* Posts by Jamie Jones

4282 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Jun 2007

Zuckerberg: Yes, Facebook kept Hunter Biden's laptop under wraps

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: A Dutch saying

I wonder if my downvoter knows that I'm a native Welsh speaker, but I have a sense of humour?

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: A Dutch saying

And in Welsh, "chwychchcclllcclcollchcwchcorwchllevyllchechwlllychchochwllynllynwchllllwochchll"

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Re: The Republican Party & Hunter Biden

"Because we loathe corruption, self-advancement and the misuse of power, and we will do all in our power to root it out.

Hunter Biden & his Laptop — America's Biggest Threat."

Am I the only one who can see he's "quoting" a "typical" republican here, not actually making a statement?

Post-quantum crypto cracked in an hour with one core of an ancient Xeon

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Supersingular Isogeny Key Encapsulation

1) People would exaggerate claims.

2) The word "literally" was used to differentiate between these wild claims and reality.

3) People started to use "literally" to mean "even wilder" claims,.

4) We now need a word for "literally, literally"

Sage accused of misselling perpetual licenses it knew would soon be obsolete

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Re: Workaround?.....

Thank-you both for the replies. I guess I wanted clarification as I couldn't believe they'd get away with borking programs when the only "functionality" is the license server!

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Workaround?.....

I have no clue about Sage software, but reading your reply, it seems you're saying that the only "functionality" of this TLS connection is to validate the users license?

That makes this whole story even worse!

Surely it could be argued that if they are (effectively) taking the licensing server offline, they are breaking the contract made when you purchased the software, and should therefore provide a patch to officially do what your post describes.

If VALVE decided to block steam, or media companies stopped users access to bought music/video/books, (and assuming the company hadn't gone bust) I'd expect a class action lawsuit.

Microsoft thinks there are people on 2G networks who want to use Outlook

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: "the best Outlook experience"

I remember back in the day, being chuffed when I could save a single byte in my Z80 assembled code.

Of course, those days are long gone, but even so, some of the things you see these days are so bloated, it can only be down to poor design and programming.

It's a bit like when security issues are found in certain software: Usually, it's a silly mistake, or subtle bug, but sometimes it can only be due to the obvious complete cluelessness of the author, where the logic behind the whole process is completely flawed.

Anti-piracy messaging may just encourage more piracy

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: False equivalence as well...

Indeed. I'd never steal my mates car, but if I could copy it, I'd do so in a heartbeat!

WhatsApp boss says no to AI filters policing encrypted chat

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"Some children's rights groups have been vehement that the need to protect children from exploitation should not be compromised by the argument for absolute privacy in communications. "

Fine. So let's be complete, eh? :

1) All postal mail will be scanned before being delivered.

2) We need to also scan all emails, web connections (is that site REALLY a bank??), and block all other connection types.

3) No meeting other people in private places without a government agent present.

4) No meeting other people in public places if beyond earshot, and hence allowing private conversations.

5) English. English. English. All communications - written and oral - must be in English.

6) All bags, holdalls, rucksacks must be transparent.

I paid for it, that makes it mine. Doesn’t it? No – and it never did

Jamie Jones Silver badge
Joke

Re: Ink on Paper

What's the battery life on this new fangled "paper calendar book" you have?

Google postpones Chrome's third-party cookie bonfire yet again

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Dear website owner

"website owners and publishers to use to get an idea of the netizens visiting their pages so that they can be targeted with ads."

If your website is about cars, I can tell you that your visitors will be interested in cars. If you run a cooking show, your visitors will be interested in cooking.

Knowing that, it makes no difference to you if the viewer is a 39 year old man from Manchester, or a 27 year old woman from Worcester.

The need to see analytics is a data fetish - if you love all those weird stats, admit that - don't pretend there is some real world value in them. - At least, not enough to help dictate editorial decisions. Besides, your website is crap if you are chasing the lowest common denominator just for clicks.

Now, with "old TV", adverts are shown, and the only demographic information the advertisers get is based on the time of the advert, and the programme the advert is sandwiched between. This data is readily available to you guys without any sort of tracking. In addition, you get to see page impressions - how do the TV advertisers survive without such data, huh?

British intelligence recycles old argument for thwarting strong encryption: Think of the children!

Jamie Jones Silver badge

The war of attrition

They keep coming out with reports like this to try and normalise what they're asking for.

Almost similar to the "repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it", the intention is to make backdoored encryption the norm with the populace.

That's also, of course, why they cite child abuse and terrorism etc.

The end goal of all these reports and studies is to get to a point where anyone sticking up for encryption is vilified by the public as a paedo.

SCOTUS judges 'doxxed' after overturning Roe v Wade

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Re: Everything here is fine

Even though they support the second amendment right to arm bears?

API rate limits at the core of Elon Musk’s decision to ditch Twitter

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The people who own Twitter want Musk to buy it off them. They don't care about the workforce, or the stability of the company after that!

Systemd supremo Lennart Poettering leaves Red Hat for Microsoft

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Re: one step forward

AHH, thanks, I missed that!

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Yeah, I can understand why a screensaver would want to mute / control the audio..

My point is.. why is systemd doing it? And yeah, as you point out, why can't it be easily disabled?

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: It is about a better UX

I suggest you read the post again.

"Modern functionality" can and is added. That's got nothing to do with how things are configured. That has NOTHING to do with the user interface.

Unix has survived so long because it's modular approach makes it easy to extend and it's design principles mean it can adapt and make the most of new technologies easily.

Unix is the most common OS on the planet. It also powers the fastest computers in the world. This is no accident; this isn't because people are too stupid to learn new stuff; this isn't because people are too cheap to "upgrade". Sure it has issues, but they are not fixed by replacing the guts with a monolithic all-controlling suite of software that removes many of the things that made UNIX so extensible in the first place.

Jamie Jones Silver badge

It's not about a better UX

Many posts here are sticking up for systemd, saying it improves the users experience, and makes things easier to manage,

That's missing the point. It's not the issue.

You can make lovely and helpful management software for all aspects, but ultimately, all these things need to do is alter the already-existing config files. (often text files, unless there is a good reason not to do so)

Granted, some config and startup files may need to be tweaked if it removes unnecessary complexity in the updating tool (there's no need to be too anal), but generally, all a nice flashy piece of software should do is alter a file that can be altered any other way the administrator wants.

This has always been the main design philosophy difference between Windows and Unix - One make convoluted programs you have no choice to use, the other generally improves things for users by including things that run ON TOP of the system. systemd is firmly in the "replace" rather than "run on top" category.

How do you modify users accounts on a Unix system? I'm sure there are nice GUI's and web interfaces to do the job, whilst others may use "pw" on the command line, or even "vipw" to lock and "vi" the password file.

Ultimately, these tools do the same thing: They alter the password file (and shadow/master files as appropriate) - and not necessarily manually - your nice GUI could use the "pw" command under the hood.

There is no need to rewrite the fundamental way the OS manages users!

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Not an expert, but...

Repeat after me:

Linux isn't the only UNIX-like OS in existence.

Linux isn't the only UNIX-like OS in existence.

Linux isn't the only UNIX-like OS in existence.

Linux isn't the only UNIX-like OS in existence.

Linux isn't the only UNIX-like OS in existence.

These sorts of changes are pushing software to be Linux-only. I'm old enough to remember when Linux users used to moan about Microsoft that the third-party software should be "cross-platform".

Linux has even less of a technological excuse to build walls than Windows did,

Jamie Jones Silver badge
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"Am I the only one who still compiles everything from scratch to suit the hardware?"

I do that too. It was more relevant in the later i386 days, but is becoming more relevant now with amd64 as newer chips get extra features.

It also means I can include my own source patches (done automatically, barring a refactoring being required)

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Depart, I say, and let us have done with you.

Obvious xkcd: https://xkcd.com/927/

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: one step forward

There is no mention of Linux on that list you posted!

Anyway, it's nothing but branding nowadays.

FreeBSD is more "UNIX" than Linux due to it's history, but that's not allowed to be called "Unix" either, though amusingly, Mac OS (which is the least "Unix" of the lot) is!

Jamie Jones Silver badge

"it still provided a modern sound experience. We could enjoy sounds from various and simultaneous sources at the same time, an unheard of luxury at that point. At the start of the project the promise was low latency sound at the same level of flexibility as on both Windows and Macos. "

Those are all things that the OSS driver did natively in the kernel on other systems for years. FreeBSD had all of that - no need for some kludgy userspace addon.

Any sane advancement for Linux at that point would have been to fix your crippled OSS implementation, not add workaround hacks, or new feature-incomplete drivers like ALSA.

"With systemd its seems like a major headache setting up your desktop in a way that you can play music in your speakers, while you are fixing yourself a nice cup of drink."

I didn't know this, but it demonstrates the issue perfectly. What the hell is systemd doing messing around with your audio?

Jamie Jones Silver badge

"Despite all the furor, systemd is merely one example of a trend towards richer systems-management tools on modern xNix systems,"

I don't know anyone who moans about any of the features that systemd offers, just the way it does it.

There are far better ways to improve the init system, and other core services, without making such poor design choices. (And when I say "poor", I mean, in the eyes of most people. I can see it not being a poor choice for the authors who want to control the entire ecosystem.)

"sansva" has already posted here a list of alternate init sytstems that exist: https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2022/07/07/lennart_poettering_red_hat_microsoft/#c_4490007

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Motive found.

Dependencies: Script X must run after services have been started by script Y, for example.

However, yes, there are easier ways of doing it than resorting to systemd,

Jamie Jones Silver badge

" If some people's aversion for these tools drives them to switch to FreeBSD or the other BSDs, that will be good for those OSes."

The problem, though, is that when enough software relies on these "tools", it ends up making things harder to port. The number of hacks to get "linux" programs working on FreeBSD is increasing.

For instance, some programs need things like pulseaudio installed just because that's the API they use, despite being unnecessary hacks in the BSD world.

systemd compatibility shims are also becoming more necessary.

P.S. Wayland isn't Linux only. It has native FreeBSD support.

Elon Musk considering 'drastic action' as Twitter takeover in 'jeopardy'

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Where is the ROI?

Exactly.

The only time you see meaningful posts on twitter, they are generally split into a large bunch of consecutive tweets, which looks messy, and can cause parts of the message to "go missing".

The whole system is designed to restrict any meaningful discussions!

Tech world may face huge fines if it doesn't scrub CSAM from encrypted chats

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Re: Assumption Alert....Posturing Alert

I do DECLARE that YOU ARE Bob POSTING anonymously, and I CLAIM MY 5 pounds.

NOT SAYING how I KNOW.

Big Tech silent on data privacy in post-Roe America

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Re: Yes, I am ashamed of my country

So how do you feel about the Supreme Court striking down some of New York's gun laws?

Or does your "right to life" not include "right to live"?

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jun/23/new-york-gun-ruling-supreme-court-reactions-democrats-republicans

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Yes, I am ashamed of my country

At least one MP and one "lord" in the UK have come out and applauded the result, and many more applaud the general hard-right side of American politics.

So, it's not so rosy here, either.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/list-tories-british-politicians-support-abortion-ban-roe-vs-wade-327500/

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Canada

"Republicans are pro-life, right from conception to mass-shooting"

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Not a GNOME fan, and like the look of Windows? Try KDE Plasma or Cinnamon

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Re: Similarly, if you have a touchscreen

When I'm over my mums, I often use her chromebook which has touch and a detachable keyboard.

With the keyboard attached, the UI is more "desktop" like, and as soon as you remove it, the UI reverts to that of a "tablet". It's ridiculous. Handy quck presses like "X" to close a window, and the ability to quickly windowise a full screen app, and move it around etc. disappear. All quick on screen icons also disappear.

In fact, it's far easier to use as pure touch with the keyboard still attached, but that makes it clunky if you want to use it somewhere where you'd use a tablet (lying in bed, for example)

Many "desktop" features actually work well with touch, so it's annoying that google turns a keyboardless chromebook into an android tablet.

Thunderbird is coming to Android – in K-9 Mail form

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Re: Aqua Mail

I just looked further - aquamail used to be owned by MobiSystems, but was spun off in March this year.

It looks like Mobisystems are still offering one off perpetual licenses, though still quite expensive (30 euro)

https://www.mobisystems.com/cart/, though I don't know if it will actually work.

Jamie Jones Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Aqua Mail

Heyrick, Terry, apologies for that - and I agree with you both.

I didn't know their pricing model had changed. When I got aquamail a few years ago, it was about 5quid I think, and that was a permanent licence, not a subscription.

£30 a year? No chance in hell!

Interestingly, I still get updates, so they haven't forked the subscription version into a new app.

Sorry for the out-of-date advice.

Jamie Jones Silver badge
Jamie Jones Silver badge

Aquamail works fine with gmail I prefer it to K9 too

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Have you seen Aquamail? I always thought it was better than K9-Mail

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Re: K-9 fail

You need to try Aquamail - I think it will do what you want,

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Lightweight?

Try Aquamail. Insanely customisable, and in my opinion, even better than K9 was even back in the day

Apple gets lawsuit over Meltdown and Spectre dismissed

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Re: Money, money, money

But the judge made the decision based on "security", not spectre/meltdown.

"But on Wednesday, US District Judge Edward Davila, based in San Jose, California granted Apple's motion to dismiss the case, citing the plaintiff's failure to demonstrate that security is a central function of Apple's products, among other legal deficiencies."

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Re: Why not start with a slam dunk case...

" I reckon a 10% loss of performance should mean a rebate for all of us and the lawyers."

Whilst I agree with you, I think you meant to write:

" I reckon a 10% loss of performance should mean a rebate for all of us and the lawyers."

Jamie Jones Silver badge

Money, money, money

So, I preusme the judge won't complain if he has any dodgy photos on his phone, and they end up all over the internet?

Makers of ad blockers and browser privacy extensions fear the end is near

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Happy

Re: Why is Firefox Dying?

TL; DR;

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Re: Does anyone need more justification

I often use "w3m" still!

Facebook phishing campaign nets millions in IDs and cash

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Re: The mystery of Facebook

To be fair, they see Facebook as a reputable brand, and they trust ads on there in the same way they'd trust TV ads on ITV or Channel 4.

The same thing happens with all the obvious scams shown on youtube (though these are selling things at inflated prices with questionable claims, rather than phishing)

Probably the most effective way to kill Facebook is to convince the users that as many ads on Facebook are dodgy, they shouldn't trust any of them.

Get into the facebook user the mindset that all facebook ads are dodgy and should be ignored, and you'll soon see them fix things when they legitimate ad revenue plummets.

Good news for GNOME fans as Adaptive Sync displays come to Mutter

Jamie Jones Silver badge

HiDPi campers!

(sorry)