* Posts by Patrician

479 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Sep 2013

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Ahead of IPO, Reddit blends advertising into user posts

Patrician

'get a big list going and bond over' their shared love of cream cheese."

It should be noted that if redditors did indeed "bond over a shared love of cream cheese" the advertising has failed; it's only people that already buy and eat the product that are responding to the ad, so no new sales.

Ten nations tell social media, banks, and telcos to get better at stopping scams

Patrician

It's not quite the same thing though; people do things online that they wouldn't dream of doing in real life, such as happily handing over bank details to a total stranger.

The TV show, Hustle stated "you can't con an honest person"; but some still think that something that looks too good to be true is, indeed, true; and get scammed.

Patrician

You don't think that the end user bares some responsibility for allowing themselves to be scammed?

Now you can compare your Chromium browser with that other Chromium browser using Speedometer 3.0

Patrician

I came across a website that if you wanted to refuse cookies you had to individually disable nearly 400 different ones. Needless to say the browser back button was used instead.

Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi adds electric vehicle to its mobility offerings

Patrician

Re: If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously

Well the The Taycan does look like a Porsche, whereas the The Xiaomi SU7 EV doesn't, so I'm not sure it can be regarded as a "copy".

Attacks on UK fiber networks mount: Operators beg govt to step in

Patrician

The USA has the death penalty in some states; are their crime figures less than ours per capita? Thought not.

European Court of Human Rights declares backdoored encryption is illegal

Patrician

Re: Problem solved

>One's doing it in the interests of national security and protecting our safety and democracy, the other, to sell ads.

The difference is that the one selling ads is always going to be doing that; but the one protecting national security can change depending on the government.

Patrician

Re: Cue Daily Heil headline "Euro Court Won't Protect Our Children"

Not *letting* them have a smart phone is not the same thing at all as calling them to be banned for under 16's.

Patrician

Re: Cue Daily Heil headline "Euro Court Won't Protect Our Children"

This so much;

I fully understand that Esther Ghey is grieving, and what she's asking for is coming from that grief and from a lack of understanding of the technology she asking to be legislated against. And that lack of understanding shows the problem in her household; I suspect Briana was left pretty much alone with her phone. If the news reports I've read are correct, and that the dark net was accessed by at least one of the killers, as most of us will be aware, legislating against that would be like punching fog.

One more thing that she needs to consider at some point, is that those images that were seen on the dark net didn't create the sociopath, the killers were already those.

Patrician

Re: Well good thing the UK had Brexit

Hopefully

Patrician

Re: Well good thing the UK had Brexit

>But we have this wicked little problem that currently the easiest way to get a bigger house is to drop more children.

That is total BS and nothing more than Daily Mail propaganda.

Dumping us into ad tier of Prime Video when we paid for ad-free is 'unfair' – lawsuit

Patrician

Re: Question is...

>Just looked in the Amazon app. My "unlimited photos" currently says "0 bytes of 5GB" are used.

I think that "limit" is for video not photo's

Patrician

Re: Question is...

There is a difference between "putting up" with ads and being "more than happy"; I suggest that "most" do the former.

Venus has a quasi-moon and it's just been named 'Zoozve' for a sweet reason

Patrician
Pint

Re: I would suggest ....

Have a beer for the Lucifers Hammer reference

Republican senators try to outlaw rules that restrict Wall Street’s use of AI

Patrician

As far as I can see, If Ted Cruz is against something, it's probably as "good thing".

AI is changing search, for better or for worse

Patrician
Happy

Re: Yell and scream all you want.

Not taking your own advices then?

It took Taylor Swift deepfake nudes to focus Uncle Sam, Microsoft on AI safety

Patrician

Re: Just AI?

The definition of "vapid" is "offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland." I would suggest that is a very good description of her music.

That runaway datacenter power grab is the best news for net zero this century

Patrician

> The environmentalists are mostly anti-nuke to the point where it overrides any other environmental concern

I'm not so sure that's the case now.

Patrician

Re: A fine idea but...

Best not to reference Daily Sceptic if you wan to be taken seriously;

"The Daily Sceptic is a blog created by British commentator Toby Young. It has published misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines[9] and climate change denial.[16]"

Patrician
Pint

Have a beer icon for the Hunt For Red October reference

United Airlines’ patience with Boeing is maxed out after repeated safety issues

Patrician

I wouldn't set foot in a Chinese developed and built aircraft. An experienced and established company like Boing can get it wrong, heaven knows what is effectively a "startup," residing in a country with very "iffy" safety regulations, would get wrong/hide.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 pitch: The AI we baked in makes you more human

Patrician

Re: Seven years of support

My phone is only ever in my front trouser pocket and I cycle with no issues; mind I do only ever wear jeans so that might make a difference.

Post Office boss unable to say when biz knew Horizon could be remotely altered

Patrician

Re: s/unable/unwilling/

> I'm also uncomfortable with the Government rushing through special laws to address this. Why not just pardon everyone, have the Post Office repay all fines/clawbacks etc. and bring new prosecutions if appropriate. Not got the evidence to prosecute any more? Tough!

Apparently because they were legal prosecutions, the pardons/clearing names, has to be done through legal channels. Parliament cannot override judicial decisions, quite rightly, so has to enact a law in parliament to allow them to do that. But that is a very dodgy thing to give a government; the rights to override the judiciary is not something that should stay on the statute books and must be repealed once this one task is over.

Microsoft braces for automatic AI takeover with Copilot at Windows startup

Patrician

Re: Just asking.

Surely, what is ""what is the best" operating system is subjective?

For instance, my PC at home is used 98% of the time for gaming, therefore, in that instance "the best operating system" is Windows as it's more compatible, natively, with the majority of games.

On the other hand, my laptop is used for web, email, Youtube etc and that is running a version of Mint as that is "the best operating system" for that usage case.

I also have a Chromebook that also works in tablet mode, which I use if travelling and if I need a, rather large and cumbersome, tablet, and that is "the best operating system" for that usage case.

Drivers: We'll take that plain dumb car over a flashy data-spilling internet one, thanks

Patrician

What about buying a cheap Android phone and using it just for connecting to the car? You'd need a new Google account but there would be no data to be harvested except travelling data.

Former Post Office boss returns CBE to sender over computer system scandal

Patrician

Re: I bet they had ISO 9001

ISO Auditors are only interested in if your company adheres to ISO they don't care if you software has more bugs than a hotel bed.

Patrician

Re: A scandal of epic proportions

How would somebody on 1st line phone support know that by saying those lines they're aiding and abetting a coverup?

Patrician

The donations issue is an easy “fix”; disallow direct donations to political parties and have them “held” by a central body (politically independent) that apportions them out to the political parties at GE time depending on the size of the party.

Patrician

What party has been in government since this story broke?

Need to plug in an EV? BT Group kicks off cabinet update pilot

Patrician

Re: may be zero carbon

What's the ""carbon pay back"" for a new ICE vehicle, or a new gas/oil power generating station?

Road to Removal: A blueprint for yanking billions of tons of CO2 out of our atmosphere

Patrician

Re: Nope - another myth.

>glacial melt, due to "Climate Change" is exposing the remains of stuff that used to grow there.

Antarctica wasn't where it is now when those "trees, bushes, lichens or whatever" were growing there.

Patrician

Re: “Climate scientists” need something else to do!

Your check from the fossil fuel industry is in the post.…

Patrician

Re: That's some weapons grade disinformation...

Were seeing a prime example of The Dunning-Kruger effect here.

Patrician

Re: That's some weapons grade disinformation...

> I can make a numerical climate model in 15 minutes and it would be as good as any other one existing in being wrong. Numerical model is *not* science, it's an engineering tool.

You obviously couldn’t as you seem to have no idea about climate science, by your own admission.

Patrician

Re: Natural CO2

This “natural events” are taken in account in the climate models; they are well known.

Patrician

Re: Done that.

By "you", you mean others and not you?

Patrician

Re: Done that.

>the people can do something by themselves.

Historically that has never happened and never will self interest will always come to the fore; I bet you believe trickle down economics works too?

Amazon already has a colossal ads business and will extend it to Prime Video in January

Patrician

Re: Sorry. I pay to *not* have adverts.

Personally, I'll download the programmes/films on Prime that I want to watch, but will still keep my Prime subscription; that way I feel I'm not "freeloading" and can still enjoy content without being advertised at!

Patrician

Re: And people moan...

"(Incidentally, the licence fee also pays for Channel 4, but you can get that free-with-ads via streaming.)"

it doesn't; Channel 4 is 100% financed by advertising.

New cars bought in the UK must be zero emission by 2035 – it's the law

Patrician

Re: Hmmm..

"Who in their right mind would buy a second-hand EV? You have no guarantee that the battery hasn't been 'abused'."

EV's have systems that make it incredibly difficult to "abuse" a battery

Patrician

Re: Think of the Grid!

All the postal vans I've seen in my town have been EV's...

Patrician

Re: Think of the Grid!

H2 is "generated" using "the grid"; so that won't alleviate the pressure.

Patrician

Re: Think of the Grid!

The price of crude has increased to the point that reserves that were not financially viable back then, are now.

NASA celebrates Perseverance Rover's 1000th Martian day with lakebed history lesson

Patrician

Re: Obxkcd

Of course, neither of the rovers that are the subject of that xkcd are still running now; sadly.

Patrician

Re: Top banana

It does seem to me to be over complicated.

Ofcom proposes ban on UK telcos making 'inflation-linked' price hikes mid-contract

Patrician

"planned increases in price in pounds and pence, and the date which these would take effect."

So the providers will just pull an amount out their ar*es that is guaranteed to be above inflation with a bit on top.

Just ban mid-contract price increases

What's the golden age of online services? Well, now doesn't suck

Patrician

Re: Not an angry place .

The swivel eyed loons have always been there; the internet, and social media in particular, has allowed them to find each other.

Chromebooks are problematic for profits and planet, says Lenovo exec

Patrician

Re: "I don't know who makes the profit"

"Here's a hint for you: where does Google make over 100% of its profit from? (over 100% because collectively they lose money on everything else) Advertising, duh!"

Google Workspace accounts do not get ads "slung" at the users; it's a paid subscription service just like Office 365. Retail chrome book users will get ads as they are using Googles "free" services, but businesses and education establishments using Workspace do not.

Share your 2024 tech forecasts (wrong answers only) to win a terrible sweater

Patrician

UK newspapers all decide to tell only the truth.

Britain proposes 'super-complaints' to help keep the internet safe

Patrician

Atheism is not a belief system.

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