* Posts by John 104

1062 publicly visible posts • joined 1 Jul 2009

Improve, automate, rinse and repeat: All aboard the starship DevOps

John 104

Re: You've been listening...

I love how you mentioned Gartner. The shop that I worked for that did DevOps (poorly), were always going on about getting into the "Magic Quadrant." Basically if you pay Gartner enough money, pay to go to their conferences and tow their line, you somehow end up in the "Magic Quadrant" and suddenly get business from other idiots who think that Gartner is something more than a marketing company. Laughable at best.

John 104

Re: Hilarious reading. Thanks.

Right you are. Nordstrom here in the US is a clothing retailer. They are the only company I know of who have successfully implemented a DevOps.

BBC risks wrath of android rights activists with Robot Wars reboot

John 104

One Step Closer

To Cyberball...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjL_sHtj6fKAhUS5GMKHexnDlgQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCyberball&bvm=bv.111677986,d.cGc&psig=AFQjCNH1e7MzNXrxdmDNsVbPJ5zEkrazOg&ust=1452786031528138

Obama: What will solve America's gun problem? What could it be? *snaps fingers* Technology!

John 104

Tracking Stolen Weapons

it is possible to do so in a way that makes the public safer and is consistent with the Second Amendment," the administration said.

Never mind that pesky 4th amendment...

As trustworthy as our wonderful US government is, I'm sure they would never keep track of innocent citizens with this technology. Yeah right...

Looks like a big pay out to me.

I caught about 5 seconds of the state of the union last night. Right at the point where the POTUS declared that "we need to stand up to lobbyists like the NRA and their lies." Then I turned it off.

Never before in my adult life have I been more embarrassed by a president. The blatant partisan nonsense that comes from his mouth is disgusting. And people suck it up and believe it.

It is like global warming, er, I mean Climate Change. Settled Science is it? Hardly. It is a working theory. But hey, if we say it enough times from the bully pulpit, people will believe it. Never mind the scientific method.

Of course, our choices for the next election are so much better. A loudmouth and a criminal. Awesome.

Fans demand 'Lemmium' periodic table tribute

John 104

So.... 117 should be Halfordium then.

To stick with the theme I'd go with:

113: Tiptonian

115: Downian

Ready for DevOps? Time to brush up on The Office and practise 'culture'

John 104

Re: Devops is vital to produce good systems/websites/applications and to maintain them.

@Bailey86

Congratulations. What you have described is what I call Dev Dev. Not once in your comment did you mention systems. For Dev-Ops (emphasis on Ops) to work, both parties need to be involved. That's the goal, right? Rapid, collaborative development and deployment of applications to production, involving all required teams to meet customer needs.

If your development team uses the Agile method or scrum or whatever, welcome to 2010+. That isn't Dev-Ops. It's just you doing your job. :) Sorry if it comes off snarky, but this is the problem with "Dev-Ops". Developers are all over it, but have no idea what it really is supposed to mean. Then they deliver a product to engineering and wonder why it won't get released to production or why there isn't capacity for it. Dev Dev.

John 104

Sigh

Another week, another DevOps article.

And yet, no one can seem to make it work.

Like Little Mouse said, its just more management mumbo jumbo. And the fact that there is now a coined term to highlight "How to do it!" should tell you something...

I've espoused my experience and distaste for the idea here many times. The only way it could possibly ever work is if you had a CTO who was proficient in both development and infrastructure and was able to view things objectively. Such people are rare to say the least.

Outfit throws fit, hits FitBit's hit kit with writ (Apple also involved)

John 104

If Apple can sue Samsung, and win, for round corners, I say let them get sued for lifting patented technology, which they were obviously aware of.

The patent system exists so that an individual can come up with an idea without having deep pockets to produce it, but not get dinged by some mega company with bully lawyers. There are and have been many people who have come up with ideas and sold them to companies. It is how it works, folks. And if a business makes its money buying ideas and licensing them, so what?

Both Apple and FitBit have made millions (billions?) on someone else's idea. They need to pay, and they will likely settle out of court. Look for the article here in 6 months.

Microsoft in 2016: Is there any point asking SatNad what's coming?

John 104

Screw Em

While I'll continue to make a living off of their server and desktop products, I'm finished with them for my personal use.

Last week their awesome windows 10 desktop decided to do a major update on my laptop. During the day. While I was in a paid SCCM class. Right at lab time. 30 minutes later I finally had my desktop back.

Next day, logged into my wife's computer and it threw up a nag about updating to the latest version of Office for 50% off. Like I fucking care.

When I buy an operating system or software I expect to be left alone.This isn't freeware. This is paid software. If MS makes deals with manufacturers and are giving their shit away, that's their problem. Don't try to upsell your end users and don't fucking upgrade my OS without my permission you ass hats.

Installed Mint with Cinnamon and am so far loving it. I've kept my W10 install for netflix. Microsoft can kiss my ass.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Star Wars Special Editions

John 104

Similar Thoughts

Correct order to watch the films is 4,5,6. Fuck the prequels.They were poorly envisioned, poorly executed, horribly acted, and generally boring to watch.

Oh, and sorry, but best stop motion award goes to Ray Harryhausen. :)

Yes, kids of the 90's and beyond were used to CGI. However, that doesn't mean that older filming techniques don't have merit and aren't enjoyable to watch. My kids, born in the 2000's, LOVE the original Star Wars movies, can't stand the prequels, and thoroughly enjoy watching older sci-fi/fantasy films that use the techniques of their day. Remember, folks, effects don't make a movie. Good writing and acting always win in the end. This is something Lucas didn't realize when he made the prequels. They were effects exhibitions with some sort of plot thrown in just because.

What Lucas has done to the originals is something that I don't think has been done ever to that degree on any other film. Restoration is fantastic. Color correction is fantastic. Special directors cuts are fine (as long as the originals are available) Leave the rest alone.

Imagine if someone went back and started screwing about with Clint Eastwood Spaghetti westerns? They were made on a very low budget, but are incredible films. But you know, we had to make it better because we wanted more at the time. We should add more towns people and horses (digital of course). And make the towns bigger. And his horse should be different. And add dialog. And and.

Or perhaps we should go back and 'fix' 2001? Those antiquated AT&T video phones aren't how it is today so we should put high res images there instead. And the space station, well, we could make that look cooler.

Forbidden Planet. That animated monster is weak. We should replace it with a CGI version and give it better lines.And the set pieces are dated. Let's put modern designs in there and real plants.

Star Trek. you know, big toggle switches don't look futuristic enough .lets digitize the whole thing. And re-shoot all the exterior scenes too. And we have smart phones, not flip communicators. Let's swap those out too.

Me, I'll stick to my laser disc copies and hope that TFA is as good as everyone is saying.

May The Force be With You!

IT infrastructure on demand? Yeah right, say devs

John 104

Joke Alert?

Right?

I find and have found, in 16 year of being in IT, that devs really have no idea what hardware is, how it works, how long it takes to spec, req, and acquire, etc. Cloud based infra helps speed things along to a degree, but it doesn't eliminate the problem of requirements vs reality.

As for users, they are probably about the same as Devs. Maybe Devs are worse as I expect them to have better knowledge of the systems their software is designed to run on...

And, to ro55mo's point. VMWare isn't free. Hyper-V isn't free. You don't just get to spin up an OS and forget about it. You have to PAY for it just the same. Same with physical assets. Management doesn't want to spend the money on good equipment for users or the server room, so IT is left holding the bag when the old stuff breaks.

Windows' authentication 'flaw' exposed in detail

John 104

Wut?

Having administrative access precludes the need to use this attack vector in the first place. The question is: what other methods can be used to access memory to get this key/value to THEN be able to crack the code and start creating accounts, etc.That is what I would be on the look out for.

Kids' TV show Rainbow in homosexual agenda shocker

John 104

I want my rainbow back

Now every time I look up on a cloudy day and see a rainbow, I must assume that the clouds are gay. Such a shame.

SpaceX starts nine-day countdown to first flight of the new Falcon

John 104

Re: Wait.....what?

yes yes, but decrypt the text "machine to machine" or "Internet of Things" and they both come out strangely as SkyNet. Coincidence? I think not!

Microsoft drops internal PowerShell tests on GitHub

John 104

Re: Um?

Ah, I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification. Thought that sounded a bit weird. I've used Git in the past but it has been a long time (not a developer).

John 104

Re: Um?

Thumbs down for asking a question. Classy.

John 104

Um?

Am I misunderstanding something here?

"we are currently not able to take pull requests, but we do want your input."

We put our new code on Git, but you can't get it. But give us input.

Music publisher BMG vs US cable giant Cox: Here's why it matters

John 104
Headmaster

@Ivan4

Agreed. But why would Ford sew a road? More likely they would sue.

Walmart spied on workers' Tweets, blogs before protests

John 104

Re: self-checkout lanes.

Gnosis_Carmot

I despise them. 1 employee/4 registers. That's 3 people out of work. Yes, yes, there are some jobs created to develop, test, maintain the equipment, but this number doesn't come close to unskilled jobs being lost.

They are convenient for the reasons you mentioned above, but I avoid them at all costs and would rather wait in line to interact with a human (and provide them a reason for being there).

As for Walmart, they treat their employees poorly. Benefits offered if you work full time, but they keep the hours down so no one qualifies. Moving targets for schedules. Low pay. Who would want to work there?

And, an anecdote. Years ago, the meat department workers at several WalMart stores attempted to unionize in an attempt to better their working conditions. WalMart's response was to shut down the meat departments. In ALL of its stores. Fuck WalMart.

Dell computers bundled with backdoor that blurts hardware fingerprint to websites

John 104

Re: You can do better

@Steve Crook

Thank you. Glad to see that I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by that crap.

Sales, share price sink for HP Inc – but it's relative glee for HPE

John 104

Ah Wall Street

It always amazes me that a prediction can be fore 50 cents, actual profit can be 40 cents and somehow a company is on the rocks. Profit is profit. If it is declining, sure, do things to improve business, but it isn't like they predicted 44 cents and came in in negative numbers...

And as for printing being the bottom line generator. That went out the window when they changed their model to basically free printers and low capacity ink jet cartridges. When a printer costs $100 and a full kit of replacement cartridges cost more and last for just 6 months, it doesn't make sense to replace them. Its more economical to just go buy a new printer.

Me, I'll stick to my laser color by HP. More up front but cheaper in the long run for me. Maybe not so much for H P... :)

Microsoft Windows: The Next 30 Years

John 104

Re: Nice Article

I hope they stick around too. Otherwise my paycheck will be lacking. Wocka-wocka!

Superfish 2.0: Dell ships laptops, PCs with huge internet security hole

John 104

Feeling SO fine

SO glad I canceled the order I had for the XPS13 and went with an HP Envy 13T instead. Cheaper, better spec, and none of this root cert/private key BS.

Apple's Watch charging pad proves Cupertino still screwing buyers

John 104

Cheap Cables?

What is it with all the complaints about apple chargers fraying? I have laptops that are a decade old (or older) and the chargers are in fine shape. Same story for phones too? Designed obsolescence? Or strictly money grubbing?

You would think for the premium Apple charge they could pony up for some slightly larger gauge wire and housing for their product.

Dell PCs to be never knowingly undersold by John Lewis this Chrimbo

John 104

Re: Fail

Verily he was filled with woe. For he realized the error of his ways. His words, whilst ringing true, were misspoken and presented in the manner of an uncultured commoner.

Realizing what he had wrought upon himself, he slopped through the mire and filth, head held despondently, and entered that den of evil to drown his shame in the Devils fire.

With a forlorn look over his shoulder, he beheld The Kings appointed grammar baron and spoke, "I salute you sir! Please look on me with favor upon our next encounter!"

John 104

Fail

(in the states)

Their pricing is no better here, I'm afraid. Same crap specs for inflated prices.

I recently went through a round in trying to find a good ultrabook at an affordable price.

Big discounter Costco had the new Asus UX 303UB for $1,000 on discount. This was an i7 Skylake, 512 2.5 SSD and 12 GB RAM, coupled with a 950 Nvidia 2GB graphics card, QHD screen.

Unfortunately the build quality was not that great. Screen wobbled, way too much glare for the touch screen and the chassis was uneven. Took it back disappointed.

Ordered an XPS13. i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB HD. Matte screen. $1,000. Upgrading the drive or proc was another $300 each. So I settled for stock.

But low and behold, HP released their ENVY 13T. Customizable in every way for reasonable pricing. Add in a coupon and it was unbeatable. Canceled the Dell order post haste.

ENVY: i7, 128SSD, FHD screen, $932. However, with coupon and after tax, delivered to my door for $850. Either way, a better spec and deal than the Dell.

Just my example, but there is no way Dell is going to beat HP or Lenovo this Winter unless they start lowering their prices.

Remember Windows 1.0? It's been 30 years (and you're officially old)

John 104

OMG, Those videos...

Your wife's lover is going to be pissed as hell, but you made the right decision...

John 104

Re: 30 years of evil slurping

@J J Carter

I'm guessing you have. Point of sale? ATM? Embedded system much?

Muwahahaha. Microsoft owns you and you didn't even know it! ;)

Microsoft gets Edge on blocking ad injectors

John 104

Re: Edge

I salute you, sir!

Apple's design 'drives up support costs, makes gadgets harder to use'

John 104

Re: Good points

I'm an MS fan and I think the 8 interface was horrible and one of the most stupid industry decisions made. Ever. And it was a costly one too. Giving away 10 to fix it is a multi-billion dollar fix.

I suspect politics more than user input led to that disaster.

As for Apple. Yes, one of my biggest complaints about that OS since X came out was that it was impossibly un-intuitive. I still battle with portions of it when I am unfortunate enough to have to use it.

Old tech, new battles: Inside F-Secure’s formidable Faraday cage

John 104

Re: Colour blind risk

Or perhaps they failed you because you were being a smart arse... Color blindness can be dealt with. A cheeky attitude in a professional work sapce?

DC judge rips into the NSA over mass surveillance

John 104

Re: Bravo!

Oh, and I thought his name was going to be Bruce. ;)

John 104

Re: House of lords

I think this is why Trump has the GOP running scared. The guy can't be bought, doesn't owe anyone anything in a political sense, and pretty much does what he want's. Not too good for the establishment...

John 104

Re: Circular Reasoning

Oh. Well, lets just pull those carriers out of the gulf and close up all those european bases. Good night and good luck...

John 104

Re: Give that judge a medal!

here in the states, they get a big black robe. Sort of like a Holocost Cloak, but without the hood. Or Andre The Giant.

Facebook conjures up a trap for the unwary: scanning your camera for your friends

John 104

Re: Yeah.. No thanks

A hearty million thumbs up to you, Boltar.

Whitman's split: The end of Fiorina's HP grand expansion era

John 104
Pint

Aspirations

"Like its one-time great PC sparring partner, Dell, HP has determined survival comes not from shifting boxes but from being aspirational."

I aspirated beer once. I was watching Nights of Terror, a bad italian zombie movie. One line in a scene made me inhale right as I was taking a drink. Coughed for 20 minutes all the while laughing at the movie and myself.

I'm searching for some metaphorical connection to this story, but I really can't find one.

Google swallows your Docs bill from Microsoft, pitches for user familiarity

John 104

Good point. I think at E3 and above you get the full suite. Below that I think it is reduced. Depends on your business needs.

For us, we use E4 and I think it runs around $12 a month.

John 104

Re: Why?

So Google can mine your data. Anonymously of course.

John 104

You don't have to use the web client... You CAN if you are not near storage of any kind. However, every business subscription to O365 comes with 10 - yes 10 - licensed copies of the entire Office suite. So each user can install it on 10 of their favorite machines. And if you don't want MS storing what you work on, just save it local. It's a pretty sweet heart deal really.

John 104

Re: Stick your googly evil where the sun doesn't shine

Can't thumb up enough.

Used Google Docs at a previous job. It was a nightmare. Any serious document writing required copying the doc into the on prem Word, fixing all the formatting fuck ups, then doing your writing. Once finished, copying that back to the cloud, whilst saving a local copy.

Total Joke.

Microsoft makes 1/4 of their money off of Office for a reason...

Apple may face $900m bill after A7 CPU in iPhones, iPads ripped off university's patent

John 104

Oh the irony

Apple had countered that the patent was invalid and had suggested WARF was a patent troll.

Seems to me that this will likely hold up in an outside WI court. If they had a previous private settlement that was paid out it looks pretty cut and dried. Just more Apple getting bent because they got caught stealing and are getting taken to task on it. Chumps.

Besides the mindless dronage of the typical iWhatever user, it is this type of arrogant attitude that Apple does that has prevented me from ever buying their products. Remember antennagate? "Not our fault. You are holding it wrong." I take it back, not chumps. Ass holes is more like it.

John 104

Re: Why not ARM?

Perhaps because of being properly licensed?

Hillary's sysadmin left VNC, RDP exposed to the internet - report

John 104

Re: There is no need to read her email for it to be a disaster

Not to get into it too much, but there was great loss of life in the merchant navies who risked it all to deliver critical war time supplies.

John 104

Re: There is no need to read her email for it to be a disaster

RE: Anyone know what a FAT check is?

chkdsk

BLABBERGEDDON BEGINS! Twitter lays off 8% of its workforce

John 104

Re: RSS feed that lets you post replies

No different than facebook. Shitty interfaced blab blog worth billions. I just don't get it. I have yet to see a polished interface for any of these social media sites.

US Treasury: How did ISIS get your trucks? Toyota: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

John 104

Direct Sales

Pretty sure it's the Japs selling direct to ISIS from the factory. At a huge discount of course. Probably a fleet vehicle arrangement.

Sometimes my government amazes me with their stupidity. (Actually, its most of the time)

White House 'deeply disappointed' by Europe outlawing Silicon Valley

John 104

A lot of hate

The amount of Anti-American hate coming out of this forum right now is staggering.

Don't want to fork out for NAND flash? You're not alone. Disk still rules

John 104

Give it time

Consumer awareness of SSDs is growing. As more peeps become aware of the performance increase, demand will go up and so will manufacturing.

The Steve Jobs of supercomputers: We remember Seymour Cray

John 104

Re: Comparison to Jobs?

Cray’s reputation as a genius – he was as close to Steve Jobs among that community as you could get."

Shame on whoever said that for being such a mindless sheep.

Jobs may have been a marketing genius, but Cray actually invented and built things. Jobs and company have been in the improving someone eles technology game for far to long to be considered genious or any other complimentary term.