* Posts by pstiles

34 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Aug 2015

In Rust We Trust: Stob gets behind the latest language craze

pstiles

hang on - comic sans for money??

I think the thing everyone's missing is that someone is trying to make money by selling a Comic-Sans clone font!

The horror!

Twice in one month: Microsoft updates new-style Terminal preview

pstiles

You can even add GIT BASH into it

'peasy!

Tried doing it myself, but ended up just going to stackoverflow to see who'd done it before :}

Web body mulls halving HTTPS cert lifetimes. That screaming in the distance is HTTPS cert sellers fearing orgs will bail for Let's Encrypt

pstiles

Re: False sense of security

Cats with Air Rifles?

Now i'm worried.

Yrs Sncrly,

Budgie

I could throttle you right about now: US Navy to ditch touchscreens after kit blamed for collision

pstiles

Heart Of Gold

Insert description of how its controls worked here.

Accept thumbs-ups.

'Java 9, it did break some things,' Oracle bod admits to devs still clinging to version 8

pstiles

Re: "little used apis"

Good point, and that must be what cost me a downvote...

Now if only reg told you who downvoted you it would be so helpful...

pstiles

"little used apis"

you're having a giraffe!

Removing the reliable way of deploying a thick program to people's desktops basically blocks an awful lot of "older" (but good) java code from even being deployed under these newer Javas.

Yes everyone should be writing web apps these days (c) but there's a lot of enterprise apps that have just been crippled by successive releases of Java just because Oracle wants to ignore that fact that in many cases running a program on a PC is a really good solution to an awful lot of problems. Let's not talk about the addition of mandatory signed JNLP files added as a minor-release that broke hundreds of users of the app wot we wrote, let's just instead look at the shoddy stick that's been rubbed all over JavaFX - a great GUI tool kit that came of age and got added into Java 8 as a standard part of the install. Only to be ejected in Java 11 because - well Desktop.

Oh yeah, and let's mention Paid Support for Java 8 only; although you could instead go to the six-month-cycle of upgrade and carp that's being forced on us; that's if you've worked out a way to deploy the stuff again. Maybe we're back to a network drive with a ".bat" file on... All for another Island for Larry...

>> The problem is "what do you pay?" its the usual complete cluster-cluck of opaque Oracle Pricing designed to make the simplest of situations as complex as possible. Mumble, mumble, grumble.

There are lots of wishes I'd use a time machine for, but top of the list these days would to try to persuade IBM to buy Java; or Redhat. In fact anyone other than Oracle or Microsoft; although these days MS look like softies.

I can't even finish on a joke, because I've found nothing to laugh about recently :(

No yoke: 'Bored' Aussie test pilot passes time in the cockpit by drawing massive knobs in the air

pstiles

etch-a-sketch?

As long as the PHB doesn't decide to shake it to clear the screen we're ok. (grabs hold of arms on chair just in case...)

Boffins debunk study claiming certain languages (cough, C, PHP, JS...) lead to more buggy code than others

pstiles

But "bugs fixed" doesn't equal "bugs in code" and may not even be proportional

The methodology doesn't seem sound. Just because someone fixed "x" bugs in a program (or made "x" commits fixing the same bug) doesn't mean that program had "x" bugs in it.

I've worked on big code bases where actually the buggiest piece of code is the most complicated and _least_ touched because "everyone knows" that they'll only introduce more bugs if they try to "fix" bugs.

I've also seen *perl* programs and it's obvious why they don't get many bugs fixed - no one dare touch it (write-once-languages...)

An olde programmmer of yore measured programs in their "brittleness", (and they were Cobol programs mind you) and how you should avoid touching the brittle programs.

Just give me competent developers who actually like to think and want to learn why they should code "in the best way" and we'll have less buggy code, whatever language we write in.

The Register's 2018 homepage redesign: What's going on now?

pstiles

Sorry, it didn't make finding new articles easier or browsing older ones

my vote is to leave the front page alone.

this is like the new BBC front page; that redesign didn't help me find things.

Hitler 'is dead' declares French prof who gazed at dictator's nashers

pstiles

Re: on the dark side of the moon

Quote from the album (spoken):

"There's no dark side of the moon"

Take a former NSA head hacker, a Raspberry Pi, weird Kiwi radios and what do you get?

pstiles

Re: Look at the pretty lights...

<picard>

There are FOUR lights!

</picard>

Why did I buy a gadget I know I'll never use?

pstiles

Misty-eyed

My selection of Power Supplies is broad enough to make anyone weep. I'm particularly fond of my fine collection of Nokia Phone Chargers Throughout The Years. I'm sure there should be a Collector's Edition Box Set in there somewhere...

But I think what I have most pride in is my collection of PS-2/USB adaptors for keyboards and mice. These little green and purple dongles nearly 2" long make me smile every time I find another one in the back of a drawer; actually I can see ten of them from where I'm sitting... They'll come in useful one day.

Beyond code PEBCAK lies KMACYOYO, PENCIL and PAFO

pstiles

SFA

Well, I was always told, by my Mother after my Father had uttered such letters, that it meant Sweet Fanny Adams.

I'm shocked to imagine it could mean other. Shocked I say.

Engineer named Jason told to re-write the calendar

pstiles

Re: JSON?

cough

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobby_Stiles

no relation

SpaceX to try reusing both rocket and spacecraft for historic ISS mission

pstiles

Re: Excuses

unless you're Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Will AI lead to the rise of the love machines?

pstiles

time.

I drive the very latest hovercar

I don't know where you are

But I miss you so much till then

I met someone who looks a lot like you

She does the things you do

But she is an IBM.

2095, 2095, 2095, 2095

I love you, sincerely

Yours truly, yours truly...

She's only programmed to be very nice

But she's as cold as ice

Whenever I get too near

She tells me that she likes me very much

But when I try to touch

She makes it all too clear.

She is the latest in technology

Almost mythology

But she has a heart stone

She has an I.Q. of 1001

She has a jumpsuit on

And she's also a telephone.

2095, 2095, 2095, 2095

I love you, sincerely

Yours truly, yours truly...

Get a GRIP! Robolution ain't happening until TOUCH is cracked

pstiles

the Lego test

Once the robot can pull apart two tightly stacked two-by-two Lego flats without effort or braking either piece I'll be happy to say that they are Up To Scratch, until then, meh.

Oooh - and picking up a needle from the floor! once robots can do that I won't be needed at home at all!

Brit ISP TalkTalk blocks control tool TeamViewer

pstiles

Re: Talk Talk should just progressively block more and more traffic...

the upvote was because I assumed it was a clever reference to the talktalk song dum-dum girl.

Uber loses court fight over London drivers' English language tests

pstiles

Talking of Language

If I recall correctly the noun "Uber" in Latin means "Udder". Fill in your own joke.

Plump Trump dumps TPP trade pump

pstiles

Re: yawn...

Really? no massive corporations? Have a peek at the East India Company's resume.

Just what Europe needs – another bungled exit: Mars lander goes AWOL

pstiles

Re: They don't want us

cough

the "imperial" in "imperial measures" denotes the *Roman* Empire where we (in theory) got our definitions of inch, foot, ounce and pound (etc.)

Argos offers 'buy now pay in 3 months' deal

pstiles

c'mon the 'copter is much more exciting

Linked from that item is the

"Playmobil Tactical Unit Helicopter"

now that looks worth dropping a couple of tenners for.

Lights, power, action! Smartplugs with a twist

pstiles

magically turn kettle on and have tea ready BEFORE you wakt up.. yep we can do that

lest we forget the noise and the liquid almost but not entirely completely unlike tea:

http://www.swan-brand.co.uk/products/teasmades

Brit filmmaker plans 10hr+ Paint Drying epic

pstiles

I hope it's a trilogy

I'm really looking forward to the director's cut on Blu-ray.

The boxed set will look great on the shelves and may actually get as much re-watching as The Hobbit trilogy.

Kids' tech skills go backwards thanks to tablets and smartmobes

pstiles

we approach the post-literacy world

As technology marches ever on we have less and less need for the trappings of literacy and, well, other real-world skills. I offer Dan Simmons Illium/Olympos books for an example.

Although I apologise for actually typing these words I should have just left a small video.

US military readies drone submarine hunter

pstiles

Re: WTF, ok i may be a little late to the party but !!!

I gather, from Masterchef The Professionals(*) the per-person budget in the UK is £2.88 a day.

(*) Depressingly not a very clever remake of the 70s 80s CI5 show..

Big Bang left us with a perfect random number generator

pstiles

but but

but but but that background radiation isn't random it's just a highly encrypted stream of data.

But from who to whom?

Doctor Who's good/bad duality, war futility tale in The Zygon Inversion fails to fizz

pstiles

Re: "How did The Doctor get out of the exploding plane?"

"Gulliver's Travels" - There was I thinking it was a political/sociological commentary.

pstiles

Re: Im just wondering

That is actually a really good idea for a two-parter.

The first part shows you how it ended, but you've no idea what happened in the first place, then the second part shows you how it starts. I think the trick would be getting enough into the first part (the end) that made sense internally but making sure that the second part (the beginning) was absolutely necessary to understand what was going on. And I'm not talking about the "one minute of preview then overlay text 'two days ago'" I'm meaning a whole episode. Must be doable...Oh yes - a bit like River's arc but shorter...

Chaos at TalkTalk: Data was 'secure', not all encrypted, we took site down, were DDoSed

pstiles

Oh well, Life's What You Make It

Can't escape it.

Prof Hawking cracks riddle of black holes – which may be portals to other universes

pstiles
Coat

Two black holes

Two black holes in the pub; one turns to the other and says: "Remember when you were young? You shone like the sun."

Sony PC owners to get Windows 10 upgrade as early Christmas present

pstiles

My VAIO working ok so far

We have a Tap20 as our Lounge PC (yes! I was the person who bought one) and the Win10 upgrade went simply and smoothly. The PC seems all well and good and the missus (the main user of such) hasn't complained to me about any of its magic new workings.

The Win 10 Update Check did originally say that the display drivers wouldn't be available, but its capable of playing EVE still (although the missus is a Miner/Manufacturer and so Fleet battles not normally part of her normal day-to-day play) I'm putting that down to fear, or Intel & MS pulling their fingers our in time.

If I get better drivers come November; fine...

Want to download free AV software? Don't have a Muslim name

pstiles

Denny Crane

Similar but fictitious

There was an episode of Boston Legal where Denny Crane found out he was on the US no-fly list and was blocked from, well, getting on a plane. He then took the government to court because the only detail on the no-fly list was the name, not the sex age or any other identifying figures - so he took thirty other Denny Cranes with him so when the judge said "Would Denny Crane please stand" the whole room got up.

Windows 10 Start menu replacements shifting like hot cakes

pstiles

Windows 95

Re: "Windows 95 had a search button"

It didn't.

It had a "FIND" button (Luckily I've got a Win95 box handy so I could make sure I wasn't mistaken)

It promised that it would do the job, it wouldn't just look for things it would actually FIND them.

Ever since then Windows hasn't been quote so positive and the action has become "Search"...