Posts by Jim 275 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Mar 2007
So they are going to cripple Entourage then?
Seriously, it has amazed me for so long that Entourage (2004) allows more productivity than Outlook (based on user feedback) - even when connecting to an Exchange server.
This comment stream follows the same route as normal.
1. Article points out that a Non-MS product needs an update.
2. Troll pipes up that MS makes a better product (usually includes a ref to fanboy - choose your favourite pretentious spelling).
3. Someone points out that there is nothing superior about said MS product.
4. That someone is automatically a fanboy.
Is that what you mean by “the same thing happening”? Yes it is tedious that every time something non-MS is criticised (however slight) then an MS supporter is there to put the boot in early.
Had 1 (one) issue with OS X updates, one app was not 10.4 ready when that version was released. Apart from that, no problems with updates and I don't even bother with the hyper-paranoid stuff (backup->install update->fix perms->etc).
With regards to notebook prices, did a little research on Apple and HP sites and found the following 'similar' models.
HP Compaq 6710b - £799+VAT
Base MacBookPro - ££1,105.53+VAT
Major Differences
Mac has 2.2GHz cpu compared to 2GHz in HP
Mac has 2Gb compared to HP's 1
Mac has 1440 x 900 compared to 1280 x 800
So the HP is hardly 40% the price of the Mac, although HP might allow deeper discounting than Apple (none)...
Why does VoIP have to provide access to emergency services? How many people use strictly VoIP only, who couldn't resort to using some 'old-fashioned' method of communication such as a mobile or, heaven forbid, a landline? Surely, to mandate that VoIP can not be used to contact emergency services is much more managable and is therefore a more reliable solution.
"A few of the subjects correctly guessed the answer every time, but the report authors said that was to be expected."
So how do the researchers know that the individuals were guessing? Maybe those individuals really knew when the RF was present? Just because the results were within the realms of chance does not mean that it was chance - "Correlation does not imply causation".
Maybe all the study showed is that the majority of people claiming sensitivity were talking cr@p.
Corporates are not throwing away years of investment on yet to be fully tested hardware.
Where is the story here? No matter what you think of Apple's first phone, I would have been amazed if any CIO of a major corp (save for one) would have ditched proven tech for the unknown - pure suicide.
Pure Apple-hater trolling...
(and, as usual, it worked)
What's the matter, ragging on Apple no fun if nobody bothers to get upset about it?
Also, true to form in the comments section on El Reg, I can't find any reference to the manufacturer of the laptop the nutter was holding but everyone has just assumed it was an iLaptop. It always amazes me how many people here judge based on their own assumptions, sometimes even when reading the article properly (or other comments) shows those assumptions to be erroneous.
And you had to go and spoil it, didn't you?
Here I was, laughing at all the sad sacks posting about the non-existent fanbois and then you had to come out with...
"Exploit? Who cares? It's only a little one"
From the article it would appear that everything runs as root on the iPhone so this exploit would, by extrapolation, be a root level attack. If you are a 'normal' user and value your privacy then this could be quite a serious issue.
What mitigates the situation is that, as the iPhone is treated very much like an iPod, firmware updates should be forthcoming and are likely to be applied to all devices at their subsequent sync with iTunes (in an ideal world).
I have to assume that you work at NASA, going by the authorative nature of this comment. Although the overall feeling I am left with is that you are guessing (my opinion obviously).
If you are doing number crunching on a computer then you need to know how the hardware, OS and complier handle data types such as integers and floats. This information is widely available irrespective of the open/closed status of the OS. Also, remember that one of the most powerful computers on the planet is a cluster of Macs.
If you want a super reliable system then you are going to base it on an RTOS such as LynxOS. Something where you know what is going to happen and when. The RTOS example given is open standard but closed source so, by your argument, not suitable for safety critical applications – exactly the market in which it is promoted.
"there's really no practical reason to use MacOS at the end of the day because it doesn't do anything practical that other OS' don't do better, aesthetics do not make up for lack of practicality at the end of the day."
This is just rubbish. Are you saying that OS X (not MacOS – different thing, think of a number 9 or less) is “worse than every other OS out there for everything” or that “while better than some at some things is worse at others”. The first being untrue and the second being irrelevant until a set of requirements are compared against performance. There is always a practical reason to use any mainstream OS. If there wasn’t then it would disappear, as many have.
@Jason Clery
"congratulations, you win, I yield. I agree that Apple is not for the masses only the elite like yourself."
An interesting response when presented with numbers that demonstrate that Apple computers are actually comparable in price to major brand PCs of the same spec. I think the following could be applied to you also - "The point is that you iKoolAid drinkers are now at the point where you are responding not to what you are reading on the screen, but to things that **you have imagined**"
As for the article, it was very informative though got hopelessly hung up on peer pressure. When I read it I got the impression that the author felt that there were niggling hardware problems, a fairly major network problem but the most important issue was that he felt like a dick for owning one. The iPhone has been severly over-hyped but also severly counter-hyped and most of these comments can be attributed to these two actions.
AdamV, have you forgotten to disclose anything? Sounds remarkably like MS marketing, even including the classic "you have to use the latest version so that you are compatible with everyone else" gambit.
My experience with the Office 2007 trial was not a good one as the fact that "It's just sat waiting on the hard drive" is not true. It doesn't wait but sets itself as default, even when you install the "Office suite" but leave the other crap hanging around.
If you had read all the responses to your post then you may have come across the response from heystoopid.
You say: "If I was told to stop by any police officer, would I do it? You bet I would."
He say: " ...but during the event no fellow passenger heard any identification statement from either officer..."
You say: "@ Carlos reply about "lapsed visa being grounds for summary execution". You could flip the statement around and say that if he'd left when his visa expired,..."
He say: "...the fact that at no time was he ever an illegal resident overstaying his work permit/visa!"
Your source: ?
His source: IPCC report
>"First thing is to stop breeding like there are no consequences."
"Does it never occur to malthusians and others who expeditiously hitch up to the population argument, that they might have cause and effect reversed? That high birth rates are consequent on high infant mortality rates, and that economic development will tend to limit population growth?"
You seem to have confused population growth with high birth rate. The population of the planet has virtually doubled since the Unix epoch (roughly 3.5 billion), that is not necessarily because of "high birth rates" but a continued birth rate > death rate.
Also, you state to think that economic development is a limit on population size when it could equally be said, in this consumer driven economic era, that population is the limit of economic development. "cause and effect reversed"?
I thought that push email was the solution to "How can I get my email to my phone with minimum latency and without having to pay through the nose to constantly poll my mail server?"
Now, if you have an 'unlimited' data plan, does that problem still exist? And, if not, does the lack of push email functionality really matter that much? The last para seems to suggest that the answer is no.
Not defending the iPhone (not particularly impressive imho) but the article suggests that push email is an important (missing) function whereas, for the user, it is simply about message latency.
Is it me or does the use of this term tend to be accompanied by overly emotional negativity? When I read fanboy in a comment I switch off and if I don't, I wish I had (similarly when there are x's in the poster's name ;-)
It's a phone that will probably be as dreadful as every other phone out there. I'll stick with my razr which has allowed me to talk to people (voice and text) with remarkable reliabilty (all other features are irrelevent imho) for the last 2+ years while being small enough not to notice that it's in my pocket.
Final point - Why do people judge camera quality by pixel count? The 2 important characteristics of a digital camera are optics and sensor/post-processing, the number of pixels is irrelevant. Judge by actual image rather than tech specs.
Please read to full story before declaring an entire team to be at fault, I guess next you will be saying that every employee of Enron was in on it and deserves gaol time?
As for making F1 a spec series, F1 is marketed as a showcase for innovation as well as a racing series. You want a spec series watch A1GP, GP2 or even the GP Masters and wonder at all the technology that was originally devised in F1.
Just out of interest, what exactly does this have to do with Hardware>>Servers?
Not much to add but couldn't resist this one.
Nexox Enigma said
"@Whomever said that OS X is the buggiest whichever in the where:
It clearly isn't. It is just the most irritating. My list of reasons for wishing that one day my department will replace all the Macs that I support with PCs is immense. And it is far shorter than the one filled with reasons that I'd really rather not use one personally."
Ironically, the only thing stopping me from doing the exact opposite is the damned 3-year rule - gotta get value for money. The small capital differential (and it really is small these days) far outweighs the difference in support costs for our setup. Irritating? The only use I have for a PC at home is EAC (unfortunately no OS X equivalent is possible).
... but have you noticed that the those most skeptical have as strong a negative belief as the believer's is positive?
Both argue from a belief not facts - some believe the government agencies told the truth (every time) whilst the others believe it all to be lies.
Me? I'm with Corkery ;-)
Why do people care about watching video/listening to music on a phone? I want a phone to work when needed - as a phone. If I want a media player then I will carry one as well.
As has been pointed out, cellphone batteries need changing a lot less than people think. Given that most people upgrade every 12-24 months then it is rare that the battery will ever give out. Also, why would the fact that the 1st gen iPod had a dud battery be of any significance? Particularly when they have produced a further 4 generations without the same problem...
Incidentally, I won't be buying one. Too expensive and I'm not a beta tester.
It is all very well saying that wireless encryption is easy but you try supporting a public wireless system that is used by 'real' people - they can have serious problems making a connection to an open network, even when provided with the SSID.
Also, a hotel is technically a 24/7/365 business and guests expect service to be provided for the majority of this time - do you want to be the one to provide that support?
But what about the Ned Fowden that is linked with Al-Queda, is that you? Or maybe that is just an error on the part of the security services? Nevermind, we can find out while you are held without charge or access to proper legal services for a few months. That ok with you?
While you think you have nothing to hide, the security services 'may' have other ideas. You want to protect your civil rights now or wait till you are wearing a nice orange jumpsuit?
I join Facebook and I want to find other people who list flower arranging (say) as an interest. The only way this will work is if the search returns a list of potential friends who list this interest.
But, shock horror, now I know that all these people list flower arranging as an interest!
This is a feature surely? I guess if you care about privacy then you should lie on social networking sites or, at least, lie about the things you would prefer to keep private.
You can buy microcontrollers for pennies that have sleep mode (draws a couple of microA) that effectively turns everything off till an interrupt is triggered so it could be done.
@Alan Cuartero
To join a cell network, it is true that two-way communication is required. If you just want to send a signal then a receiver is all that is needed, think analogue radio...
Also there are radar detectors that can detect detector detectors and automatically shut down the radar detector circuitry to avoid detection. Been around a few years now.
Irreducible Complexity (what you described and as coined by Michael Behe) is flawed.
The Mullerian 2-Step provides a mechanism whereby.
1. A superfluous part is added to a system with no negative consequences.
2. The system undergoes a change such that the part added in step 1 becomes necessary and its subsequent removal becomes catastrophic.
See http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/ICsilly.html
Do you understand now?
While "cogito ergo sum" is often put forward as a proof of existence, "I think therefore I am", I was always under the impression that Descartes was far less arrogant. My understanding is that Descartes did not prove his own existence but rather demonstrated that “All that I know if my existence is that I think”.
Hmm, let's compare.
Religion - You are told what to believe and also told that you must not, under any circumstances, question what you have been told.
Science - You are told what to believe but you are allowed, and sometimes actively encouraged, to question those beliefs at any/every opportunity.
"As far as I am concerned, the consumer has the right to choose what they want..."
Not strictly true. Can a UK consumer legally purchase a copy of Manhunt 2? The simple answer is no because it is not an available option. And that is where your argument falls down, imo.
The consumer has the right to choose BUT only from what is available to them.
I would view tolerance as disagreeing with someone but not excluding them because of it.
Re: Moses. My understanding is that Moses made a request for help, God/Jesus/whatever did the real work. Move along people, no revisionism to see here.
While I can understand that, from a marketing point of view, a petrol station forecourt would be the ideal place to put a high power charging point, is that really wise?
Initiating or interrupting a large current flow is inevitably going to produce a pretty nasty arc, the perfect thing to ignite petrol fumes. Now, you could use systems that mitigate the arc but these will fail, probably without warning, so it basically becomes a waiting game for the failure to happen with the correct combination of circumstances.
This is no reason to poo-poo the concept but marketing should be a little better thought out.
I personally think that the aTV sucks because of output poor resolution and the fact that it won't integrate with DVD software, to stream your pre-owned DVDs to any part of your house.
But those features will come IF Apple is able to demonstrate a viable system, the Apple zealots will provide an ample alpha testing community after all.
The real question for scaling video-on-demand is when will the ISPs get in on the act? Downloading video via unicast will put a massive strain on any open network. Multicasting may provide an answer but that is not something that a content provider such as Apple or Google can exert any control over.
"I'd bet a 125cc shifter cart would be entirely more scary of a ride. - they're capable of 115mph and I've seen them having a hard time getting the rear wheels to hook up through half of that."
Scarey? Nah!
Not quite what you mean by hooking up the rear wheels. Given that the kart kas a fixed rear axle (no diff) then you either have to slide the back (fun at 60-70) or set the chassis up so that the inside wheel lifts during a turn (much faster).
As for braking, I'm guessing that the jet kart would be identical to a shifter as a 2-stroke provides neglible engine braking - that's why shifters are fitted with front brakes too.
The kart in question looks like it is intended for oval racing so turning is less critical.
Some people seem to miss the point about the housing problem in Cornwall. It isn't that it is expensive but that it is unattainable for your average Cornish because of the differential between income and cost – a bank will only lend you so much after all.
Tourism is shit! It is what you are forced to do for income when there is nothing else. Tourists do not care that the places they visit are someone else’s home, they just wasn’t as much as they can get for their money.
So what else could the Cornish do instead? They could follow the example of the Caribbean, Gibraltar, Ireland, etc. This would involve attaining some autonomy from the UK (colony status would do) and then provide a taxation structure that actively encourages financial institutions.
How about getting the ASA to disallow MB=1,000,000B so that when you put your brand new 300GB drive in then that is what your OS says you have.
And on a similar note, optical burners shouldn't be rated at ZZx if they only achieve that for the last few seconds. How about a minimum burn time instead?
It seems that, when it comes to advertising, the truth is not required when the item/service is 'technology'
I remember sitting in what was probably my last Physics lesson before my A-Level exam. It was 1988 and the first GCSEs were being sat that summer. At the end of the lesson the teacher pulled out his copy of the syllabus and informed us that this is what we had been tought over the last 2 years. He then proceeded to rip the syllabus along the staples and dropped one half of the booklet. Brandishing what remained, he proclaimed that this is what would be taught to those about to take their GCSEs as they simply hadn't been taught enough to cope with the old A-Level syllabus.
It makes me sick that we are told not to complain about exams getting easier because "it takes away from the achievement of those that just sat the exams" - strangely there is no consideration for those who took harder exams and now see their achievement being devalued as they didn't get 20 straight As (or something).
Comprehensive education was not about removing tiered education, it was a solution to the problem that able students were failing the 11+ and then found themselves unable to jump from secondary to grammer schools.
I attended a 'Secondary Comprehensive' and that school provided vocational, CSE and GCE level education catering to the individual student's abilities. They also carried out longish term analysis of individuals with possibility of promotion/demotion in the system, based on longer term student performance.
The problem IS that elitism in education has become a dirty phrase. People seem to forget that an education system is not just there to provide a basic education but to push each student to achieve their best. This is amply demonstrated by employer's frustration in being unable to differentiate potential employees by their high school grades. This has lead to GCSEs being labelled as irrelevent. Some students are supposed to fail exams adn only a few to excel. If that isn't the case then the examination process has failed in its purpose, to separate the talented from the talentless
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