I wonder what Police Scotland make of Nicola Sturgeon deleting her WhatsApp messages?
She really has trashed her reputation
Government by WhatsApp is an undesirable development I feel - but if they do it then I should hope they do delete everything or else, when leaked, it becomes akin to a phone-tap.
The correct way to do it is with an app like Signal, which can be set to auto-delete all messages after 24 or 48 hours. Have a protocol that these platforms are to be used in the same way as a phone call or face-to-face conversation, and that all communication between officials needs to be through a managed service such as Teams or Slack.
One big problem is that it is obvious WhatsApp is being used interchangably for both official comms and general office gossip / bitching on the same phone and accounts.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
Off topic, but related: First, I think the IRS should get an increase in its budget to better catch tax cheats. For the increase in justice mostly, but the money won't hurt.
Second, the reluctance of Republicans to approve such an increase is regrettable, but understandable, for anyone who knows about the "targeting controversy": "Over the two years between April 2010 and April 2012, the IRS essentially placed on hold the processing of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exemption status received from organizations with "Tea Party", "patriots", or "9/12" in their names. While apparently none of these organizations' applications were denied during this period,[Note 2] only 4 were approved.[45] During the same general period, the agency approved applications from several dozen presumably liberal-leaning organizations whose names included terms such as "progressive", "progress", "liberal", or "equality".[45][46] However, the IRS also selected several progressive- or Democratic-leaning organizations for increased scrutiny. An affiliate of the liberal group Emerge America had its request for tax-exempt status denied, leading to a review (and the eventual revocation) of the larger Emerge America organization's tax-exempt status.[44] The conservative National Review states that a November 2010 version of the IRS's BOLO list indicates that liberal and conservative groups were in fact treated differently because liberal groups could be approved for tax-exempt status by line agents, while tea party groups could not." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_targeting_controversy
Here's what Rachel Maddow and John Stewart had to say about the scandal: "MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said: "There is a reasonable fear by all of us, by any of us, that the kind of power the IRS has could be misused," she further said that this scrutiny of Tea Party groups was "not fair."[89] Comedy Central's Jon Stewart stated that the controversy had taken "the last arrow in your pro-governance quiver," he further said that this threw doubt on President Obama's "managerial competence" and had proven correct "conspiracy theorists," moving the burden of proof onto federal authorities."
As I assume almost all of you know, neither of them are conservatives.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
Your messages might be secure but what other information does the app slurp up when you aren't looking?
Maybe you don't care but I'd 100% use a burner phone if I was forced to install it.
These are the permissions it has on my phone.
I suspect most people enable location as well.
What I don't like is that they read all your contacts so that they can 'match them with existing users for convenience'.
In other words - your phone number ends up with Meta just through knowing someone who uses WhatsApp.
And you can't request that they delete your shadow profile because you don't have a contract with them.
Never trust Zuckerberg is my motto.
Yes, I do I run a private XMPP server...
Are you using Windows on your laptop or pc? Windows that sends all your activity back to Microsoft? That is separate, of course, from Windows sending (sorry, backing up) your files to Microsoft in the cloud.
No, Linux. Although MS aren't as evil as Meta. And I backup to my own cloud in the garage.
What are you using for the backup, out of interest? We have ours off-site at the in-laws' using rsync, but I keep meaning to try out nextcloud etc (I actually know the founder, originally of owncloud, as we worked together at KDE). Bolted on syncthing a couple of years back which we have on a pi next to our router, grabbing photos from our phones and in turn backing up the in-laws' house.
We don't have a garage at present The in-laws are ~5 miles away, so it's not a Threads-proof solution, but in that scenario we'd have other concerns!
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
Personally if I was in government, actually I do this in now....
Business phone / chat / slack etc etc etc is used exclusively for professional stuff. I don't do anything personal on it, I certainly don't bitch about others.
Then I have my personal phone that doesn't discuss anything related to business.
Personally if I was in government, actually I do this in now....
Business phone / chat / slack etc etc etc is used exclusively for professional stuff. I don't do anything personal on it, I certainly don't bitch about others.
Then I have my personal phone that doesn't discuss anything related to business.
The business of cabinet government is bitching about your cabinet rivals....
That's quite something. What was going on with Ofakim, so far away from all the other attacks? Somehow significant. There seem, from the map, to be other population centres nearer Gaza that were untouched and everything else attacked is much closer to the border.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
I'm shite at all this - but if you had a VPN on your phone would that make WhatsApp more secure?
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
Well I'd not be able to communicate with 90% of my friends and business associates did I not have WhatsApp. I'm not going to contact everyone in a project group independently, I don't have time, and they'd all think it mighty weird and inconvenient.
From the East, unwarned The clouds of autumn gather Europe: in darkness
Slightly more prosaic setting but more dramatic.
Nothing prosaic about the silvery Tay with the Kingdom of Fife behind it.
As Mr Macgonagall had it:
Beautiful silvery Tay, With your landscapes, so lovely and gay, Along each side of your waters, to Perth all the way; No other river in the world has got scenery more fine, Only I am told the beautiful Rhine, Near to Wormit Bay, it seems very fine, Where the Railway Bridge is towering above its waters sublime, And the beautiful ship Mars, With her Juvenile Tars, Both lively and gay, Does carelessly lie By night and by day, In the beautiful Bay Of the silvery Tay.
I was inspired to compose my own effort:
By the banks of the silvery Tay The waters flow fast night and day. With Dundee at its mouth, And Fife to the south, You can see why they don't want to stay.
On Topic - Note that issue of text & etc. that "disappear" at inopportune (at least from one perspective) moments, is NOT exclusive to UK.
For example, missing texts & etc. by & from Seattle's (then) mayor, (ditto) police chief, etc. covering the period during civil unrest following murder of George Floyd.
Personally have not run into ANYONE in the Emerald City who believes this was due to innocent mistake and/or incompetence. Instead, we think that the texts & etc. were MADE to disappear.
You can guess who we think was responsible for THAT.
Cummings keeps criticising the government structures as unsuitable. I'm minded to suggest that if you run into an unsuitable government structure in the morning, you ran into an unsuitable government structure. If you run into unsuitable government structures all pandemic, you're the unsuitable government structure.
It's also very clear that Johnson was never PM. Cummings thought he was PM.
I can't remember who it was who said that Cummings was 100% right on the questions and 100% wrong on the answers.
The point about the Cabinet Room being less useful for decision making than in 1914 is exactly right.
The problem with Big Dom is always the same. He often correctly identifies a problem, then his solution is smash it all up, sack everybody and start again, but with him in charge and a couple of highly paid ML / AI people to do data analytics.....
I think he overrates himself bigtime on all that 'process' stuff. IDing problems is the easy bit. Where he is good imo is political strategizing and running a campaign. Winning the EU referendum and then masterminding the Johnson project from hung parliament and miles behind in the polls to an 80 seat GE majority within the space of a few months was an utter triumph.
Cummings keeps criticising the government structures as unsuitable. I'm minded to suggest that if you run into an unsuitable government structure in the morning, you ran into an unsuitable government structure. If you run into unsuitable government structures all pandemic, you're the unsuitable government structure.
It's also very clear that Johnson was never PM. Cummings thought he was PM.
Cummings is an interesting man. Being angry and smug at the same time is quite a difficult combination to pull off but he absolutely owns it.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second, chances are, I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
Courthouse News Service - Poll: Trump keeps big lead in Iowa, but Haley moves up to tie with DeSantis
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley “are on ground that you could only describe as shaky compared to the solid ground that Donald Trump stands on,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer.
DES MOINES, Iowa (CN) — Despite his legal troubles, former President Donald Trump maintains a commanding 27-point lead in Iowa over his nearest rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new poll published Monday by the Des Moines Register. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley moved up to tie for second with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Forty-three percent of Iowa Republicans likely to attend their party caucuses Jan. 15, 2024, declared Trump their top pick, which is up a tick from his support among 42% of likely GOP caucusgoers in the Register’s August poll....
The caucuses are in January, and a couple of months ahead of Super Tuesday or whatever they're calling it now. Given Trump's troubles, it's all to play for.
If Haley can knock out Tim Scott by then, and shade DeSantis - a reasonably likely combination - then she has a real shot at subsequently taking down a damaged Trump.
At somewhere around 10/1 for the nomination, I think she's decent value.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
I'm shite at all this - but if you had a VPN on your phone would that make WhatsApp more secure?
Only slightly. The bigger data security risk is that the whole thing is run by Facebook.
A VPN protects you from your ISP or mobile company snooping on you. The messages themselves are encrypted between devices anyway.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
I'm shite at all this - but if you had a VPN on your phone would that make WhatsApp more secure?
Nope, how would redirecting anything impact software with a central server?
Especially one where your primary id is your mobile phone number
Off topic, but related: First, I think the IRS should get an increase in its budget to better catch tax cheats. For the increase in justice mostly, but the money won't hurt.
Second, the reluctance of Republicans to approve such an increase is regrettable, but understandable, for anyone who knows about the "targeting controversy"...
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
WhatsApp is as secure as Suckerberg is a trustworthy, decent human being. See the problem there?
Start by moving to Signal
For government, there are a number of messaging systems that can be self hosted - so the government would actually control it.
Tried that. It is an awful app that barely works at times, and that, crucially, few people use. A messaging app that hardly anyone uses is rather pointless don't you think? You have to have WhatsApp anyway...
You have to have WhatsApp, about as much as you have to have a pile of cash in your wallet.
I'm shite at all this - but if you had a VPN on your phone would that make WhatsApp more secure?
Only slightly. The bigger data security risk is that the whole thing is run by Facebook.
A VPN protects you from your ISP or mobile company snooping on you. The messages themselves are encrypted between devices anyway.
Signal is pretty much WhatsApp without Suckerberg & Chums.
Think we might have a bit of coastal flooding later this week too as the winds pile up water on the East of the Atlantic and then funnel it into the North Sea on Friday and again on Sunday. Not a 1953 event but notable nonetheless.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
More Cummings... he's saying he deliberately did not pull Johnson back into meetings, like COBRA, early in the pandemic because he thought it would be counterproductive as Johnson would just try to dismiss the threat.
What is the Yousaf's statement "at odds with government policy" ? Link ?
A quick search turned up this (FWIW), which might well be confused, but seems not greatly contradictory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67261338 ..Humza Yousaf has denied deleting Whatsapp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish government has been accused of failing to hand over data to the UK Covid Inquiry. Senior government figures during the pandemic, including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have been accused of wiping messages or using an auto-delete function. Mr Yousaf said it was "certainly not true" that he had removed messages. He said his government would "fully" comply with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries. "I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry," the first minister told BBC Scotland News. "Government business isn't routinely done over WhatsApp and of course where any decisions were made they were appropriately recorded within our message management system. "If the Covid inquiry wants more information, needs more information, then I expect every minister, past and present, every government official or clinical adviser to comply."..
Sturgeon , the health secretary , medical Officer , deputy PM and shedloads of government officials have deleted their messages , they are as bad as Boris and his bunch of wrong uns
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
What is the Yousaf's statement "at odds with government policy" ? Link ?
A quick search turned up this (FWIW), which might well be confused, but seems not greatly contradictory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67261338 ..Humza Yousaf has denied deleting Whatsapp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish government has been accused of failing to hand over data to the UK Covid Inquiry. Senior government figures during the pandemic, including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have been accused of wiping messages or using an auto-delete function. Mr Yousaf said it was "certainly not true" that he had removed messages. He said his government would "fully" comply with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries. "I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry," the first minister told BBC Scotland News. "Government business isn't routinely done over WhatsApp and of course where any decisions were made they were appropriately recorded within our message management system. "If the Covid inquiry wants more information, needs more information, then I expect every minister, past and present, every government official or clinical adviser to comply."..
Sturgeon , the health secretary , medical Officer , deputy PM and shedloads of government officials have deleted their messages , they are as bad as Boris and his bunch of wrong uns
I don't recall but would not be surprised if some SNP member had not asked the PM about deleting whatsapp messages at PMQ's.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Heading back from Florence (currently waiting for traffic control to let us take off) - spent the last hour before heading to the airport sat at the Savoy talking to a man who claims to make shoes for Jimmy Choo and everyone else. Didn’t have the heart to say that I get mine from Solovair’s factory (including getting my own combinations done as 1 offs).
What is the Yousaf's statement "at odds with government policy" ? Link ?
A quick search turned up this (FWIW), which might well be confused, but seems not greatly contradictory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67261338 ..Humza Yousaf has denied deleting Whatsapp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish government has been accused of failing to hand over data to the UK Covid Inquiry. Senior government figures during the pandemic, including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have been accused of wiping messages or using an auto-delete function. Mr Yousaf said it was "certainly not true" that he had removed messages. He said his government would "fully" comply with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries. "I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry," the first minister told BBC Scotland News. "Government business isn't routinely done over WhatsApp and of course where any decisions were made they were appropriately recorded within our message management system. "If the Covid inquiry wants more information, needs more information, then I expect every minister, past and present, every government official or clinical adviser to comply."..
Sturgeon , the health secretary , medical Officer , deputy PM and shedloads of government officials have deleted their messages , they are as bad as Boris and his bunch of wrong uns
I don't recall but would not be surprised if some SNP member had not asked the PM about deleting whatsapp messages at PMQ's.
Westminster deleted Nicola and Humza’s WhatsApp messages, of course. There is nothing Westminster is not capable of, the swines.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Apparently the reason for the crazy price of top end M3 chips and the crazy number of different SKUs is TSMC are having problems with yield of 4mn production. So basically a load of the chips with lower core counts are really defective full fat ones and because yield is so low on the all singing all dancing M3 mega MAX pro SKU is mega expensive.
Is it just me, all the liberal use of Whatsapp through government seems errh a tad problematic from a security point of view.
It's an easy and secure thing to use.
I am so glad I didn't go into politics. I would be so buggered if my WhatsApps were made public.
Your messages might be secure but what other information does the app slurp up when you aren't looking?
Maybe you don't care but I'd 100% use a burner phone if I was forced to install it.
These are the permissions it has on my phone.
I suspect most people enable location as well.
What I don't like is that they read all your contacts so that they can 'match them with existing users for convenience'.
In other words - your phone number ends up with Meta just through knowing someone who uses WhatsApp.
And you can't request that they delete your shadow profile because you don't have a contract with them.
Never trust Zuckerberg is my motto.
Yes, I do I run a private XMPP server...
Are you using Windows on your laptop or pc? Windows that sends all your activity back to Microsoft? That is separate, of course, from Windows sending (sorry, backing up) your files to Microsoft in the cloud.
No, Linux. Although MS aren't as evil as Meta. And I backup to my own cloud in the garage.
What are you using for the backup, out of interest? We have ours off-site at the in-laws' using rsync, but I keep meaning to try out nextcloud etc (I actually know the founder, originally of owncloud, as we worked together at KDE). Bolted on syncthing a couple of years back which we have on a pi next to our router, grabbing photos from our phones and in turn backing up the in-laws' house.
We don't have a garage at present The in-laws are ~5 miles away, so it's not a Threads-proof solution, but in that scenario we'd have other concerns!
I have Nextcloud on a commercial webserver to share files but I'm not paying for enough space to use it as a backup so I couldn't really say much about it for that purpose. Looks OK as an application from what I've seen, though.
I just use a fairly basic rdiff-backup script to copy files to the garage NAS overnight which is good enough for me.
Plus a big USB drive at the in-laws, which is also not Threads-proof.
I tend not to have vast quantities of data or photographs on phones so I don't worry about them too much.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Apparently the reason for the crazy price of top end M3 chips and the crazy number of different SKUs is TSMC are having problems with yield of 4mn production. So basically a load of the chips with lower core counts are really defective full fat ones and because yield is so low on the all singing all dancing M3 mega MAX pro SKU is mega expensive.
Makes sense for the top-end ones. The production numbers are going to be relatively tiny as well, probably in the five figures per quarter, 1% of their total laptop sales.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Graham Hancock may have been right then
Yes - as regards Gobekli Tepe and the Tas Tepeler - yes. He almost certainly is right
I'm shite at all this - but if you had a VPN on your phone would that make WhatsApp more secure?
WhatsApp is very secure at the message level, and it can also do fully end-to-end encrypted backups. What's not secure is metadata, and people relying on the default backup, or separate device backups, and no messaging system is secure at the other end, that all comes down to trusting who you message. Forget disappearing messages, that's snake oil.
That said I think much of the criticism of WhatsApp is way off the mark. Signal may be best, but WhatsApp (which uses the same cryptographic protocol as Signal) is probably second best is for no reason other than there should be a lot of people looking for flaws in what it does. Use something obscure and you can find yourself using something that has been persistently flawed, that has happened a ridiculous number of times with supposedly secure cryptographic software.
A VPN will make no difference to the security, all that would do is encyrpt the already encrypted connections to the WhatsApp servers and to Google Drive or iCloud.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Graham Hancock may have been right then
Yes - as regards Gobekli Tepe and the Tas Tepeler - yes. He almost certainly is right
His Netflix series is beautifully bonkers...or maybe its not all bonkers.
Pissing down again Autumn trees could snap like twigs when Storm Ciaran comes
Ha.
Met Office / UKV model looks nasty for Cornwall and the south coast as far as the Isle of Wight, though there's still quite a bit of variation in the predictions. Channel Islands look really bad.
Amazing how this storm could be named before it even existed. It is now finally visible off Newfoundland.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
Apparently the reason for the crazy price of top end M3 chips and the crazy number of different SKUs is TSMC are having problems with yield of 4mn production. So basically a load of the chips with lower core counts are really defective full fat ones and because yield is so low on the all singing all dancing M3 mega MAX pro SKU is mega expensive.
That's actually fairly standard, especially for new processes. The good thing is they're getting a usable (in products) amount of top-end chips out.
I've seen wafers where over three-quarters of the 'chips' remain after testing. That's bad.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oi! You need more processor power! You *always* need more processor power...
Mrs J needs a job..
(At least, you want more energy efficiency in your chips...)
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Heading back from Florence (currently waiting for traffic control to let us take off) - spent the last hour before heading to the airport sat at the Savoy talking to a man who claims to make shoes for Jimmy Choo and everyone else. Didn’t have the heart to say that I get mine from Solovair’s factory (including getting my own combinations done as 1 offs).
I too am a big fan of Solovair!
The factory shop is well worth a stop, though slightly odd hours.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 12 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
It is certainly much more believable that is result of the Israelis lobbing one of their big toys, rather than the small dent in the ground that was seen in the hospital car park.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Ironically, I keep some working pre-2010 hardware around, just in case it's ever discovered the government has an on-chip backdoor into some security hardware devices (think yubikeys and the like) released since then.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Can't you put Linux on it?
Not SO friendly. And if I want to tinker with linux it tends to be on RPi's these days...
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
From about 2015, laptops chips started to sacrifice speed in favour of thinness and longer battery size. It wasn't until about 2021 that they caught back up. If you are willing to put up with the weight, mid-2010 laptops are still usable.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Ironically, I keep some working pre-2010 hardware around, just in case it's ever discovered the government has an on-chip backdoor into some security hardware devices (think yubikeys and the like) released since then.
Unlike Jeff Goldblume, I doubt either of us is going to save the world with a 2005 iBook.
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
Not if you're on the A9 heading for Inverness and the Highlands. TWO HOUR delays, both ways, due to roadworks. And there is no realistic alternative route.
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
It is certainly much more believable that is result of the Israelis lobbing one of their big toys, rather than the small dent in the ground that was seen in the hospital car park.
Any point in Sky broadcasting Covid enquiry coverage when the apologist for language talks over it all the time? There was I thinking Cummings talked like a maiden aunt.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
There's probably a Windows XP laptop somewhere in an NHS hospital wired up to a scanner.
Apparently the reason for the crazy price of top end M3 chips and the crazy number of different SKUs is TSMC are having problems with yield of 4mn production. So basically a load of the chips with lower core counts are really defective full fat ones and because yield is so low on the all singing all dancing M3 mega MAX pro SKU is mega expensive.
That's actually fairly standard, especially for new processes. The good thing is they're getting a usable (in products) amount of top-end chips out.
I've seen wafers where over three-quarters of the 'chips' remain after testing. That's bad.
NVIDIA did this an a huge scale, for years. People said that only a single digit percentage of the huge chips they were making for GPU would be perfect. Which turned out to only be a slight exaggeration.
But only a very few people were paying top dollar for the top end max compute performance.
So they would test a whole chip and blow "fuses" in the chip to isolate the dead sections. Which would leave lots for the various grades of graphics card. The perfect ones were the top end devices.
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Ironically, I keep some working pre-2010 hardware around, just in case it's ever discovered the government has an on-chip backdoor into some security hardware devices (think yubikeys and the like) released since then.
Unlike Jeff Goldblume, I doubt either of us is going to save the world with a 2005 iBook.
What you need is an old Lenovo ThinkPad. They are so robust you can hit a bad guy in the head and bring them down without breaking it
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
There's probably a Windows XP laptop somewhere in an NHS hospital wired up to a scanner.
Or a CNC machine in a dusty workshop.
Last time I had an MRI (back in 2019) the person operating it was using XP.
BBC News - A huge explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has reportedly killed dozens. Hamas officials have blamed an Israeli strike. The IDF is yet to comment.
What is the Yousaf's statement "at odds with government policy" ? Link ?
A quick search turned up this (FWIW), which might well be confused, but seems not greatly contradictory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67261338 ..Humza Yousaf has denied deleting Whatsapp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish government has been accused of failing to hand over data to the UK Covid Inquiry. Senior government figures during the pandemic, including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have been accused of wiping messages or using an auto-delete function. Mr Yousaf said it was "certainly not true" that he had removed messages. He said his government would "fully" comply with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries. "I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry," the first minister told BBC Scotland News. "Government business isn't routinely done over WhatsApp and of course where any decisions were made they were appropriately recorded within our message management system. "If the Covid inquiry wants more information, needs more information, then I expect every minister, past and present, every government official or clinical adviser to comply."..
Elsewhere he says that the policy was to delete after 28 days - though after May 2020 that was not tenable - but that he has his WhatsApp which suggests he was not deleting in line with government policy. In any event, the policy said that deletion should only occur after review and a record made. So did that happen?
His replies are all over the place. The Inquiry Chair has now issued a S.21 Order.
Government retention policy is an absolute mess from what I can see. It would not pass muster in a moderately well run bank and is way worse than the sort of document retention policies I had in place a decade or more ago. I recently did a webinar on WhatsApp comms: retention / monitoring and the rest. There are solutions and sensible policies out there. But the civil service and government seem to be absolute amateurs. It is unforgivable.
What is the Yousaf's statement "at odds with government policy" ? Link ?
A quick search turned up this (FWIW), which might well be confused, but seems not greatly contradictory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67261338 ..Humza Yousaf has denied deleting Whatsapp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish government has been accused of failing to hand over data to the UK Covid Inquiry. Senior government figures during the pandemic, including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have been accused of wiping messages or using an auto-delete function. Mr Yousaf said it was "certainly not true" that he had removed messages. He said his government would "fully" comply with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries. "I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry," the first minister told BBC Scotland News. "Government business isn't routinely done over WhatsApp and of course where any decisions were made they were appropriately recorded within our message management system. "If the Covid inquiry wants more information, needs more information, then I expect every minister, past and present, every government official or clinical adviser to comply."..
Elsewhere he says that the policy was to delete after 28 days - though after May 2020 that was not tenable - but that he has his WhatsApp which suggests he was not deleting in line with government policy. In any event, the policy said that deletion should only occur after review and a record made. So did that happen?
His replies are all over the place. The Inquiry Chair has now issued a S.21 Order.
Government retention policy is an absolute mess from what I can see. It would not pass muster in a moderately well run bank and is way worse than the sort of document retention policies I had in place a decade or more ago. I recently did a webinar on WhatsApp comms: retention / monitoring and the rest. There are solutions and sensible policies out there. But the civil service and government seem to be absolute amateurs. It is unforgivable.
(Though that number may not be that big. They may just be saying: "shall we go to MacLeans' for lunch?". And a friend's ex could get through that many texts in a few months. Back in the days when texts cost real money...)
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
Pissing down again Autumn trees could snap like twigs when Storm Ciaran comes
Ha.
Met Office / UKV model looks nasty for Cornwall and the south coast as far as the Isle of Wight, though there's still quite a bit of variation in the predictions. Channel Islands look really bad.
Amazing how this storm could be named before it even existed. It is now finally visible off Newfoundland.
The GFS evening run looks similar to UKV but ICON is the most extreme, slamming Western France with wind gusts hitting 200kph or 125mph just off Finistere. Wouldn't want to be taking Brittany Ferries to Santander this week.
I don't know what ICON is like for over-egging windspeeds but its speeds at other times this week are consistent with other models. Arpege also takes things into France with gusts up to 180kph. Both are much less severe for the UK.
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
Thatcher's cabinet had proper poshos in it and they handled the AIDS crisis brilliantly.
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
Thatcher's cabinet had proper poshos in it and they handled the AIDS crisis brilliantly.
'Brilliantly' is perhaps too strong, to begin with - there was a bit of anti-gay prejudice from certain political elements, certainly within the wider party. But that got pushed out fairly quickly, and, overall, compared with some other cabinets ...
Customising the new MacBooks to the highest specs sets you back £7,299.
LOL....I knew when they were giving it the its only $1600 there was going to be a massive sting in the tail.
I mean do I really need 128 GB of RAM?
If you’re doing game engine rendering, or copious amounts of 4k video editing, then hell yeah.
Only a handful of years ago, that spec would be a £30-50k workstation. Now it’s in a laptop!
I'm currently contemplating an upgrade to 128GB and 16 core, but for £1500 not £7000.
Photogrammetry is memory hungry...
There is a massive Apple “tax” but a lot of people are willing to pay it.
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second chances, are I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
My M1 max (bought soon after launch) is still far too fast for 90% of the things I use it for, including photo and video editing. It's a little slower than I'd like for AI image generation and it's slow running a local LLM (though I would probably buy a PC with twin 4090s if I needed such things regularly, as they're better supported). Battery life is still a solid 10-11 hours, and the large screen is excellent for work on the go.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Oh I need the power - and if I sell it early next year the value of the M1 Max I currently have won’t be impacted that much.
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
My 13 year old air (Battery replaced in 2021) still enjoys a quiet retirement as an occasional email and browsing device, and spends most of its golden years as a media centre plugged into my 4k tv.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
My Mac stuff tends be put out to pasture due to lack of security updates rather than hardware failure.
Ironically, I keep some working pre-2010 hardware around, just in case it's ever discovered the government has an on-chip backdoor into some security hardware devices (think yubikeys and the like) released since then.
Unlike Jeff Goldblume, I doubt either of us is going to save the world with a 2005 iBook.
You mean that floppy disk with a virus I've been keeping from 1997 *won't* defeat an alien invasion?
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
Thatcher's cabinet had proper poshos in it and they handled the AIDS crisis brilliantly.
IIRC Edwina Currie, Norman Fowler and David Mellor
My main takeaway from the Dominic Cummings session today is that the UK's Covid response was severely handicapped at a crucial point in February 2020 because so many of the key players in government were away skiing. Has there ever been more compelling evidence that there are too many posh people in positions of authority in this country?
Thatcher's cabinet had proper poshos in it and they handled the AIDS crisis brilliantly.
'Brilliantly' is perhaps too strong, to begin with - there was a bit of anti-gay prejudice from certain political elements, certainly within the wider party. But that got pushed out fairly quickly, and, overall, compared with some other cabinets ...
I consider Norman Fowler and Thatcher (and many others) secular saints. Thanks to them hundreds of thousands of gay men are alive today who otherwise wouldn't be.
Yes Thatcher wanted it to be a moral hygiene campaign but once she saw the numbers she let the cabinet overrule her because she understood exponential growth.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Looks as if will be pretty impressive when they finish it. Looks like all the workers are having a siesta in that image.
The poignant thing is that originally it would have been painted in really garish - to our eyes - colours. Vivid reds and blues and whites. Like a fairground attraction
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Graham Hancock may have been right then
I hardly think paint is proof that Graham Hancock is right! We have cave paintings going back 64,000 years. Paintings, i.e. uses of paint. Something being painted a mere 6,000 years ago is interesting, but hardly groundbreaking.
Comments
https://oct7map.com/
Second, the reluctance of Republicans to approve such an increase is regrettable, but understandable, for anyone who knows about the "targeting controversy":
"Over the two years between April 2010 and April 2012, the IRS essentially placed on hold the processing of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exemption status received from organizations with "Tea Party", "patriots", or "9/12" in their names. While apparently none of these organizations' applications were denied during this period,[Note 2] only 4 were approved.[45] During the same general period, the agency approved applications from several dozen presumably liberal-leaning organizations whose names included terms such as "progressive", "progress", "liberal", or "equality".[45][46] However, the IRS also selected several progressive- or Democratic-leaning organizations for increased scrutiny. An affiliate of the liberal group Emerge America had its request for tax-exempt status denied, leading to a review (and the eventual revocation) of the larger Emerge America organization's tax-exempt status.[44] The conservative National Review states that a November 2010 version of the IRS's BOLO list indicates that liberal and conservative groups were in fact treated differently because liberal groups could be approved for tax-exempt status by line agents, while tea party groups could not."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_targeting_controversy
Here's what Rachel Maddow and John Stewart had to say about the scandal:
"MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said: "There is a reasonable fear by all of us, by any of us, that the kind of power the IRS has could be misused," she further said that this scrutiny of Tea Party groups was "not fair."[89]
Comedy Central's Jon Stewart stated that the controversy had taken "the last arrow in your pro-governance quiver," he further said that this threw doubt on President Obama's "managerial competence" and had proven correct "conspiracy theorists," moving the burden of proof onto federal authorities."
As I assume almost all of you know, neither of them are conservatives.
We don't have a garage at present
Business phone / chat / slack etc etc etc is used exclusively for professional stuff. I don't do anything personal on it, I certainly don't bitch about others.
Then I have my personal phone that doesn't discuss anything related to business.
By the banks of the silvery Tay
The waters flow fast night and day.
With Dundee at its mouth,
And Fife to the south,
You can see why they don't want to stay.
Many voices, @LadyG ,
@eadric, miss @SeanT
I have an M1 Max and while I’m not tempted to upgrade this second, chances are, I will be doing so sooner rather than later ( probably 14” max with a stupid amount of memory)
If Haley can knock out Tim Scott by then, and shade DeSantis - a reasonably likely combination - then she has a real shot at subsequently taking down a damaged Trump.
At somewhere around 10/1 for the nomination, I think she's decent value.
A VPN protects you from your ISP or mobile company snooping on you. The messages themselves are encrypted between devices anyway.
Especially one where your primary id is your mobile phone number
"A very strong jetstream over the Atlantic today. Currently we are tracking 6 aircraft with ground speed above 650 knots."
https://x.com/flightradar24/status/1719304898943111283?s=20
Think we might have a bit of coastal flooding later this week too as the winds pile up water on the East of the Atlantic and then funnel it into the North Sea on Friday and again on Sunday. Not a 1953 event but notable nonetheless.
I see no compelling reason to upgrade for now. Most people simply don't need the kind of processing power currently on offer. I find a top of the line Mac is good for at least five years from purchase, and often more. PC laptops generally give you 2-3 years max, and are rarely trouble free, so the Apple "tax" actually works out equivalent or cheaper if you keep your device 5-6 years.
Seriously. What a privilege to see it in this slanted light
Autumn trees could snap like twigs
when Storm Ciaran comes
The other thing to remember is that apple products retain their value because even a 2 year old laptop still has 3-4 years more life in it.
NEW FAVOURITE GREEK TEMPLE IN THE WORLD
But now the colour and polish is all gone and you’re left with the naked golden limestone - which looks so much better (especially to contemporary tastes) - and absolutely gorgeous in slanted October sun
So it’s good it was ruined
It now turns out that Gobekli Tepe was painted. They’ve found scarlet pigment. It would have been multicoloured. It is inexplicable. A painted sequence of temple towns buried 10,000 years ago. An utterly confounding civilisation, 6000 years before “civilisation”
Shame about the small pic.
I just use a fairly basic rdiff-backup script to copy files to the garage NAS overnight which is good enough for me.
Plus a big USB drive at the in-laws, which is also not Threads-proof.
I tend not to have vast quantities of data or photographs on phones so I don't worry about them too much.
That said I think much of the criticism of WhatsApp is way off the mark. Signal may be best, but WhatsApp (which uses the same cryptographic protocol as Signal) is probably second best is for no reason other than there should be a lot of people looking for flaws in what it does. Use something obscure and you can find yourself using something that has been persistently flawed, that has happened a ridiculous number of times with supposedly secure cryptographic software.
A VPN will make no difference to the security, all that would do is encyrpt the already encrypted connections to the WhatsApp servers and to Google Drive or iCloud.
We can't continue to play the old games of Washington, where emergency funding is not paid for.
We are running a $2 trillion deficit*. We have to change the way Washington works.
I am proud to support Israeli aid, paid for (sic) by clawing back Biden's IRS battalion.
https://twitter.com/ByronDonalds/status/1719365215526003015
*He is at least young enough not to have been around to vote for Trump's tax cut, which is responsible for a large part of that.
Met Office / UKV model looks nasty for Cornwall and the south coast as far as the Isle of Wight, though there's still quite a bit of variation in the predictions. Channel Islands look really bad.
Amazing how this storm could be named before it even existed. It is now finally visible off Newfoundland.
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1719373987010982225
Getting over excited. I’ll stop now
Or it would, if they actually had internal consistency...
I've seen wafers where over three-quarters of the 'chips' remain after testing. That's bad.
Mrs J needs a job..
(At least, you want more energy efficiency in your chips...)
The factory shop is well worth a stop, though slightly odd hours.
I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old windows laptop with any practical use at all.
I often think Apple products are the best contemporary example of the Vimes Boot Theory...
- Seb's Random Tech: https://www.youtube.com/@SebisRandomTech
- RetroReverie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul7RvXM9CIA
From about 2015, laptops chips started to sacrifice speed in favour of thinness and longer battery size. It wasn't until about 2021 that they caught back up. If you are willing to put up with the weight, mid-2010 laptops are still usable.Best take a gyrocopter with you..
16% should disqualify him from office
17% casts doubts, not disqualifying
67% not relevant to fitness for office
https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1719394842906624146
Or a CNC machine in a dusty workshop.
But only a very few people were paying top dollar for the top end max compute performance.
So they would test a whole chip and blow "fuses" in the chip to isolate the dead sections. Which would leave lots for the various grades of graphics card. The perfect ones were the top end devices.
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/tesla-c1060.c1539
"I challenge anyone to find me a 13 year old's lap with any practical use at all."
His replies are all over the place. The Inquiry Chair has now issued a S.21 Order.
Government retention policy is an absolute mess from what I can see. It would not pass muster in a moderately well run bank and is way worse than the sort of document retention policies I had in place a decade or more ago. I recently did a webinar on WhatsApp comms: retention / monitoring and the rest. There are solutions and sensible policies out there. But the civil service and government seem to be absolute amateurs. It is unforgivable.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67275193
(Though that number may not be that big. They may just be saying: "shall we go to MacLeans' for lunch?". And a friend's ex could get through that many texts in a few months. Back in the days when texts cost real money...)
I don't know what ICON is like for over-egging windspeeds but its speeds at other times this week are consistent with other models. Arpege also takes things into France with gusts up to 180kph. Both are much less severe for the UK.
*cries in crash override*
"The handling of it was a disaster & caused huge pain to a lot of people that I very much regret.
"But in terms of my actual actions in going North.. I acted entirely reasonably and legally, and did not break any rules."
https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1719399948523810937
Yes Thatcher wanted it to be a moral hygiene campaign but once she saw the numbers she let the cabinet overrule her because she understood exponential growth.
Look at how badly France handled it.
https://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2023-10-31/tempete-ciaran-risque-maximal-de-submersion-sur-les-cotes-68693