally. No power, no Wake On Lan,. Which when managing remote estates of machines is a royal f***ing pain.,

Microsoft issues 117 patches – some for flaws already under attack

Re: No issue there

If Copilot were any good, it would patch itself out of existence.

Microsoft admits Outlook crashes, says impact 'mitigated'

Re: Outlook is currently a support nightmare

Is it "Electron" or WebView2?

Re: Hardly a surprise

Or better still, just don't use "New" Outlook and stick with what is now I guess called "Outlook Classic".

Harvard duo hacks Meta Ray-Bans to dox strangers on sight in seconds

Re: As a good American...

How are they "idiots"?

What they have done is simply show what is already possible using what already exists without needing huge (or expensive) resources to do it.

You see it as "seeking glory". Others, including me, may see them as showing us the danger of A.I.

Re: As a good American...

Not to mention Minority Report....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bXJ_obaiYQ

Although they do it via iris recognition. Same basic idea.

Cloudflare beats patent troll so badly it basically gives up

Re: It depends on your definition

A good point since one of the less understood things about patents is this:

The "protection" being granted a patent provides is only as strong as your ability to defend it. Ultimately that comes down to "how deep are your pockets".

Generally, particularly in the US, the one with the most money (deepest pockets) usually wins.

Microsoft throws in the towel on HoloLens 2

I still have a Surface RT - and NO, I did NOT buy it.

It makes a useful door wedge.... That's about all.

Re: Hollow, never Holo

Amen to that!

It's been bad enough with Tensator's "holographic assistants" (not holograms or holographic):

https://www.tensator.com/solutions/tensator-holographic-virtual-assistant/

Not to mention all that "appearing by hologram" crap using the same Pepper's Ghost derivative as used for the infamous "Tupac" thing.

Windows 11 Patch Tuesday preview is a glitchy disaster

Re: "These previews are released early to" . .

Correct - but none of the actual Blofeld lines sound anything like as good..... :)

Re: "These previews are released early to" . .

Personally I think Nadella is trying to ape Elliot Carver, the Bond villian from Tomorrow Never Dies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm4Rll9axkQ

A challenge for the Registeriate - produce an A.I. video of Satya Nadella sitting in a big leather chair, stroking a white Persian cat saying "No Mr Bond, I expect you to DIE!!!!"

Recall the Recall recall? Microsoft thinks it can make that Windows feature palatable

Like hell!

"Recall the Recall recall? Microsoft thinks it can make that Windows feature palatable"

The phrase "polishing a turd" comes to minfd along with the closely related "gift wrapping a turd".

Either way, it is still a turd.

Capita wins £135M extension on much-delayed UK smart meter rollout

Re: Remember this is an average over the whole population.

It may do if you have crappy a crappy "smart kettle" or "smart toaster" that is always consuming some power to be "smart".

Not mine. My kettle and toaster have physical swithes with physical contacts which consume zero power when off despite being left plugged in and switched "on" at the wall.

Re: Had two calls in one day...

That is pretty much what OFGem told me.

Re: Klystron

They do use them on interstellar spacecraft...And in 20 mile cubed alien machines... Apparently....

Chief Quinn: [Examining the broken klystron frequency modulator] Now with every facility of the ship I think I might be able to rebuild it. But frankly, the book says no. It came packed in liquid Boron in a suspended gravity.

Commander Adams: Alright so it's impossible, how long will it take?

Chief Quinn: Well, if I don't stop for breakfast...

------

Commander Adams: Monsters from the subconscious. Of course. That's what Doc meant. Morbius. The big machine, 8,000 miles of klystron relays, enough power for a whole population of creative geniuses, operated by remote control. Morbius, operated by the electromagnetic impulses of individual Krell brains.

Dr. Morbius: To what purpose?

Commander Adams: In return, that ultimate machine would instantaneously project solid matter to any point on the planet, In any shape or color they might imagine. For *any* purpose, Morbius! Creation by mere thought.

-----

From: Forbidden Planet.

Re: Had two calls in one day...

"ICO will step in if they're ignoring your marketing wishes"

Actually, they won't.

I had the same issue and went down the same route all the way to ICO and OFGem.

I was told that because it is government policy to roll out smart meters that overrides your "marketing preferences". So they may stop calling for a while, but OFGem require they keep at it so, as Arnie says "They'll be back".

AI PCs will dominate shipments by 2026, but not because of demand

Re: That killer app may not be here now, but could be around the corner

AI *is* a killer app. It kills your PC and your will to live....

Samsung and pals Hyundai, Kia team for software-defined cars, IoT integration

Re: This is stupid

Too many drivers can't even recognise road signs let alone roadside advertising.

Such as the round blue signs which indicate permitted traffic (e.g. bus, taxi, motorbike) and therefore anything else (cars, vans etc which are not taxis) are prohibited. Plus "enforcement camera" signs and "BUS GATE".

Re: This is stupid

Getting a lift from a colleague to the station for a train home yesterday (UK), we were behind a driver who was weaving all over the road, going almost fully over the centre line at times. Not paying attention at lights, having to swerve sometimes to avoid vehicles coming in the OTHER direction.

The driver (a woman of a certain age) was too busy faffing about reading something from a piece of paper in her hand, brushing her hair and faffing about with something on the passenger seat.

What we absolutely do NOT need are additional pointless distractions in cars. It is BLOODY DANGEROUS!

Feel free to ignore GenAI for now – a new kind of software developer is being born

I think it is bullshitspeak for "How can we screw more money out of the customer for this?"

Microsoft on a roll for terrible rebranding with Windows App

You can tell when Microsoft are "thinking".

Something useful catches fire and burns to the ground to be replaced by a pile of useless crap.

Yup.

And that vocabulary goes S.H.1.T.E.

NASA engineers play space surgeon in bid to unclog Voyager 1's arteries

Re: So if I’m right

Not for a very very very long time....

Re: So if I’m right

Currently about 22 hrs 49 minutes each way.

So you send a command and then wait 46 hours to get confirmation it has received it, never mind executed it.

https://theskylive.com/voyager1-info

Re: Stunning engineering....

Try finding a "modern" washing machine that can do more than barely survive its statutary 1 year warranty period - or washer dryer that doesn't threaten to burn your house down just being used.

Stunning engineering....

What can one say.

A space craft built with what was essentially 1960's technology (hardware designs had to be frozen years in advance), launched in 1977 and still going in September 2024.

China claims Starlink signals can reveal stealth aircraft – and what that really means

Re: old news...

Isn't this not too dissimilar to how a group claim to have been able to track Malaysia flight MH370 after it had dropped off radar and effectively "went dark" using WSPR?

https://www.airlineratings.com/articles/mh370-ground-breaking-report-reveals-location

Microsoft's Copilot 'Wave 2' is a tsunami of unanswered questions

Re: AI - just say "no"

Aren't they the very types the Golgafrichams built Ark B for? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj7n3oFicU4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMoPR2IA2Uk

Muppet broke the datacenter every day, in its own weighty way

Re: This kind of semi-random, intermittent error is such a pain to diagnose

That reminds me of a real-time printer fix on a customer's dot matrix printer which kept stopping mid-print saying "Paper out".

I think I was working for NEC (UK) Peripherals at the time on the help desk.

Knowing the likely culprit, I asked the customer the model of printer.

I then said "This is going to sound strange...." then proceeded along the lines of "carefully lift the left hand side of the printer 3-4 inches of the desk. Then let go so it drops on the desk". <BANG>

The printer burst into life and kept printing.

A known issue where paper dust caused the plastic mechanical flag used to sense the presence of paper to stick in the wrong position. Giving it a jolt freed it.

As major web browser makers snuggle up to AI, these skeptical holdouts remain

Re: Your AI bugged browser

"LLMs are essentially confident-sounding lying machines with a penchant to occasionally disclose private data or plagiarize existing work"

A computerised politician in other words.

We've enough of the waste of flesh and blood type without needing computerised ones.

India to train 5,000 'Cyber Commandos'

Cyber security begins at home...

"Shah asserted that India leads the world for digital payments..."

It is also well near the top for hosting cyber scammers. Not lone PFYs but well organised criminal call centres.

AI-pushing Adobe says AI-shy office workers will love AI if it saves them time

Re: Adobe can piss right off

And they STILL haven't put in an option on the "free" Adobe Reader to tell their effing awful AI Assistant to fuck right off and die?

Why Adobe? WTF are you playing at?

Python script saw students booted off the mainframe for sending one insult too many

Re: I'm the OPERATOR...

And so is my wife!

:)

Admins wonder if the cloud was such a good idea after all

I can see nobody else has said it....So I will

"Admins wonder if the cloud was such a good idea after all"

No shit!

Deadline looms: Google Workspace mandates OAuth by September 30

I'd like Microsoft to explain how UPS's, CCTV equipment, alarm systems, plant equipment (i.e. water pumping systems etc) and other devices are supposed to "switch Microsoft Outlook" to send system event notification emails.

Unlike Microsoft who are killing off app passwords as well:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients-and-mobile-in-exchange-online/deprecation-of-basic-authentication-exchange-online

Which is a right bugger when used by shit loads of devices for sending notifications.

Microsoft decides it's a good time for bad UI to die

Re: well that was crap

"Microsoft decides it's a good time for bad UI to die"

Have Microsoft announced that Windows 11 is to be killed?

Iran's Pioneer Kitten hits US networks via buggy Check Point, Palo Alto gear

Why not just throw a ball of wool to distract the "kitten"? LOL

India delays planned space station and moon base by five years

Re: Why stop at 5 years?

NASA to human: "Did you arrive on Mars on the Boeing?"

Human: "Yes, why?".

NASA: "We've some bad news. About getting home....."

Human: "What sort of bad news?"

NASA: "Your not. Getting home that is"

Human: "You f**** c**** tw***s!"

NASA: "Good news! There's a flashlight you can use to try and hitch a lift on any Vogon or other alien ship that might be passing".

Re: Why stop at 5 years?

How about them cracking down more on all the scam call centres they host:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58JqGuclqng

In Punjab 140308, India ruthlessly scamming people.

Re: Why stop at 5 years?

"They sure did. Because there was no alternative. Computers and robotics in the 60/70s were nowhere near as advanced as they are today"

Yes there was.

Apart from physically "walking on the moon" the entire Apollo mission from launch to splash down could have been run automatically via Mission Control and the two Apollo Guidance Computers - one in the CSM and one in the LM.

They never did a fully automated lunar landing for one reason only - astronauts egos wouldn't permit it. In fact a fully automated "test landing" was discussed but killed because if the first Apollo LM landed with nobody onboard, the American public would rightly have said - "why are spending all the money to send men when a machine can do it?"

Launch was handled entirely by the IM computer in the Saturn V and Mission Control. The "astronauts" were just passengers, or as the oft used expression so aptly put it, "spam in a can".

Getting a man on the moon - i.e. Apollo - was all about beating the Soviet Union in space for political reasons.

Voyager 1 & 2 were designed and built using 60's/70's technology and BOTH are still exploring.

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-they-now/

The first space shuttle computers (five per shuttle) used core memory! How advanced the technology is nowhere near as important for spacecraft as reliability and ability to "harden" them for use in space.

Though I entirely agree with your point about robotic spacecraft. You didn't clearly state the biggest disadvantage to using humans - the expect to come back,alive.

Microsoft sends Windows Control Panel to tech graveyard

Re: cue the wailing

Wooha - Vista and Capable in the same sentence.... There's a novelty.

As for the "cue the wailing" what can I say. Compared to the things you can do through control panel, "settings" is a crock of shite.

Microsoft rolls out one Teams app to rule them all

Blah blah blah....

And I bet they STILL haven't fixed that stupid security hole where when you click on "Sign out" it DOES NOT!

There are frequent instances when all you have to do is click on a user name/email address and it signs you in without asking for so much as a password AFTER you've signed out.

Microsoft closes Windows 11 upgrade loophole in latest Insider build

That's not a "I'm pissed off" icon.

It's a burning bush.... :)