Posts by Horst U Rodeinon

FCC calls for mega $300 million fine for massive US robocall campaign

Re: And the operators that allowed the spoofing?

Back when I still had a copper landline, I had a device which prior to letting the call ring through, sent whatever the tone was to indicate a disconnected number. It had no effect on humans dialing my number The robocallers would move on to the next number in their list. Over a period of time, the "disconnected" number was promulgated and dropped from the spamming database(s). I went from several spam calls a day to one or two in a month. I have no doubt the telcos could do something similar for the cellular network, but just like those days of yore, it would decimate their bottom lines whereas the few hundred (thousand?) of us doing it privately didn't register with the beancounters.

Italy, Japan, UK to jointly launch sixth-gen fighter jet by 2035

What I really want to know

Will they name the AI? Will they name it Eddie?

End of an era as the last 747 rolls off the production line

Re: It's always over budget

Don't forget the cockamamie purchasing regulations.

I was lead engineer on an adjunct program to update six mission planning computers for an aircraft systems upgrade back in the 80's. Buying the new computers (from the same manufacturer as the one's being replaced) and revising the software were fairly straightforward. Because the computers were to be used in a normal data processing environment, no MILSPEC issues were involved. Then our military customer decided they wanted to be able to perform "organic maintenance," that is, do it themselves.

The computer manufacturer's Maintenance Kit, consisted of extender boards and some ribbon cables,, the cost was about US$5,000 per kit. We told our customer to buy the kits themselves. They replied that the computer maker was our vendor/subcontractor and they were not allowed to go around us to purchase the kits even with our explicit permission.

We replied, OK, do a no cost contract change to add the kits and we'll pass them through at cost. They replied we had to go through an entire Contract Change Proposal then add the cost of the CCP plus all required markups for labor, overhead, and profit. Those factors were specified in the original contract.

In the end, the government paid $15,000 per maintenance kit, and they lie about who runs up contract costs.

Intruders get their hands on user data in LastPass incident

I closed my Lastpass account years ago

and I still received a notice of the breach. I recall vaguely all my data were said to be removed.

I can't get too excited, though, because any passwords that haven't since been changed are for accounts long since closed.

My complaint is about the lie that one's data is ever deleted even when you are told it has been.

Man wins court case against employer that fired him for not liking boozy, forced 'fun' culture

Re: Vibrant and fun loving corporation

"Ladies from marketing department turned from flirty to disappointed in a split second..."

Sounds like the "Pro's" I've seen in less savory parts of town when they're told No.

Re: Motivation

I submit elsergiovolador left a word out of that statement. I think it should read: "If people HAVE go to pub for a drink with their work colleagues, that is an extreme red flag."

But, who am I to judge whether that's extreme?

Aviation regulators push for more automation so flights can be run by a single pilot

Re: They're literally insane

Do not forget the imperative that the Machine, i.e., aircraft, must be seen as infallible or many people would not even consider boarding one. That is the sole reason so many accidents are written off to "Pilot Error" even when the evidence suggests otherwise.

For the hours upon hours of boredom...

when everything is going as you want, even zero crew in the cockpit may be adequate. However, if even one edge case occurs (a.k.a., moment of stark terror) and the machinery hasn't been programmed to recognize and deal with it, the outcome will be as welcome as a turd in a punchbowl.

The automated systems also fail and they may not be able to recognize or accept they are the cause of the problem.

As with all systems, there is an optimal amount of backup capability which should be required. Bean counters should have no part in determining what it is.

Is it any surprise that 'permacrisis' is the word of the year?

Re: Why do tax cuts have to be funded?

"Can't government departments just fire employees..."

One word: Unions.

Firefox points the way to eradicating one of the rudest words online: PDF

Re: I don't mind PDFs

Anyone who lived during the era of "Dancing Macaroni" knows exactly what you mean.

Infosec still (mostly) a boys club

It doesn't matter

I once had a program manager whose take on the topic of raising children was "It doesn't matter what you do, the result will be different." I found that to be a good answer to the "Nature versus Nurture" axiom.

Boeing to pay SEC $200m to settle charges it misled investors over 737 MAX safety

Re: Normal misleading

You deserve all the down votes because you expressed nothing but opinions with no supporting facts.

The System Safety Hazard Analysis pointed to the problem and is used to identify problems requiring correction but management made the decision to squelch that report. The blame rests solely on the shoulders of upper management and the Board of Directors, all of whom were more intent on pleasing Wall Street than ensuring proper engineering of the aircraft.

There was a documentary on Netflix titled "Downfall" which was very thorough in dissecting what went wrong. I don't know if it's still accessible, but it is worth watching if you can find it.

I have first hand experience with SSHA's and the Boeing Company. I was gone from there long before this tragic fiasco erupted.

BOFH: It's Friday, it's time to RTFM

ACRONYM is NOT an acronym

Several decades ago, I went to work at a US military contractor. One of their documents was an acronym decoder which contained, I kid you not,

"ACRONYM - Abbreviated Coded Rendition Of Name Yielding Meaning."

I have never been able to delete that twaddle from memory.

California lawmakers approve online privacy law for kids. Which may turn websites into identity checkpoints

Re: Whatever.

"This is not a one-size fits all thing."

Obviously, you aren't a bureaucrat.

Anyway, this discussion is pointless because "the internet" is only the transport layer. What everyone is so worked up about is The World Wide Web.

Pretty lame bunch of opinionated geeks we have here if they can't get that right.

Tesla faces Autopilot lawsuit alleging phantom braking

Re: Not so much a class action, more a money seeking suit

I see at least one [bleep]ing Camp LeJeune Join-our-Lawsuit advertisement nearly every commercial break. You're very lucky if you saw it only once.

The US grid is ready for 100% renewables, says DoE

We're from the Government. We're smarter than you!

"Clean energy detractors have long argued that a transition to green energy simply isn't possible due to reliability factors, which Granholm said the DoE will prove isn't the case."

Replace "DoE" with "CDC" and "Green Energy" with "Covid-19." Then you begin to understand the reluctance to trust anything uttered by a government official. Especially one from the current administration. These people make a box of hair look smart.

Yes, it's true: Hard drive failures creep up as disks age

I'm shocked

To learn that the failure rate for (electro-)mechanical devices increases with age. What's the next mind bogglingly mind boggling news we will be treated to? I can hardly wait!

Trees may help power your next electric car

And this is going to solve CO2 problems how?

As I understand the article, the company is going to be clear cutting forests which are a principle means of photosynthesizing CO2 in order to produce batteries which require manufacturing facilities that produce CO2 as part of their processes.

Engineers on the brink of extinction threaten entire tech ecosystems

It isn't just about a paycheck

"If you don't want employee to be poached, pay enough so they don't think about it.

It's really simple."

If it were only so. No amount of salary can compensate for the burnout created by incompetent management.

Microsoft gives its partners power to change AD privileges on customer systems – without permission

Thank God

I severed ties with Redmond years ago.

First steps into the world of thought leadership: What could go wrong?

Re: Modern media content

ten up votes. I'd have gone for a hundred for "That's a me meme!"

US lawsuit alleges tool used by hospitals shares patient data with Meta

Re: Greed

I can't blame the users at these hospitals, i.e., the doctors and medical staff, because administering the systems isn't their responsibility. What group do you suppose that leaves as suspicious?

Never fear, the White House is here to tackle web trolls

Based on the picture on the home page, you misspelled "cackle."

Re: Finger-Wagging

A U.S. citizen cannot legally purchase an AUTOMATIC weapon.

Re: Finger-Wagging

Gun Laws are meaningless to the people doing the massacres.

EV battery can reach full charge in 'less than 10 minutes'

Gives a whole new meaning to Rolling brownouts and blackouts.

Re: Full charge in 10 minutes?

Apart from extracting the custom shaped battery pack from the vehicle in an easy and timely manner, ..."

Not to worry. The same designers who make components on Internal Combustion engines so easy to replace once fitted to the vehicle are on top of it.

Repairability champ Framework's modular laptop gets a speed boost

Re: Framework owner

If too many people share your same lack of confidence, in a couple of years you might very well regret your role in not helping to keep Framework in business. Of course, I expect you will spin it as a positive because you kept your employer away from such a short-lived supplier.

I wish for their massive success while leaving the weak-kneed in their dust.

Failed gambler? How about an algorithm that predicts the future

Re: Half full or empty

Yes, but is the cup you're hoisting full, half full, half empty, or empty?

Elon Musk 'violated' Twitter NDA over bot-check sample size

"...ilke the difference between accuracy and precision..."

I think you mean accuracy and resolution, which can be quite different from precision which I equate with accuracy.

BOFH: Putting the gross in gross insubordination

Re: Cha cha cha changes

"He who stick his neck out risks having his head removed."

Behold the turtle. It makes no progress unless it sticks out its neck.

Meta sued for 'aiding and abetting' crypto scammers

Summarizing all these comments: We're all a bunch of addicts and our drug of choice is making us feel bad.

If you want to get Zuck's attention, every account owner needs to quit FB cold turkey. For a week. If that doesn't cause enough pain for Meta to pay attention, do it for a month at which point many will have concluded they don't need to return.

I know that isn't going to happen because addicts, but if you're really serious about wanting to change, stop going to the corner to buy another hit. Or shut up about it.

FCC gives Pacific Networks 60 days to leave the US

Fox - Hen house: what can go wrong?

"The record of this proceeding shows that the Companies have worked cooperatively and well with Executive Branch oversight," argued Jeffrey Carlisle, counsel for Pacific Network and ComNet.

Oh yeah. The current executive branch headed by the age-addled "Big Guy" whose drug addled son was bought and paid for by the Chinese government. Wink wink nudge nudge.

Bouncing cheques or a bouncy landing? All in a day's work for the expert pilot

Re: In the pilot's defense...

"doesent"

Isn't that the stuff deer hunters use to attract the bucks?

BOFH: On Wednesdays, we wear gloves

RE: What's a cement pond?

The first thing that came to my mind is the scene in "Rising Sun" with the guy sinking into the WIP cement pour for the building foundation.

Running Windows 10? Microsoft is preparing to fire up the update engines

Re: Last update wrecked so much

Well, aren't you the most special little thing, bless your heart

Wifinity hands customers bills for Wi-Fi services they didn't want but used by accident after software 'glitch' let 'fixed term' subs continue

Re: Why are soldiers being monetised for profit like this?

"On this side of the pond, we have a similar problem with telephone service provided in prisons."

It sounds to me like you're speaking from first hand experience.

Here's a plan: Don't do things which get you sent to prison.

President Biden orders transformation of 'Federal Customer Experience'

It will never come to pass

Too many bureaucratic fiefdoms in play.

Judging by the way your face lit up, my inbox just got more attractive

Dabsy, I've been amused ...

by your mental perambulations through tech-related lunacy, but never before to bursting out loud with laughter. Simon came in second place today.

I truly hope this is the beginning of a competition. We left-pondians need all the enjoyable distractions we can find.

Well done, sir!

Internet Archive's 2046 Wayforward Machine says Google will cease to exist

Re: Hmmm... decisions decisions

"At the rate things are going there will be no Internet if 230 is allowed to stand. Speech without liability is chaos and subverts any order."

Uh-huh. And which tribe of lawyers do you represent?

Re: They succeeded to eradicate the book

There is also the ridiculous notion, at least in the U.S., that a congress critter's performance is a function of the number of bills they (co-)author.

US school districts blame Amazon for nationwide bus driver shortage

Re: All Amazon, wasn't our fault

instead they demand extort MORE MONEY. (FTFY)

Have you ever seen your property taxes go down? Yeah, me neither.

And as one guy put, if you think you own your home and property, see what happens when you don't pay the taxes.

Anonymous: We've leaked disk images stolen from far-right-friendly web host Epik

U B F O S

Report details how Airbus pilots saved the day when all three flight computers failed on landing

Re: Kudos to...

Actually, Boeing bought only Douglas Aircraft, the large body aircraft manufacturing portion of the company. McDonnel continued separately.

And it wasn't just Board members. Harry Stonecipher was moved from St. Louis to replace Phil Condit as CEO. A few years later, Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago. I have to ask, which is closer to St. Louis, Seattle or Chicago?

Disclosure: I was a systems engineer at Boeing's Wichita KS facility at the time it all went down.

Re: Kudos to...

Boeing's problems began when they started positioning Automobile Industry types instead of experienced Aviation Industry executives in the top spots. Plus, they need to remove all but one token bean counter from their board so they stop focusing on the wrong aspects of their problems.

Re: Automation Issue

"Unfortunately, there have been many more cases where the pilots were unable to handle even comparatively benign situations and killed many lives in the process.

"The reality is that the meat bag at the helm is still responsible for some 80% of all air accidents. Eliminating the Human Factor from the cockpit would result in a huge increase in the safety of flying."

MANY more?!? Please provide the evidence for your opinion and a source for the 80% number.

Also, realize the conclusions of many accident investigations attributed the cause(s) to pilot error because management concluded the general public had to be made to believe the machine is infallible or they would be too fearful to ever get on one.

Un-carrier? Definitely Unsecure: T-Mobile US admits 48m customers' details stolen after downplaying reports

The horse is already gone from the barn, dammit!

I received a similar notice from the university in a town where I lived 20 years prior, Thing is, I never attended a course there so how they came to have any information about me is a puzzlement. And, would you believe, they told me they could not remove my personal information from their database(s). After stating my opinions of the incapacity of their IT staff, I changed all the numbers and closed all the accounts I could. After three years, I've not had a problem but that doesn't mean I don't still keep an eye out.

Facebook granted patent for 'artificial reality' baseball cap. Repeat, an 'artificial reality' baseball cap

Re: AR codpiece

They could brand that device the TSAR - Toobin Shared Augmented Reality

BOFH: When the Sun rises in the West and sets in the East, only then will the UPS cease to supply uninterrupted voltage

Re: Reminds me...

"According to most military humans the most dangerous thing in the world is a 2nd LT with a map and compass."

Possibly. But take it from this former home builder, the most terrifying sight of all is a plumber with a Sawzall(R).

Intrepid Change.org user launches petition to make Jeff Bezos' space trip one-way

Re: Never work

Why wait?