On Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:30:07 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 wrote:

> Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote at 23:02 this Friday (GMT):
>>
>> On Wed, 9 Oct 2024 16:00:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 wrote:
>>
>>> Powershell isn't very good IMO ...
>>
>> It tries to be “object-oriented”.
>
> It what?

The way it pipes data through commands.

On Wed, 9 Oct 2024 20:35:12 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> On 2024-10-09 12:00 p.m., candycanearter07 wrote:
>>
>> Powershell isn't very good IMO, the syntax is completely different from
>> almost any other kind of terminal and the blue/yellow feels off to me.
>
> I find it incredibly unintuitive, but I will be the first to admit that
> it is an insanely powerful tool.

Only if your standard of comparison is CMD.EXE.

On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:44:27 -0400, DFS wrote:

> On 10/13/2024 2:56 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>
>>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/A or
>>> C# or C++.
>>
>> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used
>> with the Registry.
>
> No duh. It's not a normal file.

Funny, weren’t you trying to claim earlier that the Registry could indeed
be manipulated as easily as Linux config files?

Le 2024-10-15 à 01 h 30, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:44:27 -0400, DFS wrote:
>
>> On 10/13/2024 2:56 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>
>>> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>
>>>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/A or
>>>> C# or C++.
>>>
>>> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used
>>> with the Registry.
>>
>> No duh. It's not a normal file.
>
> Funny, weren’t you trying to claim earlier that the Registry could indeed
> be manipulated as easily as Linux config files?

That claim would be erroneous. The mere fact that you have no idea where
to go in the registry to find the configuration of a particular setting
speaks volumes. They purposefully made the registry difficult to
navigate with entries like fff34sSFD2232--11 that there is no denying
Linux is much easier.

To give you an example, to set my battery to charge no further than 80%
in Windows, I would need to install the ArmouryCrate software or the
G-Helper software substitute. The former is heavy and causes high
temperatures, the latter is light but buggy. In Linux, I simply have to
install tlp and remove a # in the /etc/tlp.conf file. Of course, you
then restart tlp and you're good. After that, you forget that it even
exists.

--
CrudeSausage
Paleoconservative, Catholic, Christ is king.

On 10/15/2024 9:01 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
> Le 2024-10-15 à 01 h 30, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
>> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:44:27 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>
>>> On 10/13/2024 2:56 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/A or
>>>>> C# or C++.
>>>>
>>>> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used
>>>> with the Registry.
>>>
>>> No duh.  It's not a normal file.
>>
>> Funny, weren’t you trying to claim earlier that the Registry could indeed
>> be manipulated as easily as Linux config files?
>
> That claim would be erroneous.

I never made that claim, or anything like it.

Larry Duh's lie about me is erroneous. He said it was impossible to
compare the current Registry settings to previous ones, or make comments
in the Registry about changes you made. Both are possible, so I
corrected him. Now he's lying about what I said.

I expect nothing less than such Snittish behavior from Linux lusers.

> The mere fact that you have no idea where
> to go in the registry to find the configuration of a particular setting
> speaks volumes.

You very very rarely have to visit the crazed monstrosity MS calls the
Registry. Your app settings are almost always made via a GUI, which is
a superior way to configure software.

Example: open SumatraPDF. Go to menu | Settings | Advanced Options.
It's a joke (like the slrn config file). It tells you to go to a
website for documentation. Every one of those settings should be on a
GUI with checkboxes, dropdowns and textboxes, grouped together
logically, with onscreen documentation and/or a mouse tip that shows up
when you hover.

GUI config screens should, and usually do, read a configuration text
file when they open, and write it when you click Save.

> They purposefully made the registry difficult to
> navigate with entries like fff34sSFD2232--11 that there is no denying
> Linux is much easier.

Google Generative AI says "The Windows Registry sometimes uses seemingly
obfuscated names for keys as a security measure to make it harder for
malicious actors to easily locate and manipulate sensitive data stored
within the registry, especially when combined with techniques like using
null characters to hide entries from standard registry editors,
effectively creating a layer of obscurity that requires more advanced
tools to access and modify."

Le 2024-10-15 à 11 h 27, DFS a écrit :
> On 10/15/2024 9:01 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
>> Le 2024-10-15 à 01 h 30, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
>>> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:44:27 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 10/13/2024 2:56 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/
>>>>>> A or
>>>>>> C# or C++.
>>>>>
>>>>> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used
>>>>> with the Registry.
>>>>
>>>> No duh.  It's not a normal file.
>>>
>>> Funny, weren’t you trying to claim earlier that the Registry could
>>> indeed
>>> be manipulated as easily as Linux config files?
>>
>> That claim would be erroneous.
>
> I never made that claim, or anything like it.
>
> Larry Duh's lie about me is erroneous.  He said it was impossible to
> compare the current Registry settings to previous ones, or make comments
> in the Registry about changes you made.  Both are possible, so I
> corrected him.  Now he's lying about what I said.
>
> I expect nothing less than such Snittish behavior from Linux lusers.

There's no denying that a few of them are serial liars.

>> The mere fact that you have no idea where to go in the registry to
>> find the configuration of a particular setting speaks volumes.
>
> You very very rarely have to visit the crazed monstrosity MS calls the
> Registry.  Your app settings are almost always made via a GUI, which is
> a superior way to configure software.
>
> Example: open SumatraPDF.  Go to menu | Settings | Advanced Options.
> It's a joke (like the slrn config file).  It tells you to go to a
> website for documentation.  Every one of those settings should be on a
> GUI with checkboxes, dropdowns and textboxes, grouped together
> logically, with onscreen documentation and/or a mouse tip that shows up
> when you hover.
>
> GUI config screens should, and usually do, read a configuration text
> file when they open, and write it when you click Save.

It _is_ a better way to configure things... if it works. If it doesn't,
you're stuck needing to configure the files directly. In Linux, it's
trivial; in Windows, even the "experts" are lost and will tell you that
you should reset the software, run SFC or DISM.

>> They purposefully made the registry difficult to navigate with entries
>> like fff34sSFD2232--11 that there is no denying Linux is much easier.
>
> Google Generative AI says "The Windows Registry sometimes uses seemingly
> obfuscated names for keys as a security measure to make it harder for
> malicious actors to easily locate and manipulate sensitive data stored
> within the registry, especially when combined with techniques like using
> null characters to hide entries from standard registry editors,
> effectively creating a layer of obscurity that requires more advanced
> tools to access and modify."

Ah, that actually makes a lot of sense.

--
CrudeSausage
Paleoconservative, Catholic, Christ is king.

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote at 06:56 this Sunday (GMT):
> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>
>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/A or
>> C# or C++.
>
> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used with
> the Registry. On *nix systems, config files are just ordinary text files,
> just located in a special directory, nothing more -- the same file-
> manipulation commands work with those files as they work with any other
> files.
>
> In particular, you can use your choice of text editor to examine/modify
> them. And standard tools like diff and patch to manage changes and
> propagate them from one installation to another.
>
> Some sysadmins even put their entire /etc directory under version control.
>
> Dimdows, of course, has never heard of any of this.

Putting /etc under version control is definitely a cool idea, reminds me
of how nixOS handles stuff.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:27:02 -0400, DFS wrote:

> On 10/15/2024 9:01 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
>>
>> Le 2024-10-15 à 01 h 30, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
>>>
>>> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:44:27 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 10/13/2024 2:56 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, 12 Oct 2024 19:51:52 -0400, DFS wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> You've been able to read the Registry since the beginning with VB/A
>>>>>> or C# or C++.
>>>>>
>>>>> With special APIs. Normal file-manipulation commands cannot be used
>>>>> with the Registry.
>>>>
>>>> No duh.  It's not a normal file.
>>>
>>> Funny, weren’t you trying to claim earlier that the Registry could
>>> indeed be manipulated as easily as Linux config files?
>>
>> That claim would be erroneous.
>
> I never made that claim, or anything like it.

Here is the claim I made:

On Linux, they are all text files. Not only can you understand their
contents, you can use diff between different versions to see what has
changed, and copy/paste accordingly.

You tried to refute that claim. Yes or no?

On Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:27:02 -0400, DFS wrote:

> Google Generative AI says "The Windows Registry sometimes uses seemingly
> obfuscated names for keys as a security measure ..."

And of course, being a good Dimdows user, you believe what the AI says ...

On Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:41:04 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> Le 2024-10-15 à 11 h 27, DFS a écrit :
>
>> GUI config screens should, and usually do, read a configuration text
>> file when they open, and write it when you click Save.

Funny, GUI tools on *nix systems can, and do, exactly the same thing.

> It _is_ a better way to configure things... if it works. If it doesn't,
> you're stuck needing to configure the files directly. In Linux, it's
> trivial; in Windows, even the "experts" are lost and will tell you that
> you should reset the software, run SFC or DISM.

On Dimdows, you can screw up the Registry so bad that the system becomes
unbootable, and the only recommended fix is to reinstall.

No equivalent of SystemRescue on Windows, it seems ...

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote at 22:41 this Tuesday (GMT):
> On Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:41:04 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> Le 2024-10-15 à 11 h 27, DFS a écrit :
>>
>>> GUI config screens should, and usually do, read a configuration text
>>> file when they open, and write it when you click Save.
>
> Funny, GUI tools on *nix systems can, and do, exactly the same thing.
>
>> It _is_ a better way to configure things... if it works. If it doesn't,
>> you're stuck needing to configure the files directly. In Linux, it's
>> trivial; in Windows, even the "experts" are lost and will tell you that
>> you should reset the software, run SFC or DISM.
>
> On Dimdows, you can screw up the Registry so bad that the system becomes
> unbootable, and the only recommended fix is to reinstall.
>
> No equivalent of SystemRescue on Windows, it seems ...

Technically, I think you can use a Windows Install Disk to try, but it's
not recommended.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 16:09:47 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> One of the few things I bought in the 1990s was a clone of the Microsoft
> Curve keyboard.

There were many ergonomic designs coming out around that time. For
example, there was one with the two halves rotated so the midpoint was
higher than the sides; this way, your wrists could adopt a more natural
orientation with your hands at an angle to each other, instead of having
to be close to horizontal and side by side.

A lot of them were adjustable, too, on the basis that one angle does not
fit all.

On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 08:18:36 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> If I remember correctly, they came up with some ridiculous idea that
> rebuilding manufacturing in the United States would alienate its trading
> partners and that it would increase the prices of goods.

Free-market capitalism in action. Those companies went out of business
because they couldn’t compete. The only way to revive them is with
Government subsidies, or forcing customers to pay more (same thing).

Wasn’t the USA the foremost champion of free-market capitalism at one
point? They don’t seem so keen on it, now that other countries
(particularly non-white ones) have figured out how to do it better ...

Le 2024-10-16 à 18 h 31, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
> On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 16:09:47 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> One of the few things I bought in the 1990s was a clone of the Microsoft
>> Curve keyboard.
>
> There were many ergonomic designs coming out around that time. For
> example, there was one with the two halves rotated so the midpoint was
> higher than the sides; this way, your wrists could adopt a more natural
> orientation with your hands at an angle to each other, instead of having
> to be close to horizontal and side by side.
>
> A lot of them were adjustable, too, on the basis that one angle does not
> fit all.

The one I had wasn't adjustable but it was more or less a 1-to-1 clone
of the Microsoft Natural, although not made by the corporation. I don't
recall what happened to it, but it was definitely the most comfortable
keyboard I've ever used.

--
CrudeSausage
Paleoconservative, Catholic, Christ is king.

Le 2024-10-16 à 18 h 35, Lawrence D'Oliveiro a écrit :
> On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 08:18:36 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> If I remember correctly, they came up with some ridiculous idea that
>> rebuilding manufacturing in the United States would alienate its trading
>> partners and that it would increase the prices of goods.
>
> Free-market capitalism in action. Those companies went out of business
> because they couldn’t compete. The only way to revive them is with
> Government subsidies, or forcing customers to pay more (same thing).
>
> Wasn’t the USA the foremost champion of free-market capitalism at one
> point? They don’t seem so keen on it, now that other countries
> (particularly non-white ones) have figured out how to do it better ...

Yeah, it was, but the country has changed significantly since the 1960s
at the very least. It has become the opposite of what fans of the
Constitution would expect it to be.

--
CrudeSausage
Paleoconservative, Catholic, Christ is king.

On Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:01:28 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> Yeah, it was, but the country has changed significantly since the 1960s
> at the very least. It has become the opposite of what fans of the
> Constitution would expect it to be.

Id I haven't quoted it recently...

“But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much
is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have
had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit to
exist.”

Lysander Spooner 1867

Spooner was an anti-capitalist individualist anarchist. While he was an
ardent abolitionist part of his argument in 'No Treason: The Constitution
of No Authority' was Lincoln had absolutely no constitutional
justification by forcing the the Confederate states to remain in the union
and were not traitors for asserting their right.

Lincoln was the first Republican president and the party has had a
checkered career since then. I cringe when Romney says he wants to rebuild
the Republican party. I did not vote for him and would not vote for a
party recreated in his image.

The original stated purpose of the convention was to refine the Articles
of Confederation, not create a whole new document that needed ten
amendments and much bribery before it was ratified. It was weak then as
the anti-Federalists pointed out and weakened further by the Marshall
court that long outlasted the Federalist party.

On Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:31:48 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

> There were many ergonomic designs coming out around that time. For
> example, there was one with the two halves rotated so the midpoint was
> higher than the sides; this way, your wrists could adopt a more natural
> orientation with your hands at an angle to each other, instead of having
> to be close to horizontal and side by side.
>
> A lot of them were adjustable, too, on the basis that one angle does not
> fit all.

Being left handed I am not a fan of ergonomic designs. It goes beyond
computer accessories. I had an Audi that touted its ergonomic design. It
must have been someone else's ergos.

rbowman wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:31:48 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>
>> There were many ergonomic designs coming out around that time. For
>> example, there was one with the two halves rotated so the midpoint was
>> higher than the sides; this way, your wrists could adopt a more natural
>> orientation with your hands at an angle to each other, instead of having
>> to be close to horizontal and side by side.
>>
>> A lot of them were adjustable, too, on the basis that one angle does not
>> fit all.
>
> Being left handed I am not a fan of ergonomic designs. It goes beyond
> computer accessories. I had an Audi that touted its ergonomic design. It
> must have been someone else's ergos.

I'm left-handed as well (through I learned to throw right-handed as well when I
won a baseball mitt for righties for selling tickets in the Cub Scouts).
Also use the left pinkie wayyyy too much for Esc, Ctrl, and Shift, hence
my mapping of Caps Lock to Esc and Ctrl. Then there's the fscking Super
(Windows) key, which I have allocated to tons of functions in Fluxbox and
xbindkeys.

The problem is exacerbated by the delay (due to temporary palliative fixes) in
getting plates in my neck, which left me with a numb/tingly little finger.

I went through a stage of using very small wireless keyboards, but having to
press the Fn key at the left was another issue. So I've got an ergo keyboard of
modest price with now. Also bought a left-handed vertical mouse.

But enough about me. :-D

--
<tigah_-> i have 4gb for /tmp
<Knghtbrd> What do you do with 4G /tmp? Compile X?
<tigah_-> yes

Le 2024-10-16 à 22 h 44, rbowman a écrit :
> On Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:01:28 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> Yeah, it was, but the country has changed significantly since the 1960s
>> at the very least. It has become the opposite of what fans of the
>> Constitution would expect it to be.
>
> Id I haven't quoted it recently...
>
> “But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much
> is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have
> had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit to
> exist.”
>
> Lysander Spooner 1867
>
> Spooner was an anti-capitalist individualist anarchist. While he was an
> ardent abolitionist part of his argument in 'No Treason: The Constitution
> of No Authority' was Lincoln had absolutely no constitutional
> justification by forcing the the Confederate states to remain in the union
> and were not traitors for asserting their right.
>
> Lincoln was the first Republican president and the party has had a
> checkered career since then. I cringe when Romney says he wants to rebuild
> the Republican party. I did not vote for him and would not vote for a
> party recreated in his image.
>
> The original stated purpose of the convention was to refine the Articles
> of Confederation, not create a whole new document that needed ten
> amendments and much bribery before it was ratified. It was weak then as
> the anti-Federalists pointed out and weakened further by the Marshall
> court that long outlasted the Federalist party.

Yet, the mere fact that it exists allows the United States to be freer
than the other countries in the Western Hemisphere.

--
CrudeSausage
Paleoconservative, Catholic, Christ is king.

On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 16:08:07 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> NPR are lying sacks of shit ...

They did a nice exposé some years ago on the whole patent racket,
Mitch Kapor’s Intellectual Ventures company, and why so many of these
outfits have empty, uninhabited offices in East Texas:

<http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/04/138934689/the-tuesday-podcast-the-patent-war>

Does Donald Trump like software patents? Answers on a postcard,
please...

On Thu, 17 Oct 2024 08:50:07 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> Yet, the mere fact that it exists allows the United States to be freer
> than the other countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Lots of other countries do democracy better than the USA.

Some countries with better freedom of the press than the USA:

Western hemisphere: Dominican Republic, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa
Rica, Suriname, Jamaica.

Others: Timor-Leste, Samoa, Mauritania, Seychelles, Namibia, Cabo Verde,
Taiwan.

<https://rsf.org/en/index>

On Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:59:50 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

> The one I had wasn't adjustable but it was more or less a 1-to-1 clone
> of the Microsoft Natural, although not made by the corporation. I don't
> recall what happened to it, but it was definitely the most comfortable
> keyboard I've ever used.

The non-adjustable ones were cheaper, which is why they replaced the
adjustable ones.

On 10 Oct 2024 21:47:57 GMT, rbowman wrote:

> [PowerShell] was an attempt to unify Windows Script Host, WMI, the
> MMC snap-ins and a bunch of other interfaces and succeeded. I've
> never learned it and set the Windows Terminal default back to cmd.

If your experience is at all typical, then it hardly “succeeded”, did it?
Particularly since it completely failed to get rid of the need for Linux
compatibility.

On 10/17/2024 11:31 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Oct 2024 16:08:07 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> NPR are lying sacks of shit ...
>
> They did a nice exposé some years ago on the whole patent racket,
> Mitch Kapor’s Intellectual Ventures company, and why so many of these
> outfits have empty, uninhabited offices in East Texas:
>
> <http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/04/138934689/the-tuesday-podcast-the-patent-war>
>
> Does Donald Trump like software patents? Answers on a postcard,
> please...

There are some classic stupid patents here:
https://abovethelaw.com/2017/10/8-of-my-favorite-stupid-patents/

On Fri, 18 Oct 2024 03:38:55 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

> On Thu, 17 Oct 2024 08:50:07 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> Yet, the mere fact that it exists allows the United States to be freer
>> than the other countries in the Western Hemisphere.
>
> Lots of other countries do democracy better than the USA.
>
> Some countries with better freedom of the press than the USA:
>
> Western hemisphere: Dominican Republic, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago,
> Costa Rica, Suriname, Jamaica.

The DR does do somethings better than the US; they're successfully sending
the Haitian invades back to Haiti. When you live on the same island you
really get to know the neighbors.