* Posts by Michele.x

18 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Oct 2019

Once AI can create endless viral videos, good luck switching off social media

Michele.x

Re: Would such a piece of synthetic pop be good?

In the older times, before electricity singers and players needed a conductor to stay at tempo, because the speed of sound is much lower than the speed of light, and classical music performer are trained to follow visual cues rather their ear. The other solution was to have musician staying close each other.

With amplified music things changed and the solution for the low speed of sound was initially to use monitor speakers, but this solution causes both feedback problems and hear damage to the musicians due the high volume of the monitors on stage. Ear plugs are helping on protecting the ears and to listen to other musicians and even having a click track.

Too big to live, too loved to die: Big Tech's billion dollar curse of the free

Michele.x

If you have a landline and DSL or the like access, your friendly telco normally gives you an email address and some goodies bundled with the monthly fee.

On my first DSL contract there was also bundled in the NNTP server access and an ftp area you could upload files and a web area with static html files.

I was using it with a desktop PC.

Gmail service is way more interesting for smartphone only users because the easy to use app. Telco email has to be used with a separate mail client and you have to setup arcane parameters for IMAP and POP3 and TLS.

Two signs in the comms cabinet said 'Do not unplug'. Guess what happened

Michele.x

Re: Physical Methods Trump Signs in Any Language

IEC 309 sockets are quite different, compared to standars sockets, and have some nice ameities, like lock out holes, and fuses, nome of them in the on position have a small hole where to put a small lead seal that has to be broken if the switch is turned of, and in on position the plug is mechanically locked.

https://www.gewiss.com/content/dam/gwdam/product/GW/10/02/18/41/GW10021841.jpg

There are also the MAGIC socket, that have an odd connector ad were designed in the '70 by BTicino. I've seen used in hospitals for the socket to be used by medical equipment. You can order plugs and sockets or even find them on stock in big hardware stores, but are quite uncommon.

https://catalogue.bticino.com/thumbs/412x412/app/webroot/low_res/198665_436786_BTI_5100.jpg

For UK, you couls source the Italian 16A plug and socket, that is way cheaper and easier to find.

https://www.stockelettrico.it/products/BTI5129-BIG.jpg

That is like using BS 1363 sockets in Italy. At leas my uncle wired the freezer with that and put a corresponding socket in the cellar.

Manufacturers could be forced to include repair instructions

Michele.x

I remember old TV sets and radio, "Made in West Germany" but also "Made in Italy" or "Fabriqué en France" had the user manual, the warranty card and the schematic diagram, TV sets even in transistor era had the PCB layout and the realignment guide in most cases.

Nowadays even complete user manuals are hard to find, and even the complete user manuals that one has to download the manufacturer site are lacking and somewhat generic.

This maglev turntable costs more than an average luxury electric car

Michele.x

Re: How the tables have turned

Remaining department store are still selling TEAC stuff, like turntables, cassette recorders, CD players and amplifiers.

You have to find a store first and the the hi-fi aisle. Not an easy task nowadays.

Tesla has a lot of work to do on its Optimus robot

Michele.x

Re: Show me on this doll where Elon hurt you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NoFVNku01M

Fiat sold BEV 40 years ago, the problem at the time was that lead acid technology wasn't suitable to use on cars, in the advert above is said that NiCd batteries could be installed instead of lead acid.

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

As you can see Fiat also built electric vehicles in 1949, that didn't have any batteries inside, and actually didn't have any electronic device inside. This one, restored to be again rail-worthy has some electronics systems inside, because the tickets now use NFC chips instead of becing a piece of cardboard that is punched like in the 50s.

Amazon 'punishes' sellers who dare offer lower prices on other marketplaces

Michele.x

Re: Prefer to pay more, sometimes pay less

In my experience it depends on the items. I've found that for most books, especially for some publishers going to their e-commerce site works well and prices are lower for their books and related publisher.

I'm also lucky that they have a bookstore two bus stop from my home, so normally I ask delivery to the bookstore, and if it happens that they have the books there, I get a mail after an hour or so that they are ready to pick.

Going in the store means if that I prefer to pay cash I could.

The only downside is that sometimes, while in the store I impulse buy other books or stationery.

Cornish drinkers catch a different kind of buzz as pub installs electric fence at bar

Michele.x

The beer they're serving

http://www.velkopopovickykozel.com/#our-beers/premium-lager Kozel beer. Because it's a fine one beer, of course, non because sometime one has to herd goats.

You're testing them wrong: Whiteboard coding interviews are 'anti-women psychological stress examinations'

Michele.x

Re: but this can't be true

Still now, I have noticed that a lot of COBOL and AS/400 programmers I know are women.

Because I think there were high school course of accountant programmer, with lesson on book keping, touch typing and COBOL. Being a book keeper is seen as a 'normal' job for a girl.

On the other hand a technical engineering high school had courses of electronics, calculus,PASCAL, C and assembler. Technical engineering was ok for boys.

Linus Torvalds banishes masters, slaves and blacklists from the Linux kernel, starting now

Michele.x

Vive la France!

Je suis pour la promotion d'un vocabulaire français pour l'informatique ed anche magari usare un vocamolario italiano. Basta con la Perfida Albione!

Michele.x

Re: male/female

https://sep.yimg.com/ay/cablesonline/8-ibm-data-to-data-connector-token-ring-cable-2.gif

Token ring connectors, aka ieee 802.5 With the infamous hermaphrodite connector.

Very little helps: Tesco flashes ancient Windows desktop on Scan-As-You-Shop device

Michele.x
Alert

Re: Handheld shopping...

It depends of the supermarket. I remember a small supermarket where the delivered were made in the 80s with a battered Renault 4 van by the son of the owner by phone.

Now they use instead of the phone a web app, they still accept order by phone, and use now a slight less battered Berlingo, that is driven by the nephew. Service is good never had a problem.

On the other hand another store has a a new web app but they are using Glovo riders to make the deliveries. Never used the app to order at home.

So you locked your backups away for years, huh? Allow me to introduce my colleagues, Brute, Force and Ignorance

Michele.x

Re: Ah yes ...

WD-40 isn't conductive, so if the oil ended only on PCBs isn't a big problem.

I have a contact cleaner that smells suspiciously like WD-40, and worked well to make switches and potentiometers start to work again in audio gear.

Apple: EU can't make us use your stinking common charging standard

Michele.x

Re: Gold plated cables

On some hi-fi exoceric system, single ended class-A tride amplifier are used, ad single ended amplifier are sensitive to power supply noise.

If one likes class-A amplifier, the push pull with differential amplified input is way better to reject PSU noise.

Michele.x

Re: We should just all use SCART

Actually SCART was a good idea. By the way my tv-set has one in addition of HDMI and VGA connectors. No manufacturer is forced to use only one conenctor.

I discovered the world's last video rental kiosk and it would make a great spaceship

Michele.x

Re: Re. Atompunk

Because, I suppose "true valve" DAB radio is too expensive?

http://www.dared.com.hk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=170

http://www.dared.com.hk/index.php?route=product/product&path=96&product_id=166

The latter costs over 360 euros. I have listened to it and sounds exacly like a 1960s bakelite tube radio.

Michele.x

https://goo.gl/maps/rgxY3eiGnm8zBvwA9

I live in Italy ant there are some DVD rental kiosks still in operation. The place is a photo shop that still has 135 format film and if you ask they could order 120 format, and of course develop it.

BBC said it'll pull radio streams from TuneIn to slurp more of your data but nobody noticed till Amazon put its foot in it

Michele.x
Boffin

Because listening to radio doesn't require a license, both in UK and Italy.

Besides, in the good old days I listened to 198 kHz the Radio 4 emissions, and other station on medium and long wave from Italy. Nowadays I can't due the cheap switching power supplies and cheaper LED lamps that everyone is using now. If you like to listen to Italian programmes the strongest transmitter is on 900 kHz.

Next I bought a satellite dish and I was able to listen to BBC radio broadcasts on the wide beam on Astra 2 from Italy, and you can listen to radio programmes from Italy on Hotbird. Next BBC moved the radio on the Astra narrow beam, so no joy from Italy. You can watch also some TV programmes from Rai from UK using a satellite dish pointed to Hotbird.

PS: Rai didn't destroy the tapes of A like Andromeda https://www.amazon.it/come-Andromeda-Luigi-Vannucchi/dp/B0016GM3C0 - BBC destroyed them... Rai 1 - BBC 0 :-)