Posts by Dan 55

Re: Competition time!

So? If MS were so bothered about that they could have changed it so the rename dialog/in-place edit thingy in the list doesn't allow the extension to be changed, unless e.g. you hold shift.

Re: Phone apps on a desktop?

macOS does it, so Windows must tick the same box in the feature list. That is apparently the benefit for you.

Re: There should only be Retry and Fail, the other two aren't needed

The thing is, if the user used another platform then they didn't need to be as technically minded. It's MS-DOS which made things difficult for them.

Re: because MS-DOS was "heavily inspired" by 70s CP/M

I hate to think how much was sacrificed on the alter of backwards compatibility.

"MS-DOS has been described as little more than a glorified program loader that serious programs spend more time circumventing rather than using" (InfoWorld 24 Jun 1991). MS even tried to do a multitasking version of MS-DOS and then abandoned it, while other personal computer OSes around the time just ran rings around what MS-DOS could do - single tasking (Atari TOS, RISC OS, Finder) or multitasking (Amiga).

By the way, MS-DOS later on had a switch to turn off the prompt and always Fail and the program would then manage the error. So that, I think, means I'm right despite the downvotes, because even MS finally realised it was a mess. :)

Re: There should only be Retry and Fail, the other two aren't needed

Well, yes, they did. Until MS-DOS 3.3 there was only Abort (kill program), Ignore (pretend everything okay), and Retry - no Fail.

This is because MS-DOS was "heavily inspired" by 70s CP/M.

Re: "because the program should deal with errors"

I've never noticed other 80s operating systems giving a plethora of options, just the more usual Retry and Cancel (Fail) and errors were tested for in the program.

And even if memory is so tight, it doesn't take much to do the worst-case option - print "Error <number>", tidy up, and exit.

Re: On Error Resume Next

Weekend at Bernie's!

Re: In before someone says Rust would have enforced memory safety

Are you suggesting Rust can't deal with time travel or working out what the converted binary number should have been had it been programmed properly? Heresy!

Re: Confusing GA with advertising?

So, resuming your argument: Companies (or their outsourced web developers) know enough to provide a shopping cart on their website and handle sales but don't know enough or have the time to look at their own logs and can't even install a local off-the-shelf dashboard running under php alongside the website running under php, but somehow do know enough to plug it into third party analytics and as it's third party they have the time to religiously check that every day and glean information about product views and sales from it.

and my pictures get pulled to their servers, and I cannot find a way to drag ALL of them off, and load them to my own home storage. I do NOT wish to do them one at a feckin time ffs. Maybe hoping some here will know what buttons to push ?

I think Google Takeout does it. You could write a script to wget/curl all the URLs in a json file that it generates for you.

Re: Brexit got done

Basic geography will tell you why the fishing rights disputes are occurring just with France. Or it should do.

I did not mention anything about "sea border" or "unreasonable". What are you talking about?

The issues with the NI protocol are largely due to the over-zealous enforcement of checks by EU officials.

I'm afraid you've inadvertently mislead (as they say) the commentariat, it's actually done in NI territory by NI port officials following UK's legal framework and backed up by NI courts. It's the UK which is tying itself up in knots over this - civil servants and courts following the law and ministers rattling sabres and giving illegal instructions:

Edwin Poots’ order to halt NI Protocol checks at ports suspended by High Court judge

Re: Why not borrow from the NHS Brexit bonus ?

There's Covid track and trace and PPE contracts that have gone to chums, and then there's a wizened underfunded husk of the NHS which is being prepared for selling off cheap.

Re: Brexit got done

Why must the UK be broken up for the EU incompetence to solve its porous border problem?

The border would not ordinarily be porous were it not for the special circumstances on the island of Ireland. The CTA was originally set up in 1925, then Ireland followed the UK into the EFTA in 1960, and then it followed the UK into the EEC in 1973.

Ireland is obviously not going to follow the UK out of the EU as above 90% of the population want to stay in the EU. Brexit should have taken into account how all of the UK territory was going to leave the EU while allowing the UK to uphold its side of the GFA, but obviously as it was an invention by half-witted loons who couldn't even decide what form Brexit could take without arguing about it, we are at this juncture.

They couldn't even decide to stay in the same SPS area as the rest of the European continent from Iceland, the Azores, and the Canary Islands to the Ukraine/Belarus/Turkey border - apparently the loons believe more difficult trade is freer trade. This is why upholding the GFA is needlessly more difficult than it should be and why the instigators of Brexit have no idea how to do it unless they pretend the problem doesn't really exist. The EU aren't willing to pretend the problem doesn't exist as it is a legal agreement between 27 countries + EFTA countries + EEA countries and pretending the problem doesn't exist would undermine it.

Re: Brexit got done

The problem is that some French boats are still unable to provide the proof that was agreed in the TCA but France is demanding that the UK grant them licences anyway.

Nowhere in the agreement does it say that Jersey (aided and abetted by the UK) have to demand a record of GPS co-ordinates between 2012 and 2016 from applicants and not accept any other kind of proof (P913 in the PDF, P926 in the footer, article 2.1). Small fishing boats don't keep those kind of records and there are other ways to prove they've fished in waters. It's funny how they're being really strict over this and want the exact opposite over the NI protocol.

France is demanding that the UK grant them licences anyway.

This is being sold as it's just being France being France and it's only France kicking up a fuss, but basic geography would tell you why there are only problems with France.

If threatening to invoke Article 16 (which is not "ripping it up" but using an option in the agreement) is the only way to get the EU to play fair then why should it not be used?

The EU is playing fair, it's sticking to the agreement. By itself A16 does nothing more than start off another legal wrangle, it's not the panacea for the UK to demolish the doors into the single market and claim their sovereign right to trade.

Re: Brexit got done

Fishing and NI protocols are also part of the TCA.

We can't rip up 250-odd pages out in the TCA because they're "overly legalistic" and "heavy-handed", hold up a few remaining sheets with Horizon written on them, and then get stroppy and say "Johnny EUers just aren't keeping their side of the bargain".

It would be immensely arrogant and hypocritical to do that... which they are doing.

Re: Why do British universities think they're still entitled to EU funding?

We are all in the Brexit but some of us are looking at the Horizon.

Re: Funding

It just does not fit with the instant results culture that we have.

Instant results and not paying a single penny if it can be spent on chums instead. And if we pay money then it's got to be for proper tangible things like property.

Re: A Cool Billion ! Roll Up, Roll Up !

Since the chances of a work, environmental, or building inspection are infinitesimal in the UK, it makes no difference how world-beating the law is. Also, no checks are done when registering companies at Companies House.