Non-IT News Thread
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Coronavirus: White House concedes US lacks enough test kits
The White House has acknowledged the nation does not have enough coronavirus test kits as cases of the disease ticked upwards on both US coasts.
Vice-President Mike Pence said the Trump administration would not be able to meet its objective of delivering one million testing kits this week. Congress meanwhile moved with unusual speed to approve a bumper emergency aid package to combat the outbreak. Globally, authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus. The vast majority - more than 80,000 - are in China, where the virus originated. Worldwide, more than 3,000 people have died. -
Bacon saved after pedometer-eating pig's poo starts farm fire
A peckish pig who swallowed a pedometer ended up sparking a fire in its pen.
Fire crews were called to a farm near Bramham, Leeds, at about 14:00 GMT on Saturday after copper from the pedometer's batteries apparently reacted with the pig's excrement and dry bedding.The pedometers were being used on pigs to prove they were free-range. No pigs or people were hurt in the fire.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had gone to "save the bacon".
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Max Van Sydow passed away
What a great actor -
@wirestyle22 said in Non-IT News Thread:
Max Van Sydow passed away
What a great actorSeventh Seal, such a classic
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He did Wild Strawberries, too, which I really liked.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
@wirestyle22 said in Non-IT News Thread:
Max Van Sydow passed away
What a great actorSeventh Seal, such a classic
A truly great film. He was in a lot of greats actually
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
He did Wild Strawberries, too, which I really liked.
What dreams may come, The diving bell and the butterfly
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Coronavirus: Italy in 'massive shock therapy' pledge to offset virus impact
Italy's government has pledged to further increase spending in a "massive shock therapy" to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The country is struggling to adapt to the most restrictive measures since World War Two, introduced on Sunday. Up to 16 million people in northern Italy now need permission to travel under quarantine rules. With 366 deaths now confirmed, Italy is the worst-hit country in the world after China. In a separate development, six people died in a prison riot in the city of Modena amid protests at the introduction of new restrictions, local media report. -
Toilet paper caper: Utah police left without toilet paper after coronavirus preppers take it all
‘We love our community and we are here to serve you, but cops need toilet paper too!’
The coronavirus crisis continues to sweep across the nation and some are taking preparation into their own hands, one toilet paper roll at a time. The Kaysville Police Department, in Utah, took to Facebook on Friday, saying all of the toilet paper in its public restrooms was stolen. Police say they suspect the toilet paper was taken by residents that are preparing for the coronavirus. -
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Coronavirus: Troops sent to New York 'containment zone'
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a one-mile (1.6km) coronavirus "containment zone" around a town north of New York City.
New Rochelle has seen "probably the largest cluster" of US cases, he said. National Guard troops will be used to clean schools in the town and deliver food to any quarantined individuals. The death toll in Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the virus, rose to 631 as the authorities placed the whole country in lockdown. The latest increase in deaths in Italy - 168 - is the biggest the country has recorded in a single day, and the total number of cases went from 9,172 to 10,149. -
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities. -
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities.The right to repair has been an a hot button issue for a long time, particularly with things like Tractors that are becoming more advanced, GPS connected automatons that farmers classically could repair themselves.
The issues come in with where manufacturers say you can fix the physical item, but if the software is "broken" you need to pay the manufacturer to fix the issue (install updated software) vs the farmer creating and installing their own software.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities.This is only desirable if they require software manufacturers (like Google for Android, and Samnsung for their changes to said Android, and AT&T for their said changes to Android) support the software for security issues longer.
I'm looking at possibly implementing a ban on Android devices more than 2 years old because most vendors drop updates after that. And by two years old, I don't mean two year from purchase, but two years from device initial release. -
@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities.The right to repair has been an a hot button issue for a long time, particularly with things like Tractors that are becoming more advanced, GPS connected automatons that farmers classically could repair themselves.
The issues come in with where manufacturers say you can fix the physical item, but if the software is "broken" you need to pay the manufacturer to fix the issue (install updated software) vs the farmer creating and installing their own software.
I see the situation changing - they won't sell those items anymore, instead they will only be available for lease, period.
I don't have a general issue with this - the manufacturers need a reason to keep maintaining old stuff.
Take Windows for example, MS gets maybe $60 for a copy of Windows home put on a desktop computer, but has said they will supply Windows updates for 10+ years for no extra charge? It's likely a company can't realistically survive on that.
Purely consumer based companies need to keep charging, the once and done thing isn't sustainable, assuming the vendor must continue to supply something to support the old versions. -
@Dashrender said in Non-IT News Thread:
@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities.The right to repair has been an a hot button issue for a long time, particularly with things like Tractors that are becoming more advanced, GPS connected automatons that farmers classically could repair themselves.
The issues come in with where manufacturers say you can fix the physical item, but if the software is "broken" you need to pay the manufacturer to fix the issue (install updated software) vs the farmer creating and installing their own software.
I see the situation changing - they won't sell those items anymore, instead they will only be available for lease, period.
I don't have a general issue with this - the manufacturers need a reason to keep maintaining old stuff.
Take Windows for example, MS gets maybe $60 for a copy of Windows home put on a desktop computer, but has said they will supply Windows updates for 10+ years for no extra charge? It's likely a company can't realistically survive on that.
Purely consumer based companies need to keep charging, the once and done thing isn't sustainable, assuming the vendor must continue to supply something to support the old versions.The issue isn't about that original $60 dollars and maintain it for 10 years by supplying free updates.
The issue would be comparable if you or I could create a security or bug fix for Windows itself. We can't directly do this, we can fix the hardware in a desktop for example (replace a RAM module or the CPU etc) but we can't fix something inside of Windows.
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@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@Dashrender said in Non-IT News Thread:
@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Climate change: New rules could spell end of 'throwaway culture
New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned.
The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products are designed and manufactured so they last - and so they're repairable if they go wrong. It should mean that your phone lasts longer and proves easier to fix. That may be especially true if the display or the battery needs changing. It's part of a worldwide movement called the Right to Repair, which has spawned citizens' repair workshops in several UK cities.The right to repair has been an a hot button issue for a long time, particularly with things like Tractors that are becoming more advanced, GPS connected automatons that farmers classically could repair themselves.
The issues come in with where manufacturers say you can fix the physical item, but if the software is "broken" you need to pay the manufacturer to fix the issue (install updated software) vs the farmer creating and installing their own software.
I see the situation changing - they won't sell those items anymore, instead they will only be available for lease, period.
I don't have a general issue with this - the manufacturers need a reason to keep maintaining old stuff.
Take Windows for example, MS gets maybe $60 for a copy of Windows home put on a desktop computer, but has said they will supply Windows updates for 10+ years for no extra charge? It's likely a company can't realistically survive on that.
Purely consumer based companies need to keep charging, the once and done thing isn't sustainable, assuming the vendor must continue to supply something to support the old versions.The issue isn't about that original $60 dollars and maintain it for 10 years by supplying free updates.
The issue would be comparable if you or I could create a security or bug fix for Windows itself. We can't directly do this, we can fix the hardware in a desktop for example (replace a RAM module or the CPU etc) but we can't fix something inside of Windows.
Oh but we can. And there are companies that do, i can't find the company that is reverse engineering the updates MS is releasing for businesses who pay, but they are and they are making those updates available to consumers free.
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@Dashrender said in Non-IT News Thread:
Oh but we can. And there are companies that do, i can't find the company that is reverse engineering the updates MS is releasing for businesses who pay, but they are and they are making those updates available to consumers free.
How / why would MS allow third parties to access their source code to create bug/security fixes? I've never heard of this, and it kind of flies in the face of every practice that has ever been expressed in any EULA from MS.
In any scenario, Tractor companies like Caterpillar say "absolutely no, you can't access the source code of the tractor, because you could then potentially steal the source code to build your own tractor".
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@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@Dashrender said in Non-IT News Thread:
Oh but we can. And there are companies that do, i can't find the company that is reverse engineering the updates MS is releasing for businesses who pay, but they are and they are making those updates available to consumers free.
How / why would MS allow third parties to access their source code to create bug/security fixes? I've never heard of this, and it kind of flies in the face of every practice that has ever been expressed in any EULA from MS.
In any scenario, Tractor companies like Caterpillar say "absolutely no, you can't access the source code of the tractor, because you could then potentially steal the source code to build your own tractor".
I never said anyone accessed source code. This third pary (and many others, including hackers) get the patch, decompile it, discover what it does, then create their own patch that does the same function. I'm pretty sure MS can't make that part illegal.
Of course with the tractors, the situation is different, unlike an OS where you're expected to modify it for your own uses, the tractor software EULA I'm guess specifically expressly forbids you to modify it, so you're right, you likely aren't legally allowed to fix the software on your tractor, even if you do know how to.
This is an interesting situation - do/should we treat software and hardware the same? I can definitely get behind Right to Repair on physical things, software seems different, at least presently.
Now I say that - and I totally believe that software should not be patient-able, though copywrite I suppose could apply, but I don't know if you are allowed to modify copywritten materials for personal use without paying or legal issues.
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@Dashrender said in Non-IT News Thread:
This is an interesting situation - do/should we treat software and hardware the same? I can definitely get behind Right to Repair on physical things, software seems different, at least presently.
That's the all important question. If you bought something (whatever it is) and you own it, you should be able to have the right to fix it. Correct?
Which the question then comes in, since you own the device did you just license the operating system?Or was the OS purchased and now owned by you to fix any bugs that a MS may have let slide through?
