Posts by Shagbag

Review: Disgo 8400G 7.9in Android tablet

Pants.

Eric Schmidt defends Google's teeny UK tax payouts - again

"Fair Share"

Since when has the UK taxation system ever given a shit about being 'fair'.

Harassed Oracle employee wins case, cops huge legal bill

Where's the justice here?

This is a tragedy and does the legal profession no favours.

With all of the media attention on her case, the best thing her lawyers could do would be to make a public statement that they will be waiving her legal bill.

It would have the effect of drawing further attention to her case (and the fact that her lawyers won it for her) and would put the law firm in a favourable position with the general public (opposite to the current view).

Such a move would be commerciall shrewd, but then few lawyers have commercial acumen.

Google's Page drops the A-bomb: Google Glass runs Android

"Android" or "Linux + Toolchain"?

I thought linux + toolchain was all that was needed with 'Android' being a red herring in this case. Am I wrong?

Ex-LulzSec bloke to spend a YEAR in the cooler for Sony hack

Re: Who's laughing now?

Hector Xavier "Sabu" Monsegur, was revealed in March 2012 as an FBI informer who had been grassing on his former cohorts for 10 months after his arrest in June 2011. Sabu's sentencing was delayed by 6 months in February due to his "ongoing cooperation with the government".

A grass? I bet you he's going to be somebody's bitch when he eventually goes inside "pound-me-in-the-ass-prison". Unless he's that way inclined, he won't be laughing.

If you ask me, they did it all wrong. They should've gone to Chine and lived there and done it - where the local police and politicians really don't give a shit about Hollywood - or the Japz for that matter.

It's pathetic that homegrown talent gets banged up while offshore nothing happens - they laugh in the face of America.

Review: Asus PadFone 2 phone-tablet combo

PadPhone or Phablet?

Is this what they call a Phablet or a Fablet?

TalkTalk ads banned by watchdog over 'misleading' YouView offer

"Free" should be banned.

All advertisements claiming the product they sell is 'free' should be banned where there is ANY outgoing involved by the consumer OR such a no-outlay contract penalises a consumer from pursuing alternatives during the term of the contract.

O2 tries something completely new: Honesty

Blackberry Z10 (Black)

Per O2 web site:

£589.99 'Phone cash price'

split as:

£349.99 'Up front cost'

£240.00 'Credit amount'

Per eBay:

£439.99 (Buy It Now incl. Delivery)

Difference from O2 = £589.99 - £439.99 = £150.00 premium to current market price.

N.B. I'd like to know how much O2 pays Blackberry for the unit, ie. how much mark-up/retail- margin is actually in the quoted £589.99 'Phone cash price'.

£150.00 / 24 = £6.25 per month = £75 per annum.

£75 per annum on principal of £439.99 = 17% simple interest rate

per O2 website:

0% 'Interest rate (fixed)'

0% 'APR representative'

Hey people, '0%' is the new '17%'.

Who does their marketing? MSFT's 'TCO' Dept?

Samsung vs Apple: which smartphone do Reg readers prefer?

Acer

It's good to see another strong performance from Acer in the polls.

Sophos picks up axe again, 'plans to DECIMATE staff'

Industry ??

There is no "Industry" when it exists only with the help of a taxpayer subsidy, there is just fantasy.

Taking from the productive economy and giving it to the unproductive economy is not a long term proposition.

Survival of the unfittest doesn't work. The USSR proved that.

Good to see a UK IT success story

Thanks, in part, to the reforms of the Thatcher administration for allowing this opportunity to happen.

British designer builds $15m iPhone for Hong Kong mogul

Re: Sorry, but this story is completely fake

I suspected something was wrong when I read 'Hong Kong Mogul' and 'Liverpudlian'.

I know that Liverpudlians have a genetical distrust of wealthy businessmen and tend only to interact with them through an organised Trade Union.

It's not surprise that the story is complete bullshit.

Apple the victim after Chinese scammers exploit returns policy

Apple the victim

Ya know, for just a moment, I almost felt sorry for Apple.

Anyone else and I would have felt sorry.

Mars orbiter finds remains of pioneering Soviet Mars 3 probe

WWII

I expect they're sheltering in the WWII Bomber that was found on Mars.

Foot-long slab too big? Microsoft 'has a 7-incher' to stroke

The answer is simple...

...just make something that consumers actually want.

The problem is that MSFT have been in a monopoly position for too long and have struggled to spot consumer trends. Even the biggest IT consumer trend at the moment (not wanting TIFKAM) is staring them in the face but they refuse to open their eyes and look at it.

They are the high school bully who still thinks he can still throw his weight around even after everyone has graduated.

The gloves are on: Nokia emits super-sensitive £99 Windows Phone

Re: Nice £100 phone

My sentiments exactly.

It's a really nice handset and the price is very attractive.

The only thing preventing me from buying one is the OS.

StreetView spots possible roadside nookie down under

Dogging Down Under

So it's not an exclusively British phenomena.

Mali to give away .ML domains for free

goatse.ml

anyone?

Finance bods probe RBS over bank-crippling IT cock-up

One happy Indian

"According to a whistleblower who worked with the bank for several years, an inexperienced, outsourced employee unwittingly made a huge error while carrying out the relatively straightforward tasking of backing up an upgrade to the CA-7 software."

If my experience with off-shore Indian IT is anything to go by, I bet you THAT employee who pushed the button just went home at 5pm, came back the next day at 9am, said 'oh, sorry' (while wobbling his head) to his boss and sat down at his desk expecting just another days' work.

Two new supers go live in Oz

The Wild West

WA?

Ah yes. Brian Burke, Rothwells, Peter Dowding, David Parker, Laurie Connel, Alan Bond, the Mickelberg Stitch

The state's institutions provide an almanac of corruption.

Tax man to take a bite of tech employees' free meals?

Re: Unlikely

I can see the IRS on the phone to Congress right now..."Deploy the FUD, Mr Prez".

Did I miss anything?

Yes.

The 'workaround' you describe is a recipe for insolvency.

The subsidiary's 'loss' is a cash loss that needs to be funded either from shareholders' funds or from debt.

Assuming you can 'offset' the losses of a foreign subsidiary against the taxable gains of a domestic entity (which is not always the case), then the next hurdle is to have sufficient domestic taxable gains to absorb the losses.

If there isn't enough gains then you need to be able to carry forward the losses into the next tax year (again, this is not always allowed). You then need to ensure you make sufficient gains to absorb the carried-forward foreign losses.

Assuming you get past the above, then you'll soon realise that you're still left out of pocket. This is because in 'offsetting' a loss against a gain, all you're really doing is saving the tax that you would otherwise pay on the gain. For a corporate tax rate of 21%, this means that for every £1 in cash you lose (and offset against a gain), you only get 21p back (being the 21p of tax you'd other pay on the £1 gain). Your net position is cash neutral.

Factor in the effect of any withholding taxes on dividends and interest and the scheme you described soon sees you slip into the red.

Repeat it enough times and you'll soon be broke.

Microsoft leads charge against Google's Android in EU antitrust complaint

It's a sad sight to see...

...the once proud Nokia, now being pimped by MSFT.

USPTO backs down on iPad mini trademark objections

meanwhile, outside the USPTO...

...a man was seen exiting the building with a brushed-metal boot lodged firmly between his buttocks.

Microsoft: 'Facebook Home just copies Windows Phone'

Put People First

If Microsoft designed WinPhone under the banner of 'Put People First', either they must have been very selective as to what 'People' actually meant, or they completely failed. The OS is struggling to make any impact on the vast majority of peoples' lives, save for generating lots of hate.

How I nearly sold rocket windows to the crazy North Koreans

Re: Fingers crossed...

And what makes you think NK doesn't have 'jihaddi'-type loyalists operating outside of NK?

Chemical, biological - possibly even "dirty" nuclear weapons - could all be unleashed by NK "Sleeper Cells" in London, New York and Macclesfield.

Terrorism/"freedom-fighting" is not uniquely Arabic.

Rackspace sues 'the most notorious patent troll in America'

Watch out Apple

...the other Patent Troll.

Shark-tooth war cutlery reveals tale of fishy extinction in Pacific

EDIT

"In 1950 alone, fishermen took 7,716 pounds of shark fins from the Gilbert Island's waters."

should be

"In 1950 alone, Chinese fishermen took 7,716 pounds of shark fins from the Gilbert Island's waters."

Chinese search king Baidu testing Google Glass competitor

Duke of Edinburgh

I wonder what Prince Philip woud say about it.

Review: Intel Next Unit of Computing barebones desktop PC

It cost your employer £259 per unit?

At the bank I work at (one of the largest 3 UK banks) our IT Dept's "purchasing power" could pick these up at £2,590 per unit. With a 6 month delivery SLA.

ARM, TSMC tape out 64-bit Cortex-A57 chip on 16 nanometers

Re: A ARM-PC?

Some valid points but I disagree on the assessment of the willingness of Fanbois to adopt another architecture. I think they won't even raise an eyebrow. Apple sells on image - the 30-something guy in jeans and a t-shirt who's not short of cash - and, in doing so, is able to command a premium price for their products (why are iPhones and iPads so expensive?)

Apple has always adopted a 'niche' strategy. They're not interested in the mass market. They're interested in making more profit from less buyers. To do this, they sell the image, not the machine. It's not Apple Computer Inc anymore, it's just Apple Inc. The machine is not as important as the image.

So I don't think they'll be any noticeable change in their sales figures if they move to ARM. Costs may come done and profitability per unit may increase, but I dont' see many Fanbois changing to Windows or Linux.

Swedish judge explains big obstacles to US Assange extradition

if you are on the wrong side of them, i would expect it pays to be very cautious

You make a good point.

While I currently have no issue with US foreign policy, it is becoming increasingly easier to see why a lot of people (Arabs, Chinese, et. al.) distrust the US Government.

While the US Govenment is perfectly happy to actively disclose the crimes of other States (eg. Iran, North Korea), when its crimes are disclosed by others (eg. Wikileaks) it doesn't like it and goes after the messenger. That behaviour is just wrong. They should either stop the criminal activity or just accept that it's been made public and let the public decide what should be done (if anything) about it.

Guarantee from Sweden

To many times I hear the word "'guarantee" and wince.

Any "guarantee" is next to useless to him when he's bent over in a US prison cell being pounded in the ass by Mr Big.

Sure his lawyers will be arguing with the US's lawyers that he's being detained illegally, but while the US has him in their possession, he'll continue to be mounted by the inmates.

What pisses me off is the disproportionate approach taken by the UK. Assange hasn't been charged with any crime in the UK or Sweden, yet Bill Haig is happy to use force to try and retrieve him.

It is obviously entirely politically driven and I can safely conclude that Bill Haig is Obama's bitch.

Boss of Irish-based R&D hub: Man, this place is the back of beyond

Re: Letterkenny

Is it true that if you visit Cork, what you're actually seeing is something that happened 100 years ago?

Animal Liberation drone surveillance plan draws fire

Ossie or Ozzie?

Which one is it?

Second International Cat Video Festival coming to Oakland CA

Freak Show

While there's nothing wrong with having a pet, I find the photo both offensive and disturbing. Why anyone would want to go to that extent and make themselves look like their pet is beyond me. No Sir. These people need to be euthanased.

Smartphone running 'Facebook OS' said to debut this week

Re: Will nobody think of the programmers

Upvoted.

...for coming clean and posting a candid and concise comment that removes all doubt that its author is a fuckwit.

BlackBerry results not as bad as they possibly could have been

Re: Short sellers?

"stock being held by 'short sellers', who are betting on a BlackBerry collapse and who, according to CNN Money, hold about a third of the company's stock."

That's a new one to me: holding stock you don't hold.

LOL. Proof positive that, when it comes to finance, CNN Money is clueless.

Re: Z10

£280 max.

Z10

Those things are so damned expensive they'd only have to sell a few to turn profitability around.

I mean £500 for a Blackberry that doesn't even come with encryption as standard anymore.

That's crazy.

Microsoft says WinPhone outselling iPhone, BlackBerry

cheapest Lumia in the UK is now being priced to compete with the cheapest old Blackberry

And yet I STILL can't bring myself to buy WinPho (after the experience I had with WP7).

I'll take the Blackberry.

Every time.

Pyongyang Photoshop tomfoolery shows wet Norks, skirts blown up

Inferior armed forces

The only reason I can think of as to why they would do this would be to give a false impression of their military strength.

Sure, they have the bomb and they may be crazy enough to use it. But photoshoping crap like this just reminds me of Iraq going into Gulf War I. And we now know what the situation actually was.

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2

At £700 a pop...

...it's no wonder these things aren't selling.

Torygraph and Currant Bun stand by to repel freeloaders

iPad app

"The Telegraph's iPad app is consistently the most buggy and the least reliable of all the UK newspaper apps, and lies in abject, barely-supported neglect".

More importantly, what's their Android App like? (seeing as Android has the larger market share).

Rubbish IT means DEATH for UK Border Agency, announces May

Guy Fawkes...

...had the right idea.

Jonathan Aitken (Cons)

Jeffrey Archer (Cons)

Mick Bates (Lib Dem)

David Chaytor (Lab)

Miranda Grell (Lab)

Tom Wise (Ind)

all scum.

Off-the-shelf optics kit tweaked for bonkers performance

The non-technobabble version...

...we shined a fucking big torch down a long bit of clear plastic for a fiver.

isoHunt loses appeal against search ban

Re: Canadian website, US judges

It was a US judgement, so it only applies within the US jurisdiction but nationality is not a necessary condition for infringement of US law.

I'd expect the US has extradition treaties with Canada - like it does with the UK - where a non-US citizen can be extradicted to face US laws without any requirement that the same citizen infringed local (ie. non-US) laws.

It's just like a Kanuk version of Gary McKinnon (but without the general public outrage).

Apple share-price-off-a-cliff: Told you that would happen

Re: Free investment advice from a recruitment consultant

LOL.

As pointed out, "the only consistent performance of fund managers is under-performance" So go and pay the 'professionals' to lose it for you, if you want.

No, really: Austrians develop hi-tech jewellery made out of concrete

Re: Something new.

Only two questions: do they make a Prince Albert and will the added weight increase the length of the shaft?

Nokia deflates Google's video codec thought bubble

Re: Competition is good in certain areas

I agree there are certain areas that shouldn't be exposed to competition.

Survival of the unfittest is always healthy.

Monopolies are good for consumers.

I think I've said enough to point out the purely falacious content of your astroturf.