Posts by Mark 85

Re: He has a point

I understand the automatic watering controller based on soil moisture content sensors part of the project but I fail to understand where the internet comes into the equation.

What I see in my area from talking to orchard owners when buying fruit is that the watering stuff has no access to the Internet but only to the LAN. It records watering times, has alarms say if a valve was on to water a specific tree but the sensor either fails to read moisture or valve fails to close, etc. While these owners are pretty sharp on things, some of the LAN stuff they leave up to a specific contracting company who's specialty is this.

Re: The curse of "Blue" security

Is this some psychobabble that a marketeer monkey came up with during a PowerPoint presentation, where it was decided that "blue" induces feelings of confidence?

Think "Blue Plate Special"* or "Blue Light Special"* or "Big Blue (IBM)"... and then there's the perception that any device with a blue LED is very high tech. So yeah... marketing psychobabble.

* I know.. no quality there, just low price stuff. But somewhere, someone in marketing thought differently.

Re: Surplus

Available soon... re-read the second to last paragraph. Coming to a police department near you.

Re: It's not so much the ads

All this makes me wonder if the next ad model will be like a captcha. Watch these X-number of ads, answer some questions about the ads and you can enter the site.

Re: "A substantial number of Gmail users"

Since Google is in the States, that has to be "pre/post truth, alternate facts, fake news".

Re: Right Royal Softly, Softly, ...... Catchee GCHQ and Assorted Monkeys ....

What you say about parsing is true and also about being sold down the river although I'm not sure if the speed would be equal to or greater than said referenced sheep. Have an upvote.

Re: Can it detect sarcasm?

It's not just online, there seems to be a general trend these days to take offense at just about anything.

I believe you've nailed it. Political correctness running amok and when things are politically correct (for some value of "correct") there will be an outcry of "I'm offended". Meh.....

Re: Warrantless mass surveillance is one thing...

Third, honouring a warrant to assist with a murder investigation will not magically set a precedent whereby everyone's privacy can be legally violated ...

Actually, here in the States, it can. The US law and enforcement, etc. has much basis on precedent. On the upside, if the court forces Amazon to do so, then the only place this precedent can be used is Alabama. Unless, of course, it gets appealed upwards to the Federal level. Then all bets are off.

Re: Cats

A terrier or ferret is alleged to be better for outside rodents, I've not tried that.

We have a Yorkie who's basically an inside dog. Yet, she will kill any mouse that gets into the house and doesn't fall for one the old-fashioned traps, She then bringa me the corpse for her reward. No missing parts, just one dead as a doornail mouse. Her reward... praise, a tummy rub, and treat. She'll then prance around the house looking all smug and happy.

She wasn't taught this.. she just does it. No playing with mouse, no chewing it up. Just a very efficient and happy little mouse killer.

Rewatch the video and also Google some pics. There's a barrier some distance away to keep boaters away. I wondered the same thing also, but a lot of dams use the same method.. orange buoys and roped/chained together.

Re: A nuisance, an imposition but not the end of the world

Or.. hand over the stuff they want. Once past security, change the frikkin' passwords.

Actually, just don't do social media or have dummy accounts.

Re: Large Satellites?

But isn't a moon a body that orbits a planet? Maybe that needs to be put into the definition.

Re: carry automatic machine guns

Actually, you can legally own a machine gun. It does require a thorough background check and a hefty license fee. There's a place in Arizona (Big Sandy...Google and Youtube it) where people come in from all over the US to play with their toys. Not just machineguns but tanks, and artillery.

Re: Big three … ?

I'm thinking it's missing a "plus" between "clouds" and "apple"... or <shrugs> IDK.

Re: Launches already are routine and garner no mention in the press

Yeah... I know. We've had that happen here with the Space Shuttle and other rockets. No mentions unless it's something terrible. Just makes me sad. But it also tells us they are reliable. How many people go running outside to see an airplane?

Re: My $0.02

But there is a problem here that's overlooked. That the computers that have compromised and need to be cleaned up. Most users/punters have no idea what they're infected with or how to clean it up. I daresay, that clean up costs should be a part of the punishment. If the crim can't pay, then load them up with some additional porridge time.

As it is, everyone else is left with the clean up and there's nothing to dissuade crims from building botnets, etc.

Re: This weeks name

I always look for corporate logos on the missiles that go whizzing by me. Doesn't everyone?

Well we should. We don't want to buy the ones that miss their targets a lot, right?

The catch here that is that there's no numbers and no comparison. To "3% more likely" is meaningless much like "up to 60mb download" from an ISP.

Re: Craft beer...

Upvote... "micro" is the key. The rest is meaningless fluff like "artisan bread"... WTF? Where I am in the US (smallish city), we have several micro-breweries and all produce some most excellent brews. The canned commercial crap is exactly that.