Re: Naive as it is
This is just one example of how the UK needs to offer more than services and actually start making stuff again.
45 publicly visible posts • joined 31 Dec 2007
The 8.1 preview makes some nice changes but unfortunately they are disabled by default and you have to enable them by right clicking on the taskbar selecting properties and then selecting navigation!
So I have
• Enabled boot to desktop
• Enabled same wall paper on desktop and start screen (this makes a big difference, try it!)
• Minimised start screen icons
So when you click the start button you get the start screen which is just a load of shortcuts, click it again returns to the desktop. It now behaves similar to Launchpad on Mac OSX. Think I will just about be able to live with it now.
I think both will be a success for different reasons.
Google has become a verb. So the average consumer seeing a Google tablet for £160 will be tempted.
As for Microsoft in the words of my wife who owns an iPad but hardly ever uses it, "at last I will be able to do Excel."
it's really that simple. Apple only needed their iPad to look nice to attract the average consumer. I know loads of non-tech people who bought the iPad without even checking if it could do what they wanted it to do or indeed even having a task they wanted to achieve with it.
I switched from using an iPhone for three years to a Nokia 800. It was difficult at first, being so used to iOS but after a few weeks it really began growing on me and I have been happily using it for several months now. I will probably stick with Nokia / Windows for the foreseeable future. I am seriously considering going for the 900 when it becomes available.
If you get a chance to try one for any length of time its worth doing so, the Nokia Drive app is excellent and has replaced my TOM TOM and it plays m4v files so all my DVDs ripped for my iPad work fine were as previously I had to rip separate versions for iPad 2 and iPhone 3GS. The email client works great, especially with Exchange and the Office integration is fab.
My wife has an iPhone 4S but it no longer interests me. I am surprised as I was certain I would run back to the iPhone with my tail between my legs.
Why are we so obsessed about the power profile of these chips. Yes they suck up power but they are sucking up power to improve the world we live in. No one seems to care about what power Coke (or other advertisers) uses to light up their billboards across the World.
Your bloody Christmas tree lights would be better switched off in return for a few extra core hours.
If you have tried the Kindle or a competitor you will know it's e-ink which makes e-readers what they are. I would like to see a two-sided tablet, an e-ink side for ebooks and and a LCD screen on the other side for traditional tablet use.
In the meantime I think Amazon have the "ecosystem" to be a genuine challenger to the Apple iPad.
I use this too (as an online data backup rather than multiple device sync) and would recommend it. I back up my data to a USB disk but this is in case my house burns down or my PC and disk are stolen. The iphone app is very good too and it allows me to access my many photos from anywhere.
The only complaint is I would prefer to be able to select folders outside of the dropbox folder to backup.
I bought my wife a kindle and she loves it. Battery goes months between charges, books can be downloaded (WiFi / 3G) any hour of the day and you can have thousands stored on it. The e-ink technology is very impressive and reading on it is a joy. The kindle itself is attractive and very very light. You can even email Word and PDF documents to it if you don’t have a USB connection available.
It's not a cheap way to read books (although there are thousands of free classics available, and there is a burgeoning torrent collection of bestsellers if you are that way inclined) but it’s very convenient. I would challenge anyone who is sceptical to give it a go and I would imagine most would be converts.
I had the pleasure of spending the day using an iPad at an Apple event and have to say for me it was too big and too heavy. Also the iOS on a tablet seemed a bit crap to be honest. I don't mind it on a phone but for some reason I didn't take to it on a tablet. I would actually like to see Windows 7 phone OS on a 7 inch tablet, the icons on a home screen model of iOS and Android feels a bit dated to me.
The mobile phone market is saturated with copy cat ideas so I really like the approach of a better family / work balance. On more than one occasion I have been chastised by my wife for staring at my iPhone. All though in truth I think the true answer to a better work /life balance is to switch your phone off when you leave work.
I appreciate the sentiment will be lost on most reg readers as their most intimate relationship is with the pizza delivery boy. There is a reason Microsoft is the World’s most profitable tech company. Maybe it’s you who is in the wrong? Ever stopped to think about that?
Since Kevin Taylor took over as editor the magazine had been on he wain, his editorials were pretty poor and the main features were generally rubbish. the Barry Shilliday Linux column was terrible, trying to encourage people to try Linux with each article requiring an absurd amount of command typing to achieve the simplest of tasks. Fox, Kewney, Whitfield and Laing will be missed though.
More poor reporting. They are only going to throttle those breaking their terms and condition by downloading illegal material. If you download Linux ISOs via bit torrent then relax. If you use iplayer then relax it’s not bit torrent. If you download WoW patches via bit torrent then relax. If you download copyright material via bit torrent all day long then good riddance.
For a few pennies I managed to get my site www.aceruser.com (shameless plug) appear on the first page whenever someone searched for Acer Aspire One. And I only have to pay if someone clicks through. As this is a personal hobby site there is no way I could afford to advertise it any other way.
Can’t say fairer than that.
Can we finally put the SSL / encryption myth to bed? Someone simply needs to download a torrent at the same time as you and they have your IP encrtpted or not. I for one would quite happily see people sharing illegal files booted off my ISP then perhaps people who download large amounts of legitimate data will not be penalised.
Virgin are too soft, boot the obvious freeloaders off the network, that way those of us who use the higher speeds legitimately won’t be capped. I find it hard that people are anti this strategy even if you are an illegal downloader hogging the pipe surely you can see what you are doing is wrong and selfish.
In essences (certainly in the case of my employer) it doesn’t make a difference whether corporates run Vista or not because they pay for it anyway as part of their annual software license deal. Where it really matters is the home market, people buying new PCs, and by all reckoning this has been a huge success. I use and like Vista on my home machines and it’s a nice consumer OS for email, web, photos etc. I use XP at work because it’s quicker and works well for what I do at work.
As a Virgin Media customer I think this is great, doesn’t go far enough for me. I would ban illegal down loaders as well. They are abusing the system, breaking the law and giving Virgin an excuse to throttle my bandwidth instead of investing in upgrading their infrastructure. All those outraged illegal downloaders threatening to switch ISPs then please do so.
Don’t think this is quite a big a deal as it first sounds. WB were producing both so HD and Blu Ray so it’s not quite switching camp. What HD need is a studio to switch. This will only happen if people by more HD players, which I think will start to happen because your average dumb consumer and shop assistant will not realise which studios publish to which format. You have to remember the vast majority of these players will be bought by plebs in Argos, Dixons, Currys, Walmart, Costco etc and it is these plebs who will decide which format wins not people like us who understand the differences.
Blu ray has been given a fillip by PS3 sales but this is a false position because PS3 owners had no choice to by Blu Ray or HD but people who are buying standalone players do and they are choosing HD. PS3 sales will start to slow down after the recent price cuts and before you know it sales of HD and Blu Ray players are not too different but HD sales are people who actually want to buy HD films where the majority of Blu ray player owners won’t be buying as many films because they are PS3 owners and predominantly interested in games.
As long as Toshiba’s arse doesn’t go come Easter I reckon it will be a different story. Plus I can’t imagine Microsoft will let Sony get one over on them. (Microsoft back HD in case you weren’t aware.)
That’s my prediction anyway. It’s all about holding your nerve.