* Posts by Pascal Monett

16643 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Apr 2007

Mozilla says 80 percent of Google Play's app safety labels are inaccurate

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Thumb Down

I call bullshit

"This report conflates company-wide privacy policies that are meant to cover a variety of products and services with individual Data Safety labels, which inform users about the data that a specific app collects"

You put a Data Safe label on the Facebook app, ergo you are wrong.

Europe to consult on making Big Tech pay for the networks it floods

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"strangely aimed only at American-born firms"

American-born firms who, strangely, pay almost no taxes anywhere. And they may have been born in the USA but, strangely, when the taxman cometh, the are very much foreigners.

Microsoft has apparently legally set its tax base in offshore havens. Apple is also hot on that market. Amazon does wonders to ensure that it can, perfectly legally, avoid the majority of taxes it should pay. I'm sure that Oracle and all the others are in line as well. After all, it's their "duty to their shareholders", isn't it ?

I'm obviously not saying that these companies should hand over 50% of their revenue, but they definitely should not whine about having to pay for what they use.

Oh, and it should be a worldwide rule that, if your company rakes in over a billion dollars a year, you are forbidden from getting subsidies anywhere. You've got the money, you don't need to deprive citizens of the benefits of their tax money.

US to impose caps on Korean chip shops working in China

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"biotech for superhuman soldiers"

So, if we're talking biotechm we're not talking about exoskeletons. We are thus still limited by what the human can do. There will be no biotech that will allow a human being to jump over a 2 meter wall.

If you start mentioning nanobots, we're off to sci-fi land and you are irrelevant. And no, we're not going to be modifying eyeballs to have Terminator-style Augmented Reality screens inside our heads. So what's left ? What are the domains were biotech would actually bring something to the battlefield ?

I'm guessing that one area that would bring certain benefit is if soldiers could recuperate faster. Sprint over 50 meters, recover in three seconds, dash again, repeat five times. That would allow for much faster covering of territory, quicker repositioning on the battlefield and thus more effective use of firepower to take the day. At least, I think it would.

Another area is enhanced awareness, ie sleepless soldiers. That is an area that has already been studied for decades and we're no closer to any real solution. A soldier that is awake for over 48 hours at a stretch is a soldier that starts losing his grip on reality, no drug has been able to correct that. So I don't know that there is any biotech that can correct that issue, but that would be one hell of an improvement on the battlefield. Combined with fast recovery and you have an assault force that could fight for two days straight and litterally wear the enemy out before reinforcements could arrive, thus vastly improving battlefield results.

But I don't see that biotech will enable soldiers to shoot better, or see at night, or run faster or carry heavier loads. Equipment and training help for those things, not biology.

So what biotech is being cooked up in the secret labs ?

Ukraine invasion blew up Russian cybercrime alliances

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"[..] has not produced the disruptive results that the Russian state has expected"

So, Putin's keyboard warriors are no better than Putin's actual army. Go ahead and forgive them all, your sad little regime is not going to hold out much longer anyway.

Unless things change, first zettaflop systems will need nuclear power, AMD's Su says

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Drastic steps ?

I'm sorry, since the first 8086 graced our desktops, computing power has been (de)multiplied by more than you can count.

The 8086 had 29,000 transistors in a single core. Today's CPUs have so many billions of transistors they're not even counted any more (okay, 6+ billion), and cores by the dozen.

How much more drastic can you get ?

We've gone from an architecture that did one thing at a time in the single available core, to an architecture that delegates computing to the best platform, stores terabytes of data faster than I can drink my whisky, does real-time raytracing on a 3840 x 2160 pixel screen and all that managed by a chef d'orchestre who can juggle 24 threads at the same time and calculate the millionth digit of Pi before I've finished my morning coffee.

The only drastic step left is R2-D2.

Call me when he rolls off the production line.

Google staff asked to share desk space in latest cost purge

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Share a desk ?

No problem, I'll gladly work from home.

For the same pay, of course, I'm not responsible for your mismanagement.

What's that ? You hired 12,000 people during the pandemic and couldn't guess that, when it was over, things would at least go back to pre-pandemic ?

Aren't you supposed to be smart ?

Kremlin claims Ukraine hackers behind fake missile strike alerts

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"the country's Ministry of Emergency Situations"

I would have thought that the Ministry of Interior would be tasked with handling emergency situations of this kind, or the Ministry of Defense at the very least.

Does Russia also have a Ministry of Silly Walks ?

Twitter algorithm to be open sourced 'next week,' says Musk

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Coat

Re: Musk says...

Indeed, the whisky bottle empties way too quickly . . .

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Disagreement is not hatred.

I can disagree with you, it doesn't mean I hate you.

It does, however, imply that I respect your person and position, and bring proper arguments concerning my own opinion on the matter.

I have no problem with disagreement in a civilized society. Disagreement can foster new ideas that are a benefit for all. What I have a big problem with is blind stupidity and the refusal of considering that one's own opinion just might not be the Lord's Gospel.

Supreme Court not interested in hearing about NSA's super-snoop schemes

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Trollface

"effectively exempting the agency's data collection from review"

I hear that the NSA has a life-size gold-covered statue of Trump in the Director's office.

This won't hurt a bit: Amazon now a US healthcare provider

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Amazon 2100 :

Search for Heart Attack.

Popup for Ambulance : Special Deal, only $6500 if you purchase in the next 5 minutes !

Yay capitalism ?

Lawyers join forces to fight common enemy: The SEC and its probes into cyber-victims

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"Either outcome imposes a significant and unfair burden on attorneys"

So, if I understand correctly, because Covington is a den of lawyers, they are required to have special priviledge when it comes to dealing with the SEC.

SEC asks the same thing in every case, it's not new.

If it is such an issue for lawyers then, given that even they state that being hacked is inevitable, they should find a way to ensure that client data is not available to hackers - aka don't put it on the network.

It's not like lawyers will ever have a paperless office anyway.

Ancient art of banning rideshare companies revived in India, this time on motorbikes

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Trollface

How's that for disruption, Uber ?

"the practice and services violated existing laws, since the vehicles are not registered for commercial use"

Well, they never were, so why did it take so long to notice ?

Did the Indian Minister of Transport recently have a bad experience on a moto-taxi ?

Titanic mass grave site to be pillaged for NFTs

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Now that's a blockchain I could get behind.

APNIC calls in lawyers to handle election code of conduct breach allegations

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Coat

False allegations, disparagement of opponents [..] and creative approaches to the truth

A Monday in US politics then . . .

or Fox News.

Humans strike back at Go-playing AI systems

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Re: that's still not generalised AI

It's not AI, period.

Hong Kong to crypto exchanges: get a securities broker's licence, or go home

Pascal Monett Silver badge

What's the point ?

Why bother about funny money brokers in Hong Kong ?

Xi Pooh has already forbidden that in China, and that's where you're going.

Chinese boffins call for research on ‘countermeasures’ to US chip bans

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Re: I see a potential for China to corner the market in the 1nm class

I don't think it'll be that simple.

FTX is back in Japan, where users can withdraw fiat and crypto

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"comprehensively regulated cryptocurrency sector"

Ah. So it's not a free-for-all sticking it to The Man being largely taken advantage of by completely unscrupulous individuals.

Geez, maybe having regulations is not such a bad thing after all . . .

GoDaddy joins the dots and realizes it's been under attack for three years

Pascal Monett Silver badge
WTF?

Green hats, really ?

What about blue hats ? Or grey hats ?

Or hey, it's the latest fashion apparently, rainbow hats ?

Can't be woke if you leave them out, can you ?

This is getting ridiculous.

Nations agree to curb enthusiasm for military AI before it destroys the world

Pascal Monett Silver badge

You seem to have not at all followed the raft of diplomatic activity that took over 20 years to bring Russia to this point.

Yes, Russia invaded Ukraine all alone. But we (aka The West) made a lot of promises to Russia, specific promises, not general notions mouthed in platitudes, and we did nothing to hold ourselves to those promises.

You try promising things to someone and never making good on your promise, and then tell me how long that person is still going to believe you.

Virtual reality telemetry means you can virtually kiss goodbye to privacy

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"This really changes how we think about the notion of 'privacy' in the metaverse"

No, not really.

Not for anyone with an attention span worth a damn.

Sick of smudges on your car's enormo touchscreen? GM patents potential cure

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Windows

My car has clean, unsmudged surfaces

It's using a revolutionary new idea : buttons.

Actual, physical buttons to control things.

No smudges there.

EU lawmakers argue against signing US data-transfer pact

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Because the "bonus" was a lie, and you don't have a choice.

Unless, of course, you're OK with saying goodbye to 45% of your commerce budget.

Your figures, not mine.

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"interpreted solely in the light of US law and legal traditions"

Aka : the NSA does whatever the fuck it wants and if you don't like it, fuck you.

Personally, I am still wondering why we (the EU) hasn't just shut down the data pipe until this is resolved properly, aka following EU rules.

Let's not get confused : that data is making US companies salivate. The junkies need their fix. You tell them what you agree to give and they'll fold, it just takes a bit of time. The rest is all a storm in a teacup. Let the noisy ones bloviate, you can wait them out. They cannot stand to wait.

Advantage : EU.

Ubuntu Advantage is being wired deeper into the distro

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Mushroom

"messages about the paid Ubuntu Pro offering… which is by design, and it's not going away"

Thank you, Microsoft.

And to think you said that Linux was a cancer.

Heads to roll at Lenovo amid 'severe downturn' in PC sales

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"Now companies including Lenovo, HP and Dell are facing an uphill battle to sell more product"

Well gosh, what a surprise.

I wonder if all the unforcasted units sold during COVID lockdowns might have an effect.

As in, now everybody has a PC / laptop or equivalent, even those who thought they didn't need one.

You ever seen someone going to a restaurant after having just eaten ? I haven't.

Cut the marketing budget ? Yeah, that's good. Nobody's buying because everyone is equipped.

Come back in a few years. You'll be useful by then.

Right now, you can hibernate. But stop whinging. You've had your buttered bread.

Outage-ous: Twitter OKs cannabis ads, then goes up in smoke

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Coat

"In an update to its drugs and drug paraphernalia policy page"

I'm sure Mr Spliff will do his utmost to serve the needs of all cannabis users and pushers on the bird network, or what's left of it.

Tesla's self-driving code may ignore stop signs, act unsafe. Patch coming ... soon

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Trollface

"surely the real issue here is that the software is dangerous?"

Let's not confuse the issue, which is all about the preposterous slander imposed by the word "recall".

That is what must be changed and Musk will die on that hill if necessary (aka send unlimited amounts of salesdrones to die in his place until the issue is snowed over by whatever important news is churned up next - look, squirrel !).

If you have a fan, and want this company to stay in business, bring it to IT now

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"people bitched about it for a considerable time afterwards"

Of course. What Trent should have done was shut everything down so as to not inconvenience the desk drones. Customer Satisfaction ? That only counts if I can get a yearly bonus, or better yet, a raise out of it.

There is no I in Team, right ? Well, there obviously was no team there either, so I it was.

Tesla fires gigafactory staff after someone made the mistake of mentioning unions

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"Tesla has reportedly fired employees [..] just a day after workers announced plans to unionize"

Well that's one plan that will be going forward now. Well done on quelling dissent, Tesla.

Major success.

What is it with companies in the USA these days ? It seems they are all pining for the Pinkerton days of yore.

Microsoft's new AI BingBot berates users and can't get its facts straight

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"users have requested more features [..] such as booking flights"

Sure, I'm going to risk my money and my travel plans on a brain-dead, mindless, unreliable statistical inference machine that can't keep its facts straight - or even remain polite.

Yeah, no problem there.

Right.

I'm really impatient for the day this pseudo-AI bullshit hits the same brick wall as funny money did so we can get back to watching cat videos in peace.

Biden: I want standard EV chargers made in America by 2024 – get on it

Pascal Monett Silver badge

For a shitshow, it sure seems to be a successful one.

Core-JS chief complains open source is broken, no one will pay for it

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"Free open source software"

I'm sorry, what in the word free do you not understand ?

You propose your code freely for all and then you're surprised that people take it without paying ?

Hint : if you hand out sandwiches and say that they are free, you won't get paid either.

US defense forces no match for the unstoppable fiend known as Reply-All

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Re: Ageism is alive and well...

Not to mention : what the hell do sorting rules have to do with Reply All ?

Besides, this is an old problem. It was a problem when boomers were young, and it will likely be a problem when today's millenials have become boomers as well.

Pascal Monett Silver badge

So the military still hasn't learned to control Reply All

It took decades, but finally Outlook allowed for controlling Reply All (I think it was in Office 2010).

I remember clearly working in various major organizations in Luxembourg around 2010 and seeing, for the first time in my life, that Reply All prompted a message box along the lines of "Are you really sure you want to do this ?". Some messages were more of the "Only do this if you can justify it to your manager" type.

So the military haven't cottoned on yet ?

Oh well, give them another four or five decades, they'll get there eventually.

The Pentagon is shockingly bad at managing its employee smartphones

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Government phone lockdown

There is a simple solution to this : stop handing out phones that have zero protection in place.

It's not only the Government, but it's the Department of Defense. If there is one institution in a country where you don't fool around, it's there.

The DOD should have software that locks the phones it gives out to only a set of applications. The Play Store should not be part of that set.

But of course, that means having actually thought about and planned something before handing out unsafe platforms, but hey, it's not like the DoD is in charge of the security of an entire nation.

Oh, wait . . .

Chipmakers threaten to defect to US, EU if UK doesn't get its semiconductor plans sorted

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"aiming to publish the forthcoming UK semiconductor plan as soon as possible"

Meaning : as soon as they've found a way for (at least) one of their buddies to get his snought in the trough.

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Wait 'till it happens before celebrating.

Ransomware crooks steal 3m+ patients' medical records, personal info

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"one year of Norton LifeLock credit monitoring"

Norton ? Dear God, just hang me now.

Microsoft switches Edge’s PDF reader to pay-to-play Adobe Acrobat

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Could they just replace Edge ?

And finally nuke everything IE out of the Windows landscape ?

Is that possible ?

I want to live in the universe where that is possible.

IBM says it's been running 'AI supercomputer' since May but chose now to tell the world

Pascal Monett Silver badge

That's a supercomputer these days ?

"each is a twin-socket system with 2nd Gen Xeon Scalable processors configured with 1.5TB of DRAM, and four 3.2TB NVMe flash drives, plus eight 80GB Nvidia A100 GPUs, the latter connected by NVLink and NVSwitch"

Somehow, I feel a bit let down compared to Frontier, an 8.7 million core, 1.1K petaflop beast at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

It seems they'll call anything a supercomputer these days.

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Forced labour ?

You compare forced labour with computing how many people are getting gassed, and how much more efficient the process could be ?

Wow.

No more rockstars, say Billy Idol, Joan Jett in Workday Super Bowl ad

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Rock star

It's interesting how besuited, Gucci-wearing so-called high-level executives want to be associated with what is commonly known as a depraved, drug and alcohol-filled lifestyle.

It's almost as if they have to compensate for their utter borishness by sprinkling glitter around.

US, UK slap sanctions on Russians linked to Conti, Ryuk, Trickbot malware

Pascal Monett Silver badge

The game of whack-a-mole continues

"travel bans on the seven and freezing their assets"

I wonder if these Russkies have assets outside of Russia. They probably have multiple crypto wallets, but I haven't heard that The Man can freeze those.

And for travel bans, I'm sure that has them shaking in their sapogi.

What's up with IT, Doc? Rabbit hole reveals cause of outage

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Re: Ouch

Yup. That's one lucky bunny.

Name wouldn't be Roger, by any chance ?

Find My Kids app is basically AirTags for your offspring

Pascal Monett Silver badge

Re: I did not do latin in school.

It's not a question of amount, it's a question of not needing to remove your eyes one second from that all-important screen that has replaced your hand (and mind, apparently).

Coming next : an Education app which will gamify your child's upbringing, so you can finally ignore the brat completely and fob it off to a slab of plastic and toxic metals while you go on with the more important things in your life, namely your next Twitter post.

Microsoft teases how it'll make Sentinel a bit easier to monitor and audit

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Trollface

"If you're expecting to see particular incidents in your queue but you don't"

Then you know that our software is performing with its usual of performance.

Classiq to school academia in quantum computing with help from Microsoft

Pascal Monett Silver badge

"in readiness for when fault-tolerant systems become available"

Hmm. As far as software is concerned, if you're dealing with a system where all possible values are automatically and instantly computed, I'd think that your software would be fault-tolerant by default, else it would crash.

Quantum computing is a very, very curious beast.

Singapore pulls plug on COVID tracking program

Pascal Monett Silver badge
Trollface

Re: spend a great deal for very little return

Oh come now. You only say that because you're not part of the select group that had their snoughts in the trough.

I'm sure they feel that the return was quite satisfactory.