* Posts by the Jim bloke

1083 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Apr 2007

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Can solar power be beamed down from space? Yes. Is it commercially viable? Not yet

the Jim bloke

Re: Alternative uses

It would definitely improve the credibility of tin foil hats..

The energy cost of construction is orders of magnitude higher than its output - so dumb idea.

Change the construction costs, then revisit the feasibility.

Otherwise, find another reason why you want to be able to dump supposedly large amounts of energy anywhere on the planet

17% of Spotify employees face the music in latest cost-cutting shuffle

the Jim bloke

Anyway, who wants Big Labels' music,

I generally dont want anything from the recent couple of decades, but older than that and they have an added nostalgic value.

I dont know about licensing requirements, but there are a few 'artists' whose output is entirely other peoples work.

the Jim bloke

I get my music through Bandcamp

According to their blurb, most of the money goes to the artist, and I can download the tracks to my personal devices at will, in various formats.

Apparently they also do streaming, but thats looks such a stupid way to get music I have never tried it.. may have been useful when memory was scarce, but now I carry over 3000 tunes on my phone and still have plenty of space for anything else I want.

Only drawback to Bandcamp is they dont have good access to the big labels librarys - but you can usually find a cover version of anything popular by an independant artist..

AstraZeneca bets $247M AI can create a cancer-fighting antibody

the Jim bloke
Windows

Re: Business model

Nobody gets to disappear by riding off into the sunset - if you dont die of one specific cancer... you will live until something else occurs.

By preventing people from succumbing to the first instance of cancer, they are enabling them to purchase more cancer cures further down the line.

This is absolute profit for 'big pharma'

Society as a whole is not set up to cope with people NOT dying, pension plans, superannuation, have limited capacity and are already straining in various countries around the world.

Musk tells advertisers to 'go f**k' themselves as $44B X gamble spirals into chaos

the Jim bloke

Re: Fine line

There is a fine line between genius and lunacy.

Big jagged swirls in multiple colours of crayon, on the other hand....

the Jim bloke
Coffee/keyboard

Re: The corner of...

The intersection of Main street - and a really dingy alley stinking of human waste and dead animals, full of uncollected garbage, druggies and muggers...

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: more ads means more users ????????

So apart that you don't like Elon Musk – even though I very much doubt that you know him, and you're making up your opinion entirely on rumors

As a high profile - and self-promoted - public figure, his actions are available for public review and judgement...

and yep, he is a dick.

not female genitalia.

not neuro divergent

Probably inadequately socialised/ not beaten enough as a child

Boffins say their thin film solar cells make space farms viable

the Jim bloke
Unhappy

Yes but people suck

I do agree that better efficiency and simply not spending energy on stupid stuff would be far better,

but con artists will continue to promote crypto, and nobody wants to give up their air conditioner or heating, and business will continue to head down capital intensive/reduced labour automation etc etc etc.. Not to mention former third world countries wanting to be "developing nations" and cremating the environment to get there.

so power demand will continue to rise, and someone is going to make a buck providing it,

Generating and transmitting power anywhere inside the atmosphere is going to leak heat into the atmosphere, but at least most of the renewables are grabbing energy already in the system, so its only manufacturing the collectors and infrastructure plus transmission leakage - and if you can get a granular renewables network with local collectors and storage, you will get less leakage than from massive centralised systems..

The simplest solution to global warming would be to reduce solar input outside the atmosphere - except we absolutely lack the capability to do that. If we could harness environmental heat and convert it to non thermal use - that would be nice... kind of like what a wind turbine does, only it would totally screw up the climate if we did it at significant scale

We're feeling pretty anti about these social networks

the Jim bloke

Re: As Bachman–Turner Overdrive once sang

Seeing more and more nothing every day...

Google Chrome Privacy Sandbox open to all: Now websites can tap into your habits directly for ads

the Jim bloke
Meh

Re: "Google Privacy Sandbox"

bit tired of "Military Intelligence", its a smart arse soundbyte from before soundbytes were a thing.

If you want something a bit more contemporary,

how about..

Business ethics,

or

Political integrity..

the Jim bloke
FAIL

Ads offered 'based on your browsing history'

.. so all the shit I had to fight through to find what I was looking for - is is now being presented to me again

the Jim bloke
Holmes

Called a sandbox, because its full of urine, dog turds, and used hypodermic needles.

Obvious, when you think about it.

The Anti Defamation League is Musk's latest excuse for Twitter's tanking ad revenue

the Jim bloke

We always did..

BOFH: What a beautiful tinfoil hat, Boss!

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: Disposal unit

I think its more an application of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, if you manage to dispose of the idiots you have, they will be replaced by other idiots until an equilibrium is achieved, and the faster and more thoroughly you get rid of them, the worse and more egregious they will turn up.

the Jim bloke
Trollface

Re: I have sat on my tinfoil hat and there is a large crease in it

This is an extremely common event, unfortunately most tinfoil hat wearers do not remove their hats before sticking their heads up their ass (American spelling is appropriate)

LG's $1,000 TV-in-a-briefcase is unlikely to travel much further than the garden

the Jim bloke
Unhappy

13 kg - too heavy

not interested in the stated use-case (car based camping), but am looking for a portable monitor that will be transportable in air plane baggage, and also regularly relocated and stored away. With a 10kg limit for ALL of my stuff for 2 weeks away from home, this is a non-starter.

I would be willing to try the in-room TVs they provide at the accommodation village, except they are fixed just below the ceiling

Western Digital sued over claims of data-trashing SanDisk, My Passport SSDs

the Jim bloke

Products labelled as 'Extreme'

I know its just marketing BS, but if you pay for a consumer product labelled Extreme - the connotations are on-the-edge, high risk.... not reliability. In other words, they are intended for gullible idiots.

Microsoft may store your conversations with Bing if you're not an enterprise user

the Jim bloke

Re: Oh noes!

There must be 3 very worried people in the world right now!!..

and they all have upvoted you - I did not think there was that much overlap between Reg readership and bing.. .. .. victims

Hacktivists attack Japanese government over Fukushima wastewater release

the Jim bloke
Megaphone

Their pet engineer needs to learn why diluting things works

if a supposed professional wont understand how taking something that is already effectively harmless, and dispersing it into even lower concentrations, is a better option than stockpiling and concentrating the problem, he needs to trade in his engineer ticket for a homeopathy doctorate..

Its all media grandstanding and publicity stunts, the same sort of thing PETA and its celebutards are famous for - although not their chosen field of activity, if you did some kind of "think of the dolphins..." campaign (in Japan, maybe not?), someone would probably talk one of their C list actresses into swimming naked through a holding pond.

Just remember, its not the message that's important - its the publicity..

Google's next big idea for browser security looks like another freedom grab to some

the Jim bloke

Re: The Google devs response

Google already have a code of conduct, and everyone is aware of it.

They have seen your comments, and all the thousands like them, and they stand firmly by their original credo.

Dont.

..

Be Evil..

Microsoft's 10,000 job cuts didn't quite do the trick

the Jim bloke
Meh

Re: Waste money on marketing with one hand, fire engineers with the other.

Rebranding is never pointless.

It demonstrates that the coloured pencil brigade is contributing value to the business, and should be exempt from any downsizing, unlike support, development, or QA, who only cause problems and bad publicity.

BOFH: Cough up half a grand and we'll protect you from AI

the Jim bloke
Trollface

Re: Useful for staging accidents

If you really want to mess with rescue comp competitors, get an actual amputee as one of your casualties... was involved in one where we had a guy with a missing leg, and they were using a slab of meat from an animal carcass for the detached bit(s)..

happy memories.

BOFH: Get me a new data file or your manager finds out exactly what you think of him

the Jim bloke

Re: Oh the pain!

nailing feet to head.. the best of all options.

My preference would be nailing feet to ceiling.

and what do we do this with ?

Toenails...

its been a long day.

BOFH: The Board members are looking very ill these days

the Jim bloke
Windows

Re: Compassion

It tells the story of a boy growing to manhood in the land of Shant, a society composed of many different, and wildly individual cantons,

My recollection was that the main characters canton of origin maintained its population by prostituting its women to travellers, while the local leadership spent all their time wanking themselves silly. Definitely relevant to modern management.

(many years since I read it but I am confident I have the gist right - unlike whatever I was doing last week..)

Surprise! China's top Android phones collect way more info

the Jim bloke

Re: As an owner of a Xiaomi

Like the mites without an anus, their lifespan is determined by how long it takes them to fill with shit.

Samsung is just making sure the customers have to keep buying new devices.

Its a commercial decision, based on the attitude that customers are prey to be harvested, rather than assets to be looked after, and most businesses dont even see anything wrong with the idea

Nice smart device – how long does it get software updates?

the Jim bloke
Windows

The history of IT and kitchens..

Never understood the appeal of smart kitchen devices

Wasnt the original response when asked what people would use home computers for..

"Well they could store recipes on them?"

Huawei teases bonkers gadget combo

the Jim bloke

why arent they doing this with phones?

Despite otherwise adequate speaker performance, my last couple of Nokia phones have absolute crap phone volume and quality, requiring external headphones to be usable. Having earbuds handy would be useful for this.

But the aesthetic for phones is they must be skinny, so no extraneous bits...

My next phone wont be a Nokia..

Two signs in the comms cabinet said 'Do not unplug'. Guess what happened

the Jim bloke

Re: Don't forget mischief

I consider anybody entering a zone containing active vehicles as having provided consent to being run over, and if they are wearing earphones/buds and/or staring at their hand held device - they are actively requesting to be a target.

Vehicles are less manoeuvrable than humans, so people need to pay attention and act to protect their own health.

They might not be out to get you... but I may be..

.. this is after a career working on foot amongst heavy mobile equipment..

Software company wins $154k for US Navy's licensing breach

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: Who Dares Win Wins and to the Victor the Spoils and Just Desserts ... when/if Truly Worthy ‽

ahh yes, let a populist demagogue shithead, offering simplistic solutions to real problems, take over the the government, and have rival kleptocracies squabbling over your country for the next several decades.

If only there were some lessons to be learnt out of all that...

Twitter set for more layoffs as Musk mulls next move

the Jim bloke

Re: Requirements

.. whenever I am fabricating a numeric result, I stick a couple of random insignificant decimals on the end to make it look more realistic...

This doesnt work when people ask how many children I have..

the Jim bloke

Re: Requirements

This is not to say I'm a fan of trump, as I think a large proportion of what he says is total rubbish

People talking total rubbish is not a problem

Deliberate malicious misrepresentation of reality (as 'facts' and 'truth' have become politicised) in order to advance his own agenda, with no regard to the consequence to others - is a problem.

IT manager's 'think outside the box' edict was, for once, not (only) a revolting cliché

the Jim bloke
Angel

Re: Hide and seek at El Reg

A very left-pondian on call, users reading it on screen will just have to imagine the canned laugh track letting the audience know which bits are funny...

Investor tells Google: Cut costs now and stop paying staff so much

the Jim bloke

Re: TCI Fund Management

Ah, yes, "activist investors"

a thousand years ago, they were turning up in longships, and sacking monasteries.

Elon Musk issues ultimatum to Twitter staff: Go hardcore or go home

the Jim bloke

Judges are hardcore..

the Jim bloke

Re: Deadwood

, try having 4th rate legal and regulatory compliance people

I thought that was the best they actually reached?

Anyone more competent is off running romance scams from Nigeria etc..

Worried about your datacenter carbon footprint? Why not put it in orbit?

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: Name a satellite deorbited from

without even bothering to google anything - geo synch orbit is about 4 times further out than most commercial orbits - and they are called commercial orbits because going further doesnt make commercial sense..

Geo synch has its applications, but just like blockchain, its stupid to use it if you dont need to.

BOFH: Don't be nervous, Mr Consultant. Come right this way …

the Jim bloke
Meh

Re: should we call time on the BoFH?

All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

.. due to global supply chain issues, Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated citizens will also need to make an effort..

Amazon reportedly considers laying off 10k employees

the Jim bloke
Boffin

Musk said recently Twitter was losing $4 million a day and so needed to make sweeping cost reductions to keep the wolves from the door.

Rather than cutting costs and people- and therefore the ability to deliver your product.. how about improving their quality, so people are actually satisfied with your product, and willing to pay for it?

absolute crazy talk, I know..

especially for something like social media, where you would have to pay me to use it..

KFC bot urges Germans to mark Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken

the Jim bloke
Devil

Re: How long ...

... special offers on cheap inter-city flights?

the Jim bloke
FAIL

Its not just algorithms that pull these stunts

Several years back one of the 2 major supermarket chains in Australia decided to try and monetise Anzac day - our national day for remembering our war dead.

I havent shopped with them since...

Open source's totally non-secret weapon big tech dares not use: Staying relevant

the Jim bloke
Mushroom

Re: The burden of untold riches

Could it be that the time has come to separate the Goo from the Gle (and the You from the Tube), the Me from the Ta and the Ama from the Zon.

Can we use an Axe?

..

or a chainsaw? or blowtorch!

Bonus points for using explosives...

Elon Musk jettisons Twitter leadership, says takeover was 'to try to help humanity'

the Jim bloke

Re: "the bird is free"

The worst part of Free Bird, is waiting through 5 minutes of whiny self-indulgent drivel for the singer to shut up, and get on with the music

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: The taste of schadenfreude

I "listened". Then I *DISAGREED*,

In Australia, we generally use the response, "Yeah, Nah".

.. I heard you - but you're wrong..

Its also useful whenever you want to agree to a negative

the Jim bloke
Megaphone

Re: The taste of schadenfreude

.. the extremists and ideologists. Ask them why they and their answers are likely to be very revealing ..

WRONG !!!

Do NOT engage - at all - with anyone displaying moral certainty to the exclusion of other peoples existence. Dont give them airtime, walk away when they try to talk at you ( it wont be 'with' you ), dont 'like', 'click', or 'follow'. Leave them alone to either grow up, or implode.

Your covertly harvested browsing history, attention and time is apparently quite valuable to somebody, so dont waste it on self-promoting media whores..

Why I love my Chromebook: Reason 1, it's a Linux desktop

the Jim bloke

Re: Set my mother in law up on a chromebox

Chrome is a really good option for challenged users.

Thats poaching on Apples turf..

To make this computer work, users had to press a button. Why didn't it work? Guess

the Jim bloke
Headmaster

Re: Manual is optional,

Videos, audiobooks and podcasts are generally a terrible way to impart information, with some specific exceptions such as if is useful to have a visual example. Personally, I read faster than people speak, and if I missed something its just a matter of looking back up the page.

If it matters - put it in writing. Anything else isnt even piss in the wind.

Some people may struggle with written comprehension - they will be struggling anyway, and eliminating accents makes understanding simpler even for non native users.

Soaring costs, inflation nurturing generation of 'quiet quitters' among under-30s

the Jim bloke
WTF?

Re: You get paid what you're worth

Go on Linkedin

..

WHY?

..

WTF is there on linkedin that has any relevance to the real world??

Its a circle-jerk for recruitment consultants, and thats the nicest thing I can say about it..

the Jim bloke
Big Brother

Re: I had a different comment written, but....

Then why is knowledge and experience being lost?

because they are hanging onto the managers, and sacrificing the workers.

I blame the rise of the MBA illuminat.

Microsoft and Meta promise facehugger PCs piping cloud desktops into VR headsets

the Jim bloke
Meh

Oh joy, immersive spreadsheets.

It will be just like being there in person.

Oz Apple Store staff vote to strike for better pay, settled rosters, clean shirts

the Jim bloke

One of the key distinguishing features of the original Reg

.. was that Apple was not on speaking terms with them.

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