Posts by Doctor Syntax

After all, he can't consider it confidential.

"You shouldn't have the option to opt out."

Can we have the URL where you've published all your medical data?

Re: Bloody hell, nobody told me the police would cut my lawn!

Also, if you have spring bulbs planted in the grass you don't cut the grass until their foliage has died back. Maybe people don't do that in the US.

Re: I have some sympathy for Boris

I have none. The job of a PM is to make the hard decisions. If he's not willing to do that he shouldn't have schemed to get the job in the first place.

Re: Apple/Google app

The real problem is in taking an indicator with a very likely high rate of false positives as being definitive. It should be no more than indicative of the need for a further test.

Re: "a shift of emphasis onto greater personal judgement and responsibility"

Washing hands is what BoJo's been keenest on all along. Clearly Freudian.

Re: No we've proven that coronavirus is very virulent and deadly

One of the things you learn as a biologist is that the outliers don't tell you about the general case. The general case here is that last winter was an abnormally low flu year.

Re: SNAFU

What do you understand by the term "lagging indicator"?

Re: SNAFU

"Thatcher was one of the last UK prime ministers with a scientific background,"

There were others?

Re: Same old windows 10

Similar experience with previous laptop - someone in our loal history group had a query about W10 Mail. Interrupting its update completely broke W10 which wasn't really a problem as I only left it there in case I had to return the H/W as faulty and I'd taken the precaution of making restore thumb drive.

As it's now been replaced by a new laptop (got really fed up with a miserable 15" screen) I recently dug out the restore device and tried to restore W10 with thoughts of passing the laptop on. What's germane to the present discussion - it repeatedly failed with unexpected reboots until I went into BIOS and switched secure boot off.

Re: They will have to support Windows 10 for longer than five years

"Just seek the cheapest Lenovo Ideapads with AMD Athlon CPUs."

Your "cheapest" might still be too dear for many. Why should perfectly good equipment be sent to landfill?

Re: okay...

"maybe fewer projects might lead to more rapid development."

Rapid development often equates to people fixing things that weren't broken. From 4 onwards KDE fixed the idea of a hot corner to unhide the task bar so now just venturing anywhere near the edge pops it even if you were just aiming for the scroll bar on a window at the bottom of the screen...

Re: okay...

Let's just take some time to think out the multiple desktop choice thing in Linux. Simple guide:

Some folk prefer a smartphone style approach - nothing but apps on the desktop. For them Ubuntu's Unity fits the bill. No need to hop once they've settled on it.

Some folk prefer a minimalist, clear desktop approach. For them Gnome fits the bill. No need to hop once they've settled on it.

Some folk prefer a maximalist approach - anything you like on the desktop, apps and data. For them KDE fits the bill. No need to hop once they've settled on it.

Some people prefer just data files on the desktop. There doesn't seem to be anything that actually enforces this but KDE is OK - you don't have to put anything there if you don't want to. Again no need to hop once they've settled on it.

The one really disruptive event took place a few years ago when Gnome grew a hair shirt and took a really minimalist turn. Mate and Cinnamon arose from projects to resurrect the previous Gnome (Mate) and reimplement it with the new Gnome underpinnings (Cinnamon). Those and XFCE sit around somewhere in the middle. They all have their adherents, as do Enlightenment and again, once they've settled there's no need to change.

Basically, to mix metaphors, it's horses for courses and no need to change horses in mid-stream. Unless, of course, changing horses out of curiosity is something you want to do; there's no accounting for folks which probably must also explain why so many people complain bitterly about Windows but simply put up with whatever Microsoft deigns to shovel out month by month and half-year by half year.

It's choice, If you don't relish the thought that you can choose the desktop approach that most suits you, maybe you're suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

FWIW SWMBO has a mixture of files* and apps (just Seamonkey and Zoom) on KDE whilst I also use KDE but with only files* on the desktop with most used applications on the panel (task bar in Windows parlance).

* In reality files and folders.

Re: ...they try to fob you off with jargon

Use a local tradesman, preferably someone who's been recommended.

To succeed running his own business he has an incentive to do a good job to get repeat business and word of mouth recommendations. Someone working for or, more likely, subcontracted to what is essentially a ticketing operation had an incentive to close down tickets. The two are different incentives and only one works in your favour.

" I praised him to the heavens."

Probably got him fired.

Re: fingers and toes crossed

It's already switched itself off. It's switching it back on again that's tricky.

That's to dispose of the biological detritus.

Re: I am intrigued

Fails on two grounds: only one word and not enough letters.

"Reservation fee" is only marginal. "Advance monetary securement arrangement" would be better as it's not only longer more impressive and includes a word that's not even in the spell checker.

Re: Technology to the rescue

Now? It seems like forever.

Testing was available before the app. There was no excuse for going straight to self-isolation. The only action to take based on a positive result from a presumptive test is to apply a more definitive test. When telling people to self-isolate they should then have made provision to support those self isolating. If the latter had been done a back of the envelope check on the likely costs would have suggested requiring a test first. In fact I'm surprised the Treasury didn't demand testing on the basis of likely cost to the economy.

Re: Surprise

The requirements are what HMG said they wanted.

Re: Surprise

The problem wasn't in the development, it was in the requirements.

Re: Customer Service

I think there's ample evidence that marketroids are very, very bad at working out what people want. Anyone who doesn't block adverts has tails of the irrelevant or no longer relevant ads following them online. Anyone who regularly uses Amazon or other online store has a similar experience with recommendations.

It follows that if they think people want what they don't want they're likely to think they don't want what they do want and consequently products get discontinued or at least becomes more difficult to find. You may be on a mission and prepared to look where the product is now but if it's no longer stocked you're not going to find it.

You're assuming the AI does do a bit better.

But is there any reason why the phone & PC can't synchronise directly?

"We did the sensible thing"

And what was that?