I'm reading a lot of stuff about locked in handset, etc. etc. but to my knowledge and experience you can go to a store, online or real, buy a handset from a manufacturer and stick a SIM into you device. Then the device has none of the network provider's crap on it, just the standard manufacturer's crap, and you can use it as you will... Network operators negotiate with manufacturers and provide a small subset of their range to the public with deals that include an alledgedly free handset, but they will give you a far cheaper tariff only deal if you ask them.
That's what I did for my current phone, as the UK providers do not want to supply the version of phone I wanted. Paid the manufacturer directly on their website, phone arrived, got a great tariff only deal from the network dudes (no hardware provided) and Larry was a very happy man.
Might I suggest a quick viewing this weekend of the fantastic cinematic offering "Megashark vs Giant Octopus"? Drag yon eyes from young(ish) Deborah Gibson (Deborah is her grown up name for serious acting... Debbie was just a good time girl apparently) and feast them 'pon Megashark. Not only can he handle a lorry strapped to his head, but if memory serves me right, at one point he swims at 500 knots, which is a significant percentage of the speed of sound at sea level.
Now, if only we can be sure the darn t'errists haven't got themselves a Giant Octopus...
Looks cool, hope it runs a bit "snappier" than that!
However, there has been an entire range of these kind of machines out in the Far East in the 7inch form factor over the last two years, that just haven't made it over to these shores. I don't get the US-centric skew of tech when the true innovators are over in Tokyo, Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul...
PS. Agree with Gary - stop calling them Slates... they are fecking TABLET PCs and have been for the last decade!!
The difference between a phone and a personal computer is that the unwashed masses install nothing onto their phones, using them as they arrive in the box, whereas in personal computing, people expect to have the option to add software as they see fit, even if it down to the classic "You need a newer version of flash player. Click Yes to install it" type of prompts. The iPhone has changed this model to the point that everyone is jumping into the appstore world, but then again, the scope of activies possible on a tablet is far, far greater than on a phone. Will big corporate systems restrict themselves to godawful browser based versions for use on these machines, or will iTunes suddenly start selling SAP Tablet v1.0 for £10k per license?!
If this is the way Apple do take it, I can foresee the iSlate being hailed as the greatest thing since toast, then the other hardware manufacturers will launch their versions running Windows or Linux and those will the ones that companies buy up in the thousands.
Interesting random thought: if these things support multitouch, how will the screen fare in terms of greasy finger marks? I had reason to use both a Fujitsu tablet and a touchscreen laptop back in 2002, and the smearing across the screen was the most annoying thing, especially as compared to a phone screen, you look far more closely and intently at a computer screen. Back then, both machines came with a stylus, but for multitouch a stylus is not practical so greasy dirty fingers will be the tool of choice...
London to Edinburgh is half the distance for a 50% longer time (assuming no strikes/leaves/rain/snow/sunshine/overcast/wind/cows/sheep/piss/poo delays the train), and runs to far more than those prices! I'd do a comparison but the pricing structure of the UK railways is beyond anyone without a few PhDs in theoretical maths...
So that means it'll be quick enough to run Crysis at full resolution, but that the battery will only last a few minutes? Last I checked Ferraris weren't the most economical of cars!!
In David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series of space opera (yes, a copy of Forester's "Horatio Hornblower" but set in space), the hardback copies of each book come with a CD with the complete series in ebook format, and several chapters of all of the books are available to read on the website of the publsher, Baen. This gives an incentive to spend the significantly larger amount of money for buying the hardback book as compared to the paperback, and I actually enjoy the series so much that I have paper copies of all of them, as well as ebook copies...
Thems gotta be the worst of them all - especially the SecureROM ones! I don't object to buying a game (usually preowned as I don't really worry about playing the latest and greatest as soon as they come out) but invariably end up with a dodgy cracked executable to play the damn thing without lugging disks all over the country.
Not to mention they always make installing the damn game much, much more difficult, usually because I happen to have another, perfectly legal, bit of software on MY machine...
But WTF is this facial recognition software meant to be used for? If I'm chatting to someone I don't want to see only their face, be it for the "other" kind of chat or not. If I'm chatting to my mate across the world, then his wife and kid will be somewhere in frame so does it sweep between the three of them? Is this another case of shiny and clever, yet pointless, tech?
Have to agree that this seems to be a pointless, stupidly overpriced netbook with a gilded finish. Your review compares it to the Macbook Air, whereas I'd compare it to the Vaio TT, with dual core, built in optical drive and every possible gizmo in the world, all in a netbook size.
I also agree with Craig 12 that the complaint about the screen needs to be clarified - the SZ comes with a carbon fibre lid (I think... might be magnesium), and I have picked up a bad habit of carrying mine by the top corner of the screen... which lead to my chunky plastic work HP's screen developing lots of green and blue vertical lines after a year, whereas the Sony screen is still perfect after 3 years. Speaking of screens, the Macbook Air may well have a 1280x800, but that's exactly the same rez as my 10.6 inch Vaio TR from 2004, though it comes with built in DVD burner as well... My last contract at some big telco what sells netbooks saw many folk impressed at the screen the old girl had compared to the shiny new netbooks we were pedalling to the masses!
I use various ad-block, noscript and block advertisers like doubleclick on all my browsers at home, and on my portable virtual desktop that I take into work (megamonolithiccorp doesn't want me to shove 50 gig of my music onto the work laptop for some reason!), and so I've gotten used to seeing websites as I like them, with only the information I am looking for and as little as possible extra cack. Then I recently had cause to use the work browser, IE6 in all of its glory no less, to do some surfing at *ahem* lunchtime and I was simply shocked at how much advertising some sites have... with El Reg being one of them. For example, some places have a fecking huge banner ad that means to see any meaningful content you need to scroll down a little on every fecking page you go to! That's something that just pisses off any sane user...
"it's probably something like a problem in the refresh rate in the OS X driver, in which case it should be easily fixed"
For the premium price on the premium product that Jobbitologists peddle, I'd expect the fecking thing to be fecking perfect, especially as Apple sell themselves on providing unparalleled end user experiences controlling both software and hardware!! IIRC, Apple have gone as far as to tell the unwashed masses that they don't know how to build a cheap $500 machine, only great, high-end, expensive and shiny toys...
BTW, this vent is possibly on the back of watching a lovely, new, unibody Macbook Pro become the world's shiniest paperweight for two weeks this summer.
Now when I search for Tiger Woods PGA Golf for Playstation as a xmas present, not only will I break this high court injunction and I will be sent to Gitmo to do time beside the Pentagon Hacker and those crazy militant Icelandic volcanic bathing pools of terror fundies, but I will also break numerous extreme pr0n laws that inundate this country, plus probably even bringing back the links will land me with the three strikes rule and my pathetic broadband connection will be cut out from under me, despite the guv'normint wanting broadband to be in every house in the country like electricity and whatnot...
When you see Sea Harriers landing on the Invincibles they tend to bump down then roll forward a little? Is that to get out from over the recently heated bit of deck?
Sweet, sweet irony for the patent happy Applists...
For the various Church of Jobbitologists here, please note that Nokia have been in the mobile market since time immemorial, and have been actively involved in developing the various standards of mobile technology, from GSM, GPRS, 3G onwards, as well as such mundane little things such as the spectrum used, the masts and infrastructure, the globalisation of the technology and the commonality of such systems - anyone else remember the days of having phones that didn't work in the US due to triband issues?
And for the record, I don't like any of the current Nokia stuff, in fact, the last decent phones were the 6210 series and the really tiny ones that came after. In fact, the terrible battery life (one day of light usage FFS!!!??!?!) and general flakiness of the 6500 classic have pushed me back to Sony Ericsson.
"SE's W902 phone, for example, lets you skip through tracks and change the volume by shaking the handset."
Not quite that easy - you have to hold down the shiny, none pokey-outey button on the top right corner while flicking you phone to the right and down to advance a track. Of course, this is flakey as sh*t so you end up offending the local yoof who think you are gesticulating at them with a rude gesture as favoured by football hooligans and road ragers.
As for changing the volume, that's news to me, but if anyone has a clue how to change the volume on this phone without using the volume buttons I'd like to hear about it as my increase volume button is goosed.
Of course, it goes without saying that this "motion control" is complete pish as there are dedicated buttons for the same functions that let you change tracks and so on while the phone is in the pocket as long as you can remember which button is what. <RANT> Yet another bit of pointless shinyness from boffins who don't know how things are utilised in real life. Plus, knowing the buttons allows you to watch where you are going rather than blindly stepping while your eyes are glued to your Android or iPhone with its touchscreen. Yes, I'm talking to all you w*nkers on the Tube who have the gall to tell me to watch where I'm going when I'm dropping the shoulder into you because YOU are not looking up. I don't mind being walked into but there are old folk and wee kids that you really should keep an eye out for you complete f*cking tools, especially that tall tw*t last Thursday going into Liverpool Street with the blonde hair and glasses and dark mac coat at about 7.50pm. </RANT>
@h6 - UCL is a University, but is also a college of the larger University of London, of which it was one of the founding members alongside King's College, London (also a university) in 1836. It claims to be the third oldest university in England, and is considered to be one of the best ones in the country.
*Disclaimer: I didn't go there... never even thought to apply!
The lawyer/cowboys were working on US time? Maybe they read the article and t'was still the day afore the launch in the US. Notsure how clued up our cousins across the pond are about such things as time differences and whatnot... especially the pondscum that is the law fraternity!
How are you getting your lasers to hit at 1km? Clan ER Large hits out to 800m, ER Large Pulse the same... unless you mean the Clan PPC? I believe it hits out to 1000m... been ages since I played anything but the MekTek version which downgraded the Clan PPC to something more sensible, though incidentally less in line with the game mechanics, as it was 15 damage for 15 heat at extremely long range (longer than LRMs IRCC).
Of course, the new level 3 tech rules for the Jihad era have me completely befuddled... rotaries are overpowered but not too bad, but the Light/Heavy/Snub weapons... WTF?? Like Protomechs I believe they are a step too far...
Anyway, back to the topic, FASA should've been expecting that really, but with MS's monolithic mass behind them, we might get to see the Unseen mechs again at least, which would be a silver lining!
Not sure how you can say Nokia and Sony are Microsoft competitors!
MS = OS
Nokia = handsets, lots of handsets of every make, lots of mobile tech and innovation, tiny bit of OS specialised into phones.
Sony = every electronic thing under the sun, from tellys to robots to laptops, with a spinoff combined with Ericcson to make phones a la Nokia.
Not that much competition there that I can see!!
@John 181 - the 11" 1280x768 display as currently made by Sharp sells for £200 alone! The reason the netbooks are at that ridiculous 1024 rez is as they can use existing, cheap stock of 10" displays shared with other devices. Believe me, I'm in the hunt for a 10" 1280 to fix one of my existing machines and they are not cheap!
12in notebooks are an existing form factor, and nothing new - the only difference is that it used to be the size that execs would use and it would fit into their swanky leather satchels and that their PA's could carry without breaking an expensive stilletto heel, whereas the rest of us would get a 15in monster. The new thing is that this machine is priced low, whereas the 12in machines of days gone used to be expensive, but then again, the whole notebook pricing scheme has reduced mightily since the advent of the netbook.
Unfortunately it won't be the geeks buying this, but the sheeple who get ihypnotised by shiny alumnium and white plastic... so it'll be £500x(gullible fools) Q1 next year with the massive rush for the new tablet, then another £700x(rich gullible fools) for the upgraded version Q4 next year...
As a business model I really can't fault Apple! Snake oil still sells!
Where is the real Ms Moderatrix and what have you done with her? Her pleasing no nonsense approach to cracking the whip over all the willingly obedient boys here is not reflected with that Zen stuff you just spouted!!
And maybe scope the project a bit better rather than giving such a short delivery timescale for what can only seem to be “critical” dev work in the early hours over a weekend!!
Vaios come with lovely, clear, crisp screens, that will be marred by greasy, dirty finger marks!! I remember using touchscreen ruggidised laptops 8 years ago and they came with big, thick screens and low resolution that still managed to get annoyingly filthy with repeated use... and the touchscreen was only a bit of gimmick as it led to moving your hands off touch typing stance, and my arm got tired, not to mention the control was not fine enough for most tasks. Especially compared to the handy little mousepad under your thumbs!
I can see Sony using this gimmick to add a few £$£$ to the cost of the already expensive machines...
If the EATR will, like the shark, only destroy all humans by accident, then we're still gonna be fubared! What if it decides to taste everyone? How can it even tell the difference between us and plants? Will the last living being in the world be the lonely, sad figure of Worzel Gummidge in a field somewhere in the West Country?
Human flesh may be inefficient to power this new metallic beast, but then it can deploy drones to herd us into easy to consume lanes of humankind? Kinda like drive through feasting. And the rendered human fat can be used to fuel it's never ending flamethrowers.
PS. All the laws of robotics and the Geneva Conventions are well and good, but accidents can and will happen... sometimes by accident too...
The iPod bundling comment was a joke – which in retrospect is a bit of a topical comment...
In answer to your first post, though I accept your arguments about the market driven business and exclusivity, this is part of what I mean when saying that iTunes in conjunction with the iPod, which it is undeniably linked to as per your own argument, forms the de facto monopoly! What you say about the free DVD is irrelevant as neither the Daily Mail nor The Independent have that 70% market share that iTunes has. In terms of a free market, all is well until you have a commanding position, then the authorities come in and stamp on you for your success, with anti-competition laws and that kind of stuff, which behaviour like this from Apple will only accelerate – I think maybe they should have quietly asked Palm to cease and desist, and offered them a slice of the action for a price, rather than arbitrarily cutting off the access.
And no, I do not think Palm are in the right here, far from it, but I do think Apple’s actions could have been better managed to portray less of the bullying monopolist using dominant market share and position to force rivals out. That’s the kind of behaviour that got MS in all kinds of poo…
Sorry, but that argument also holds no water – iTunes has become a de facto monopoly within the music and media management world, such that artists release their music to iTunes only in some cases. In this case, as the monopolists, Apple should be asked to allow better integration of their iTunes store and hence software to other operating systems, as well as open it up to other players. Essentially, it is the media player equivalent of MS Windows in the desktop world… one that when installed, overwrites default player settings, much like you describe in your last sentence. Both are as bad as each other, in their respective monopoly arenas – it doesn’t matter what the aim of the product is: when it becomes a monopoly it starts getting treated differently!
Now the big question: how come iPods are allowed to come bundled with iTunes? ;-)
Errr... so Windows developers coded iTunes for the Windows platform? Somehow I doubt it...
Palm should've seen this coming and were a bit f**king stupid for getting the Pre to pretend to be an iPod. They're a big company, not a basement hack shop and really should have either licensed it or just developed their own/partnered with someone else.
However, the big question is why do people use iTunes? My music sits in folders according to artist and then album; the track info is all stored as metadata; and when I want to "sync" it up, I drag'n'drop via bluetooth, USB, wireless, or whatever. What advantage does iTunes have?
Agreed– the standard 1024x600 is just too piddly to be useful, but I can see this new directive from the Wintel overlords to be another excuse for the manufacturers to pump the price up a bit. The standard netbook screen is relatively cheap, but from personal experience, a 1280x800 10” screen is over £200…
I wonder how much business the Celeron (rebranded as Pentium?) machines have lost out to Atom powered machines… that would be an interesting statistic. If such a thing can actually exist.
I believe that HMS Ocean was so cheap due to her design being based upon commercial, not military, standards, which led to some compromises like her top speed of 18 knots, painfully slow for a warship. Also, she lacks the ability to operate Harriers like the Invincibles can, being limited to helicopters, as she was designed for that role. That having been said, a few more of her class would be useful as she suits her role superbly, but if she had to operate in hostiles seas, she'd definitely need some proper carriers to cover her!
Ahhh... my first virus... I still remember it well: rainbow coloured writing bouncing across the screen, pronouncing that "Something wonderful has happened... Your Amiga is alive!".
I find it generally livens my day up, as without a little panic I am usually on the verge of sleep for most of the afternoon in the office. A quick spillage really gets the adrenaline pumping as the muscles kick into action in a bullet-time-esque sequence of tearing laptop off its docking station and the fumbling around the release latch, while ignoring scalding hot tea streaming off the keyboard, and the laughter of the so-called team mates I am sat with.
Ahhh... to be back in the halcyon days of using that old waterproof Itronix Go-Book which was up to milspec...
Oh the impetuosity (sic?) of youth... wait till the next Apple Conference to see the new, better, 100% product!
PS. @Ewen Bruce
Swapping batteries isn't the only reason to remove a battery from a laptop - it is good to have the ability to do such things when changing components, or opening it up for cleaning, as well as those occasions where the machine is the recipient of spilt liquids.
AC, would you happen to have the part number of this screen available? I’ve busted a 10.6 inch Vaio subnotebook screen and can’t be bothered spanking £250 for a replacement, and would be happy to downgrade from the 1280x768 part to one with lower resolution to get the thing up and running… even with gaffer tape around the screen for the 0.5 inch drop in size…
In related news, heroin users have the highest drug satisfaction and reliability of ANY drug users out there as well...
Not a swipe at Apple per se (though I have no love of the company and my mate's week old Macbook Pro is a lovely paperweight pending a visit to the genius bar), but rather the company I work for, who troop out this line all the time. All it shows is that you can create enough branding and cult status that you can delude your users into loving you!
It’s a bit worse than that I’m afraid – ROKS Sejong The Great has greater VLS capacity than the Burkes, as well as the Japanese Kongo class (128 vs 96), has 16 Harpoons as well as Goalkeeper CIWS and RAM missiles, with which the US Navy are replacing Phalanx with. She was launched in 2007 and commissioned into service in 2008, passing her weapons testing phase ahead of time! Basically, South Korea built her to the Burke template in a local yard using local skills but using readily available, existing components, mostly from the US (including the BAE gun!). Unlike the UK, the Korean government had a role and a capability gap they wanted to fill and did something about it, all at the cost of about $923 million apiece!
What I don’t understand is the fascination with being independent of the US, when at the same time the Royal Navy retired the Sea Harrier citing that they would be operating under the protection of friendly airpower – neglecting the point that if an Invincible class carrier is needed in an operation, then surely land based aircraft are unavailable (otherwise why need a carrier?) so there must be a US carrier handy and indeed working with the UK (I’m discounting the Indian, Spanish and other carrier-operating countries as they each only have one Invincible sized “sea control ship”).
It seems that everyone in government has forgotten the Falklands campaign, when those nice allies forgot to lend us a supercarrier…
Samsung UN55B8000 55" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
LG Electronics 42LH30 42" LCD TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
Samsung LN32B360 32" LCD TV (Widescreen, 1366x768, HDTV)
Samsung UN46B6000 46" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
Samsung UN55B8500 55" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
167 posts • joined Wednesday 26th November 2008 10:49 GMT
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Big Bear
Have ANY of you geeks shopped for a phone before? → #
Posted Monday 11th January 2010 10:18 GMT
In Google to mobile industry: ‘F*ck you very much!’
I'm reading a lot of stuff about locked in handset, etc. etc. but to my knowledge and experience you can go to a store, online or real, buy a handset from a manufacturer and stick a SIM into you device. Then the device has none of the network provider's crap on it, just the standard manufacturer's crap, and you can use it as you will... Network operators negotiate with manufacturers and provide a small subset of their range to the public with deals that include an alledgedly free handset, but they will give you a far cheaper tariff only deal if you ask them.
That's what I did for my current phone, as the UK providers do not want to supply the version of phone I wanted. Paid the manufacturer directly on their website, phone arrived, got a great tariff only deal from the network dudes (no hardware provided) and Larry was a very happy man.
Big Bear
@VulcanV5 → #
Posted Friday 8th January 2010 14:07 GMT
In El Reg sparks international incident with Olympics committee
Who is more corrupt? The UK Government or the IOC?
Discuss.
Big Bear
@Glen Forde → #
Posted Friday 8th January 2010 14:06 GMT
In Enormous raygun-on-a-lorry project acquires lorry
Sir,
Might I suggest a quick viewing this weekend of the fantastic cinematic offering "Megashark vs Giant Octopus"? Drag yon eyes from young(ish) Deborah Gibson (Deborah is her grown up name for serious acting... Debbie was just a good time girl apparently) and feast them 'pon Megashark. Not only can he handle a lorry strapped to his head, but if memory serves me right, at one point he swims at 500 knots, which is a significant percentage of the speed of sound at sea level.
Now, if only we can be sure the darn t'errists haven't got themselves a Giant Octopus...
Big Bear
That olde video → #
Posted Friday 8th January 2010 14:04 GMT
In French court says 'oui' on workplace smut
Does that video contravene UK filth laws, and as I have watched it, does that mean the boys in blue will be knocking on my door anytime soon?
Those stories of youtube being flooded by smut are true!
Big Bear
Copyright? Or whatever the F*** it falls under... → #
Posted Friday 8th January 2010 14:04 GMT
In IPS in cunning 'get an ID card, get crucified' scheme
I'd piss myself if Universal hadn't agreed to using their iconic line for this campaign and sued the IPS for thieving it...
Big Bear
Old hat? → #
Posted Thursday 7th January 2010 12:20 GMT
In Lenovo demos mini laptop with slip-out screen
Looks cool, hope it runs a bit "snappier" than that!
However, there has been an entire range of these kind of machines out in the Far East in the 7inch form factor over the last two years, that just haven't made it over to these shores. I don't get the US-centric skew of tech when the true innovators are over in Tokyo, Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul...
PS. Agree with Gary - stop calling them Slates... they are fecking TABLET PCs and have been for the last decade!!
Big Bear
At least it was for something decent → #
Posted Friday 1st January 2010 20:31 GMT
In FCC rescues American football fans
Our paramount leader Gordo Broon only got involved to have a wee chat with Subo or something like that!
Now, if we can get fecking Fox to let us watch the playoffs on a non Sky channel in this country...
Big Bear
A matter of perspective → #
Posted Thursday 31st December 2009 14:18 GMT
In iSlate? I spy more control from Cupertino
The difference between a phone and a personal computer is that the unwashed masses install nothing onto their phones, using them as they arrive in the box, whereas in personal computing, people expect to have the option to add software as they see fit, even if it down to the classic "You need a newer version of flash player. Click Yes to install it" type of prompts. The iPhone has changed this model to the point that everyone is jumping into the appstore world, but then again, the scope of activies possible on a tablet is far, far greater than on a phone. Will big corporate systems restrict themselves to godawful browser based versions for use on these machines, or will iTunes suddenly start selling SAP Tablet v1.0 for £10k per license?!
If this is the way Apple do take it, I can foresee the iSlate being hailed as the greatest thing since toast, then the other hardware manufacturers will launch their versions running Windows or Linux and those will the ones that companies buy up in the thousands.
Interesting random thought: if these things support multitouch, how will the screen fare in terms of greasy finger marks? I had reason to use both a Fujitsu tablet and a touchscreen laptop back in 2002, and the smearing across the screen was the most annoying thing, especially as compared to a phone screen, you look far more closely and intently at a computer screen. Back then, both machines came with a stylus, but for multitouch a stylus is not practical so greasy dirty fingers will be the tool of choice...
Big Bear
Wowser → #
Posted Tuesday 29th December 2009 05:30 GMT
In High-speed Chinese train kicks French, Japanese butt
£71 first or £45 coach... for 684 miles?
London to Edinburgh is half the distance for a 50% longer time (assuming no strikes/leaves/rain/snow/sunshine/overcast/wind/cows/sheep/piss/poo delays the train), and runs to far more than those prices! I'd do a comparison but the pricing structure of the UK railways is beyond anyone without a few PhDs in theoretical maths...
Big Bear
Waaaaaaaaaaaah! → #
Posted Tuesday 29th December 2009 05:28 GMT
In Bad glass delayed Apple tablet?
I miss my Fujitsu Stylistic tablet from 8 years ago!!!
Big Bear
Ferrari performance? → #
Posted Tuesday 29th December 2009 05:28 GMT
In Speculative Googlenetbook specs surface
So that means it'll be quick enough to run Crysis at full resolution, but that the battery will only last a few minutes? Last I checked Ferraris weren't the most economical of cars!!
Big Bear
@Publisher's viewpoint @A friggin' fridge magnet → #
Posted Friday 25th December 2009 15:56 GMT
In Hackers break Amazon's Kindle DRM
In David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series of space opera (yes, a copy of Forester's "Horatio Hornblower" but set in space), the hardback copies of each book come with a CD with the complete series in ebook format, and several chapters of all of the books are available to read on the website of the publsher, Baen. This gives an incentive to spend the significantly larger amount of money for buying the hardback book as compared to the paperback, and I actually enjoy the series so much that I have paper copies of all of them, as well as ebook copies...
Big Bear
@Darren Lovell → #
Posted Thursday 24th December 2009 14:08 GMT
In Homemade airship prang closes highway in Oklahoma
Any plethora of patent squatters would and seem to do!
Big Bear
Gaming world DRM → #
Posted Wednesday 23rd December 2009 13:06 GMT
In Hackers break Amazon's Kindle DRM
Thems gotta be the worst of them all - especially the SecureROM ones! I don't object to buying a game (usually preowned as I don't really worry about playing the latest and greatest as soon as they come out) but invariably end up with a dodgy cracked executable to play the damn thing without lugging disks all over the country.
Not to mention they always make installing the damn game much, much more difficult, usually because I happen to have another, perfectly legal, bit of software on MY machine...
Big Bear
Forgive my lack of knowledge... → #
Posted Wednesday 23rd December 2009 13:00 GMT
In HP probes 'racist' webcams
But WTF is this facial recognition software meant to be used for? If I'm chatting to someone I don't want to see only their face, be it for the "other" kind of chat or not. If I'm chatting to my mate across the world, then his wife and kid will be somewhere in frame so does it sweep between the three of them? Is this another case of shiny and clever, yet pointless, tech?
Big Bear
Pointless machine → #
Posted Friday 18th December 2009 17:20 GMT
In Sony Vaio X ultra lightweight notebook
Have to agree that this seems to be a pointless, stupidly overpriced netbook with a gilded finish. Your review compares it to the Macbook Air, whereas I'd compare it to the Vaio TT, with dual core, built in optical drive and every possible gizmo in the world, all in a netbook size.
I also agree with Craig 12 that the complaint about the screen needs to be clarified - the SZ comes with a carbon fibre lid (I think... might be magnesium), and I have picked up a bad habit of carrying mine by the top corner of the screen... which lead to my chunky plastic work HP's screen developing lots of green and blue vertical lines after a year, whereas the Sony screen is still perfect after 3 years. Speaking of screens, the Macbook Air may well have a 1280x800, but that's exactly the same rez as my 10.6 inch Vaio TR from 2004, though it comes with built in DVD burner as well... My last contract at some big telco what sells netbooks saw many folk impressed at the screen the old girl had compared to the shiny new netbooks we were pedalling to the masses!
Big Bear
Cull them all! → #
Posted Wednesday 16th December 2009 10:20 GMT
In Google says ad blockers will save online ads
I use various ad-block, noscript and block advertisers like doubleclick on all my browsers at home, and on my portable virtual desktop that I take into work (megamonolithiccorp doesn't want me to shove 50 gig of my music onto the work laptop for some reason!), and so I've gotten used to seeing websites as I like them, with only the information I am looking for and as little as possible extra cack. Then I recently had cause to use the work browser, IE6 in all of its glory no less, to do some surfing at *ahem* lunchtime and I was simply shocked at how much advertising some sites have... with El Reg being one of them. For example, some places have a fecking huge banner ad that means to see any meaningful content you need to scroll down a little on every fecking page you go to! That's something that just pisses off any sane user...
Big Bear
@magnetik → #
Posted Tuesday 15th December 2009 08:18 GMT
In Apple cancels Christmas... if you want a 27 inch iMac
"it's probably something like a problem in the refresh rate in the OS X driver, in which case it should be easily fixed"
For the premium price on the premium product that Jobbitologists peddle, I'd expect the fecking thing to be fecking perfect, especially as Apple sell themselves on providing unparalleled end user experiences controlling both software and hardware!! IIRC, Apple have gone as far as to tell the unwashed masses that they don't know how to build a cheap $500 machine, only great, high-end, expensive and shiny toys...
BTW, this vent is possibly on the back of watching a lovely, new, unibody Macbook Pro become the world's shiniest paperweight for two weeks this summer.
Big Bear
DAMN YOU WOODS!!! → #
Posted Saturday 12th December 2009 13:54 GMT
In El Reg uncovers Tiger Woods tech angle
Now when I search for Tiger Woods PGA Golf for Playstation as a xmas present, not only will I break this high court injunction and I will be sent to Gitmo to do time beside the Pentagon Hacker and those crazy militant Icelandic volcanic bathing pools of terror fundies, but I will also break numerous extreme pr0n laws that inundate this country, plus probably even bringing back the links will land me with the three strikes rule and my pathetic broadband connection will be cut out from under me, despite the guv'normint wanting broadband to be in every house in the country like electricity and whatnot...
Big Bear
I've seen this before... → #
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 14:06 GMT
In US Air Force orders 2200 Sony PS3s
Linked to a big, spinny wheel thing with some exotic symbols and a few chevrons on it and a big shiny reflective watery like surface...
Big Bear
Is that why...? → #
Posted Wednesday 18th November 2009 10:43 GMT
In V-22 Osprey, stealth jumpjet 'need refrigerated landing pads'
When you see Sea Harriers landing on the Invincibles they tend to bump down then roll forward a little? Is that to get out from over the recently heated bit of deck?
Big Bear
Hoist by their own petard? → #
Posted Thursday 22nd October 2009 23:07 GMT
In Nokia sues Apple over iPhone
Sweet, sweet irony for the patent happy Applists...
For the various Church of Jobbitologists here, please note that Nokia have been in the mobile market since time immemorial, and have been actively involved in developing the various standards of mobile technology, from GSM, GPRS, 3G onwards, as well as such mundane little things such as the spectrum used, the masts and infrastructure, the globalisation of the technology and the commonality of such systems - anyone else remember the days of having phones that didn't work in the US due to triband issues?
And for the record, I don't like any of the current Nokia stuff, in fact, the last decent phones were the 6210 series and the really tiny ones that came after. In fact, the terrible battery life (one day of light usage FFS!!!??!?!) and general flakiness of the 6500 classic have pushed me back to Sony Ericsson.
Big Bear
The SE W902 → #
Posted Tuesday 22nd September 2009 06:20 GMT
In World's first motion-controlled headphones outed
"SE's W902 phone, for example, lets you skip through tracks and change the volume by shaking the handset."
Not quite that easy - you have to hold down the shiny, none pokey-outey button on the top right corner while flicking you phone to the right and down to advance a track. Of course, this is flakey as sh*t so you end up offending the local yoof who think you are gesticulating at them with a rude gesture as favoured by football hooligans and road ragers.
As for changing the volume, that's news to me, but if anyone has a clue how to change the volume on this phone without using the volume buttons I'd like to hear about it as my increase volume button is goosed.
Of course, it goes without saying that this "motion control" is complete pish as there are dedicated buttons for the same functions that let you change tracks and so on while the phone is in the pocket as long as you can remember which button is what. <RANT> Yet another bit of pointless shinyness from boffins who don't know how things are utilised in real life. Plus, knowing the buttons allows you to watch where you are going rather than blindly stepping while your eyes are glued to your Android or iPhone with its touchscreen. Yes, I'm talking to all you w*nkers on the Tube who have the gall to tell me to watch where I'm going when I'm dropping the shoulder into you because YOU are not looking up. I don't mind being walked into but there are old folk and wee kids that you really should keep an eye out for you complete f*cking tools, especially that tall tw*t last Thursday going into Liverpool Street with the blonde hair and glasses and dark mac coat at about 7.50pm. </RANT>
Big Bear
@Havin_it → #
Posted Wednesday 9th September 2009 07:48 GMT
In Foxconn working on 'sub-£100' ARM-based Linux netbooks
Isn't that a fruit based exchange rate?
Big Bear
Sorry, had to be said... → #
Posted Monday 7th September 2009 09:22 GMT
In 'Exomoonologist': NASA can detect forest moon of Endor
"That's not a moon...."
@h6 - UCL is a University, but is also a college of the larger University of London, of which it was one of the founding members alongside King's College, London (also a university) in 1836. It claims to be the third oldest university in England, and is considered to be one of the best ones in the country.
*Disclaimer: I didn't go there... never even thought to apply!
Big Bear
Anyone check if... → #
Posted Friday 28th August 2009 15:28 GMT
In Apple and Snow Leopard take-downs - just say no
The lawyer/cowboys were working on US time? Maybe they read the article and t'was still the day afore the launch in the US. Notsure how clued up our cousins across the pond are about such things as time differences and whatnot... especially the pondscum that is the law fraternity!
Big Bear
@g e → #
Posted Thursday 27th August 2009 13:16 GMT
In Mechwarrior maker claims Microsoft 'destroyed' studio's culture
How are you getting your lasers to hit at 1km? Clan ER Large hits out to 800m, ER Large Pulse the same... unless you mean the Clan PPC? I believe it hits out to 1000m... been ages since I played anything but the MekTek version which downgraded the Clan PPC to something more sensible, though incidentally less in line with the game mechanics, as it was 15 damage for 15 heat at extremely long range (longer than LRMs IRCC).
Of course, the new level 3 tech rules for the Jihad era have me completely befuddled... rotaries are overpowered but not too bad, but the Light/Heavy/Snub weapons... WTF?? Like Protomechs I believe they are a step too far...
Anyway, back to the topic, FASA should've been expecting that really, but with MS's monolithic mass behind them, we might get to see the Unseen mechs again at least, which would be a silver lining!
Big Bear
RE: Big Victory for Microsoft → #
Posted Monday 24th August 2009 18:42 GMT
In Nokia launches laptop
Not sure how you can say Nokia and Sony are Microsoft competitors!
MS = OS
Nokia = handsets, lots of handsets of every make, lots of mobile tech and innovation, tiny bit of OS specialised into phones.
Sony = every electronic thing under the sun, from tellys to robots to laptops, with a spinoff combined with Ericcson to make phones a la Nokia.
Not that much competition there that I can see!!
@John 181 - the 11" 1280x768 display as currently made by Sharp sells for £200 alone! The reason the netbooks are at that ridiculous 1024 rez is as they can use existing, cheap stock of 10" displays shared with other devices. Believe me, I'm in the hunt for a 10" 1280 to fix one of my existing machines and they are not cheap!
Big Bear
It's a notebook → #
Posted Saturday 22nd August 2009 15:11 GMT
In MSI intros 12in Wind notebook-not-netbook
12in notebooks are an existing form factor, and nothing new - the only difference is that it used to be the size that execs would use and it would fit into their swanky leather satchels and that their PA's could carry without breaking an expensive stilletto heel, whereas the rest of us would get a 15in monster. The new thing is that this machine is priced low, whereas the 12in machines of days gone used to be expensive, but then again, the whole notebook pricing scheme has reduced mightily since the advent of the netbook.
Big Bear
@bex → #
Posted Monday 10th August 2009 08:25 GMT
In iTablet to rake in $1bn, claims analyst
Unfortunately it won't be the geeks buying this, but the sheeple who get ihypnotised by shiny alumnium and white plastic... so it'll be £500x(gullible fools) Q1 next year with the massive rush for the new tablet, then another £700x(rich gullible fools) for the upgraded version Q4 next year...
As a business model I really can't fault Apple! Snake oil still sells!
Big Bear
@asdf → #
Posted Thursday 30th July 2009 12:26 GMT
In Exposed activist accuses Tiscali of putting life in peril
Maybe they did elect Burlesque-coni twice, but we put NuLabour in THREE times! We have no leg to stand on with that kind of comment!
I assume that asdf is from the UK, of course, as any Yank wouldn't get involved about a certain leader getting voted in twice...
Big Bear
@Sarah Bee → #
Posted Wednesday 29th July 2009 13:48 GMT
In Apple bars Google's Voice from iPhone
Where is the real Ms Moderatrix and what have you done with her? Her pleasing no nonsense approach to cracking the whip over all the willingly obedient boys here is not reflected with that Zen stuff you just spouted!!
Someone else pleases the boys here too...
Big Bear
@coldfumonkeh → #
Posted Monday 27th July 2009 15:28 GMT
In AVG update gags iTunes
Dude… you need to lay off the caffeine!
And maybe scope the project a bit better rather than giving such a short delivery timescale for what can only seem to be “critical” dev work in the early hours over a weekend!!
Big Bear
Why oh why???? → #
Posted Friday 24th July 2009 19:22 GMT
In Sony commits to touchscreen Vaio PCs
Vaios come with lovely, clear, crisp screens, that will be marred by greasy, dirty finger marks!! I remember using touchscreen ruggidised laptops 8 years ago and they came with big, thick screens and low resolution that still managed to get annoyingly filthy with repeated use... and the touchscreen was only a bit of gimmick as it led to moving your hands off touch typing stance, and my arm got tired, not to mention the control was not fine enough for most tasks. Especially compared to the handy little mousepad under your thumbs!
I can see Sony using this gimmick to add a few £$£$ to the cost of the already expensive machines...
Big Bear
@Stuart Van Onselen → #
Posted Tuesday 21st July 2009 15:45 GMT
In US tactical bot has no taste for humans
If the EATR will, like the shark, only destroy all humans by accident, then we're still gonna be fubared! What if it decides to taste everyone? How can it even tell the difference between us and plants? Will the last living being in the world be the lonely, sad figure of Worzel Gummidge in a field somewhere in the West Country?
Human flesh may be inefficient to power this new metallic beast, but then it can deploy drones to herd us into easy to consume lanes of humankind? Kinda like drive through feasting. And the rendered human fat can be used to fuel it's never ending flamethrowers.
PS. All the laws of robotics and the Geneva Conventions are well and good, but accidents can and will happen... sometimes by accident too...
Big Bear
That has me thunking... → #
Posted Monday 20th July 2009 15:32 GMT
In German bomber crashes on
MoonGoogle EarthHas Nessie turned up on Google Earth? Or even better, a pixellated face of Nessie of LochView?
Big Bear
What about...? → #
Posted Monday 20th July 2009 12:32 GMT
In It shouldn't happen to a vetting database
Priests? Do they need vetting?????!
Big Bear
@Adam T → #
Posted Thursday 16th July 2009 15:24 GMT
In Apple ends Palm Pre's iTunes charade
The iPod bundling comment was a joke – which in retrospect is a bit of a topical comment...
In answer to your first post, though I accept your arguments about the market driven business and exclusivity, this is part of what I mean when saying that iTunes in conjunction with the iPod, which it is undeniably linked to as per your own argument, forms the de facto monopoly! What you say about the free DVD is irrelevant as neither the Daily Mail nor The Independent have that 70% market share that iTunes has. In terms of a free market, all is well until you have a commanding position, then the authorities come in and stamp on you for your success, with anti-competition laws and that kind of stuff, which behaviour like this from Apple will only accelerate – I think maybe they should have quietly asked Palm to cease and desist, and offered them a slice of the action for a price, rather than arbitrarily cutting off the access.
And no, I do not think Palm are in the right here, far from it, but I do think Apple’s actions could have been better managed to portray less of the bullying monopolist using dominant market share and position to force rivals out. That’s the kind of behaviour that got MS in all kinds of poo…
Big Bear
@Michael Brown → #
Posted Thursday 16th July 2009 13:16 GMT
In Apple ends Palm Pre's iTunes charade
Sorry, but that argument also holds no water – iTunes has become a de facto monopoly within the music and media management world, such that artists release their music to iTunes only in some cases. In this case, as the monopolists, Apple should be asked to allow better integration of their iTunes store and hence software to other operating systems, as well as open it up to other players. Essentially, it is the media player equivalent of MS Windows in the desktop world… one that when installed, overwrites default player settings, much like you describe in your last sentence. Both are as bad as each other, in their respective monopoly arenas – it doesn’t matter what the aim of the product is: when it becomes a monopoly it starts getting treated differently!
Now the big question: how come iPods are allowed to come bundled with iTunes? ;-)
Big Bear
@Dana W → #
Posted Thursday 16th July 2009 09:46 GMT
In Apple ends Palm Pre's iTunes charade
Errr... so Windows developers coded iTunes for the Windows platform? Somehow I doubt it...
Palm should've seen this coming and were a bit f**king stupid for getting the Pre to pretend to be an iPod. They're a big company, not a basement hack shop and really should have either licensed it or just developed their own/partnered with someone else.
However, the big question is why do people use iTunes? My music sits in folders according to artist and then album; the track info is all stored as metadata; and when I want to "sync" it up, I drag'n'drop via bluetooth, USB, wireless, or whatever. What advantage does iTunes have?
Big Bear
RE: About time → #
Posted Tuesday 14th July 2009 00:14 GMT
In Intel relaxes rules on netbook screen specs, say moles
Agreed– the standard 1024x600 is just too piddly to be useful, but I can see this new directive from the Wintel overlords to be another excuse for the manufacturers to pump the price up a bit. The standard netbook screen is relatively cheap, but from personal experience, a 1280x800 10” screen is over £200…
I wonder how much business the Celeron (rebranded as Pentium?) machines have lost out to Atom powered machines… that would be an interesting statistic. If such a thing can actually exist.
Big Bear
@Rob → #
Posted Wednesday 8th July 2009 16:07 GMT
In 'Metal muscle' memory-alloy robot flapper bat shown off
Great! Now to create the gyro, fusion engines, and, most importantly, neurohelmet!
Mines the grinning ASK-7D Atlas.
Big Bear
That's bad news → #
Posted Tuesday 7th July 2009 09:45 GMT
In Apple moves to patent fingerprint-controlled gadgets
Makes my life more difficult - now, when I steal an iPod, I'll have to chop their fingers off as well!!
Big Bear
@James Goddard → #
Posted Monday 6th July 2009 23:56 GMT
In US sinks $0.5bn into electromagnetic aircraft-throwers
I believe that HMS Ocean was so cheap due to her design being based upon commercial, not military, standards, which led to some compromises like her top speed of 18 knots, painfully slow for a warship. Also, she lacks the ability to operate Harriers like the Invincibles can, being limited to helicopters, as she was designed for that role. That having been said, a few more of her class would be useful as she suits her role superbly, but if she had to operate in hostiles seas, she'd definitely need some proper carriers to cover her!
Big Bear
@Jolyon Smith → #
Posted Monday 6th July 2009 14:16 GMT
In Amiga Forever updated for Windows 7
Ahhh... my first virus... I still remember it well: rainbow coloured writing bouncing across the screen, pronouncing that "Something wonderful has happened... Your Amiga is alive!".
Reminded me of Wizball for some reason!
Big Bear
@Ted Treen → #
Posted Wednesday 1st July 2009 09:23 GMT
In Apple MacBook Pro 15in June 2009 release
I find it generally livens my day up, as without a little panic I am usually on the verge of sleep for most of the afternoon in the office. A quick spillage really gets the adrenaline pumping as the muscles kick into action in a bullet-time-esque sequence of tearing laptop off its docking station and the fumbling around the release latch, while ignoring scalding hot tea streaming off the keyboard, and the laughter of the so-called team mates I am sat with.
Ahhh... to be back in the halcyon days of using that old waterproof Itronix Go-Book which was up to milspec...
Big Bear
@Buck Futter → #
Posted Tuesday 30th June 2009 14:47 GMT
In Apple MacBook Pro 15in June 2009 release
Oh the impetuosity (sic?) of youth... wait till the next Apple Conference to see the new, better, 100% product!
PS. @Ewen Bruce
Swapping batteries isn't the only reason to remove a battery from a laptop - it is good to have the ability to do such things when changing components, or opening it up for cleaning, as well as those occasions where the machine is the recipient of spilt liquids.
Big Bear
RE: TV Screen → #
Posted Monday 29th June 2009 14:13 GMT
In Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook
AC, would you happen to have the part number of this screen available? I’ve busted a 10.6 inch Vaio subnotebook screen and can’t be bothered spanking £250 for a replacement, and would be happy to downgrade from the 1280x768 part to one with lower resolution to get the thing up and running… even with gaffer tape around the screen for the 0.5 inch drop in size…
Big Bear
@Joe Ragosta → #
Posted Monday 29th June 2009 08:33 GMT
In Apple MacBook Pro firmware fritzes third-party HDDs
In related news, heroin users have the highest drug satisfaction and reliability of ANY drug users out there as well...
Not a swipe at Apple per se (though I have no love of the company and my mate's week old Macbook Pro is a lovely paperweight pending a visit to the genius bar), but rather the company I work for, who troop out this line all the time. All it shows is that you can create enough branding and cult status that you can delude your users into loving you!
Big Bear
Vs Korean Navy → #
Posted Tuesday 23rd June 2009 14:36 GMT
In MPs slam 'disgraceful' Type 45 destroyers
It’s a bit worse than that I’m afraid – ROKS Sejong The Great has greater VLS capacity than the Burkes, as well as the Japanese Kongo class (128 vs 96), has 16 Harpoons as well as Goalkeeper CIWS and RAM missiles, with which the US Navy are replacing Phalanx with. She was launched in 2007 and commissioned into service in 2008, passing her weapons testing phase ahead of time! Basically, South Korea built her to the Burke template in a local yard using local skills but using readily available, existing components, mostly from the US (including the BAE gun!). Unlike the UK, the Korean government had a role and a capability gap they wanted to fill and did something about it, all at the cost of about $923 million apiece!
What I don’t understand is the fascination with being independent of the US, when at the same time the Royal Navy retired the Sea Harrier citing that they would be operating under the protection of friendly airpower – neglecting the point that if an Invincible class carrier is needed in an operation, then surely land based aircraft are unavailable (otherwise why need a carrier?) so there must be a US carrier handy and indeed working with the UK (I’m discounting the Indian, Spanish and other carrier-operating countries as they each only have one Invincible sized “sea control ship”).
It seems that everyone in government has forgotten the Falklands campaign, when those nice allies forgot to lend us a supercarrier…
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