Posts by that one in the corner

GitHub's Copilot flies into its first open source copyright lawsuit

Re: FOSS conditions

A bit of a blunt instrument?

Like the sentiment, but in this case isn't the *actual* problem the regurgitation of the inputs by the ML, more specifically, without attribution?

Because it is possible to feed code into an ML whose results pass does something other than just fling out chunky bits of predigested sources.

Better ideas for such an ML system exist, but the immediate thought is: how about one that looks for code that is suspiciously close to your copyright material appearing elsewhere, as though it had been spat out by Copilot?

Re: Snowballs anyone?

> But I wonder what the minimum code fragment is that can be considered to be copyright

0x5F3759DF ?

Look! Up in the sky! Proof of concept for satellites beaming energy to Earth!

Re: Of course...

Got anything to back up that statement?

Might be correct, might be complete drivel - with the information you've provided so far..

Re: It's not exactly Alderaan, but it's a start.

Gnatt charts - pesky things that just continually nibble away at you and cause a lot of hand waving.

Re: "gubbins"

And you get an upvote to counter the peculiar anti-gubbins sentiment.

EU set to sign internet satellite deal, as UK frees up spectrum

Re: Not only do they want our fish....

> Ark ark ark!!!!

How did you know the aliens were Venusian and not Martians? Ack, ack ack ack!

Tesla recalls 40k cars over patch that broke power steering

Re: Power steering

Looking at the picture of the current interior of the Toyota BZ4X in that article, my first thought was "that looks cramped". Our current car is the widest we've had, but with a solid central console and mini-consoles on the doors, there is no side room left for legs. Doesn't matter if passenger or driver. No, we are not over 6 foot tall[1]

Whatever happened to just having a simple gear lever and the handbrake tucked between the seats? Made it a damn sight easier to clamber over and get out the "wrong" side when necessary or simply safer to do so.

Bah. Progress my backside.

[1] sorry, everything else is metric but too stuck in ways to do body size in anything other than Imperial.

Re: Power steering

Didn't get the full tank experience, but a company day out had us gathered in a tracked personnel carrier, taking turns to bounce everyone around a very bumpy field. Made all the more fun because I was a recent hire and my colleagues hadn't realised I'd never driven anything before, so really had absolutely no idea what I was doing!

LG debuts thin malleable screens made from contact lens material

Large transparent displays

We can all play at Minority Report or that deadly game of battleships (World Domination) from Never Say Never Again.

Or just use it in the living room window: switch it on at twilight and let the neighbours see your lively cocktail party, instead of the old pizza boxes as you slump in front of Sweeney reruns.

OTOH, if you watched the video for the display, just imagine how much fun could be had hacking into all those video walls in the shopping mall: if you thought that an Imax could make you dizzy or believe you're falling, what about when you are really walking one way but the scenery isn't *quite* keeping up with you...

Re: A new twist on...

Forehead[1] ads for Golden Palace Casino (dot com), surely.

[1] other body parts are available (the mind boggles)

Re: Visors

> Transparent & tiny high capacity battery. - No Tick

Wireless power, radiated from a watch-like device. With a bone conduction effector on the end of your index finger, you take a phone call by sticking your index finger into your ear and simultaneously powering up the display on your contact lens.

Whilst you pretend to be a secret agent or bodyguard from a Hollywood film.

"I blame the tories!"

Or, as we used to say after dropping a plate, "look what that bloody woman has made me do now!"

Re: When you say not good enough for TVs

> Who needs a foldable screen if it's going to be used as a traditional TV all the time at a fixed location?

I would love to have a TV screen that rolled up like a projector screen.

Most of the day it could be rolled away, giving access to a lot of wall space for bookshelves or pretty much anything better looking than a blank screen. You could have a sensible size of screen for newscasts and repeats of Fawlty Towers, then unroll the honking great one to cover the whole wall for the opening to Star Wars (what the youngsters call "Episode IV").

Or have one unroll from the ceiling at the foot of the bed for a sing along to Rocky Horror on a lazy Sunday morning: far taller & wider than you'd get with one of those "rises from the footboard" contraptions.

Feel Luckey, punk? Oculus designer builds VR murder headset

Re: That idot is a national embarassment

> hell bent on making the world worse than Orewell, Kafka, and Huxley combined

So, another one who didn't realise those authors were writing warnings, not instruction manuals?

Parody Elon Musk Twitter accounts will be suspended immediately, says Elon Musk

Re: Billionaires don't by media for profit

Except, as you point out, his billions are purely virtual: to get actual money for the deal he has borrowed from real institutions (as covered by El Reg - follow the links in the article (and the links in those (and the ...))). Backing those loans with his holdings.

If it all goes titsup and he has to pay back those loans for real then he has to start realising other assets. Which then makes all sorts of waves on the markets.

That may not matter to him but it will matter to the markets and thence all the way down to Real People(tm) e.g. those whose pension funds bought into Musky Boy.

And if all the little people stop liking him, there will be no-one to cheer his spandex-covered robot - it is that cheering that matters to him the most.

Re: This Is My Only Account

Thing is, to get bronze & silver, commentards only have to waste their lives commenting as fast and often as they can: quantity counts (and short script can do the counting).

After those two badges, the criteria become far more nebulous: the original 10 "have been very helpful - to us, through news tips and beta testing, for example - and to their fellow readers, through their posts".

At Gold, it becomes about Quality, all very ineffable. Whilst complaining that the Vulture has pets may be considered thoroughly f(off)-able.

Run a demo on live data? Sure! What could possibly go wrong? Hang on. Are you sure that's not working?

Someone hadn't seen "No Highway (in the Sky)" (1951) or the original 1948 Nevil Shute book.

Re: Warning: Language nazi at work!

You've been playing - Cat Phrase! [1]

We'll be right back after these important messages.

[1] (c) Dave Gorman

Twitter employees sue over lack of 60-day layoff notice

Re: The situation in Ireland is perhaps more interesting

> you are still refusing to read the link

The link was fascinating (I especially liked the way that the link used both underscore and hyphen characters, very elegant).

Oh, you meant to say "you are still refusing to read the linked to article", didn't you?

That would be the article whose first five words I quoted? No, obviously I never opened that article. /s

Now, Dave..., you may want to re-read that article again - start with the rest of that first sentence:

>> at-will employment is an employer's ability to dismiss an employee for any reason (that is, without having to establish "just cause" for termination), and without warning as long as the reason is not illegal

Compare this to your earlier claim:

> In almost all European countries, workers can be fired for any reason at all, as long as it isn't discriminatory and the statutory minimum compensation is paid. That is not the case in the US

You are correct that "this is not the case in the US" - in the US, "At Will" doesn't imply that any statutory minimum compensation is paid. I.e. "At Will" is *worse* for the employee.

You might be helped by reading some comparative articles, where the authors have done the job for you of putting the differences side by side, for example:

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/recruitment-and-dismissal-in-europe-what-employers-need-to-know/ "Recruitment and dismissal in Europe: what employers need to know"

> One key difference between the European approach and the approach elsewhere, which includes the US, is that employees tend to be entitled to minimum notice of termination (other than in limited circumstances). Employment at will is not generally permitted.

Or try https://smallbusiness.chron.com/compare-us-labor-laws-european-labor-laws-62420.html "Compare U.S Labor Laws & European Labor Laws"

> In the United States labor laws, there is no requirement for an explicit contract of employment. Most employment is on an at-will basis, meaning that the employer or the employee can terminate the working relationship at any time, as long as the reasons are lawful. In Europe, the employment contract, derived from common law, is the basis of all employer-employee relations. Employment-at-will doctrine does not apply, notes High Street Partners, a leading international business service provider; the employer is required to follow due process in terminating an employee; if he fails to do so, he can be liable for wrongful termination.

Re: The situation in Ireland is perhaps more interesting

Hmm, perhaps Dave... read the Wikipedia link he posted and misread the first few words "In United States labor law" as "In European employment law"?

NFT vending machine appears in London

This is a con, that isn't a proper NFT

You can scribble a quick note on the card, put it in the envelope, stamp and address it (may have to use the back for the address, but there is no law against that) then pop it into a pillarbox.

That is *far* too much useful functionality for this to be considered a Real NFT! What a swiz!

All of the norths are about to align over Britain

Re: for the "first time in history,"

> which can mean so many things

Scotland is trying to catapult itself off the end of Britain and rejoin the EU, and has been since the end of the Ice Age (the clans taking the long view on history).

The "Northern Powerhouse" is just a plan to move more heavy stuff to the NE to try and stop the Scots using that as a way of escaping from the power of London.

Wales is acting as the pivot and isn't sure how to feel about that; on the on hand, helping someone escape The English, on the other realising they are going to be left behind.

The Cornish are stockpiling buckets to bail with.

Vonage to pay $100m for making it nearly impossible to cancel internet phone services

Re: Unless executives start to be charged for fraud, that won't stop

CEO: I had no idea those nasty evil devs were doing this, I'll sack the lot of them. They must have been using big words to bamboozle the poor, innocent managers as well.

Re: Good. Now do the same with Amazon Prime.

They do it to everyone, doesn't matter if you just cancelled Prime or never had it.

If it looks worse to you than before you had Prime, that just means you've noticed how much worse it has got whilst you were a member and not being targeted (well, not targeted to join basic Prime - but would you like full access to Prime Music?)

For the rest of us, you know that story about boiling frogs?

Hot, sweaty builders hosed a server – literally – leaving support with an all-night RAID repair job

My Ikea cupboard in the corner

As always, with all the tales of overeating, you lot have now got me worrying about the Ivar cupboard at home that houses the patch panel, modem, switch and PiHole!

I can *just* feel it is warmer in there than the rest of the study but still find myself poring over aircon websites.

What is the word for being hypochondriac over the hardware?

Re: around ten meters worth

We're talking big rooms in DC, so

Vault meters.

Big brands urged to pause Twitter ads until Elon's learned how this all works

anyone is ever delighted to see an advert

Well, we don't skip over those old Meerkat-based ads when watching DVR recordings, because they were quite delightful.

Or a Cadbury's Flake ad (maybe not the one with the gecko!).

Simples.

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

"It seems that the BBC and ... want to bring down the government one... at a time"

That is rather the point of critical journalism: point out the problems in Government; *whatever* and *whoever* the Government is it shouldn't be hiding anything.

No matter who is in power at the moment, there is - and should be - someone pointing out the flaws.

Re: My parents tell me that there was a time when party affiliation wasn't even mentioned.

Yeah, right on, sabroni.

Nothing good ever came from knowing what happened in living memory!

Ignore the past!

Who cares what has been changed! Things have always been like this!

/s - in case you'd not realised

No, I will not pay the bill. Why? Because we pay you to fix things, not break them

Vakay is the word. Apparently. Shudder.

Oh dear, have you been reading the Daily Mail again?

Here, let the Grauniad tell of this myth:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/08/winterval-modern-myth-christmas

Poor old Brum.

Hang on, have you just switched arguments from "what words do people in area X use to refer to themselves" to "what words do people in area X use to refer to people in area Y'?

Because, sorry, it really now sounds like you are describing how certain foreigners refer to Brits, not how we refer to ourselves. Although there is plenty of fun(?!) to be had when choosing which word to use[1], I really don't recognise any of the confusion you seem to implying. Everyone is well aware that their are multiple layers of division: we live in a town (or Toon), in a county (Arrr, that'd be roight), in a country (Boyo), on an island (IoW raises its hand, just trying to confuse matters).

> British is the general adjective I've seen most often

Because it encompasses all of the people from the island of (Great) Britain, which means the majority of the citizens of the UK, so purely on a numbers basis it'll be used a lot?

And we don't call ourselves " Great British" out of modesty, you understand.

> Britain isn't generally considered the name of the country.

Because it isn't a country, it is an island! With more than one country inside it!

> While I have seen some British people refer to their country as England

Because those particular people are from England, one of the countries in Britain? Presumably, the others have simply *not* been from England.

> I don't think that's generally accepted and probably annoys people from the other parts of the UK

What? Who doesn't accept that someone from England is English? And why would that annoy anyone in other parts of the UK? OK, there are whopping great chunks of the UK where "English" is only the abbreviated form of what they say and they might prefer you use the whole term, but getting annoyed about it? Nah, they're far too calm and relaxed for that.

If you've ever come across a Scot who said their country was England you should be checking for head injury!

> Inside the U.S., using "America" is like using "Britain"I.E. it's a shortened form that is understood

Huh? Shortened form of what? "Great Britain", I guess, but "Britain" still unambiguously refers to the one island and nowhere else on the globe. OK, quite often we do get it wrong and use Britain when we should have said British Isles (come back IoW) or even the UK (which will get you tutted at; it occurs but is not acceptable), but even then we're using the name of a smaller thing when we meant the larger geographical area, not the other way around.

[1] "The plucky Brit has the ball, he takes a run up and - oh no, what a disgrace for England that was!"

> Hallowe'en is pretty much the opposite of Holy. (It's the demonic party the evening before All Saints' Day)

Nope. This "demonic party" is something that was invented out of whole cloth by certain sects and slapped onto the day as their attempt to control it and have an excuse to get shirty with anyone following any other sects.

All "Holy Days" are declared such purely by the sect(s) that name them such. So if some people celebrate All Saint's Day as a Holy Day then it is a Holy Day, to them, and it is not up to you, me or anyone else to argue it one way or the other.

Similarly, the day of Halloween is still a Holy Day to anyone who claims to celebrate it a such (and to anyone who celebrates it as Samhain[1]) and it is not up to you, me or anyone else to deny that.

[1] but probably *not* anyone who celebrates it as Samsung, as autocorrect insists.

At the risk of getting too serious after a quick quip about Lewes (as I'm missing their celebrations, now I no longer live in the area), but as you chose to say that as a reply to my comment, I'll try to answer it:

> they're both holidays in the sense that people treat them as special and celebrate them

We celebrate some things with a holiday but we don't make all celebrations into a holiday.

You can stop reading now, that was the gist of it, but I'm lying awake now, so I'll keep tapping away:

At base, a "holiday" is a day off work - you can guess at how it got that name. Nowadays, different places have a different selection of days that are National Holidays[1], when you expect to be off work (or get double- or triple- time). For example, in England, Easter provides us with two holidays but we don't have have All Saints or All Souls National Holidays. We also have a few holidays that aren't directly based on religious observances - May Bank Holiday, for example.

The days that are set as National Holidays have a historical basis to them far more than a religious one; any question as to "why this day and not that" has no more "meaningful" answer than "well, this happened in history and now we get a holiday, enjoy it".

As well as those National days, so long as you've got the time accrued, you are at liberty to take any of your personal holidays at a time that coincides with any event you feel like. So you could habitually take Halloween as a holiday, if you so desired. Many people will decide to regularly take off as holiday days that are meaningful to their religions; they still get to have the National Holidays as well (or work them for extra time, as anyone else can).

>... If you don't think one is, I'm curious why you think the other is...

Nope, sorry, you lost me there, maybe you're meant to aim that at someone else?

> I'm not sure why people object to the existence of multiple holidays and treats it as insulting the one they care most about.

The best I can come up as an answer to that is simply that, in the UK there really is just one long celebration over the Winter, which is "Christmas and New Year" - even though it has been increasingly eroded (come on, we *all* know the song "12 Days of Christmas", so why are so many people in a rush to chuck the tree out on Boxing Day?) and we only (only!) get three actual National Holidays in there now, instead of the whole lot (well, the servants didn't get the holidays, but they had an extra half a groat and a turnip, stop complaining), the cards still say "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year": the celebrations can continue, a bit each and every day (often with a particular blowout at the start and near the end).

Other countries have other, a multiple, holidays in the Autumn & Winter, and all the best to them. Have fun.

But over here, just the singular holiday, which, like the classic Summer hols, actually spreads over more than one day.

The actual objections, when not made in jest, are then more about cultural imperialism when it seems we Brits are supposed to be doing what other countries do or expected to pander to a perceived inability on their part to admit that different places do different things.

[1] the proper name for a National Holiday is, of course, Bank Holiday.

Re: Silvester

And over here we celebrate Tweety Pie.

(what do you mean, there ain't no 'y'? Aaah, close enough)

> nobody in the Americas uses "America" as a noun for just the U.S. (the few who do are all in the U.S. and it's not the normal term there either)

Using "USA" may be more common in the USA (although that certainly isn't the case for the media expose myself to, but that is anecdoctal) just using "America" still seems to be quite normal and accepted practice, from the Library of Congress to, well, Reddit:

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2016/07/how-did-america-get-its-name/ "How Did America Get Its Name?" Today, America celebrates its independence

https://www.usa.gov/flag "The American Flag" - Learn about the American flag and how to display it.

https://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/old-glory/ - "THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG" The history of our flag is as fascinating as that of the American Republic itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States: People from the United States of America are known as and refer to themselves as Americans (which more implies than states "America means the USA" but it implies it pretty strongly)

Songs: "America the Beautiful"; "We're the Girls in America"; "I like to be in America"; "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" (ok, only in the title);

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/s4ymd/why_do_so_many_people_say_america_when_they_mean/ :

In American English, yes, it's correct use. America can refer to the entire continent or the USA specifically.

You get Guy Fawkes as a holiday?

If you live in, say, Lewes, I can see you'd want the day off to prepare, but even still...

Re: "not trained on the kit"

If you can identify those steps (and doing so is another level of difficulty) don't write "Important, do not skip" in red above them.

Instead, give those steps their own boxes to be signed off and dated by the operator following the instructions. If that fails to concentrate their minds at least you have a paper trail on them.

Bonus points if those steps also write something to a log.

tailoring it to a non-UK audience

So that would be Australia, New Zealand, all the people in India, Europe, Africa et al who speak good English and appreciate a tech site that is (still a bit) different?

Oops, almost forgot, English speakers in Japan, Antartica, probably a few in Cuba...

But it can all contained in one Radio Times, so it is just one Holiday!

Plus, New Year occurs within the 12 days of Christmas - and we know a song about that, don't we? Join in now...

This Windows worm evolved into slinging ransomware. Here's how to detect it

Re: Yet Another Security Hole

We've been telling everyone in earshot to switch off autoplay ever since the blasted "feature" was enabled for floppy drives, some - what, 35 years ago?

But software vendors and customers complained it made it "too hard to install software". Then it was "so much better" that you could also just put a music CD in and have it play.

Then we got USB playing the same tricks, to the delight of all the vendors at commercial shows (boats, cars, drugs - not just computers) with their advertising on "free" memory sticks.

And the *entire* time, autoplay was also being used to install trojans, viruses and rootkits (everyone wave at Sony).

Unless the Users get a damn great kickup the backside, their demand for convenience is going to stay. Sorry, this one I've given up blaming MS for, the Users want it. Blast them.

Yet Another Security Hole

Like telling people not to pick up random USB memory sticks, not to click on random links and not to let things auto-run?

These are hardly new threat vectors and, aside from the last, not a lot MS can do about them!

(Yes, saw the bit about other ways to get infected, but without any more info on how, there is nothing to say about those)

Ultimately, Raspberry Robin first appeared

"Ultimately"? Not "initially"?

Like Merlin, this is living its life backward?

Twitter's most valuable users are ghosting the platform

Re: It’s toxic and it got nasty during the pandemic

> Of course not. Nor did I finish my smallpox, anthrax, yellow fever, scarlet fever and probably some others

Well, that was pretty damn brave of you. Clap clap. /s

> But that's whataboutery

Nope. I responded solely to your claim that the vaccines other than Covid are 'one and done', by pointing out that none of the existing vaccines, most particularly the ones that one would expect anyone to have (barring special circumstances or inadequate health care)

> Especially as none of them are mRNA vaccines, those previously having been deemed too risky

Nope. At the point that all of the vaccines I'd mentioned were developed, mRNA was simply not available. Not "deemed too risky" but simply non-existent. Not that mRNA is necessarily a good approach for all of them.

> MMR's a good example of 'one and done' ... Two doses from your friendly school nurse and you're pretty much set for life

Well, as you seem to have missed this at school, but 2 is not 1. Plus "pretty much set for life" - ah, again, nope. That gives you "good enough for the good times" coverage, but if there are multiple outbreaks close to you then you should be asking about boosters here as well.

> The current vaccines just don't appear to be anywhere near as effective as vaccines for other illnesses

We have been *incredibly* lucky with the efficacy of some of the vaccines available, but the majority of the apparent effectiveness is down to the fact that we've got so many of these diseases under reasonable control that the general level of vaccination is good enough at protection given the rate of infection.

The rate of infection of Covid is massive, absolutely massive, compared to pretty much everything else other than the common cold. The Covid vaccines are doing a damn good job under the circumstances.

> Tetanus ... one of those diseases where I know I can get quick & effective treatment, should I need it

The first step of which is a good hearty jab of - guess what? With a bloody big needle, by that point. Good luck.

Re: It’s toxic and it got nasty during the pandemic

> they're more 'one and done' immune system training aids

What are these magic 'one and done' things?

Or did you not finish your full course of Polio vaccinations? Hepatitis A and B? MMR?

Are you up to date with your Tetanus booster?

Boosters for Meningitis, Shingles and others are indicated if you are in an at risk group.

Maybe you need to check with your doctor...

RIP: Kathleen Booth, the inventor of assembly language

Good long life and a lasting legacy

One of a line of upstanding women who put life into our common field of endeavour.

Long may their names and deeds be remembered.

And to anyone who hasn't done so yet: go and learn some assembly, it is good for the mental muscles.

It's 2023, let's check in with the metaverse... Nope, still doesn't exist

Use case that isn't porn

The pandemic was an attempt by TV manufacturers to get everyone hooked on molecular biology and use their 3D telly to understand the ins and outs of protein spikes and receptors.

Zuckerberg promotes Metaverse so that we can really get to grips with mRNA.

What? It's no more outlandish than the other conspiracies and at least this one could have made a profit!

Re: brands will start to use NFTs as a way to build "sustained customer engagement"

What, no love for the Sperry and Hutchinson Pink Stamps?

Re: Zuxck knows what to do...

To be fair, watching the partial eclipse in English weather was a naked-eye experience, assuming you kept the rain out of your eyes and could even figure out which direction the Sun was in the first place!

Purpleurchin cryptocurrency miners spotted scouring free GitHub, Heroku accounts

Re: "Prices are as high as they can be"

> Do you have any citation for your outlandish claim...

FYI requesting a citation is in no way, shape or form "making a claim".

Even if you see a claim being made that you agree with but have not seen any genuine proof for, you must always seek citations, otherwise you are just sitting in an echo chamber of wishful thinking and fantasy.

> The burden of proof is obviously the other way around.

The best tactic of a flerf. Not a good debating model to follow.