* Posts by allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

6157 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Oct 2015

HP Inc won't shake you down for ink in 3D printer era, says CTO

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Oh good, I'll use the MultiJet Fusion and the "disruptive new materials" to print my first FTL-drive then!

Seriously kids - I'm all for HP to enter the 3D printer market, but whenever something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

It's nuts but 'shared' is still shorthand for 'worthless'

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

No real contribution here on my part as my point(s) already have been made by others.

But I do want to say "thank you" for turning a bit of marketing blurb into a very interesting discussion!

Ye Bug List

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

True. They could do something about the layout.

"We could, but..."

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

They might have the clout, but probably not the resources/manpower/budget to do this.

Favourite sound chip and why

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

SID = Sound Interface Device, C64 (and VC 10, C128, CBM-II series).

Why? Nostalgia, mainly... but Bob Yannes at MOS Technology did know a thing or several about music - quite a few people think that SID was the best 8-bit sound chip.

Google's call for cloudier, taller disks is a tall order says analyst

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

"Or perhaps he's right and Apple's famous commitment to integration of hardware and software meant it was willing to tolerate extra costs that Google clearly finds unpalatable."

Seems more plausible. Apple has the profit margins on its iThings to pay just a little bit more for something they want without getting hurt.

On a related note: with all the snooping and data slurping going on already and all the proposed snooping and data slurping that is to come you'd think disk makers would be working overtime...

Google reveals rapid cloud expansion

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Ever played Risk as a kid?

How one developer just broke Node, Babel and thousands of projects in 11 lines of JavaScript

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

"We need managers who don't know what can't be done!"*

*Yes, there is a Dilbert cartoon to that effect. But now that I have told you the punchline, you can just imagine it.

Uber woos security gurus with open bug bounty, loyalty scheme

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Rules? Fig leaves more like.

Intel tock blocked for good: Tick-tock now an oom-pah-pah waltz

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Stagnation...

Mass market VR gear? That's as likely now as it was 20 years ago, in other words: not going to happen. If Intel bets the farm on that, they are dead. (But they won't, they are smart. They'll be keeping some options open, though.)

What I'd like to see from Intel is ca CPU that is not just another x86 again. It could still be bog standard WinTel on the outside for the average user/mass market, but running in a VM on something new inside. (Hey, a man can dream, can't he?)

As to oom-pah-pah - try some proper Humppa instead! Seriously, if you have a chance to watch these guys live, do it!

Censor-happy China, battling Brazilians ... just what's left in the wake of ICANN's now ex-CEO?

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Any word(s) on who will probably take over as CEO?

Micro Focus spends $540m to add Serena its software brand museum

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Frankfurt stock exchange was looking for COBOL programmers last year. Plenty of legacy systems still out there.

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Borland... haven't heard that name for a while...

FBI's Most Wanted: Syrian Electronic Army hacktivists

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Mutiny

I'm afraid it may come with a free ride to an undisclosed location in an unmarked plane though.

Twitter is down.

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

I was looking for the bit in A Hard Day's Night where Victor Spinetti says "it's a plot" but couldn't find it, so here is the train scene.

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

It's a devious plot to confuse you....

BoM

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Well, reading them backwards or skipping every nth word doesn't seem to work... frankly, amanfrommars1's posts are easier to parse. After the first two posts I was waiting for him to start harping about HAARP, but no. Let's give him a couple of days to sort it out, shall we?

Hands on with the BBC's Micro:Bit computer. You know, for kids

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Bah!

There, there... can I bring you a hot beverage?

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: "Coder"

Not miffed, but pretty much with you. As to "... fluffy pretend rats to 'dissect' in an "operation by Mb Games" ..." - I would so buy that right away.

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Nah, the BBC Micro:Bit is too small and unobtrusive to qualify as "thing for the minister to stand in front of".

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Designed by committee?

Hehe, downvoted by the one guy who got his Sinclair on time...

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Designed by committee?

But delays are a time honoured tradition in UK IT - you can't simply deliver stuff on time, it would upset everything!

Apple mulled gobbling its Brit GPU designers – but didn't like the taste

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

"It was thought to be be obvious acquisition target for Apple."

Why? I can see analysts etc claiming this, but why would Apple want to buy Imagination Technologies?

French publishers join Swedish 'Block Party' to pester ad refuseniks

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Let's see how it plays out, shall we?

Exactly. The law of unintended consequences...

It's hard to believe, but there are a lot of people out there who do not know that ad blockers even exist. Let's face it, a lot of people have no idea that their web browser is not "the internet", or that there are other browsers. It's not just the elderly relatives, it's a surprisingly large number of 'generation smartphone' as well.

Top rocket exec quits after telling the truth about SpaceX price war

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Huh???

Never heard of it, thanks for bringing the PA-97 to my attention. I kinda have a thing for weird contraptions. And airships/blimps.

I was somewhat surprised this was done in the 1980ies - the whole thing has a 1950ies feel about it, if you know what I mean. You'd think in the mid 1980ies they would have been able to rig a control system to synchronise the choppers and steer them from a single cockpit in the blimp (or one of the Sikorskys). Or even by remote control from the ground. You'd also think they'd put a little more thought in the structural engineering of that thing.

Maybe the concept should be revisited - after all it's quite a lot like a very large quadcopter, there should be suitable control systems to work from now.

Reminds me of the Cargolifter desaster. Which only cost loads of money*, but didn't kill anyone. And they converted the hangar into a lovely Tropical Islands Resort. Any plans for Lakehurst along those lines?

*Thought about investing, but deceided to buy a motorcycle instead. And got a very good ROI indeed...

Look who just joined Salesforce... it's former European commish Neelie Kroes

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Thanks for the link, very interesting!

Champagne supernova in the sky: Shockwaves seen breaking star

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Safe distance

Got it - stand back just a little bit further.

Swedish sysadmins reach for the hex key, reassemble services after weekend DDoS

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Manoeuvre / dress rehearsal?

After all "Train hard - fight easy." - Field Marshal Alexander V. Suvorov (1729-1800)

Former Intel CEO Andy Grove dies, aged 79

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: "to whom he was married for 58 years"

Not that hard to do, looking at my parents...

But the man really had a biography, not just a career.

True believers mind-meld FreeBSD with Ubuntu to burn systemd

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Unix.

Nope, didn't hurt at all!

Telling your wife why you were fired is the only punishment

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Stupid things, stupid times...

Ducks are... weird. In fact, such mating habits would get you blackballed at every gentlemen's club (with the possible exception of tne Army and Navy Club).

FBI backs down against Apple: Feds may be able to crack killer's iPhone without iGiant's help

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

This isn't over yet - so keep tuned! This is something like a time-out, and probably an involuntary one. My guess is that someone strongly suggested to the FBI to dial it back a bit and keep a low(er) profile. But I can't see Jim Comey forfeiting the match, so to speak. He has put quile a lot of his personal clout behind this and has to prevent losing too much face over this.

As to the "third party" involved - my money is on the NSA because a) it's their job to do stuff like that (and for all we know they are very good at it) and b) it ties in neatly with my 'the feds were reined in' theory - "FFS Jim, keep it down and get on the phone and make that call to Fort Meade already!"

However, for all we know, the mysterious "third party" just as well might not exist. Or it might be PLA Unit 61398. Keep tuned, folks - more after a quick word from our sponsor!

Iain Duncan Smith's Universal Credit: A timeline

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

"Supposedly using the government's new agile approach to IT projects, ..."

Well, there's your problem - agile instead of DevOps. Oh, what were they thinking...

What to call a £200m 15,000-tonne polar vessel – how about Boaty McBoatface?

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

RRS Suggestion by expert panel pending

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

I don't know - "Teignmouth Electron" sounds a bit tinny to me. Gooorn...

Microsoft to add a touch of Chrome to Edge

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Hm. Been toying around with Brave for the last week or so, quite like it so far. Cromium-based, very fast.

Apple Macs, iPhones, iPads, Watches, TVs can be hijacked by evil Wi-Fi, PDFs – update now

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: What a toxic hellstew

Sir,

while you are factually correct, I will not have you bad-mouthing Neanderthals!

No really, they don't deserve this. Learn more here and here.

FCC boss: Oh look, net neutrality didn't end the world after all. Surprise!

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: re: former telco lobbyist

Splitters! No, wait, wrong franchise... But seriously, downvoting a TP quote just won't do.

Obama bigs up His Man in Havana: Google

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Hmm. Maybe he just skimmed the memo?

Something useful from Cupertino?! Apple sees the light – finally

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Can it be turned off?

Sorry, must have dozed off there for a minute just now... You were saying?

Apple stuns world with Donald Trump iPhone

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Was El Reg invited to the event?

Intel in 3D and virtual reality dash

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Didn't we do VR back in the '90s?

Yeah, VR & cybersex...

DevOps, huh? Show me the money. Show me the MONAY!

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Its amazing..

Would you offer time travel as a service?

Boffins find a way to put your facial expression on Donald Trump's mug

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Sorry. But whenever I hear or read Erlangen my brain plays this song in my head.

Facebook, WhatsApp farewell BlackBerry

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Blackberry's problem is that they still think mobile phones are, well, phones one buys in order to, well make telephone calls.

How to make the trains run on time? Satellites. That's how

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQPTDuuCSWQ

Heads up, rocket fans: Soyuz launch tonight

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Pink Owl

Did someone say space taxi?

Pornography, violence and JG Ballard: High Rise, the 1970s' internet

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Gotta love Ballard.

Chris Foss did some brilliant cover art for some editions of Ballard's books.

Too Naked for the Nazis streaks to literary glory

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

Re: Soviet Bus Stops

Even stranger: war memorials in former Youguslavia

http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/bizarre-kriegsdenkmaeler-a-947218.html

Google tries to run from flailing robotics arm

allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

So, is G00gle starting to use Microsoft as a role model or what's going on?