Posts by John Tuffen

Apple banishes Java from Mac browsers

Isn't this just the implementation of Old News?

Some while ago (a year? Maybe more), Apple announced that they weren't going to support Java any more - after all, they were getting so much crap from 'users'** about not keeping up with the bugfixes in mainline Java this seemed like a sensible decision. Why be the middleman in such a relationship?

** When I say 'users' I mean people-who-comment-about-Apple-despite-announcing-that-they'll-never-buy-an-Apple-product as well as people who actually use OSX

Retina MacBook Pro nukes Apple's green credentials

Re: Dichotomy, eh?

@nigel 15: "... if your battery wears out in two years time, which it will, you wont be able to just buy a new one and pop it in."

Two years? The battery in my 2006 macbook is still going strong. Hardly 'two years'.

However, the batteries of various 'pc' (I know, I know) laptops *have* tended to become paperweights in about two years... YMMV of course.

Cambridge Audio Sonata NP30 hi-fi streamer

On a slightly-related note...

For streaming audio, I've been most impressed by my Synology Diskstation NAS. If your NAS sits next to your amp (like it does in my house) you can plug a USB soundcard into the Diskstation and it will play out directly.

There's a nice (free) app for iDevices which can remotely control the audio too, as well as streaming (different) audio the the iDevice as well.

Oh, and it'll stream out to other media renderers too: I was quite impressed when I tested the Diskstation streaming different audio out of its own USB port + 3 iPod Touches + a Philips Streamium device without missing a beat...

You could (almost) buy an iPod, a DS211j and a 2TB disk for the price of the CA streamer alone!

Google: Go public on Profiles or we'll delete you

Google Profile != Google Account

from Google's "About Profiles" - http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?answer=97703&hl=en&ctx=ch_ManageAccount

"Deleting your profile won't delete your Google Account."

so, deleting a profile will not prevent you from using gmail... at the moment ;-)

Apple's MacBook Pros chucked out ahead of iPad 2

Awww

Bit of a shame that the 13.3" MBP doesn't get the Air's 1440x900 screen...

Bye-bye to bizarro bye-laws, says UK.gov

Errr....

I don't know; perhaps this passage from the article) should set the alarm bells ringing:

"But people should also be free to contact their council with their concerns and have them addressed easily, so councils should also look to set local byelaws that improve their area - with no ministerial involvement whatsoever."

So, has your 'Worst Case Scenario' changed now?

The Cameregg plan: Who got what?

Civil liberties

Civil liberties stuff looks good to me.

Can't really offer an opinion on the financial stuff (you're going to pay tax _somewhere_), and the education elements don't look too horrendous for my kids either.

Polaroid enthusiasts unveil new instant film

Yes, it's an art thing...

Y'know they still *make and sell* oil and watercolour paints! Why? Don't these 'artists' know that photography killed painting in the mid 19th C.? (Paul Delaroche)

Blimey, why would anyone bother with all that fuss when digicams and computers can do stuff so much more _easily_!

... 'coz that's what this world needs, more 'art' made by the empowered masses.

Amazon offers publishers pre-iSlate Kindle bribes

Amazing...

... the iSlate/iPad/iLash/iWhatever isn't even announced yet and the marketplace is changing.

Like 'em or loathe 'em (you can't ignore 'em)*, Apple certainly have some influence...

Virgin coughs up digital tech support for clueless users

Tech Support Cheat Sheet

It'd probably be cheaper to just follow this handy flowchart:

http://xkcd.com/627/

Apple voids warranties over cigarette smoke, users say

Could you use any more biased language?

There's definitely an anti-Apple feel around here these days (and anti-Google too, but let's stick to the point here).

Do you think you could use some restraint in your reporting? 'Jobsian Cult'?? How about 'Apple' instead?

I suppose that you're just going for the lowest common denominator audience here (IT workers with a Daily Mail subscription by the looks of things), but the news around here sometimes looks like it's been written by a fourteen year-old geek with serious Apple- (Google-) envy...

US Navy electromagnetic mass-driver commences tests

@Phil the Geek

... My thoughts exactly! I've been showing my children Eric Laithwaites 'The Engineer in Wonderland' recently since they expressed an interest in mag-lev/mag-propulsion (interestingly, my 7 year old son 'invented' mag-lev when he discovered magnetic repulsion, deciding that cars/trains would be much better if they hovered... hence Prof. Laithwaite's book came out!)

Microsoft admits Mac was Windows 7 muse

<splutter>

Right, Mr. Aldous: you owe me a new keyboard and monitor... my current ones are tea-soaked now:

"... it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance." indeed.

Hisense 1080p Media Player

What I'd really like to see...

... is a box which *just does audio* - but for about this price. If I want to listen to some music (stored on a NAS with built in UPNP server thingy), I don't really want to turn on my TV, but audio-only solutions tend to be rather expensive I've found :-(

Or they have virtually illegible screens (like the Philips SLA5500 which I have - and was more expensive!)

Cyclists give TV chef a Wikikicking

!! News Just In !!

There are some inconsiderate people out there, some of 'em drive cars, some of 'em ride bikes, and some of 'em even walk.

(Some) pedestrians walk out in front of cyclists without looking; (some) cyclists go through red lights; (some) motorists turn left across a cycle lane without indicating and/or looking (yes you bastard, you're not as sorry as I was).

Met warns officers off photographers

Photography ain't illegal, but it'll get you noticed...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8161154.stm

(About the "Harry Potter" actor done for cannabis possession)

"Police seized the camera after [Waylett] was arrested for taking a picture of officers as he and his friend John Innis, 20, drove past, the court was told."

"Waylett and Innis were stopped under the Terrorism Act in Lodge Road, St John's Wood, west London, after the actor took a photograph of a police patrol."

That pesky terrorism act coupled with shy policemen...

Safari 4: Apple's crash-happy shipper

No Problems with crashing; however...

... there's a problem with the parental controls. You can add a site by simply pressing 'cancel' when Safari asks for an administrator password. It's annoying when it worked so well with Safari 3!

(Macbook rev1, 10.4.11)

Kodak retiring iconic Kodachrome film

Oh no!

Not the Lomographic Society!! Ok if you have money to burn... but materials can be bought much more cheaply - 7dayshop.com and silverprint.co.uk spring to mind. Silverprint distribute the foma stocks amongst others...

Not the death of film by any means

IIRC, Kodak have simply been updating their product lines, and tricksy film like Kodachrome is simply too archaic to survive. If they concentrate on E6 process films, then the film can be processed in many, many labs across the world - and not with a four week wait either (In my case, I mail my E6 film out on a Monday morning and get it back - processed and mounted - on the Wednesday).

Of course E6 film is cheaper on the shelf - it can be supplied with processing not included!

I must admit that I've only ever shot Kodachrome on Super 8 - and I shot that until the format's death (but I just bought three rolls of K64 so I'll be shooting that soon). But again, Kodak introduced Ektachrome 64T in Super 8 as a 'replacement' stock. Surprise surprise - It's an E6 process film. Ok, it's not Kodachrome, but then it wasn't "The Death Of Super 8" either.

This is not "The Death Of Film". Not by a long way...

Apple punts batterylicious MacBook Pros

Hmmm...

Interesting. The 'old' Aluminium Macbooks (much derided for their lack of Firewire) have now become the new Macbook Pro jr. - *with* Firewire. And the prices aren't much different (can't remember exactly) from the old Aluminium Macbook either.

Sounds good to me.

Apple offers free iPods, upgrades MacBook

Kids? Macbook?

@AC 08:28: "I really don't think I'd get my kids a macbook though - a cheap windows (or linux) machine would seem much more appropriate"

Since I let my kids (5 & 8) use my Macbook, they are now reluctant to use the XP PC anymore... They get bored waiting for the PC to boot (and then load up the AV, Parental Control, etc. etc.). The Parental Controls built into Safari are just fine, and they can get browsing in < 30 seconds.

Deadfish iPhones send users into deep freeze

Being quiet? Perhaps Apple are being cautious

Hmm... perhaps they're *investigating* the issue? Before releasing an ill-advised comment?

It's not so hard to imagine that Apple would see if the problem is reproducible before advising on a fix??

UK IT should 'fire men first', says Kate Craig-Wood

Ahhh...

.. it's *Positive* discrimination? That's alright then...

Apple's Snow Leopard may know where you are

@Chris

Wow. For a 'neutral', you do a great anti-Apple impersonation.

(Sooooo tired of all these 'my OS is better than yours' playground arguments).

Council fields world's first rubbish-fuelled rubbish truck

Green Cross Code?

"... could pose safety issues for any locals who forget to look both ways when crossing the road ..."

Well, how about pedestrians actually F***ing look before crossing the road? Or is there a plan to retrofit bicycles etc. with "a recording of a thumping big V8"?

I say run the fsckers over.

Be Broadband doubles down on ADSL to catch cable

Channel bonding...

Ah, well if you're going to have to run multiple 'phone lines to a premises, the same can be done with (Euro)Docsis 3.0 - into the hundreds-of Mbit range if you have the cash...

Apple update purges 21 security vulns from OS X

@AC? Webster...?

I presume (from the first two comments) that Webster has forgotten his password...

The postings have all the signs (incontinent rant; blinkered opinion yada yada...)

US customs: Yes, we can seize your laptop, iPod

@Andy...

"...I can put my laptop in a giant envelope with a stamp, and they can't search it?"

Hmmm, I wonder if Apple knew about this before the Macbook Air was released? I mean - it's even in the advert!

Apple is Fisher-Price of sound quality, says Neil Young

Audio Compression != Data Compression

... audio compression is a huge great evil of the times; My Ipod (shuffle) has a big mix of stuff on it at the moment, and the difference between (say) a Beatles track, something from 'Stop Making Sense', and anything 'modern' (Mark Ronson's 'God Put a Smile upon your face' for example), and you have to wonder what happened to dynamic range. The older tracks tend to go LOUD, quiet, LOUD, etc. whilst the modern tracks tend to be LOUD, LOUD, LOUD.

A bit like Ms. Phreaky up there.

If you were to look at the waveforms, I highly suspect that the modern stuff would be riddled with flat-topped peaks judging by the kind of distortion which can be heard.

Ubuntu man challenges open source to out-pretty Apple

The trouble with Linux...

... (or at least one of the troubles) is all of the petty infighting:

"My desktop is better than yours" KDE vs. Gnome vs. Enlightenment vs. a badger's arse;

"My installer is better than yours" rpm vs. tar.gz vs. god-knows-what

Just think. what if all of the Linux developers (and I mean that in the loosest possible terms) actually had a common roadmap? Actually developed to some core standards (directory structure, device naming, 'window manager', fonts, etc. etc.)?

I can't see that *ever* happening. And that's why Linux will never get to be the mainstream desktop platform.

Blighty's electro-supercar 2.0 uncloaked today

@dervheid

"Who is going to produce an economically viable electric car, capable of carrying the average family and their luggage the entire journey from central Scotland to Cornwall (530 miles), in reasonable, air conditioned comfort, in a journey time of just under 9 hours (not including breaks), that won't need to be recharged en-route?"

Well, surely whilst you and the family are stopping to eat/go to the loo, the car can recharge? I mean we're only talking 10 minutes after all...

UK clamps down on bus-spotting terror menace

Terrorist Vs. Paedophile

"I can deal with the fact someone might think I'm a terrorist, but when they start saying you're a paedophile it really hurts"

I think that the point is you can more easily persuade people that you're not a terrorist (i.e. your friends and neighbours will laugh it off), whereas once accused of being a paedo, "There's no smoke without fire" kicks in, and soon everybody *thinks* that, even though there's no damn evidence...

The war on photographers - you're all al Qaeda suspects now

Are Photographers really a threat?

Of course, the "war-on-terror" angle is all cobblers too... see Bruce Schneier's Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/05/news.terrorism

Horror bestseller condemns videogame sales limit law

@Steve:

It *is* illegal in the UK to sell certain games to under-age customers. A swift search turned up this on 'OUT-LAW':

"In contrast to the system in the US, in the UK video games that depict "gross violence", "sexual activity" or "techniques likely to be useful in the commission of offences" must be classified under the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) film rating system under the Video Recordings Act of 1984. The Act provides that it is an offence to supply such a game to anyone below the age limit, punishable by a fine of up to £5000 or up to six months in prison. However, in the region of 90% of all titles released on to the market are exempt from this legal classification."

Personally, as a parent, I don't see the problem with age-restrictions on certain content. But perhaps I'm in the minority

Sweet, sweet smell of comments in code?

Comments again.

Self-documenting code is a crock of cack.

You try to debug some, to quote a friend of mine:

”… well, weenieboy, if I’m in there fixing the code, it’s probably because it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to..."

And why is: "x++; // increment x" always trotted out as an argument against comments? I mean, really. The only peopl who write code like that are people learning a programming language. It's like banning a letter of the alphabet because it's used in some rude words and you may ultimately offend someone...

Linux proponents seem the worst offenders for 'self documented code'