Posts by Charles 9

Re: I keep hoping

Not really. Ask it like this, "How many choices do people WANT?"

Answer: Usually, just one, as they'll just get used to it and go about their business.

Re: Like!!

When the pages get media-heavy, it doesn't really matter which browser you use. I speak from firsthand experience using an underpowered AMD 64x2 laptop upgraded to 4GB (the max).

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"I'm wondering though what the recommendation would be for "technical" use. Probably LaTex, I guess <shudder>. Whever it gets down to document processing I always meet some wild-eyed crazy-haired obsessive who will witter on for hours about how he (it's always he) has created a mighty technical documentation system in LaTex which oddly enough only he can understand or maintain. When they eventually do manage to get a printed copy out it will be awful with horrid layout, horrid fonts and ugly illustrations poorly positioned. I find it best to persuade these people to do something more suited to their talents."

And then you get the stories of the authors who MUST use Word because their Editors use it for things like Annotations that don't port anywhere else, making it a TILI proposition.

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"And yet, more games than anyone could play in a lifetime. Yes, there are more games for windows, but you will never ever play them all."

Unless they're not the ones I WANT to play. Where's Fallout 4? Final Fantasy XIII? And the rest of the headliners? Outside of Steam, where's Overwatch? And no, I don't own a console nor desire to own one. I have a machine that can put a PS4 to shame (which I do regularly use for media encoding work) so don't really need one. But having seen the Steam lineup personally on Xubuntu, I stand by my statement of a pale imitation of the original.

Re: I keep hoping

"Why "hope" for Pixel when there are already many, many other Linux "distros" you can try out? You did try more than one before disparaging the entire Linux ecosystem, didn't you?"

Most users don't have the time. It's ONE or NONE, so you better present a united front to appease the average Joe; otherwise, you will need to surrender that market. Remember, Joe Stupid wants turnkey solutions, even if they're not possible. The one who delivers the closest wins.

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"It's not that they can't, it just suits them not to. Incompatibility forces everyone to upgrade to the newest version."

Why would it do that instead of force people to stick to their existing versions?

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"Isn't that's what Steam on Linux is for?'

A pale imitation of its progenitor. Its titles list isn't even half of its Windows counterpart, and it's lineup is mostly indies and also-rans: sorely lacking in headliners.

Re: What's the point?

"and 3D skeuomorphic _DESKTOP_ instead of 2D FLATSO "phoney". *much* better!"

Frankly, I don't get what the whole deal is over "3D" buttons and whatnot. It's still a 2D screen, so it's just a representation of something. Whether it's bordered or not, I learn to recognize where the Close buttons and whatnot are and move on: 2D, pseudo-3D, or whatever. Maybe it's because I grew up in the days when the original Macintosh and very rudimentary monochromatic GUIs were around and you simply learned what's what and moved on.

Re: what users want

""a curated suite of productivity software" - er no. I want to run what I want, not a limited suite of someone elses 'requirements'"

You're in the distinct minority. Most people just want to get it on, already, meaning they don't mind the things being picked for them.

Re: And it appears to be 3D skeuomorphic!

"This has the real potential of becoming the operating system that _UNSEATS_ _WINDOWS_, particularly with the potential backlash against the spying and the 2D FLUGLY. I hope this happens. I really, really do."

Where's all the APPLICATIONS, though? Especially top-tier GAMES? An OS isn't worth much without top-quality software.

Re: Might be secure but it sure as hell isn't anonymous

But then there's what I've always called the First Contact Problem: the part where you meet for the first time to establish those protocols. You never know if Alice, Bob, or Trent are actually Gene in disguise. Plus, the wider the amount of information you have to be able to communicate (such as changes in plans or minutiae), the more elaborate the language you have to use, which runs the risk of it standing out enough for the plods to realize it's a code.

At which point the plods still assume you're hiding something and keep grilling you. The problem with plausible deniability is that the plods don't have to let you go yet.

Re: NIST requests ideas for crypto that can survive quantum computers

Thing is, one dovetails into the other. The moment you use OTP or some other quantum-hardened system, you're likely to have just thrown up a big fat bullseye on yourself. At which point, you better be either a wimp or a masochist.

Re: NIST requests ideas for crypto that can survive quantum computers

But easy for the cover to be blown. That's been the big problem with one-time pads: it's hard to really conceal the PAD, especially if the plods are onto you using that technique.

Re: Private Enterprise Has Started

That's been the current situation. Creating a truly robust encryption system is HARD because it's a case of having to be lucky everywhere. Just ONE slip and you'll blow your whole scheme wide open.

Such has been the case with all the post-quantum systems proposed so far. As I recall, all of them have either had flaws uncovered or are so computationally demanding in the classic sense as to be impractical for all but small pieces of information.

Re: More Magic Technology

"Meanwhile the UK's own DaFT is proposing "new technology" that blocks mobile phones in cars."

So what if there's a crash and someone has to call the emergency number?

Re: More Magic Technology

"This in today's news.... NC is working to repeal that law."

This in last night's news. Session adjourned with nothing happening. Finger-pointing all around. Like I said, for many what they consider right is more important than anything, even if it's different from everyone else's.

Re: Oh, that'll work

"And finally, what is porn? There's no coherent argument that covers why Michelangelo's David is art, and (for example) the picture at the top of the article is not."

The people you're talking about would consider it, images of the Lady Godiva, and probably a legal supermodel in a bikini as pornographic. We're talking 1950's "Don't even THINK about sex, the thought of the deed is as evil as the deed" kind of puritanical.

Re: @Bucky 2 - Trump voters

"However, the way the independents who voted for him looked at it, a vote for Trump was a vote against the status quo, and gave them an outlet for their anger. It made them happy to reject Clinton, since they KNEW things wouldn't get better for them under her, and could at least HOPE things would get better for them under Trump."

So to use a satirical comic plot, they rejected the Beast and voted in the Smiler. Now I feel like wanting a bandolier of grenades to blow up in frustration.

Re: More Magic Technology

"One of those wonderful suggestions that die in committee when it's learned that large corporations will move to a saner state if the bill gets passed into law."

Oh? North Carolina HB2 (concerning gender and bathrooms) passed AND was signed into law...IN SPITE of threats (which were in turn carried out) of varied businesses up and leaving the state.

So don't hold out your hopes of bills like this dying in committee. Some people would rather live the life of a destitute bumpkin than defy the supposed words of their deity.

Re: Oh, that'll work

Without killing the computer itself? What about suicide circuits?

So do I, four words: Ink On A Page.

They'll just declare ANY search under perpetual existential threat (which they'll then prove) can be deemed reasonable. If the USA can be destroyed in an instant, nothing is taboo anymore.

Not my personal thought, BTW.

Until someone cracks the Clipper Chip. Then what? Ban all but state-sanctioned encryption and start the Great Firewall of America to sniff out any attempts to subvert?

Re: Bah!

IOW, good and evil are subjective, making the problem intractable. One man's nemesis is simultaneously another's savior, and since access is a black-and-white issue, there's no solution possible; it'd be like trying to figure out if 0.499999.... rounds to 0 or to 1, it's irrelevant because in trying to make infinite shades of gray a coin flip, you lose the essence of the source.

But at the same time, human instinct gets pretty ugly, and this ugliness can result in existential threats to large chunks of the population, if not the whole race, and our instincts drive us to stop existential threats (survival instinct). What can you do when you have an existential threat you really can't do anything about?

Re: 2 + 2 != 5

"Actually 2 + 2 = 5 (for some values of 2)"

Or it could just be a gestalt, meaning the end result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Re: Summed Up Quite Well - But Forgot to Mention One Point

They'll just turn to the secret quantum computer in Utah. And no, they haven't developed a practical and robust post-quantum system yet. All the one out now have known flaws or time issues.

Two ways to handle this. First, the heading could be fed back and correctly followed directions act as acknowledgement of routine directions. Second, an audible confirmation could still be used. This is still the testing phase and the pace is noted to be slow. There's still time to account for vigilance.

Re: @oldtaku - And consumers shouldn't be expected to

Or they'll just move where such onerous regulations don't exist.

Or they'll just play fly-by-night and vanish and reappear whack-a-mole style if the regulators loom.

They'll just find ways to make them unblockable the way phone spam and junk mail are now (false ID'S and returned returns prevent countermeasures with the latter two).

Re: There's a bit of commonality here - email

"You can't protect people from their own stupidity or greed. Just can't be done. I'd rather we devoted out efforts to improving the lot of people who aren't greedy - as Einstein observed, there's little that can be done about human stupidity."

Trouble is, human stupidity often has knock-on effects that extend beyond the stupid person. If we don't stop stupid people, society ends up with innocent casualties, and innocent casualties tend to raise the common's wrath. Raise it enough and things get ugly.