Posts by David Hicklin

Sounds like IoT meets blockchain, now what could possibly go wrong there ??

Re: AI seldom makes mistakes, people do

"Also ask yourself if, given, as you say, it's possible to train human beings to drive safely, why isn't it possible to build a machine that can be trained in the same way as a human with equally good results*. Because it's quite clear that that's not the way self-driving cars are being taught."

I well remember what my driving instructor told me: He teaches me how to pass a driving test - it is only after you have passed that you actually learn how to drive.

Re: We need NoScript for Firefox 57, and WebAssembly's bytecode is more insecure than Flash

"Sadly NoScript isn't supported by Firefox 57 :("

I'm on FF 58 and NoScript is working now, just not as polished as before, even remembered my settings going from 56 -> 58

Re: 20% drop going to manual

"I suspect that the loss would be an exponential function of time. Another 10 days? Major crisis. 10 more? No company."

Plus some ships could have been at sea during those 10 days, so agree that the loss rate would ride as time went by.

Re: don't forget to patch your Android devices

I finally managed to patch my T-Mobile Sony xperia SP phone after 3 years of no OS updates.....

,,,,,Switched to the dark side and got an iPhone. In 3 weeks I have got twice as many updates as the old Sony!

Re: NeoOffice and WordPerfect

Have an upvote for WordPerfect, I found it a lot easier to use than Word which I still can't indent a single paragraph on without every other one in the document indenting by a random number of tabs...

Using LibreOffice on my other laptop now (with Linux Mint) and found it more than good enough, looks like I'll be jumping that way when windows 7 updates end...

Re: Aim is improving.

> No, next one will be 6800km the other side. Close, but no cratercigar

You forgot the diameter of the Earth : at around 12,700km it should be pretty close to a bullseye.

Re: I think we need to know...

>> I keep a separate browser, configured to clean itself on quit.

>Why a separate browser? Permanent private mode has been the name of the game for years now.

I have a VM *just* for online banking - it does not get used for anything else, yes it has Rapport + noscript + ublock origin.

Good luck finding some tracking history there

Re: Kodak Digital Camera

I still have - and use - my DC280, and yes the battery eating was an annoying issue. These days I find that the current rechargeables seem to work much better with it. Got a new memory card recently (8GB!) of which it probably uses just 5%..

Whilst it is a very old camera I find it much easier to use than the modern ones that just seem to cram in as many operating modes as the can.

Re: Go, charge 'em high

As always YMMV - I have been with Sky Fibre for 4 years now and have only had a few minor interruptions, certainly no worse or better than BT and Virgin before them.

Speed has been rock solid at all times.

Re: (Travel) Insurance fraud on the rise...

But check your insurance carefully - putting things like laptops into the hold might not be covered...

Re: answer machine

Same here, and then answer the phone if they start leaving a message and we know (or are at least wish to talk to them). Calls dropped a lot of time, even the 'international' ones.

Now if only it was as easy with spam texts on the mobile...where the text "STOP" to opt-out gives a warning that this might cost you charges - wtf!?

Re: Solving the wrong problem

AV currently works on the basis of "blacklist" the bad stuff - allow anything else.

To get your solution means turning it on its head and whitelist what is allowed and block everything else. It can be done as long as everything executable on the computer is stable and does not change very often - and that needs planned and tested updates.

Sadly not exactly practicable now unless you wall the OS off from all other software creators/vendors and only allow certified software from a "store"....oh wait..

Re: Avast...

Have an upvote for Avira.

Have it on my W10 Virtual Installation where it seems to play OK (have it to remind myself just how bad and horrible w10 is)

Re: Sony...

Well my Sony Xperia SP has not had an update since May 2014 to the OS and the phone is not *that* old.

Sure apps update all the time, even those I have not intention of ever using.

Re: Sony Updates

I am with you all the way here - my Sony Xperia SP has not had an update past 4.3 dated May 2014 - yet I get badgered with Lounge updates and new apps (recent one to get info about a song you just listened to) all the time.

Now where has that flying pig got to...Battersea anyone ?

Re: Never representative of AV detection

Maybe VT AV scanners are set to "Paranoid" sensitivity ?

Re: Highways England?

Or you get "Incident - 40" sign after sign, and after driving along for 10 miles (this is M1 J20 to 21 here - a 13 mile stretch) you get "End".

Without seeing anything unusual at all - and they wonder why drivers just ignore them?

Re: 200 million devices

I put win10 on a test VM over Christmas and after lots of exploring of features and settings I had to ask myself that I was on a sodding smartphone rather than a serious* computer operating system.

Win7 can run until 2020 and by then I will have chosen a successor - be it a Linux version or even a Mac (still can't believe I am even considering the latter but I am!)

*(yeah I know - its Windows)

The switched it from an Important to Recommended update , having been recommended previously.

Re: On this whole detecting VM issue

Malware has been checking to see if it on a VM (and play dead) for a long time now, nothing new there.

Re: Apple has a tiny share in Russia

Nah, Putin's made it illegal to sell in anything other than rubbles...

Re: What about Electronics - The Maplin Magazine?

Still got most of mine, although they are mostly scaned to PDF these days (along with ETI an several other mags - those were the days). Still refer to them for ideas.

As for Maplin, can still remember placing orders in the 1970's via mail with my Mum writing out the cheques as I was still ar school at the time. Was quite proud of my original customer numer - 968 - before they changed the systems.

Re: Save XP

There should be a law that if support for any software or o/s is stopped, then it becomes freeware with all licencing restrictions removed.

Re: This is very common these days

I think you will find that the website is linked to a bricks+mortar distribution back-end somewhere, and the shelf space where the widget you want is empty.

Or (and this is a guess as I am not in this business) as many products are dispatched direct from the manufacturer these days , the web site has sold all it's call off orders

Re: speedy autonomous lunar rover

It really would have to be autonomous for the times when it is on the side facing away from the earth as it would be out of touch, unless you have a satellite relay comms system.

Re: Royal Mail optout

Sadly that still does not stop the junk mail addressed to "the occupier".

Yes Virgin - that's you. Straight into the recyling bin

Re My question is.. → #

At warp5 it will take 4.8 years to get there.

Re:Got that Right

As well as the power loading per rack you also need to consider if one half of a dual power feed goes down, and all the servers in that rack pull their juice off the remaining one. Get the sums wrong and the remaining feed overloads and trips out...

Re: Ark Royal

You are thinking about the battleship Royal Oak.

Re : Broadband fairness

The only way to work this properly is to pay for what you use. That way the freeloaders would pay thier fair share. Add a media TAX and that is the entertainment industry sorted as well.

Wait a min...what am I saying !!???

Re: UK adverts

Yes I have seen them and they just remind me that I have some cans in the fridge nicely chilled that I had not thought about recently, so I go and drink one !

Re:zynga

Well the games mat be buggy and opinions of the company low, but as has been said they are free and are FUN to play.

Gotta run, crops need harvesting...

Re: +68dBm = 6.3 kilowatts → #

Go and live near a TV mast then - they put out up to 1 Megawatt