Posts by Charles 9

Re: I should sue for false advertising.

Meaning it's not really Autopilot unless it's Otto. No less...

Re: Capability

IOW, they've figured out the best way to beat encryption: attack the human interface, the one point "outside the envelope" where the juicy stuff MUST be decrypted

It's typically vanilla ice cream since the drink usually also has double cream; avoids clashing flavors. However, chocolate is a common garnish for it, so perhaps chocolate ice cream can be a possible tweak (I hear the drink is made to be tweaked to taste).

Re: Yeah, that sounds plausible.

Not in the states. I grew up at that time, and it was distinctly called just Quik, and its bunny mascot had a Q dangling from his collar. The change stateside occurred sometime in the 90's, probably due to trademark issues though I'd have to research it further.

Nestle also makes the Milo drink, but as someone had said previously, it's not the same thing, as it's marketed more to hotter/more rural markets where milk is not as common. I compare it more to Yoo-Hoo (another watery chocolate drink invented and sold stateside).

As for the article and the idea of chocolate beer, I won't vote as I'm a teetotaler (I have a sensitive tongue for alcohol). I just say whatever tickles your gullet. I've heard of various chocolate brews being available, and America thankfully has a decent-enough craft-brewing culture, so if you want to try something, there will probably be someone somewhere (given how big the US is) trying it out, or you can try your luck for yourself (homebrewing is a known hobby). To the advertising authorities, I say bully. Confusing labels do need correcting, especially when kids can get involved.

Re: Would need a 32-bit Windows?

Windows 3.x is 16-bit, and support for it was dropped long ago. You have to virtualize or emulate it these days.

Re: Would need a 32-bit Windows?

And there has been discussion about dropping support for x86 in the Linux kernel as well. Fortunately, most of the discussion is ranging this as at least a medium-term thing (several years or so down the road), especially with modern hardware bring robust enough to emulate early-90's x86 hardware comfortably. Let's say the spray paint cans are getting primed at this point.

Re: The return of the Amiga at last, with an OS that is not spying on you.

"China are going to be knocking on Apple's door real soon with a lengthy wishlist, should they want to continue operating in the Middle Kingdom (whilst mandating Huawei for members of the party)."

Maybe that's the reason for all this. China may already be knocking with a list of demands. And unlike last time, Apple's potential counter of packing up and leaving may be accepted because China now has a strong homegrown phone market and may well be willing to go without iPhones in their country. Who's got the most to lose now? China's access to an American icon they can just pillory, or 1 1/2 billion potential customers for Apple?

Did you know Facebook is working it's way onto FEATURE phones now? Pretty soon, every phone out there will feature either Big Brother or unsupported frequencies...

Re: Fourth Amendment?

The point is that the Bill of Rights is intended to protect citizens from State action (of which the ex-colonists had plenty of experience). The general rule is that issues between private parties are their own business unless ties get stepped on along the way.

Anything can be addictive if taken to extreme levels. Many of us are wired to go nuts at different things. That's why there are disorders such as hoarding and OCD. The trick is figuring out the limits before we're sucked in and take others with us.

Re: Risky

"Western governments are careful about taking down sectors like tourism. They get the media on side and stir up support. They restrict imports on the sly using tax laws and restrict migrant labour with fees. All very back door. The Chinese have always believed that their control was solid enough not to bother with this sort of thing. That may be riskier than they think."

Well, that depends on how far each side is willing to go to make their point. For a good example of how far China will go, consider Tienanmen Square. There's something to be said about a state that shows a considerable lack of mercy when defied.

Nah. They're well aware of it but because of a worker glut can just throw the next cheap cog at the problem. The ultimate goal of the capital holders, of course, is to make labor obsolete.

Heck yeah, to them. They have a baaaad history with the stuff. Recall the Opium Wars?

Re: About time too

But what made you realize it was brown? And precisely what shape is a stick versus, say, a rod or a twig?

The catch is that a lot of our thinking is SUBconscious, so we can't fully understand how we ourselves think.

"What I don't understand is why they don't just make the whole keyboard like that. It solves the keyboard layout problems..."

Take a proper keyboarding/typing course and learn why there are bumps on two keys in the middle row of letters. A good keyboarder can type blind because they type by touch, looking at the paper/screen the whole time. The function keys are not as critical because they're accessed infrequently enough that most people look down to strike.

Re: Right to Repair is about control

Ever heard of cartels? What good are alternatives when ALL the manufacturers are doing the same or worse?

Re: Make the polluter pay

I don't really see how you can get around foreign sovereignty and fly-by-nighting...

Re: G-Force!

G'ah! I'll stick to the original Gatchaman, thanks.

Re: Even maintenance can be hard

What about waterproofing? The last "waterproof" phone I knew with removable battery was the S5, and note I use quotes.

Re: I do wonder how much it would cost

Murphy potential here. You also have to consider partial failures, like a wire that's mostly cut but not totally such that it returns incorrect-but-still-valid readings due to altered current or resistance.

Re: I do wonder how much it would cost

Although an American, I was able to suss that the "d" was the abbreviation for pence, owing its origins to the Latin "denarius" (from when Rome had claim to some territory in Britain way back when). I recognized it after reading about the common usage in the past of 2s6d to indicate half-crowns (12 pence = 1 shilling, 5 shillings = 1 crown, so 2 1/2 shillings is a half-crown which becomes 2s6d).

But aren't you supposed to use "ob" (from "obulus") for the half-penny?

PS. Even that "10d" thing is off, as it should've been "10/d", as "ten-penny" was actually short for "ten for a penny".

Re: If it came down

"The only way this situation is likely to change is a massive ground swell of bad feeling against them, coupled with some legislation to smooth the change, and I can feel that wave coming."

Since the companies have the deeper pockets, they can usually counter-lobby anything rights groups can throw at it. Usually, it takes something beyond the pale, like innocent death of the privileged class, to provide the necessary push to overcome counter-lobbying.

Re: The backlash seems to be building nicely though

"I think manufacturers are finally understanding that making products made to last or be repaired is a good marketing point."

Is it? Anyone know where to buy a new Kirby vacuum cleaner? That's the flip side. There's no business like repeat business, and there's no repeat business in a one-and-done. Similarly for allowing the aftermarket to repair your stuff: unless you make the parts, you get no cut of the take, and the money from the original sale by then has already been sunk.

So you see, the motivation just isn't there. Indeed, the motivation is in the opposite direction: to stymie governments if necessary.

Re: It doesn't add up

Did they take the traders into consideration? Sure, the "last hop" data centers are regulated near their respective stock exchanges but as business is global these days, faster long-haul communication between exchanges can mean big business for scoops and other key bits of "insider" information.

Re: Can't wait...

I don't know how long they can keep that up if people just reply, "Just give me one without the jack and I'll use Vonage instead..."

My telephone breakout is a separate box from the cable modem in my case.

"It's going to be interesting to see who does well. Starlink and OneWeb are inelegant and inefficient systems, spending 60% of their time over mostly unpopulated water. But they could be cheap overall."

Part of it being cheap is that they don't care about that over-the-ocean bit (KISS). Besides, they have ways to monetize the ocean, too, by offering the service to transoceanic airliners and ships.

Re: Can't wait...

The problem is that, as America can demonstrate, anything like that can be abused to exclude "unwanted" people, thus why there are laws in the books to prevent their use. It's the whole "We Just Can't Have Nice Things" problem. And even then, there's no guarantee it'll stay up there given today's political climate, which is virtually No Holds Barred.

Re: FTP with IP restricted challenge/response, encrypted payloads, plus signed checksum files…

"Separating out the mechanisms used to provide confidentiality, integrity and availability is a much better approach than the overly-complex quagmire we find ourselves with today."

NOT when you need the KISS Principle, especially when dealing with a Dave...and Daves outnumber us by at least an order of magnitude. And forget about requiring a license to use the Internet...

Re: Nowhere good to run, nowhere smart to hide...

Or, IOW, what good is keeping your mouth shut if you're already being panned as a total idiot or worse?