* Posts by Charlie Clark

12110 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Apr 2007

Brit MPs and campaigners come together to oppose COVID status certificates as 'divisive and discriminatory'

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: inverse correlation

In many countries over the summer case rates and, hence, mortality rates fell, as they are doing again. This is largely down to people being outside more where the rate of infection is much lower. But when looking at the global mortality rate, ie. of the population as a whole and not of those infected, you have to take vulnerability into account and many of those who died in the first half of 2020 would most likely have died at some point in the year – most likely in the cold and flu season in the autumn and winter. The deaths were, in a sense, brought forward by a couple of months. If this sounds callous it's not meant to be: this is just an observation of well-established data. We all die at some point and respiratory diseases are one of the main causes, especially of those with pre-existing conditions where it doesn't take much to overwhelm the body. My sympathy is with everyone who has had a bereavement as a result of the pandemic.

What we're now seeing is possibly the inverse, with the precautions (restrictions but also vaccinations) taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 also suppressing the flu. We should at some point expect a return to the mean, though for the UK at least that might not be this year. And, unfortunately, I expect all politicians to go back on their word regarding funding for public health just as soon as it becomes politically expedient to do so: nurses and care workers will continue to be paid below average, funding for research will be cut, etc.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

But it's not a total elimination of the risk.

No, that's why herd immunity is based upon three factors: the infectiousness of the virus; the efficacy of the vaccine; and the percentage of population immunised. I should add that herd immunity is, like full employment, somewhat of a misnomer: full immunity is never possible but as long as outbreaks are self-limiting without additional interventions you've effectively there. You can refine this in the case of COVID-19 where the morbidity and mortality rates are so heavily skewed to the over 70s, which is why this group has generally been prioritised for vaccination (a significant departure from the norm). As soon as they have been vaccinated, the risk posed to the population as a whole is significantly less – this is observable in the inverse correlation between vaccination and mortality rates since mass vaccination started. And, as this is the group most at risk, there is little to be gained from placing restrictions on it.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Multiple studies now show that people who have been fully vaccinated do not pose a significant risk of infection for others. This was expected but needed sufficient data in order to be considered validated.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: It is expected that, if the app-based concept goes ahead, it will

Hey, gravy trains don't run themselves you know!

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Vaccine passports are standard in Germany and there is a certain logic to them, especially in a country where most people don't have GPs with a list of their vaccinations. Pet owners are used to them for when they cross borders with their pets so I can't really see why it should be that different for people.

That said, as soon as the documents can be used to gain an edge you should expect fakes and sure enough the going rate in Germany for a fake passport with the relevant vaccination stickers is around € 150. These documents were never designed with anti-fraud measures… but give me them any time over fucking solutionist app nirvana!

Microsoft demotes Calibri from default typeface gig, starts fling with five other fonts

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Don't follow the Germans on this…

The Microsoft Blog has some pretty, and pretty useless pictures of the new typefaces but apparently no playground for users to try them out: surely no problem with WOFF but whatever.

I've always hated German road signs and the typefac they use. They are not at all averse to mixing different sizes, but basically they're decorative and explain why, before the era of sat navs, many Germans tried to memorise the routes before setting off, or even doing trial runs.

Of the typefaces and road signs that I know I do like both the UK ones – it helps being able to say "The North", "The South" but this isn't always possible – and the Dutch ones which apparently use the typeface from the US highways, though points can be deducted for "andere richtingen" being used too often and more than a few people wondering why the never get there.

But Microsoft has rarely got it right with typefaces. Even the almighty Apple backtracked slightly from force feeding everyone the designer's favourite Neue Helvetica because, even on hi-res screens, it still takes sophisticated hinting to render nicely.

But for my own stuff I use the Le Monde Journal typeface. I remember when it was introduced for the paper after extensive testing and concurred that it was a distinct and distinctive improvement without being OTT: great at different sizes and has an extremely legible italic. YMMV

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Microsoft’s new default font options, rated

It's yet another attempt by Microsoft to copy Helvetica so it doesnt have to license it.

Traffic lights, who needs 'em? Lucky Kentucky residents up in arms over first roundabout

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Coat

Good old Missisippi…

Is what a friend of mine from Kentucky likes to say, because it keeps Kentucky off the bottom of all the various ratings…

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: French Roundabouts are useless

On the continent the general rule for traffic is vehicles coming from the right have right of way. This makes sense in terms of traffic safety because it means you generally have to approach a junction and expect to have to give way. It's less good for traffic flow but it does tend to mean that everyone has a chance, which is not always the case on a roundabout where there is a main road with traffice generally going straight on. Then there are the exceptions: Bundesstraßen (A roads) have priority but you're often unlikely to notice them in cities and this can lead to endless fun! In Brussels I was in a bus that was driven into in the side by a car and the bus driver was considered to be at fault: that the person driving the car obviously wasn't looking where she was going at the time (dealing with a small child) did not matter.

The reasoning behind roundabouts is fine but it failed to take the meatware into consideration and the accident rate starts to go up once the traffic density reaches a certain point (something like 20,000 vehicles an hour or day, but don't take my word for it). Unfortunately this took several expensive and tragic beta tests: in Manchester the junction of Princess Parkway and Barlow Moor Road was remodelled many times in the 1980s and 1990s as smashes on the old roundabout increased: ditto for the roundabout at the end of the Mancunian way; this is still a roundabout but it now has traffic lights and an underpass. I assume it's similar in other places.

Terror of the adtech industry iOS 14.5 has landed, and Siri can answer your calls ... though she/he can't hang up

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Well, yeah, if you're too poor to be able to afford such "magical" and "gamecharging" "optional essentials™" then what do you expect? Stop spending your disability benefit on worthless gimmicks like mobility support and spend it on really transformative toys tech.

UK Court of Appeal rules Tiny Computers' legal remains can sue Micron and Infineon over 2002 DRAM price-fixing cartel

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Technically those would be creditors of the insolvent company.

Apple's macOS Gatekeeper asleep on the job: Exploited flaw put users 'at grave risk' of malware infection

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: The shell cares not if you believe in it..

I think this exploits demonstrates that the workarounds required by these new-fangled protections always contain their own flaws…

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Why would they?

Microsoft's decision to stick with the name Windows 10 when pushing out "feature updates" indicates that it is moving towards Apple's policy. It's probably only due to the large enterprise customer base that it will continue to provide support for older versions.

While I can understand Apple's general approach, I have occasionally been extremely annoyed by their insistence on fixing some bugs only in new versions: a bug in Bluetooh in Lion was particularly annoying and AFAIK never fixed. There are always good reasons for not upgrading immediately to the latest MacOS as evinced by the frequency of subsequent patches.

El Reg checks in with Rocket Lab's Peter Beck to see how that hat tastes amid reusable rockets and swelling payloads

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Stop

Re: Why is that name not familiar ?

Because compared to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the Rocket Labs Electron is a toy.

When it comes to rocket science, size doesn't really matter. In its own way Rocket Labs is every way as impressive as Space X, which has also benefitted from some juicy US government contracts.

Musk understood the marketing advantage of reusability: all those videos of rockets returning to base remind me of the "smart" bomb footage from the first Gulf war. But other innovations, such as the printed engine and other fuel sources are probably at least as important.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Why is that name not familiar ?

Musk has more money and is more interesting to the media. He has an army of "surrogates" who are more than happy to defend all his actions to all and sundry. He has good ideas and bad ideas but above all knows the importance of keeping the stock price high to guarantee dirt cheap access to capital: if that is cheap enough you can can afford to do whatever you want.

China claims it has stolen a march on 6G with colossal patent portfolio

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Have we even ...

Well, as developments over the last decade have shown: in order to have an industry, you need to be involved in developing the technology. Remember Nortel, Lucent, Motorola? Huawei, ZTE and others have been producing great equipment for years – Huawei particularly should be singled out for developing low power base stations – that we nearly all use.

British IT teacher gets three-year ban after boozing with students at strip club during school trip to Costa Rica

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: I am disappoint...

17 years olds drinking with their teachers has much to commend it. Less likely to get bladdered and the kids see that drinking sensibly can be fun.

I certainly remember that growing up in a culture of prohibition inculcalted a desire in my generation to get drunk. Hence, a fondness for cheap and disgusting Thunderbird, White Lightning, etc.

I also remember trying to take my younger brother into a pub with me for a breather during Christmas shopping and be refused entry – he'd have only got and wanted a soft drink. Because I'd already been to the continent a few times where in many countries it's perfectly normal to see whole families in bars, this really jarred and still echoes discrimination againts families, though I think things have improved a bit since then.

That said, I think recent research indicates that young adults are particularly sensitive to alcohol so moderation really should be observed.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Depends a lot on their background and their relationship with the teacher. IT could be pretty "cool" and this was probably their first trip in the big wide world so the heady call of the "exotic" too strong to withstand, especially after a couple of pints. We all have to learn, at some point, how shabby and disppointing these places are.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

I also went to the school of petty institutional violence. Our deputy head, Miss H., used to punish boys (girls were obviously angels) by hitting them across the calves with a ruler: stung rather than hurt. Corporal punishment had just been banned but some habits die hard.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Is there a positive side to this?

Or possibly not because this lack of excess would not be tolerated in the Bullingdon Club!

BOFH: Postman BOFH's Special Delivery Service

Charlie Clark Silver badge

The follow up: the beancounter's revenge

I know of quite a few companies that happily bought, issued but didn't log a lot of equipment. Note this doesn't include essential IT supplies such as the battery chiller (beer fridge); dashboard panopticon (120" borderless TV); network-phase testers (cattle prods); flame retardant sheeting (carpet rolls); flame retarder (quick lime).

At some point the beancounters are going to want to know where those keyboards, monitors, webcams, headsets, etc. went…

But can it run Avid? The Reg hands shiny new M1 MacBook to video production pro, who beats it with Blender, Handbrake, and ... Hypercard?

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Stop

Re: Incredible

Not at this performace. You're kidding yourself if you think that x86-64 emulation was "expected" to match a core i5.

Which particular core i5? Intel has been struggling for years to improve performance of its chips. Ten years ago, x86 was significantly faster than ARM for single core work but since then ARM has improved a lot. Hence my 2020 MacBook Pro is not much faster than its 2016 predecessor. Over the same period Intel has only managed incremental improvements.

I'm not denigrating Apple's achievements, just trying to give them more perspective than your fanboi comments. Intel has been losing market share across the board because of its failure to produce high performance chips with low power for years. This is why Google and Amazon have designed their own chips and why nVidia has been pushing GPUs for machine learning. And even AMD has got back into the game, both in the data centre and increasingly on laptops.

One of the main reasons why Apple is a pioneer is because Google decided to cripple Android as a desktop OS in favour of ChromeOS. With Office for Android and IOS, Microsoft has demonstrated that ARM is good enough, as you'd know if you'd ever tried Samsung's DeX or similar. So well done Apple for seizing the opportunity.

As for your comments about the semi-conductor industry: Intel's CEO had to go because the process engineers have failed to keep up with TSMC and Samsung. ARM was put up for sale by a cash-strapped Softbanka and nVidia saw an opportunity to increase its market share in ML environments. Qualcomm has been wanting to get into the data centre market for years. Samsung struggled a bit with the Exynos but continues to improve in chip design and manufacturing.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: This is an interesting review

MacPorts is less opinionated than Homebrew.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Incredible

It cannot be overstated how huge this might be.

It can, and you've just done it. Impressive as the work is, it was largely to be expected. Apple has had both the time and the resources to tune the M1 for emulation, something that wasn't possible with the PowerPC to Intel transition which was done entirely in software. It helps that there are more similarities between x86_64 and ARM64 than there were between PowerPC and x86, and that modern CPUs generally have cycles and RAM to spare, which wasn't the case 15 years ago. It also helps that a lot of processing, such as codecs, has already been offloaded to the GPUs, though full hardware acceleration isn't available to all: read up on restrictions for ffmpeg (used by Handbrake) on MacOS on x86 for more information. But this means that Apple can more easily intercept the relevant calls and route them through hardware acceleration. At the same time it profits not only from its own optimisations but the work already done by ARM,

It has been covered elsewhere that the M1's memory has been optimised for certain operating conditions and where this works, the results are spectacular. Where this isn't possible, performance won't seem so great.

But the work done on the compiler and the toolchain have also made it much, much easier for developers to target the new architecture and release universal binaries. This has certainly been helped by owning the toolchain making incremental changes over the years. And maybe developers have learned from the last transition that asking users to pay for universal binaries is not the best way to get on their side.

But not all that glistens is gold: look at the number of updates since release and it's obvious that there has been a lot to fix. This, and Apple's determination to build up the walls around the garden, is why I haven't installed Big Sur on any of my machines. Nevertheless, what Apple has managed to do is impressive.

We admire your MOXIE, Earthlings: Perseverance rover gizmo produces oxygen for first time on Mars

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: How long

From the description it sounds like it took around 30 minutes. Presumably the current limiting factors are energy input and size. Ideally, you'd also want to be able to source locally some kind of reduction agent in the hope of being able to reduce the temperature required. However, seeing as CO2 to CO is considered an essential part of our own renewables strategies, it's to be hoped that improvements here can be expected .

Someone has to pay to keep the lights so data-viz outfit Grafana switches licence regime to AGPLv3

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Define freedom

That's just part of the politics of the GPL: strings are strings and one of the intended side effects of the GPL is to force the licence onto other software if it makes use of GPL code.

Google is updating Meet so at least you won't have to look at your hollow, careworn face

Charlie Clark Silver badge

I assume you're talking about the web version? I always found that to be a bit of a hog. Until I came across Teams as an Electron app: has the fan whirring with any kind of video feed.

Meet, previously known as Hangouts, has always had excellent networking performance. I've also use the call out function a couple of times: useful when you're away from home and making international calls. While this has been phased out, Google has at least refunded the balance, which can't be said for all such providers.

The new version offers support for up to 250 participants. If that includes video then that means some serious network performance. As I normally disable video I'm not worried about a screen full of faces, but that's a lot of multiplexing! The inclusion of realtime subtitling and international dial in numbers for all calls will also be useful for some.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

They're all using WebRTC: what more standardisation do you want?

Microsoft bows to the inevitable and takes Visual Studio 64-bit for 2022 version

Charlie Clark Silver badge

But even more ARM 64 devices… also known as mobile phones.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: I guess I was wrong

And what do you do when the x86 support is removed from AMD64 chips? There's a heap of software that is more or less loudly deprecating x86 in its ≤ 32-bit modes.

Or do you want to go back to 8086?

UK digital secretary Oliver Dowden starts national security probe into proposed Arm-Nvidia merger

Charlie Clark Silver badge

It is also intended that ARM will remain an independent business within SoftBank

Which we all knew was horse shit and why no one was surprised when it was sold on. Little point now in bolting the stable door…

Lock up your Peloton smart treadmills, watchdog warns families following one death, numerous injuries

Charlie Clark Silver badge

There are bigger risks

The gamification inherent in the business model of Peloton et al. is know to encourage customers to overdo their training regimes, which can easily endanger their health. A good training regime should be close to a person's limit so that the body works harder to increase those same limits.

Watch this: Ingenuity – Earth's first aircraft to fly on another planet – take off on Mars

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Pint

Re: No doubt the conspiracy theorists will be calling 'fake'!

Yep, a whole heap of things that have to go completely right for it to work. But, don't forget: this isn't the first time something has landed on Mars: the rover can also help, not to mention to satellites in orbit. Not enough for an MPS, perhaps, but the high resolution imagery and atmospheric analysis will be useful.

But still a fantastic achievement!

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Nothing new under the sun

The history of invention is littered with concurrent developments – Newton and Leibniz can both be credited with calculus – and products out of time: da Vinci's helicopter, but also the patent for the fax machine, and I think the Chinese have a long list of stuff they came up hundreds of years before anyone else.

But sometimes what only matters is being in the right place at the right time and you are Bill Gates and I claim my £5.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Without any form of stabiliser they're almost impossible to fly. But I think the real challenge here was designing to work with Mars' air pressure and gravity. Yes, they could test in chambers with the right air pressure but manoeuvrability with little or no lift is very difficult. OTOH depending how things go they might be able change materials and go with weaker but lighter blades.

UK Home Office tenders £5m for a supplier to help it greenlight IT projects. Yes, you read that correctly

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Best choice of adviser?

And the independent adviser recommends a course of leeches. This is has nothing to do with his posiition on the board of Leechs'R'Us.

Global chip shortage probably won't let up until 2023, warns TSMC: CEO 'still expects capacity to tighten more'

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Difficult investment strategy

The cycle is well-known to memory manufacturers. One of the reasons for the concentration of fabs in Asia is that companies are put under less pressure/scrutiny by "activist" investors to favour cashing out over capital investment.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

The elephant outside the room

The import and export restrictions on the Chinese semiconductor industry are probably also playing a part here.

Adobe co-founder and PostScript co-creator Charles Geschke dies, aged 81

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: "Xerox didn't share their excitement about the project"

To be fair to Xerox: they were bankrolling PARC at the time. Just imagine how little would have happened if it hadn't been for the largesse of companies bankrolling PARC, Bell Labs.

Start up culture is supposed to mimic this but the focus on scale and tax efficient exit strategies seems designed to throttle the kind of "happy accident" that innovation needs.

Google proposes Logica data language for building more manageable SQL code

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Backticks for the fail

Yes, imagine having to use APL for everything!

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Backticks for the fail

It's not as if I'm not familiar with them: ```code```, but than on my keyboard they also create è and many people I know consider them to be the same as apostrophes. This is one of the reasons why they were dropped from Python.

Pigeon fanciers in a flap over Brexit quarantine flock-up, seek exemption from EU laws

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Seriously?

The EU delayed placing orders and AFAIK did not (at least early on) invest in production capacity, relying instead on the free market.

The EU did make considerable financial contributions, including to Astra Zeneca, to ensure that there would be sufficient production capacity.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Seriously?

Where we got lucky was that the local biomedical community got together and presented the govt. with a fait accompli

I wouldn't necessarily call it luck – those groups have years of practice of getting stuff done in spite of Whitehall. Luck probably payed a part in that the University of Oxford vaccines didn't suffer the same fate as the candidate of the Institut Pasteur in France: a year ago no one could be sure which candidates would succeed or not.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Seriously?

What's good about the NHS is that it's large enough to do this and has a long tradition of doing it without government interference. Hence the research carried out in Oxford and elsewhere. Hence also the fantastic work done on cheap and effective therapies. Hence also the very important work done on sequencing blood samples from COVID-19 patients. I hope that other countries and the ECDC learn from this.

But also the high mortality rate due to the chronically underfunded primary care system.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Seriously?

The Germans did their own thing in violation with their agreement with the EU.

You mean the additional ordering from Biontech? Perfectly legal because it is scheduled for delivery after the EU order. By the end of the year Germany is going to be swimming in vaccine…

Charlie Clark Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Seriously?

They are already raiding private companies and trying to block private business from fulfilling contracts.

You mean the same companies that decided they didn't have to fulfil their contracts with the EU?

The negotiations weren't perfect, though the biggest problem was probably the failure of the Institut Pasteur / Sanofi vaccine. But it did at least stop the 27 + 1 (Sweden is buying for Norway) competing with each other for vaccines, which would probably have meant Germany buying the lot. National governments were never prevented from finding additional sources, as Hungary has done with Sputnik V.

The headlines are poor but the underlying data shows that many EU countries are on track, though with less time between jabs than the UK, the % of first vaccinations is considerably lower than the UK. Denmark has even decided that it doesn't need the University of Oxford / Astra Zeneca vaccines.

And mortality rates are highly dependent upon the quality of primary care, which is why the UK is at the back of the class.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: Seriously?

You can't use the pandemic to avoid blaming the government for failing to negotiate diligently. The same is going to be true for all kinds of events and the conclusion has to be that the UK government wanted it this way.

If the pandemic (or even that old chestnut "the children") is to be invoked then it should have been to extend the transition period.

Docker Desktop for Apple Silicon is here, but probe a little deeper and you'll find Rosetta 2 staring back

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Given the number of developers using MacOS I think there will be reasonable demand. It may take a while for enough dedicated machines to come online à la MacPorts or Brew so worst thing is building the container locally. But seeing as M1 is ARM64 it's should be easy enough to compile on other hardware.

Vote to turf out remainder of Nominet board looks inevitable after .uk registry ignores reform demands

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: EGM2 will give the board less room to pretend they don’t understand

By "bureaucracy" I mean it needs to be focussed solely on adminstering the registry for its members and not, for example, dreaming new revenue sources. The precise legal structure (Ltd, Friendly Society, etc.) should be chosen to suit.

Charlie Clark Silver badge

Re: EGM2 will give the board less room to pretend they don’t understand

The legal structure of the organisation is entirely dependent upon the relevant laws of the country: many of which have specific structures for public bodies whether it's Ofcom, British Standards, etc. Ltds or LLP are only a couple of the options.