* Posts by Vic

5860 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Dec 2007

Fake CEOs pilfer $2.3bn from US biz pockets in three years – Feds

Vic

Re: The "urgent transfer" request sent to the CFO trick?

Mails were coming from a typosquatting domain

My email client has the ability to colour emails based upon various criteria - including the domain from which the mail comes. Typo-squatter emails don't get coloured...

Vic.

Microsoft rethinks the Windows application platform one more time

Vic

Re: Be afraid!

Windows 10 will not go "subscription".

You might like to cite some evidence for that; repeated assertion does not count.

I can't seen any alternative but for WIndows to become subscription-only; by declaring that Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows ever, they have killed off all possible upgrade revenue; they can only ever sell Windows with new PCs.That's a *big* drop in revenue, with no commensurate drop in development cost.

Sure, they'll make some money from advertising and from selling your data to third parties - but will that recover the upgrade losses? That would be a lot of advertising...

Vic.

Linux is so grown up, it's ready for marriage with containers

Vic

Re: Succinct

it is the new hotness

This guy?

Vic.

Vic

Re: VMs are expensive

Containerisation, which mandates that software be modified to a greater or lesser extent

Does it?

Looks like I've been doing it wrong again...

Vic.

Hubble spies supermassive black hole in surprising spot

Vic

could it be aliens?

It's always aliens.

They probably want to return Glenn Miller. That's what they do.

We don't want him! Go away! You took him, you can keep the smegger!

Vic.

Angry Vodafone customers spark Ofcom probe after phone bill overcharge snafu

Vic

Re: What is wrong with.....

Join via https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/peterm42 and get £5 free.

You should probably disclose that so do you if anyone uses that link...

Vic.

Vic

Re: Been with various providers...

They are pretty much dismal across the board.

I had my first mobile phone with Vodafone.

When I stopped paying the bill, it took them four years to cut me off. That's competence for you...

Vic.

Brits rattle tin for 'revolutionary' hydrogen-powered car

Vic

Re: 8.5kW and 0-60 in 10 seconds?

This thing is going to be seriously underpowered.

Probably.

It does rather depend on the capacity of the supercapacitors; it looks like they're trying to produce something with a low mean power use, but with plenty of zip on tap for acceleration. So on the test-drive, you'll give it a couple of seconds of full-power, and it will seem quite nippy. But you pay for that energy expenditure later...

Vic.

Vic

Re: ero emissions?

Second, scuba tanks are routinely pressurised at similar pressure and have a life of hunderds of thousands of cycles.

No, not really.

Most scuba cylinders in the UK have a working pressure of 232bar; these are pressurised to a test pressure of 348bar once every 5 years. A 30-year-old cylinder has only experienced this sort of pressure a handful of times...

There are a range of 300-bar cylinders in use; these have their own problems (not least that the gases are very much non-ideal at those pressures, so you don't get nearly as much as you thought you might[1]), Weight does become an issue...

And all this is before we get to the problems of hydrogen - others have mentioned embrittlement, I'll mention leakage...

Vic.

[1] I've just done a quick calculation using an online Van der Waal's calculator. I used a 20l cylinder blown to 350bar at 300K, which gave me 204mol H2. That much gas at 1bar gives 5100l, rather than the 7000l one might naively expect...

Mobe and Wi-Fi firms flog your location data to commercial firms, claim reports

Vic

Re: Space travel is the solution

But then you'd end up being wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone.

Frankly, that's a price worth paying...

Vic.

Samsung kind of cracks the 10nm barrier with new 8GB DDR4 slabs

Vic

3,200 megabits per second" is not very fast, most SSD's will read and write that these days.

Yes, but there will be several chips on each DIMM, meaning that 3200Mb/s gets multiplied by the number of chips doing it...

Vic.

'Panama papers' came from email server hack at Mossack Fonseca

Vic

Re: Why is it...

Yup, I cleared my mortgage recently and it took about an hour to go through the CHAPS process

I cleared my mortgage about 3 years ago. My lender[1] told me that they couldn't take money from a card - neither over the phone, nor in person - but that I had to go into a branch with a cheque.

The cheque method did actually work rather well, but added a couple of miles' walk to my day...

Vic.

[1] Barclays, in case it make a difference.

Full Linux-on-PS4 hits Github

Vic

Re: Yeah...

Hands up if anyone is still running a 7 year old AMD CPU

/proc/cpuinfo tells me my processor is model name : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+

According to Wikipedia, that dates from September 2003...

It's plenty for what I'm doing with it.

Vic.

Vic

Re: one of the mechanics put the engine from an Austin 1600 into a Mini

Hayabusa engines seem to be commonly retro-fitted into them

Have you seen the Radical SR8? Two Hayabusa engines put together to make a V8...

Vic.

Carving up the IT contract behind £500bn of annual tax collection is a very risky move

Vic

Re: I'll take the contract...

if (tax_id == mine) tax >>= 2;

No, no, no.

if (tax_id = david_cameron) tax += 10; /* FIXME Look up lint code to suppress warning here */

Yes, I am a C programmer. Why do you ask?

Vic.

Vic

Re: This is IT picking up the pieces again

The correct solution is a massively simplified tax code

Whilst that might be a better option overall, it's not what we've got. What we have is a fairly complex tax code. And that is the sort of thing at which computer-based systems can excel.

Given that we have a need, and we have a potential solution, we can only gaze in wonder at the ability of the Civil Service to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, once again...

There is a job to do. Pissing about trying to get it done by underpaid office juniors is only going to cost us all a fortune. It's time to get the right people, pay them the right amount, and get them to do the right job.

Vic.

Flying Finns arm octocopter with chainsaw

Vic

Re: I wonder...

a giant todger shape

It's been done...

Vic.

Tesla books over $8bn in overnight sales claims Elon Musk

Vic

Re: UK price.

$35,000 sounds not to bad in the UK except whilst $35,000 = £24,500 Tesla [1] want £48,500 + £10,500 VAT.

You're not comparing the same car in each currency...

https://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/models/design

See the "models" in the middle of that? You're looking at the price for a Model S, not a Model 3.

Vic.

Vic

Re: Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.

My car has just died, it was 11 years old

Really? My current vehicle (2007) is one of only two I've ever owned that have been that young...

Vic.

Vic

Re: Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.

Tesla is a low production manufacturer that can take time to make its products correctly, with fewer compromises

I've seen low-volume car manufacturers in operation. I think your view above is misplaced; low-volume manufacturers typically make far more compromises, and although the cars can be absolutely wonderful, quality is frequently compromised.

I absolutely loved my Lotus. But I never took it out if I *had* to get to my destination. I have friends who say exactly the same about TVRs, Nobles, even - especially - Ferraris.

Vic.

Call the Cable Guy: Wireless just won't cut it

Vic

Yeah, try doing this wireless...

I made up some test plugs a few years back with pins 1&2 wired to 3&6, 4&5 wired to 7&8. One RJ45, a tiny bit of UTP, and some heatshrink over the top.

Makes it very easy to test layer 1...

Vic.

Vic

Not seen anything capable of connecting to 10Base2 (or 10Base5) for many years now.

I've got an assortment of cards that can.

I picked them up years ago - they're incredibly useful when you're likely to get a phone call that says "network's knackered - can you fix it today?"

Of course, my site report will inevitably recommend upgrading the cabling...

Vic.

Got a Toshiba laptop? Get it off your lap, then read this recall notice

Vic

Re: Didn't bother with the app

I some how doubt that the "convenient" app would run on a Gentoo Linux install and I can't be arsed to compile up Wine to see if it would

If you just want the serial number, try:

cat /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/serial_number

Vic.

Sick to death of mighty rocket launches? Avoid these dates

Vic

Re: Many rockets going up...

Is it called Boaty McBoatface?

Surely "Bargy McBargearse" ?

Vic.

2015 was the Year of the Linux Phone ... Nah, we're messing with you

Vic

Re: Linux vs ZX **

The Spectrum probably has a larger catalogue of commercial software than any other 8-bit machine. Who wrote it all?

John Hollis.

HTH, HAND, etc.

Vic.

Oracle v Google: Big Red wants $9.3bn in Java copyright damages

Vic

Re: Obligatory Linux angle

this could imply that the entity holding the copyright for Unix would be able to shut Linux down. It is not entirely clear who that is at the moment - either Micro Focus International, or our old friends SCO.

This is not true - please do not spread this FUD.

Novell was the owner of Unix - SCO never owned it They merely distributed it.

Novell has distributed GNU/Linux under the GPL for years. Any parts that might become covered by this or any other legislation are still legally redistributed because Novell has granted an irrevocable licence to do so.

Vic.

Vic

Re: Java property of Oracle

Things like println, substring, toString, toUpperCase, toLowerCase, trim existed before Java so Oracle should be sued for using those.

I'm still waiting for someone to take them to the cleaners over SQL...

Vic.

Vic

Re: But can they Bing the jurors?

Expert witnessing nowadays seems to be similar

Last year, I spent some time in a Public Enquiry. A certain large manufacturer of processed obesity was appealing the fact that they had been denied planning permission to knock down our pub.

They had several "expert"[1] witnesses - all independent. Except that, when you do a little digging on these witnesses, the only work they ever did was to appear as expert witnesses for this particular corpopation...

You'll be glad to know they appeal was denied.

Vic.

[1] Some of them were decidedly inexpert; the traffic bod, for example, decided that although the road in question[2] was a main thoroughfare to the motorway junction, he was going to treat it as if it were not, and thus have less-exacting rules as to its use. And the property development guy, when questioned about his addition of a £250k kitchen as part of the "necessary" refurbishment, came up with a beautiful response - that you could get away with less if you were only looking for burger and chips, or some rubbish like that. Oh how we laughed, considering the appellant :-)

[2] The A334 in Southampton

MH-370 search loses sharpest-eyed robot deep beneath the waves

Vic

Re: Waste Of Time

as I recall, one of the conclusions of the enquiry was that pilots needed more training on the backup flight control modes

Indeed.

And that's investigation-speak for "why didn't these pilots know what they were doing?"

Just before they hit the storm, they were discussing the fact that they were glad they were in an Airbus, as it would do all the flying for them. This is direct contravention to their documented training. Hence there is a need for the airlines to make damn sure their pilots don't assume the plane will do their jobs for them...

Vic.

Vic

Re: Waste Of Time

Basically they're trained to assume that you can't stall a fly-by-wire plane

No they're not! THey are taught that you can stall such aircraft under certain conditions.

These pilots had become complacent. That killed them and their passengers.

Vic.

Mud sticks: Microsoft, Windows 10 and reputational damage

Vic

I am a home user and have never commented on El Reg before

You have, you know...

Vic.

Vic

Re: listening with one ear

this whole mess (and Win8 before it) is Microsoft putting their narrow business interests above customer needs

I disagree.

I see this as Microsoft putting their immediate interests first; their customers and their own long-term business interests are very much second (or worse!) to those...

Vic.

Microsoft did Nazi that coming: Teen girl chatbot turns into Hitler-loving sex troll in hours

Vic

Re: And as my woman put it

don't use anything Kardashian shares thoughts on

... Shares *whats* on?

Vic.

Pothole campaigner sprays Surrey street with phallic paintings

Vic

Re: Councils and potholes

Is it just a hoary old myth that councils wait until the end of a budget cycle before splurging any remaining on these works?

Not entirely.

Councils have a budget put aside for salting & gritting the roads during the winter. If you have a harsh winter, it gets spent.

But if the winter is mild, that money is still in the coffers - and if it isn't spent that financial year, the budget for next year will be reduced[1]. So come Easter, money gets spent on other traffic projects...

Disclosure: I used to work for a company that did its best to get its hands on the salt money. And generally did quite well at it :-)

Vic.

[1] I've never understood this line of thinking; if you have a contingency fund, and it doesn't get used, why not just roll it over to the next year? Why do bean counters think that not having to pay it out this year means you'll never have to pay it out ever again?

Vic

Re: Montreal has potholes with little bits of road around them.

Some day maybe the city will wake up and spend the money it needs to fix our crumbling infrastructure

Our council seems to have some very strange ideas about fixing roads; they have a minimum depth to qualify as "in need of repair".

A couple of winters back, a hole appeared round the corner from me. One side of it was deep enough to need repair - you can guess where I'm going with this, right?

And guess how long it was before the other side became deep enough to warrant a visit?

Vic.

Dodgy software will bork America's F-35 fighters until at least 2019

Vic

Re: Lessons of History....XZ457

that must have been a lot of work, rebuilding the wreck

Yep.

If you'll excuse the tiny images, she went from this to this.

I presume she's way beyond ever flying?

'Fraid so...

Vic.

Vic

Re: "158 of which are Category 1" / severe illness / helmet

if you're interested in aircraft museums, Boscombe Down and Yeovilton are both an easy drive down the A303 from there

The Boscombe Down museum has moved to Old Sarum - it's still called the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, but you no longer need to go onto a military airfield to see it :-)

Yeovilton's a bit further, but worth the miles IMO...

Vic.

Vic

Re: "158 of which are Category 1" / severe illness / helmet

I'd say the 'getting home today' bit would somewhat depend on where you land, though...

Sure. You'll notice I didn't say "successful" or even "good", merely "best"...

BTW - BDAC - Old Sarum Airfield Museum is now on my places-to-see list for my next visit to the UK*!

Cool. It will be lovely to see you. Don't go on a Monday though - the museum is shut on Mondays :-)

Vic.

Vic

Re: "158 of which are Category 1" / severe illness / helmet

ever looked where the nav seat on PR9 Canberra? In the nose. That must have been an interesting ejection.

I don't know the PR9; on the B2, that was the bomb aimer's position. It was originally supposed to be the targetting radar - but that wasn't ready in time, so they put a man in instead.

As for your Canberra - presumably a 3 or 4-seater?

We've got two - a D14[1], originally built as a B2 and then modified, and a T4. Both are three-seaters; the B2 has a bomber in the front, and the T4 has two pilot seats because it's a trainer. both aircraft have a rear seat for the navigator.

I didn't think the rear seat crew on those had ejection seats - wasn't their emergency exit via the landing gear hatch?

Nope. They have an ejection seat. The panel above them is clearly intended to come away, but I don't know exactly how...

Vic.

[1] That's according to Wikipedia. If you look at the image of what they claim to be a D14, it's WH876, which is one of ours now...

Vic

Re: @Vic @Ledswinger

Similarly, 68000-family chips were still around last time I looked

Mil-spec? ITYF they went away 20 years ago...

Vic.

Vic

Re: Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority"

the F35 however still takes as a given the supremacy of piloted fighters in the 2040 timeframe

Piloted fighters might be supreme, but the F-35 won't be among their number. It is simply too slow.

The 2019 F-35 (Mach 1.6, 50,000ft, 1 occupant) could not intercept the 1971 Concorde (Mach 2, 60,000ft, ~130 occupants).

Vic.

Vic

Re: Lessons of History....

The Harrier shot down:

9 IAI Daggers (Mirage V equivalent)

7 A-4 Skyhawks (plus one write-off on landing)

1 Mirage III

...and 3 other aircraft

XZ457 took 4 of those kills. And we have her now ::proud::

Vic.

Vic

Re: pilots weighing below 136 pounds

Smaller means a slightly better chance that in the event of combat damage, the pilot does not get hit

It's more about the distance between heart and brain - blood density is largely constant, so for any given g, the pressure required from the heart is proportional to h[1]. The smaller you can make h, the less pressure the heart needs to develop to maintain consciousness...

Vic

[1] I wish I could be bothered to work out how to do greek letters. That way, I wouldn't have to skate around rho-gee-delta h...

Vic

Re: What a disaster

Fuck 'em, we have to build this aircraft so we can maintain air superiority.

The F-35 is not an air superiority fighter. For all their faults, both F-22 and Typhoon fly rings around it. And I'm sure you could add to that list...

Vic.

Vic

Re: "158 of which are Category 1" / severe illness / helmet

I am given to understand that ejecting at high velocities is best avoided anyway - the air will hit you like a brick wall

If your best way of getting home today is to get out of your aircraft - the windrush as you exit is the least of your problems. Your drogue will deploy, and very soon, your speed relative to the airmass around you will be small enough as to make no difference.

Even without having parts of your body caught between the seat and the canopy and crushed

AFAIK, all in-service canopies[1] contain det cord to destroy the canopy before the seat arrives. But the seat should still take you through an unbroken canopy without injury...

Vic.

[1] We've got a couple of Canberras at the museum. The navigator's seat is behind the pilot, and it ejects through a section of the fuselage. I haven't yet worked out whether there are explosives on that panel, or whether the seat just throws the navigator through a chunk of aluminium...

Vic

Re: Ditch it already

Whether you like it or not, and whether it is useful or not in that role, the F35 is intended for real high intensity warfare against top tier opponents.

Until very recently, the airframe was limited to 4.5g. So it can *just about* out-fly a 1974 Piper Warrior.

The Lightning II does Mach 1.6, with a service ceiling of 50,000ft

The Lightnting *I* does Mach 2.0[1] with a service ceiling of 54,000ft[3].

It is plain to see that the earlier aircraft is a better interceptor, unless stealth capability is paramount - in which case it could probably be retrofitted to the earlier aircraft.

The reason I'm labouring the point about these two planes is that the Lightning II is now supposed to grace our skies in 2019, whereas the Lightning I flew in 1954 - well over 6 decades earlier.

Now I grant you, the F-35 has a few advantages - its range is a little better, for example - but when compared the the cold-war jets, it's pretty crap in a direct comparison, let alone allowing for the improved technology of the intervening 60 years...

Vic.

[1] I have it on good authority[2] that the earlier Lightnings could not make Mach 2 because they ran out of fuel before they got there. But the Mark 6, with the fat belly pan, had much more fuel and could do it relatively easily.

[2] Two of the instructors where I trained are former Lightning pilots. Neither will have a bad word spoken against that aircraft.

[3] There is a tale of a Lightning intercepting a U2 at 88,000ft. This involved a ballistic ascent, but gives a clue as to just how incredible was this aircraft.

Vic

Re: Ditch it already

The technology has been lost

You'd be amazed how quickly it could be re-found, if someone were serious.

Certain aircraft[1] inspire loyalty in their pilots/crew/designers. Vulcan, for example, did. As did Harrier.

The job would have been easier and cheaper if we hadn't gone about deliberately destroying our own capability, but I'm quite certain it would still be a possibility, if you could get a commitment from government.

Vic.

As I've probably mentioned a time or two, I'm involved with an aviation museum. We now have three Jaguars. Can't think why...

EU ministers to demand more data access after Brussels attacks

Vic

Re: Priorities...

Locks on cockpit doors.

That was all that was needed in response to 9/11.

Locks on cockpit doors are widely seen as causing far more problems[1] than they solve.

The hijackings in 2001 could only occur because people had been conditioned to do as they were told during a hijacking - the assumption was always that the hijackers were fairly keen on surviving. Because of that, those aircraft were hijacked by men who were very close to being unarmed[2].

But things have changed; we're all now aware of the possibility of a suicide-hijacker. Anyone trying the same thing today would get flattened in short order.

Vic.

[1] The Germanwings crash, for example, would not have happened if there were no barricade door to the cockpit.

[2] My usual point about "what constitutes a weapon" notwithstanding.

Microsoft adds 'non-security updates' to security patches

Vic

Re: It didn't happen to me

They need to understand that servicing their computers is just as important as any of these other items.

OK, here's a question for all you downvoters:

Why do you believe that companies shouldn't look after the tools on which they rely?

Vic.