* Posts by jake

26584 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jun 2007

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Dept of If I'd Known 20 Years Ago: Call centres, roosting chickens, and Bitcoin

jake Silver badge

Re: Call Waiting...

It's all part of the same metropolitan area, and doesn't alter my point that it wasn't just a small hick cow-town as you implied.

By way of reference, the three states meet here. You can zoom out to see the physical relationships between the cities mentioned.

jake Silver badge

Re: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" - T J Watson (attributed) was right!

There is an interesting article on who may or may not have said something like this on the always suspect Wiki. See here. Worth a read.

With that said, I categorically reject the concept. Computers come in all shapes and sizes and uses. There will always be a use for another computer, probably up to (and possibly beyond) the heat death of the Universe.

jake Silver badge

Re: So I'm not the only one .....

Many of us did call it BetCoin back in the day.

jake Silver badge

Re: Call Waiting...

To be honest and fair, Sioux City, Iowa (the "small town") had a population of over 83,000 people in the year 1985, when Gateway 2000 was founded. The two counties it is in had a combined population of over 120,000 people. If you throw in North Sioux City (S. Dakota) and South Sioux City (Nebraska), Sergeant Bluff (Iowa) and environs, there were in excess of 200,000 people within a 10 mile radius.

jake Silver badge

Re: Call Waiting...

Gateway 2000 was the epitome of excellent customer service ... at least in comparison to Microsoft. To this date, I have never, not once, ever, seen Microsoft truly resolve a customer support call, with the exception of resolving activation issues.

In the '70s it was an industry standard joke trying to get help with Microsoft's version of BASIC. By the '80s, I actually had the companies I worked for pay the IBM premium for PC-DOS (as opposed to the identical MS-DOS), just to get support which had clues.

After over 30 years, I finally threw up my hands and stopped all contact with Redmond, as of January 1st, 2010. I even removed it from all[0] my household computers, and no longer took any contracts that had anything to do with Microsoft software. It's been over a decade now, and I haven't missed it a bit. Recommended.

[0] All except one ... I still have a Win2K machine that runs AutoCAD2K, and that is all. Hopefully I'll have all my CAD junk transferred to a more FOSS friendly solution before she dies ... Before you ask, yes, the old girl is airgapped. And no, in 21 years I haven't needed technical support for her from either company.

Machine-learning model creates creepiest Doctor Who images yet – by scanning the brain of a super fan

jake Silver badge

Re: Distorted

Maybe not the concept of SciFi itself, per se, but rather a meta concept.

I think it was Ted Sturgeon who first voiced the revelation ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Very unlikely

"Interesting that the image produced had good construction of the face but almost ignored the hair."

Not all that surprising. The victimsubject of the research was a guy. Ask any gal, us men never notice their hair. This is proof that it's not spite or rudeness, we really don't see it. Its just not important to us, for whatever darwinian reason.

So, ladies, if you're getting your hair done just to make yourself attractive to men, you may as well save yourself a few quid. It's now been scientifically shown that not only does it not work, it apparently can't be made to work ... we're just not wired that way.

Web prank horror: Man shot dead while pretending to rob someone at knife-point for a YouTube video

jake Silver badge

Re: This is why they should be banned.

No, you have not seen that, for the simple reason that such a tool doesn't exist. "Automatic combat shotguns" cannot be made light enough and small enough for everyday carry.

jake Silver badge

The concealed bit is so you don't scare people who are afraid of their own shadows, sending them off to make a nuisance call to the local police department. (Yes, I have carry permits. No, I never actually carry off my own land, unless I'm hunting or target shooting or the like.)

jake Silver badge

Re: @File_id.diz OMG

"No time to load yet time to disengage a childproof lock ... are you sure about that?"

Re-read what he wrote. The very placement of the gun (over the steps) was the lock. It was out of reach of curious small children, and being over the steps there would be no easy way to stand on a chair, etc. My family used a similar mechanism for the always loaded varmint guns.

Yes, always loaded. Seconds count, and if they hear you chamber a round they are gone. If you have never had a varmint problem, you might not be able to fully understand. Count your blessings.

jake Silver badge

Re: This is why they should be banned.

Because as we all know, everybody has an automatic combat shotgun light enough for every day carry at hand just in case of an odd-ball, once in a lifetime emergency.

jake Silver badge

Re: This is why they should be banned.

As a guy who butchers most of his own meat, I can assure you that I rarely, almost never, use a cleaver and do in fact often use a chef's knife.

The victims probably could have expected both stabbing and slashing wounds, with the latter doing most of the damage. Butcher's knives are rarely heavy enough for chopping.

My current favorite is a cheap and cheerful Victorinox Forschner Fibrox 8" Breaking Knife. Four of them, actually, so I always have a fresh edge. The chef's knife I use most often is the 8" version of the above knife, mostly for larger poultry, and a good set of shears. Smaller birds get the 6" chef's knife.

I use a band saw where some people might use a cleaver when taking apart larger critters (chine bones, mostly).

But whatever. It matters not. He brought a knife to a gun fight.

jake Silver badge

Re: Wait for it...

SCotUS will never allow the banning of guns. And the Dems in power know it. They just can't admit it and still get voted back in.

jake Silver badge

Re: @Jellied Eel... Wait for it...

"But with the Dems in control and Biden being anti-gun, who knows what'll happen this time."

There are some things that the Dems are not quite in control of. Remember, Trump stacked the Supreme Court. As a result, guns will be a fact of life in these here parts for a long, long time to come.

I rather suspect that guns would have been around even if Trump hadn't stacked the Court ... So-called "liberal" courts have upheld the Constitution on this matter in the past. It is quite clear what the Founders meant when they wrote what they wrote, all hair-splitting is modern invention.

As a side-note, the Dems spouting the Gun Control creed know SCotUS isn;t going to disallow guns here in the US. They are just catering to the people who put them into power. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many of the Dems in the House and Senate hold CCW permits?

jake Silver badge

Re: Born idiots. All of 'em.

It wasn't a prank to the victim, it was an instant life-or-death situation. Ha ha. Very funny.

We need to stop calling this kind of thing a "prank". Call it a stunt instead. Particularly egregious ones should be known as cunning stunts.

jake Silver badge

Nothing more? I beg to differ. I believe in these examples, that would be a criminal with a camera, not just a jerk.

jake Silver badge

Re: This is why they should be banned.

"Poe's law" is not really a law, it's an adage. You can't break an adage, all you can do is demonstrate it.

jake Silver badge

Born idiots. All of 'em.

The only thing alpha-tube changes is that the audience laughing at their stupidity, and crying when an innocent gets hurt or killed, is larger. Perhaps putting the sentencing phase of their trial on the same anti-social media where they broadcast the commission of the crime would minimize other idiots from attempting to emulate them?

Throw the book at them using existing law! No need to make new laws. It's already illegal to carjack somebody, or attempt strong-arm robbery armed with a knife, or to shoot somebody with a firearm. It is not a "prank" when the victim truly believes he's being carjacked or robbed or shot. Being on youtube (or whatever) doesn't change this. Make an example of them. And do it in Internet time, don't drag it through the courts for years.

The laptop you bought in 2020 may stop you buying a car in 2021: Chips are going short

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

It's not the first time I've made that typo late at night. Won't be the last, either.

Mea culpa.

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

The only thing 4WD does is allow city folks to get deeper into the shit before getting stuck.

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

""ludicrous mode" destroys driveshaft splines"

Only because shit modern cars are built down to a price with the cheapest components possible.

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

"the most mediocre current car is more reliable and will last longer than even best Japan could put out in the 1970s"

My '72 Datsun 240Z (Nissan S30, Fairlady Z) has over 400K miles on it, with no more than routine maintenance. She still runs and drives just fine. Likewise, I've been racing her sister, a '72 510, for a long time now without anything but bodywork falling off.

On the otherhand, my Dad has had to junk four medium to high end Japanese sedans in the last dozen years because they fell apart to the point of being not worth repairing according to his insurance company. I gave him a newly restored '65 Mustang Fastback for his 85th birthday and told him to drive the shit out of it.

"Who carries a point contact file or knows how to adjust a distributor vacuum advance these days?"

My dad and I. We replace clutches, shim gears and adjust valves, too :-)

Seriously, it's not exactly rocket science. Having upwards of a dozen computers in one car that do everything and anything, probably up to and including letting you know when it's time to wipe your ass/arse? That is WAY past the ridiculous for a simple transportation device. My way can be repaired by the side of the road with nothing more than a nail file, some chewing gum, bailing wire and a length of tubing. I'm home while you are still waiting on a tow truck.

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

Purchase a Hondata ECU (or similar) and get thee to a tuner. Tell said tuner you want better than factory HP and torque when you give it welly, but better economy when putting around town and cruising on the freeway. The results will surprise you ... Note that you can retain the factory computer for a yearly check if the local motor vehicle system insists on it. Simply unplug the Hondata and plug the factory unit back in, and you're back to where you started.

Yes, recycling cars is easier on the Earth than purchasing a new one every couple years.

jake Silver badge

Re: Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

"It's fairly certain that your 1995 Fiat has worse emissions and will handle substantially worse if pushed to the limit of its stability."

Don't mock the man just because he drives a Fiat! If he likes it, it's good enough for me. (But then I'm probably the wrong person to talk to ... I have purchased, driven, sworn at, worked on, sworn at, restored, driven, sworn at, worked on some more, driven, sworn at while driving, and ultimately sold no fewer than 14 '50s and '60s Alphas ... But I can stop any time. Really. After this next one ... )

The chippery is there as a result of many, many levels of feel-good legislation to keep the greenaholics quiet. There are now so many layers of crap that perfectly good engines struggle to produce power. For example, your average run of the mill Honda four cylinder produces around 160 HP. If you nuke the factory chips, you can extract 600+ reliable horsepower out of the very same motor ... and still get very good fuel economy if you keep your boot out of it.

jake Silver badge

Re: New British Chip Factory

A note to the North American contingent: When they type chips they mean fries even though the story works our way, too.

jake Silver badge

Stop me from buying a car? Probably not.

But then I only buy 1970ish and older cars, and then restore them. No sense of style in the new ones. Far too expensive and boring.

Survey: Techies reckon open sourcery has better prospects than familiarity with a single vendor's cloud wares

jake Silver badge

Re: Here's a wild thought

That is crazy talk! I mean, if you were even partially correct it would mean that hundreds of billions of dollars (perhaps tens of trillions) world-wide are tied up in something that is intrinsically not secure! Shirley all those CEOs can't possible have made a mistake by jumping on the Cloud bandwagon, could they?

jake Silver badge

Re: "94 per cent reckoned FOSS code was as good if not better than the proprietary option"

Nah. "Better" is subjective, no measurement required.

jake Silver badge

Re: "94 per cent reckoned FOSS code was as good if not better than the proprietary option"

How do you figure? Re-reading the article, I see nothing at all about errors (or lack thereof) in the code, just commentary on usability.

jake Silver badge

Re: "94 per cent reckoned FOSS code was as good if not better than the proprietary option"

I think they were talking about the functionality of the code, not the beauty of the functions and algorithms (etc.).

jake Silver badge

Re: IBM is doomed to die, eventually

There are many patents from now defunct companies that stop anybody else from using their technology, often even in a support roll.

Note that I'm just the reporter, I don't necessarily agree with it.

jake Silver badge

One thing people tend to forget about FOSS.

By it's very nature, FOSS will be around as close to forever as makes no nevermind. Corporate closed source software, on the other hand, is just as ephemeral as the company in question. IBM is doomed to die, eventually. So are Amazon, Goophabet, Apple and Microsoft. Shirley the proverbial Thinking Man should throw their lot in with the obvious long-term winners and eschew the obvious losers?

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.

Salesforce: Forget the ping-pong and snacks, the 9-to-5 working day is just so 2019, it's over and done with

jake Silver badge

Does this mean we can get rid of ...

... eyesore skyscrapers, like Salesforce's Dildo in San Francisco?

Takes from the taxpayer, gives to the old – by squishing a bug in Thatcherite benefits system

jake Silver badge

Except the timer in a microwave is a countdown timer that has no actual bearing on the clock time.

jake Silver badge

Re: 56KB would have been considered a large mainframe memory in the 960s

"I believe large computational memory was measured in beads in 960."

It was still measured in beads in 1960. Ferrite ones.

Borkem ipsum: Supermarket gifts Thailand a tech fail that will echo down the millennia – and probably choke a turtle

jake Silver badge

Re: "Still. A nice design. Shame about the sub-editing."

I would have writing it "Still, a nice design.", which would have been much more properer.

jake Silver badge

Re: Party pooper here...

Somewhere around here I have a copy of IBM's little booklet on programming the original IBM PC (with DOS 1.x) using BIOS calls in assembly language instead of directly addressing the hardware. Not too unusual for the era, but this book has a bit of a twist. For some reason, it was translated from English to Japanese (judging by how the syntax was garbled) and then back to English. Apparently neither translator was technically inclined. The resulting gibberish has to be seen to be believed.

I have also managed to acquire a copy of the IBM original. If I can locate them while this thread is still relevant, I'll transcribe a couple paragraphs from each.

jake Silver badge

Re: ipsum checksum

New here AC? May I introduce you to Bootnotes?

Bootnotes covers all journalistic sins. Remember, ElReg is a RedTop, they have to publish this kind of thing once in a while or they get kicked out of the guild. Besides, all work and no play makes for a dull vulture.

Linus Torvalds labels Super Bowl 'violent version of egg-and-spoon race'

jake Silver badge

Re: Never understood some names

No, thank you. We're trending down in the religion department here in the US (and all the hatred that comes with it). Most of us would like to see it stay that way.

jake Silver badge

Re: Eh, great way to offend the USA

If the Queen doesn't want her carpet pissed on, why does she have corgis?

jake Silver badge

Re: Apocryphal anecdote

"(non-televised) high-school football games"

You must be one of those heretics who live outside Texas.

jake Silver badge

Re: Test Cricket and the Linux Kernel

As a Yank, a sometime kernel developer, and a follower of Cricket, I have often thought about this very issue. All I can surmise is that there isn't very much kernel input from countries with a strong tradition in Test Cricket. Sad, that.

jake Silver badge

Nah, College ball is more popular for one reason, and one reason only: There are more games to bet on.

jake Silver badge

Re: It's all homoerotic crap.

"if you are good, you are sooner or later dead."

You are sooner or later dead anyway. Wouldn't it be nice to be good at something first? Will you ever know the answer to that question?

Microsoft suspends donations to politicians who backed attempt to overturn US presidential election

jake Silver badge

Of course MS has a direct say in this particular PAC. Their name is on it ... and if you RTFA you'll see that MS is only holding back the funds to certain anti-American politicians and etc. until 2022. At which point, presumably, they will resume passing along funds to anti-American politicians and etc.

I don't think we'll ever know exactly how much graft Microsoft pays. That's private, personal information because Microsoft is an individual, don't you know.

jake Silver badge

Re: Democrats need to do a full voter rights act

Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the individual states cannot all agree to a uniform method of balloting.

Yes, I agree that gerrymandering and the like needs to stop. But it will not, because politicians are in it for themselves, not for the good of their districts. I have no answers.

jake Silver badge

Re: Democrats need to do a full voter rights act

The daft thing is that the US Government knows very well how to count pieces of paper with multiple mutiple-choice questions on them, and count them with extreme accuracy. Take note of the US Census, for one example. And pretty much every object we've ever put into space, from inception to assembly to launch.

And yet they insist on making elections look difficult. Who do they think they are fooling? (That's a rhetorical question.)

jake Silver badge

Re: Democrats need to do a full voter rights act

The US is very young, but we come from stock that expects a long and varied oral history. So we cling to each little piece as if it were important. Give us another couple centuries, we'll probably figure it out.

With that said, I suspect that the Electoral College's time has come.

jake Silver badge

Re: address the issues and policies that are important to the preservation and promotion of democ...

And one that needs to go away.

I will not live to see it gone. Too many politicians will lose too much money if it does. Yes, I'm saying straight-up that US politicians are on the take. Every fucking one of them.

Someone tried to poison a Florida city by hijacking its water treatment plant via TeamViewer, says sheriff

jake Silver badge

Re: For the love of the wee man

Because ThoseInCharge want to show their friends pretty real-time graphs on their iFads.

Really. That is the only reason.

We tugged on their capes, and were shrugged off. We tapped 'em on the shoulder & were elbowed away. We pulled on their sleeves, and were thrust aside. Some even kissed their boots, and were trodden upon. Our message was always "Please, PLEASE, **PLEASE**!! don't allow the connection of SCADA to publicly available networking systems!"

But did they listen? No. They did not. The idiots.

On the bright side, those of us with a clue are making a pretty penny in our retirement, cleaning up the resulting mess :-)

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