* Posts by Steve Davies 3

7136 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Jun 2009

Wanna work for El Reg? Developers needed for headline-writing AI bots

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Fake news!

Amandrommars? What about Eadon?

Autonomous vehicle claims are just a load of hot air… and here's why

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Also lefties love driver less cars...

ROFL.

Then, the book I quoted earlier by Christian Wolmar (debunking driverless cars) is strange then. He's a fully paid up member of the Labour Party.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: it's only tepid when the emissions test cheat device is enabled.

or when buying Coffee from a certain junk food retailer.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

I'm sceptical about driverless cars

but there are many, many people in the USA who see it as Nirvana, the promised land. A good number of them are Tesla Fanbois but that is another issue.

Unless ALL vehicles are equipped with the same level of automation and these vehicles are working together, it is a disaster waiting to happen (in my worthless opinion)

I don't normally agree with the views expressed in the articles by Christian Wolmar but his book

"Driverless Cars: On a Road to Nowhere (Perspectives)" published last January is a good read and does provide an insight into the problems involved on the rock road to driverless utopia.

no matter how good the automation is that vehicles of the future will employ there is always the unpredictability of us Humans and don't forget Animals as well. Given the death recently in the USA, I don't think that driverless is going to be here before 2024 at the earliest.

Apple, if you want to win in education, look at what sucks about iPads

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Holmes

Re: Hmmmm

While I agree with you, do those who Might just possibly use an iPad in Education need a cellular version of the device?

I don't think so but you do make a valid point. Apple do take the piss. Mind you HP were not that much better when charging a similar amount for a mobile card for my old work laptop.

Apple iOS 11.3 adds health records for battery, people too

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Holmes

Re: Lightning Cables

Apple has been sued more times than I can remember because of fires caused by fake chargers and cables.

I guess this is an attempt to stop them in their tracks? There are many examples of people claiming that it is all Apple's fault that their trailer home burned down. Some might be the case but in many cases no one knows for sure but in Litigation Happy USA, it is either Sue or Shoot first and ask questions later.

Lawyers 1, Punters 0.

Get the message, PHBs: New York City mulls ban on after-hours biz email

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: "except in cases of emergency"...

Everybody who works in IT knows that there's ALWAYS an emergency because your PHB (or MBA Clone) of a manager says so, even if it is something as stupid as being locked out of Solitaire.

{there speaks the voice of experience}

What the @#$%&!? Microsoft bans nudity, swearing in Skype, emails, Office 365 docs

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: That's Yorkshire fucked then

Don't forget those counties down south that have 'sex' in their names. I had web sites refuse to register me in the past when entering the county.

There are even a few of them over in the land of the Good Ole Boys as well.

Middlesex becomes Middleshhhhcan'ttellyou.

How will TOWIE carry on? the 'sex' bit was part of their MO.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

No Cussing Allowed?

How will that go down with the upholders on the 1st Ammendment in the USA?

This does seem to be the Puritan side of the USA psyche coming to the fore again.

Apple turns hat around, sits backwards on chair, pitches iPad to schools

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Oh, the irony

Just yesterday Google announced a ChromeTab aimed.... right at Schools.

Sorry Apple, the cost of the Google (and other Chrome based kit) is just so tempting for cash strapped schools.

Google 50 : Apple 0

Parents blame brats' slipping school grades on crap internet speeds

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Don't forget all that time wasted

on social media by children today.

Cut that out and you will get an improvement in grades.

IBMers in TSS: How WILL we support customers after these latest job cuts?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Boffin

Support? What Support?

Oh yes, that's what is supposed to be done by the hundreds (if not thousnds) of people in S. Asia (and other cheapo places).

All they'll need is a few people on zero days contracts to go to sites to press the big red button from time to time.

What IBM does today, HP does tomorrow... Or is that the other way around? No matter. We are doomed.

Note to self... Make sure my grandkids keep well away from IT as a possible career as there won't be one in 5-10 years ay the outside.

Software gremlin robs Formula 1 world champ of season's first win

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Uber?

No, Uber isn't in charge. How can you tell?

These drivers are not being paid less than the minimum wage for a 12 hour day.

You'll like this: Facebook probed by US watchdog amid privacy storm

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Big Brother

Nothing will come of it.

After all, it is the year of the 'mid-term' elections and few campaign contributions in the right places and it will all quietly go away.

Business as usual inside the Beltway then?

Reg writer wins quite prestigious journalism prism

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Well done.

I think the poster was getting at what happened in the Cricket.

I sort of get the feeling that the story has a lot more to reveal much like Trump and the Model.

Recording Industry Ass. says vinyl and CD sales beat digital downloads

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: John Martyn

I saw him at the Royal Festival Hall in '71 or '72. Blew my mind away with the sounds he could get from an acoustic guitar. Saw him several times after that as well.

RIP John, you were a one off and a true musician who knew how to play an instrument. Sadly far too many so called musicians today... well aren't and could not play an instrument or hold a tune to save their lives.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Boffin

Re: Physical media

don't forget the batteries!

You will need a good few kW of storage to power that lot once the sun goes down.

Cambridge Analytica seeks data protection assistant

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Holmes

ICO going to CA

Hands up all those who think that the ICO won't find diddly squat at CA. All the incriminating evidence will be long gone either to the shredder and incinerator and security erased after being copied to somewhere that governments in the west can't get at ... say Russia or China?

then next week, CA will go into Liquidation and rise from the ashes as Oxford Analytica.

Ex-ZX Spectrum reboot man threatens sueball over unpaid invoices

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: FFS, all this over an emulator running on some generic ARM system...!

That alone makes this all the more strange.

I've been working on building an ARM (RPi 3) based device that emulates an even older computer. The kit even comes with a case, close to 100 diodes (for the front panel), circuit boards and all the front panel switches. This is all put together by someone in their spare time. No need to Loadsa crowdfunding here.

http://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-8

This makes IMHO the Sinclair thing even more of a scam. IT might not be but at the moment thats the way it seems to me.

US Congress quietly slips cloud-spying powers into page 2,201 of spending mega-bill

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Don't worry people

Trump will embark on a trade war with any country stupid enough to say NO to their data slurp requests.

Sanctions all round. A sure fire route to success. Well, it beats sending in the Marines now doesn't it? (sic)

Go park yourself: Brit firm flashes self-parking car tech

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Don't worry folks, the CAAS thing will be along soon

Your explanation shows how silly the concept of everyone using a CAAS for their transportation.

I carried a Microlight engine in the back of my car yesterday. It leaked a bit of oil. I cleaned it up but there is still a bit of a mark left. With CAAS, that would probably leave me with a huge fine.

I'll be collecting it next week after the overhaul is done. Over Easter, I'll be carrying people and a couple of dogs who leave lots of hair. Again, I'd have to valet the car before retutning it.

CAAS ? Not for me thanks.

Yet over on the Tesla Fan Sites they almost drool over the prospect of CAAS, autonomous driving and even taking a nap while driving. As above, I think the Pink Unicorns are out an about in force.

Five things you need to know about Microsoft's looming Windows 10 Spring Creators Update

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

The Survey Results at 13:35

make interesting reading.

Less than 50% are going to stick with Windows.

Will anyone from MS take note?

Nah, who do we think you are kidding eh?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Long File Paths ?!

Obviously been marked as WNF (Will not Fix) in the MS bug reporting system (if they have one that is...) :)

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Holmes

This Timeline thing

is obviously put there for the FBI etc who can at a glance see what you have been doing without their specialists.

Also for your PHB's (who obviously have nothing better to do) so that they can overtly monitor your work and importantly non work activities. No more sneaky key loggers and the like.

What's a betting that there are already some 'rulez' being coded to stop this from being disabled in corporate environments.

MS are obviously lacking in ideas about what to do next...

Given the poll results so far (10 mins after posting of the article) the majority of El Reg readers are NOT going to be using MS software in the future... It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the working day here in the UK.

Hip hop-eration: Hopless Franken-beer will bring you hoppiness

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Pint

Re: Hop Infused Beverages

I agree... My local brewery even grows their own Hops in a field across the road from the Brewery.

T.E.A. and Surrey Nirvana are my most regularly inbibed brews.

Beer Icon naturally.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Happy to be living near Germany

which is why Budweiser as in the American kind is not beer according to the German Laws. Why? Bud use Rice in the brewing process.

Here's a thought... Hows about we grow the hops and send them to the USA???? The Hops grown near me don't need any irrigation. The clay soil really holds the water.

Ah Wait... this comes from California. The state where most crops grown south of San Francisco need huge amounts of extra water. Perhaps it is time to abandon the central valley as a place to grow stuff?

Fog off! No more misty eyes for self-driving cars, declare MIT boffins

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

What about the Winter sun

that is very low in the sky just when you want to drive home

Try going south along the A3 past Guildford when the January sun is setting. As you get close to the top of the hill, the sun is right in your eyes. If they can manage that test then I'll accept that they are ok.

I'm sure that other posters have their own bit of road that they love to hate at certain times of the year.

Brit MPs chide UK.gov: You're acting like EU data adequacy prep is easy

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: I've changed my mind

I'm truly saddened to say it, but we're toast

That has been evident from the day after we voted to leave. The reaction of the EU was that we were to be punished and hard for daring to leave their cozy club and that they'd never let anyone be so foolish ever again.

I look forward to paying £70++ for a Visa to go on holiday to Benidorm from 2021 onwards. But hey, we voted to go our own way didn't we?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Holmes

Re : The Outlook is good

until all the important documents get lost forever inside Sharepoint.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Coat

re: Microsoft Brexit

One where you keep on paying your subscription for ever then?

Mines the one with a 1913 Bradshaw in the pocket.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

re: Post Brexit rules in the EU

Probably after the UK finishes the process the rules will be changed to either be less optimistic with the deadlines or have a better structure in place to deal with it all.

More likely they will make it impossible for anyone to leave now that they have got rid of the thorn in their side that is the UK. constantly saying no to EU stuff and not embracing the Euro was the last straw for many in Brussels.

Several people high up in the French Government have admitted that if there was a FREXIT Refferendum, they would not be surprised if the result would be for an exit. The EU obviously can't allow one of the founders of the European Iron and Steel Community to leave now can they?

As I've said all along, the BREXIT process won't end well. The EU (esp Barnier) will make it so that we carry on bending over and letting them shaft us at will.

Fancy a viaduct? We have a wrought Victorian iron marvel to sell you

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Melton Mowbray

It was mentioned because of the pies silly. Where would the world be without a proper handmade Pork Pie from Melton Mowbray?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Forgotten Relics

It is a pity that the site needs the dreaded 'Adobe Flash' to show details of many of the relics.

Adobe Flash will never be a 'forgotten relic'.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Wonderful!

Great article and beautifully told..

It is a shame that Sustrans aren't going ahead with the project. Now it will be left to decay even further.

Sustrans own a lot of former rail tracks that they seem to blow hot and cold over and end up doing nothing.

US govt's final bid to extradite Lauri Love kicked into touch

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Is this the way that it is done?

Yes because it only works one way. The Americans will never extradite one of their own to Blighty.

I'd suggest trying to extradite Zuck but ....

Screw luxury fridges, you can now run webOS on your Raspberry Pi

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

So?

I can run (emulated) OS-8 (PDP-8) and soon RSX11M (PDP-11) on a Raspberry Pi.

A Model 3 runs OS-8 around twenty times as fast as the original.

Lots of other Obsolete kit can be run as well.

It is really nice that people are taking the time and effort and making old systems live again.

Intel X86 is not the only game in town these days.

{Waiting for the RPi to emulate Z/OS. Imagine a Beowolf cluster of them all running Z/OS!!!! IBM wouldn't like it though :) :) }

Windows 10 to force you to use Edge, even if it isn't default browser

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Happy

Re: MacOS

MacOS is actually awesome to use once you get use to it, with my only gripe being the file manager could do with a major overal

Agreed 1000000%.

However there are replacements out there that will make 'finder' pretty well redundant.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Perfect timing

Thunderbird [1] runs fine on MacOS. I never us the Mac Mail app and only use Safari for one site that still insists in using Flash for videos.

[1] Other email apps do as well.

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Childcatcher

Re: Another walled garden?

They (MS) seem to be taking the 'Walled Garden' approach to levels that Apple can only dream of and in contract seem like rank amateurs when compared to Microsoft.

IMHO (and I could be very wrong...) this is all a prelude to moving to a perpetual subscription model for their Operating System.

"Roll up folks. For only £9.99/month you can get full support from us. Just let us install patches when we want to and to hell with what you are doing with the computer at the time. All in the interests of your personal safety and security you understand."

Sorry Redmond, I stopped playing your tune in 2016 and I'm not going back.

UK.gov to plough £67m into gigabit broadband for all and sundry

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Why the push for 5G?

Because (sic) 5G is the promised land of free milk and honey, roads paved with gold and Gov Ministers will be able to walk on water.

Well, that's what the kit makers are telling governments all over the world.

Then it will be 6G, 7G etg

sceptic? you bet.

As you say, it would be better to get proper 4G everywhere and with enough capacity to handle the load.

Trump’s immigration policies costing US tech jobs says LogMeIn CEO

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Facepalm

Wow!

Tech company boss admitting that the USofA is not the centre of the Universe...!

What next?

Trump admitting that he can be wrong?

UK.gov urged to ensure punters can 'still roam like at home' after Brexit

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Next election

Next election vote a party who will reapply to the EU and sign up to the full package.

Which one might that me then?

Tories? Nope

Labor? Not with Jeremy "I have a bottomless pit of money for everyone" Corbyn as its head.

That leaves

Lib Dems and the SNP....

Good luck electing either of them.

We are doomed I tell ye, doomed.

Airbus ditches Microsoft, flies off to Google

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Alert

The words...

Frying Pan and Fire come to mind.

I guess that Microsoft HQ in Redmond is just too close to Boeing in Seattle for Airbus.

Don't worry Boeing, all those lovely docs will soon be winging their way up from the chocolate factory to you.

Fun fact of the day: Voice recognition tech is naturally sexist

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Of course,

Don't worry fellas...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-43389704/a-co-working-space-only-for-women

It's Pi day: Care to stuff a brand new Raspberry one in your wallet?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Happy

Lovely bits of kit.

Got my PiDP-8i system working the other day, blinking lights and front panel included!

Enjoying writing some Fortran Code again on OS/8 (The OS for the DEC PDP-8)

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Dates

Don't forget their insistence in using 12Hour clocks on transport along with AM/PM...

Yes, I fell for it once and arrived 12hours early for my flight from Boston to St Louis.

Toyota to flog 10,000 aaS wagons to Avis Budget rentals

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
Big Brother

Hello Mr Corfield!

"We see that you are exceeding the speed limit in I-95. That will be another $20 per hour excess. We have already billed your credit card for an additional $1,250 to cover your increased rental charge. Have a nice day!"

BB is watching!

Ex-staffers slam Microsoft's 'lackluster' response to stacks of internal complaints

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Service Normal then?

For a mega company that has more people wanting to work for it than there are jobs. Some parts of the organisation seem to think that if you can't take it, then walk as there are plenty more wanting your job.

No one should suffer sexual harrasment no matter how big or small the company is but it does seem that the bigger they are, the more ********** ********* they employ.

Windows Mixed Reality: Windows Mobile deja vu?

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

re: Hololens

but knowing Microsoft we will have to wait until all the market momentum has long disappeared over the both the 'virtual' and real horizon.

TFFY.

Air gapping PCs won't stop data sharing thanks to sneaky speakers

Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

Re: Alexa: spooky laughing

You forgot to add

followed by a huge uptick in data sent out to an Amazon controlled IP address as your Alexa device starts a security erase of its onboard storage...