/srv/irclogs.ubuntu.com/2014/12/18/#ubuntu-uk.txt

diddledanwhat benefit does the fence give you that the wall can't do on it's own?00:00
ali1234none00:00
diddledanbingo00:00
diddledanso don't bother!00:00
ali1234fences are unix users and walls are containers00:00
diddledanit's extra work just to use the fancy shiny00:00
diddledanno, walls are unix users. fences are sandboxes00:00
ali1234lol no00:00
ali1234unix user permissions don't cut it any more00:01
diddledanand we're back where we came in00:01
diddledanwhy?00:01
diddledanwhy do you think unix users are crap?00:01
diddledan</language>00:02
ali1234unix user permissions cannot stop some random fart app from deleting your ~00:02
diddledanwhat about them is unfit for purpose00:02
diddledanyes they can00:02
ali1234no, they can't00:03
diddledanthey just don't the way people use them00:03
ali1234so you are suggesting that people should run eery app as a different user account?00:03
diddledanI'm not advocating it00:03
shaunothis has always been the scary gap in permissions for me00:04
shaunopeople say unix is malware-proof because random trash can't get root (usually)00:04
ali1234the unix user model being unsuitable for modern computer users is not a controversial idea00:04
shaunowhich is completely back-to-front.  I don't care if it gets root.  I can reinstall my OS.00:04
shaunoI care if it trashes my pictures.  which are owned by my user, so are completely unprotected by 1970-style permissions00:05
ali1234exactly00:05
ali1234and once you've solved this problem, whatever way you do it, the new thing will obsolete unix users00:05
diddledanno it won't00:05
diddledanthe new thing will isolate one app from another, not one user from another00:06
diddledanunless you're suggesting everyone installs modern warfare in a separate sandbox just for them?00:06
diddledan(hint. modern warfare is 55GB)00:06
ali1234the binaries, sure00:07
ali1234modern filesystems can deduplicate that stuff without needing to know about users00:07
diddledandeduplication takes a LOT of RAM and CPU00:07
diddledanI don't believe my phone has that much grunt00:09
diddledan(and games on phones are often larger than 1GB each, so don't moan that the argument is moot)00:09
ali1234wrong. all it takes is copy-on-write00:10
ali1234and that takes only a tiny amount of resources00:10
diddledaner. no.00:10
diddledandownload the game twice you have the game twice00:10
ali1234right, why would you need to download it twice?00:11
diddledanbecause I download it in my private app area which isn't a user account, and my brother downloads it in his private app area which isn't a user account00:11
ali1234why would you do that?00:12
diddledanyou advocated containers earlier - inside a container my brother can't access the app I installed in my container00:12
ali1234i mean you can do that with unix users, if you install stuff in ~, but why would you?00:12
ali1234no00:13
ali1234each container only runs ONE app00:13
ali1234that's the whole point00:14
diddledanin which case how do we both access the same app at the same time with different data?!00:14
ali1234okay.00:14
ali1234you know VMware appliances right?00:15
ali1234each app is a VMware appliance. anyone can run it. when you run it, it saves the differences to a private file for you00:15
ali1234your host OS has some concept of users, but it doesn't need unix users, or even a filesystem00:15
ali1234the OS that runs inside the containers doesn't need to know about user accounts AT ALL00:16
ali1234it only needs to know "this is the base image and this is the user's changes"00:16
ali1234ie it's transparent to the guest00:16
ali1234and for sharing files between containers you use something like ubuntu's content hub00:17
ali1234which would be built into the host00:17
ali1234and of course the containers can build on top of each other00:19
diddledanso now lets ask the question again. in what way, are unix users not suitable for the host to separate the users?00:20
ali1234they're fine for that00:20
ali1234the point is that you don't need them in the guest. at all00:20
ali1234and they just add unneccessary complexity that you don't need00:20
ali1234also, they are actually MORE than you need on the host00:21
ali1234because the host doesn't even need a traditional filesystem, let alone permissions00:21
ali1234so on the host you would replace them with something simpler00:21
ali1234simpler is better, less attack surface00:21
diddledannew is worse, unproven00:22
ali1234that is also true00:22
ali1234however, we can't just end all progress because "new is worse"00:22
diddledanno, but we're talking about things that can already be done with preexisting tech, so why reinvent the wheel00:23
ali1234this is simply the logical conclusion of what happens when you container-ize everything00:24
ali1234this stuff can't be entirely done with existing tech, that's the point00:24
ali1234it's still being created as we speak00:24
diddledanapparmor has existed for years. user-level separation has existed much longer. containers/vms have also been around for ages. the only thing that didn't until recently was content-hub but you don't need that, you _can_ do it with standard unix filesystems and permissions00:26
diddledanfor that last one. read, ACLs and/or judicious bind-mounting00:27
ali1234yes, you can, if you don't mind the technical debt incurred by using 50 year old technology in a way it wasn't intended :P00:27
ali1234at some point though you are going to have to refactor everything to not suck00:28
shaunoI still don't get why you'd want users on a phone at all00:28
ali1234shauno: in the most abstract sense, "guest" is a user00:28
zmoylan-pijust because it's a feature you'd never use doesn't mean someone won't find it really useful00:29
shaunowell, I mean I don't see much use for a 'guest' either00:29
ali1234the point is you wouldn't expose these users to the... user00:29
ali1234unless you were actually making a multiuser mainframe for some reason00:29
diddledanI seriously hope you don't think that user-less is the way to go on the server00:32
ali1234what kind of server?00:32
shaunothat's probably the best example of where "container all the things" is already happening00:32
diddledanfor argument, a web serving host00:32
ali1234exactly00:32
ali1234okay, say you have a website which consists of one container running mysql, and one container running apache/php/wordpress00:33
ali1234why do you need users?00:33
ali1234given that each server is running exactly one process, how are you even going to make use of more than one user?00:33
diddledanbecause I want the dba to be able to restart apache and I want the sysad to be able to restart apache and mysql and I want myself to be able to grant and revoke those permissions00:34
diddledandba - mysql, not apache00:34
diddledanbut you get the point00:34
ali1234if you want to restart then, you just reboot the container00:34
ali1234there is no need to ever even log into the containers00:34
ali1234so you have users in your host/control node and nowhere else00:35
diddledanbut I want the dba to not be able to restart apache00:35
diddledanbingo. you have users00:35
ali1234yes00:35
ali1234you still have users00:35
ali1234just not inside any of the containers00:35
ali1234where "container" implies an entire virtual machine running a totally isolated operating system which has no concept of users00:36
diddledanso when my php app gets pwned the guy that now has access to the server is de-facto root and therefore can exploit any weaknesses in the lxc subsystem with impunity to elevate to host-root?00:38
diddledanor otherwise access the kernel00:38
ali1234if you have no users you have no root user00:39
diddledanyes, you do, because the lxc host kernel has users00:40
diddledanjust because you choose not to assign uids doesn't mean the kernel doesn't track them00:40
ali1234who said we're using lxc?00:40
diddledanuml then?00:41
diddledanchroot?00:41
ali1234this weakness of lxc happens BECAUSE it re-uses unix users00:41
ali1234we would be using a yet-to-be-written hypervisor and a yet-to-be-written single user guest kernel00:41
ali1234specifically designed to be used this way00:42
diddledanthat's not a container. that's a vm00:42
ali1234it's more like a hybrid00:42
ali1234it isn't quite like anything that currently exists00:42
diddledansemantics, yes, but container is a specific thing that reuses the host kernel00:42
ali1234well okay, forget containers. what we're talking about is a specially designed system where the host and the guest and more tightly coupled than you expect with a VM, but less so than with a container00:43
ali1234that is, the host and guest kernels are aware of each other but not the same00:43
ali1234the guest kernel would be extremely simple, it would not need any device drivers for example00:44
ali1234that would be provided by the host, where appropriate00:45
ali1234it wouldn't need to know about block devices and such, the host would just say "this is your read-only root filesystem, and this is your read-write filesystem"00:46
ali1234awesome, i have input now01:36
daftykins\o/01:47
ali1234reconciling the iterative game loop with object oriented event input01:51
diddledanooh, ooei :-p01:55
daftykins^quit message as bad as brand-specific email signatures :(02:46
diddledanrelated: hang on, let me find the email and figure out if there's an archive link for it - I received it a few days ago and it made me laugh02:47
diddledansent to ubuntu uk mailing list in reply to popey's attempt to reinvigorate the loco - referencing open source in general and how to get more people using ubuntu: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-uk/2014-December/038123.html02:51
diddledanit was head-smacking time for me when I read it02:51
daftykins"digital eagles" 0o02:52
diddledanyeah I didn't get that one either02:52
diddledanwhen you see it...02:52
daftykins*nod* pretty amusing to be commenting like that then use hotmail :(02:53
daftykinsthen possibly a Windows only client too02:53
diddledanit's pretty explicit: Sent from Windows Mail02:53
daftykinsyeah i meant that for that part02:55
diddledanhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html03:23
diddledanI like the last paragraph which alludes to an all-out cyberwar - that could be fun to watch.. I wonder if american GIs will be holed-up in a darkened bunker with the only illumination coming from the many computer screens showing the progress of their attacks and counter-attacks and the state of the nation's cyber defences03:27
daftykins;)03:32
daftykinsWargames (1983)03:32
diddledanfor anyone who likes google play movies/tv - they're giving away a free movie right now - they gave me the first "sherlock holmes" movie with iron-man robert downey jr (I'm unsure whether they're giving everyone or whether it was just me)#04:18
diddledaneveryone that title**04:18
diddledanI'm just about to watch "lucy" now04:20
daftykinshrmm something new to the shaun the sheep thing last time :>04:23
diddledanyeah, that shaun the sheep is sat in my account never to be watched04:24
daftykinsit was fun!04:24
daftykinsah yesh sherlock holmes04:28
daftykinsbut it won't let me buy a free item because my card has expired04:28
diddledanhmm04:35
diddledanthat's weird - you can't get a freebie unless they have your balls?04:35
diddledansorry. family.04:36
daftykinstsk tsk04:36
=== Hornet- is now known as Hornet
bujjipopey:06:12
bujjipopey:i have a problem with wifi.06:12
diddledanand only popey knows how to fix it?06:13
bujjididdledan:you can help me.06:13
diddledanI can? thanks.06:14
mapitomorning06:14
diddledanallo mapito06:14
bujjididdledan: wifi is not able to enable06:14
diddledanmapito, have you gone italian?06:14
mapitono heh06:14
mapitojust my alt nick06:14
diddledantheoretically I don't need to do any work today - everyone else is heading off on the company xmas party, but for some reason there's a requirement for a passport, and I didn't get around to applying06:16
diddledanmy old one is out of date06:16
mapitowhy a passport06:16
mapitowhere you going06:16
diddledanno idea06:16
diddledansomething they're getting up to requires it and the person who organised it hasn't let on what the plan is06:17
bujjididdledan:help me please...06:18
diddledanbujji, I need more to go on than just "is not able to enable"06:18
diddledanbujji, my suspicion is that you have a hardware switch which is in the wrong position06:19
diddledanbujji, you're more likely to find someone who knows about these things in #ubuntu at 6:20am in the uk06:19
bujjididdledan: i click on network section-->there i cant be able on the wifi06:21
diddledanthat's not very descriptive06:22
diddledan(or if you're using the MS Word spelling and grammar checker and you want to avoid receiving that damned passive voice alert on every single phrase, then "that's very undescriptive"06:23
bujjididdledan:I cant be able to enable the wifi in my ubuntu desktop.I tried to use fn+f2 for enable the wifi,but its not working...hope you got my point.06:25
diddledanbujji, has it ever worked?06:26
bujjididdledan:yes,It worked before.06:27
mapitodiddledan,  sounds intriguing needing a passport.06:27
diddledanbujji, what did you do differently this time that you didn't on previous occasions? e.g. pressing that fn+f2 combo you mentioned06:28
diddledanalso did you press fn+f2 before trying anything else expecting it to magicly work or did you use ubuntu's networking menu first and resort to the fn+f2 when you couldn't get it working?06:29
bujjididdledan: fn+f2 is for enable the wifi(short cut).I tried to check manually but its not working.06:30
diddledanbujji, which did you do first06:30
bujjididdledan:fn+f206:31
diddledanbujji, that'll be your problem then06:31
diddledanyou've told the hardware to turn off the wifi06:31
bujjii went to network options to enable the wifi,there i cant be able to enable.06:32
bujjigui06:32
diddledanonce you've done that no amount of ubuntu cleverness can work around it - you need to turn the chip back-on such as by rebooting (if that works), pressing fn+f2 again once (and praying) or cursing and swearing because neither of those two worked and you realise there's no other way to enable the chip without going into windows06:33
bujjii tried  $ifconfig wlan0 up06:35
diddledanfn+f2 is specific to your laptop and doesn't signal ubuntu at all - it completely sidesteps the operating system and tells the hardware to turn off in such a manner that the operating system cannot talk to it anymore06:36
bujjiit is a shortcut specification to enable wifi.06:37
diddledanno amount of fiddling with ifconfig or any other ubuntu utility will be able to do anything with the chip while it's turned off06:38
diddledanyou might be able to get one of the utilities to report that the hardware is turned off but I can't remember which utility or how to get that info06:39
diddledaneven though it can tell you the hardware is turned off the utility cannot turn it back on, nothing in ubuntu can06:39
mapitowhat card has he got06:40
diddledanno idea, he said it worked previously and then he pressed the magic keycombo and it stopped working06:40
diddledanor rather didn't enable.06:41
diddledanhis words^^06:41
mapitowhat card bujji06:42
diddledanafaict none of those magic keycombos ever signal the operating system with their implementation being either entirely hardware or bios driven06:42
bujjimapito:how can i found?06:43
mapitolspci i think\?06:44
diddledanyes, `lspci`06:44
bujjimight be06:45
bujjimapito:help me on this.06:46
diddledana random unnamed googler says that google is going to have a "disastrous" 201506:49
diddledanhttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/googles-very-rough-transition-nicholas06:49
diddledanexcuse my language, but I think that's a load of traffic cones!06:49
diddledan(bollards)06:49
diddledanex googler at that06:50
mapitobujji, run lspci sheesh06:50
bujjimapito:what this command do.06:51
bujjimapito it gives me different options.06:53
bujjimapito:hey06:55
diddledanhttps://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1510557_316261935243706_2025905013926039893_n.jpg?oh=729535754c86c0a45d45abc312b30dd3&oe=553934A0&__gda__=1430421819_0f33a99f581f80557f0f1c73261cc4a006:57
bujjididdledan:?06:58
diddledanyes?06:58
bujjididdledan:whats that url.06:59
diddledanit's an image06:59
bujjiokey07:00
bujjimapito:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VVosf9p5GM07:04
bujjididdledan:is this work for me.07:04
mapitoso u fixed it?07:04
mapitocool07:04
mapitolspci wont give options but it will tell you what your wireless card is07:05
mapitoso you can find out more etc07:05
bujjimapito:not yet07:06
mapitofind out what the card is and look at the ubuntuforums07:07
mapitoubuntuforums.org v helpful07:07
bujjimapito:no luck07:12
mapitowhat card is it according to lspci output07:14
mapitoput that and ubuntu into google:D07:14
mapitoi dunno what card it is07:14
diddledanwhat's the collective noun for a group of velociraptors?07:15
diddledanI thought maybe a herd, flock, gaggle or murder07:15
diddledanI came up with them in that order07:16
bujjimapito:how can i check that card and all07:19
bujjimapito:hey07:23
bujjimapito:my output of rfkill07:33
bujjimapito:rfkill list all07:33
bujjimapito: o/p  0:phy0:wireless LAN07:34
bujjisoft blocked:no07:34
bujjihard blocked:yes07:34
diddledanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHIWcRU38ls I'm laughing hard07:36
diddledanbujji, like I said 2 hours ago!07:36
diddledanhard blocked:yes means you turned it off07:37
bujji:mapito:how can i turn it on.07:39
bujjididdledan:how can i turn on07:41
diddledanI told you that ages ago07:41
diddledan[06:33:51] <diddledan> once you've done that no amount of ubuntu cleverness can work around it - you need to turn the chip back-on such as by rebooting (if that works), pressing fn+f2 again once (and praying) or cursing and swearing because neither of those two worked and you realise there's no other way to enable the chip without going into windows07:41
bujjiI reboot the system and did the same as fn+f207:43
bujjididdledan:but no luck07:43
diddledanthen I don't know07:44
bujjididdledan:chip back-on ??07:45
bujjididdledan:success08:08
bujjididdledan:thanks for your help08:09
diddledanhow did you fix it?08:09
bujjididdledan:http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2220855&page=408:09
bujjididdledan: you are helpful-->http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=222085508:12
bujjididdledan:happy christmas08:14
bujjididdledan:bye.see you again.))08:16
=== msm is now known as Guest89995
=== Lcawte|Away is now known as Lcawte
bigcalmGood morning peeps :)09:34
bashrcmorning09:37
foobarryhi09:39
davmor2morning all09:57
davmor2bigcalm: how's life and have you built the super star destroyer yet or better still figured out where the hell you put something that big09:57
bigcalmHi davmor209:58
bigcalmdavmor2: you're more interested in the SSD than I am...09:58
davmor2bigcalm: that's cause I was seriously tempted to buy till I realised I'd have to put it somewhere and you are the only person I know who has it :)09:59
JamesTaitGood morning all; happy Free Shipping Day! :-D10:00
davmor2bigcalm: I'm living my dream of building it though you ;)10:00
* davmor2 wraps JamesTait and his family and sends them to South Africa with his free shipping......Good luck getting back but have a lovely family Christmas while you are there :)10:02
* JamesTait tries to hug davmor2 but can't get past the packaging.10:02
* davmor2 throws in JamesTait laptop so he has no excuse not to work10:02
JamesTaitHah!10:03
davmor2JamesTait: I'm not getting you out of work and a free holiday10:03
bigcalmdavmor2: https://twitter.com/bigcalm/status/545519810059436032/photo/110:04
* JamesTait adds davmor2 to the Christmas card list.10:04
bigcalmMy office isn't very large10:04
davmor2bigcalm: suspend it from the ceiling is as far as I got trying to figure out where the hell to put it but when you realise it is 8KG that isn't the best option out there :)10:05
bigcalmThat's a lot of plastic10:06
davmor2bigcalm: the other option is get a bit of ply wood cut to the right length and width suspend that from the ceiling and then put the model onto that, that would work10:07
davmor2bigcalm: how are you with measurements and a drill?10:08
davmor2and finding joists preferably10:09
davmor2bigcalm: also you seem to be overlooking the width of it :)10:11
bigcalmI thought it was long and thin10:12
bigcalmWhat's the width?10:12
davmor2bigcalm: it is wedge shaped the widest bit will be your issue10:12
bigcalmWhich is? :)10:13
davmor2bigcalm: you know what nothing says only mentions it's length but I'm assuming about 40 cm's looking at the proportions in pictures10:20
bigcalmKitchen table it is then10:22
bigcalms/Kitchen/Dinningroom10:23
=== zmoylan-1i is now known as zmoylan-pi
bigcalm1i? 1 x sqr(-1) ?10:23
davmor2bigcalm: if I hear nothing from you in the new year I'll send flowers to the crem ;)10:24
bigcalmHeh10:24
bigcalmMight be best if I leave it boxed10:24
davmor2http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/10:25
davmor2seemed somehow appropriate10:25
davmor2bigcalm: show that to Hayley and say I ask Lord Vader if I should leave it in the box this was his reaction :)10:27
bigcalmCute10:34
brobostigonmorning boys and girls.10:43
DJonesbigcalm: davmor2: Azelphur: I think this may be for you https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1015238368250514610:45
bigcalmSorry, I lack flash10:47
bigcalmDJones: synopsis?10:47
DJonesChristmas singing stormtroopers10:47
bigcalmAh10:48
DJonesDoing santa clause is coming to town with excerpts from the original star wars movies10:48
bigcalmCute10:48
davmor2bigcalm: try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRSepEkYsMA10:49
zmoylan-piand you don't 'lack flash' you 'secured your os' :-P10:49
bigcalmGrr10:50
bigcalmctrl-w with the wrong window having focus10:50
zmoylan-piuse an irc client that doesn't allow ctrl-w to close the window? or remap the combo?10:51
bigcalmNever been much of a problem, just one of those things10:51
davmor2bigcalm: did that one play for you?10:59
bigcalmdavmor2: yes, youtube works for me. Facebook only uses flash for videos11:10
davmor2bigcalm: you use chromium or chrome then right?11:17
bigcalmChromium11:25
popeyMorning11:30
popeybah, apache eating all the ram and swap again11:42
popeyMem:    473624k total,   468804k used,     4820k free,      112k buffers11:42
popeySwap:   262140k total,   262140k used,        0k free,     5232k cached11:42
foobarryi miss wobbly windows :(13:23
DJones\o/ Sky have updated their SkyGo app to work with Android 5.013:38
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bashrcI still have wobbly windows14:21
awilkinsOnly when the window blows VERY hard here14:23
bashrcI'm on kubuntu. You can turn on wobbly windows under "desktop effects"14:25
=== Lcawte|Away is now known as Lcawte
foobarryi miss kde 3.515:11
zmoylan-pilast time i had wobby windows i found someone stuck a fridge magnet to my crt15:13
awilkinsArrgh15:23
awilkinsI remember that15:23
awilkinsMagnetized CRT grille masks15:23
awilkinsTrying to degauss them with an electric razor15:24
=== Lcawte is now known as Lcawte|Away
zmoylan-pior pressing the degauss option on high end monitors.  *bong*15:24
popey*clangggggg*15:24
popey*click*15:24
zmoylan-pi*sproink*15:24
awilkinsThat really did give you wobbly windows15:24
awilkinsSomeone should do a "degauss" toy for modern desktops15:26
awilkinsJust makes a *donk* noise and makes the screen wobble and blur a bit15:26
foobarryzoinnnnngggtick15:27
shauno"wobbly windows" is right about where I gave up on linux on the desktop15:27
zmoylan-piadd it as option to screen savers options...15:27
foobarryshauno: but beryl, and compiz...so much fun, so much breakage15:27
mapitodiddledan,  did that guy fix his wifi?15:29
diddledanmapito, yeah, he didn't explain what he did but just pasted a link to an ubuntuforums page with many many many posts when I asked him how he did it15:41
mapitocool15:41
mapitoso he didnt need popey:P15:43
mapitofirst thing he said when he came here heh15:43
* popey isn't needed anymore15:48
diddledanpopey, it was six o'clock this morning - he was adament that you were the only guy who could help him and seemed to think you're at his beck and call 24/715:50
popeyhah15:50
shaunohm.  gives me an idea.  we need to start selling maint contracts15:51
shaunothe real world has taught me that it doesn't actually matter if popey can't deliver what sales promise ;)15:51
diddledanshauno, good idea15:52
diddledanI just don't get why non-english speakers seem to find this room over either their own language room or the main #ubuntu15:53
diddledanhaving a paywall may help in this regard, or at least give some relief from the pain15:54
zmoylan-piit's more active and turns up in more google searches?15:54
shaunoI suspect it's something in a translation somewhere15:54
shaunoeg, if xchat has -uk as the default for en_GB (vs C/en_US)15:54
zmoylan-pinoobies should be asked for a 11 digit prime number before their questions are answered? :-)15:54
popeywell..15:55
popeythere's google helpouts15:55
popeywhich I keep meaning to try15:55
diddledanI'm still waiting for my invite to that15:55
popeyhttps://helpouts.google.com/search?q=ubuntu15:55
popeyseems there are people offering help including SuperMatt ☻15:56
shaunoso the various countries that still prefer English over American English - if they opt to install their OS in English, they may get uk-leaning defaults?15:56
* zmoylan-pi plans a hiberno english distro... for culchies AND jackeens... :-)15:57
shaunoI'm still trying to figure out how to modify /etc in this lakka/openelec thing :(16:01
SuperMattI'm not doing that any more because work+dancing+social life = no time for anything else16:02
zmoylan-piif you could convince your bosses that you could work from a club you could work dance AND socialise more efficiently :-)16:03
SuperMatthahaha16:04
SuperMattwell there aren't many dance clubs which run 9-516:04
zmoylan-pipresentations at meetings via telecommuting would be neat :-)16:05
shauno'dancing tech support' sounds like what Hangouts was meant for16:05
SuperMattpfft16:05
shaunowhere on earth have I picked up "cat directory/" from?  afiak that only works on Hurd, but my fingers keep typing it16:16
zmoylan-pido you in fact *have* a cat? :-)16:16
shaunoheh, no16:17
shaunoiirc on hurd, cat against a folder will list the contents.  I can't remember it working anywhere else though16:17
shaunofor some reason I've tried to do this multiple times per day, and I can't figure out why16:18
zmoylan-piis it a subliminal desire to acquire a cat? :-P16:18
shaunolol, no.  pets are only slightly less evil than children16:18
awilkinsLooks like Helpouts has been killed for the UK and EU by #VATMESS  : "We've updated our Terms of Service. Providers from Ireland or the United Kingdom may only offer free Helpouts. Customers in the EU may only take free Helpouts."16:21
shaunoI'd assume it's temporary, unless it was already a dying product?16:25
awilkinsWouldn't be surprised if it was on purpose to cause a stink, they can certainly afford it16:28
awilkinsHey, that's a point - doesn't this affect Ubuntu sales / donations from the download page?16:28
ali1234i would think canonical are already vat registered?16:28
awilkinsIn all of the EU countries?16:29
shaunoyou don't need to be vat registered in every country16:29
ali1234right, that's the whole point16:29
ali1234under the old rules you needed to be vat registered in every country16:30
awilkinsPresume they still need to keep track of where everyone comes from - will there be a "I16:30
ali1234under the new rules you need to be vat registered in your home country if and only if you would be required to be vat registered in a country you sell to16:30
awilkinsam in this country" dropdown16:30
awilkins?16:30
Laneypretty sure donations aren't subject to vat16:30
shaunothe new change is simply that you have to charge the vat rate for the buyer's country, rather than the seller's country16:31
ali1234and the reason people are unhappy with this is because previously they just didn't bother being vat registered in other countries than their home country, and there was nothing those other countries could do about it16:31
awilkinsThey are unhappy with it because they previously didn't have to register for VAT in the UK because they fell under the £81,000 limit16:31
awilkinsBut now they have to work out their VAT remittance to every EU country individually16:31
ali1234no16:32
ali1234that's what they previously were supposed to do16:32
ali1234under the new rules you send all your VAT to your home country and they split it16:32
awilkinsYes, but you didn't have to work it all out before16:32
ali1234so under the new rules it is much easier to comply with the law, but much harder to flaunt it in the way that online sellers have been doing for years16:32
awilkinsNOT much easier to comply with the law16:33
ali1234no, it is much easier to comply with the law16:33
awilkinsPreviously - you took in less than £81k , you complied with the law by not paying VAT16:33
ali1234no, you complied with the UK law - not the law in all the countries you were selling to16:33
awilkinsNow - you have to know the VAT rate for every EU country, keep records of your customers for 10 years16:33
ali1234you already had to do that16:33
zmoylan-pithought it was only 7 years in ireland16:34
ali1234previous rules: you have to comply with the VAT laws of every country you sell to16:34
ali1234new rules: you only have to comply with the VAT rules of your home country16:35
diddledanprevious purchases I've made from european countries have all been subject to their vat rate16:35
MartijnVdSali1234: hmm.. Apple just went the other way -- from charging Luxemburg VAT on app store purchases in NL to NL VAT16:35
zmoylan-piso the search is on for country with weakest vat rules for shell companies...16:35
awilkinshttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/11295953/How-the-EU-is-throttling-online-business-with-idiotic-VAT-reform.html16:36
MartijnVdSzmoylan-pi: some "re-shipping" companies in the US are in Oregon for that very reason -- no sales tax16:36
ali1234zmoylan-pi: no, because the whole point is to make the rules the same everywhere16:36
awilkinsChanges : i) No exemption for turnover < £81k ii) have to charge VAT in the country of the buyer, not the seller (so now have to account for 28 countries worth of VAT regs)16:37
ali1234germany didn't have an exemption in the first place16:37
MartijnVdSawilkins: and every country can change VAT regs all the time16:38
awilkinsMay well be true of Germany - bet they don't have a thriving (legal) small business community selling digital product online16:39
shaunough @ that telegraph article16:39
shaunothat single last line makes me discount the entire article and look for a better source, I'm afraid.16:40
awilkinsIt's not the only source agreeing with that, but it is the most right-wing one ; although they probably hate it because of the tax abuses it was designed to block16:41
ali1234i particularly love how the telegraph claims bandcamp will be affected, while the source they link to specifically contradicts this16:41
ali1234you mean the tax abuses like people not paying the VAT they owe when they sell goods over the internet?16:41
awilkinsYes16:41
awilkinsBut it removes that £81k exemption from small UK business concerns (and any other exemptions), which makes them that much less viable16:42
awilkinsThere are already payment processors offering the option to stop selling into the EU16:43
ali1234except that excemption NEVER applied if you sold things to germany16:43
awilkinsTO Germany or IN Germany?16:43
ali1234it's just that there was absolutely nothing germany could do about you ripping them off16:43
ali1234TO germany16:43
zmoylan-piwhen reading the newspapers in uk you must always keep the yes minister guide to newspapers in the back of your mind... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M16:44
awilkinsFirst came upon this from girlfriend ... who has a small business selling digital content (craft tutorials)16:45
awilkinsShe's basically very sad because her business plan is no longer viable, because she can't afford all the accountancy that she'd need to comply, and she can't afford to take time off work to make her business her full time employment - she wanted to build up a "long tail" of content and customers.16:46
davmor2awilkins: any good accountant will pay for themselves and if she is hitting 81,000 a year she can afford a good accountant, and good accountants will save enough to pay for themselves in my experience16:48
awilkinsBut she's not hitting £81k a year - but these new rules mean she no longer has that exemption16:49
awilkinsNow she has to register for VAT and keep accounts of the address of every customer she has16:50
awilkinsAnd charge appropriate VAT for the country of her customer16:50
=== Lcawte|Away is now known as Lcawte
intrbizawilkins: have you seen the latest update on: https://www.change.org/p/vince-cable-mp-uphold-the-vat-exemption-threshold-for-businesses-supplying-digital-products ?17:01
awilkinsintrbiz, /,e looks17:02
intrbizawilkins: Enterprise Nation also has some good info on the VAT MOSS stuff: https://www.enterprisenation.com/blog/posts/5-steps-to-vat-moss17:04
intrbizthe uproar over VAT MOSS is interesting in that it was intended to reduce tax avoidance by large online retailers etc17:06
* bashrc doesn't know the difference between a business and a micro-business17:07
bashrcI thought all businesses except for charities had to be VAT registered17:08
intrbizbashrc: no17:08
intrbizyou only need to be VAT registered if your turnover is over £81k in the UK17:08
bashrcso digital goods are VAT excempt? That's news to me17:09
intrbizno17:09
intrbizcompanies with a turnover of less that £81K are exempt from VAT17:09
bashrcoh17:09
intrbizso they don't need to be registered, nor to file returns17:09
intrbiznor to charge VAT17:09
diddledanthey can still choose to register if they want to tho17:09
ali1234no, countries with a turnover less than £81k are exempt from VAT IN THE UK17:09
diddledanthere's just no requirement17:10
ali1234they still have to pay VAT in other countries if they sell there17:10
diddledanali1234, NOW they do. they didn't before the new rules17:10
ali1234no, those are the OLD rules17:10
intrbizprior to this change a UK company paid UK VAT regardless of who they sold too17:11
bashrcI thought that was the case17:11
ali1234the NEW rules are the same, except instead of having to register for VAT in every where you sell to, now you just make one payment to HMRC17:11
intrbizthe new rules are you have to charge the VAT rate of the 'country of supply'17:11
bashrcsounds ok17:11
ali1234intrbiz: no, those are the old rules too17:11
bashrcless bureaucratic17:11
ali1234intrbiz: the difference is who you pay it to17:11
intrbizyes, I was just getting to that17:12
bashrcif I were a business I'd rather pay tax to HMRC that $someothercountry17:12
ali1234exactly17:12
intrbizthe VAT MOSS scheme handles paying the VAT for you17:12
ali1234the only practical change is that HMRC can actually do something if you don't pay, where as foreign countries could not, so nobody ever paid17:13
intrbizthe HMRC distribute to the countries17:13
intrbizthe real change, is a requirement for all busiensses to submit returns from now on17:13
bashrcseems reasonable17:13
ali1234again, those businesses would already have been required to submit returns17:13
ali1234the difference is that previously they would have had to submit returns to a foreign country's tax system17:14
ali1234now they only have to send them to HMRC17:14
intrbizthe concern of the small business lobby, is that small businesses now have to submit returns17:14
intrbizand that is too much papper work17:14
ali1234again, small businesses already had to submit returns17:14
bashrcsounds like no biggy to me17:14
intrbiznot entirely sure I agree with that myself17:14
intrbizali1234: a small business didn't need to submit a VAT return before these changes17:15
ali1234i recommend anyone adversely affected by the new rules just sell their digital product for bitcoins on tor17:20
intrbizit won't be long before they attempt to tax BC17:22
ali1234yeah good luck with that17:22
intrbizwon't stop them trying17:23
zmoylan-pithe forms for that will be interesting, it won't accept pirateKing997 as my name... :-)17:23
intrbiz:)17:23
awilkinszmoylan-pi, That's not your Bitcoin name. Your BC name is just a public key17:29
awilkinsTBH a public key is a FAR more unique and non-fakeable way of identifying yourself17:29
zmoylan-pibut the forms will want a name for the paperwork and some people are really attached to their handles/nicks17:29
awilkinsUse the GPG words version of your key fingerprint :-)17:30
bashrcbitcoin is a public ledger17:30
awilkinsYes, yes it is17:30
awilkinsBasically, it's a very democratic bank17:30
bashrcindeed17:30
awilkinsA bank is a private ledger17:30
awilkinsSecurity is done by keeping the plebs away from it17:30
awilkinsWhereas with bitcoin security is through consensus17:31
zmoylan-pithat makes the assyrian empire look stable...17:31
awilkinsMain problem with Bitcoin is it doesn't do instant transactions17:31
awilkinsAnd won't scale17:31
bashrcthe block chain is really bloated17:32
awilkinsTo do small payments quickly you need some kind of escrow broker that will sign off on small transactions quickly17:32
awilkinsLike a short-usage credit card that you top up from your main BTC wallets17:33
awilkinsOf course, that broker would need to be trusted and have a lot of infrastucture... hey, it's Visa17:33
=== TREllis_ is now known as TREllis
ali1234there is no reason not to accept 0 conformation payments for small transactions17:34
ali1234nobody is going to steal 1 million cups of coffee from you17:34
awilkinsTrue, but a million people might17:34
zmoylan-pithat's only 100,000 starbuck coffees... :-)17:35
ali1234if you have 1 million customers you can set up your own prepayment system17:35
awilkinsI rather like NFC payment17:35
awilkinsThat works for sums up to £20 in the UK with no online transaction17:35
awilkinsDon't know what the trust arrangements there are, but it needs a wireless smartcard, so there's crypto involved17:36
ali1234the trust arrangements are any payment under £20 will be authorized17:36
awilkinsOh, and you can charge any amount at all if it's non-UK currency (not sure if they are going to fix that loophole...)17:36
=== alan_g is now known as alan_g|EOD
=== Lcawte is now known as Lcawte|Away
mapitofilm done;]21:59
mapitoequalizer was pretty cool21:59
=== luke is now known as Guest75982
=== Lcawte|Away is now known as Lcawte

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