* Posts by JohnFen

5648 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Feb 2015

Town admits 'a poor decision was made' after baseball field set on fire to 'dry' it more quickly

JohnFen

Idiots everywhere

This reminds me of the time when a neighbor decided to get rid of a wasp's nest under the eaves of his house by soaking it in kerosene and setting it on fire. He was left without 25% of his roof, a large bill form the fire department, and looking forward to years of his neighbors snickering every time they looked his way.

On the positive side, he told me, he did successfully eliminate the nest.

US government tells internet body to hurry the funk up on privacy

JohnFen

"Because copyright and a whole bunch of legal issues are not always criminal issues"

Even in civil cases, you can get a judge to issue a subpoena for the required information.

JohnFen

Yeah, I can't argue against that! The only reason that I haven't yet is because of inertia.

JohnFen

"When I see a personal address in that field, I automatically think it is a faked address."

Why do you assume this? I assume that the domain name was registered by an ordinary person who isn't' terribly familiar with the customs involved.

I don't think the exposure of the email address is the significant issue here, though. The significant issue is the exposure of phone numbers and physical addresses. I can easily ignore all the spam that I'll get through an exposed email address, but the spam that comes through the phone and physical location is more problematic. Not to mention the real personal risk exposure of physical addresses can pose. The internet is full of crazies, after all.

That's why I have to pay extortion money to my registrar to keep that information private.

If there's 5G connectivity but no 5G devices on it, does it make a sound? Wait, no, that's not right

JohnFen

Re: Why the comparison with wifi?

This. As bad as consumer IoT devices are now, they're a whole lot worse with 5G.

JohnFen

Re: Sincere comment

The question isn't whether or not there are increased benefits. The question is whether or not the benefits exceed the increased costs. Our current tech already presents a cost/benefit ratio that doesn't make it an obvious win for everybody.

With 5G, at least consumer use of 5G, it's very far from clear to me that the cost/benefit ratio is reasonable. Particularly if they're talking about 5G as a WiFi replacement.

The cost/benefit ration for industrial uses seems more favorable.

Xiaomi's Mi-too attempt at a pholdable: Not one, but TWO creases of fail

JohnFen

Re: Am I the only one...

That's not a compelling feature to me in such a device.

JohnFen

Re: Am I the only one...

For certain demographics, I'm sure that you're right.

I can't imagine why I'd personally want such a thing, though, even if it's perfected. A standard screen is more than good enough for my needs, and if the tech is good enough to accommodate a tri-fold screen, that would mean that a standard screen could be made much thinner, making more room for features that I would like a whole lot more than a foldable screen.

JohnFen

Re: Am I the only one...

You're not the only one. I don't get it, either. I assume that's because I'm not the target market.

JohnFen

Which Vertu?

"analyst Jean Baptiste Su of Atherton Research told us he didn't think they were exorbitantly expensive, if you compared them to boutique devices like Vertu."

Which Vertu? Some models go for around $600US, and some for nearly $10,000US, with a whole range in between. I doubt he's talking about the low-end Vertu here, but if not, then what he says here is nonsensical as the entire rest of the Vertu line is exorbitantly expensive.

My bias: any phone that costs more than around $800US is "exorbitantly expensive".

Tough cookies: MEPs call for EU websites to be scrubbed of trackers

JohnFen

Re: I did a brief study in December last year..

Yes, as near as I can tell, the various "opt out" mechanisms are essentially worthless.

JohnFen

A serious oversight

"The survey didn't include trackers associated with the Google Analytics platforms"

That seems like an incredibly serious oversight, as GA is probably the most common tracker out there.

What bugs me the most? World+dog just accepts crap software resilience

JohnFen

Re: I could not agree more

In the scenario presented, nobody but me would be willing to sell software, so there's nothing else to gamble on. I was using sarcasm to point out why a "have to reveal source code" law wouldn't result in everyone being unwilling to write software.

JohnFen

Re: It is far too often used to justify terrible engineering practices and decisions

The adage itself is not wrong. I was commenting on the misuse of the adage.

JohnFen

Re: I could not agree more

"What happens when suddenly there are no more takers because being forced to publish their source is too high a price?"

If that happens, I'll be able to raise my rates and rake in some really serious money.

JohnFen

Re: the demand for software is too high to have time to properly do it

"Most developers are barely adequate so I'm not sure they know how to create software with a low number of bugs."

I agree, the lack of expertise is another real problem in the industry.

JohnFen

Re: My place, which isn't short of a bob or two...

"They don't particularly want to automate stuff as it might mean fewer hours to charge end clients."

Ugh, I hope that's not their reasoning. I'd prefer to chalk it up to the wrong sort of laziness. I think the right sort of laziness on this point is epitomized by the saying "if it's worth doing twice, it's worth automating".

JohnFen

Re: I can no longer find the article

I think that high quality software can still be found. It's not likely to come from a major software house like Microsoft, etc., but it's out there.

JohnFen

Re: Reliable code

"how can a EULA / TOS be a legally-enforceable contract when one party to the agreement claims the right to change it at any time, with no notice?"

In the US, it's not an automatic given that a EULA/TOS is a legally enforceable contract. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, depending on the specific EULA involved. Terms like "we can change the deal any time, in any way, without notice" tend to make it less likely that the EULA is enforceable.

JohnFen

Re: Who bears the cost ?

"I'm not sure who will still want to write software though."

I would.

"I prefer to do good work but I haven't always had that option and the day I'm held legally responsible for the quality of code I write I'll be quitting"

That does not exactly give confidence in the code that you're writing. I write the best code that I can for anything that will end up in somebody else's hands. I have too often had to fight with management types to do it, but there's only a couple of times that, in the end, writing good code wasn't an option. And I quit those jobs, because a company like that isn't worth burning my time or reputation.

JohnFen

That phrase has been so abused that I cringe when I hear it. It is far too often used to justify terrible engineering practices and decisions.

JohnFen

Re: I could not agree more

"When you know that other people are going to be looking at your code, you take a bit of extra care with it."

Working this way has been something that I developed as a habit a very long time ago. Even with my projects that aren't open source, the odds are very high that other people will be looking at my code -- even if the "other people" is future me. Future me doesn't know nor care about what present me is thinking, so the code that present me writes has to be inherently clear to future me.

JohnFen

I could not agree more

I've been watching with increasing dread and despair as my industry, that I've been very active in for 30 years or so, is producing software whose quality has been clearly decreasing every year. When I get on my soapbox about this, graybeards tend to agree but (significantly, I think) the younger developers simply don't see the problem or actively believe the reverse is true.

There needs to be an industry-wide recognition that the way things are going are unsustainable and we need to look at and fix the methodologies that have led to this deplorable state.

Make America buy phones again! Smartphone doom 'n' gloom crosses Atlantic to cast shadow stateside

JohnFen

Re: Like pagers

I have an ironclad policy of never using my personal machines for work, to protect both my employer and myself. I don't know how common my stance really is, but I'd say about 25% of the people I've worked with have had similar policies.

JohnFen

Re: Mature Product

> Cars are a mature product but Americans pay ever more for cars that are objectively worse, the average car payment is now something like $575 and > 70months

A minority of Americans do. The majority of Americans buy their cars used.

JohnFen

Re: Mature Product

"The new 'features' are not that critical to users."

And for some, not even desirable. I know that for me, the new features that have been added to smartphones over the last few years (particularly the high-end smartphones) are features that aren't just noncritical, but are not things I would actually use at all. And to get them, features that I do use and value have been jettisoned.

So, for people like me, the latest crop of smartphones aren't just failing to justify their price tags, they are actively less desirable than older models.

Google plonks right-wing think tanker and defence drone mogul on AI ethics advisory board

JohnFen

Re: I want to know if anyone thinks that AI doesn't exist.

> My formulation: "Intelligence is the process of becoming better, where the best is the limit."

And there's the nut of our difference: I don't agree with that definition at all.

JohnFen

Re: I want to know if anyone thinks that AI doesn't exist.

I'm not sure what NIST TREC's opinion has to do with anything. A system that can answer such questions doesn't, all by itself, imply that there's intelligence going on.

> Consider them AI or no is rather a rhetorical question.

Yes, it has to be, since we don't have anything close to a good definition of "intelligence". As such, any declaration (including my own) of what does or does not qualify as intelligent is necessary rhetorical. "Is it intelligent" is an impossible question to answer until everyone can agree on what intelligence actually is. And there is no broad agreement about that.

JohnFen

Re: cats standing up

Thank you for not using the phrase "duck it" as DDG seems to want people to use.

JohnFen

Re: I want to know if anyone thinks that AI doesn't exist.

I think that AI doesn't exist, if by AI people mean "artificial intelligence". Current AI systems are very powerful, but they're still just pattern-matching systems that don't engage in anything that resembles intelligent thought.

JohnFen

Re: Ethicswashing is required.

"Ethics are not allowed to interfere with profit."

This is a very serious oversimplification and as such, isn't true as a blanket statement. What is true is that corporations have to adhere to their charter, and not all private corporations have "profit at all costs" as their charter. If that were true, all corporations would switch to selling porn and drugs.

UK pr0n viewers plan to circumvent smut-block measures – survey

JohnFen

Re: I sure would

Nah, I can turn a phrase every now and then, but like most people I'm a bit too honest for politics.

JohnFen

Re: Using your credit card to prove your age and/or ID on a porn website

In the US, anyway, credit cards and debit cards are two distinctly different things. Although a prepaid credit card is logically the same as a debit card, it is very different in that it uses the credit card system and comes with all the protections that credit cards provide, but debit cards do not.

In effect, it's no different than any other credit card except that the credit limit on it is equal to the amount of funds that you have on deposit.

JohnFen

Re: Using your credit card to prove your age and/or ID on a porn website

Does a credit card work for age verification in the UK? It doesn't in the US, as it's pretty easy for kids to get prepaid credit cards at most grocery stores.

JohnFen

Re: I sure would

Yes, this. Thank you. :)

JohnFen

Re: "Other concerns cited by users ... that it will drive prices up"

True, but don't assume that just because you're paying, they're not also selling you out on the side.

JohnFen

I sure would

I'm not a porn-loving citizen in the UK, but if I were, I'd absolutely circumvent the block rather than register with the government. For what I think are obvious reasons.

FAANGs for the memories: Breaking up big tech's biggest isn't a matter of if, but of when

JohnFen

Netflix' future looks very, very uncertain at the moment. They might just take care of themselves in the end.

Facebook's at it again: Internal emails show it knew about Cambridge Analytica abuse 'months' before news broke

JohnFen

Re: Whose ox is gored?

When the Obama campaign used these facilities, they were aboveboard and honest about it, and had something that could plausibly be called consent. That's a pretty big difference.

I'm not saying that I think it was a great thing to do -- I'm just saying that it wasn't quite a comparable thing.

In both cases, the real sleaze was Facebook.

JohnFen

Re: Why is this news?

This may not be news in the sense of something unexpected, but it is news in the sense of letting people know things that they should know.

Yes, everyone here knows how awful Facebook is -- but there are tons of normal people who don't. When you tell one of those people to avoid Facebook, they'll ask "why do you think they're so bad?" It's awfully nice to be aware of specific things that you can point to in response.

What's holding up the 5G utopia in Britain? Quite a lot, actually

JohnFen

Re: Not an expense

The expense is quite high, though. For a government to view this as an investment, there has to be a credible case that it will produce value in excess of that expense. Has that case been made? I haven't really seen it, but I'm just an outside observer.

Now, for the cell companies, this would absolutely be an investment, as they're the ones who will be getting paid.

JohnFen

Re: 5G is going to matter

It's not a rumor, it's true. The range for each 5G cell is much shorter than with earlier tech, and there will have to be many more cell sites. This is related to the radio frequencies involved. Also, those frequencies are terrible at things like passing through walls, so many buildings will require 5G cells inside them.

On the upside, as you point out, the antennae can be much smaller (even much shorter than 25 feet), so it's feasible to put them on lamp posts, etc.

The density of cells required depends on the speed to be supported. They can be as far as 3000 feet or so apart, but if they're going to support high speed, they need to be much closer than that.

JohnFen

Why is this being presented as a race?

I honestly don't understand why this 5G stuff is being present in terms of a race between nations. Why does it matter at all who rolls it out first? Of all of the things that I find weird about 5G -- and there's a lot -- this is what I find the weirdest. It seems to me that this doesn't matter in the slightest. In fact, it might be better to let another nation do it first so that someone else can work through all the inevitable difficulties that come with deploying new tech.

It smells a lot like it's just a hard-sell tactic. "Buy now while supplies last!"

'Sharing of user data is routine, yet far from transparent' is not what you want to hear about medical apps. But 2019 is gonna 2019

JohnFen
Thumb Up

I see what you did there!

JohnFen

It is worthwhile to reduce your data exposure as much as you can even if you can't reduce it to zero. Not to mention that your phone knows lots of things about you that your physician does not.

JohnFen

Naturally

At this point, we all understand that if an app has access to data, and the app can communicate out, then that data is going to be sold, right?

I would never use a medical app of any sort for this reason.

"The obvious concern is whether or not people's personal information is being properly scrubbed of any identifying info before it is offered to other organizations and advertisers."

Personally speaking, I don't think doing this makes the situation any better. Same with "anonymization".

We fought through the crowds to try Oculus's new VR goggles so you don't have to bother (and frankly, you shouldn't)

JohnFen

Re: Missing the point

"VR doesn't have a problem of not being quite there yet, it has the problem that it's simply not appropriate most of the time and more people won't actually care about it no matter how good the tech becomes."

Yes, this is what I see as the core problem for VR adoption outside of serious gaming and industrial use. There's no use case compelling enough. That may change, of course, but I don't see anything on the horizon.

JohnFen

Re: Been waiting...

"This time it is just cost keeping it at bay, not technology."

I disagree. Price is a huge issue, but so is the tech -- it needs to be a lot smaller and lighter than is currently possible.

JohnFen

Not seeing the mass-market appeal

"Few outside hardcore gamers are that excited to try it again."

I have a hard time believing that VR goggles will ever have a great deal of appeal outside of hardcore gamers and certain specific industrial use cases. I suppose, if the price point were a lot lower and the gear a lot less intrusive, it might be able to crack into the market between casual gamers and true hardcore gamers, but still...