* Posts by jake

26589 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jun 2007

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Fatal Attraction: Lovely collection, really, but it does not belong anywhere near magnetic storage media

jake Silver badge

I've seen PCs running with zero problems in places with rather strong magnetic fields. At SLAC, for example.

jake Silver badge

Tales from the trenches.

Many moons ago, I witnessed a field engineer open the back of a piece of equipment, pull the diagnostic floppy (8", just to date myself) off the inside of the door where it was affixed with a magnet ... and the fucking thing still worked! Observing my surprise, he just shrugged and said "I know. I don't get it either. They did it this way for years before I got here. I don't ask questions, I just go by their playbook and collect my pay." He claimed to have seen several tens of these things, and the disk was only dead once ... and that was caused by a couple of rather obvious staple holes.

Magnetic media is a lot tougher than most people think. I would be absolutely astonished if something as weak as a fridge magnet could affect a hard drive. Even several tens of fridge magnets. I'd be even more shocked if a fridge magnet or magnets attached to a desktop PC's case could affect data in transit between CPU and drive media ... especially if the magnets were immobile.

With that said, I have heard this story many times over the years. But it has always been a FOAF telling it, not the person it supposedly happened to. And for the record, we tried on numerous occasions to cause the so-called corruption, with weak little fridge magnets all the way up to rare earth magnets. We observed no data corruption at all.

If anyone can tell me how to replicate these results I'll be more than happy to believe it is possible, but until then this is in Urban Legend territory.

Motivated by commerce, not conscience, Google bans ads for climate change consensus contradictors

jake Silver badge

Ads?

What are these things you call "ads"?

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram deplatform themselves: Services down globally

jake Silver badge

Re: I like

If anyone here in North America is sick and fucking tired of replacing mass-market washers and dryers after three to six years, there is an alternative: SpeedQueen.

SpeedQueen, the folks who make the coin-op machines at laundromats, also make home machines that are just as bullet-proof as the commercial cousins. Better, they are NOT computer controlled, so you can actually fix them on the rare occasion that they break.

They are not inexpensive, but chances are you'll not have to replace it in your lifetime. If anything, they clean better than mass-market machines. If you care about such things, they are made in the USA. And no fucking "lid lock"; either. Recommended.

Hint: Spend the extra money and get the big one. On the rare occasion you need it, you'll be glad you did ... and when you use it with lighter loads than it is designed for, you under-stress it, making it last longer before wear-points need replacing.

If the obvious escapes you, try speedqueen.com ...

Not affiliated, don't own stock, just a satisfied customer, yadda ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Facebook down..... side benefits?

Email never went away either. Neither did Usenet, nor IRC. All have been fully functional, non-stop, for a lot longer than facebook et alia.

jake Silver badge

In other news ...

KGO television, Channel 7 here in the Bay Area is running a poll as I type, asking "Do you trust Facebook?"

Voting is running "Yes" 3%, "No, I don't use it" 37%, "No, but I use it anyway" 60% ... Take that as you will.

jake Silver badge

Re: It was only a matter of time

Speculation in Silly Con Valley is that it's damage control to patch stuff that might still be accessible to the whistleblower who outed herself last night.

Why a former employee would have any access at all has gone unreported (talk about bad security!) ... as has what Facebook can do to fix the barn door after the worm can was spilt.

::shrugs::

jake Silver badge

Re: Oh dear.

On the contrary, the sheeple are losing what is left of their tiny little minds. I've had a half dozen telephone calls asking why "the Internet is down", all from people who never call me for support anymore because I don't do Redmond or Cupertino. Seems they are so desperate for their fix that they are willing to risk getting laughed at.

In other news, the Realtor for a property I'm trying to purchase can't do business with me "because her Facebook is down". When I pointed out that I've never used Facebook when talking with her, she just looked at me blankly. Yes, we were standing talking to each other in person at the time. The mind absolutely boggles.

Things that are not PogChamp: Amazon's Twitch has its source code, streamer payout data leaked

jake Silver badge

You honestly think a multi-billion dollar multinational has any morals or code of ethics beyond "make a profit"? Ah, the naivety of youth ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Waiting...

Secondary?

From what I can see, judging by reports of security issues reported here on ElReg, the Industry Standard for "internet companies" (whatever that means) places security somewhere below quaternary.

jake Silver badge

Re: House of cards...

The Internet existed long before facebook, alphagoo and amazon existed. It will still be with us long after they are gone.

Yes, they will be gone someday. So will Microsoft and Apple and Canonical.

Before you poo-poo this, think about it. Where are Burroughs, Sperry, Allied Signal, Philco, Amdahl, Remington Rand, DEC and ROLM? We won't mention the likes of HP, the poor mewling thing, so senile it doesn't know it's dead. And that's just for a start.

Microsoft's problem child, Windows 11, is here. Will you run it? Can you run it? Do you even WANT to run it?

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

"Its seriously irritating to have parts of your filesystem just not be available."

I'd go as far as to say that that portion of the file system is not yours. It clearly belongs to somebody else. Are you absolutely certain you want to store your shit on it?

jake Silver badge

Re: Would love to jump ship, but...

The observation the a basic education is free only if your time has no value remains painfully true.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

"(e.g. 'snap' is the most ghastly thing ever invented. seriously wtf)"

I'd say religion was the most ghastly thing ever invented.

As far as computing junk is concerned, snap is bad, but far from the worst. The systemd-cancer comes to mind. So does Apple keeping everything in a sandbox controlled by Apple, now emulated by all and sundry. To say nothing of the over-riding idea that people don't actually own the hardware that they purchase .... THAT is evil incarnate.

jake Silver badge

Re: Easiest survey ever.

Nah. I stand my ground and watch it slink off into the shadows, from which it never bothers me again.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

?

I fail to understand your point.

jake Silver badge

Re: This will be the fourth...

Other way around, actually. The authors of the systemd-cancer have intentionally copied most of the bad bits of the registry-cancer.

jake Silver badge

Re: Easy ways to avoid Windows 11

One wonders if a pedant should be able to get away with starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. We refuse to stoop to the level of pointing out the obvious lack of proper sentence structure, extremely poor punctuation, and missing capitalization.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

The problem with the more corporate Linux distributions are just that ... they are corporate. Some of them have almost exactly the same problems as Microsoft, and for exactly the same reasons. I'm squinting at you, Canonical ... and derivatives. Producing kitchensinkware in an attempt to be all things to all people does nothing but make the system entirely too big and bloated and difficult to redirect into the direction you want to travel.

But if that's what floats your boat, feel free. Just be aware that your hand is being held, and you are being sheltered from the guts of the thing, which can never be good considering that to all intents and purposes you are your own sysadmin.

jake Silver badge
Pint

Re: Want to run it?

Just so you know, you probably won't have issues with drivers. That's mostly a Windows thing these days. Exceptions are for extremely obsolete equipment (and even then, Linux may surprise you!), and for bleeding edge equipment, which everyone has trouble with.

Contrary to popular opinionFUD, printers have mostly been a non-issue on Linux for about 20 years, thanks in large part to CUPS.

One last comment ... There is an old adage in the Linux world that goes something like "If you want to learn $DISTRO, run $DISTRO. If you want to learn Linux, run Slackware." ... One gives you the skills to use any distro out there. The other gives you the skills to use $DISTRO.

Enjoy experimenting, regardless of what you settle on. This round's on me.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

As a very long-term computer and networking consultant who occasionally builds and/or upgrades data centers for a living, I can assure you that the last thing I want to see in my not very copious free time is yet another PEE CEE.

Games should be played outdoors, on grass. It's good for the soul ... which nobody ever said about computer gaming.

Felt covered slate is a valid substitute for grass, archery or darts also work nicely.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

There is a difference between "need" and "want".

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

"I still think that Windows 2000 was the only really usable version of Windows."

Yes. Win2K was peak Windows.

"(POSIX compatible as well -- what were they thinking?)"

They were thinking about Government contracts requiring compliance with FIPS 151-2.

jake Silver badge

Re: This will be the fourth...

Except they will copy Apple (as usual) and completely emasculate the GNU tool chain so you can't actually use it to do anything resembling admining your own system.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

I'm surprised you stuck with MSDN this long, Bob. I dumped mine almost 12 years ago ... Spinning my wheels watching myself and everybody else be ignored by the Redmond Marketing Department just got too old to justify. I don't miss it a bit.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

Might not even need more RAM and SSD upgrade ... This near 18 year old laptop has been upgraded from 256 Megs of RAM to 2 gigs and runs just fine. I am not a gamer.

jake Silver badge

Re: Want to run it?

"if anyone has some pointers on which distrib would be easiest for an exWindows guy."

I love all these people telling you that you should run their pet distro of choice. How the fuck would they know? They have absolutely no idea how you intend to use your computer.

The correct answer is "I don't know. What software do you intend to run, how do you intend to use the computer, how computer literate are you, and how far are you willing to dive into a new OS?".

I switched MeDearOldMum and Dad to Slackware the week that Dad retired. Dad started using computers in the 1950s. He dove into Linux (and later BSD) so deep all you could see was arse & elbows for several months. When he finally came up for air, he knew exactly what he wanted, specced out and built a machine for himself, and is still using THAT SAME BOX around 20 years later[0]. It is Slackware based, because he could see the utility of being able to pick my brain occasionally. The household file & print server and the alarm system and household mechanicals run BSD, as does the internet-facing stand-alone firewall.

Me DearOldMum, on the other hand, runs a cut-down version of Slackware, designed by me, specifically for her needs. It's essentially bone-stock Slackware-stable with a desktop that just has the bits & bobs that she needs day to day easily available to her. Dad is her first line of support, and I haven't been needed for probably ten years. I run her system updates remotely, after testing them out here. I also keep an eye on the logs & etc. Takes me almost no time (I batch it with my Wife & Great Aunt's upgrades ... they use the same basic subset of Slackware), and it's one less thing for Dad to worry about.

So it depends ... What are you going to do with it?

[0] He was speccing out a new machine when the Covid parts shortage hit. Today he says he probably isn't going to bother upgrading hardware after all. We'll see :-)

Italian researchers' silver nano-spaghetti promises to help solve power-hungry neural net problems

jake Silver badge

Re: Bistromathics!

Dependent on the observer's movement between restaurants, Shirley.

Maker of ATM bombing tutorials blew himself up – Euro cops

jake Silver badge

Re: Playing with Chemicals that Go Bang

It is easy to demonstrate the explosive nature of flour. Take a five or six foot[0] length of 4 inch[0] PVC pipe. Drill four 3/4" holes around the circumference of one end, about 2" from that end. Place a votive candle on the ground, and put the pipe over it. Light the candle through one of the holes. Dump a scant 1.5 tablespoons (10g) of sifted[1] flour into the open end. On a calm day, the minor explosion[2] can be fairly loud, and the resulting smoke-ring can rise & expand far more than you might think. All sizes are approximate. I've never actually measured anything when doing this, yet it always works despite my lack of care and attention.

NOTE! While I've never had an issue playing with this toy, nor have I ever heard of anybody getting hurt or doing damage to anything, this may be illegal in your jurisdiction. Most such toys tend to get lawmakers upset, probably because they are always vaguely afraid that somebody, somewhere, is having fun. Needless to say, children LOVE it ... and you can sneak a science lesson in without them noticing :-)

Yes, it works with coffee creamer ... but again, you'll get best results if you sift it. Makes a sticky mess all over everything, so you might want to stick with plain old flour.

[0] Of course you know what feet and inches are. Don't be disingenuous, it's not becoming.

[1] If you don't pre-sift the flour, it might fall as a clump & extinguish the candle.

[2] Depending on pipe size, hole size & number, the grind of flour (cake flour vs AP, for example), the quantity of flour, how well it is dispersed, and other variations, the noise can range from a mild "pop" to a dull "thud" to a deep "bang". Experiment. That's what science is for, right?

jake Silver badge

Re: Pretty much standard

"that it would be convenient if the knowledge was incomplete"

No. The publications were as accurate as they knew how to make them. Their reputation depended on it.

"that can easily be put on a watchlist."

Again, no. That kind of thing is fairly modern. I remember my grandad and uncles purchasing dynamite over the counter at the local hardware store, no ID required or even asked for. Usually they just bought enough to set off their own mix of ANFO, though ... made a better bang for rolling Redwood stumps out of the ground.

jake Silver badge

Re: Pretty much standard

"The first act of domestic terrorism was Guy Fawkes"

Representation from the Sicarii are on line one ... something about prior art.

jake Silver badge

Re: Depends

@Clausewitz: Oh?

jake Silver badge

Wow!

Who knew that those in charge would have left such huge loopholes! And you read it on TehIntraWebTubes, so it must be true!!!!!1!111one!1111eleven!

jake Silver badge

Hold my beer ... No, really, hold my beer, I'm low on fingers.

jake Silver badge

Re: History repeating itself.

It's "hoisted by", see: Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4.

If you want to be both petulant and archaic, it's "hoise by".

Firewalls? Pfft – it's no match for my mighty spares-bin PC

jake Silver badge

For large values of "suitable:

Remember, they need you, not vice versa. Negotiate accordingly.

jake Silver badge

Re: Bodged rack mount server

Out of curiosity, what drives do you prefer for your private use?

Yes, this is a trick question. We may learn why s/he doesn't miss SCSI.

jake Silver badge

Re: Gaffer tape ... don't leave home without it.

For all around use, ShurTape P- 628 will handle just about anything you throw at it. I generally buy it by the case when I see it on sale. I also keep various versions of ProGaff on hand for specialty work (wet conditions, automotive/boat upholstery backing, etc.). Both are kinda spendy, but you get what you pay for.

jake Silver badge

Re: Guess what I found!

A promiscuous ethernet card and tcpdump worked quite nicely back then, and still is quite useful in the right hands.

jake Silver badge

Re: Eh?

I don't need knowledge of his config. I know lilo. Changing the kernel[0] called for in /etc/lilo.conf and then running (surprise!) lilo at the command line and rebooting is hardly difficult.

It would appear some folks disagree.

[0] The kernel was the only thing upgraded in the OP's scenario, so the only thing needing to be changed would be the image called out by the config file (and possibly a kernel parameter or two). And probably just the one kernel, even in a multi-boot system. Unless you're foolhardy enough to change all the kernels in such a system at once, sans testing.

jake Silver badge

Re: This is every IT project

Gaffer tape ... don't leave home without it.

jake Silver badge

Temporary hacks aren't.

If you are reading this, you're probably using the hack that I put together in 4.1BSD (now called 4.1aBSD) for part of the TCP/IP stack to be included in 4.2BSD[0]. It was supposed to be one of those "just get us through the demo, dammit" hacks. I got 'er done over Christmas/NewYears break in 1981. Virtually every version of TCP/IP since has used it. Not too bad for a quick hack ...

[0] Just to cut the usual pack of idiots putting words into my mouth off at the socks, no, I didn't write the whole stack. That's why I said "part of". It was only about 120 lines of C in total.

jake Silver badge

Eh?

"how I don't miss LILO and needing to rerun it for kernel upgrades"

Because it was such a chore?

MAybe a dozen or so keystrokes ... you must have been typing your fingers to the bone, poor thing.

YouTube expands vaccine misinfo crackdown, nukes anti-vax channels for good

jake Silver badge
Pint

"El Reg itself might considering worrying about when the culture warriors will start coming after snark."

They keep trying, but us Loyal Commentards keep beating them off with a stick.

Funny, isn't it, how we fight like cats & dogs over many things, but are united in keeping the general tone of this august organ as it is.

Personally, I think that useful info flows far more freely with an element of snark to lubricate it. That's what made the good points of Usenet take off as fast as it did. I could point to many FOSS projects that wouldn't be what they are without it, too. And many proprietary projects that withered on the vine without it,

Beers all around.

jake Silver badge

Re: 5G chip...

What are these "apps" you speak of?

jake Silver badge

Re: 5G chip...

::sighs::

jake Silver badge

Re: When does misinformation become information?

Yes, the US Government is stupid (all large governments are, almost by definition). But there was no NSL. Not this time. No need.

Ol' Bill of Occam sez follow the money.

jake Silver badge

Re: When does misinformation become information?

Exactly. Follow the money. The bad publicity was affecting their bottom line, so they have started pulling the obvious bullshit.

One wonders if profits actually increased in some measurable way when they pulled posting rights from a certain ex-president ... if so, it would explain why the various multi-billion dollar advertising companies are now more prone to jerk the platform out from under the bullshit artists.

And about fucking time, too.

jake Silver badge

Re: When does misinformation become information?

"What worries me is the idea that companies like Google consider themselves to be legitimate arbiters of what constitutes misinformation."

What worries me is that people as a herd consider the bullshit they read online to be TRVTH. As I've been saying for decades, Critical Thinking 101 should be mandatory for high school graduation.

"On one hand they benefit from being considered not a publisher but on the other they behave exactly like one."

Oh, horseshit. They allow you to publish any old bullshit, to your heart's content ... UNTIL you start to affect their company (and shareholders) negatively. At that point, you get slapped on the hand, the offending content gets removed, and you get told not to do it again.

It is NOT the stuff that they are publishing that gets pulled, it is the stuff that you are publishing that gets pulled. The freedom of the press belongs to he who owns one.

jake Silver badge

Re: When does misinformation become information?

And MeDearOldMum had dreams of me being an Astronaut. Sadly, I was pigeon-toed, cross-eyed and extremely near-sighted so I washed out of Air Force Pilot training before I even got there. Clearly, MeDearOldMum should have been blaming all those nasty vaccines I got as a child, not her own genetics.

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