Posts by tonyoung

Sarah Brightman plans International Space Station gig

Good song ...

... shame about the dancing!

Skydiver sets date for 'supersonic' edge-of-space PLUNGE

Re: Oh wow!

And 'kiss your ass goodbye'? Hope not!

There seems to be some confusion about which Blackbird was actually involved in the M3/Weaver claims:

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/losses.php

http://www.thexhunters.com/xpeditions/sr-71a_952_aircraft.html

http://www.thexhunters.com/xpeditions/sr-71a_952_accident.html

No doubt another conspiracy!

Ultimate bacon sarnie scrap starts to sizzle

What about the ...

.... HP Fruity?

Amazon flings open doors to Android Appstore in Europe

It might be good ..

... if it actually worked.

Anyone tried to download today's 'free' Missile Defender app to a One X?

Meh!

Sky Go streams to Samsung Galaxy S III

A rubbish ...

.... report, then? No apology?

This, from the PC version of Google Play ....

"This item is not compatible with some of your devices:

HTC One X

Transformer TF101"

Both running ICS.

Where did this story come from?

Doesn't show up ...

.... on Google Play for via my HTC One X

HTC handsets hit by grip of death

It's OK!

I've had a One X for a couple of weeks and it's been fine.

No probs at all - until my missus knocked it out of my hand yesterday and now the Gorilla glass looks like someone's mosaic patio!

Now to test the HTC repair centre ....

Google to offer cyberwar defence advice to Gmail users

Two step

I've had to discontinue use of the two-step verification. I have two laptops, a tablet and two Android phones and often use public internet connections or my partner's laptop.

Having this weekend bought a new laptop, just trying to set up the Google Account encryption via the application-specific password-thingy was a nightmare of 'circular references' - or going around the roundabout as we used to say.

The whole thing is just too bl**dy complicated! I don't think the Chinese will be very interested in my emails, anyway.

Asus Transformer Prime tablet reboot fix fails to show

Strange ...

.... my TF101 works perfectly, every time, every day.

Sony Tablet P split-screen Android fondleslab

Or, how about ...

... the undersold, understated, but widely appreciated Asus Transformer? A little larger, but soooo well specced.

It's got everything, including a proper keyboard, IPS screen, Gorilla glass, lots of connectivity - and it's getting cheaper by the day!

With Ice Cream Sandwich on the way, why buy anything else? (Except, maybe, the upcoming Transformer Prime).

2011's Best... Premium Tablets

I haven't used my Kindle 3G ...

...since I bought an early Transformer with keyboard.

Now, I'm just waiting for the Prime to arrive so I can give my partner a late Xmas pressie.

iPad/iTunes? No thanks. Just because it's thinner?

Amazon's Android-friendly Kindle Fire splutters

So?

I use the Android Kindle app on my Asus Transformer tablet and find the experience no different from using my Kindle 3 - apart from the fact that I don't need a light to read in bed!

I just turned down the screen lighting. No problem.

Two iPads? Must be a fanboi, eh?

The Great Smartphone OS Shoot-out

Or just ...

.... Gmail?

Is it just me ...

... surely not ... that sees the many advantages of the flexibility that Android offers for both business AND personal use?

I use all seven Android 'home' screens - divided between work, play and settings - often using folders to group games, social media and work stuff, with priority items (Gmail, calender, maos, call history, calculator, SMS, world clocks, weather in 7 cities and camera) all on the first home screen.

Add the fact that HTC gives you Sense - and that Android offers the ability to add whatever widgets and apps you need to run your life (including Exchange) - I don't know why anyone would want an alternative, except for that aesthetic choice-thing or maybe the security and cost-effectiveness of BBM. Certainly not iOS (and I speak as a user of an iPod Touch).

Personally, I like the ability to switch wifi and bluetooth on/off instantly to prolong battery life when out on the road. I don't use FriendSteam, but it's there if I want it - with a host of HTC and other widgets on demand.

I'm illustrating that users can customise their Android phone to exactly suit their own requirements. Most people buying a smartphone - you would think - would want to be able to do that.

So, I'll be sticking to a Desire S until HTC introduce something better (which in my case does not equal bigger). It syncs neatly with my Asus Transformer tablet and all the Google stuff on my trusty old Toshiba laptop. I'm sure syncing will evolve to many more devices over time. I already read (the same) ebooks on my Kindle, tablet or phone as circumstances take me.

(And because my phone came from Orange *shudder* it also backs up my contacts data automatically to the cloud, i.e. I don't have to remember to do it or wait until it's connected to a PC).

Can't wait for ICS!

US carrier smartphone sales slip

Anyone thought ...

.... that maybe if iPhone users were waiting for iPhone5, then Android fans could be waiting for ICS or the new Nexus?

Anyway, you shouldn't take one quarter's sales/shipping numbers in isolation.

The 2010 vs 2011 stats should be much more interesting!

Got a non-iPad tablet? Weirdo

Failed indeed ...

.... he should have bought a Transformer - does all that and more.

Forgot!

I forgot, I''ve got a Kindle 3G, too - it would also be gathering dust if it wasn't in a particularly fine sleeve.

Although I used it a lot on holiday last year, I usually read my Kindle stuff on the tablet now, sometimes the smartphone.

It's handy abroad though, that free 3G connection is often useful, sidestepping roaming charges ....

No where!

Just like me!

Then ..

... when considering purchase, don't forget the perfectly formed Asus Transformer!

The detachable keyboard is a delight to use and also doubles the battery life of the tablet when connected (apart from adding connectivity to lots more gizmos via HDMI and USB, which of course the iPad can't do).

Rock on, Asus!

I'm with ...

.... you!

I also have a Transformer and of course it all syncs nicely with my Android phone and Gmail/Calendar et al on my laptop and desktop devices. The Transformer and keyboard are useful when I'm out on the road and certainly the bigger screen is better to use than a smartphone - from a Travelodge!

There is one iPhone 4 in our house (the missus) and I have a 1st gen iPod somewhere which is gathering dust very fast indeed. I admire Apple for their form and function, but I wouldn't buy one, prefering to be 'free'.

I find individual uses for the phone and tablet almost every day. I use the laptop for most work-related stuff and the desktop sits upstairs being used mainly in emergency - go figure the future from there!

Toshiba outs 'world's thinnest, lightest' tablet

Hear, hear!

And mine's been running 3.2 for weeks. Brilliant product, but not marketed well, as far as I can see. When did you last see an ad, or one in a store?

Can't understand why all the techie blogs ignore it.

Asus doing well with firmware updates, too.

Injunction suspended: EU can buy Galaxy Tabs again

That would have been ...

... a bit slow!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Why not just pay £19 extra ...

... and get an Asus Transformer - complete with a keyboard, great battery life, IPS screen and 3.2 etc etc?

iPhone 5 now set for October launch

Seems like ....

.... it was an HTC update - to 1.47.61.1 - whatever that is.

Anyway, it still makes calls!.

Android, oh, Android!

My very lovely, reliable and much-better-battery-use Desire S is (as I write) downloading a 'system update' - 2.3.3? Hope it works!

Transform it?

Perhaps you should have bought the Asus Transformer? Mine came with Android 3.1 and will update to 3.2 sometime this week - and you get a keyboard, and you get an IPS gorilla glass screen, and you can use it in sunlight, and you get etc, etc. Sorry!

HP TouchPad 9.7in WebOS tablet

Only one person ...

.... got it right (plus the reviewer, almost) - the Transformer is almost THE complete tablet in my opinion.

It has all the connectivity that the HP lacks, it runs Android 3.1, it has removable storage, it has a GREAT screen (widescreen, though), a zippy processor, cams back and front, plenty of apps - and quality construction.

Most of all, there are MILLIONS of Android users out there, who'll quickly take to the OS and the apps - no retraining necessary! And the multitasking 'just works' to paraphrase.

I just don't get the 'product differentiation' issue which you believe requires yet another OS - what about all those PC's out there running XP/Vista/7?

If you don't want or need to be a fanboi, it's got to be a Transformer, for the keyboard and battery life, if nothing else .... try one.

No Gingerbread snack for Desire owners, says HTC

I'm glad I waited ....

..... and although I'm well and truly in the "It's a phone, stupid, just use it" camp; when I ran over my original Desire a while back (ouch)! I'm really glad I waited (and used a horrible Samsung) until Orange could supply me with a Desire S before I claimed a replacement.

Both versions are good and the S is only slightly better in terms of what it will do (and a leap ahead in appearance, but that's my personal view) so I don't really see what all the fuss is about. Anyway, I hear that HTC are doing a U Turn, so maybe Anonymous Coward has got his way without the battle.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 10in Android tablet

Desire S + Transformer + Google Account =

... a nicely synced package - if only I could print docs easily from the Transformer .... otherwise non-Apple heaven!

Google floats monthly subscriptions to Chrome OS notebooks

I'm so ...

... glad that SOMEONE gets it!

This will become a serious business tool over time (unlike some tablets) and I'm very seriously considering waiting for this - and may have to cancel my Amazon pre-order for an Asus Transformer/dock.

Tony

CES wrap: let the battle of the tablets commence

Whatever happened ...

... to HTC?

Apple iPhone 4 vs... the rest

Same old, same old ....

... apart from the glaring omission of a score for the HTC Desire.

And may I say that IMO there can be no comparison in quality of materials and manufacture between a Galaxy S and a Desire.

My Desire, which I've had since the Spring and lives a hard life, doesn't have a mark on it - unlike my iPod Touch, my partner's 3GS and the Galaxy I saw in the Orange shop at the weekend.

I admit it, I'm an HTC junkie. If the keyboard was as good as the IPhone it would just about be perfect (for me).

Boffins baffled by mysterious Martian crater

Obviously ...

... it was Hancock, moonlighting!

Microsoft's Linux patent bingo hits Google's Android

Missing the point!

I think a lot of you guys may have missed the point - just because MS has not publically announced which patents are the subject of these licencing deals, it certainly doesn't follow that the OEM/distros and their lawyers who are on the receiving end of this hot (and expensive) correspondence haven't been told.

Confidentiality agreements will have almost certainly been built into the deals so that the next distro won't know what the last one had agreed to. That's the way it works, boyos, here and over the Pond.

And to help those who have mentioned it, yes, anyone can search for a patent using the owners' name or applicable key words - and they can do it on the interweb, even!

This all about cost

Yep, it's ALL about cost:-

1. The cost of MS developing the original code and having the ability to patent their innovations (nothing wrong with that and a granted patent is suggestive of novelty).

2. The cost of researching a potential patent infringement by either party (see below).

3. The cost of intellectual property litigation (the only winners are the lawyers and IP specialists are VERY costly)

4. The (presumably) very low cost of licencing MS intellectual property for use with OEM hardware (MS has tied up so many of these deals - apparently quite easily - so there must be some substance either to the low-cost argument or in the strength of the MS patents).

Just because the patents in question have not been publicly announced, it doesn't mean that the OEMs haven't been made aware of potential infringment by MS's lawyers.

This is just a good tactic - if you can get away with it - and personally I always applaud innovation in all it's various guises!

US HD hardware sales 3:1 in Blu-ray's favour by year end

Phew, it's getting HOT in here!

My goodness, some people ARE getting hot under the collar.

If I can just add my own two-penn'th - I'm not a gamer (but I do play F1) and I bought my PS3 precisely because it plays Blu-ray and I didn't want an additional box in my living room as well as Sky HD, to go with my Pioneer 508. (I have an LX60D DVD/HDD home cinema setup which upscales DVD to 1080p)

So, count me as one of the 3m who watches BD on PS3, because it can.

4m after Christmas?

T