* Posts by MarkTriumphant

93 publicly visible posts • joined 19 Dec 2019

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Why users still couldn't care less about Windows 11

MarkTriumphant

Re: Why change?

> Now they are also nobbling M365 subscription by forcing a huge price hike to include unwanted AI features I can see less and less reason to keep people on the system.

Apparently it is possible to go back to the original non-CoPilot subscription, but they keep it hidden. I'm still trying to work it out so that my renewal will still be at the old price.

Memories fade. Archives burn. All signal eventually becomes noise

MarkTriumphant

I disagree about the grandchildren not caring. I have so many questions for my grandparents, but I can't as they've been dead for between 25 and 50 years.

The rest seems about right.

British Museum says ex-contractor 'shut down' IT systems, wreaked havoc

MarkTriumphant

That is the reason that I have remained an employee for all of my working life. I know I could earn more, but mentally I could not do it. Fortunately for me, my wife has the right "head" for contract working, so we have the best of both worlds.

Shove your office mandates, people still prefer working from home

MarkTriumphant

Re: English Law

I would like to see a source on that. Many comments in the LegalAdviceUK subreddit say the opposite.

Fear of Foxconn reportedly driving possible Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi merger

MarkTriumphant

Re: computers on wheels

For some tasks, that is true. For several that I have tried on my car, it requires me to physically use the screen.

Ryanair faces GDPR turbulence over customer ID checks

MarkTriumphant

Re: I never fly Ryanair

We have just holidayed in Japan, and were lucky enough to be able to fly business class with BA. Even that wanted us to pay extra to choose our seats.

UK's 'electricity superhighway' gets green light just in time for AI to gobble it all up

MarkTriumphant

Re: Hmm

His LLB was from Leeds as well, and that one is "real".

Tesla that killed motorcyclist was in Full Self-Driving mode

MarkTriumphant

Re: Heck; I can't even trust my Volvo

It was one of two things that I disagreed with when I did my Advanced Motorcycling. I see no reason why indicating should not be a reflex action. It does no harm to indicate unnecessarily, and it caters for the times that you do not realise that there was someone there to see it. It also means that it is one fewer thing to think about when driving, as it is automatic. Surely that is a sensible idea?

Here we go again. And again. Musk threatens to pull Twitter, SpaceX out of California

MarkTriumphant

Re: "I've made many overtures...but she doesn't want to spend time with me."

My children are still my children, even though they have both been adults for more than a decade.

Speed limiters arrive for all new cars in the European Union

MarkTriumphant

Re: Good

It was also mentioned when I did my advanced motorcycling course (although I have just realised that it was about 20 years ago, so it may have changed). The police rider who tested me said that I was not to look at my speedo when overtaking - that would obviously be more dangerous than just finishing the overtake.

Techie installed 'user attitude readjustment tool' after getting hammered in a Police station

MarkTriumphant

Re: User attitude readjustment tool

Surely it is an ETLA?

Ten years ago Microsoft bought Nokia's phone unit – then killed it as a tax write-off

MarkTriumphant

Re: "The... Maemo operating system failed to take off"

I loved my N9, and still miss its brilliant usability.

Tesla asks shareholders to reinstate Musk's voided $56B pay package

MarkTriumphant

Re: Fuck that!

Surely bribery would make it illegal, and the law should be more important than the contract.

Simulation reveals all Japanese will have the same surname by 2531

MarkTriumphant

Re: Don’t Call Them “Surnames”

I like and agree with your suggestion that family names could be written all caps. However, I do not see a problem with using "Surname". It does not mean last name, as you imply. It means family name, and has done so for several centuries. It may not be used in other cultures, but they are not generally speaking English, so use different words anyway.

Your pacemaker should be running open source software

MarkTriumphant

Re: Certifications for Medical Devices

That would very much depend on being in the US. In the UK we say "Imperial" or "avoirdupois".

Need to plug in an EV? BT Group kicks off cabinet update pilot

MarkTriumphant

Re: From what I can recall ....

To counter that, I have an EV, and I have only once in 15 months needed to use anything more powerful than 7kW. Even when travelling from Hampshire to Leeds, charging at the hotel was "slow". It worked fine.

Apple might have to pay that €13B EU tax bill after all

MarkTriumphant

Re: Simple

That doesn't help at all. The company that I work for is headquartered in Liechtenstein, purely for tax reasons. It's shit.

UK throws millions at scheme to heat homes with waste energy from datacenters

MarkTriumphant

Re: Assumptions

I upvoted you for the first part, but I don't think the second part is true - I think it is a good way to get money to their friends, so any side of government might do it.

Apple jacks prices to juice profits because $19.3B a quarter isn't enough

MarkTriumphant

> One think I will give Apple is the upgrades. You change phone, it all comes across. Doing that with Android is no fun, even if the phone is from the same supplier

This has definitely improved. My last change, from a Samsung S8 to a Pixel 6a was painless. Everything just transferred across.

IBM Software tells workers: Get back to the office three days a week

MarkTriumphant

Do you not have a timed on/off cycle as part of your heating controls? That seems fairly standard here.

MarkTriumphant

But instead of the environmental cost of travelling, there is the cost of heating each workers home, so it is not a simple calculation.

Power grids tremble as electric vehicle growth set to accelerate 19% next year

MarkTriumphant

Re: For many of us, hybrids make more sense than BEVs

The company that I work for provide chargers, although they are managed by an external company. I pay that company directly, so nothing on my payslip.

MarkTriumphant

Re: For many of us, hybrids make more sense than BEVs

I get about 3.6 miles/kwh from my i4, which is hardly a tiny car.

BMW deems drivers worthy of warmth, ends heated car seat subscription

MarkTriumphant

The subscription items that don't have an ongoing cost to the supplier can usually be bought at a one-off cost. This is certainly the case for BMW. It is still a morally appalling way to "sell" stuff without mentioning it when selling the car.

MarkTriumphant

I was under the impression that it is only hand-held devices that are illegal. The site you linked seems not well written, but it says "It is illegal to *hold* and use...".

Techie wasn't being paid, until he taught HR a lesson

MarkTriumphant

Re: Unique keys

I found out yesterday that one of my friends has a doppelganger in our local hospital. Same name, same date of birth. Given that the initial ID when checking in for your appointment is DOB, that does cause problems.

Whose line is it anyway, GitHub? Innovation, not litigation, should answer

MarkTriumphant

Honest question - why is it bad? As a non-legal bod, it seems very much the same as when it was the Law Lords at the top, but from your comment, there must be something (a lot?) that I have missed.

Electric two-wheelers are set to scoot past EVs in road race

MarkTriumphant

Re: Yes, and you can have both, it's not an either or proposition.

Why would you have to have a second shower? Surely the solution is only to shower once you get to work. No need for the "usual" shower at all. That is what I used to do when I cycled to work.

Bitcoin mining rig found stashed in school crawlspace

MarkTriumphant

Re: Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Where would the rest of the keys be stored? Depending on the motorcycle, there might not even be that much storage space available.

Mine would have space, but others may not, especially not secure enough space.

Unplug that Anker battery pack now: House blaze sparks recall

MarkTriumphant

Re: I keep my e-bike battery separate

Good move. My parents-in-law had a fire in their flat that burned out a whole room due a lithium battery for the ebike. Almost certainly a dodgy manufacturer, but we are not sure.

Tesla's Autopilot is losing out to Ford, GM in self-driving tech

MarkTriumphant

Re: Thanks, but no thanks

What relevance does that have? There is no reason why an ICE car couldn't have the driving automation stuff added. This is not anything to do with the electric/ICE split.

Self-driving car computers may be 'as bad' for emissions as datacenters

MarkTriumphant

I beg to differ on one point - heated seats are not useless. For one thing, they are more efficient than keeping the complete interior warm. The rest of your comment seems to be absolutely correct.

Man wrongly jailed by facial recognition, lawyer claims

MarkTriumphant

Re: Helo Ametica

In the UK, assuming that the car is yours (which can usually be proven), it is required that you either answer "yes" or say who was driving the car.

Government by Gmail catches up with UK minister... who is reappointed anyway

MarkTriumphant

Re: has a political identity that is self-described as "anti-woke"

That's not the bit of Rishi Sunak or Suella Braverman that makes me question why they are in charge. Or any of the other people currently making the attempt to run the country.

UK facing electricity supply woes after nuclear power stations shut, MPs told

MarkTriumphant

Re: Hmmm.

Yes, because that would not be "handled correctly". You are arguing using a straw man. Please don't.

Too bad, contractors: UK government reverses decision to axe IR35 tax reform

MarkTriumphant

Re: Screw them

My only worry on that is that Starmer has said that he is not going to push it forward.

US accident investigators want alcohol breathalyzers in all new vehicles

MarkTriumphant

Re: Regarding touch testing

Of course you can - I know of at least one stroke victim who has a door-knob type of addition to the steering wheel, specifically so that it can be easily controlled with one hand.

Firefox 105 is here, and it's faster and more memory-frugal

MarkTriumphant

Re: Vertical Tabs

Why would anyone move *to* Chrome? Google are not making it better, they are making it worse.

Japan makes online insults a crime that can earn a year in jail

MarkTriumphant

Re: I approve

Which sort of proves the point. Freedom of speech means that the government should not regulate it. Responses from others are fine, but I'm uncomfortable with the though of the government have full control of speech.

Clearview AI fined millions in the UK: No 'lawful reason' to collect Brits' images

MarkTriumphant

Re: Public images.

None of which says that you can't do it. What it says is that some companies need signed releases. Not all do, though.

Reg reader rages over Virgin Media's email password policy

MarkTriumphant

Re: Smug mode off

This confuses me - I have just logged on with my non-Virgin email address. What am I not understanding? As an extra, I have never used my Virgin email address, as I rent my own domain.

UK.gov threatens to make adults give credit card details for access to Facebook or TikTok

MarkTriumphant

And even geo-fencing won't work. My SO works for a foreign company, and their connection in the UK makes them look as if they are elsewhere in the world when online. This was also true when I worked for a phone company.

Court of Appeal ruling offers hope for UK umbrella firm workers chasing holiday pay

MarkTriumphant

Re: Lies

Surely anything actually paid to the contractor from their company is taxed as normal?

COVID-19 was a generational opportunity for change at work – and corporate blew it

MarkTriumphant

> We've gone from five days in the office to three – yet those work-from-home days always seem to be Mondays and Fridays.

On the other hand, our company said that Monday and Friday were not, in general, to be WFH. Probably because they perceived it as adding to the weekend.

A time when cabling was not so much 'structured' than 'survival of the fittest'

MarkTriumphant

Re: Was there no conduit?

Unless they've changed wildly in the last 9 years, I thought that home stuff did not have to be run in metal conduits - lots of plastic options. Thus the restriction on cable placement. Isn't that so any more?

MarkTriumphant

Re: Was there no conduit?

I suspect the person that you replied to is talking about Wiring Regs for home use.

UK watchdog's punishment for Blackbaud, Easyjet, other big privacy lawbreakers was slap on the wrist in private

MarkTriumphant

Re: an implausible £18bn in damages

Although that would then place the responsibility on the Home Office, and I'm not sure I trust them at all. I like just having to deal with them every ten years, rather than every journey.

Sweden asks EU to ban Bitcoin mining because while hydroelectric power is cheap, they need it for other stuff

MarkTriumphant

Re: Off topic: Heat Pumps vs Gas Boilers

Because we already have radiators, and don't have air vents throughout the house. Retro-fitting would be relatively expensive, disruptive, and difficult.

Unvaccinated and working at Apple? Prepare for COVID-19 testing 'every time' you step in the office

MarkTriumphant

Assuming, of course, that you know whether they are vaccinated.

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