The newer versions of MSOffice have that weird interface where everything is all over the place to the point you're always hunting for the right button.
I'll stick to OpenOffice and iWork for the conceivable future I reckon, MS just isn't worth the money.
Matthew 17
another pointless Apple article designed to cause an argument →#
I'm sure the Reg like nothing more than trying to cause an Apple-based argument.
Every article is worded as a dig so that the fanbois will respond and then the Linux/MS fanbois will counter.
Apple makes a lot of money, they do this by selling the things they make for a profit, it's not really a unique business model. No-one complains that Porches are too expensive despite the fact there are cheaper cars that are faster so I can't fathom why so many people get upset when ever Apple do anything.
The PS3 is indeed PPC but the 360 is a triple-core Intel chip.
The problem with media PC's for me (regardless of whether you run Linux or MS) is they're noisy and slow to boot up and generally a bit clunky.
A dedicated XBMC machine would be nice (the Xbox 1 can boot up into that in about 10 seconds from hitting the power button), so a hacked 360 that ran XBMC would be ideal but still a long way off. my Apple TV box runs XBMC which is nicer than the Xbox 1 but isn't quite quick enough for HD content.
I still use my chipped Xbox 1 as an XBMC / Emulator box. It's nice but the wired controllers are a bit naff and it's not fast enough for HD or newer MAME ROMs. If the same functionality could be added to a modified PS3 it would have sufficient abilities and in a convenient package (far nicer than a typical media-PC too).
Although ideally I'd have an HDMI equipped MacMini under my TV if only Apple would make such a thing.
Home entertainment is all about convenience above all. Does anyone really think that folk will be arsed having to stick on some glasses before they can watch something?
No-one wants to have to put glasses on to what TV, unless you're watching some Avatar-esque film it would be pointless anyway, you can't convert existing films / TV progs to 3D either so it would only be for new content, most of which isn't worth watching anyway.
No, they're saying that if it's happening on Titan then changes in the climate are natural and thus we should adapt to the changes rather than spend $42Trillion on a pointless scheme that won't make any difference other than to impose massive controls on how folk live their lives.
No-one has been able to establish any link between temperature and human emissions, if the Earth is getting warmer, or colder the cause has not been established. If it was it would be in the IPCC report, the closest they've gotten to that was the discredited 'hockey stick' graph.
No-one could exactly ever look at their business model and shout 'you're doing it wrong!'
Apple make hardware, the OS is given away as a loss-leader @£25 to cover distribution costs. If they opened up the OS to run on anything, it would have to be as expensive as Windows and they'd not sell as much hardware which is where they make their money.
Matthew 17
At least they're not falling foul of the trade descriptions act! →#
The Ares programme although cool isn't anything new, it's just a return to the 70's.
NASA should concentrate on space beyond Earth-Orbit, however they shouldn't go at it alone, they should share costs and make space an international venture.
Apple have never made a nice mouse, yet non-Apple mice always take ages to be picked up by the Bluetooth, will be interested in the reviews of this new one.
The Mini, this would make the best media centre ever if only it had HDMI on, sure you can use DVI-HDMI but you'll not get any sound.
I've just bought a second hand 8-core Mac-Pro, looking at the new iMac's probably should have bought one of them instead.
Looked into using rivers for cooling chillers before, the local authorities will only let you use river water if you return it at exactly the same temperature so no good.
If you use chillers & free cooling with mechanical as a stand by then it's more efficient than the MS example:
1. If the outside temp is suitably low then you use purely free cooling.
2. If it's a bit higher then you switch on the chiller (can use rainwater collection with these).
3. If it's a particularly hot day then you use your mechanical on top.
If you don't bother having chillers then you'd have to switch straight to mechanical when you reach '2' which isn't as economical.
When hosting a DC in the UK or Ireland, 97% of the time the outside conditions are as such that you can get by with nothing but free cooling and the occasional use of the chiller, move further north and that figure will become 100%. Having mechanical cooling that you never switch on is as efficient as not having it.
The headline suggests that MS are achieving a PUE of 1.0 or that they can run without any cooling, 365 days a year, this clearly isn't correct (even if it was you'd still need air circulation and humidity control which uses power). IIRC the best Google has managed for DC efficiency was with a PUE of 1.18, can't see anything in this article that suggests they've been 'aped' by MS.
Suse was always my preferred distro and I really liked their KDE tweaks, when they switched to Gnome as the default the whole thing seemed less polished. The latest version of KDE4 isn't bad (still a little clunky in places) so hopefully given that they decided to wait a bit longer before releasing Suse 11.2 I'm hoping that when it does ship it'll restore my faith in that particular distro.
Incidentally never met a Suse-hater that actually knew how to use the management tools that come with it so they usually just start banging on about how crap YaST is.
If the US has $80bn to play with then why don't they team up with the international community and pool their resources? There's no advantage to the US to try and repeat the space race and go at it alone. Surely a repeat of the team-work that made the ISS a reality could enable a visit to Mars.
If so the whole endeavour would be much more interesting and noble.
Most electric cars are rubbish, charge them up drive a bit, wait a week for them to recharge, even the fast ones like the Tesla have the problem. The Volt is the first one that looks like it could make sense. Unlike the Prius that uses the petrol engine to power the wheels to give slightly better economy than a regular car, the engine in this is purely there to generate electricity, doesn't drive the wheels directly. Therefore you can charge the thing at home for short trips using the power from your house, perfect for the daily commute or fill it up for longer trips. It's a proper car to boot not some silly G-Wiz thing.
I'm no fan of the green nonsense that comes from the media but if this car delivers anything like what is claimed then the running costs will be fantastic.
For the majority of this planets existence there hasn't been any ice at the poles. Regardless of what Humans do it's a safe bet that at some point there won't be any again. However it'll happen at a speed comparable to continental-drift that it's unlikely it'll cause anyone or anything problems.
Any alternative to traditional sources of power such as fossil or fission will take up a huge amount of space and be very complicated to connect the power to the people that will use it.
Although investigations into alternative sources of power are to be welcomed it's obvious that a viable solution is still a long way off.
I have 2 BD players (1 is a PS3). The quality on a large flat screen or projector is great.
You can get a great player for under £200 so they're really not expensive, at this stage in the life of CD or DVD they were over twice that. Media isn't that more expensive either.
The biggest problem I see is that the available software is poor, the selection in shops is also very poor. When you go into your local electrical retailers they almost always have SD TV multiplexed to 100 screens and the picture looks hopeless.
In addition when DVD came out most of the films released were just ported from VHS and had poor video and sound without any extras, you had to wait for the eventual 'Special Edition', this is also true of BD whereby most of the films coming out unless they're a new film are just upscaled ports from the DVD and again without any extras.
Physical media will still be around for at least a decade as the Internet just isn't up to the task and won't be for a long time. Waiting for a film to download before you can start watching is is hopeless, it's like loading a game off a cassette for your 8-Bit home computer!
As pointless as the ISS is, and despite the fact that there's no record of any of the actual 'science' that is said to go on there and taking into consideration it's $200Bn price tag, it is still rather awesome nonetheless.
If Mars did hit the Earth, it would be a billion or so years after all life had left that planet due to the Sun nearing the end of its' life and the radiation levels coming from it would have long since baked everything here.
Therefore if we'd not already left the Solar System by that point we'd have colonised the now defrosted Mars & the moons of Jupiter.
We'd have to deliberately destroy the Earth to clear a path for our new home.
Samsung UN55B8000 55" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
LG Electronics 42LH30 42" LCD TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
Samsung UN55B8500 55" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
Sony BRAVIA KDL-40EX400 40" LCD TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
Samsung UN40B6000 40" LED TV (Widescreen, 1920x1080, HDTV)
37 posts • joined Thursday 11th June 2009 10:07 GMT
Matthew 17
Paris Hilton? → #
Posted Monday 8th March 2010 15:49 GMT
In Paris Hilton crowned 'Worst Actress of the Decade'
I would.
Matthew 17
Horrid interface though → #
Posted Monday 15th February 2010 11:29 GMT
In Outlooked Office for Mac 2011 unveiled
The newer versions of MSOffice have that weird interface where everything is all over the place to the point you're always hunting for the right button.
I'll stick to OpenOffice and iWork for the conceivable future I reckon, MS just isn't worth the money.
Matthew 17
another pointless Apple article designed to cause an argument → #
Posted Thursday 11th February 2010 14:29 GMT
In Researchers rip iPad apart to reveal Apple's profits
I'm sure the Reg like nothing more than trying to cause an Apple-based argument.
Every article is worded as a dig so that the fanbois will respond and then the Linux/MS fanbois will counter.
Apple makes a lot of money, they do this by selling the things they make for a profit, it's not really a unique business model. No-one complains that Porches are too expensive despite the fact there are cheaper cars that are faster so I can't fathom why so many people get upset when ever Apple do anything.
Matthew 17
should include a lie feature → #
Posted Thursday 11th February 2010 14:27 GMT
In Navigon adds Twitter, Facebook to satnav iPhone app
If it could lie about your location then it would be great at creating false alibis
Clearly not thinking outside the box!
Matthew 17
when can we send a robot to have a swim? → #
Posted Wednesday 10th February 2010 15:25 GMT
In Boffins spy liquid water on Saturn's moon
We've been waiting for proof of aliens for ever, it's about time they turned up.
If they turn out to be sea monsters then that'll do.
Matthew 17
Not really a numbers game → # ↑
Posted Monday 8th February 2010 11:46 GMT
In OpenSUSE 11.3 hits milestone numero uno
it's just that when ever a distro comes out it'll use the latest versions of the software they bundle with it.
Matthew 17
everything is stereo → # ↑
Posted Thursday 28th January 2010 12:32 GMT
In Steve Jobs uncloaks the 'iPad'
unless you have 1 ear.
so to recreate how something would sound you need 2 speakers!
Matthew 17
Re: Umm → # ↑
Posted Tuesday 26th January 2010 16:40 GMT
In Once impenetrable PS3 cracked wide open
The PS3 is indeed PPC but the 360 is a triple-core Intel chip.
The problem with media PC's for me (regardless of whether you run Linux or MS) is they're noisy and slow to boot up and generally a bit clunky.
A dedicated XBMC machine would be nice (the Xbox 1 can boot up into that in about 10 seconds from hitting the power button), so a hacked 360 that ran XBMC would be ideal but still a long way off. my Apple TV box runs XBMC which is nicer than the Xbox 1 but isn't quite quick enough for HD content.
Matthew 17
Potentially good news → #
Posted Tuesday 26th January 2010 10:52 GMT
In Once impenetrable PS3 cracked wide open
I still use my chipped Xbox 1 as an XBMC / Emulator box. It's nice but the wired controllers are a bit naff and it's not fast enough for HD or newer MAME ROMs. If the same functionality could be added to a modified PS3 it would have sufficient abilities and in a convenient package (far nicer than a typical media-PC too).
Although ideally I'd have an HDMI equipped MacMini under my TV if only Apple would make such a thing.
Matthew 17
Can you get perscription 3D glasses? → #
Posted Thursday 14th January 2010 00:18 GMT
In 3D TV gets cold shower from Avatar man
Or even better, contact lenses!
Home entertainment is all about convenience above all. Does anyone really think that folk will be arsed having to stick on some glasses before they can watch something?
£10 says it never takes off.
Matthew 17
3DTV will be less popular than SACD /DVD-A → #
Posted Thursday 7th January 2010 11:06 GMT
In Sony confirms 3D TV channel plans
No-one wants to have to put glasses on to what TV, unless you're watching some Avatar-esque film it would be pointless anyway, you can't convert existing films / TV progs to 3D either so it would only be for new content, most of which isn't worth watching anyway.
I'd have some polarised contact-lenses though.
Matthew 17
not quite → # ↑
Posted Tuesday 1st December 2009 11:03 GMT
In Titan has Earth-style 'climate change', says prof
No, they're saying that if it's happening on Titan then changes in the climate are natural and thus we should adapt to the changes rather than spend $42Trillion on a pointless scheme that won't make any difference other than to impose massive controls on how folk live their lives.
No-one has been able to establish any link between temperature and human emissions, if the Earth is getting warmer, or colder the cause has not been established. If it was it would be in the IPCC report, the closest they've gotten to that was the discredited 'hockey stick' graph.
Matthew 17
time to move on → #
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 22:36 GMT
In 'World's largest' BitTorrent tracker Mininova kneecapped
Do think they're fighting a losing battle trying to shut these sites down, takes 2 seconds for folk to latch onto a new one.
Matthew 17
given how much money Apple makes → #
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 12:35 GMT
In Apple wants life ban for clone maker
No-one could exactly ever look at their business model and shout 'you're doing it wrong!'
Apple make hardware, the OS is given away as a loss-leader @£25 to cover distribution costs. If they opened up the OS to run on anything, it would have to be as expensive as Windows and they'd not sell as much hardware which is where they make their money.
Matthew 17
At least they're not falling foul of the trade descriptions act! → #
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 12:34 GMT
In Microsoft enlists faceless girl band as face of Windows 7
Apple binned their hardware to make them more attractive, it's only right that the Sugar'babes' were able to do the same thing.
If only MS could follow their leads.
Matthew 17
for 99% of computer users → #
Posted Friday 20th November 2009 10:39 GMT
In Google Chrome OS - do we want another monoculture?
This is exactly what they want.
They just want to connect to the web and dick around with their photos & music. They want it to be completely non-technical and idiot proof.
Matthew 17
Installed it this morning → #
Posted Friday 13th November 2009 15:57 GMT
In Novell targets netbooks with latest OS
The longer release cycle definitely paid off, this feels much more polished than previous versions.
Massive speed boost and glitch free (so far).
Well done Suse, still think it's by far the nicest distro for the desktop.
Matthew 17
Deserves to be cancelled → #
Posted Monday 26th October 2009 11:30 GMT
In Ares I-X 'in great shape' to fly
The Ares programme although cool isn't anything new, it's just a return to the 70's.
NASA should concentrate on space beyond Earth-Orbit, however they shouldn't go at it alone, they should share costs and make space an international venture.
Matthew 17
in a nutshell → #
Posted Thursday 22nd October 2009 16:39 GMT
In Nokia sues Apple over iPhone
Nokia is pissed that Apple make better phones than they do and as such no-one buys their shit any more!
Matthew 17
all good stuff, however... → #
Posted Wednesday 21st October 2009 09:50 GMT
In Apple preempts Win 7 with fresh iMacs, Macbooks
Apple have never made a nice mouse, yet non-Apple mice always take ages to be picked up by the Bluetooth, will be interested in the reviews of this new one.
The Mini, this would make the best media centre ever if only it had HDMI on, sure you can use DVI-HDMI but you'll not get any sound.
I've just bought a second hand 8-core Mac-Pro, looking at the new iMac's probably should have bought one of them instead.
Matthew 17
Fail → #
Posted Monday 19th October 2009 12:32 GMT
In Sony designs 360° 3D TV
No-one wanted 3D TV/Cinema in the 80's when it was new, why does anyone think they will now?
Matthew 17
Codec? → #
Posted Friday 16th October 2009 10:41 GMT
In Blu-ray dropped from updated iMacs?
If you plug in a BD drive into a Mac could it play it?
Matthew 17
indigenous peoples? → #
Posted Wednesday 7th October 2009 14:02 GMT
In 'Stop NASA bombing the Moon!'
Mr Spoon & his Wife?
Matthew 17
@Christopher Key → #
Posted Monday 28th September 2009 15:27 GMT
In Microsoft apes Google with chillerless* data center
Looked into using rivers for cooling chillers before, the local authorities will only let you use river water if you return it at exactly the same temperature so no good.
Can use rainwater harvesting though.
Matthew 17
Smoke n Mirrors → #
Posted Monday 28th September 2009 11:39 GMT
In Microsoft apes Google with chillerless* data center
If you use chillers & free cooling with mechanical as a stand by then it's more efficient than the MS example:
1. If the outside temp is suitably low then you use purely free cooling.
2. If it's a bit higher then you switch on the chiller (can use rainwater collection with these).
3. If it's a particularly hot day then you use your mechanical on top.
If you don't bother having chillers then you'd have to switch straight to mechanical when you reach '2' which isn't as economical.
When hosting a DC in the UK or Ireland, 97% of the time the outside conditions are as such that you can get by with nothing but free cooling and the occasional use of the chiller, move further north and that figure will become 100%. Having mechanical cooling that you never switch on is as efficient as not having it.
The headline suggests that MS are achieving a PUE of 1.0 or that they can run without any cooling, 365 days a year, this clearly isn't correct (even if it was you'd still need air circulation and humidity control which uses power). IIRC the best Google has managed for DC efficiency was with a PUE of 1.18, can't see anything in this article that suggests they've been 'aped' by MS.
Matthew 17
Good news → #
Posted Monday 24th August 2009 10:40 GMT
In OpenSUSE defaults to KDE
Suse was always my preferred distro and I really liked their KDE tweaks, when they switched to Gnome as the default the whole thing seemed less polished. The latest version of KDE4 isn't bad (still a little clunky in places) so hopefully given that they decided to wait a bit longer before releasing Suse 11.2 I'm hoping that when it does ship it'll restore my faith in that particular distro.
Incidentally never met a Suse-hater that actually knew how to use the management tools that come with it so they usually just start banging on about how crap YaST is.
Matthew 17
Why go alone? → #
Posted Thursday 13th August 2009 18:29 GMT
In NASA review: Forget about boots on Mars by 2030
If the US has $80bn to play with then why don't they team up with the international community and pool their resources? There's no advantage to the US to try and repeat the space race and go at it alone. Surely a repeat of the team-work that made the ISS a reality could enable a visit to Mars.
If so the whole endeavour would be much more interesting and noble.
Matthew 17
The is the reason we need to go there → #
Posted Wednesday 12th August 2009 00:07 GMT
In Half-ton space watermelon hints at habitable Martian past
The mysteries of that rock would be solved in a tiny fraction of the time it'll take that robot, if an astronaut paid a visit.
Matthew 17
@ Hugh_Pym → #
Posted Tuesday 11th August 2009 19:09 GMT
In Orbital refuelling stations could rescue NASA Mars plans
The dark side of the Moon isn't dark, it's only called that because we can't see it from Earth.
However keeping the tanks in the shade will naturally keep them at freezing point so problem solved.
Matthew 17
Missing the point somewhat → #
Posted Tuesday 11th August 2009 19:07 GMT
In GM Volt to deliver three-figure fuel economy
Most electric cars are rubbish, charge them up drive a bit, wait a week for them to recharge, even the fast ones like the Tesla have the problem. The Volt is the first one that looks like it could make sense. Unlike the Prius that uses the petrol engine to power the wheels to give slightly better economy than a regular car, the engine in this is purely there to generate electricity, doesn't drive the wheels directly. Therefore you can charge the thing at home for short trips using the power from your house, perfect for the daily commute or fill it up for longer trips. It's a proper car to boot not some silly G-Wiz thing.
I'm no fan of the green nonsense that comes from the media but if this car delivers anything like what is claimed then the running costs will be fantastic.
Matthew 17
We're still in an ice age → #
Posted Thursday 9th July 2009 19:46 GMT
In NASA data shows 'dramatically' thinned Arctic ice
For the majority of this planets existence there hasn't been any ice at the poles. Regardless of what Humans do it's a safe bet that at some point there won't be any again. However it'll happen at a speed comparable to continental-drift that it's unlikely it'll cause anyone or anything problems.
Matthew 17
The Thought Police → #
Posted Tuesday 30th June 2009 15:38 GMT
In UK obscenity law: Where to now?
Are getting ever closer.
Matthew 17
a common theme → #
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 11:53 GMT
In Prof: Global windfarm could power entire human race
Any alternative to traditional sources of power such as fossil or fission will take up a huge amount of space and be very complicated to connect the power to the people that will use it.
Although investigations into alternative sources of power are to be welcomed it's obvious that a viable solution is still a long way off.
Matthew 17
Where are folk shopping to get these prices? → #
Posted Tuesday 23rd June 2009 11:00 GMT
In People just not that into Blu-ray
I have 2 BD players (1 is a PS3). The quality on a large flat screen or projector is great.
You can get a great player for under £200 so they're really not expensive, at this stage in the life of CD or DVD they were over twice that. Media isn't that more expensive either.
The biggest problem I see is that the available software is poor, the selection in shops is also very poor. When you go into your local electrical retailers they almost always have SD TV multiplexed to 100 screens and the picture looks hopeless.
In addition when DVD came out most of the films released were just ported from VHS and had poor video and sound without any extras, you had to wait for the eventual 'Special Edition', this is also true of BD whereby most of the films coming out unless they're a new film are just upscaled ports from the DVD and again without any extras.
Physical media will still be around for at least a decade as the Internet just isn't up to the task and won't be for a long time. Waiting for a film to download before you can start watching is is hopeless, it's like loading a game off a cassette for your 8-Bit home computer!
Matthew 17
This is complete BS!!! → #
Posted Monday 22nd June 2009 13:13 GMT
In Apple won't let Commodore onto its baby
No-one ever completed Impossible Mission!
Matthew 17
Still awesome → #
Posted Friday 12th June 2009 22:39 GMT
In Endeavour 'in really good shape to fly'
As pointless as the ISS is, and despite the fact that there's no record of any of the actual 'science' that is said to go on there and taking into consideration it's $200Bn price tag, it is still rather awesome nonetheless.
Matthew 17
The collision will happen too late → #
Posted Thursday 11th June 2009 10:18 GMT
In Mars projected to collide with Earth
If Mars did hit the Earth, it would be a billion or so years after all life had left that planet due to the Sun nearing the end of its' life and the radiation levels coming from it would have long since baked everything here.
Therefore if we'd not already left the Solar System by that point we'd have colonised the now defrosted Mars & the moons of Jupiter.
We'd have to deliberately destroy the Earth to clear a path for our new home.