Re: trademarks
Then had an issue with following Pentium with Sextium.
Posts by knottedhandkerchief
66 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Aug 2013
Don't say Pentium or Celeron anymore, it's just Processor now, says Intel
The next deep magic Linux program to change the world? Io_uring
USB-C to hit 80Gbps under updated USB4 v. 2.0 spec
Doctor gave patients the wrong test results due to 'printer problems'
Friday 26th August 2022 12:46 GMT
Anecdote
22 years ago we bought a house. By chance, the owner had the same first name and almost the same surname (certainly sound alike). We asked if they could recommend a GP, which we then signed up with.
Cue a few years later, I entered the consulting room, sat down and the GP started reading out from the screen the previous issues and how I was getting on. I glanced at the screen and said "that's not me..." GP genuinely shocked and shut down the the screen incredibly quickly as if had something NSFW there... which was true in a sense as was a rather serious confidentiality error.
Probably why they now check date of birth too.
Heineken says there’s no free beer, warns of phishing scam
California Right-to-Repair bill quietly killed in committee
Thursday 2nd June 2022 09:09 GMT
Re: Evolution of electronic circuit construction technology
A common problem in the 80s when chip sockets were common (eg for the BBC microcomputer) was the chips easing themselves out of the socket due to vibration. Of course, the solution was just to push them back down, but still, surface mounted is a lot more reliable.
BOFH: Something's consuming 40% of UPS capacity – and it's coming from the beancounters' office
In IT, no good deed ever goes unpunished
Ceefax replica goes TITSUP* as folk pine for simpler times
What came first? The chicken, the egg, or the bodge to make everything work?
Hacking the computer with wirewraps and soldering irons: Just fix the issues as they come up, right?
Good news: Jeff Bezos went to space. Bad news: He's back
Ah, I see you found my PowerShell script called 'SiteReview' – that does not mean what you think it means
Where's the boss? Ah right, thorough deep-dive audit. On the boardroom table. Gotcha
Don't cross the team tasked with policing the surfing habits of California's teens
To have one floppy failure is unlucky. To have 20 implies evil magic or a very silly user
Don't be a fool, cover your tool: How IBM's mighty XT keyboard was felled by toxic atmosphere of the '80s
Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy a beer: Beware the downloaded patch applied in haste
You would expect a qualified electrician to wire a building to spec, right? Trust... but verify
Monday 25th January 2021 16:53 GMT
Disco Beer
When at uni, I was put in charge of the students' union entertainment equipment, and used to drag out the disco equipment (it was the 70s) for impromptu evenings in the bar. Revolting students used to be the thing in the 70s (they are much tamer now they have to pay fees, it seems) and throwing beer in the over dancers (and the equipment) wasn't infrequent.
I'd built a mains checker from Practical Electronics mag - basically neon lights and resistors squeezed into a three pin plug (it would probably throw an RCD now) - tried it on the mains extension lead presumably created by a predecessor - the lights didn't look good, so opened it up to find the extension lead was simply a hefty two core, no earth lead!
Changed that promptly, and taught me not to trust stuff provided with.
There are two sides to every story, two ends to every cable
Friday 4th December 2020 14:30 GMT
Re: IT Guru
My "Dad's Joke" (not IT related) is on the Victoria Line, which usual stops for 30 seconds before the terminating station (perhaps waiting for confirmation/switching of which of the two platforms it could terminate at). Train stops in tunnel, cue get up, and start pushing the stanchion in the middle of the aisle. By time kids have agreed to push, the train moves off - it worked!
For every disastrous rebrand, there is an IT person trying to steer away from the precipice
Who knew that hosing a table with copious amounts of cubic metres would trip adult filters?
When even a power-cycle fandango cannot save your Windows desktop
This PDP-11/70 was due to predict an election outcome – but no one could predict it falling over
Monday 24th August 2020 11:21 GMT
Re: Performance Upgrade
At school in the 70's a classmate had an early TI scientific calculator.
He had a basic model of course. Opening it up, he noticed there were unused pads on the PCB, the only difference between the basic model and a higher model was the buttons provided. Cue the addition of little button switches to unlock the missing features...
Watching you, with a Vue to a Kill: Wikimedia developers dismiss React for JavaScript makeover despite complaints
Firefox 74 slams Facebook in solitary confinement: Browser add-on stops social network stalking users across the web
A user's magnetic charm makes for a special call-out for our hapless hero
Father of Unix Ken Thompson checkmated: Old eight-char password is finally cracked
Hey, I wrote this neat little program for you guys called the IMAC User Notification Tool
The time a Commodore CDTV disc proved its worth as something other than a coaster
Friday 6th September 2019 20:07 GMT 
What's that fly?
Bought my mother (82) a Chromebook this year so she could receive emails and view family photos. She's never used a keyboard or mouse before, let alone a computer of any description.
So, showing her the basics, moving the mouse - she asked "what's that fly on the screen" - it was the mouse cursor.
Fortunately I'd got her a touchscreen Chromebook. She found that much easier to use than the touchpad. I have to phone her to let her know when I've sent an email (with a link to photos on Google Photos) so she can start the Chromebook (just lift the lid), click on the email tab I'd left open and view photos.
Yet to find any Chromebook guides at a suitable level.
Biz tells ransomware victims it can decrypt their files... by secretly paying off the crooks and banking a fat margin
Have I Been S0ld? Troy Hunt's security website is up for acquisition
Wednesday 12th June 2019 10:44 GMT
Re: MFA
There's also password-less login, where an email is sent to the registered address. Similar to a password reset (same security level, i.e. not much) but the resulting link is a one-time login, short term. I've used it for a low security required site where there was about 50% password resets, this went to zero. Example for WordPress: https://www.cozmoslabs.com/add-ons/passwordless-login/
Boffins put the FUN into fungus by rigging yeast to squirt out the active ingredients in cannabis
Friday 1st March 2019 19:49 GMT
"My understanding is that once a virus mutates to become more virulent, it also becomes less contagious." - evolution doesn't care about the effects, it's unthinking. Something could mutate to kill 100% of its target, thereby killing itself, and not "care".
A highly virulent virus (as in the case of HIV) can become less virulent over time, as by killing fewer of its targets it succeeds in spreading further (not necessarily by being more contagious, just by the host living for longer, so has more chance of spreading the disease).
'Cuddly' German chat app slacking on hashing given a good whacking under GDPR: €20k fine
How an augmented reality tourist guide tried to break my balls
Chromebooks gain faff-free access to Windows file shares via Samba
OMG! Battle looms over WTF! trademarks
Saturday 25th August 2018 13:18 GMT
May...
"A trademark is registered for specific use(s) as defined in the application and includes such things as colours, graphics and typeface as part of the definition."
Recently I made a trademark application, and was granted it. I used a made up word only - without specifying any colours, graphics or typeface. That means for the specified uses, the word is trademarked regardless of appearance. So the above should read: "A trademark is registered for specific use(s) as defined in the application and may include such things as colours, graphics and typeface as part of the definition."
Nah, it won't install: The return of the ad-blocker-blocker
MSDN unleashes a fresh round of unintentional innuendo bingo
Want to know what an organisation is really like? Visit the restroom
ASA tells Poundland and its teabagging elf: Enough with the smutty social ninja sh*t
ATM fees shake-up may push Britain towards cashless society
There's a way to dodge Fasthosts' up-to-160% domain renewal hike but you're not gonna like it
Tuesday 3rd October 2017 07:27 GMT
Moved all from fasthosts to lcn.com (mostly .co.uk) - very smooth and easy, and very nice user interface, bodes well. Chat was answered immediately. Free transfer of .co.uk and kept the remaining term, and exactly half the price of fasthosts after their rise, and discount price breaks. Shame about the lack of free privacy, though for individuals, not needed for .co.uk
'My PC needs to lose weight' says user with FAT filesystem
'Crazy bad' bug in Microsoft's Windows malware scanner can be used to install malware
Put down the coffee, stop slacking your app chaps or whatever – and patch Wordpress
'Grey technology' should be the new black
Sunday 26th February 2017 14:47 GMT
Just bought a Chromebook for my mother's 80th birthday. She's never used a computer before, but wanted to keep in touch, see family photos etc. Loved the "what's that jiggling fly thing?" (it was the mouse cursor). Looked up some introductory books for Chromebook - and even they assumed too much, e.g. started comparing them with PCs, Macs, talk about USB sockets etc. But she's pleased, and will learn bit by bit.
I still have my final year BSc project thesis - hand-written assembler, which I manually converted into machine code for entry with a hexadecimal keyboard into an UV-EEPROM.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
