* Posts by Fatman

2400 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Apr 2008

One USB plug to rule them all? That's sensible, but no...

Fatman

Re: Not just scart, Also RS232.

Oh, $DEITY, you have brought back memories of interfacing RS-232 serial equipment with compatible plugs.

Is that fucking thing wired DCE or DTE? Did they use the proper gender on the plug and socket?

What a fucking mess, and I am so glad that serial RS-232 has gone away.

Windows 10 upgrade ADWARE forces its way on to Windows 7 and 8.1

Fatman
Linux

RE: `new features for desktop users` : Really!!!!

That said, the upgrade is potentially more compelling for Windows 7 users than Windows 8 was, thanks to new features for desktop users (including multiple desktops)

Something Linux has had for years!!!!!

Give me a break!!!!

Why voice and apps sometimes don't beat an old-fashioned knob

Fatman
Joke

Re: IoT

Aren't you missing some letters??

As in

idIoT???

What scares you most about ‘the cloud’?

Fatman
Joke

Re: 2 thumbs down in just a few minutes!

Your(sic) about as bright as a dull burnt out light bulb..

FTFY!!!

Fumbling Feds lose control of seized MegaUpload domains – to saucy vid slingers

Fatman
WTF?

Re: Lost goods

Not exactly, Dot.Com lost his MegaUpload assets in a civil forfeiture case, not a criminal one.

Civil forfeiture laws in the ole USofA have been abused by the cops and prosecutors to the point where guilt or innocence doesn't matter. Those fuckers are going to take your toys away, and there is shit you can do about it. In some communities, the police do civil forfeiture on TRAFFIC offenses just to pad their budgets.

Worthless BASTARDS!!!

example: http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/investigations/2015/01/14/brandes-pitching-changes-to-civil-forfeiture-noah-pransky/21705495/

AT&T, Verizon and pals eat own head in effort to kill off net neutrality

Fatman
Joke

RE: The USTelcom effort to prevent new net neutrality rules from taking effect

What is going on here??

In order to get the gubmint to do what I want, I ask them to do the exact opposite.

Those fuckers must have recently read some George Orwell.

IIRC - "double plus ungood???" (Shit it was so LONG ago I forgot the exact quote!)

NASA picks tools for voyage to possibly LIFE-SUPPORTING moon Europa

Fatman

Re: I'd like to see life....

And when we finally encounter a superior species, they say to us:

"You dumb fuckers, you can't even live in harmony amongst your own kind, and NOW you want to play in OUR BACK YARD??? Get back on your own rock, and stay there until you learn to play nice with one another. Maybe then you can play in OUR BACK YARD once you have grown up!!!!!"

Anyone care to characterize the politician's reactions?

Fatman

Re: Again with the solar power...

You KNOW the REAL reason why they will not use an RTG, don't you????

(Hint Nuclear power is not politically correct, and this stinks of a politically correct decision making process.)

I still remember all of the noise and the big fucking waste of time the enviro-wankers put up over the launch of previous RTG powered probes.

Shuttleworth delivers death blow in Umbongoland dispute

Fatman

RE: Stallman were to tell Torvalds that he was no longer the head of the kernel dev team

No, it's more like if Torvalds told someone that if he didn't smarten up he would get booted off the list of people allowed to use Linux kernel infrastructure and would have all his pull requests rejected. Which is exactly what happened to one of the Systemd developers not that long ago (as reported in El Reg).

I wonder who that was????

FCC to crack down on robocall spammers' beloved loophole

Fatman
Joke

Blocking Robocalls

I hate to say this - it is a complete waste of time when you are dealing with offshore companies.

The rules simply do not apply to them, and they know it.

Beyond summary execution of the offending scammers involved, there really is no way to stop them. And execution is not much of a deterrent, when you 'waste' one scammer, another crawls our from under its rock to take the place of the newly departed. You are just playing "whack-a-mole", and expending energy in a vain effort to eradicate them.

FTC/FCC fines are just a cost of doing business.

EXT4 filesystem can EAT ALL YOUR DATA

Fatman
WTF?

RE: Those Bright Young Things

They are working to make Linux more like Windows .

Now that would not be a backhanded jab at the developers of systemd, now would it????

That DRM support in Firefox you never asked for? It's here

Fatman

DRM 'support'

Windows XP, OS X, Linux, and 64-bit versions of Firefox are not yet supported, and there's no word yet on when they might be.

NEVER would be the best option!!!

WikiLeaks, er, leaks the Bundestag Inquiry into NSA naughtiness

Fatman

Re: Hmm...

Simple answer, which you can understand here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability

FTC slaps orders on alleged diet pill spamvertising scam scum

Fatman

Re: Youlgreave

At least I wasn't the only one.

I guess I wasn't either....

ALIEN HUNT: Water similar to life-bearing Earth lakes FOUND ON MOON of Saturn

Fatman

Re: Serpentinization

I, for one, am sick of these motherf*ing snakes on this motherf*ing moon!!

I gave you an upvote because of the movie reference, only.

but wild speculation about life on a planet is tantamount to click-bait.

Proof that life can exist elsewhere would be a 'game changer', as life on Earth would not longer be considered unique; it would likely to be the most significant discovery of the past 2000 years (IMHO).

Fat cable bods Comcast belch contentedly, stroke bulging broadband belly

Fatman

Comcrap bails

Score one for the consumer, who would have been fucked over if this merger had been allowed to complete.

I could think of a few past 'mergers' that should be disemboweled (NBC/Universal for one).

It is about time that the Feds started putting the brakes on corporate greed.

HP lifts lid on Autonomy lawsuit claims, but Lynch cries BOLLOCKS

Fatman

Re: Correct me if I'm wrong but when you *buy* a company

You get to dig deep into the other firms accounts.

Most certainly someone does, whether it is the acquirer directly, or an accounting firm hired to perform the diligence, you do get to dive deep into the books. A truly competent purchaser wants to know exactly WHAT they are buying.

My employer bought up a family owned company a few years ago, and since the children of the owners had authority to act on behalf of the underlying corporation; we looked hard at any and all contracts that they may have signed.

Once we had an understanding on a purchase, we required, as a matter of the purchase, to have ALL EMPLOYEES disclose any and all employment contracts that they had with the company. This included the children of the owners. Since they were not aware of the pending sale, they indicated in their disclosures that no such contracts existed. The other aspect of the understanding was that the sellers were to revoke the authority of the children to sign any employment related contracts during the diligence period. They were not told why.

Sale closes, and we decide that it would be a Good Thing(tm) to put into place our own management, so we dismissed them. Cue the lawsuits for "contractually agreed upon severance benefits" when they pulled these 'severance agreements' out of their asses. "See you in court." was our reply.

First one of the kiddies on the stand, made an attempt to persuade the judge that he should get severance benefits; was completely blown out of the water when the disclosure document was put in front of him (apparently he forgot about it). His lawyer tried to get the judge to rule that he had the authority to sign such a contract, but that was also blown out of the water when the stockholder resolution revoking the authority was introduced as evidence. Wisely, the children dropped all efforts to recover their 'severance pay'.

Meanwhile, our auditors were reviewing all expenses of the company to determine if any company funds were not misused, and one could make the case that payment of household utility bills out of company funds (and booking them as usual and customary business expenses) was misuse. After re-filing the tax returns showing all of those funds as 'executive benefits' (subject tp being reported on a 1099 form) instead occupancy expenses; they became serial tax evaders. Cue the letters from the IRS.

Payback is a bitch, isn't it?

Borg boosts future cable broadband biz with DOCSIS 3.1 boxen

Fatman
FAIL

Re: Lil' Sparky

Has the author ever even seen a coaxial cable?

More likely, some editor (if those people still exist at ElReg) chose the wrong pix.

Agree with the icon, so I duplicated it.

Mounties nab Canadian woman, 27, in webcam hack shenanigans bust

Fatman

RE: a bad prank

Put her in a cell and put the key somewhere nice and safe for a while weld the fucking door shut.

FTFY!!!

Tesla reveals Powerwall battery packs for homes, Powerpacks for cities

Fatman

Re: 4,192 KWh

Some states like Florida get so much it beggars belief that solar isn't the primary source of power.

There is a simple answer: A Bought and Paid For State Legislature

SHIT, we are still paying for a nuke plant that will NEVER be built.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/duke-energy-to-cancel-proposed-levy-county-nuclear-plant-fasano-says/2134287

Who thinks Microsoft Edge sucks? Erm, Microsoft

Fatman

Re: Edge Logo

SHIT!!!!

Here I thought that Microsoft would use something more descriptive of the informal name many have given to IE - Internet ExploDer.

How's this for an icon:

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs50/i/2009/336/5/2/Mushroom_Cloud_by_Wittman80.jpg

Boeing 787 software bug can shut down planes' generators IN FLIGHT

Fatman
Joke

Re: from memory

A vanilla install of Windows NT (tm) with no patch or network connection ( nor keyboard or mouse, btw) would self crash after 248 days...

So THAT is what those GCU's are running on????

You would think a company like Boeing could use a newer version of the O/S???

</sarcasm>

Fatman
WTF?

Re: So...Garbage from Non-Aviators

Both the programmer team and the test team should be in front of the leather top desk :-) taken out behind the woodshed, and...(you fill in the blank)

FTFY

Today, the US govt must explain why its rules on shutting down whole cell networks are a secret

Fatman

Re: Baltimore...

Any evidence this was used there?

Damn good question.

Cops just HATE it when you can shed light on their violating your civil rights. After all, "if you did nothing wrong..." only works when it is in THEIR favor.

WRT the looting, pillaging and burning of homes and businesses; I hate to say this, but that is completely counter-productive. "Throwing your toys out of the pram" (I hope I have it right) is not conducive to getting your point across; it merely gets you dismissed as a bunch of anarchists.

The cops DO NEED to be sent a message - one being that you can not expect to shit all over people on a regular basis, and not expect blowback. Much of what is going on in the USofA can be traced to the militarization of the police, and the use of SWAT tactics without good reason. When cops begin to act like thugs with badges, they lose ALL respect.

ServiceMesh man Eric Pulier resigns from CSC amid bribery claims

Fatman

So???

Pulier left after it was revealed he allegedly paid bribes to executives at Australia's Commonwealth Bank

In MANY parts of the world, such payments (often called bribes) are considered 'good business practices". In the "Land of the Free" (aka the USofA) the same practice is called campaign contributions; and since the SCOTUS has decreed that Corporations have "Free Speech Rights", their campaign contributions do a lot of talking.

Imation board and CEO get desperate ahead of May 20 AGM

Fatman

Poor Shareholders...

YOU elected this BoD, so collectively, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

The smart shareholders who did see the handwriting on the wall sold out already!!!

The wiser amongst you will put in an inquiry to the Clinton Group, and determine if they are interested in guying you out, after which it will no longer be your headache. With enough shares owned outright, and sufficient proxy votes, then the Clinton Group can send Imation's maximizing shareholder value Damagers on their way. That would be good riddance.

Watch out for the products that have snuck in behind your back

Fatman

RE: Bypassing IT (especially when you are a part of IT)

Having bypassed my own IT department I can now surprise my business users by delivering software next month rather than the next year or never delivery date they have come to expect.

You can thank $DEITY that you do NOT work for my employer, because my boss would have stuffed your ass into the Trebuchet sling, and sent you on a new career trajectory!

Cow boys like you can work elsewhere!

It is bad enough that IT must deal with the sales weasels who always try to get ShIT past us, but to have one of our own do it; that is unforgivable. Here is your PINK SLIP. DO NOT allow the door to hit you on your way out!

Watch: Nasty JPEG pops corporate locks on Windows boxes

Fatman

Re: So he did a live hack into a government server?

I bet he is learning new stress positions at Club Gitmo, courtesy of the Land of the Free Government Bought and Paid For by Special Interests.

Apple will cut down 36,000 acres of forest in 'conservation scheme'

Fatman
Joke

Re: Isn't this just supply chain control?

However, I know the hip business triend is to outsource everything except for including the executives and build a business on a massive tower clusterfuck of interlocked contracts with suppliers.

You made a mistake, I fixed it.

Target settles with MasterCard for US$19 million

Fatman

Re: It's a sad statement...

I wonder how much they've spent on improving their security?

But that doesn't lead to increased shareholder value.

2550100 ... An Illuminati codeword or name of new alliance demanding faster Ethernet faster?

Fatman
FAIL

Re: Remember 56K?

You mean as opposed to the result of robbed-bit signaling used with channel-associated signaling T1s? Yeah, sure.

Another one who has a better understanding of communications standards that the poster (s)he was replying to. Perhaps he ought to read up on T1 standards:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-carrier

And for the lazy among us (the "money" part):

The optimum bit rate was chosen empirically—the capacity was increased until the failure rate was unacceptable, then reduced to leave a margin. Companding allowed acceptable audio performance with only seven bits per PCM sample in this original T1/D1 system. The later D3 and D4 channel banks had an extended frame format, allowing eight bits per sample, reduced to seven every sixth sample or frame when one bit was "robbed" for signaling the state of the channel. The standard does not allow an all zero sample which would produce a long string of binary zeros and cause the repeaters to lose bit sync. However, when carrying data (Switched 56) there could be long strings of zeros, so one bit per sample is set to "1" (jam bit 7) leaving 7 bits × 8,000 frames per second for data.

ICON for the original poster not the person I replied to ---------------------------------->

Verizon to world: STOP opening dodgy phishing emails, FOOLS

Fatman

Re: Scrappers

My WROK PALCE had one such scrapper who was a low level IT flunky.

He thought that the machines being re-cycled were going to be sold.

He did not know that they were leased, and re-cycling them meant returning them to the leasing company; who was none too happy to get 50 of them back minus the RAM.

Cue one nastygram from a shyster. Fortunately for him, he had not 'disposed' of those chips; and we were able to return them.

Linux 4.0 debuts with the usual no fanfare

Fatman
Joke

Re: Figures…

Pretty soon the only thing requiring a re the boot after update will be systemd...

FTFY!!

(One could only wish!)

HOT HOVERSHIP-ON-HOVERSHIP ACTION: SpaceX ready for barge boing

Fatman

Third time "a charm"?

One could only hope.

Everything's code, 'zero tolerance for assholes': Yup, it's ChefConf

Fatman

Re: Cute...

...except "zero tolerance for assholes" is basically meaningless without a precise definition of what constitutes one.

But, for many, you must include the term manglement in front of asshole and then you clarify the definition.

On another note, hey ElReg, how about a "manglement asshole" icon. You COULD use a picture of one of the more enduring assholes of the last 25 years - Steve Ballmer, (others might recommend Steve Jobs instead) as a starting point.

Fatman

RE: zero tolerance for assholes.

If Jim The Boss' WROK PALCE (if you are not a reader of Shark Tank, then this will fly over your head) really had a zero tolerance for assholes; they would have taken JTB out and would have had him shot a long time ago.

Microsoft uses Windows Update to force Windows 10 ads onto older PCs

Fatman

Re: "The scheme could backfire."

This carries the same stench that the (now roundly hated) WGA1 update had upon unsuspecting Windows XP users.

It looks like Microsoft is back to its old tricks.

1 The acronym 'WGA' is defined by me to mean: "We're Greedy Assholes", not "Windows Genuine Advantage".

Idiot thieves walk free after stolen iPad uploads pics of them with loot

Fatman

Re: The punishment

the real question is which would be most effective in getting the criminal to engage with society correctly?

A THOUSAND lashes with the whip, administered at a rate of 20 per day, each day, until the sentence is complete.

Those bitches will then get the message.

Sometimes I feel it would be better to administer 20 to 50 lashes in public than to lock them up for a year or so for some crimes.

The Perez Peregrination: Invicta and the move to Dell

Fatman

Re: ... one of the benefits of being privately run.

Another benefit is that you are out of the glare of the Wall Street ANALysts, and their incessant harping about "increased shareholder value".

Privately run also means that you know EXACTLY WHOSE ass you must kiss.

Are you sure there are servers in this cold, dark basement?

Fatman

Re: New Installment

Sounds like a BOFH in the fold, are they taking one of Simon's pages?

A real bastard would have done some additional, inconspicuous damage - like short the pairs together in some hard to find location. Imagine the blue wire from one cable being cross circuited to the orange-white of a different cable altogether? Try figuring that one out.

Fatman
Joke

Manglement strikes again.

I'd say the complete lack of lighting in the "server room" was a good clue that they're running on a shoestring and cutting every possible expense.

But, we have to increase shareholder value!!!

Icon says it all.

Is this what Windows XP's death throes look like?

Fatman
Joke

Re: Oh wow...

Oh here we go, the penguinistas coming out defending their OS. ...

I didn't know that ElReg allowed YOU to comment here, Loverock Davidson?

Energy utilities targeted by Office-spawned recon attack tool

Fatman
FAIL

Re: Security, ... you need a slight correction

The big question is, why if small companies can do this type of security why can't large ones? It is not difficult but it does require thought which seems to be sadly lacking in senior typical of SENILE management today.

FTFY!!!!

BOFH: Never mind that old brick, look at this ink-stained BEAUTY

Fatman

Re: when it was vital that your keyboard would still work

I have an old Fujitsu one, built back in the days when it was vital that your keyboard would still work after using it to beat someone to death.

A good sturdy keyboard is an effective tool at getting manglement's attention.

BOFH: Mmm, gotta love me some fresh BYOD dog roll

Fatman

The Boss' comments

"DEVICE! BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE DAY! WHO THE HELL WOULD HAVE A BRING YOUR OWN DRINK DAY?!"

YOU would if you just bought a company that is a Windows shop, and you are NOT. Even worse, if that Windows version bore a strong resemblance to a child's toy.

"I'm just ... encouraging ... you to think of the company's spend,” purrs the Boss. “If we save money here we'll have it to spend in other areas. You'll be able to get something you really like. We will have an even larger pool for the executive bonuses at the end of the year"

When it comes down to:

shiny new kit, or

executive bonus money,

my money is always on the shiny new kit. You can have that old 1133mHz P3 with only 512Mb of RAM. I want NEED the latest core i7 with 16GB of RAM, and fuck you if you can't take a joke!!!

BTW, my boss heads out for a 5 week vacation starting on the 28th (lots of 'use-it-or-lose-it' comp time). Somehow, someway her signature is going to appear on a purchase order for some shiny-shiny.. By the time she gets back, well, it will be just too late to return said shiny-shiny. If it does hit the fan, then the prime motivator will just blackmail coerce trick convince the beancounters it is in THEIR best interest NOT to piss off IT; lest they experience the pain of having the switch ports reconfigured to 10Mb HALF duplex (instead of the current 1Gb full duplex).

"I can't understand HOW that happened. We can't help you until the boss gets back, as there is IT policy that prevents us from tampering with the switch configuration without her explicit approval., So sorry." (said with a straight face)

April will be a fun month.

Sit back and let someone else manage your telephony

Fatman
FAIL

RE: disasters waiting to happen

In similar vein, I've seen companies move to a cloud-based L.O.B. application but choose not to install a backup Internet connection (again, against strong advice) and then loose their minds when their Internet link goes down because of a stuff up with the provider which takes '5 business days' to rectify. It was, apparently, a 'disaster' but one they were warned about well ahead of time. They just didn't want to pay to have a line sitting there, unused. A thousand dollars a year going to waste, apparently.

Typical BEAN COUNTER and MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE mentality.

The punishment for these ignorant pricks ought to be a Trebuchet ride for the manglers involved (i. e. launching them on a NEW CAREER PATH)

NORK internet outage was payback for Sony hack – US politician

Fatman

RE: Well lets speculate, shall we ??

You forgot one:

....The military-industrial complex needs to keep tensions high in the world in order to sell product stock the arsenal of freedom.

Eisenhower was right....(for those of you who slept through their History classes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex )

Zombie SCO shuffles back into court seeking IBM Linux cash

Fatman
Mushroom

RE: It's April 1st somewhere.

I thought SCO was a liquidated corpse,

You are not alone.

SCO seems to live on.

Hell, you could bury its corpse in the busted reactor at Chernobyl, and the motherfucker would rise from the dead.

Somehow, I think the only way to rid the world of this zombie is to encase it in concrete, load it aboard a capsule and fire the dammed thing into the sun.

This ISN'T Net Neutrality. This is Net Google. This is Net Netflix – the FCC's new masters

Fatman
Coat

Re: So the FCC set up a fight between ...

... the Telephants - ... makes me wonder.......

Guys in blue-gray suits carrying suitcases of money, driving luxury cars with telco employee ID stickers and Romney 2012 RMoney 2012 bumper stickers.

Now, that imagery certainly hits the mark.

Hey ElReg, can we get a suitcase full of money icon???? This one will have to do for now-------------->

Microsoft RE-BORKS Windows 7 patch after reboot loop horror

Fatman
FAIL

Re: No issues here... you do not dual boot using GRUB.

I wonder.....

if this patch, like many other things Microsoft, assumes that Windows WindblowZE is the ONLY installed operating system. This would not be the first time a MS update borked GRUB.