uxp (u/uxp) - Readit News

uxp commented on Microsoft won't let you close OneDrive on Windows until you explain yourself theverge.com/2023/11/8/23... · Posted by u/cprecioso

Justsignedup · 2 years ago

Every 3 months MS "updates" windows by prompting me to enable edge, buy/try office, enable one drive, etc. And every button for no is in a different location.

uxp · 2 years ago

My mother in law works for a company that allows her to work from home from a personal device running Chrome.

Several times a year I get a phone call at 6:30AM from her asking to quickly drive to her house before her shift starts at 7 to fix her computer, because "something happened" or "I was hacked". Every time, it's been an update which has reset her default apps so email opens in the newish Mail app and not Outlook or Gmail-in-Chrome, or changes the browser to Edge from Chrome. I'm not a systems administrator, so I havent a clue on what the magical incantations of registry paths and values should be which prevent this despite trying.

Obviously if this was a domain managed asset at a company, someone would know how to prevent this. As a "home device", it feels like you're automatically enrolled in the "Global Microsoft domain", and subject to the whims of a product manager making IT decisions.

uxp commented on Judge rules Wyoming corner crossers did not trespass hcn.org/articles/public-l... · Posted by u/bikenaga

HarryHirsch · 2 years ago

Weirdly I think this is not constructed, hunters are moderately heavy users of public lands and land rights are pretty important to that group

Unless it's a hunting preserve (they do exist, plenty of buckhunting going on in Alabama) hunters are local and intensely aware of the power relationships. One really wishes to know: who is the guy with deep pockets that Eshelman upset and what are they beefing over, and how did he get the wholesome quartet of hunters to go along with him. The whole suit is about as organic as the Chatterley trial.

uxp · 2 years ago

> One really wishes to know: who is the guy with deep pockets that Eshelman upset and what are they beefing over, and how did he get the wholesome quartet of hunters to go along with him.

What are you talking about? Access to public lands has been an ongoing fight for decades with people from the entire political spectrum having opinions about the matter. Whether that be rock climbers trying to access routes, or people who fish trying to access streams, to people like this who are trying to access public hunting land. Assuming that everyone trying to access public lands is some poor pleb is in bad taste. Companies like Patagonia have long supported more liberal access to public lands with millions in donations, as well as organizations like the NRA with their advocacy and financial support.

uxp commented on “Invalid Username or Password”: a useless security measure (2014) kevin.burke.dev/kevin/inv... · Posted by u/prmph

Spooky23 · 3 years ago

Even an async validation would be better. I have <common name>@gmail.com, and get several newspapers and some other subscriptions for free.

In one case, a person named Mary in Australia sends their loved one a gift card every year, and the retailer doesn’t provide any information about Mary. In another case, a student missed out on their work study job and a opportunity for early class enrollment due to a bad email.

It’s sad as all of these customers don’t even know that they have a problem.

uxp · 3 years ago

Validating any contact method that has the potential of sending PII, Health, or financial data should be mandatory by law.

At least once a year I get an automated phone call from a regional hospital letting me know some minor's test results. Calling the hospital's CS department in order to notify them or somehow get my phone number removed from the account is impossible, because I'm not this person nor their legal guardian and HIPAA regulations prevent me from instigating a change on someone else's medical records or accounts.

uxp commented on Problems emerge for a unified /dev/*random lwn.net/SubscriberLink/88... · Posted by u/bitcharmer

narrator · 3 years ago

Do people trying to crack crypto go after trying to predict the outputs of these random number generators? Would they be used to generate keys for SSL key exchange?

uxp · 3 years ago

Yes. Here's a non-crypto instance of using a seed value to deterministically identify the output of a random number generator. This only works in Python 2.x:

    import random
    for i in range(0,50):
        if not i % 15:
            random.seed(1178741599)
        print [i+1, "Fizz", "Buzz", "FizzBuzz"][random.randint(0,3)]

By seeding the PRNG with a known value, one can literally predict the output of a weak number generation utility. In this case, it solves the FizzBuzz puzzle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizz_buzz

uxp commented on NPM – "is-even", 160k weekly downloads npmjs.com/package/is-even... · Posted by u/st_goliath

dgrin91 · 4 years ago

In the about for the project it says

> I created this in 2014, when I was learning how to program.

uxp · 4 years ago

It would be one thing if it was _just_ a little demo utility used to showcase packaging and distribution of a trivial use case, however the creator of this has also created a number of packages which pull in these "demo" packages, like `handlebar-helpers`, which is again just these trivial function packages wrapped in handlebar decorators.

Several of these utility and helper packages are then pulled into other packages and build tools and marketed as legitimate packages, effectively hiding and masking the "just a demo" labels of the root is-even, is-odd, is-number packages. When people like myself complain about the absurdity of NPM supply chain verification, this is what we're arguing against.

uxp commented on Apple Faceshield support.apple.com/faceshi... · Posted by u/tosh

epicureanideal · 5 years ago

"Everybody stocking a "handful" of PPE isn't a scalable solution to maintain a national supply."

No, but there's no harm in it either, and some potential benefit in case it takes a few days for the federal government to organize a response.

We all assume the government is going to make sure the food supply is maintained, but everyone is also buying some extra food just in case there's a temporary gap.

We don't need to choose just one way of preparing for the unknown.

Also, I was just saying the general public might purchase a few of these masks for themselves for their own use, not that hospitals might rely on the public for supplies.

uxp · 5 years ago

For what, though? And I'm 100% being honest here, what is the specific situation you are envisioning that requires a face shield in your home?

In a medical setting, shields are typically used in conjunction with eye goggles and respirators when performing procedures that have a tendency to cause or be around splashing body fluids. Outside of someone sneezing or spitting on you directly, I can't think of an analogous situation that I come into on even a rare circumstance that a face shield would protect me from.

uxp commented on Apple Faceshield support.apple.com/faceshi... · Posted by u/tosh

epicureanideal · 5 years ago

Given that they probably would cost $1 to $5, and take almost no space to store, it wouldn't be a terrible thing for people to have a few if they want them. How many people have a $20 multi-tool that stays in a drawer somewhere? Or some bags of rice "just in case" that end up getting thrown in the trash after being forgotten about in the cabinet for 5 years?

It may not be a terrible thing if some percentage of people buy "unnecessary" Personal Protective Equipment. It creates some distributed supply in case something unexpected happens, even if under normal circumstances the equipment is unused.

uxp · 5 years ago

It's not about the money. PPE like face shields are specifically used during procedures that involve significant bodily fluid, like intubation, which is the process of pulling or pushing a tube down a patient's esophagus. Going to to the grocery store does not require a shield.

Secondly disposable medical equipment, when used properly within a healthcare environment, is extremely wasteful. For most consumable items used in a hospital, they are covered in packaging with specific serial numbers and lot numbers that allow reconciliation if it's found that the goods are not sterile or have deficiencies. There is also a provenance or chain-of-command aspect that allows attestation of safety throughout the entire supply chain. While we might be talking about how to sterilize n95 masks, reuse face shields, and asking for donations of PPE from the public right now during a pandemic, the fact remains that in normal circumstances there is massive liabilities that hospitals and clinics would be subjected to if they started sourcing protective equipment from the public that could have been tampered with, may be slightly used and broken, or otherwise could cause harm to the patient and they'd be unable to identify the source of those resources. Everybody stocking a "handful" of PPE isn't a scalable solution to maintain a national supply.

This is one reason why we pay federal taxes.

uxp commented on Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals edition.cnn.com/2020/03/2... · Posted by u/ericdanielski

Spellman · 5 years ago

Assuming that this is true, then even moreso you should advocate others get the flu shot to help protect you.

And yes, the flu shot isn't 100% effective. And yes some have bad reactions to certain vaccines. However, I find it extremely unlikely that you got it from the vaccine and instead that you were just very very unlucky at getting influenza. It's a bit of a sharpshooter fallacy to me.

And for those who are vulnerable, then their only protection is herd immunity where everyone else around them is immunized by vaccines.

uxp · 5 years ago

Yes. This is my position.

uxp commented on Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals edition.cnn.com/2020/03/2... · Posted by u/ericdanielski

ceejayoz · 5 years ago

Your edit says:

> I'm very much aware of evidence and studies stating that its "impossible" to get the actual flu from the flu shot, yet I am walking proof of contrary evidence.

This is the famous "anti-tiger rock" argument from the Simpsons. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Apu_About_Nothing)

You have evidence you got the flu.

You do NOT have evidence you got it from the shot.

> My GP is the one that has specifically told me to avoid the shot.

Anti-vaccine cranks exist even amongst medical professionals. Hell, the whole movement was started by one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield

> the flu shot is not 100% effective or 100% side effect free

This is a strawman. Vaccine proponents agree with these specific statements. It's well known that the effectiveness varies from year to year, and that side effects are possible.

uxp · 5 years ago

[flagged]

uxp commented on Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals edition.cnn.com/2020/03/2... · Posted by u/ericdanielski

ceejayoz · 5 years ago

> I've received the flu shot three times in my life. I've been hospitalized for influenza three times in my life.

> Please tell me more about how I've deceived myself.

Here you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

uxp · 5 years ago

Nope. Like I just stated in my edit, I'm not advocating that anyone forgo the flu shot, but that the flu shot is not 100% effective or 100% side effect free.

It's not bias. It's a fact. My GP is the one that has specifically told me to avoid the shot because I have a history of complications with it.

If you're capable, I'd love for you to diagnose me with some other mental disorder or logical fallacy, but please look at my medical history before you start dismissing my experiences as idiotic.