* Posts by Orwell

25 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Aug 2015

Oh no it isn't... Oh yes it is... Microsoft confirms OneDrive lives on under Windows 7

Orwell

Thanks for the links. OneDrive now working again on both my dual-boot laptops.

Normally boot into Linux Mint but occasionally have to do some O365 stuff for my employer!

W10 no way. When I can't use W7 any more it will be removed!

Hold my Bose, we can do premium: Sennheiser chucks pricey wireless cans at travellers

Orwell

Or you can get the Sennheiser HD4.50 look almost the same but considerably cheaper at £99. Bluetooth, noise cancelling, phone functions, cable for wired connection (3.5mm jack). And yes, they have the micro USB connector which matches all my other devices - so very happy!

Only plebs use Office 2019 over Office 365, says Microsoft's weird new ad campaign

Orwell

LibreOffice and SpiderOak sync for £0.

Can fit a lot of odf documents into 2GB.

Shortages, price rises, recession: Tech industry preps for hard Brexit

Orwell

Re: And all we can do...

I will see you there!

Can we stop Brexit and save the UK? Dunno, but I need to make some personal effort before its too late.

Well done, UK.gov. You hit superfast broadband target (by handing almost the entire project to BT)

Orwell

Re: Exchange-only lines?

Exactly the same here in East Sussex. After much fanfare and hype, the council gave BT (no one else allowed to tender, obviously) £50M. A green box was erected less than 100m from the exchange so my copper line will be reduced from 2.5km to 2.4km if I choose to pay more. So I have given up ever getting more than 6Mb/s down which is better than some in my village.

PC not dead, Apple single-handedly propping up mobe market, says Gartner

Orwell

Usable business PCs

Because the business PC market is holding up, Is it not about time that a laptop with usable screen - not widescreen - was reintroduced? And that applies to desktop monitors as well!

Some of us want to get work done, not watch widescreen video content!

Openreach fibre plan for 10m premises coming 'before Christmas'

Orwell

Re: Paying more

What, and kill the cash cow? Copper land lines make a heap of money for BT. They are not going to drop that in a hurry.

Down here in Sussex I notice many properties far from civilization have fibre brought to a pole next to the house. Then at a small green box on the pole the signal is converted to copper for the last 50 metres or so. Why?

Landmark EU ruling: Legality of UK's Investigatory Powers Act challenged

Orwell

Don't forget this legislation is the UK government trying to legalise what it already does. If they fail in the courts it won't make any difference to the situation as it stands. Be careful with your metadata!

Firefox hits version 50

Orwell

Re: Android

Yes, all the time, because it is the only Android browser that supports Ad Block addons.

However, it does have a few bugs on Android. The main one for me is that quite often links stop working. Have to quit out of Firefox and re-start. (Android 7 on a Nexus 9).

Shhh! Shazam is always listening – even when it's been switched 'off'

Orwell

Re: How else are the US corporations and spooks supposed to harvest all your most personal info...

Not only MacOS. If you have an Android device, Google is always listening and the microphone cannot be switched off. See the comments here:

http://www.ghacks.net/2014/03/07/mute-microphone-android-device/

Other devices too.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2015/10/02/3-gadgets-always-listening-and-how-stop-them/73191644/

Who would have thought that the population would not only invite mass surveillance devices into their homes but pay for then too!

Elon Musk: I'm gonna turn Mars into a $10bn death-dealing interplanetary gas station

Orwell

Re: Musk seems to be losing it

100% CO2 but at an atmospheric pressure which we on earth would call a vacuum. And you forgot to mention the radiation (no shielding ozone layer or magnetic field).

Inhabitants will have to quickly dig tunnels and get underground and rarely comeback to the surface. Not my idea of fun!

‘Penultimate’ BlackBerry seen on 'do not publish' page as fire sale begins

Orwell

Blackberry security?

It's Android isn't it? - Google harvesting everything you do.

Sad to see the demise of another great phone manufacturer.

Small broadband firms aren't fussed about getting access to BT's ducts and poles

Orwell

Correct - Telephone infrastructure: 100years old.

Will we end up with dozens of small broadband providers? All with different standards and methods?

Kind of like electricity utilities were 100 years ago: each town with its own power station, different voltage, etc.

Is this progress?

UK's 'superfast' broadband is still complete dog toffee, even in London

Orwell

The last paragraph is just plain wrong in every way. A typical case of a politician believing his own BS.

Hardly anyone has fibre. What he means is fibre to the cabinet, which may be miles away. This is only slightly better than fibre to the exchange which is what we all had before.

And as for 90% getting 24Mbs and 50% getting 100Mbs this is laughable.

Think Hull has the best outlook. Sounds like at least they are trying to do the job properly. Unlike BT's bodge it and run approach. Does KCOM in Hull get lots of government money to spend or do they finance it themselves?

Microsoft releases Windows 10 preview for Raspberry Pi 3

Orwell

I tell you: Microsoft is really scared at the thought of millions of schoolkids playing with Pi's running Linux.

It's a bit like the bad old days: Get a schoolkid interested in cigarettes and it will be smoking for life.

Are the latest Pi(s) being made more powerful so they can run Windows? Is Microsoft "helping" the Pi Foundation financially to enable this?

Come on kids, let's go play in the abandoned nuclear power station

Orwell

Re: If you'd like this, I'd recommend Chernobyl

Well, that's this year's summer holiday sorted then!

Orwell

We can build nuclear subs. Just can't build anything useful.

On the subject of visiting nuclear sites: In the mid 80's I had a guided tour round Dungness Nuclear Power Station when they had an open day. Walked across the fueling floor, with tiles beneath my feet, directly above the reactor, while it was operating!

Also, must have been in the late 1960's when I was in the Boy Scouts, we went on a tour of Winthrith which was (is it still there?) an experimental nuclear research station in Dorset. We all got suited up and I was allowed to handle a piece of uranium. Shame kids miss out on all this now.

Canonical reckons Android phone-makers will switch to Ubuntu

Orwell

I'm still running my Nokia "feature phone". One day it wiil die and no more available. Then I'll be looking for a phone that does not spy on me.

A real open-source Linux phone would be great! Actually I'd love a Linux Mint tablet. Ubuntu OK. Looks like that might come soon. Had high hopes for the Jolla tablet. Paid my money. Seems that's not going to happen. I think they still make phones.

New open-source ad-blocking web browser emerges from brain of ex-Mozilla boss Eich

Orwell

I'll stick with Firefox, thanks. Firefox and ublock to be precise.

I realize now that on Android, this is the only browser that offers a proper adblock add-on.

Can't really understand why anyone would use any other browser, on any platform. And yes, I have tried most of them!

GCHQ mass spying will 'cost lives in Britain,' warns ex-NSA tech chief

Orwell

Is terrorism the reason or the excuse...

For Mass Surveillance?

Some would say that terrorism is the best thing that's happened to our paranoid government.

What's for sure is that anyone who wants to hide can. It's only the idiots or the rest of us who will be watched.

BlackBerry Priv: After two weeks on test, looks like this is a keeper

Orwell

Re: Phone OS

Jolla?

So, GDS saved Brits £1.7bn through 'digital transformation'. Sure about that?

Orwell

I've had a particularly good year: I've saved £435,098 by not buying that Ferrari that I've always wanted.

Brown kid with Arab name arrested for bringing home-made clock to school

Orwell

Not only have the terrorists won but it gives western governments the excuse they needed to spy on and harass the general population.

So actually the terrorists have won twice.

Mozilla-Microsoft spat latest: Firefox yanks Cortana away from Bing

Orwell

Re: elDog

You bet!

It is the best browser out there - by far - yes, I've tried most of them.

Wait, what? TrueCrypt 'decrypted' by FBI to nail doc-stealing sysadmin

Orwell

It is interesting to note that the FBI man knew it was a 30 character password.

After:-

Glenn had sent an email to an associate with an internet hyperlink to an article entitled 'FBI hackers fail to crack TrueCrypt.' In this case, the FBI did decrypt Glenn's hidden files containing the stolen classified materials.

FBIhackersfailtocrackTrueCrypt

is 30 characters. A bit of FBI guesswork?

I still trust TrueCrypt actually. My guess is that the developers stopping work on the project is a classic case of the canary singing.