Re: Technically fantastic but...
Eh, as I see it, they were provided a free target for training exercises. The RAF usually has to pay for that.
Posts by Gene Cash
5740 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Mar 2007
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RAF shoots down 'terrorist drone' over US-owned special ops base in Syria
CISA issues emergency directive to fix Log4j vulnerability
Thank you, FAQ chatbot, but if I want your help I'll ask for it
Friday 17th December 2021 23:44 GMT 
AT&T disconnected my phone service to try to sell me a new phone
I had a problem where my calls would get routed to AT&T customer support, but rebooting the phone fixed it, until one day recently when that didn't work, and no one could call me.
"You have been rerouted to customer service because your phone has been determined to be incompatible with AT&T's new 5G service, coming in February. Please hold for a representative."
So I waited on hold to speak with someone. I was rather steaming because I was trying to dial into a meeting to fix someone's computer issues.
The guy started off repeating that my phone was incompatible with 5G, then went into "would you like to purchase a new compatible phone..."
I said "wait, you disconnected my service to try to SELL ME A NEW PHONE? SERIOUSLY?" and continued with my opinion of his customer service, and possibly his genetic heritage, and his mother's service to the local army battalion.
He made some clicky-click noises and informed me that my phone service had been restored.
And yes, I filed an FCC complaint. The "President's office" has emailed me to call them. I replied that I have no interest in calling and speaking off the record. If they have a statement or questions, they can email me. I've also switched to T-Mobile, for whatever slight good that might do.
Facebook locks out 1,500 fake accounts used by cyber-spy firms to snoop on people, alerts 50k potential targets
East Londoners nicked under Computer Misuse Act after NHS vaccine passport app sprouted clump of fake entries
Web3: The next generation of the web is here… apparently
CompSci boffins claim they can recreate missing lines in log files
Google Chrome's upcoming crackdown on ad-blockers and other extensions still really sucks, EFF laments
ExoMars parachutes just about good enough to land rover safely on the Red Planet
Log4j doesn't just blow a hole in your servers, it's reopening that can of worms: Is Big Biz exploiting open source?
Tuesday 14th December 2021 18:45 GMT
Re: Businesses are simply not in the business of fair dealing.
I'm not trying to say business in Europe is all sunshine and roses, but that actually "fair dealing" can be a part of business, and is a part of business throughout the world (but maybe a little more in some parts than others).
Part of it is American law saying "anything not directly for shareholder benefit is basically illegal" and stuff like "inventory is taxable" despite it already being taxed when built, and taxed again when sold. This leads to the current problem exposed by COVID where no-one keeps inventory on-hand now. It also leads to things like books being quickly out of print.
Don't make an iOS of yourself – Apple's patched its OSes, you know the drill
Tuesday 14th December 2021 16:26 GMT
SOS call?
The keypress to make an SOS call has been simplified (but also overlaps with the screenshot keypress).
I'm not an Apple owner. What is an SOS call? Is it a shortcut to an emergency call to something like 911 in the US? Or is it something like the latest Android crap where you hit the power button and there's an "Emergency" item? (I tried it, and it popped up a menu item to call 911, but didn't actually call it)
And what does "overlaps with the screenshot keypress" mean? Is there now a possibility to accidentally call emergency when you wanted a screenshot? Or does it make using screenshots more of a pain in the ass with more steps?
Is VPOTUS Bluetooth-phobic or sensible? The answer's pretty clear
Monday 13th December 2021 19:53 GMT
Bluetooth
Or, considering my "successes" in pairing earphones and other stuff to my phone, it could be she just wants something that works.
It sucks paying $600 for a helmet with a built-in Bluetooth communications unit that just won't pair to anything except an iPhone. It also kind of sucks having earphone wires flapping in the breeze, but at least they work.
I also have a shitty app to control settings on my motorcycle where pairing doesn't work in the current version. You have to install an older version, pair it, and update.
Ooh, an update. Let's install it. What could possibly go wro-
Another Debian dust-up with Firefox dependencies – but there is an annoying and awkward workaround
Revealed: Remember the Sony rootkit rumpus? It was almost oh so much worse
Ghost of Christmas past haunts Oracle despite impressive revenue growth
Lack shame? Fancy some festive Windows knitwear? We've got your back
China: Bars app that often hosted dissenting conversations
Intel updates mysterious 'software-defined silicon' code in the Linux kernel
Hubble Space Telescope restored to service: No repeat of those missing messages, but here's a software patch anyway
AWS wobbles in US East region causing widespread outages
Shocking: UK electricity tariffs are among world's most expensive
Tuesday 7th December 2021 16:41 GMT
overhead lines
Thars ya prahblem!
We're pretty much forced to use underground lines here in Florida (aka hurricane central) as overhead just plain doesn't survive.
It does have the side effect of no ugly poles and lines - on the other hand, an underground transformer in my neighbor's front yard caught on fire, and they had to dig it up and replace it. An interesting "my... front yard... is emitting smoke!" moment there.
The nub of the issue: Has your ThinkPad's TrackPoint gone TITSUP*? You aren't alone
Battlefield 2042: Please don't be the death knell of the franchise, please don't be the death knell of the franchise
Sunday 5th December 2021 02:00 GMT
Re: I bailed after 2142
I don't remember who said it but "It's worth noting that EA are so hated that they have twice won the award for being worst company in America against the sort of companies who's activities occasionally result in massive environmental damage and/or people actually dying." is right on point.
A smarter alternative to password recognition could be right in front of us: Unique, invisible, maybe even deadly
What will life in orbit look like after the ISS? NASA hands out new space station contracts
Apple files fresh appeal to stop court order demanding external payment systems in iOS apps
Google sued for firing staff who claim they tried to follow 'Don't be evil' motto
James Webb Space Telescope may actually truly launch this century, says NASA
Smart things are so dumb because they take after their makers. Let's fix that
Monday 29th November 2021 14:42 GMT
Re: Zengge Wi-Fi protocol
Interesting. I get "About 37 results (0.91 seconds)" and if I put it in quotes, I get just this article.
One result is "vikstrous/zengge-lightcontrol: A command line tool ... - GitHub" which is probably useful.
Another one is:
https://faqsys.magichue.net › privacy › policy › magicB...
Your privacy is important to us here at Zengge Co., Ltd., and we want to be clear ... local hardware identifier for applications using wifi and Bluetooth.
Which is absolutely hilarious.
Australia will force social networks to identify trolls, so they can be sued for defamation
You forced me to use this fancypants app and now you're asking for a printout?
Friday 26th November 2021 22:42 GMT
Re: Holidays
I know it's "Cracked" which has gone to garbage, but this is worth a read or two
https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-true-meaning-christmas-that-everyone-forgets
Nuclear fusion firm Pulsar fires up a UK-built hybrid rocket engine
Privacy Sandbox saga continues: UK watchdog extracts more commitments from Google over ad tech
Swooping in to claim the glory while the On Call engineer stands baffled
Friday 26th November 2021 09:13 GMT
Re: Hey Rob!
Eh, the inscrutable error messages throw one off, and can completely hose your debugging tree.
For example, I filled my FJR-1300 up at the gas station, then it wouldn't start, with an error number that meant "bad crank position sensor" so I was like "well that's fucked then" and called for a tow truck, which basically put an end to getting anything done for the day.
Turned out to be a bad starter relay, and the computer went "well I fired the relay, and it's supposedly cranking, but I'm not seeing anything, so it's gotta be a bad crank position sensor!"
If I'd **known** it was a bad relay, it would have been a simple matter of push starting it. But with the stupid and incorrect error message, I was thrown off course.
Robotaxis freed to charge across 60km2 of Beijing
Rust dust-up as entire moderation team resigns. Why? They won't really say
Tuesday 23rd November 2021 18:21 GMT
Re: If it's important enough to resign
would you prefer they set themselves on fire in protest?
No, but there is holding a dialog to fix things, and there is constructive criticism.
On one end of the spectrum there's just pointlessly bitching and moaning, and on the other, there's actively trying to fix things.
Tuesday 23rd November 2021 16:01 GMT 
If it's important enough to resign
Then it's important enough to specifically say why, so others are aware of the actual issue, so they can fix it. You're supposedly resigning in the hopes of changing things, after all.
Otherwise it's just showboating & attention-whoring.
Just saying "the core team sucks" is not helping anything.
Saying "my manager sucks" doesn't help. Saying "my manager hogs all the credit and doesn't reward anyone on the team" is something people can do something about.
James Webb Space Telescope gets all shook up – launch delayed again
Fancy being an astronaut but didn't go to uni? Your time may have finally come
A tiny typo in an automated email to thousands of customers turns out to be a big problem for legal
SAP's Embedded Steampunk little use to those on anything but the most recent system
Server errors plague app used by Tesla drivers to unlock their MuskMobiles
Monday 22nd November 2021 01:15 GMT
Re: Internet dependency
I have to wonder what the hell do you do w/o a connection? There's plenty of places locally I know of that still don't have any because they're way out in rural farmland.
And what if you have a grid blackout, and you need to get in your car for safety? "Oh I'm sorry, I can't connect to a server" doesn't cut it.
The ideal sat-nav is one that stops the car, winds down the window, and asks directions
A lightbulb moment comes too late to save a mainframe engineer's blushes
Friday 19th November 2021 16:36 GMT
Error 47
Got a brand new electric bike and took it out for a spin. Stopped for lunch, and when I got back, the bike was flashing "Error 47"
No idea. Dragged out the owner's manual. No table of errors. Stood with my phone Googling. Nothing.
Finally decided to push the bike over to the shade, and flipped up the kickstand. Error 47 disappeared.
I bitched BITTERLY at the company, and they included a table of errors in the next revision of the manual and on their support page.
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
