* Posts by Jason Bloomberg

2902 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Mar 2008

PSA: You are now in the timeline where Facebook and pals are torn a new one by, er, Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: "Hate speech is actually banned on our platform"

So how do they filter out some materials but not others? It appaears to be a matter of taste, and they like the taste of revenue more than the taste of integrity.

But what is this "integrity"? Most platform moderation applies societal values, those of the society of which they think they are, so mostly "American values", not anyone else's. And, as private companies, they obviously won't want to ban or allow something which will have those holding to such societal values object, boycott them or worse. It's not unreasonable to want to protect one's revenue stream.

In America; some will complain how "too much nipple" is being allowed while others, noting that "hate is not a crime", will complain too much hate is banned.

In Europe we'll often see it the opposite way; too much hate being allowed coupled with overly puritanical bans. Elsewhere it's seen as allowing too much with not enough banned.

The trouble is there's no universally accepted standard of values, no universally defined integrity, or even agreement on what limits there are or aren't, should or shouldn't be, to free speech. We therefore have global companies bringing their own values and integrity to places where people don't see it the same way.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: "Hate speech is actually banned on our platform"

When "free speech" is "anything goes" nothing can be "hate speech"; it's just "free speech".

The root problem is that on-line platforms - mostly American run - invariable adopt the American model of "anything goes" which is anathema to those from more civilised quarters.

America has a far narrower definition of what amounts to "hate speech" than other places.

The issue is; should we stand up for our own values or adopt America's?

Brexit bad boy Arron Banks' Twitter account hacked: Private messages put online

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pirate

Re: "Twitter [...] have broken GDPR rules"

Doesn't matter what you think about Banks, nobody should be subjected to this kind of privacy intrusion/criminal behaviour.

Anyone who believes Human Rights should be revoked fully deserves everything they get and worse too.

Who loves Brexit? Irish distributors ... after their sales jump by a third

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: @DontFeedTheTrolls

So you dont even know the question- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016_EU_Referendum_Ballot_Paper.jpg

Leave or remain. But can you or anyone tell me what "leaving" means beyond "leave means leave", and how we are meant to have that leaving when the Will of the People is against leaving with no deal and against leaving with a deal.

And what the fuck we should do seeing as the Will of the People was also against remaining?

Sure, the main political parties claimed they'd respect the result of the advisory referendum but no one has any clue how it can be respected when there is no majority for any course of action.

But keep on blaming remainers when it's leavers who can't agree on how to leave. Welcome to your nightmare.

'Literally a paperweight': Bose users fume at firmware update that 'doesn't fix issues'

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Cor babe, that's really free

That parallels my own experience; deafening but crystal clear sound out of a couple of speakers not much larger than suitcases. Not just great for gigs but also discos (yes, that dates me!).

Bose were Masters of Acoustic Arts; from 3-inch cube speakers with ridiculous power output to their 12-foot Bass Cannon. Not so hot on the software these days it seems.

Otway and Barrett - There's happy memories and both still gigging. Was there when they started and I got to see both of them in the last couple of years.

Labour: Free British broadband for country if we win general election

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Stop

Re: "Labor is pro-remain, right?"

Democracy requiring those who lose the vote to accept the result

Losers' consent is earned. It is not a right nor mandatory.

If it were; one would have no right of recourse when one lost everything in a rigged card game or any other scam.

There were so many lies, and so much bait and switch, which conned people into voting leave, who would not have done so if they had known the truth, that I cannot and will never respect the result.

Judge shoots down Trump admin's efforts to allow folks to post shoddy 3D printer gun blueprints online

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Why a 3D printed gun?

Such as considering hand grenades to be "Weapons of Mass Destruction" as seems to be the case in the US.

I'm still not that Gary, says US email mixup bloke who hasn't even seen Dartford Crossing

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Can I get you to do Morrisons as well?

That is likely the responsible answer. If the user is legitimate, then it is indeed up to the user to correct any profile mistakes.

The correct thing to do would be to mark the information "unknown". If it is the customer then let them do that, if it isn't then it is in fact true. The customer can still correct the information any time they choose to.

Otherwise people are stuck in this 'wrong number' / 'wrong email address' trap forever if the actual customer has died and there's no one but the customer can change things.

I know from personal experience the NHS manage to sort such problems out.

After all it's in their interests to do so before they get legal action started against them. Which is the best threat and course if they want to play silly buggers. Turning the tables is sometimes the only way to make arseholes see sense.

Teachers: Make your pupils' parents buy them an iPad to use at school. Oh and did you pack sunglasses for the Apple-funded jolly?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Not necessarily teaching the tools but allowing the teachers to tell the kids to do something, knowing they can, and showing them which buttons to press when necessary, without some kid with non-standard kit bawling "my calculator doesn't have that button, how do I do it?", the teacher having to waste time solving that problem because they daren't say "fuck knows; you chose to buy that, you figure it out".

I don't rewrite my C example code just because someone won't install the C compiler that requires, or wants to use some other programming language - not unless I'm being paid and given the time to do that.

One man's mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: The tale of Europe's Galileo satellites going dark

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: And we wonder why people want to exit the EU

^ Do people seriously believe it would be any better if we ever do embark on our own post-brexit British Satellite Positioning System? Or any other British project for that matter.

It will be an omnishamble clusterfuck like every other, no doubt with Crapita and all the usual suspects involved.

The EU doesn't have a monopoly on those.

Senior GitLab exec resigns over plan to stop hiring engineers in China and Russia

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

"Retaliatory behavior"

Perhaps we need to engage in some of our own; desert GitLab and leave it to wither on the vine?

After all, "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men, women and others to stand by and do nothing", or something like that.

But how may will? How many have the backbone and moral compass Candice Cires has?

When push comes to shove; only a few will do the right thing. Which is why evil continues to flourish.

Here are some deadhead jobs any chatbot could take over right now

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: "Microsoft scammers"

By this time the scammer is tearing out their hair.

Everything you have described I have experienced while giving software support to customers I am actually trying to help and who want my help.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pint

Unwanted flashbacks

Bovril Soup [sic] from British Rail platform vending machines.

Mini-cobblers hammering at shoes in shop windows.

Metal men winding windmills atop of weather vanes.

I thought I was over those PTSDs. Time for a drink

What is this, 1989? Laplink is still a thing and wants to help with Windows 7 migrations

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Aaassgh! Laplink!

I have blue, yellow, green and grey Laplink cables.

The double-headed ones were of course serial, 9-way and 25-way, but I also have parallel to parallel (printer) cross-over Laplink cables. I recall we used MS-DOS Interlink rather than Laplink software for transfer.

I work with a fair bit of industrial kit which has never had USB-to-serial added, let alone ethernet or anything fancy, so they are still handy at times.

Chrome OS: Yo dawg, I heard you like desktops so we put a workspace in your workspace

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: More slurping

If your using one of these, you're almost certainly signed into a Google account (I'm not sure whether they have made it mandatory or whether there's some pretense that you have the choice not to).

It appears to me it is mandatory to sign in even when using a third-party build of Chromium OS. At least for the installations I tested.

I found that if one wants a 'no sign-in browser kiosk' set-up it's better to use a Raspberry Pi.

Socket to the energy bill: 5-bed home with stupid number of power outlets leaves us asking... why?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Seems fine to me

I have a shortage of built-in sockets in my front room so have to rely on trailing distribution boards and other Heath Robinson nightmares. I have an 18-way socket set-up behind the TV and Hi-Fi, a six way under the table, and more to plug various chargers into.

I have never found a property which has sockets where one would actually like them. And the more kit one has the more one needs, either built-in or added. If I had my way I'd replace the skirting boards with a continuous linear run of sockets.

I would guess they are in the same situation as me, perhaps having a larger family with even more kit. Possibly they bought a vacuum with a short lead, or really like to have working lamps on coffee tables next to every chair and sofa.

In fact, it makes a lot of sense if it was used as an office with desks around the room. A couple of PCs, a Raspberry Pi, monitors, speakers, powered hub, backup drive, VOIP phone, and a couple of spares soon adds up to a dozen or more things which needs mains power.

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority asked drone orgs to email fliers' data in an Excel spreadsheet

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

You WILL still need to register the 249g DJI Mavic Mini in the UK as per the rules: registration required - "Only if camera equipped (not a toys)."

I guess I'd best go and re-read the regs. My 109g drone, which is definitely a toy, with a flight time can be measured in seconds rather than minutes, is fitted with a camera.

I don't recall any mention of this camera issue when I last visited the www.caa.co.uk site.

Radio nerd who sipped NHS pager messages then streamed them via webcam may have committed a crime

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Childcatcher

It has been a long time since I've had anything to do with POCSAG or pagers but I thought there was encryption available which was used by all the Foreign Exchange and City folk.

It's long been known that pager messages - "everything, from anyone" - can be pulled off-air and easily decoded by anyone with a passing interest in electronics and microcontrollers. A Raspberry Pi is probably perfect for the job.

For some people, watching pager messages go by is a hobby as much as listening to the police broadcasts was. This guy's mistake was letting people know he was doing that, disseminating the info he lifted out of the air.

I had wondered what was going to happen to NHS pagers when it was announced "the pager network has closed down", as they have always been big users. I presumed it would only be in-hospital set-ups left running because they relied upon them so much. I would guess he's near a hospital, only picking up limited data.

I'd like to know more about what he was actually receiving before I passed judgement on how bad his offence has been.

'Earworn Wearables' will save the day (wireless earbuds, but cool name for your D&D halfling)

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

In one ear and out the other

I am not convinced Xiaomi's earthings at £25, being a lot cheaper than Apple's £250 earthings, is a sound basis for predicting a multi-billion boom in the sector.

I'll stick to my £2 Asda earthings which are surprisingly good for the price, and far better than the wireless ones I have.

There's no need to charge them, no great loss or cost if I lose them, and if one does drop out an ear it's attached to the other like gloves tied through a Parka, and tied to the player so little chance of loss anyway. And they work with everything I own without requiring anything to have a Bluetooth interface.

I'll wear them proudly while taking my Casio off my wrist to check my pulse after a jog round the block the good old fashioned way.

Still; I'd love to hear Gartner on proposals for tampons without string.

Europe's digital identity system needs patching after can_we_trust_this function call ignored

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
WTF?

"All a bit complicated"

"For example, a person in France can use their French government-issued electronic ID to access online services in Italy, using eIDAS to identify themselves. All very Brussels, and all a bit complicated."

In what way is it "all a bit complicated"? And how could it be made less complicated?

Or is it just more unwarranted, throwaway, poisonous criticism of Brussels and the EU?

Huawei with you! FCC's American Pai proposes rip-and-replace of scary Chinese comms kit

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Shop Local

If the government has to spend the money, the least they can do is re-invest it into the same society they borrowed it from.

Have you ever checked just how much debt America has with China?

The eagle has handed.... scientists a serious text message bill after flying through Iran, Pakistan

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Global roaming charges are evil

Or even have the bird-based kit receive SMS messages so it can be sent 'shut up for a month' commands.

No extra bank holiday for 75th VE Day, but the pub will be open longer

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
FAIL

It makes it pretty clear exactly how generous this government intends to be. But I don't think anyone should be, or is, surprised.

Maybe other parties will put in manifestos pledge to do better?

Not LibreOffice too? Beloved open-source suite latest to fall victim to the curse of Catalina

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pint

Suits me just fine

I ported a free app to Mac as a favour, just to keep a few customers happy, and that's been a nightmare to support; far more trouble than it was worth.

This is a perfect chance to abandon that; "it worked fine, the app hasn't changed, if it doesn't work now it's an Apple issue; blame them". They can pay the full costs of a re-development and gaining Apple notarization, or buy a Windows or Linux box and run my app for free which will be a lot cheaper.

I see your blue passport and raise you a green number plate: UK mulls rewards scheme for zero-emission vehicles

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Devil

"plates with a green dash on the left-hand side"

Fantastic. We can all become environmentally friendly for the cost of a few inches of green electrical insulating tape.

We read the Brexit copyright notices so you don't have to… No more IP freely, ta very much

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Stop

Re: Red tape

I'm glad I'm not the one sorting out the mess the UK mainland company I'm working for has. They sell stuff to a company in Northern Ireland which sells into Ireland, who sldo buy stuff from Ireland which they then sell to us, and other EU member states, as do we.

So what was a simple and straight forward arrangement is going to get incredibly complicated to the detriment of everyone, but particularly that Northern Ireland company.

And, even when trading directly with the Irish company, it's not certain that goods traded with the Northern Ireland company won't be considered 'at risk of entering the EU' and have duty applied accordingly which has to then be reclaimed.

The TL;DR synopsis on their last impact assessment was a simple but accurate; "fuck knows".

Microsoft Teams: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pint

Re: Teams...

@TiredNConfused80 - Many thanks. It's a REG_SZ on Windows 7 but in the location stated and removing that does seem to have worked.

It appears we had been deleting another teams.exe related "Run" registry entry which is why it hadn't gone away.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Flame

Teams...

... That's the thing which pops-up a sign-in/register invite every bloody time I turn my PCs on and simply won't go away no matter what I try.

Oh I've found the "small circle thing" which is allegedly the secret doorway to a life of joy and nag-free happiness but none of the guides I have followed have ever made it go away, the coercive shite is back every time I turn my PCs on.

I'm one of that rare breed here who is generally okay with Windows; but fuck you Microsoft. Fuck you. Cunts.

Welcome to the World Of Tomorrow, where fridges suffer certificate errors. Just like everything else

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Carbon footprint ?

^ Maybe the attached monitor can double up as a Smart Power Meter display and can save the planet.

First Python feature release under new governance model is here, complete with walrus operator (:=)

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Bliss and hisses

I imagine part of the debate raged around 'common sense' and what programmers might like versus 'Python Purity'. For example "a = 1" being okay but not "a := 1", "a = b = 2" being okay but not "a := b := 2" nor "a = b := 2", though "a = ( b := 2 )" is acceptable but frowned upon.

I would have just defined "=" for both purposes, or had "=" and ":=" as synonyms so people can use whatever they choose to.

Her Majesty opens UK Parliament with fantastic tales of gigabit-capable broadband for everyone

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

Re: Always???

even if we leave with no deal the first thing that has to be done is negotiate a deal

Fundamentalist brexiteer zealots believe we should have deals with everyone and anyone - America in particular - but a deal with the EU is entirely unnecessary.

"The EU is going to implode/explode/collapse/disintegrate in a few years anyway", though they were saying that over three years ago; masters of wishful thinking and delusion that they are. Besides; "they need us more than we need them".

So; fill the channel tunnel with concrete, erect fortifications around the south and east coasts, and we can have a glorious new future without the EU. As Churchill said, "oh yes, oh yes, oh yes". Huzzah!

Father of Unix Ken Thompson checkmated: Old eight-char password is finally cracked

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Holmes

Re: DES

DES passwords also had a maximum length of 8 characters, so it simply wasnt possible to have a longer password

Though one presumes a longer than 8 character password could be split into 8 character chunks, with padding as necessary, hashed separately, then concatenated.

MacOS wakes to a bright Catalina sunrise – and broken Adobe apps

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: More patronising guff

I have always considered "fanbois" to be the gender neutral collective of "fanboys", "fangirls" and others. Hence the different spellings.

'We go back to the Moon to stay': Apollo vets not too chuffed with NASA's new rush to the regolith

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Childcatcher

Re: Let's start with the basics and then work forward from there.

Do NOTHING until ALL of humanity's problems are solved

I don't agree with that approach but I do sympathise with the view that there can be better and more worthwhile things to spunk tens of billions on.

I recognise that even tens of billions are a drop in the ocean when it comes to how much we would need to solve the problems the world has, how little such huge sums amount to when divied-out across the people who need help, but it often does feel our priorities are very wrong.

It's not unreasonable that some people feel the same way about space exploration as others do about 'wasting money' on HS2, nukes, armies, art, free healthcare, or whatever their pet peeve is.

Virtual inanity: Solution to Irish border requires data and tech not yet available, MPs told

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Mission Impossible

any proposed solution is doomed to fail (including cancelling the ref. result, which would annoy some 17 million voters)

It may well be the least opposed option, the least damaging, the easiest to live with.

Leaving is only being pursued because of the brexiteer lie that a referendum three years ago represents the current will of the people, the myth that doing anything else would somehow be a "betrayal of democracy" with no regard for it being a greater betrayal of the people's will now.

The Sirens aren't just luring us onto the rocks; they have climbed aboard and are steering us towards them.

Surprise! Copying crummy code from Stack Overflow leads to vulnerable GitHub jobs

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Misuse

they can point me in the right direction particularly when then point out a function in the standard library I was unaware of that might do the trick.

Exactly that. It's a hint or pointer to what should be used or what direction to look in for those who have never walked the path.

But it's up to the reader to understand it's just the start of the journey, not necessarily the arrival at a destination.

FBI called in to investigate 2018 Mountain State mobile voting system hacking

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: Welcome to the monkey house

How is this insanity allowed?

Because proving 'our chosen system of democracy is working perfectly', through having people seen to vote, is more important than who is voted for or that voting may in fact be compromised.

That's why web site, email, SMS, ATM, and even TV 'Red Button' voting have all been proposed. It's a numbers game.

Pro tip: Plug in your Tesla S when clocking off, lest you run out of juice mid hot pursuit

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Flame

I'm tired of reaching for a drill or saw and the battery's dead.

And, worse, that you've left them unused for so long that the battery has dropped below its safe to recharge threshold, won't recharge, isn't even safe to recharge.

UK Supreme Court unprorogues Parliament

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Correction and Apology

The AG isn't entirely impartial, as he acknowledged in his own speech. I am not convinced that new law has been created and I suspect there is something political to be gained from saying it is new law while also saying it is acceptable to do that. Perhaps cementing the first as fact while leaving the second open to further debate?

As I see it, the Supreme Court has merely put into written law an unwritten law which was already a part of our constitutional principles.

You may have no need to apologise. The government could again be lying to us.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Remain MPs all broke the law and should all be in prison anyway.

David Cameron made it law that the Referendum would be a legally binding vote and that Parliament COULD NOT do anything to interfere with the result being carried through.

It is hard to find the adjectives to describe just how wrong you are. Fake news, alternative facts, lies, bullshit, garbage, nonsense and invention just doesn't cover it.

That some people believe all this shit, and everything which derives from it, is why we are stuck in this existential crisis we find ourselves.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Damning...

My understanding of the relevant laws and documents is that there aren't any laws regarding this matter - there are interpretations of the constitution and precedence.

"Parliament is sovereign" is clear cut, well known, and pretty easy to understand and comprehend, even for the layman.

Parliament can choose to lend its powers to other authorities and it thus allows the government to exercise prerogative rights and to prorogue when "for good reasons". But the key here is that lent powers are constrained by purpose and intent.

Where the Johnson Junta over-stepped the mark was in taking the piss, proroguing for other than "for good reason".

Everyone could see that; even those supporting such subversion when being honest with themselves. So it was guaranteed the Courts would, though the High Court dodged the bullet by pretending it was 'none of our business'.

Some people seem genuinely surprised by the Supreme Court ruling. I believe it was an obvious inevitability. Anything else would have meant ruling that parliament was not sovereign.

And we all know that it is. Though some brexiteers would prefer that we had a dictatorship where the government could do as it damned-well pleased.

As halfwit, would-be dictator buried by UK judges, Spain would like to dig up a very real one

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Yes writers, you are fashionably left wing

As half-wit, would-be dictator buried by UK judges

It's the best - and most accurate - one-sentence synopsis of today's ruling I have seen.

I can't agree with the "half-wit" appellation though; that's merely a façade to delude, deceive and discombobulate the gullible and those who un-ticked the 'critical thinking' checkbox.

Tesco parking app hauled offline after exposing 10s of millions of Automatic Number Plate Recognition images

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
FAIL

"A technical issue with a parking app"

Actually; a complete fuck-up.

It makes a delightful change when someone actually admits they have fucked-up.

We asked for your Fitbit horror stories and, oh wow, did you deliver: Readers sync their teeth into 'junk' gizmos

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Lots of dodgy crap out there

I can't really fault those people who need a crutch, motivation, or addiction to tech, to keep to an exercise regime they should be following for wanting that crutch, and expecting it to work when they've paid good money for it.

While the right path to walk (or run) may be obvious, it's not always easy to stick to it, and anything which helps has to be welcomed.

Your ugly mug may be scanned yet again – but at least you'll be able to board faster at Gatwick

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: no data would be stored for longer than a few seconds

In the event of a 'worse case scenario' it would seem eminently desirable to have that forensic data to assist in determining exactly how that came about.

I would guess it is just typical boilerplate bullshit.

World's oldest human was a 122-year-old French smoker after all

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Facepalm

"When you Google the Russian researchers, you find nothing"

At least that can be easily debunked as false, fake news.

Time for another cuppa then? Tea-drinkers have better brains, say boffins with even better brains

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Smarts drink tea or Drink tea makes smarts

I think you mean teaspoon.

Definitely tablespoons - and heaped. Deftly excavated from a huge mixing bowl full of sugar by an expert whose forty-plus years in the trade was evidenced by every proud stain on an apron which had seemingly been with him from day one.

At least the one I frequented. Mere mortals never made the mistake of ordering "NATO Standard" - milk and two sugars - a second time.

Nor the mistake of ordering the Shepard's Pie in the evening just before closing. The bonus reward for being late in was extra large servings but that was just too much. That didn't need a doggy-bag for a carry-out, but a gallon bucket.

Best food I've ever eaten.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Happy

Re: Smarts drink tea or Drink tea makes smarts

I'm wondering if collective "smartness" has declined since we lost all those 'greasy spoons' and transport cafes. Truckers didn't just "drink tea"; they "downed it by the pint".

A follow-on study of how two tablespoons of sugar in each mug affects things might be in order.

And the teeny-tiny bottle of AI whisky goes to...

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Angel

"No urine involved in the production process"

I'm weighing up going with "So not a real whisky then?" or "That's what they claim!"

Anyway, back to standing in the corner to atone for my previous sin. As it's looking now; I might be back out before brexit's done. Something, somewhere, might all be over by Christmas.

For real this time, get your butt off Python 2: No updates, no nothing after 1 January 2020

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
FAIL

Re: But but

If they had found some way to fudge round that issue I believe most reticence in migrating to Python 3 would have disappeared. But it seems the desire for 'Python Purity' outweighed pragmatism.

What worries me more than other cases, where a language or framework becomes "not supported" but everything works the same the day after as it did the day before, is the current plan appears to be tending towards pulling the rug out from under 2.7 user's feet. It's really not clear to me what will happen when 2.7 reaches 'end of life'.