* Posts by Patrician

481 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Sep 2013

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NASA swerves serious cash cuts – but Earth climate probes, asteroid snatcher face axe

Patrician
Facepalm

I cannot believe that on the forums for a site that is technology/science related there are posts by, supposedly, intelligent people decrying climate change; it really is depressing!

National Insurance tax U-turn: Philip Hammond nixes NIC uptick

Patrician

"The plans were reversed on the basis that they breached his own party's 2015 manifesto pledge ..."

.......More likely because it would lose them votes.

Kodi-pocalypse Now? Actually, it's not quite here yet

Patrician

All the content providers need to get together and put *all* content online, available to *all* geographical areas in one place, somewhat like Spotify or Google Play Music. As things stand, I have a Netflix and Amazon Prime but if I wan't to watch Arrow for instance I have to take out a Now TV subscription at another £7.00 per month and so on for other shows on other streaming services.

Anti-TV Licensing petition gets May date for Parliament debate

Patrician

" It supposed to be impartial... is it? Or does it support the Left?"

Considering I see complaints of bias on the BBC from both left and right wings I'd say that's proof of impartiality, wouldn't you?

"Does it produce content that the majority of people want to watch or does it tick boxes for political correctness?"

Yes it does, way more than it's commercial competitors, that seem to think that all everyone wants is yet more reality TV.....

Palmtop nostalgia is tinny music to my elephantine ears

Patrician

Re: When is the last time you decided to use your 7" or less phablet in portrait mode?

I always use my Nvidia K1 Shield and Amazon Fire HD8 in portrait mode; only turning to landscape for watching video content.

Two-thirds of TV Licensing prosecutions at one London court targeted women

Patrician

Re: Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot!!??

I don't think you quite understand the situation here; the license fee covers three terrestrial + one online TV channel and seven (I think) radio stations, all of which are advertising free; a one hour programme on the BBC lasts, pretty much, for an hour with no effort to sell me crap I've no interest in.

Patrician

Re: Privatise it

.."Only if they are equally deserving or equally legitimate. "...

Who determines how deserving or legitimate the subjects are? Surely if they did that they would be guilty of censorship?

I do understand what your're saying, at least in the case of the MMR inoculation causing autism claim but, at the time that this item broke in the news, it wasn't definitively proved to be incorrect. The scientific and medical institutions have proven to be wrong previously, so giving both sides equal airtime was the unbiased thing to do.

In hindsight on the other hand ....

Patrician

Re: Privatise it

..."t led them to giving equal airing to that doctor who claimed that the MMR jab caused autism and to the representatives of the entirety of peer reviewed science who said that it doesn't."....

Equal time on air to both? Surely that's the definition of balanced reporting?

Patrician

Re: Privatise it

You have seen the quality of the commercially produced TV in this country? Do you really want more "I'm a Celebrity .... " type rubbish?

Patrician

My thoughts exactly, why should I pay for freeloaders and why should those freeloaders be treated nicely? That's not to say I like the TV License system as it stands, but I do watch a few TV programmes on BBC so accept I should pay to do so.

Google mass logout riddle deepens: OAuth token fumble blamed

Patrician

Re: Hmmm....

..."The warning message - brief as it was - gave no indication of cause for alarm" ....

It did in a way; it stated that "there was a change to your account"; this could be "alarming" could it not?

Uber: Please don't give our London drivers English tests. You can work out the reason why

Patrician
Pint

Re: Only English?

Have a pint on me for the Pratchett reference ....

Patrician

Re: @Prst. V.Jeltz

Nobody has, or is, suggestion that it should be an "advanced English qualification" but there should be some requirement to be able to communicate in the host countries language at least at a basic level.

Pack your bags! NASA spots SEVEN nearby Earth-sized alien worlds

Patrician

Evolution is a *fact*no matter what alternative creationists might want to fantasise about; there is enough proof all around you if you would just take your creationist blindfold off.

UnBrex-pected move: Amazon raises UK workforce to 24,000

Patrician

Re: all part of their grand plan

You've stopped using what is, arguably, the best online supplier because ...Ermm ...you think it's too successful??

FAKE BREWS: America rocked by 'craft beer' scandal allegations

Patrician

Re: "India Pale Ale went *to* India"

India Pale Ale

Origin

mid 19th century: brewed with a higher alcohol and hop content so as remain drinkable when exported by sea to British colonies.

It's the name of a specific type of ale...

Why Theresa May’s hard Brexit might be softer than you think

Patrician

Re: Article 50 puts a two year limit after the notification

Where is this magical "world" the UK would be able to join?

Patrician

Re: Plausible

...."I don't think the leavers will complain too much when the EU collapses due to the funding crisis post-Brexit....."

So you think that the EU will collapse because the UK is no longer paying into it? You really have a "enhanced" view on the importance of the UK within the EU don't you?

Last Concorde completes last journey, at maybe Mach 0.02

Patrician

The death knell for Concorde was way before 2003 when America wouldn't let it fly over the continental United States because, no matter what excuses were made, it wasn't American built.

NASA's Curiosity puts cat among the climate pigeons: Lack of CO2 sinks water theory

Patrician

Re: Carbons not the only greenhouse gas

Man made climate change is "pseudo-science"? Sorry, you've just invalidated any comments you post on science threads.

Trump's cybersecurity strategy kinda makes sense, so why delay?

Patrician

Re: Reason why Trump didn't sign cybersecurity executive order

And there it is! The Pro-Linux brigade hijacking a thread to spread their love of an OS that is not, yet, ready for general usage*.

An OS is only as secure as the person touching the keyboard; put a numpty that likes to click on any links shown to them in front of a Linux PC and their information will be at risk in some way.

* Until *all* the software that is available for Windows, including games, is available and as easy to install on Linux as it is on Windows, and all the features of all the available hardware (e.g. Graphic Cards) is supported by Linux, it isn't ready for general use I'm afraid.

Update or shut up: Microsoft's choice for desktop Skypers

Patrician

Re: Skype:

..."If you the attempt login using said username and password (even with a non simple password) on different IP/different device, you're locked out and forced to give a phone number to "Verifiy your identity".....

You don't have to use a phone number, you can also use a "primary" email address.

Chrome 56 quietly added Bluetooth snitch API

Patrician

All Bluetooth devices in my house are off unless, for some reason, I'm using it. But as I have enabled and used Bluetooth less times in the last five years than I have fingers on one hand and then only for a few minutes each time, I don't see it's an issue really.

Just don't leave Bluetooth enabled on devices unless you need to use Bluetooth surely? Chrome can't detect devices where they're disabled so a scan of my house would reveal no Bluetooth devices at all.

Watch: MIT's terrifying invisible gel robo-eels snatch live fish

Patrician

It;s not a "robot" as it has a tether and, therefore, is not autonomous.

Coming to the big screen: Sci-fi epic Dune – no wait, wait, wait, this one might be good

Patrician

Re: SciFi Channel version

Well LoTR didn't have anything added that wasn't in the book (including the appendices that is) although it was messed around with for reasons I've never been able to understand, despite Jackson stating why he gave Arwen a much more prominent role in the film than she had in the main part of the book.

But The Hobbit was expanded beyond belief to stretch it to a more "adult" audience and to three films.

Patrician

Re: Make something new

The problem that Hollywood has regarding making films of SciFi books is money; With a few exceptions like Dune, War of The Wolds and, to head into fantasy, LoTR and The Hobbit, SciFi/fantasy books are not "mainstream". Although Harry Potter etc.have made Fantasy more generally appealing I suppose.

It would be a tremendous gamble to take, for instance Larry Nivens Rigworld and turn it into a film; no matter how much I wish they would. It would attract many SciFi readers (fans) but would it attract enough of the general film going public to make a profit? A film of Ringworld for instance would take quite a sizeable budget to make correctly and I cannot see it would generate enough of a profit for the Hollywood studios.

IETF 'reviewing' US event plans in the face of Trump's travel ban

Patrician

Re: Where's the outrage at "racist" Kuwait?

..."Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen all banned from obtaining visas for entry to Kuwait and have been since 2011 IIRC so fellow muslims see them as a problem, but... Trump! Waaaah!..."

Country "A" does it so it's okay for the USA to do the same? Really? You want to go down that route? Surely it's up to the more socially and politically enlightened countries of this planet to lead the way in human rights and freedoms etc?

Former Mozilla dev joins chorus roasting antivirus, says 'It's poison!'

Patrician

Re: If MS AV is the best...

No he's not; Microsoft only blocked 97% in the latest AV-Comparatives test. Please see link below:-

https://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php#

Patrician

Re: Problem with Anti-Virus

And my next door neighbour is going to know how to do all that how?

President Donald Trump taken on by unlikely foe: Badass park rangers

Patrician

Re: no bias nor inflamatory tone, move along

Sorry but I asked for proof, not a "this is what I believe"; please provide links to published, peer reviewed, scientific papers backing up your "this is what I believe".

Patrician

Re: no bias nor inflamatory tone, move along

..."man-made "climate change" is a HOAX. I've proved it before, I can prove it again, ".....

No you haven't and, no you can't! At best you can ignore all the data and stick your head in the sand; the problem is that by the time climate change has become undeniable, even by you, it will be very obvious and too late to reverse.

Patrician
Mushroom

Re: About time

.."climate change' (previously Global Warming) being caused by humanity are pure Democrat boilerplate, not hard science."....

So much ignorance in once little sentence ....

Patrician

Re: Less than a week in the position...

..."If you're catching flak, it means you're over the target."...

Historically you're incorrect; flack started to be aimed at aircraft way before they'd got anywhere near their targets. The idea is to knock down the enemy aircraft *before* the reach their target.

Now that's a Blue Screen of Death: Windows 10 told me to jump off a cliff

Patrician

Re: If you're running Windows 10...

",,,I suppose it's possible one of those swish high-end gaming mice with umpty-leven buttions might be problematic..."

Why would the above be a problem in an operating system that is a "viable alternative to Windows"? Surely an operating system that is a "viable alternative to Windows" shouldn't have an issue installing/using a mouse, no matter how many buttons? If it does then it's obviously not a "viable alternative to Windows is it"?

Patrician
Facepalm

Re: 180 degrees for me ...

... just turn around & walk away from Redmond's constant churn (not unlike the waves at the bottom of that cliff). It's the only sane thing to do.

YAY! I never expected a pro-Linux post to appear, really I never did!!

Those online ads driving you bonkers are virtually 'worthless for brands'

Patrician

Re: you'd think...

Targeted Ads don't work, or rather don't work as they're intended to work; as a for instance, I was looking, online, at hotels to book for a weekend in London last year. I settled on a hotel and booked it but for the next couple of months I was seeing "targeted" advertising for the very hotel I'd already booked.

What I should have been seeing, if targeted ads worked, is ads for events and offers for things to do in London surely?

How Rogue One's Imperial stormtroopers SAVED Star Wars and restored order

Patrician

Re: Not seen R1 yet but...

"... the bratty bad dude wasn't convincing,..."

I really don't think he was supposed to be convincing; he was supposed to be exactly what he was shown as. A spoilt "brat" with an exaggerated idea of his force ability due to his family heritage and has had *some" force training by somebody that is not fully capable of training force users. This is shown by his "Light Sabre" which very clearly isn't any such thing but is a facsimile of one.

I've read, and heard comments along the lines of "how could Rea beat a Dark Lord of the Sith"? That's rather the point I think; Kylo was not a Dark Lord of The Sith at all, he just thought of himself as such.

I think he was portrayed as a "bratty bad dude" because that is exactly what he was supposed to be and that is how Rea was able to defeat him even while being untrained. She is inherently much more powerful in the force than he.

Rogue One: This is the Star Wars back story you've been looking for

Patrician

You do realise that this film depicts a stage in the building of the Death Star seen in A New Hope? This is not another Death Star.

Beeb flings millions more £s at Capita for telly tax collection

Patrician

Re: No means no

..."Which - as we've already paid for them - we should get for free...

...without having to pay Amazon's tax bill for them too.."...

You can get them "free", on iPlayer

Reschedule the holiday party, Patch Tuesday is here and it's a big one

Patrician

Re: No reschedule needed here

@AC

...."You seem to be under the impression that Windows can play the full steam collection. It can't. There are non-Windows games in the collection. No OS today can do what you demand of Linux." ..

You seem to be under the impression that a Windows gamer would want to play a Linux only game, strange really.

..."The Linux native versions of steam games run faster (including on Windows!) than the Windows native versions do. The irony is rather amusing. Good luck with your next attempt :-)"...

Show me Fallout 4 running on Linux faster than Windows please?

Patrician

Re: No reschedule needed here

...."Anyone who still uses Windows (especially 10) as their main online OS these days must be a sucker for punishment or they just don't know about the alternatives." ....

Or, they have a need for a general usage PC that includes gaming or Photoshop or any of the other myriad uses that Windows "does" better than Linux, or Linux doesn't do at all.

Or they're in a corporate environment and have a need to run bespoke software that doesn't run under Linux is another reason.

Or they're are a home user that just doesn't want to spend hours in a Linux command line trying desperately to get some software working that, in Windows, would be a simple "double click".

Uber is watching your smartphone's battery charge

Patrician

Re: Quite off the topic of the application monitoring battery charge...

I don't see how they can be described as "sleazy"? Nobody forces anyone to drive for them; if they don't like the terms, pay and conditions of working/driving for Uber, then don't drive for Uber!

Cassini tickles Saturn's rings ahead of final death plunge

Patrician
Pint

Re: Interesting dilema

Have one of these on me -------->

If your smart home gear hasn't updated recently, throw it in the trash

Patrician
Happy

Re: I have a smart lightswitch...

Then it's working wrong and needs a firmware update I'm afraid; everyone knows that Smart Light Switches should come on when the bottom of the switch is pressed and off when the top is pressed.

Canada asks citizens: How would you like us to spy on you?

Patrician

Re: Mockery

As far as I am concerned I would have no issues with surveillance of net traffic, email etc. so long as it's sanctioned by an independent judicial appointee who has been shown that the security services or the police have "just cause" to request it on a case by case basis.

Mass surveillance, as in the Snoopers Charter, in the UK, will not catch any organised terrorists or criminals as they will already have their own, secure, networks and systems setup to avoid any monitoring. All the Snoopers Charter will catch is the equivalent of the local shoplifter; those too stupid to not be caught.

Take that, creationists: Boffins witness birth of new species in the lab

Patrician

....." larger and larger segment of society has not been taught or has objected to the concept of "critical thinking"..."

I don't know about the US but here in the UK the education system seems to have, slowly and surely, changed; it used to be that schools would teach students how to learn, how to evaluate different ideas and come to a conclusion, how to investigate etc. basically how to learn.

Now it seems that our schools are producing ready for the production line sheeple; these have just enough "education" to be able to read the Daily Fail (so they can be told what they think) and be able to push the buttons at their station on the production line in the right order.

I can't remember who it was but I do remember hearing one of out MP's making a statement somewhere along the lines of "we need our schools to produce people that are ready for work"..

Chernobyl cover-up: Giant shield rolled over nuclear reactor remains

Patrician

The amount of ill informed paranoia that can be seen, even amongst posters here, when nuclear power generation and possible/actual plant disasters are discussed makes me quite sad. That somebody equated the Fukushima reactor to the Chernobyl one makes me even more so.

I regard Fukushima as a good example that demonstrates how safe nuclear power plants are today; it survived a magnitude 9.0 to 9.1 Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami's with no fatalities linked to short term overexposure to radiation.

I wonder how many deaths would have ensued had the Fukushima power plant been coal, oil or gas fired?

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