Posts by David Roberts

Linux and software installs and RPi

Firstly let me get my defence in early and say that I am a long term Unix/Linux system administrator, though mainly out of practice now.

I was looking for something that would play Amazon Prime Video (or whatever it is called) on my TV.

Pi was the obvious choice. Some on line searching later I found a site with a description of how to install the software. It started with enabling ssh on the Pi then installing putty on the PC and then went on to describe adding repositories, configuring files, lots of command line stuff.

Yes, I know how to do it all, however do I want to spend the time?

One major weakness of Linux is the installing of software which isn't already in the default repositories. If it is in a repository then there are loads of GUI front ends which make it a simple search, select, click install. If not, a world of hurt awaits the inexpert user.

With Windows there are packaging tools (such as InstallShield) where you download a file to your PC, run it, and it does all the hard stuff for you. Leaving aside security issues (a long and thorny subject) I can't see Linux becoming useable by the average naive user until third party software installs have the same one click approach as Windows software.

Android gets round this by having an App store that everyone is forced to use. An approach attempted unsuccessfully by W10.

Non alchoholic

We can win half price entry tickets or submit a code for 50% discount?

Oh, go on then:

No Contest - an absorbing but confusing beverage with no perceived long term benefit?

Toe Stamp - more hoppy than you expected.

ICL - a traditional ale. Can be distinguished from the more powerful and full bodied IBM mainly by a very slight difference in character(set). One for the discerning old time mainframe systems programmers.

Unpatched XP?

Has anyone tested this recently?

This used to be a thing when XP was current and some Internet connections came with just a modem and not a NAT router but are there still people/systems out there automatically searching for newly connected unpatched XP systems?

Most diabetics?

Most diabetics are Type 2 and not on insulin. Most of those do not finger prick at all, but rely on the HbA1c test every 6 months or every year to measure how good or bad their control is. This is encouraged by the surgeries who are often very tight fisted when it comes to paying for test strips.

Not saying this is a good thing, but the author might try doing at least a little superficial research to learn that not all diabetics are walking pin cushions, and that T1 and T2 are very different conditions,

T1 is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the pancreas and destroys the cells which produce insulin. T2 is mainly centred around insulin resistance where the insulin produced by the pancreas is not used effectively and sometimes the pancreas gives up in disgust after being over worked for many years. I over simplify because it is much more complex than that and there are more than two types of diabetes.

Having said all that, affordable non invasive blood glucose monitoring would be a boon to all diabetics and should greatly help in the control of diabetes (for those that can be bothered). I stress the "affordable" because it has the potential to be a cash cow that just keeps on giving, much like test strips today and the continuous glucose monitoring devices. There is a reason why you can get free test meters; much the same reason that printers are sold for less than the cost of the replacement ink cartridges.

PKI done properly costs money

The majority of the Internet won't use anything unless it is free.

So I doubt there will ever be a globally trustworthy solution.

Cool name

Although probably a burden to bear as a cild and young adult.

If only for the teachers and kids saying:

"I can see right through you, Window...."

"You just glazed over..."

"You look absolutely shattered..."

Hot food and a cash bar?

Living it real.

Hardcore would be to surrender all your money and cards then agree to be shipped to an unknown destination for a week to survive on whatever the local community provides.

Note that I didn't say surrender your mobile phone (which would allow you to contact your support crew if you wimped out). This only because the few rough sleepers we have locally (rough sleepers by choice because there is good local community support) all seem to have mobile phones. I still haven't really got to grips with this. Presumably some of the money they are given goes on call time before they spend the rest on their main priority.

Foe local information you could do worse than chat to the Salvation Army who do sterling work which is often unrecognised.

Azure is now being haunted

By the Spectre of Meltdown.

---> the one with the SPF50 in the pocket.

Interesting curve and infrequent drinkers.

Well, it looks as though your best all round bet might be to have a drink roughly every other day. Which is close to infrequent drinking by my rules.

Better news is that around 5 drinks a day doesn't seem to increase your risk.

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As it's Friday it is time to channel (modify) a bit of Morecambe and Wise.

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How often do you go to the pub for a drink?

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Infrequently.

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Is that one word or two?

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Oh, go on, since it is Friday.

After reading this report I won't be drinking any more.

Then again I won't be drinking any less.

Still not understanding

Why it took so long to disable the failing switch once it was identified.

Assuming that if the switch had completely crashed the backup would have taken over, then why not just turn the damn thing off?

Unless assumptions were made about the maximum size of the backlog/queues which could build up during failover, and the system just wasn't sized to recover from a massive backlog due to an undetected partial failure.

This does sound quite likely, as the report talks about clearing out queues before switching to the backup switch. Perhaps the system couldn't recover if transactions were more than a certain age? Although you would expect that old transactions could be assumed to have failed (as was the case here) and been automatically recorded then purged.

Blast from the past - W7 to W10

Just updating a friend's PC which has been stored for a while; long story but he bought it off a mate and then never got around to using it because of lack of Broadband.

I told him he could tether it to his mobile, and helped him set that up.

Having quite fast Broadband I said I would get all the latest updates on. I found that it had the Windows 10 update queued up and all updates turned off. Does make me wonder if this is why his mate flogged it on, but more likely he just turned off updates because he didn't know how to stop the W10 update. Just looked back and the forced updates were around March 2016.

Anyway, cue a quick installation of GWX followed by clicking all the buttons to clean up, and Windows 7 is now happily up to date.

All this just made me realise how far back the whole upgrade cockup was.

EMIS?

Other systems are available and also less user friendly.

I miss EMIS.

Whistle Blower Protection

Not the direct subject, but relevant to the discussion.

I have always been at least a little unconfortable where International Law effectively says "If you do something we consider obviously morally bad, even if it is within the local law and you are ordered to do it, then you are a criminal and we will get you later.".

This places the individual in an impossible situation; sacrifice your job, family, possibly your life to maintain the moral high ground?

Given that whistle blowers, especially in the NHS, have been persecuted and driven out of their jobs for highlighting unsafe and often illegal practices there is enormous pressure to conform driven from the top down, so it isn't surprising if the majority keep their heads down and do as instructed. It isn't really surprising if some become very enthusiastic because they see a clear way to gain favour from their superiors.

So please don't trivialise the required personal sacrifice required to go against corporate culture.

Drifting even further off topic and introducing a Brexit Godwin on Windrush, if a significant proportion of the population take Brexit as a "send the wogs home" mandate, is it any surprise if a lot of them are working for one of the largest UK employers? In probably low grade but effective positions.

Over hopped craft IPAs?

Bugger. Does that mean I've become a hipster without noticing?

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Can has a verry hoppy IPA. Mmmmmmmm......

Chain of logic?

Design a robot ship!

But pirates....

Add robot defences and shoot any attackers!

And there you have it. An autonomous fully armed ship designed to repel and kill any unauthorised humans. What could possibly go wrong?

Looked through their logs....

Obviously the logs for your device are also available locally so that you can check them from time to time to confirm that the device has only been activated when you expected/intended.

Brexit <-> Remain ping pong and negotiation

Watching the usual mud slinging, one option seems to have been ignored; that the UK government is working very hard to make the negotiations fail. Stream of dodgy logic to follow:

(1) The whole referendum thing was a desperate attempt to stop the right wing of the Tory party decamping en masse to joing UKIP thus destroying the Tory party as a force in government.

(2) The cabinet positions are a transparent move by TM to get all the unscrupulous lying shits who promoted Brexit from within the Tory party to carry the can for the negotiations and the eventual result. (Othet unscrupulous lying shits are also available).

(3) The long term aim of the central Tory party is to make the right wing so politically toxic that they will be unable to muster a credible influence for at least a generation.

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If this is anywhere near reality then the tactical/strategic move is to have Brexit turn out to be the biggest pile of steaming toxic shit possible and responsibilty to sit clearly and unequivocally with those seen anywhere near that red Battle Bus.

It may even be strategic to let Labour win the next election with a note saying "You sat on your hands throughout the negotiations, so let's see how you sort out this mess!".

None of this is for the good of the country, but it is a long time since anything idealistic has played any part in the plans of professional politicians.

Fall edition?

Still waiting for a few weeks without another major bug report before turning on my only W10 system and allowing it to update. Will this happen before the Fall Edition hits the streets/fan?

Flatulence?

For some reason this sprang immediately to mind when I read the phrase "Microsoft’s back end cloud".

Verified as stable?

Presumably they didn't bother doing this before. Or perhaps this is publicity speak for "hasn't fallen over again yet".

Paranoia

Then again, just because you think they are out to get you, doesn’t mean that they aren't.

Buying stuff from abroad is an obvious increased security risk. Is it outweighed by increased functionality and reduced cost? Now? In a year?

How about supplier lock in?

Insoluble because we all know that if you run a captive market in your own country then building a bigger barrel for the pork is a higher priority than innovation and cost reduction.