Posts by albegadeep 83 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Mar 2017
"Of course we'll bundle our MorganNet software with the new network nodes; our customers expect no less of us. We have never sought to become a monopoly. Our products are simply so good that no one feels the need to compete with us."
– CEO Nwabudike Morgan, "Morgan Data Systems press release"
Generally correct, but in the specific case of a pitot tube, the higher reading is almost always the correct one. (Plugged tube, tube not pointing perfectly forward, etc. all result in lower readings.) Especially if the plane is in flight and one of the sensors is reading near-zero.
At one time, Excel could open and edit OOCalc files - but the functions wouldn't actually transfer, just the current cell values. Oddly enough, OOCalc could open and edit Excel files fine. I'm pretty sure that was Microsoft's fault.
And the fact remains that Microsoft file handling isn't even consistent across (recent) versions of Microsoft software. Try working with a PowerPoint file in O365 desktop, O365 online, and the current non-O365 desktop version.
how about decreasing how many chips are needed for a car? Does it really need a built-in cellphone modem? Do the seatwarmers' switches have to be wired to chips, or can they be connected via those newfangled "relay" thingies?
For that matter, we can dramatically reduce chip usage elsewhere - refrigerators, air conditioning, coffeemakers, clothes washers and dryers, etc. Not everything needs a screen and 'net connection!
Total up the amount of energy that such “targeted” ads require beyond that needed for context-based ads? The data harvesting, storage, and auctions surely consume a huge amount of electricity yearly. Should include the extra power usage on user devices.
Then estimate the carbon emissions. The environmental impact would be good ammunition for getting rid of this nonsense.
I don't think I would have waited. Sales droid also needs to know that's nonsense. (He may have been misinformed by somebody else, just parroting the line.)
I'm still wondering why Wal-Mart sells *FLAT* Ethernet cables. They look too thin to be proper Cat5e.
Mine's the one with the RJ45 crimper in the pocket.
"Probably should have charged him 1/4 of the day rate."
Indeed. 15 minutes of work, yes, but also travel to and from, the use of the USB adapter (not something most people would have), plus the expertise of knowing that it was even possible to simply copy files off the drive, much less knowing how to do it. Charging $50 knowing that they saved WAY more is quite fair.
A couple workplaces back, there was a small UPS that needed its batteries replaced. But what size batteries? We couldn't shut the system down at the time (that's why it was on UPS!), so I simply removed the side cover, checked the size and count of batteries inside, and went to put the cover back on. Still not sure what exactly went wrong, but the spark was quite impressive.
"It transpired that the network system didn't need to see much more than a glorified heartbeat to confirm the customer service system was active."
Have something similar at work. There's a system that absolutely insists that a tape drive be connected before it'll boot. But it's incredibly rare to actually need to USE the tape drive. So there's a tape drive with busted mechanical bits, but fully functional circuit boards, attached to it. (With a note, so nobody will actually put a tape in.) If ever needed, we can borrow a drive from another system for a few minutes.
A serious tip:
Find the USB logo on the plug and put it in with the logo facing you. Should be right >90% of the time, as the USB 2.0 spec says:
Receptacles should be oriented to allow the Icon on the plug to be visible during the mating process.
Even better tip: If you have a USB device that doesn't have a USB logo (like a thumbdrive) or it's black-on-black (thank you Mr. Desiato), mark it! Sharpie works well on light-colored items; Wite-Out / Tipp-Ex works well on dark items.
Android, conventional phone size (nothing tiny or huge), needs headphone jack, decent camera, SD card or other expandable storage. Would prefer removable battery, Qi charging, and USB connection (micro or C, not picky) for data transfer and charging. Something that's going to last quite a while, including getting updates. Used in good condition is ok. Something fairly recent (2020? 2019?), but definitely not latest-and-greatest.
For comparison, my current phone is a Samsung Galaxy J3V, 2016 version. (Manufacturers should be punished for reusing model numbers!) Pretty sure the slowness I'm experiencing is a lack of RAM.
It's (long past) time for me to get a new cell phone. I'd rather not have one from my carrier (due to all the preinstalled garbage). Where would be a good place to ask advice on which phone to get? If it was a computer, I'd say my local computer repair shop - when the guy behind the counter wants to show you pics of his home machine, and discuss watercooling and overclocking, you're in the right place for getting advice. But who to go to for a phone?
My point was to point out to the IT director that the user's productivity actually dropped rather than increased, refer to what the MD said about how it had BETTER increase, note that the user didn't listen to anyone involved who actually knew what they were talking about, and suggest a different kind of replacement...
"Google's Chrome Web Store developer agreement forbids developers from violating intellectual property rights, which probably doesn't mean much to committed law-breakers."
No kidding. If you're going to commit grand theft, what's a little trademark infringement? The agreement only works against someone in a country where it can be enforced, and where the user won't disappear before the enforcement. In other words, a real developer.
"I like to do a CPU attack first. It's the Hello World of chaos engineering," Butow said.
Awesome line!
When I saw this headline, it took me back to the days of Palm OS programming. There was a program, run in an emulator, called Gremlins. You specified the size of the "horde", number of pen-down or typing events to generate, etc., and it would hammer on the program for a while, using every visible control as well as the occasional tap on the app background. A good way to random-stress-test an app.
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/palm-programming-the/1565925254/ch10s07.html
"Yup, I've had a lot of good ideas while out walking or in the toilet"
I'm remembering the tale of a chronically constipated German monk who spent a lot of time on "das klo", giving him plenty of time to think and write about Catholic teachings and practices. He ended up writing a list of 95 theses against the sale of indulgences - thus starting the Protestant Revolution.
Or as it is sometimes put, "For want of a bran muffin, the Catholic Church was lost."
Mercury is probably what I was thinking of. Wikipedia says Urbain Le Verrier noticed Mercury had orbital precession not explainable by Newtonian mechanics, and thus there might be another planet nearby (Vulcan). Einsteinian mechanics explained the precession.
I definitely got the details wrong, though, if that's what I was thinking of.
Essentially, somebody used Newtonian mechanics to predict the existence and location of another planet, looked for it, and ... nothing. Then somebody else used Einsteinian mechanics, and found Pluto?
Could we soon see an edit to Einsteinian mechanics?
"The sort that think progress bars actually reflect the work undertaken... or that thinks using a CLI is the very essence of doing clever things"
I really do expect the progress bar to reflect what's going on in the background. It's kind of the point of having it in the first place - if it's wrong, why have it at all?
Using a CLI requires a certain amount of knowledge and cleverness that most users don't seem to have. As a result, people who can use a CLI tend to be the more knowledgeable and technical ones. (Though thinking you're clever because you use a CLI is a bad sign.)
I carried a SAK for a number of years, until I got a Leatherman Super Tool as a gift. The steel is so much better that the blades stay sharp for WAY longer. The SAK promptly went into a drawer. (Still have it, 15+ years later.) I also received a multitool pen (one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Tool-Multi-Function-Tool-Multifunction/dp/B001IYGAOM). I carry both at all times (except where prohibited, of course). The tiny blades of the pen are a fantastic complement to the larger tools in the Leatherman.
There is a long-standing tradition of unusual, but Vulture-approved, units of measurements:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/24/vulture_central_standards/
Oddly, there's no entries for time. "Sparrow's fart" might well be a good standard for short timespans - any suggestions for longer ones? Paint drying, bad speeches, Shelby light bulb?
"The switched plug(s) is/are supposed to be mounted upside down."
Where do they do that? In my part of the US, there's no rule about which way is up! Most houses '90 and older are smiley-face orientation for all outlets (ground pin down), but more recent ones are sometimes ground-pin-up. Wiring the garage, I specifically researched this topic; apparently it's electrician's preference here. Switched outlets are not uncommon, are almost never marked, and can be either both outlets switched or just one.
"The logical solution is a "bus" architecture"
I think we're talking about pretty much the same thing, but maybe I wasn't clear on my original statement. Here's an example of what I mean: My garage has 14 outlets, each designed for 120V 20A. I'm likely to pull some serious current in total (electric heater, air compressor, and lathe all at once, for instance), so it's split in 4 circuits, each with its own 20A breaker. 2-conductor (plus ground) wiring rated for 20A starts at the breaker, goes to the first outlet, from there to the second, and so on, stopping at the last outlet on the circuit - "radial" as opposed to ring. Pull over 20A on any one outlet, and a breaker trips, but there's 80A available in total.
Most equipment (house or garage) has a built-in, hard-wired cable rated higher than what the equipment should ever pull - but no fuse. Lamps, radios, and other low-power devices often have smaller cables; I can see why a fuse would be a good idea, in this case.
In contrast, most computer equipment has a cable that is removable at both ends. These are typically larger than those for lamps and radios, but are a fairly standard cable size and (presumably) rating - any "computer cable" can be used in any application, because the protection is provided by the breaker, and the outlet and in-wall wiring can take the breaker's trip current. If the equipment itself needs protecting, the manufacturer builds in a fuse to the equipment, not the cable.
(Side note: most house outlets are 15A; 20A outlets have a slightly different pin configuration. 20A outlets will accept 15A plugs, but not the other way around.)
In the developed world on the west side of the pond, we use radial circuits, with wire designed to take more current than the breaker's trip point. Cables/plugs from machine to wall (and outlets, for that matter) are also designed for full current, so they don't need a fuse - and are therefore interchangeable. If the individual equipment needs a fuse, the manufacturer puts one in the equipment.
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