Posts by whitespacephil

So, the new font, then

I kind of like it. Well, on an iPhone on the mobile site.

Support chap's Sonic Screwdriver fixes PC as user fumes in disbelief

"the large cylindrical plastic tube that I never worked out what it was quite for in my standard issue IT toolkit" - I believe it's for keeping safe the screws and other components that you extract with other parts of the toolkit.

Fancy a mile-high earjob? We've had five!

Re: No Audio-Technicas?

The Bose ones now do work when switched-off or with a flat battery. Big improvement.

Budget UHD TVs arrive – but were the 4Kasts worth listening to?

Re: Wot not FreeSat tuner?

I understand that the latest wave of Sony 4Kers has the necessary Satellite input for you.

for example

http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/televisions/x8500c-series/specifications

What a shower: METEORS will BLAZE a FIERY TRAIL across our skies

Look... London... Wednesday 9pm-midnight... Clear skies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2643743

Parliament Hill beckons for my trusty DSLR and a long exposure.

PHOTON SPACE SAIL successfully Kickstarted into orbit

Ah, ok, so Bill Nye, "The Science Guy" from The Big Bang Theory is a real thing... does that mean that Professor Proton was, also?

What we would have had in the UK... Kieran Prendeville spreading Strawberry jam on CDs and Heinz Wolff with his Great Egg Race.

DTS announces DTS:X – sparks object-based audio war with Dolby

Believe it or not but there is a specific setting on some home AV kit that is to enable you to do just that. It's called Front Surround. And while it won't appeal to proper audiophiles/cineasts, it will appeal to those who haven't yet committed to enveloping themselves in the speaker layout (and the incidental cabling...)

(Re)touching on a quarter-century of Adobe Photoshop

not tl;dr

Just wanted to say thank you to Mr Dabbs for an entertaining read.

From the Dept of You are Old: 'Selfie' officially 'Word of the Year'

Is it?

Not got 4G? There's a reason we aren't called 'Four', sniffs Three

Re: TV is in the way

They will also take up some of Orange/Tmobile's unused 1800 MHz later on in the year, to be refarmed as LTE

Who ate all the Pis?

Re: My PI

Proper laugh from the couch. Thanks for that.

Windows Vista woes killed MS Pinball

Re: win 95

It was in the Plus... pack, I seem to recall - along with IE!

Patrick Moore: Lived with cats, accompanied Einstein on the piano

A tear in my eye

I can genuinely say that I have tears in my eyes right now at my desk at work.

Some truly touching words about what I remember as being a massive character.

Rest in peace. I will be studying the sky at night, tonight

2012: an epoch-defining year for home entertainment

Re: Shame about Sharp

Hear hear.

I had the delight of dealing with Sharp's repair team on numerous occasions to service their Widenote and Moebius notebooks, around the turn of the century.

Truly a delight to deal with, happy to share their knowledge so we could do some repairs on site, and always willing to provide proper software (driver) and hardware support.

I loved you, Sharp..!

Ten technology FAILS

Re: Palm Pilot never tried to be anything more than a digital diary and contacts list.

wasn't it called AvantGo! ?

4G: Bad coverage, crap battery life - but at least it's really expensive

Also sitting this one out

I'm with you, Andrew. I consider myself to be part of the internet revolution. I've recently binned Vodafone due to their inability to service customers in the evening ("I'm sorry, our offices are closed. You can contact us on a webform" <but don't ever expect us to reply>) and an inability to fix dodgy network equipment in my home area. I also resent being sent a text to inform me that I'm near my 500MB data limit, when my data limit is 1GB.

So now, I'm on Three. I haven't yet needed to talk to their customer service, so don't know whether or not they'll deal with me in the evenings. But with their One Plan, I now don't ever have to worry about using up too much data. Their speed is sufficient for me and I took it on with their upgrades to HSPA+ in mind. Like you say, 12Mbps will do on a proven technology.

But here's the really important bit. I'm an iPhone user, I'll freely admit. The way it looks for networks is to find the one that it thinks is best, so Wifi first, 3G followed by Edge followed by GPRS. Frankly, I don't want my phone bothering with anything that's not 3G - I'd rather not bother trying to use the internet without 3G. And as Three doesn't have any non-3G and (with, I understand some rural exceptions) no longer partners with a 2G network as backup, I don't get those frustrating times when the phone switches from 3G to E to O. And back again.

Did I mention that I didn't have to worry about how much data I'm using? And did I mention that battery life on the 3G signal is good enough?

I'll come back to this 4G when it's a bit more mature; maybe by then, I'll have had plenty of use out of my iPhone 4S and will want to upgrade. Maybe by then, I'll have plenty of things that work with whatever proprietary connector my next phone has.

Right now, the poor choice of networks with 4G, the poor choice of equipment that works with a 4G iPhone 5 and the inflated prices with limited data capacity... the odds aren't in 4G's favour.

The hoarder's dilemma, or 'Why can't I throw anything away?'

Re: I quite literally now have something (to do) for the weekend...

Yeah good points.

It was the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet rather than Gig Ethernet that made them candidates for disposal.

As for USB keys, is it ethical to palm-off my old, severely under sized USB keys (some are only 16MB) to a school? Won't they have to do exactly what I was about to and skip them..?

(PS, by skip, I do of course mean carefully take them to the local recycling centre so that they can disposed of in line with WEEE regulations)

I quite literally now have something (to do) for the weekend...

...as there's clearly no shortage worldwide of old bits of kit, I am going to stop holding on to what I do have.

ATA Hard Drives - to be hooked up, archived and wiped

Ethernet/Fast Ethernet hubs - to be skipped

Cables that look iffy - to be skipped

Power bricks - to be skipped

CD ROMs - to be skipped

CDRs - to be checked for data, skipped

Kettle plugs, figure of eight cables - one of each to be kept, others skipped

USB sticks under 1GB - to be checked for data, skipped

Old MCP training documents - to be recycled

Old books - to be offered to my staff

Old mice, keyboards, PCMCIA cards, Parallel cables... you can see where this is going.

Oracle knew about critical Java flaws since April

ditto

Everything Everywhere flogs 4G hand-me-downs to Three

Re: Sharing

You need to get your eyes tested/TV fixed. Overhead cameras all fine for me, thanks very much.

Oh and learn to breathe or put some full stops in. And some capitals would help.

Virgin Media nukes downloads after SuperHub 'upgrade'

Not entirely true

Regarding all their kit being rubbish. I disagree. Having had a superhub for as long as they've been around I have no complaints for existing downloads at 100Mb. It's a great little 5Ghz wireless router and my old 2.4Ghz N router nicely daisy chains off it for legacy devices.

Similarly, the TiVo I've had since February 2011 is a great PVR and doesn't constantly reboot. Some of the older stuff like 1990s Pace boxes and the earliest Scientfic Atlanta TV Drives were indeed slow beyond usable.

Don't just assume that because you've heard from a forum that there are issues that they apply everywhere. And their customer service do exactly what I would expect a first line desk to do: whatever they can't fix they get an engineer out for.

We persist in using Virgin Media because actually their product is really rather good and 99.95% of the time delivers exactly what you've been promised.

Kogan 'taxes' IE7 users

Go somewhere else

I don't use IE7; but I also don't and wouldn't use this site. I can always shop somewhere else.

Lenovo U300s Ultrabook

But the screen

At that resolution: it's not enough. Come on and give me more pixels!

Ten... eight-bit classic games

Re: 8 Bit?

I can't resist. Looks like he missed the whole Spectrum thing being Stateside...

There was a world before the PC, you know?

Sony denies Netflix app to older Bravia smart TVs

Yes please

I'd like a software update to my (very late) 2010 model, please (KDL46NX713). It was certainly costly enough to expect that it would remain "supported".

I don't care about NetFlix, but I'd like the update to allow my Media Remote app on the iPhone to work (as it does on the 723). I'd like the 3D capability to work from USB sources (so that I don't have to connect my 3D Bloggie through HDMI, but can store the files on a USB stick instead) and I'd like an update to the other connected services.

It's not too much to ask, and I'm not going to buy a new net-connected TV to get these feature, but it doesn't seem beyond the realms of reasonable expectations, does it?

Having said all of this, the TV is still excellent and a very suitable monitor for cable TV... just don't forget about your premium users. Hey, look, it's got a WiFi and LAN connection and can access the internet for those updates, so get them developed and pushed out, please. And if NetFlix wants to drill Sony to get their service propagated to as many customers as possible and Sony could include those upgrades as well, then thank you NetFlix/Sony.

Google swings new mobile unlock patent punch at Apple

Re: next related patents from google

I liked this post anyway (and upvoted it) as it made me smile. The Guinea Pigs bit. And then noticed I'd voted for a backwards Barry Shitpeas.

Had to explain to the current Mrs whitespacephil who Barry Shitpeas was after laughing about the last person who needed to self-flagellate after liking/agreeing with the real Mr Barry Shitpeas.

Enjoy Friday...

Watchdog bites Nokia over Lumia 800 TV 'flash ads'

OK, I'll bite...

what happened in October 2007?

BBC to serve Wimbledon finals in 3D

Thank you very much, Auntie

Well, criticise or deride 3DTV as much as you like, but Eurosport's 3D coverage of the French Open was actually very nice indeed. I'll take some free 3D, thanks BBC, until Virgin does something about getting more live/non-OD 3D content.

Space shuttle Endeavour's long journey is over

and then..?

So after the final missing in July, delivering supplies, etc, what happens next? How will NASA ship their next supplies up to the ISS?

Turn your mobile phones in to a live gig speaker

Great

Perfect - an easy way to record concerts direct from the mixing desk.

FM quality will do very nicely, thanks!

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9780 smartphone

A title is required

Meh... move along; nothing to see here.

11.6in sub-notebooks

And then...?

So where's the Sony and the Fujitsu kit line up in this? I understand there's an X-Series Sony (pricey) and a Fujitsu Lifebook PH530 with a Core i3...

Apple MacBook Air revamp snapped, posted on web

Unidentified Port

Isn't it Ethernet?

GCHQ: The uncensored story of Britain's most secret intelligence agency

Holiday reading

I don't normally do books, but as it's coming up to summer and there might be a beach with my name on it, why not?

I'll have one of those, please.

GCHQ imposes Whitehall iPhone ban

It's so much more than a VPN requirement

So AC suggests (at 11:51) that iPhones support VPNs. That may be the case. But won't an IPSEC VPN just go for the lowest common denominator? If the endpoints determine they can only communicate with low-grade DES (or even no encryption), they'll do just that.

Anyway, maybe it's more to do with the way that the iPod/Phone will only use Exchange ActiveSync as their mail transport. Maybe that's what they don't like and that the implementation they've seen to the BES is much better. Maybe it's the fact that Blackberrys are serious messaging phones, rather than consumer-oriented devices.

I, personally, would feel much happier with our "elected representatives" being in touch with their ministries to do just that, keep on top of messages, rather than stroking their toy in public and gazing at their latest app. Whether I want RESTRICTED emails being sent to these devices at all is another matter...

(No BB or iPhone here, just an ActiveSync capable smartphone. But then, no secure government policy-type stuff on my device, either)

Apple shrugs to iPad Wi-Fi problems

Macbooks too

As far as I'm concerned, they just write lousy WiFi drivers for their OS.

FAIL

I have a white MacBook. It's a beautiful machine, runs Windows 7 really well, with awesome driver support. However, as soon as I boot it up as a Mac, it has awful wifi issues with every router I've ever owner. Having owned it since Leopard, I prayed that Snow Leopard would sort it. It didn't. Nor any of the 10.6.x releases.

Of course Apple just says that it must be my router. Well, my experience tells me differently. Works with Windows. Works with smartphones. Just not with MacOS.

So it's a PC instead.

Samsung UE40B7000 40in LCD TV

Cinephile?

Surely Cineast?

Tivo to return to UK in 2010

I'm very excited...

...that TiVo is coming back to the UK. I have, since 2003, continued to pay them £10/month to keep my original TiVo Series 1 up and running. I know that sounds mad, but I just can't stress how good the EPG and the whole navigation system on the TiVo is. Now that my TV Drive (ok, V+HD box to the rest of you) is going to get TiVo too, I may even be able to put the old Series 1 out to pasture.

Thank you TiVo. Thank you Virgin.

Sony Bravia KDL-46Z5500 200Hz 46in LCD TV

It's a Sony

I know that people have beef with Sony, but if there's one thing they really do excell in, it's TVs.

The styling is very discreet. I would prefer it to have no speakers - frankly, this thing is going to be hooked up to a Home Theatre system anyway, so no real need. You don't spank £1800 on a TV without a decent soundsystem, do you?

And Sony's remotes are always clear and well laid out. It amazes me everytime I look at alternate brands how cluttered and poorly thought-through their remotes are.

Now, just one thing about that power switch. What's the MTBF of that thing physically breaking? My lovely Mum now insists on unplugging her set every night, as the last two TVs she had with physical power switches broke because the switch stopped working.

Fujitsu intros 11in notebook-not-netbook

Goodie

Perhaps Fujitsu could give some of their own consultants these. They're starting to look a little weary heaving around their old-school bricks while awaiting the axe to fall around their jobs.

Freeview website titsup ahead of big retune

"but how do I retune?"

So, the website tells you how to retune. So does the original manual. Go and get it. And read it.

(Could have sworn there was an RTFM icon)

Slime-powered Toyota Prius demoed

just two words

Al-gae back.

(I'll be back, geddit?)

Samsung S8000 Jet

How quick

How quick, for example, does it take to turn on?

How quick, for example, does it take to get into camera mode and ready to take a picture?

How quickly can I start going in to my address book from hitting the power key.

All of these things I care about. And yet, I still have no idea how quick this "jet" is.

Apart from their lousy advert, did you see their attempted vile viral campaign they tried to promote through B3ta. Utterly poor.

iPhone actually good at making calls shock

And what about the C905

The Sony Ericsson C905 was one of the phones tested, and yet not mentioned at all.

(Sony) Ericsson have traditionally had an excellent call quality, cell handover and consistent User Interface, making their devices solid as a phone (which is basically the most important function, no?)

I'd love to know whether or not this still holds true.

Wheels come off O2's data network

@Captain Kangaroo

So what you're suggesting, Mr Kangaroo is that only non-technical people would complain?

Perhaps that's what is wrong with this industry; the techs (and I do count myself as one) accept that products will be dire and that call centre (and probably helpdesk staff) will be unresponsive.

Well frankly, I'm disappointed in you. I demand my own staff and products and service to be impeccable. We meet and exceed our SLAs without fail, we deal with complaints or issues in a collaborative manner, without slighting our company.

As for your statement regarding the failure to upgrade a network in a recession: that's a very short-sighted view for a network that clearly does have a issue.

Anyway, you might want to rethink your view of those who you consider to not be as technical as you. You might also like to take a look at your own industry practices and wonder why everyone in your company hates the IT service that you provide...

Digital Spy fights second malware attack

More than celeb tittletattle

Digital Spy (used to be) really good for actually finding out about digital TV - developments in Cable, Satellite, etc and was at its best around the time of the failure of ITV/ON Digital.

I wish there were less sleb stories and more on the technical bits.

Orange calls up LG watchphone

@Lord/Justabloke 1

Have you considered rebranding? Sounds to me like you've got a C905 and believe me, it makes a real difference.

Vodafone offers customers chance to pay for own infrastructure

Where do I sign up?

I'll have one. Thanks.

One millionth English 'word' is... Web 2.0

A puppy for everyone in 280 years?

I don't recall Obama promising a puppy for everyone in 280 years. Did I miss something or is my maths rubbish?

UK agent leaves secret drugs info on bus

USB encryption

Do you imagine that the cartel with their inroads into the telco network's details don't therefore also have the capacity to "undo" (read bruteforce) the amateur encryption on commercial USB devices? An AS/400 would provide surprisingly capable at such a mundane task.

No, this operative should have been unable to even put such sensitive information onto such a device. Isn't there a reason why, in the past, this would have been stored on off-line systems?

Grrrr. Still it keeps people in jobs mopping up their mistakes. Can I say fuckups?