Posts by Unicornpiss 1616 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Oct 2011
No, you can't cause the voltage to soar. But you potentially could rapidly switch it off and on rapidly if the meter has this capability, to the detriment of the meter and anything downstream. There are a lot of things that "shouldn't be possible" with devices that end up getting exploited creatively.
..and all modernized for 2017. Since it's obviously possible to destroy hardware from software in many cases, I certainly don't rule out the possibility of causing a meter to self-immolate or possibly cause dangerous power surges.
I would not want a meter that could interface with every gadget in my home. The complexity of existing tech is already beyond our mastery of it and ability to provide bug-free coding for it. There are already smart meters in my area, but these are passive devices that relay gas usage information and do not have control over anything.
These devices should be programmed to ask you for confirmation on purchases by default. It's just stupid not to. And ultimately costly for Amazon with all the potential for returns at their expense. I'll bet if you said "Alexa, cancel my Amazon account and all pending orders", that they'd ask you for confirmation :)
I go to great pains to block invasive ads in all media. I will actually buy a competitor's product if a product is aggressively marketed to me. And sites that will not function with ad-blockers engaged are either modified with Firebug/NoScript so I can see the content I want, or usually I will just go elsewhere for the same news, etc.
If you have to try to bully someone into buying your crappy product or pointless service, it's just not going to happen. What kind of people actually are enticed enough by aggravating, blinking, invasive ads enough to even bother clicking on them? Forget "Madmen", they should have a series on the idiots that create this level of advertisement. They can call it "Mindless Wankers Not Fit to Live Among Us" (Title needs some work) Not sure how they would promote it though..
Pure bliss. Makes Windows10 (and previous versions) much more usable and less aggravating. Do you like Windows XP's cascading menus, Win 7's "folder" menus, or even the debacle that is Windows 8's menu system? They're all there along with many other customization options, plus the native Windows menus at a click. And rock stable. Really, these options should have been included with every Windows OS at least after 7. Why punish your user base because of some fool's idea of a "new paradigm" or whatever? Really, if there was a Nobel Peace Prize for software developers, I would nominate the creators of Classic Shell.
But apparently marketing people rule the roost at MS and are notoriously hard to educate.
We've evolved well past the time when viruses were written for fun or to show off. IMHO if a ransomware attack would have disrupted (or will in the future) any surgeries or other healthcare operations having a deleterious effect on patients, that the scum that distribute such malware should be tried for assault up to and including homicide. (perhaps the law already provides for this)
While we all know how well "security through obscurity" works in the long run, I kind of agree with protecting the source code for automotive systems. Farm machinery is a different story perhaps, and farmers are generally IMHO a bit more of a savvy bunch when it comes to machinery.
As much as the Open Source part of my soul cries out that hobbyists should be free to tinker as much as they want, there's another part that if this is opened up envisions myriad dodgy apps to modify your car's programming, from China and elsewhere, loaded with malware and just plain bad programming and bad ideas, all to make a buck and the public be damned. I picture high emissions, reduced reliability, destroyed engines, accidents/injuries due to safety systems being overridden, possibly even vehicle fires in garages and on the road. Frankly, most folks don't even understand how the simplest of internal combustion engines function, much less the engineering decisions that go into vehicle production and systems programming. Such as for example limiting horsepower or throttle response because the rest of the chassis just isn't tuned for it, even if the engine is capable of more.
And yes, I know there are already handheld/smartphone/PC-based tuners out there that will let you modify the performance of some vehicles. (I have one myself and use it cautiously) And hot-rodders have been modifying vehicles for performance for 100 years. But the idea of everything being a free-for-all for John Q. Public is a bit scary. In the "old" days, it took some know how and physical effort to modify a vehicle's tuning. If you make this ridiculously simple for every idiot, there will be problems.
Microsoft robot: (approaching happy ending) "Sorry. Something went wrong :/ " Invalid Endpoint? Installing updates 30% Please do not pull out or shut down your robot.
Apple robot: (human) "Ouch!" (robot) "But our marketing team has decided that you like that." What do you mean you need my iCloud password again?? Press harder for more options..
Linux robot: (robot) "Unsatisfied dependency" (human) "FSCK!" chmod.. configure WINE.
..and while I will always think the Donald is a scumbag and hope he doesn't manage to start WWIII, this is something on which I actually can agree with him. I guess we'll see if he's all talk or not.
I personally think companies like Disney should be severely sanctioned for this type of behavior and I hope the lawsuit costs them 100x whatever savings they were hoping to gain by displacing their existing workers. (and the job of whoever thought this was a bright idea)
In the US, it could be part of the Underwriters Laboratories testing that ensures the device won't burn your house down, lop your arm off, or render your dog infertile. Reasonable assurance against identity theft and having your device used for possibly nefarious means sounds like it should be included, especially for the IOT. Of course it can take years for a lot of these bugs to be discovered, but a little testing by some white hats would certainly help.
Actually it was the 40xx and 80xx series Commodore computers that were susceptible, and the bug was with the CRT controller chip. A poke to a location (59458 if I remember right) would speed up 2001-series PETs by altering the refresh rate (to simplify), but in later models, it would put tremendous strain on the video circuitry and eventually let the magic smoke out.
Our company had two of them--one for execs and one for mere mortals' email. Despite this article, we had very little trouble overall with ours. (and we were on Lotus Notes at the time) They just ran, and adding/removing/managing users was pretty easy. True, it was not my job to keep them running.
We had far less hassle and aggravation with them than with our current "Airwatch" for managing i-stuff.
..is ultimately make companies like HBO look like assholes and harm them. How do they never learn? How can their collection of pointless savant lawyers and marketing folks not understand that this behavior will bite them in their smarmy asses when the (totally 100% predictable) backlash occurs? Doesn't anyone actually vet these requests before they go out, or is there just some spambot used for takedown notices?
When I was a kid I loved computer shows and tech exhibitions. Plus traveling and anything techy. When I finally grew up and got a "real job" and got to go to some of these things, I still had some stars in my eyes. Now, I feel like an old, jaded, wrung-out IT worker. Some tech still gets me excited or at least doesn't fight me. (like Linux, vs. MS's increasingly more complex, ill-vetted, and sometimes incomprehensible offerings)
I think the novelty finally wore off as I gimped my way through a crowded airport on a damaged Achilles tendon, barely making my connecting flight, in extreme pain. Then 3 days of working to put together a (small) server room with no working A/C in Texas heat. (the equipment wasn't on yet and the A/C was leaking condensate into a circuit breaker box so it had to be shut down)
There are still some things that get me excited about technology and revive the sense of play that any tech person worth his or her salt needs to learn and thrive in this industry (IMHO), but increasingly insane management and "marketing first" strategies make it increasingly difficult to like what I do. Oh, and Skype sounds like an epithet uttered when something goes badly wrong: "It's all Skyped up now!" While I'm not totally down on that product, Webex still does it better, if less integrated, and Skype is awful for remote sessions, and unpredictable for audio.
*Grumble* (Maybe I've just had a bad week or two) I'll finish my growler of microbrew and shut up now.
While the developer may have written software that makes it easier to cheat, surely it is the user that made the choice to use it illegally. If you're going to prosecute the developer, you may as well find the makers of guns, lockpicks, encryption software, radar/lidar jammers and detectors, software to "crack" ebooks, jailbreak iPhones, clone DVDs, etc. guilty as well, as many/most of these are used primarily to circumvent existing laws, and arguably have no legitimate lawful purpose either.
Unless "zapper" is enabled all the time, or is randomly hiding transactions without the proprietor's knowledge, I don't see why the developer should be held responsible, whether the software is shady or not.
"It is illegal to carry any sharp or bladed instrument in a public place (with the exception of a folding pocket knife, which has a blade that is less than 7.62 cm (3 inches))." Presumably you don't leave it at work every day..."
**Totally legal to carry in my state in the USA, as well as everywhere else in the US as far as I know.
Some time back, at work, I was using the folding 4" knife I always carry to open some boxes. My (thankfully now ex) boss remarked in a snotty way about my carrying a deadly weapon at work. A dozen feet away a contractor was using a large screwdriver to pry something on a door frame. I asked my boss if the worker should have his 8" screwdriver banned, as it would certainly be easier to stab someone with that than my little knife, which would more than likely just make someone very angry if I were to go off the deep end and slash someone with it.
Amazingly, the point was taken and I didn't hear another word about it.
Whether or not the speed of light is, was, or will be faster or slower than it is "now", it's kind of like saying time passes slower or faster than it used to--from our perspective, within the system, it's consistent, however much the universe's expansion is accelerating. Kind of like if you were an AI and someone kept changing the clock speed of the system you were running on--without anything external to observe, you'd never know.
It's great that someone devised a brilliant experiment to test this, but I always look at these things from a perspective of "can this be exploited for something cool?" such as FTL or time travel. Unfortunately for now it still appears that you can't win, can't cheat, and can't quit the game. (unless you die)
A coworker sent out an alert to our building about the latest scam circulating, including a screenshot of the original message, showing the link and with instructions that "if you receive this, DO NOT click the link, just delete the message." (obviously not with a live link, for obvious reasons)
Within 5 minutes he got back the first reply: "I can't click on the link! What am I doing wrong?"
At a past job, a self-proclaimed CIO decreed that anything paper or cardboard must be removed from the server room. Apparently for fire safety, or maybe he just didn't like the look of cardboard. We never found out. We got dinged for having a paper calendar with our backup schedule on one of the cabinets and a tiny cardboard box with new backup tapes.
Several months later, a conference room was being remodeled. (taking part of our server room to make more space) All the carpet, boxes of new fixtures, and misc. crap was stored, you guessed it--in the server room, along with drywall. (and associated dust) I guess it's not a fire hazard or eyesore if it's part of progress.
I personally prefer to augment the cleaning process with a little warm water, when possible. But perhaps this paper would do a better job: Best Paper?
..at least until the Cat S60 will work on my provider's network or until I feel like switching. The Pixel looks like a pretty good phone overall, but unless you really 'need' the newest version of Android or the baked-in Google features, I can't see spending that much on what I don't consider to be a "premium" phone at all. People that are buying the Pixel right now vs. an HTC are like those that are buying a Lexus but actually getting an expensive Camry.
I think I'll cling to my old Samsung S5 a bit longer, with its water resistance, SD card slot, removable battery, IR emitter, and most importantly, bought and paid for status. These days, even the old phones tend to be pretty good, if you don't bloat them up with ridiculous unnecessary apps that constantly run in the background.
Perhaps the ham analogy wasn't the most apt I've ever spun. I'm not knocking Arch at all. I may even try it one of these days if I find myself with some actual boredom. But there's nothing wrong with Mint either; it's plenty tasty and nutritious without tons of fillers and artificial ingredients, to carry the food analogy a bit further. "Boil-in-box" should really be reserved for the likes of Windows these days--where you end up with a half-cooked meal that's cold on one side and burnt on the other, while having set your microwave on fire doing it. At least for now I feel like I have enough self-torture in my life just by working in IT to enjoy a bit of ease when I want to install an OS.
I do think Arch can be a great learning experience though on how Linux works and is built, like building a "Heathkit" for those that remember them :)
There's a reason I buy ham at the deli instead of keeping and slaughtering my own pigs. I am by no means a Linux guru, but I've been using Linux off and on for about the last 18 years and at the least can read and understand technical documentation. It's not a lack of skill or being intimidated, mostly laziness I guess. For me, I'm plenty happy with Mint, and it allows plenty of tinkering if I wish, but why reinvent the wheel when you're not going to make it significantly rounder?
I'm not denigrating anyone that wants to roll their own, quite the contrary. But working with technology all day, I feel that for me personally there's not enough hours in the day to willingly be a masochist and do every little thing by hand.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
