Posts by RonWheeler

I used Chromium rather than Chrome

but then the lack of media support drive me back to Chrome despite the worrysome Google/big-media hookup. Same logic applies to Mozilla right here. They have to do it whether they like it or not.

Latency

They cured that yet?

All with

a bypass-all rule at the top for the networking guys. Cos this stuff gets real irritating/limiting real quick.

When I see a networking setup where the Cisco guy eats their own dogfood, I'll be sold. Not happened yet.

Still beats the alternaives

Yeah, Win 8 sucks. Alternatives? Overpriced walled garden Orchard or endlessly installing iterations of C++ / C# / PERL libraries in polar fish-eating land.

RIPA 2000 Part I

'The interception agencies do not engage in indiscriminate random mass intrusion by misusing their powers under RIPA 2000 Part I.'

What do they do it under then?

Great news?

So. A shop whose very foundation business is getting muggs into 2 year contracts for non-essential toys they are too dumb to buy outright. This is good for the economy? Pull the other one DC.

Plenty of free advice sites

WebMD etc - never saw the need for NHS website.

Much better is stuff like being able to book appointments, get repeat prescriptions etc online, which our local GP's place have started doing in the past few months. Actually some real tangible usefulness.

A few simple tests of usefulness

Nobody seems to ask basic questions like 'is the software / content' useful against the backdrop of the curriculum? Can it offset costs in other materials such as regular books? Can work produced on the tablet easily be transferred to the teacher? Is the device management / lockdown good? Eyestrain issues? Device reliability / cost? Can it even print?

i.e. still blinded by the hypegasm of -give them tech and grades will magically get better-

They'd be better just to copy the UK and make the exams easier every year.

2014

Curious to know what the year has to do with it other than a cheap dig?

It is 2014 and there are plenty of Android exploits out there too, but it isn't deemed worthy of hack journalist cheap shots like this.

Whatever the problem is

Sticking an £350 (minimum) Cisco security product in front of a 150p appliance is not the answer you were looking for.

I made myself do a blind test of a bunch of songs

Ripped some stuff from CD to a bunch of formats, including FLAC.intermediary file.

Played them back randomly and marked them.

The best to my ears? Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate). Better, to my ears than FLAC or WMA Lossless.

Nostalgia trip

All this talk of dirigibles largely appeals to the sci-fi fan's love of steampunk stuff. Not so sure these things are so appealing when we take our polished brass rose-tinted monocles off.

Renault

Next time Renault break a law, I'm expecting stickers across the steering wheel notifying us.

Enjoyed very much

Surprised the PFY killed off the opportunity for amusement at the expense of others so quickly though.

Trouble is

The people making the decisions on this sort of kit have qualifications starting with CC. No blue cable means no buy-in.

Does it automatically add...

...the endless list of hidden costs. If it doesn't - a waste of time.

Dell's end of year coming up

Should make for some good discounts.

More tools for blocking junk

As an end user I find an ever increasing need to remove stuff web developers are putting in. Endless tweaking of Adblock, Ghostery et al. to remove ads, social media slide in bars, EU cookie directive acknowledgements, newsletter sign-up popups, endless share/like widgets.

Very few decent games for linux on Steam

So i don't see why I should even remotely consider this platform.

Silly money

For that you can buy an low end PC (mini-itx Atom thing or whatever) and stick a wifi card in it. Much more flexible,. much less cash.

And then

An excel spreadsheet full of macros comes in by email to the senior auditor.

Pot

Meet kettle.

Someone got bought

Monopoly money

Depends

If you just want to try out various operating systems, set up test environments and the like, VMWare Player or VirtualBox running on windows are fine. Both have been rock stable too so the only real pain is the overhead of the background OS. They also give you familiar easy ways to access the filesystems behind the scenes, make backups and so on. i.e. for most home use, fine.

Want to step it up a bit - basix ESXi or HyperV are both free (I think...) but both more difficult to use and (esp. ESXi) create some hardware restrictions, quirks like access to VMFS etc. Only really for businesses or people who want to geek-out a bit.

Professionals are the problem

The problem with company supplied systems is that some kind of auditor or 'security professional' will get involved. Meaning you're going to need some kind of onerous PITA multi-factor authentication, a nasty frontend that is heavily locked down, and timeouts and security dialogues and frequent complex password changes.

That is why users like Dropbox.

Motorbikes

Bikes would be a better way to do it. Filter between lanes and catch them at it. Sadly since the laws appeared in the UK, in an attempt not to be seen texting, people are now looking down at the concealed phone - as well as not concentrating.

Anyone else remember Infosec a few years back?

The drab grey Cisco stand with a frikkin' juggler? This is the same.

Motorbike fairing

The only plastic thing I've ever broken worth much.

Nothing new to sell?

Rebadge!

Pre-ducted skirting board

For the money spent of the wireless speakers you could get pre-grooved skirting boards that could hide all your cables.

And they can look good too, not just plastic tat.

For example.http://www.wood-floor.co.uk/accessories_doors/skirting.shtml

Chromebooks keep getting better

The only thing making me waver is Google's tendency to take the axe to products or change T+Cs at short notice leaving users in the lurch. If linux is a possible plan-B parachute in case of Google changeomania I might risk it as a replacement for my elderly netbook..

Not all bad

He inherited the helm at Microsoft's natural peak. That it hasn't tanked faster is a testament to some degree of competence. Sure there were problems - any company that big is going to have (stack ranking, Win8, mobile lethargy). X-Box, HyperV, Dynamics suite, Azure are all credible products.

The issues they face are

- old guard mindset ('Windows' at the core of everything) plus bad culture - stack ranking being a particular example.

- new kinds of toy destroying the old order. High margin Apple shiny for idiots, and low margin, paid for by advertising products from Google.

Dinosaurs

Massively overpriced buggy kit, poor compliance with networking standards, a sneering arrogant attitude, an emphasis on the nasty dated IOS over any sort of modern management tools. Confused why people are leaving.

PCs aren't trendy

Teachers want trendy free stuff like every other IT magpie-user in every other sector.

I studied Politics

To give me lots of free time to drink coffee and beer - and there were a lot more girls on the course than in the science subjects - and it was easier. I did zoology in my first year and it was much harder than the two social sciences so I abandoned it.

Still got a job. I doubt employers pay much attention other than -degree? yes- to be honest, unless it is a very specific field.

Wallpaper?

Seriously The Reg / Apple people? WTF?

Google images, find. set...

Bad taste

End of.

Isn't this....

...what the NSA -should- be doing? You know, spying on foreign powers. Rather than on Us citizens?

Tape is okay

If you don't mind waiting 48 hours to get your data back. With a relatively high percentage likelihood the tape is corrupt. And the endless cleaning tape hassle and manual labour of loading the things. And the repair bills of repeatedly servicing all those mechanical parts.

If printers are computing's redheaded stepchild, tapes are the arthritic senile filing-clerk maiden aunt.

Will it defeat Thaw's law

Thaw's Law*

Which states that a 50-something woman will end up in control of the heating and turn it up to 28 degrees Celsius?

*I just made it up.