* Posts by Mage

9265 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Nov 2007

Welcome, stranger: Inside Microsoft's command line shell

Mage Silver badge
Facepalm

Written badly

"Windows XP was the first PC operating system to drop the MS-DOS Prompt and change it to Command Prompt, due to a change to the NT kernel. The Windows NT family has used the newer Command Prompt since it started with Windows NT 3.1, so it was nothing new on that side of the fence."

All versions of NT from 3.1 to the 5.1 (XP) had choice of 32bit native console (looked like a DOS prompt) or running MSDOS shell via NTVDM (Real DOS prompt).

NT also could run OS/2 scripts and console executables as well as native NT scripts.

MS Services for Unix (1999) added Bourne Shell to NT4.0

MIPS quietly bares its processor architecture to universities

Mage Silver badge

Interesting

While ARM is nice an ARM monopoly is no better eventually than an an x86-64 one.

It's a pity that there seems to be so little diversity?

Propeller

Sparc

Alpha

PPC

Transputer

On microcontrollers there is less diversity too. Interesting that there are 50 cent 32bit ARMs competing now with 8 bit chips such as 8051, Atmel, Microchip PIC and embedded Z80 and 6502 in ASICs. The 32 bit ARM cores now in ASICs and FPGAs replacing old 8 bit cores.

Not so fast on FM switch-off: DAB not so hot say small broadcasters

Mage Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: When 50% isn't half

Yes, DAB is only a percentage of "Digital Listening".

It would be daft to turn off robust broadcasting in favour of unicast Internet, which has no privacy and is fragile. On the internet the provider (and probably Google, GCHQ and NSA) knows roughly where you are, when you listen and to what, and with Google's help maybe eventually who you are. Not pleasant in a Democracy, a disaster in many countries.

Mage Silver badge
Pirate

Re: why the downvote?

Probably someone in BBC, RTE, Ofcom, Comreg or NRK.

Or someone that thinks Digital = Better.

Pirate Icon.

The gear to do DAB properly and professionally with a card in a PC is quite affordable. Why no Pirates? Perhaps they are more realistic than Ofcom, Comreg, BBC, RTE and NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) and the Norwegian regulator.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Ofcom's propaganda

Yes, you are missing a lot.

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

The only argument left for DAB is more stations. But 68 to 88 (with the odd gap) could be easily added. Some sets even cover this. A gadget costing £5 running for months on on 2 x AAA or a year on 2 x AA would add the band doubler to existing sets. Similarly 175MHz to 195MHz could be added. Amazingly some old FM radios have this too, as well as a few new ones. Gadget only needs 3 way band switch. 175MHz to 195MHz was used for 405 TV. The band now used for DAB.

Very niche stations can be replaced by Streaming or users MP3 playlist at 256k or 320kbps, they are not economic even on National DAB at 64kbps, but ego of broadcasters.

42MHz to 87MHz and 175MHz to 275MHz after close of Band I and Band III TV were assumed to be repurposed for private Mobile use and DAB. Very few fleets use Two Way Radio now, people use Mobile phones. 195MHz to 275MHz and other gaps between 275MHz and 470MHz are enough for Two Way Radio. Tetra is in the 400MHz band along with SRD, amateur radio and PMR446 walktakies.

The wrong (greedy) decisions made about Band I and Band III at 405 TV closedown in 1985.

There is no Digital Dividend for Band II FM as DAB can't ever be economic for local stations. Nor can it (or DTT Radio) be ever economic for a Consumer's radio.

Digital Radio with more than one mux also is too slow to change station.

DAB has become an expensive duplication of DTT. DTT renders DAB obsolete. DVB-T2 has been demonstrated to even give better coverage than DAB. It's more believable given huge market that a pocket DTT set can be used as a Radio cheaper than a DAB set. Also under £10 for DTT USB stick for Netbook/Laptop. In theory on a Tablet.

DTT phones existed before iPhone. A phone with DTT and FM makes more sense than DAB.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Re: No natural disasters in Norway then?

Most DAB sets about 6 Hours.

Many AM/FM sets over 300 Hours. Even a 1939 Battery valve radio (MW & LW) is about 250 hours, and about 100 Hours for late 1950s AM/FM Valve radio.

It's not viable from point of view of space or power consumption to fit a DAB radio in a Mobile phone. My Sony Xperia Z1 has a FM + RDS station ID and is easier to use than almost all DAB/FM sets on the market. Works better than any FM set I have (though needs headphones as aerial). About 20 local stations.

There is no "digital dividend" application for Band II. Even the TV "digital dividend" was mostly a windfall for regulators selling licences and allows Mobile operators to build fewer basestations in Rural areas (= lower capacity) for same coverage. The Mobile operators are not interested in Best coverage or capacity, Their licence doesn't demand it. Instead they want to maximise return on minimal capital investment. It makes no sense for them to have x5 as many bases so that consumers get better speed and coverage as they would make hardly any extra revenue and a loss considering running costs, never mind CapEx.

Digital Dividend is a fraud.

DAB only is advantage for NATIONAL broadcaster with multiple channels. Also they are having DAB at about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost it should be due to sub FM quality bit rate (DAB+ is only used to fit in twice as many stations, never for more quality, beside at 192kbps or 256k bps the saving on AAC for the same quality for those with impared hearing is closer to 10% to 20% rather than the 50% of a 128kbps MP2 -> 64kbps AAC on DAB+. Even then some material will sound worse, especially to those with less than perfect hearing.

The Apple Watch: Throbbing strap-on with a knurled knob

Mage Silver badge
Thumb Down

Apple has answered the critics who doubted ...

No they haven't.

Yes it's nicely finished. But rubbish battery life, no use at all without an iphone and massively overpriced.

It's an Geek toy for people with massive surplus of disposable income.

Console makers game the EU Commission to avoid energy-use law

Mage Silver badge
Facepalm

the Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One consume two to three times more

Well, 1920 x 1080 (HD) is 6.75 times 640 x 480 (USA SD resolution).

So they are actually improving.

Most of these Energy Directives are nutty. Like Energy ratings of a Toaster, Kettle, table top grill or Electric fire.

Intel shows Google how to stick it real good

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

Hmm Fat

Won't fit on any of my main TV's HDMI ports. Really given size (depth and width), power consumption, need for a keyboard, mouse etc, a box with an HDMI socket makes more sense.

It's a gimmick making it into an HDMI "stick". Even if final version has narrower elongated swivel head.

'Hiding our wristjobs from Apple stores ain't easy' – iThing retail boss

Mage Silver badge
Devil

"Ma'am, I am so sorry, you are absolutely right." ... he is interning in my office

So a slave.

The US Intern system (also now imported to UK and Ireland) is such an opportunity for corruption compared to properly regulated Apprenticeships leading to a qualification.

Business plans, good ideas, and 8 other myths about startups – by Indiegogo's CEO

Mage Silver badge

Re: And what about chance

Right Time and place and luck:

Apple

Microsoft

Serious Engineering Effort

HP start up in late 1930s.

RCA & EMI producing Electronic TV.

Serious Marketing Effort and right Time

Marconi

Hollerith Business Machines (later IBM).

Mage Silver badge
Coat

Re: #4: No Plan...

Helmuth Von Moltke in the mid-nineteenth century?

Probably in Sun Tzu's "Art of War". 孫子兵法 perhaps 512BC, at least between 205BC and 220AD. I bet he could do a good talk on entrepreneuring. While in a sense some of the points are a bit screwy, the overall flavour is right.

Talk to any sensible accountant and you'll always see how you don't have enough money or resources to start etc. But how many big company are:

1: Started by people with a passion to do it VS an Accountant

2: Are asset stripped by an "accountant" later.

3: Gradually run into the ground after founder has left/retired/died by watching cost centres and "bottom line" rather than a passion for the "product"/"service"/"customer".

Mines the one with Government Development Authority leaflets in the pocket.

Also ever noticed that outside USA (UK & Ireland esp.) you can only get money if you prove you don't need it?

ZOMBIE Google Glass 2 FEEDS ON Italian BRAINS, says specs supremo

Mage Silver badge
Devil

unobtrusive ... calm people's privacy fears

No, that will make people MORE upset.

Apple Watch RIPPED APART, its GUTS EXPOSED to hungry Vultures

Mage Silver badge

Android watches don't?

It's zero use at all without an iPhone.

Microsoft to offer special Surface 3 for schools

Mage Silver badge
Mushroom

Cloud?

"but in these cloudy days it's not as if your kids are going to be suffering for lack of access to storage."

What a lot of cloud hyping garbage.

Of course you need a lot more storage than that, or it's just a terminal, like Chrome Book. Unless you have un-capped fibre connection (which isn't very portable outside your own WiFi) with redundant connection, you need your own storage, kids. too.

Back to 1960s and central controlled storage eh?

Google: We're not mad, our mobes-in-sky Project Loon is FINE

Mage Silver badge
Facepalm

Stupid

Also typically Arrogant of Google. Do it and then try to make it legal, get suitable spectrum.

This project is currently abusing the wrong bands.

Long term a project like OB3 wikipedia OB3 Networks could perhaps deliver more and cost less.

Scalability, spectrum, backhaul and running costs are an issue with Loon. They most know this. So why are Google doing this piece of arrogance? Publicity?

Don't worry, Apple hypegasms haven't gone in the WRISTJOB ERA

Mage Silver badge

collect it?

So they don't trust couriers or the postal system?

Apple becoming Argos? Order online and collect in store.

Google it onna Google phone onna GOOGLE NETWORK. MVNO plan imminent

Mage Silver badge
FAIL

Re: Do you really want....

"We notice that you called ABC plc yesterday. You might be interested in the better deals that ZYX have to offer."

They are more subtle than that.

"Positng AC because we know that Google reads everything posted here that mentions them."

That doesn't work, as Google gets your IP via Analytics, Adverts etc. Unless you already were clever with NoScript domain blocking and possibly your firewall.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Re: Do you really want....

Indeed more ways for Google to spy on the Advert Consumers.

Google pulls plug on YouTube for older iPads, iPhones, smart TVs

Mage Silver badge
Facepalm

HDMI cable

Laptops are generally upgradable in Browser / OS / Applications. Tablets less so. Built in "smart" on a TV / Blu Ray player? Waste of money.

The problem is beyond just YouTube.

Expect Netflix to fail on "Smart" stuff too.

Google versus the EU: Sigh. You can't exploit a contestable monopoly

Mage Silver badge
Pirate

Re: I used to trust them.

Now with Android they don't need the War Driving.

Mage Silver badge
Coat

Re: Sigh indeed... Just search the other Monopoly, Wikipedia

Fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution. That is, it is the property of essences or goods which are "capable of being substituted in place of one another."[1] For example, since one ounce of gold is equivalent to any other ounce of gold, gold is fungible. Other fungible commodities include sweet crude oil, company shares, bonds, precious metals, and currencies. Fungibility refers only to the equivalence of each unit of a commodity with other units of the same commodity. Fungibility does not relate to the exchange of one commodity for another different commodity.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

This article and EU missing the point.

Everything Google does is to sell Adverts.

They are using all the information they gather from all their services in a way that breaks privacy law and is very creepy and immoral.

They are able to do this because of the way the Internet has to work. A server must know your IP to return data to you.

In the real world the "providers" don't know if you look at the Bill board or listen to radio or watch the TV or DVD or read the paper book.

In the Internet connected world, they do. But worse is that most providers are using Google services in some way, so even apart from Google knowing your email contents (gmail) or documents (Google Cloud / Google Docs) or searches, they know what pages you look at, programs you listen to or watch etc, how long, how often, where you are. Probably often they know who you are.

There is a good reason too why Google wants a single sign in for everything. The near monopoly on many Google services (not just search) is mildly worrying, but not the biggest issue.

The "inventors" and pioneers of Internet and Web were naive in extreme about . But also about "how social pressures" work. It's almost inevitable that security and privacy on the Internet is a huge problem given inherent design. Perhaps each ISP needs to be a "Tor". But also you'll tend to have monopolies. One auction site, one encyclopaedia, one search, one Social magazine, one messaging, one video sharing. It's interesting that "competition" tends to be purely different social groups or languages.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's truly bonkers to believe the "Market" will sort it out on it's own, that anyway only addresses the lesser maybe necessary "evil" of monopolies, not privacy, state control, manipulation of users etc.

Apple Watch shipments: Pick a number, double it. Hey, it worked for them

Mage Silver badge
Alien

We're doomed

Certainly it bodes ill for human race if this overpriced nearly useless iPhone Accessory outsells any watch that doesn't need a phone.

Digital killed the radio star: Norway names FM switchoff date

Mage Silver badge

Re: Emergency announcements?

That can be done easily on VHF-FM.

Mage Silver badge
Facepalm

Savings

It's about MONEY.

Not about the consumer or Public Services.

Complete idiots that have given the Broadcasting keys to Bean counters. Digital TV works. Digital Radio (no matter how it's done) is inherently a poorer system than AM, never mind FM.

The People need to rise up and complain. It's not as if the spectrum is even any use for anything else. If they want to save money and have more stations then extend FM down to 76MHz and turn off power hungry Digital Radio, which uses x6 power for the consumers.

Let’s pull Augmented Reality and climax with JISM

Mage Silver badge
Thumb Up

yes

yes.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

The Internet of things is great until it blows up your house

Mage Silver badge
Coffee/keyboard

Too Late

April 1st was ages ago and had better rubbish.

This is the stupidest article I ever read on El Reg. It wasn't even amusing.

Hungry Apple fanbois can now buy a lunch date with Tim Cook

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Daft.

Why doesn't he just give them $1M?

I'm reminded of parable of poor woman and show-off donating to Temple.

This is more about Apple and Tim Cook than helping Charity.

Some rich owner of a Card payment processing company just cut his salary today from HUGE to $77K or £77K to be able to double salary of about 1/2 his employees.

WORLD+DOG line up to SLAM Google after anti-trust case unveiled

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Re: I must be missing something

Also the use of EVERY google service, free and paid to abuse privacy in a way that breaks the law in every EU country and probably many outside EU. Simply to try and do advertising more effectively.

Nokia to take $6bn bath on Navteq following AlcaLuc purchase

Mage Silver badge
Windows

Suckers...

After all, MS at the end of the day got very little buying the phone business, no IP, no long term use of brand, ditching staff and factories ...

MS may tell itself, "Look an 80% discount on original price!"

Revealed: The AMAZING technology behind Apple's $1299 Retina MacBooks – a lot of glue

Mage Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: Guys, it's really no different on the PC side

It's still wrong, no matter who does it.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Re: How does this pass EU battery regulations?

Life of the battery is measured in complete cycles, and secondarily in time. Only something intended for bin, without recycling, after 1 year should have everything soldered and glued.

Very many units will need Battery and/or Flash replaced inside the two years minimum of SOGA. They can probably "get away" with this because it's not a Lead Acid battery (about 99% of them in some places in Europe become new car/truck batteries).

The design is simply to make it cheap to produce. They do not want their products to be more than 18 months to two years, nor repaired as the bulk of their market is repeat sales. It's designed more like a $399 landfill product.

Android lands on Microsoft's money-machine island fortress

Mage Silver badge
Linux

So ...

Maybe no BSOD ... but which Google service will be spying on the users?

Why didn't NCR use CentOS/Redhat or Debian, Why Android, it only of benefit for portable devices running Google's clone of Java for Apps. This is only going to have NCR's application.

'We STRONGLY DISAGREE' that we done WRONG, says Google

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Competition Violation?

Of course they horribly manipulate the search results to their own benefit. Note that the results don't have to be a Google service, but favour heavy users of all Googles Adverts, APIs and services indirectly.

Open Letter to Google.

Wait till EU realises what you are doing with EU citizen's privacy via your creepy tracking ... to make the Advertising and skew of search results so much more effective.

All those "Free" services you have that rip off people's privacy:

Single log in

YouTube

Google Groups

Google+

Gmail

Google Translate

Chrome Browser

Chrome Book

APIs

Cloud services

Google Docs / Drive

Google Maps

Play Store

Analytics

Android

Google Images

Google Books

Google Scholar.

Adsense

and more.

I wonder why you shuttered Google Code? Got enough spyware on Github or something?

Also I don't want Google search to be my bookmarks and for it to promote Wikipedia and eBay. I know how to search those!

Only some really evil needs a motto like yours. You may surpass IBM + Oracle + Halliburton combined.

Purple strain? Purple gain: WD doubles cam count for spy drives

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

PVR?

Any good for building the ultimate PVR? Just record ALL the useful channels on a rolling two week basis, so you have two weeks to watch it or mark it for archive.

Why bother with pesky geolimited iPlayer and trick internet caps or deciding in advance? Read the reviews. Watch 10 days behind :-)

Adobe, Level 3 drive a stake through heart of vid-stream creature before it attacks again

Mage Silver badge
Devil

I Believe in Copyrights, Patents and Registered Design.

But not as implemented and policed in USA.

The Patent Office is useless.

DCMA, Millennium Copyright act, DRM, the So called ITC really US Import Embargo Commission

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_International_Trade_Commission.

RIAA

The Walton kids are ABSURDLY wealthy – and you're benefitting

Mage Silver badge

Alternatively

As I have no pension pot, perhaps my kids will pay for me to be in the "Home".

Interesting article.

Tech troll's podcasting patent blown out of the water by EFF torpedo

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Problem?

It's not "Personal Audio" that is the problem but the USPO attitude of basically issuing rubbish patents in the first place.

The system is basically you have to have better lawyers and more money than the patent holder to "prove" a patent is invalid, All of which should have been rejected by the Patent Office.

Are they paid more if they approve rather than reject?

Microsoft's top legal eagle: US cannot ignore foreign privacy laws

Mage Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: "US cannot ignore foreign privacy laws"

ECJ has recently ruled that "Safe Harbour" isn't worth paper written on.

Irish Data commissioner then warns EU citizens that they shouldn't use Facebook as it doesn't comply with EU Nations individual laws.

It's frightening that I'm on Microsoft's side on this.

Because the server room is certainly no place for pets

Mage Silver badge
Thumb Down

Tape and VM?

If you need to read old tapes, the drive may not work on a VM.

Transfer the tapes now to HDD stored off line or new format tapes, depending on size.

VM may not exist for other old platforms.

The old CPU HW may be for other hardware I/O. Little other than high level ports and networking is available on VM. By definition a VM is unlikely to be able to access strange I/O or HW.

This is a pointless article. We all know what a VM can do and advantages of it.

Explaining what the limitations of VM / Virtualisation are might be more useful.

Intel and LG: Our new mobe cams COULDN'T CARE LESS about pixels

Mage Silver badge
Happy

Re: 2560x1440

I like my Sony Xperia Z1.

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

2560x1440

Can I get a £500 laptop with 16" screen, optical drive, ethernet etc?

Don't need a new phone.

If I did, perhaps a 1/4 of that many pixels would be OK and save some battery for talking on phone?

RELICS of the Earth's long lost TWIN planet FOUND ON MOON

Mage Silver badge
Alien

Gaia's child

She calved.

ISIS: You bomb us, we’ll interrupt your TV transmissions

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

Re: dear, oh dear, El Reg

I'm sure they were thinking of TV.

You are quite correct about WWII domestic Radio.

As Domestic Radio only started about 1922, any WWI tomfoolery would have been military.

Interference though on commercial Morse from other commercial stations and "Amateurs" was common enough from 1900s to 1914.

Sales of radio kits to public to listen to time signals and commercial radio telegraph traffic was from about 1912, about 10 years before scheduled public voice broadcasts.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

1977? Earlier

No, earlier.

Terrestrial TV transmitters when they lost signal feed briefly look "off air" at previous TX mast in the system.

Before 1976, a guy in an a van in Japan with VTR on a hill top waited till close down and kept most of the chain up with his porn.

The BBC had an incident in 1970s were they closed earlier than RTE. The newish RTE transmitter in Longford was on same channel as a Scottish transmitter. Divis, outside Belfast, of course retransmitted RTE till their close down. I don't remember which year it was. Perhaps 1976 or 1977 or 1978. But the Japanese incident was earlier.

Broadcasters added security after these incidents.

Microsoft uses Windows Update to force Windows 10 ads onto older PCs

Mage Silver badge
Trollface

XP users

XP users then won't get spammed

Astronomers battle plague of BLADE-WIELDING ROBOTS

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Should be using optics

These guys (and others, like traffic light sensors) are just

a) Lazy

b) Trying to cut costs.

c) Think they are more special than any other company.

Ban them and fine them till it HURTS. There is an increasing amount of this arrogance. Home Power Networking kit that's really a transmitter! Hint: works of UPS / Battery inverter and still networks without the mains. They are not EU or FCC approved as radio gadgets, they either only plug one in or test pair with no data. They want the rules changed too to allow "more interference"! Then the CFL / LED electronic PSU / Ballast makers, charger makers, TV makers, PSU makers will want the new relaxed rules too. (which often are not enforced, maker puts wire links instead of filters after approval).