* Posts by The Grump

178 publicly visible posts • joined 30 Jun 2009

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FAA approves Amazon US drone flight just months after firm gave up and went to Canada

The Grump
FAIL

And now - the rest of the story

I see El Reg forgot one little teesy weesy detail - is the "operator must maintain line of sight" provision still attached to the Amazon approval ?

"Line of sight" - the operator, Amazon, must be able to actually see the drone diring its entire flight - is a deal killer. That provision blows Amazon's dream of automated drone delivery "out of the water". As usual, the devil is in the details.

El Reg fail.

Cortana on Windows 10 is all talk, no apps shun, says Microsoft

The Grump
Windows

Oh Cortana...

Can Cortana set up my Raid 1 array automatically ? Somehow, I doubt it. I have been trying to set Raid 1 up using Windows 7 Ultimate, with no luck.

I expect Win10 to be a gussied-up version of Win8 (think "putting lipstick on a pig"). MS lost a LOT of street cred with the disaster that is Win8.

Mastercard and Visa to ERADICATE password authentication

The Grump
Joke

Just...use...CASH

It's hacker proof, works well at both Target and Home Depot, and it very difficult for the gov'mint to track. Of course, keep wearing your foil-lined hats, and don't let strangers look you in the eyes and steal your thoughts (most of them are gov'mint agents anyway). Luck to you.

'You village peasants: Do you want broadband? Then give up your freedom'

The Grump
FAIL

Don't worry...

It's being handled by top men. Who?

TOP...MEN !

Preview redux: Microsoft ships new Windows 10 build with 7,000 changes

The Grump
Mushroom

No sale...

Redmond can try to disguise bad coding all they want, but W10 can go straight to W8 hell. I will stick with my dual boot win 7 / win XP setup (xp for programs that will not run under W7, despite compatability settings). It seems MS still has to learn the lesson of New Coke (don't replace a successful product with something YOU think is great. The customer is still the ultimate judge).

Mars needs women, claims NASA pseudo 'naut: They eat less

The Grump
Joke

Without a man onboard...

who will hold the door open for them ? Who will open those oversized jars of pickles ? If we are not careful, we could end up with an entire crew of women, dead of starvation in a spaceship filled with oversized pickle jars. Oh, the humanity !

A drone of one's own: Reg buyers' guide for UAV fanciers

The Grump
Megaphone

Oh, please...

In fifteen minutes, you could save fifteen percent in your UAV insurance at Geico...er...what ?

Seriously, what is the point ? If you want to learn to fly, LEARN TO FLY. In a real plane or helicopter. Quit fiddling about with your RC this, and your UAV that, and get up there. You would always tie helium weather balloons to a lawn chair, if you're on a budget (don't forget to tether it to the ground). If you have the money, put away the toys, and get up there !

Prez Obama backs net neutrality – but can't do anything about it. Thanks, Obama

The Grump
Big Brother

Be careful what you wish for...

Letting the government regulate the internet is like letting King Cobras loose in your house to fix the mice problem. Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time, before police busted in and found your dead body - dead from Cobra venom.

Would you REALLY want China or N. Korea in charge of your internet ? Do you think the USA spooks or the London authorities would be much better ? They all have a non-stop geyser of "good ideas" for "improving" (censoring) the internet. I would sooner let venomous snakes loose in my house before I would trust any government with the internet. "The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither" - Thomas Jefferson.

Icon for those who need to re-read "1984", then look at China, and think twice about giving the government the power to neuter the internet.

Dairy Queen cuts the waffle, says bank cards creamed in 395 eateries

The Grump
Flame

Time to reinvent the wheel...

and begin to use cash again. Yeah, it's the end of Amazon, but what can we do ? Hackers have proven they can penetrate any security - from the military, to banks, to businesses like Home Depot and Target, and now they have penetrated the security of Dairy Queer...er...Dairy Queen. (Sorry, but that's what I call it. I wouldn't eat there, period).

Yeah, it's a pain, but you need to get off your butt, and go to the bank to get real money. Cash cannot be hacked. Now I'm off to bang rocks together to create fire. Fire good - credit card bad.

Windows 10: One for the suits, right Microsoft? Or so one THOUGHT

The Grump
Mushroom

Oh, please...

I use one (1) app at a time. I DON'T NEED multiple desktops, virtual or not. And what guarantee do we have that our existing software will run on these "desktops" ?

I am a Windows user from DOS through Win 7. Win 8 was Microsoft's "New Coke" - something brand new that nobody wanted. Have they learned from that ? It appears not.

This new half Win 7, half Win 8 is an attempt to please everyone that will end up pleasing no one except fanatical Windows fanboys. "Wow, I LOVE Windows 8, and I'll LOVE Win 10 even more". Yeah, those fanboys. Businesses have spoken - many still run XP because it just works. I win Win 7 because some of my software required it. But I will not touch Windows 8 (or 10).

Win 8 was simply an OS too far. Cell phones are cell phones, and computers are computers. Who cares what the desktop looks like, as long as you can find what you want quickly (without using a damn touch screen - fried chicken and touch screens, not a good combination). When MS creates an OS that simply does what YOU (not microsoft) want it to do, I'll buy it. Meantime, Win 7 is good enough for now.

Nuke, because I would like to tie Win 10 to that detonation. BURN !

JINGS! Microsoft Bing called Scots indyref RIGHT!

The Grump
Coffee/keyboard

YES !

Who are you going to trust more ? A Scot that wears his feelings on his sleeve for everyone to see, or uptight, stiff upper lip Brits, who always hide their emotions under a veneer of oh so respestable propriety ? We told the King what we thought of his "your-a-peeing union" back in 1776.

Of course, we DO have Obama, so freedom isn't perfect - but it beats having your face ground into the dirt by the heel of the King's boot. Good luck Scotland - maybe Ireland will follow your example.

Escape - because that's what Scotland is going to do (I hope). Damned Brits, their driving on the wrong side of the road, and their oh so proper teatime is so annoying. Beatles are cool, though.

Don't buy that phone! It ATTRACTS CRIMINALS, UK.gov will tell people

The Grump
FAIL

Simple... go retro !

Demand that manufacturers start reproducing those old cell phones the size of an Oxford dictionary, with the huge lead / acid battery. That was my very first cell phone. And they would be very hard to hide if stolen. Just a handset and a keypad - no user accessable memory, no fancy screen, no apps, just PHONE !

I still want a cell phone with a rotary dial. It's sooooo retro !

Claimed Home Depot credit card hack could be biggest retail breach yet

The Grump
Go

Oh boy...

This issue is so ripe for a BOFH story.

The boss walks into mission control, and asks how we can harden up our POS terminals against hacker attacks...

UK fuzz want PINCODES on ALL mobile phones

The Grump
Joke

Hmmmm...

I wonder if a cell phone l-ion battery could intentionly be set to overload and explode. A second wrong PIN attempt, and suddenly "This phone will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...1...".

Or a small thermite charge...or a cyanide laced spike and would pop out of the phone and kill the person holding it. Oh my, this IS fun. Gotta think up some more ways to stop cell phone thieves.

Joke icon, because it is a joke... or is it ? [insert evil laugh]

Uber and Lyft sitting in a tree, 'c-a-n-c-e-l-l-i-n-g each other's rides'

The Grump
Windows

Doesn't mean bollocks to me...

I live so far away from any town or city, no Uber or Lyft driver would drive me home. These services are for mostly city folk.

Yawn...Bring on the next BOFH story. Icon to show old guy, eyes glazing over from boredom, falls asleep on keyboardzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Anonymous threatens to name cop who shot dead unarmed Michael Brown

The Grump
FAIL

I call BS on these anon-tards

If they REALLY had the name of the officer, don't you think that they would be shopping that information around to all the tabloids, to see which tabloid would offer the highest price ? I know I would.

Anonymoose is just bluffing - yeah, they can take down computers, but they know as much about the officer who shot the kid as I do - zilch. BS called.

Snowden is FREE to ESCAPE FROM RUSSIA, say officials

The Grump
Mushroom

He can STAY there for all I care

That commie loving piece o crap Snowden is right where he belongs. The US clearly cannot trust him. No sane country on Earth would trust him (Russia included). Snowden is a traitor - truly the modern version of a "man without a country". Let him rot in his adopted "worker's paradise" while, ironically, his handlers keep a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year watch over every little thing he does. Even his bathroom is monitored.

For a guy with a bug up his butt about freedom from government intrusion, he REALLY picked the wrong country to adopt. Snowden is the runner-up ULTIMATE LOSER. (Sorry Eddie, Obama holds that title for life. You only screwed up twice - being a traitor, and picking Russia to live in).

Have a nice day !

Physicist proposes 1,000-foot state-sized walls to stop tornadoes

The Grump
Stop

Large volumes of air act like liquids. You can produce a water "tornado" anytime you want - just drain the bathtub and watch the drain. If they really want to test this idea, construct a model in a water tank. The water will find a way either around or over the barriers. This may cause unexpected consequences when entirely new weather systems form because of the barriers. Messing with a chaotic system like global air currents should be attempted VERY carefully. Oklahoma has been plagued with earthquakes since fracking began there. It turns out that messing with a chaotic geological system should also be attempted very carefully. And there is no telling if the damage to the Oklahoma geology can be reversed or fixed. Remember that before you go playing with global air currents.

FAA shoots down delivery by drone plans

The Grump
Black Helicopters

The real reason the FAA banned drones...

is because Amazon DARED to go ahead with this plan before asking our great Democrat Overlords first - what arrogance! To Democrats (and the British equivalent), they MUST control everything. Anything they don't control automatically becomes a "crisis". Democrats despise private enterprise anyway, so Amazon had one strike against it from the start. Add our little bureaucrats, afraid of allowing anything new and different (it's always safer to say "no"), and that's strike two for Amazon.

Microsoft got the smackdown from the Democrats, before Gates figured out whose palms to grease. Microsoft now has permanent lobbyists in DC, to pay off the Democrats. Amazon better learn from Gates quickly, before it's strike 3 - and they're OUT ! Icon shows what will be used to shoot Amazon drones out of the sky.

Fearful of the drone-filled skies? Get some protection

The Grump
Mushroom

How about an anti-drone drone system ?

Just have your drone crash into the offending drone, and down they both go. Yeah, it's expensive, but think of the children playing in the backyard pool, then think about the perv controlling the offending drone. Now if the PDDS came with hellfire missiles that would lock onto the drone controller, and the pedo holding it - that might be worth it. Icon to show result of hellfire missiles.

British boffin tells Obama's science advisor: You're wrong on climate change

The Grump
Mushroom

Re: "if correct"

The Vogon said "I am of the opinion that AGW is likely to get pretty bad and pretty fast - so - I tend to agree that probably our current models are too conservative".

Wow. Oh wow...someone here has an opinion. AN OPINION ! Ring the bells. Dance in the streets. Call the Queen for a press conference. WE HAVE SOMEONE HERE WITH (WAIT FOR IT)...AN OPINION.

[SARCASM OFF]

It amazes me how many AC's and other people comment on Climate Change without a single clue. Not one of then can probably interpret a climate model, much less understand the mathmatics involved. When I hear the word "opinion", I see a guy open his mouth, and BS comes streaming out. If you don't understand the science, SHUT UP ! And take your "opinion" with you to the pub, where it is always welcome.

Boffins lay out 'practical requirements' of 'realistic' quantum computer

The Grump
Facepalm

Sooo...

will this computer provide precise calculations that are simultaneously correct and incorrect ? (Quantum mechanics make my head hurt).

UK govt 'tearing up road laws' for Google's self-driving cars: The truth

The Grump

Hackers?

Changing Left turn and Right turn commands ? Switching accelerator and brake commands ? Turning a Goggle car into the ultimate remote control car ? I expect it will take hackers about 10 minutes to find the first flaw in the Google car's OS. (Black hat icon if El Register had one).

All I want is a windshield display that turns night into broad daylight, eliminating the need for headlights altogether. I may want a self driving car, but I'm not "dying" for one.

YOU - NASA. Enough with the ROBOTS, get some PEOPLE to MARS

The Grump
Big Brother

We need to fix our economy first.

The face of capitalism in America is horribly blemished to those who will not help pull the Great Chain of Industry. These leaches, these takers, consume our resources but contribute nothing to our great country. Those who refuse to work should be jailed, and forced to work. Refuse, and the guards will happily introduce you to the firing squad. There will be no slackers in MY America.

Only when the scourge of Socialism had been eradicated can we progress to the stars. Twenty one Billion in debt - our Founding Fathers would be in tears if they were alive today. They would also flog the current communist President out of the White House, and lock him in stocks. Obama is a shame on American Excellence. We can - WE MUST - do better. Hopefully in 2016.

Redmond is patching Windows 8 but NOT Windows 7, say security bods

The Grump
FAIL

Or could it be...

Could it be that Microsoft itself bankrolled this "scandal", to get reluctant Win 7 users to make the jump of faith to WIN 8, with its (ahem) fabulous GUI, straight from modern cell phones ? It is the Microsoft version of sneaking up on a bunch of chickens, and blowing an air horn. MS expects Windows users to run straight to the nearest Win 8 vendor, and plead "Save me, please. I need WIN 8". Such are the dreams of MS executives.

I'll stick with Win 7 until it gets bricked by a hacker. After that, I will switch to the Android OS on my cell phone for basic email and internet. Who needs Windows anymore, really ? Icon for Win 8 - a major MS fail - as bad as the "New Coke" fail.

China puts Windows 8 on TV, screams: 'SECURITY, GET IT OUT OF HERE!'

The Grump
Windows

Even China doesn't want Win 8?

OMG. We're talking CHINA here. They make toys with lead paint. They make drywall with volitile chemicals that make any house uninhabitable. They make poisonous dog food. THEY EAT DOGS.

C'mon, if "people" like that don't want WIN 8, that does that say about the poor, clueless Win 8 fanbois who bought WIN 8 because it looked like their cell phone interface ? Anyone who is still defending WIN 8 is, well, just sad. WIN 8 needs to be buried in an unmarked grave on a pitch black night, right next to the old Atari 2600 ET cartridges. My advise to MS - remember the example of the "New Coke" failure, and try again. Coke brought back "old Coke" real quick. What will MS do ?

You know what today's movies need? More drones

The Grump
Facepalm

You know what today's movies need? MORE DRONES

Woah... I was going to say "more cowbells". But more drones works, too.

Seriously, what are they going to do - have Ah-nold Schwartzen... whatever, fight the bad guy while standing on a drone ? They can simply add the drone(s) in post production, just like the tie fighters.

Oh, wow. US Secret Service wants a Twitter sarcasm-spotter

The Grump
Facepalm

Captain Obvious says...

Sarcasm is easy to spot because it's sarcastic. You're welcome, citizen.

Tech that we want (but they never seem to give us)

The Grump
Black Helicopters

All I want...

is a TV interface that would cause the voice of every politican on TV to change to a high, squeaky chipmunk type voice EVERY TIME THEY LIE.

Jay Carney would always sound like Alvin. Obama would actually be fun to listen to. OTOH, it wouldn't work for Al Queda - they actually BELIEVE the stuff they say.

Come to think of it, how about a space based Muslim toaster? Allah is gre...[ZAP]. Allah be pra...[ZAP]. Die Infid...[ZAP]. Fun for all ages.

Iranian hacktivists move into hardcore hacking against West, dissidents

The Grump
Coat

The problem is...

Muslims are just a sweet bunch of guys that (reaches for documents)... that believe in "peace, justice, morality, culture, sport, family life, and the obliteration of all people that do not believe as they do”. Hell, sometimes I feel that way some days. But you wouldn't want to share a country with them, right ? Boom, bang, constant nervous time, no chance to relax. Coexistence is right out, right ? It is the ruling of this court that, since slo-time technology is not yet available, all Muslims are to be deported to Iran, and Iran is to be sealed into a Chernobyl- type sarcophagus until the rest of humanity does out. Then, the Muslims will emerge to the world that they always wanted - a world to themselves. Bailiff, begin ordering the concrete – we’re going to need a lot. Court adjourned.

Icon = reaching for my towel. You gotta know where your towel is.

95 floors in 43 SECONDS: Hitachi's new ultra-high-speed lift

The Grump
Mushroom

WTF???

How does just ONE building in China rate a world class, bleeding edge elevator system? Worker's paradise, remember? Everyone shares equally, remember? Unless they intend to install this elevator system in EVERY building, they should not be able to install it in ANY building. There should be NO rich and poor in China - everyone should be equal. Either that, or the Communist system of government is a LIE and a SCAM. If they cannot provide it for everyone, then they should not provide it for anyone. There is no room for national pride in a worker's paradise.

Nuke icon because China is not being true to their Communist ideals.

Windows XP is finally DEAD, right? Er, not quite. Here's what to do if you're stuck with it

The Grump
Windows

So sorry...

I switched from XP to Vista, then Win7 - and I have been sorry that I switched ever since. After XP, MS ripped out the functionality that enabled XP to remember the size and position of every program window I ever used. Vista and Win7 just opens program windows wherever the hell it wants to. Sorry user - FU from Microsoft. So MS can take Win8 and shove it so far up where the sun doesn't shine, that they can taste it. It's almost - ALMOST - enough to make me try Lenux, or Linus - whatever. I just want something that works right. (FYI - regular guy with no programming experience whatsoever. Yeah, ah jes presses da buddons, en da computer does stuff, duh).

Internet is a tool of Satan that destroys belief, study claims

The Grump
Pint

No Gods, No Kings, just men

Basically, religion and government are the same thing. "Believe in me, and good things will come your way" can be heard not only from churches, mosques, synagogues, etc., but from almost every politician on the planet. Here in the states, we have a man called Obama who desperately wants to be a God. "Pray to me, do EXACTLY what I say, and good things will come your way". Obama isn't the only God wannabe - all politicians wish people everywhere would just OBEY them. The US founding fathers knew this - that is why they tried to keep the US government as minimal as possible.

Religion was founded originally to give the poor people of various towns and kingdoms who had nothing to lose - something to lose if they misbehaved - their immortal soul. A brilliant invention, now the peons had to behave, or risk a one way trip to hell, hades, etc. You cannot disprove the existence of a soul, so now churches had the perfect racket to make big bucks - until the internet. Weren't "round earthers" prosecuted by the church back in the day?

I lost my religion while raised as a Methodist Christian. Cracks began to form when they told me that Rock and Roll music was "the devil's music". Then they couldn't tell me why dinosaurs weren't in the Bible, after the existence of dinosaurs was proven without a doubt. No "a great lizard swallowed the third brother of Issac" or anything like that. Another crack in my belief. Finally, after years of watching these so-called "Christians" acting like jerks while patting themselves on the back for being so "holy" - my belief finally shattered, once and for all.

God doesn't answer prayers anymore. I bet Anne Frank was praying her little butt off for the Nazi's to not find her - we all know how well that worked. Try praying for the Sun to rise in the west and see what you get. The truest thing I ever heard about religion is - "God helps those who help themselves". Even Jesus knew if he stepped off that mountain that God wouldn't catch him. Smart guy! God will also not help - your team win - your uncle to recover from cancer - you win the lottery - or make your beer any colder. I have relegated God to the same bin of mythical characters as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Government "help". Believe in yourself. NEVER believe in religion OR politicians. YOU are the only one you can truly trust. Oh yeah - believe in beer, and all the women in the bar will look more attractive. It's a miracle !

Homeopathic remedies contaminated with REAL medicine get recalled

The Grump
Flame

If only the FDA would...

allow optional testing of these so-called "all natural" miracle cures, there would be no doubt what works and what doesn't. I mean, don't expect the floodgates to open at the FDA - very few homeopathic product manufacturers would volunteer their "products" for testing. Right now, they can hide behind the FDA's statement that the FDA doesn't test "food supplements" - that's how they classify these all natural products. That's fine with the Homeopathic Industry - they can finance their own "clinical trials", bought and paid for with the understanding that the result will be favorable, with enough legalese to skirt any legal requirements.

If the cure says "all natural" - save your money, and maybe your life. Like cocaine, God knows what they cut their pills with. I wouldn't put that in MY body.

Hey frumious Reg gamers: BANG-or-SNATCH? We look at Second Son and Thief

The Grump

Re: Silly question

Hey dogged, I hope you never played Descent. That was the only game that made me ill while playing. 360 degree, 1st person flight, no "up" or "down", and enemies coming from all directions. I eventually shelved the game as unplayable (at least for me).

As WinXP death looms, Microsoft releases its operating system SOURCE CODE for free

The Grump

XP was superior...

because it remembered where your program windows were positioned when you closed them, and would seamlessly reopen them in the same place on your screen. Vista and 7 reopen program windows pretty much wherever they want, and tend to cascade windows on top of each other. Win 8 - why would I bother ? Since Vista and 7 are crap, and Win 8 appears to be even crappier, why would I pay good money for another bad OS ? I had to "upgrade" [sarcasm in quotes] to Win 7 in order to use software that wasn't compatable with XP. But I miss XP every time I have to rearrange my program windows.

I can't wait to throw a "Microsoft Is Bankrupt" party, after Redmond comes out with Win 9, which will use eye movement to move the cursor, and click when you blink. As the WIN8 fanboi's say - you just have to adapt to it. I hope you don't have to blink too often. Eyes hurt? Itching? Red? Don't blink. DON'T BLINK. Oh crap - you blinked, and just deleted 4 hours of work.

This changes everything: Microsoft slips WinXP holdouts $100 to buy new Windows 8 PCs

The Grump

"An OS too far..."

"How Windows 8 nearly ruined Microsoft". Look for it in hard cover and paperback at your local bookstore next Christmas. I guess Microlimp never learned the lesson of "New Coke" - ask the consumer if they actually want it before you shove it down their throats. Win XP remembers where I closed program windows, and reopens them in the same place. Does Vista - no. Does Win7 - no. Does Win8 ? After being burned by Vista and 7, why would I burn myself again ? Win XP works. Win 8 is bollocks. Nuff said.

Eight hour cleansing to get all the 'faggots' and 'bitches' OUT of Github

The Grump

Fags !

I hate fags. Fags are an annoying, unsightly blight upon the world. They just lie there, ruining an otherwise quaint city street view with their hideous appearance. I would approve of ridding the world of fags, but the huge amount of fags would require incinerators running day and night, to rid the world of all of them. Yes - fags ( the unused end of a cigarette or cigar) are disgusting.

---------

See - I could not have wrote this completely inoffensive paragraph with groups line "Ethical Conduct" running the grammar police. My policy is - "If anything I say or do offends you, please don't hesitate - be offended. Just don't unload your emotional baggage on me".

And what is "being offended"? It means you get to try to dictate the speech or actions of another person, based on your emotional sensitivities. Look, if I get the facts wrong, like spelling a certain metal used in soda cans as "alumimen", I will apologize. As for matters of my opinion, it's MY opinion, and my opinion doesn't change because your itty-bitty hurt feelings were hurt. That's YOUR problem. not mine. Have a nice day.

NYPD dons Google tech specs: Part man. Part machine. All Glasshole

The Grump

But do they help with IFF (Identify Friend / Foe) gun targeting ?

Friends don't do tech support for friends running Windows XP

The Grump

WIN 95?

What about WIN 95 support? Will I be able to play my copy of Keef the Thief on Win 8?

Just kidding, but it makes the point. We are talking about computer OS's here - not game consoles. When the latest hot console comes out, and you find out it won't play the old games, you have to buy new games. No business wants to replace their WIN XP dedicated software, just to get MS's new shiny OS.

I would love to see a all-versions version of Windows, with versions of 7, XP, even 95, that run in a sandbox, with perfect emulation of the old OS's. Why is the phrase "backward compatability" such a taboo subject at MS?

And about WIN8 - touch screens and fried chicken are a bad combination.

Terminator-style robot busts leg in martial arts demo mishap

The Grump
Joke

I've...got a headache.

The sexbot industry has a long way to go, if this is an example of current tech. It has the "lying there" part down pat, but the "looking pretty" part? Ehhh...NO. Not if were the last bot on Earth. Clearly, DARPA has the wrong priorities when it comes to "supporting our troops". I believe our entire military would applaud ATTRACTIVE, disease-free sexbots to "support our troops". This bot - ewwwww !

FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS: Microsoft faces prising XP from Big Biz

The Grump
Pint

My 2 cents

First, I'm not a IT guy - I'm just a Windows user since the days of DOS. I couldn't program a VCR - so I needed an OS that just WORKED for my home PC. Been through the wringer with MS: 95 - good, 98 - meh, 2000 - balls, XP - liked it as much as 95, vista - balls for different reason. XP remembered where the window was placed for every program, and reopened them in the same place. Vista, W7 - windows forgets window placement - EVERY - SINGLE - TIME. I have to rearrange my windows every time. Spent many hours trying to get Vista to remember window placement - before I found out that MS sees it as a feature instead of a bug. I'd still be using XP if I didn't need the extra memory and CPU cycles to play the latest and greatest games.

After an MS update, I discovered that my Search functionality in the folder view had stopped working. The Search function off the Start menu worked, but not in folder view. It took me two weeks of trial, error, giving up, coming back, more trial and error before I chanced on the problem, and managed to correct it (something had cleared some of the file types in MS's deservedly maligned "search indexing"). I don't have the luxury of an IT department - just me, and my mini-frig full of beer.

So I figure, what's to stop MS from a final MS "Update" for Win XP, containing instructions to disable key functionalities of XP (and if they're smart, disable them after a set time period, so the malfunction will not be easily linked with the MS update). This would force XP users to update, whether they wanted to or not. And no, when you deal with MS, this is not paranoia - it's a very real possibility. I would turn off MS updates NOW, just to be on the safe side.

As for WIN 8 - eh - let's just say that touch screen OS's and fried chicken don't go together well. MS should man up, grow a pair, and admit that Win 8 isn't the greatest idea they ever had. Now, licensing Win XP support for a fee - that is a good idea. Requiring users change to incompatible OS's every few years - bad idea. That's my 2 cents. And beer because, well, because I'm a Windows user. Gotta have something to dull the pain.

Google's boffins branded 'unacceptably ineffective' at tackling web piracy

The Grump
Pint

Dunno what MP's are...

(probably not Military Police - that's what MP means here in the US of A). However, they sound a lot like our idiot Democrats in Congress. They want to pass legislation to force automobile manufacturers to invent a 100 MPG car by around noon next week, or some impossible date like that. Both MP's and Democrats seem to be amazed when they want us to do something impossible (with current technology), and we don't "Just do it".

Let the MP's look for copyright violations, full time - an give their jobs to guys that will give you a free pint and salted peanuts every day. Beer, cos I like beer.

London Underground cleaners to refuse fingerprint clock-on

The Grump
Mushroom

Union idiots !

Anyone stupid enough to belong to a union voluntarily - deserves the fate of the Hostess bakery union members. They followed their Union - straight into bankruptcy and unemployment. Let's see how far your "dignity" gets you when you receive your final paycheck, with no employment prospects in sight. Then the union officials, having made their money from dues, slink away and find another employer to wreck.

Simple solution - no fingerprint scan, no paycheck. After X amount of days, immediate employment termination. There's a thousand unemployed people out there that would accept your job tomorrow for what you are paid right now. Before you listen to your Union, look in the mirror and tell yourself "I can be easily replaced", and repeat until you believe it. Then tell your Union to shove it.

Myst: 20 years of point-and-click adventuring

The Grump

Bah...

All Myst is - is an Infocom text game with eye candy. I tried point and click with a game called "Scratches" - It sucked. I had tons more fun with Sword of Fargoal, and the early Ultima's. Eye candy is fine, but the play is the thing. I'm currently lost in the New Vegas wasteland, and loving it.

Why Teflon Ballmer had to go: He couldn't shift crud from Windows 8, Surface

The Grump

Re: XP versus Windows 7 versus Vista

win95 (good)

win98(ok)

Windows ME (kill with fire)

Windows xp (great - the last OS that remembered where you opened a previous program window, so you don't have to move them where you want them EVERY...SINGLE...TIME)

Windows vista (crap)

Windows 7 (slightly less craptastic than Vista)

Windows 8 (f**k you this is a PC not a tablet) - [censored, think of the children]

Laser-wielding boffins develop ETERNAL MEMORY from quartz

The Grump
Facepalm

Oh, please...

not another "Gee wiz, look what's coming down the road in another twenty years or so" story. Bah humbug. If these bulls*it stories were true, I'd have my flying car by now, cold fusion would be a reality, carbon nanotube batteries would propel electric cars at 1000 miles a pop, and I would have my "Real Feel" holographic television by now.

Look, if it's not going to be available in stores within a month or so, don't bother writing the story. Stick to writing about stuffy British Prime Ministers, porn filters, current IT, and beer. All the stuff we really case about. Especially the porn.

The Three Amigos offer sanctuary to cornered NSA leaker Snowden

The Grump

Why should Snowden release everything...

when that's the only trump card he has left ? Snowden is of interest to enemies of the US - only - as long as he has dirt on the US government. Without it, he is simply a liability to whatever third rate Commie hell that takes him in. "Here's a mule and a plow. Now go and produce vegetables, comrade. Failure will be punished severely."

I would LOVE to see the look on his face when his adopted country kicks him to the curb. Truly a man without a country.

All major UK ISPs prepping network-level porn 'n' violence filters

The Grump
Big Brother

Well...

I hope you enjoyed the days when the web was free and unedited. Now that they are aware of the web, our political masters will tell us what we can access, and what we can't. After all, most people make bad decisions when left to their own devices (SUV's, real fur coats, Big Macs, etc). We obviously need them to look out for us, and wrap the world in foam rubber, so it will be nice and safe for us. All we have to do is...OBEY. Simple. They say it - you do it. BTW - did you pay taxes on that internet purchase, citizen ?

We're from the government, and we're here to help you !

Amazon faces its third strike in Germany

The Grump
Mushroom

The last time I checked...

you can quit Amazon employment anytime. "Tentimes" would have you believe the employees are chained to their desks (per his "slave" reference that he is so fond of). They're not. You don't like Amazon ? QUIT.

As for unions - how would you like to see the thriving business that you spent many 20 hour days building - taken over by union thugs ? Who gave them the right to tell you how to run your business, pay your executives, or anything else ? Your business is NONE of their business - until liberal politicians gave the unions "magical" labor rights that do not appear anywhere in the Constitution. Union protection laws are simply a payoff to the unions for their voting block.

I hope Amazon (and everyone else) follows the Hostess example - close the business, reorganize without the union troublemakers, and reopen again, free of union baggage.

BTW, if you downvote me - you're a libtard. If you upvote me - welcome to reality.

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