Recent Posts

11

Engineering / Re: Microsoft is intentionally bricking all Office for Mac 2019/2021 installations

« Last post by Panzergranate on June 09, 2026, 06:13:44 pm »

<So much for the whole "Microsoft is the good guy now.  They aren't like the used to be" crowd.  Same old same old. >

"A Leopard cannot change its spots, nor can Microsoft change its ways".

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Engineering / Re: Microsoft is intentionally bricking all Office for Mac 2019/2021 installations

« Last post by Nemesis on June 07, 2026, 01:56:38 pm »

I remember asking if they would just take the XP authentication off line preventing people from using XP and was told "Of course not, they made a commitment".  Well they made that commitment here and people paid specifically for the commitment and they broke it. 

13

Engineering / Re: Microsoft is intentionally bricking all Office for Mac 2019/2021 installations

« Last post by Javora on June 07, 2026, 12:37:17 pm »

I’ve wondered for a while now, if it would be safer to keep a second computer with a fresh install of software completely off the internet.  Something that can handle writing and printing documents and other non-Internet dependent software or games.  Probably the biggest problem would be finding printers that can handle older computers after a while.  I knew as soon as companies started offering the subscription model of their software that this day would happen.  Being internet connected is not always a good thing, never was.  Like I’ve said a few times here, just because you can put something on the internet, doesn’t mean you should.

Linux users should be happy about this news…

14

Holodeck / Re: RIP Nichelle Nichols

« Last post by Nemesis on June 06, 2026, 05:20:44 pm »

A sad addition to this:

A jury has ruled that a New Mexico hospital was negligent in the death of Nichelle Nichols, known for her role as Lieutenant Noyta Uhura in Star Trek. Last year, the family of Nichelle Nichols sued the Gila Regional Medical Center, where she went with shortness of breath in 2022.

They claimed Nichols should have had a full cardiac workup, but instead was sent to an observation unit and discharged the next day. Seven hours later, she died at her assisted living home. She was 89 years old.

On Thursday, a jury found the hospital negligent and awarded Nichols’ estate $13 million.

She could have still been with us.

15

Engineering / Re: Interesting stuff about SpaceX Starship (hate the name)

« Last post by Nemesis on June 04, 2026, 11:37:21 am »

A Vulcan is now showing a launch in September.  This may be removed depending on how the New Glenn investigation goes as if it turns out to be an BE-4 engine problem Vulcan would also be affected by that causing an extended suspension. 

Edit 1:  No longer showing (as predicted).  Lots of launches nominally in December that that is just a "holding date" for planned but unscheduled launches.

16

Engineering / Re: Interesting stuff about SpaceX Starship (hate the name)

« Last post by Nemesis on June 02, 2026, 08:48:20 pm »

BO is claiming they will be able to fly by the end of the year. 

IMO not at THIS platform.  They are supposed to be working on one or two others maybe they can combine efforts and rush 1 of them to completion.  But can they actually rebuild this one, complete a 2nd one and do meaningful work on the third one all at the same time?  I have very serious doubts that they can do it.

On Starship apparently NASA has "declared an incident" about IFT 12 so SpaceX will need their OK to go ahead with IFT 13.  So a delay of months is likely though the site I use hasn't changed the June date for it. 

17

Engineering / Microsoft is intentionally bricking all Office for Mac 2019/2021 installations

« Last post by Nemesis on June 02, 2026, 08:43:10 pm »

Link to full article

You’re a smart cookie, so you opted to buy a copy of Microsoft Office for macOS back in 2019 or 2021, eschewing the Office 365 subscription, so you could keep on using Office 2019/2021 forever if you wanted to. Just like in the old days.

I’ve got some bad news.

    Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion (2026) is a scheduled remote degradation of perpetually-licensed Microsoft Office software for macOS and iOS, set for July 13, 2026 when a license-validation certificate used by the Office apps expires. After Office 2019 for Mac reached end of support in October 2023, Microsoft assured customers their installed apps would “continue to function.” The July 13, 2026 conversion instead drops the apps into a Microsoft-defined “reduced functionality mode,” in which files can be opened and viewed but not edited or saved. By May 30, 2026, the original 2023 end-of-support page had been re-dated and rewritten on Microsoft’s site; the “continue to function” clause was removed.
    ↫ Consumer Rights Wiki

Microsoft’s advice to the users they’re stealing from is to keep using the applications as mere viewers, switch to the free Office 365 web applications, pay for a 365 subscription, or buy a brand new regular copy of Office 2024. None of these make any sense, and clearly, all of this should be illegal, but it’s not because the software industry is a clown show.

Proprietary software is unethical.

So much for the whole "Microsoft is the good guy now.  They aren't like the used to be" crowd.  Same old same old. 

18

Engineering / Re: New Glenn explodes on launch pad during static fire

« Last post by Nemesis on May 31, 2026, 07:44:30 pm »

Link to a youtube video showing damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7yNQuNSGBw

The damage is shown late in the video.  Early parts are the explosion and work on the 2nd pad (not complete)

19

Starfleet Command Models / Looking for models from Axanar

« Last post by TLRoff on May 31, 2026, 02:59:32 pm »

much verbage on Google but no actual info that I can find..  Supposedly there's a 4 year war mod for  the series but haven't been able to find it.   I models for want for SFC, SFC-II, and SFC:OP   (Not a SFC-III fan!)

20

Engineering / Re: New Glenn explodes on launch pad during static fire

« Last post by Nemesis on May 29, 2026, 03:58:48 pm »

The explosion destroyed one of their two lightning towers, the horizontal integration equipment AND the other booster that they had ready (no mention of if it already had its engines but I'd guess no). 

One of the rumours is that the centre engine blew up and drove fragments upwards through the booster.  This would potentially ground Vulcan that already seems to be grounded by the two failed STB nozzles so potentially delaying their launches even more.

This is going to be a massive rebuild.  Two years may be on the optimistic side (though I hope I'm wrong).

The announcement didn't actually say no one was hurt.  It said that everyone was "accounted for".  Odd phrasing if there were no injuries or deaths.