cstross

cstross, 4 days ago to random

This, incidentally, is why I'm staying home this weekend and most of the coming week—three Taylor Swift gigs in front of audiences of 70,000 singing, dancing fans in a bowl-shaped stadium. Her previous concerts in Spain and France have all been superspreader events, and I'm not enthusiastic to join in.
https://mastodon.social/@jmcrookston/112586109084123492

cstross, 4 days ago to random

Australia’s most painful creatures, ranked: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-26/stings-venoms-bites-ranked/103319874

cstross, 5 days ago to random

THE HIRSUTE BRAIN SLUG INVASION HAS BEGUN!!
https://tech.lgbt/@Natasha_Jay/112577161931764863

cstross, 5 days ago to random

Welp, that misfeature didn't last long before they began walking it back!
https://mastodon.social/@br00t4c/112576388963417270

cstross, 5 days ago to random

The gift that keeps on giving!

cstross, 6 days ago (edited 3 days ago) to random

Reminder to Edinburgh locals: Swift's playing three gigs at Murrayfield (tonight through Sunday) to over 200,000 attendees. Better double-down on COVID precautions for the next week, at least!
https://mastodon.social/

cstross, 6 days ago to random

OMNOMNOM!!!

cstross, 6 days ago to random

Starship made it through the atmosphere, and executed a successful landing burn over the Indian Ocean! Got a bit scorched (I bet they reinforce the heat shield over those flaps before the next test flight) but it made it down to the surface for a controlled splash-down!

cstross, 7 days ago to random

We are going to end up with half a million low-orbit comsats turning the night sky into a streaky blur because everyone uses Starlink or similar for broadband because the telcos have allowed their terrestrial cable infrastructure to decay, in the interests of maximizing profit. And of course the satellite broadband will be slow and buggy because overloaded.
https://mastodon.social/@verge/112565885370238705

cstross, 6 days ago (edited 3 days ago) to random

That was an impressive Starship/Superheavy flight so far! Booster managed to decelerate to roughly walking pace before it hit the water in the Gulf and tipped over (as planned). Now to see if the Ship can make a controlled re-entry ...

The next step for the booster will be to come in over the pad, hover, and for the mechazilla to catch it with the chopsticks. (But maybe not on the next test flight.)

cstross, 8 days ago to random

New blog entry: Is Microsoft trying to commit suicide? https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/06/is-microsoft-trying-to-commit-.html

cstross, 8 days ago to random

Friends don't let Friends buy ASUS PCs this year.
https://cyberplace.social/@GossiTheDog/112563484995335592

cstross, 8 days ago to random

Welp, I knew Microsoft's CoPilot+ Recall was going to be a privacy disaster but I didn't expect it to turn into an enterprise computing catastrophe for Microsoft quite this fast!

But this can't be a one-off. Any large enterprise that has to comply with a regulated privacy environment—HIPAA in the USA, GDPR in the EU, banking/insurance/finance globally—must be considering a ban on Microsoft installations on laptop/desktop computers right now or be breaking the law.

https://infosec.exchange/@SecurityWriter/112558224281615019

cstross, 8 days ago to random

Am considering writing a satirical novel about US politics in the 20-teens.

The first line will start:

"It was a Trump and Stormy night …"

cstross, 9 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to random

Business meetings exist to share information and coordinate activity: this shit enables you to be apparently present in all but actually not engaged with any. If your calendar is triple-booked then your organization is under-resourced and needs more people, not more AI. Or it's holding unnecessary meetings to make management feel better about being surrounded by minions, in which case it needs to fire the executives responsible.
https://mastodon.social/@kjhealy/112553850995965423

cstross, 8 days ago to random

Also: when they're very sick, cats find a dark corner to hide in. Here's a dark corner that smells reassuringly of their humans. Ergo, sooner or later you're going to have to dismantle your bed around a cat who urgently needs the veterinary hospital … https://mastodon.online/@emarktaylor/112560065217098741

cstross, 8 days ago to random

Oh God and by God I mean Taylor Swift, this weekend is going to be ABSOLUTE CHAOS in Edinburgh:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/1d1rsg6/taylor_swift_concert_information_faq/

cstross, 8 days ago to random

It turns out that Bluesky can provide some enlightening commentary on the Farage fiasco—from Malaysia, at that:

https://bsky.app/profile/hishgraphics.bsky.social/post/3ku4g6iz5mt2i

cstross, 8 days ago to random

German, as usual, has a pithy polysyllabic word for Mr Farage: Backpfeifengesicht.

cstross, 8 days ago to random

I don't want anyone to throw a milkshake at Nigel Farage; I'd happily hear about him being fed feet-first through a liquidiser, though.

cstross, 8 days ago to random

I think it's just a shame that Clacton's MacDonalds don't sell Durian milkshakes.

cstross, 8 days ago to random

This is a marvellous bug!
https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/112559866702080308

cstross, 8 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to random

As CoPilot+ Recall blacks out windows displaying DRM'd content, if I was a Windows dev I'd be looking to make bank RIGHT NOW by rushing to build and market a containerized Wine-on-Windows that adds DRM on its windows and blocks screenshots. So you can run any Windows program as a guest under WINE, but Recall won't be able to see it.

cstross, 8 days ago to random

I think to celebrate this pointed political statement I may take a hike to the nearest MacDonalds and drink a Farage.

cstross, 8 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to random

My sympathy to the milkshake (it got covered in—ick!—Farage))