Posts by Peyton

Smera tilting e-car debuts in Paris

confused

So is this a sort of motorcycle for rainy days?

GM, Segway to unveil iPhone-driven wheelchair e-car

Weeble-mobile

I hope I don't ever encounter one of these... the compulsion to try and push it over would be too strong to resist.

Pentax Optio E70L

I've got a ~4 year old Optio S5i

This review could've been applied to it almost verbatim. You'd think in four years they'd improve more than just the megapixel count :\

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7

need more info

I have shaky hands - does the image stabilization bit work well? (or does it just crank up the ISO) I'd love to find a decent pocket-sized camera with this, but it's always hard to find info on it in reviews (not just here - everywhere - darn photag reviewers and their ability to take good pictures without assistance :p )

OLED-equipped 'open source' EV shown at Geneva Motor Show

Hotblack Desiato's car?

Paint the white parts black and that'd make a nice little ride.

Asus keyboard PC due May. Or maybe June

grumble

I'm still waiting on the EEE monitor we were promised. I don't want a big, clunky, lap-roasting keyboard.

Still nice to hear they may be pushing OLED, since the more backers it gets, the sooner it'll affordable (and hopefully > 10 inches).

Snacker discovers Nokia phone in crisp packet

too funny

From another Reg article: "Nokia has never been able to crack the American market..." I hate to admit it, but this actually would be an effective way to remedy that :p

For those curious on why Aldi would pull the bags of crisps - it's called CYA. Standard practice here - when confronted with an event that has even a hint of lawsuit fodder, do anything, no matter how useless, in a grab for points with any future judges. Telling the judge "we didn't know what to do" doesn't get you any points.

Euro-style GM Volt design revealed

styling sorted out?

That part struck me as funny... we get made fun of for being somewhat vehicle-obsessed over here, what with not wanting to drive small cars, or cars with aerodynamics put before styling... Yet when these American eyes look at the two versions, I see nearly the same car. Do you guys really want to run screaming from the first version, but are ready to take the second for a spin?

I ask because, as a taxpayer, I am now more directly funding the focus-group research that probably went into this extra design effort :p

Michelin strikes key 'e-wheel' deal

I'm sure this simplifies overall maintenance

But I wonder if hitting a pothole in a car with these would equate to major repairs :\

California to get 'space age' three-wheel EV

Nice!

Can't wait to see one of these in an LA police chase!

Mattel bemuses gamers with 'brainwave' toy

@andrew

Psh - as if! To achieve the levitation, Mattel has obviously modified a Vulcan psionic amplifier. Parents had better hope their kids are full of only good intentions...

(oh man - I can't believe I just wrote that lol. In my defense, I was a TNG fan *as a kid* - I'm not the comic book guy from The Simpsons - I swear! 8)

TVonics DTR-Z500 500GB Freeview+ DVR

Noticed in the first pic...

A VCR port?? O_o

Is there some technology still referred to as "VCR" across the pond that is not the cassette eating nightmare that my American brain thinks of when it sees "VCR"?

Sony Rolly dancing MP3 player

While I wouldn't actually want one

This does make me curious about how people might interact with this. I know at dance parties, often times no one wants to break the ice and be the first couple out on the floor. I can't help but wonder if you rolled this little guy out there first, if it wouldn't be successful in getting the ball rolling... Certainly a conversation piece if nothing else.

Mobile shields man from death bullet

@Oh come on!

I absolutely agree - I knows loads of people that have been shot in the heart to no effect. O_o

If you're going to rattle on about kinetic energy, you might also add into account the deceleration the Motorola would provide and the spreading of the bullet's pressure over the area of the phone? At the very least say something like "if it was in his shirt pocket it would only have punctured his lung, not his heart"

Judge dismisses Hackintosh maker's anti-Apple lawsuit

I don't know how to put it in legalese

But surely if Microsoft suddenly said "you can only run our software on Dells" there would be some legal grounds for complaint...

Nvidia pitches Tesla GPU-as-CPU tech 'personal supercomputer'

@@@oh come on..

Most research environments involve collaboration - so your data has to go on the SAN just so everyone can see it. On top of that, sometimes data can be expensive to obtain, so you want to get it on the most resilient hardware ASAP. On top of that, even if you've got a beefy desktop, chances are good that will only do for preliminary work, and eventually your data has got to go on the SAN anyway for cluster access.

I agree with some of the other posts - our researchers complain that we don't have 64+GB blades for them yet and they're stuck with a "paltry" 32...

Shure SE102 sound-isolating earphones

more pics pls

A lot of in-ear phones have you looking like some Frankenstein (ok ok his "monster") when you wear them because they stick out like some sort of neck - err ear - bolt. These look kind of big like they could suffer from that...

Dawkins' atheist ad campaign hits fundraising target

@agnostic/atheist

Ahh - thanks for chiming in with this. I was honestly getting frustrated/confused by the idea 'atheists won't claim there *isn't* a god' - I rather thought that was the point. But the idea that everyone (that isn't completely stark-raving) has a touch of agnosticism actually clears it up quite nicely.

'Podestrian' risk rising for drivers, warns insurer

Personally

I find it unnerving to be out and about with my noise cancellers on - even in areas without a lot of traffic. Evolution gave us ears for a reason, and it had more to do with listening for dangers than iTunes...

People who lack this urge to be aware of their surroundings are obviously mutants that need to be selected against - I say run 'em down.

Sharp shows first 'zero-emission' telly

my guess

In Japan they have loads of outdoor TVs, so it may be more targeted to advertising or public service than normal home viewing.

It does sound great at first (I loathe cables of any sort with a passion), but I really wouldn't want to have to block up a window with this thing..

Chrysler grows iPod Peapod

Needs another feature

The only way this thing is going to get you anywhere is if it can shoot out a grappling hook and latch onto a passing car.

Although Mike's idea could work too - I can imagine this car with a big wind-up key sticking out the back - would actually be appropriate for its looks I'm thinking.

Blockbuster: DVD to Blu-ray shift slower than VHS to DVD

well duh

The shift from VHS to DVD had a MAJOR draw that DVD to Blu-ray cannot possibly copy: you no longer had to $@!#$* rewind those tapes.

It sounds silly - but I'd bet money that was a compelling feature for a lot of folks (myself included)

GM shows off production electric car

Will definitely need some cosmetic changes

It's not ugly enough to even be a hybrid, let alone a full electric.

Net-talking toaster to burn news onto bread

Hold on a second!

How does one distinguish between a picture from the morning news and, say, an apocalyptic message from God heralding one's imminent doom? After all, as regulars here know, toast is a preferred medium of divine revelation.

iPod Touch, Nano disassemblies reveal surprises

@giles

I'm not familiar with BBC radio (to know exactly what it broadcasts), but "NPR" (National Public Radio) is commonly available on FM over here - and it's at least similar in that it is commercial free.

But yes, most other stations are crap to listen to because of the ads...

British boffins perfect process to make any item '100% waterproof'

Very neat, but...

I wonder what its effects on an item's ability to biodegrade or be recycled are? Seems like it might impede both...

Aussie school goes high-tech

Am I the only one?

Going through the process of writing down things that are said helps me in retention tremendously. I had a few profs in college (lousy ones) pass out their printed notes at the beginning of class, and I always had a much harder time learning the material...

US retailers start pushing $20 Ubuntu

Don't Forget!

For a mere $129.99, you can have the Geek Squad install it for you! What a deal!!

'HD TV gas' 17,000 times worse for planet than CO₂, claims boffin

LCD's environmental advantage over CRT

May be more related to all that lead that they don't contain...

Blockbuster withdraws $1bn Circuit City bid

I think the reason for this was

They realized they had gotten their math wrong:

1 dying company + 1 dying company ≠ a successful company.

(they'd probably overlooked the little slashy line through the equals the first time around)

Grand Theft Auto reportedly inspires teen rampage

Seems to me

They've managed to single out some degenerates *before* they were old enough to easily get their mits on real weapons. Now if only the penal system would also rehabilitate, this story might actually have a silver lining...

iRobot Roomba 560 robot vacuum cleaner

roombas are best thought of as sweepers

rather than hoovers... good on hardword floors, etc., not so much on rugs/carpets.

One thing to note though - you didn't give your roomba enough credit. You don't need to set up a barrier for the stairs - they readily detect these. Neither our roomba or scooba has ever fallen down the steps. Also, they can be very entertaining for your cats (well, until they realize that the roomba is not some sort of mobile food dispenser...) and small children =D

Overstock's Patrick Byrne battles New York Sith Lord

@Baby killing AC

Amazon and Overstock don't *pay* the taxes - they *charge* them. In the US, when you purchase something online tax-free, you are supposed to declare this on your yearly tax filing and pay then. I didn't bother reading your posted link, but if anyone is killing babies, it's the tax-dodging consumer, not the etailer.

Big cheeses rolled into Vista-Incapable lawsuit

maybe the question is

All the posts of "I run Vista on my 80386 yada yada" sort of beg the question - what exactly constitutes "Vista"? If my PC was labeled Vista-ready, am I allowed to expect that it run Aero and all the other bells and whistles?

I can't answer as I run linux/compiz and don't keep up with the Windows world much, but I think it's a valid question. It could be the money-grubbing lawyers have a point and there was some shady marketing going on...