Posts by RichyS

Remote tribe discovered worshipping iPad

Ka'zi

Indeed, in the Ka'zi is one of the many places I intend to use my mythical iPad when it's bestowed upon me (by the nice home delivery people).

Windows 8 possible July 2011 release?

Err... Really?

I think you're confusing Windows with Win CE. The x86 Windows kernel hasn't been portable onto other architectures since the early days of NT.

Confirmed: no iPad iBooks for Blighty

Re. Blimey!

Wow, that's a lot of assumptions there. Seeing as the eBook (iBooks, whatever it's called) tool uses the standard ePub format, it seems likely that you can get you ebooks from elsewhere for now. It's not like iPods only play music from the iTunes store. Just that, for now, the iBooks Store won't be available. So, describing one of the key apps as 'not available' is a pretty big assumption.

And the iPad is stated as being unlocked for 3G. So, just stick a PAYG SIM in there (okay, micro SIM -- I'm hoping that's just a regular mini SIM with a bit more plastic cut off!) when and if you need data. Phone contracts in the UK tend to be very much cheaper than the US, thanks to a decent bit of competition; so I'm not really sure the basis for that assumption, either.

Apple's iPad - fat iPhone without the phone

Re: Why Bother

We have a Linux AA1 as well. Somewhere. Gathering dust.

Yes, in theory it can do all those things, but frankly, does them badly. In the end, I found that if it was quick email/web type stuff, we'd use my iPod Touch. If it was the more computery things, I'd walk over to my laptop.

The netbook was just too fiddly and too much of a pain in the arse to use.

I think the iPad will be the opposite. Yes the lack of iChat/Skype is a real let down. Yes I'd prefer it if I could multi-task 3rd party apps (though I'm struggling to think of any show stopper for this). But for every other bit of 'casual' use, I think it'll be bang on.

Do I need it? No? Do I /need/ half the crap in my house? Hell no. Fortunately, I live near the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, so can spend my money on unnecessary for lovely stuff!

Orange serves up Monkey's brains to advertisers

Monkey Tennis

And I thought that it was monkeys that flung shit at you, not the other way around.

Steve Ballmer defaces fanboi MacBook

Need a new one?

You do now that Monkey-boy has ruined it.

Still, the MacBook Pro is due an upgrade bump soon...

More MIDs with ARM than Atom by 2013

ARMed and ready

Sod Linux. I want an ARM netbook with RISC OS on it.

I've got an old copy of Impression I want to use on it somewhere...

Apple trawling networks for tablet subsidies?

Subsidised another way

I'm hoping that Apple can subsidise the iBook/iSlate/iPad/iWhatever another way.

I'd happily pay Apple a chunk of cash every month for rental access to TV shows on iTunes. That way I can ditch my flakey Sky TV sub, and get the benefit of the television shows that I want, when I want, on my iThingy, or Apple TV, or iPod, or anywhere else I have iTunes.

And get a subsidised iThingy.

However, with the blinkered nature of most content providers/TV networks, this is unlikely to happen. Can but hope, though...

Windows 7 users to fly without SP parachute

Points...

Wasn't XP version 5.5? Which makes XP 0.4 better than Win 7 compared to the previous version!

Anyway, the point is, whatever the marketing monkeys tell us, the IT people know that this isn't a major new OS release. It's the service pack (a bloody big one, but a service pack, nonetheless) to Vista. The service pack we've all been waiting for that makes Vista half useable.

Ghost of Gates' tablet haunts Microsoft's future

Desktop OS in a Slate? Really?

I think you're missing the point.

These 'slate' computers are not intended to run desktop OS -- they're appliances. They should do a few things very well, and be light with decent battery life, etc. Stuffing an all purpose desktop OS in there is not going to help achieve that. Hell, I don't want to be messing around with the Registry or defragging my slate (okay, bit of a stereotype). I want to pick it up, and for it to work. Web browsing, media, a few handy little apps. You get the idea. No Word. No Excel, and certainly no resource hog like Photoshop.

I think Apple get it. I know Microsoft don't.

Ballmer preempts Jobs with tablet slate trio

Chair Man

The bill for new chairs alone is going to run into the hundreds of thousands...

Agreed

The very fact that MS have crammed Win6.1 into the tablet shows that they still don't get it. I suspect that this will fail as badly as all the other XP and Vista tablets.

Ten grand - the cost of iPhone-induced sobriety

Morning?

Well, if you've made it in the following morning, then the answer to the 'how much did you drink last night' question is clearly 'not enough'.

Attacks spread malware with help from AppleInsider

Phew!

Thankfully I browse AppleInsider on my Mac...

Apple to acquire music streamer Lala?

Hadn't heard of Lala

But I quite like the sound of it. The problem I have with the traditional music rental sites is that I just don't have the time to explore new music and make proper use of the not inconsiderable sum they demand each month. This approach sounds much better for those of us who are no longer students, and have to spend time doing other things!

Now, if Apple can work our the same model for television programmes and films too, then I'll be very happy.

Muswell Hillbillies force BT to move broadband boxes

Car name or Latin name?

I suspect the organic lentil munching residents of Muswell Hill will spell their daughter's name 'Portia'. Calling your daughter 'Porsche' is a bit too Premiership footballer...

Windows 7 soars while Mac OS X trips online

Easily explained

The uptick in Win 7 web usage can easily be explained away by Win 6.1 users desperately scrabbling around for working drivers, and the usual deluge of MS patches and hotfixes.

I love statistics. They can explain anything...

NHS hurls iPhone into booze abuse fray

Feature Request

Can the next version include a feature to stop me calling ex girlfriends and the like when I'm drunk?

Beer icon, obv.

Windows 7 - Microsoft minus the martyrdom

Very confused article

So, which is it? Users don't want Vista because they'd heard it was crap, or users don't want Vista because it's dog slow? Or both? The article seems to flit between both viewpoints without drawing any conclusions.

The fact is, Vista was crap. Mostly because it was dog slow. It brought no benefit to the end user in the enterprise, so why would they embrace it?

Microsoft have now fixed the major issue with Vista (the Windows Display Driver Model -- moving to 1.1 from 1.0, just like Windows has moved from 6.0 to 6.1 -- hey, sounds like a service pack to me!); and tweaked some of the ageing UI paradigms (let's face it, Vista brought nothing new in terms of UI -- just fancier graphics for the same paradigms).

A combination of XP beginning to show its age, lack of mainstream XP support, and an overdue hardware refresh (which causes the inverse to the driver problems that Vista had -- try getting XP drivers for some of the new kit!) means that adoption of the latest Windows is inevitable.

Hell, I wish my firm would ditch the Win laptops entirely and get us some fancy Macs. It's not like we need anything the PC offers on the desktop side.

Panasonic DMC-GH1 Micro Four-Thirds camera

Just got one of these

Just got one of these, and love it.

One point wirth mentioning is that the sensor is not the same as the G1 -- it's actually a 14.something sensor that generates 12.1MPx in the various aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1). Most reviewers seem to think that the GH1 takes slightly better stills than the G1. So, this means that the selection of aspect ratio isn't just down to artistic choice -- cropping a 4:3 image to 3:2 will result in a lower resolution image (though not by much).

The only slightly annoying thing I've found so far is that you have to take 7 shots to get +/- 2EV bracketing. No big deal, but a bit of an extra pain for HDR shots in trying to keep the camera steady!

I bought mine from Campkins in Cambridge for just over a grand. They threw in the mic (£120 on its own) and a Class 10 8GB SD card (lightning fast for pulling video off), and a mini HDMI to HDMI cable. Not a bad deal.

All told, if you're interested in a hybrid camera, and sway more towards video, get the GH1. If you're more interested in stills, the EOS 7D might be the better bet (noisey lens, manual refocussing, no constant aperture and, I think, as 12min recording limit -- though that may just be the 5D mkII).

FYI the AVCHD import into iMovie (current version) works fine. If I get the hang of this video lark, I may splash out on Final Cut Studio, or similar.

All told, a great camera and essentially unique at the moment.

'World's largest' BitTorrent tracker Mininova kneecapped

Problem with rental

I think the problem with the rental model for music, is that people consume music in a different way to video.

I watch (and hopefully enjoy) the vast majority of films and television programmes once. Maybe twice. A very few I want to own and keep.

Music, however, is different. We like to own music because we will listen to an album hundreds of times in it's lifetime. And that is why I like to own my music. I don't want to rent music, that's what the radio is for!

And this is the view of the majority of people. That's why DVD rental is very popular, but CD rental isn't.

Personally, I'm waiting for the day that you can rent television programmes from iTunes, and can cancel my Sky sub.

iPhone upgrades - a one-way control-freak street

Whose phone is it?

Actually, if you bought the iPhone on contract from O2, it's probably O2's phone. Throw that into the mix...

More seriously, I can see the attraction from Apple's perspective of ensuring everyone has the same version of software. Lots of people running around with different versions is a support nightmare -- that's one of the reasons why your work laptop probably has a standard build.

Having said that, it's vitally important that the testing and QA process for new releases is solid. While it's nice to have everyone on the same version, it's not nice to have everyone's device functioning incorrectly because everyone's on the same version of rubbish. This is the bit I don't think Apple have quite right yet.

Reverting to a previous version of an app should only be required if there really is a new bug in the new version. Do we know if Apple have a process for hoiking the new build out of the app store and 'updating' everyone to the previous version? Since the previous version already has the Apple seal of approval, it should be a matter of moments to revert. That way you can retain the primary objective of ensuring a single version of the app, /and/ ensure that no-one has a buggy version. Maybe you could ask your tame spokesdroid that question.

Black helicopter icon, as El Reg seems to think there's an Apple conspiracy against them.

iFarter begs Apple for rational App Store

Sing Hallelujah

Steve ('cos Steve approves or disapproves every app) okayed the Hallelujah app because it reminds him of the sound when he enters a room.

To all the fanboys (of all persuasions), I've not used the joke icon because the 'Halo Steve' one was too good to pass up. But it is a joke. You can stop frothing at the mouth now...

Fanbois Apple buyers howl over crocked iMacs

It's What Apple do Now that Matters

Things break. It happens. It especially happens when new kit is launched (workers on the line still getting used to the process, packaging maybe not quite right, trying to meet order volumes and cutting corners on quality control).

What really matters is how Apple deal with the customers after the event. My experience of Apple is that they are much better at this than other manufacturers. Case in point: the Sony battery in my MacBook started losing charge rapidly after 2 years of use (150 cycles or so -- these things are rated for 300). Apple said 'no problem, here's a brand new battery' then and there. My wife's Sony Vaio, on the other hand, had what appeared to be the same problem. sony said, 'no problem send it in to us to look at'. What they meant was 'no problem, send it in to us at we'll sit on it for two weeks. You won't be able to contact us to find out what's going on because we won't answer your emails, and keep bouncing you from call centre to call centre. After two weeks we'll send back you laptop (which you'll have to pick up from some skanky depot in Croydon) and tell you that the fault is "inconclusive", and suggest you buy a new battery. You'll then complain about this a bit more, but get nowhere. You'll buy a new battery for close to a hundred quid and that'll fix it'.

That's the kind of thing you do to lose a customer. Not offer a full refund or to replace the DOA kit as soon as humanly possible.

Eat frozen food and avoid line-caught fish, says eco study

Feck that.

Can I just eat the fish that tastes the best? Or doesn't that matter with food anymore -- it's all about the 'green' credentials.

Gov advisers slate Home Office over innocents' DNA retention

Hay

"We know that the DNA database is a vital crime fighting tool, identifying 410,589 crime scenes between 1998 and March 2009 with a DNA match and a possible lead on the possible identity of the offender."

Wow, that's a lot of caveats.

So, what they're basically claiming is that in 10 years Plod has found some DNA, some of which may have possible sort of given them an indication of who may have been around the 'scene' at some point, which may have possibly helped them identify some people who may have been the offender.

Not very convincing, is it?

As I keep saying, adding more hay to the haystack does not make the needle easier to find...

Freeview HD - your questions answered

@Nigel Whitfield re. DVB-T2 Television

This is the one I saw:

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/12068848/Philips-22-221T1SB-Full-HD-Ready-1080p-Freeview-LCD-TV/Product.html

Oddly, it no longer lists DVB-T2 (though it did at one point according to the print out I have!). It does vaguely go on about being able to display terrestrial HD TV though. I hope Play.com aren't trying to mislead anyone, 'cos it ain't going to work in the UK. Looks like I'll wait a little longer before shelling out for a television for the study.

I suppose being based in the Channel Islands, there's not much you can do if you're upset with Play.

Still seems confusing

So, let me get this right. I can buy a DVB-T2 television, but it still might not be capable of supporting Freeview HD.

That's a shame, I had my eye on a small Philips 1080 set with DVB-T2. Might wait now until things settle down...

iPhone to become Blighty's favourite smartphone

Really smartphones?

Okay, so technically Symbian is a smartphone platform; but I bet that the vast majority of Nokia S60 devices are sold as glorified feature phones. Only very few Nokias are used as smartphones in the same way that the iPhone, Android, and various HTC and other devices are.

Ask most S60 Nokia owners if they had a smartphone, and they'd say no.

Olympus PEN E-P1 Micro Four-Thirds camera

+1 for the GF1

I have to agree with OwenA. The Panasonic GF1 fixes all the issues that the EP1 has -- including having the same LCD screen resolution as the GH1 'DSLR-alike'. Okay, so the EP1 has that cute retro look, but the GF1 isn't a half bad looking camera.

Personally, I've just ordered a Panasonic GH1. I don't own any legacy film camera lenses, and I wanted a DSLR style camera that actually did video properly. In terms of the video, the Canon 5D mkII is about the only thing that comes close (maybe the 7D now, too); but they;re both waaay more expensive.

The only downside is that GH1s are rarer than scuples in a politician.

Windows Mobe Marketplace sets its stall out

New Security Features Hacked Already.

Title says it all really. Anyway, one of the devs over at XDA Devs hacked the new DRM within a couple of hours.

@Fred Flinstone. Although there's no explicit 'try before you buy' feature, most apps (at least the ones that cost more than a quid) have a free 'lite' version to try first.

MPs prepare to beat off phantom Olympic hooker invasion

Misunderstood

Damn, read the headline, and assumed rugby had been given the go-ahead as an Olympic sport.

Three more quit over Nutt sacking

Spiv

Does Alan Johnson remind anyone else of the spiv from Dad's Army?

No, just me then? I'll get my...

HP, Dell punters furious over Windows 7 upgrade delays

@Steven Jack

Oh well, at least you had a couple of months of your computer working properly then...!

Brown's Building Britain website fail

amanfromMars

I thought amanfromMars already _did_ write the Labour manifesto...

iTunes sync comes to Moto's Droid

@Windywoo

It's probably because it's their IPR.

Now stop being a d1ck, take the tinfoil hat off, and grow up.

Spain cuts off 3m pre-pay mobiles

But what does this achieve exactly?

So, how exactly is this going to stop terrorism? Terrorists have a very nasty habit of not really obeying the rules. So, I can't see them wandering to the local Telefonic store to register and buy a PAYG mobile. Neither can I see them quaking in their boots in Tora Bora, thinking 'Oh well, that's Spain off the todo list then...'. Unless Spain stops PAYG SIMs roaming (and a hundred thousand chavs a year on holiday say otherwise), there's nothing to stop a foreign SIM (say, Portuguese -- that would be convenient) being used.

And RainForestGuppy -- I'm not sure what IMEI has to do with anything. That's the unique ID for the handset -- nothing to do with the SIM (which is what gets cut off). Maybe you mean IMSI...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6

Fake Sample Photos

I call fake on the sample photos. An actual Royal Mail train in action. I don't think so...

Is this the world's dirtiest PC?

Disappointed

Reading the title of this piece, I was hoping for something completely different...

Paris, for obvious reasons (sorry Sarah).

Dell details 'world's thinnest' laptop

@Greg J Preece

I'm not sure where you get the 'much much cheaper' than the MacBook Air from. I've just checked the Apple US website, and the Air with 128GB SSD costs exactly the same: $1799. You do get a faster CPU, but only 2GB of RAM (mind you, you don't need as much RAM with OS X, and if the Adamo comes with a 32 bit version of Windows, it can only use 3GB of the 4GB anyway), and one fewer USB ports.

You didn't make the mistake of thinking this thing would actually cost £1084 when released in the UK, did you?

The Adamo is impressively thinner though -- if only it didn't make it look completely unuseable.

Personally, I'm all for thin'n'light. Most netbooks have a screen and keyboard that is too small for me to do any serious work. On the basis that when I am working, I am usually carrying around a few documents and other A4 sized bits and bobs, then I need a bag that's A4 carrying sized. Therefore, I lose nothing by having a laptop of similar size; but gain on the proper sized keyboard and screen. My job currently provides me with a ThinkPad X61 which seems a pretty decent compromise -- it's faily light and thin. Still, even thinner would be better...

Totally impractical

At least the MacBook Air is useable.

I can't imagine trying to use this anywhere. Certainly not on my lap. An airline seat table or train table looks equally challenging.

I'm sure the Dell engineers thought they were being very clever in putting the big bits of electronics on the 'stand' part. But have they actually tried using this in the real world (assumption: engineers are aware of the real world)?

Windows 7 sales leave Microsoft coffers unstuffed

Why has anyone paid for a boxed copy?

The RC was available as a free download for ages. By the time that runs out, it'll be time to buy a new laptop anyway.

At least, that's the option I took for my wife. She paid the tax for Vista -- no way is she paying Microsoft to fix their mistakes.

And her next laptop will be a Mac.

Fat Reg slims down for spanking new mobile phone version

iPhone version

Obviously you should have a choir of angels singing in the background.

Orange saves callers pennies with iPhone tariffs

@Chris 251

Are you sure the no warning cut off wasn't just another of O2's many data outages?

Personally, I'm just going to get an iPhone off eBay and stick whatever SIM only deal offers best value (not O2, obviously, I want the 3G to actually work). I just have to wait for my wife to let me buy one!

Apple MacBook Late 2009

Remote-ly interesting

It might be worth pointing out that (in this case) there's good reason to not bundle an Apple Remote. There's no IR sensor anymore.

I think the main purpose of this laptop is to make the 13" MacBook Pro look better value!

Microsoft's Windows 7 buy early plan builds to climax

Stuffing for Christmas

Yup, Microsoft always do a good job of channel stuffing. All those 'projected' new PC sales, with new Win 6.1 licenses are 'actual' sales this quarter as far as Microsoft are concerned.

Apple Magic Mouse

Zoom

It also might be worth trying some different modifier keys when using the 'zoom' function. With my Logitech mouse, holding ALT (or Option, or whatever it's called) zooms the whole screen. Personally, I've never really seen the point of this -- it may be useful for those with even worse eyesight than mine.

Instead, if you use the CTRL key, you zoom the window contents.

Try it, it might work!

Sounds like it will suit me

I don't like big mice. I tend to use laptop mice where I can. I used to have one of those massive MS Intellimice, but just found it cumbersome to use. I think mice, being a primary contact point with a computer, are a very personal thing. That's why Logtech make so many different shapes and sizes. Maybe Apple need to make S, M, and L versions of the Magic Mouse! At the moment, I'm having to use a thin and very long Dell mouse at work. The buttons are sort of moulded into the shell, which means my fingers ('cos I old my mouse in my fingertips) are right at the end of the pivot point. I find clicking it a real pain.

I also don't see the point of adding yet another radio to a computer -- I have always used BT mice for this reason. It seems insane to add a special dongle when you have a perfectly good BT radio already built in (at least, all my laptops have had BT, since it's been available).

So, I think I'll give this a go. My Bluetooth Logitech laptop mouse is getting a bit tired...

Orange says now everyone can be their own MVNO

Nothing new here, move along now.

I don't think this is a particularly new model. Companies like Martin Dawes have been offering this for a while.

As the article points out, there are several levels of MVNO -- Virgin do pretty much everything above the network -- own CRM systems, IVRs etc.; while others do simply 'rebrand'.

I think there is mileage in the MVNO idea though -- it just has to be done well. Where an organisation is already trusted, they can bring a lot of good will to the offering -- this is where Blyk failed (innovative offering, no one had heard of them), but Tesco succeed (fairly standard offering, but a brand people -- rightly or wrongly -- trust). MVNOs can bring in other factors too -- cross selling into their normal business (Sainsbury's giving double Nectar points if you top-up your Sainsbury's mobile at a Sainsbury's shop is a good example -- gets you into the shop, you might buy a few veg!).

On the other hand, there's no point in slapping any old brand on top of a completely undifferentiated service. What are you offering consumers/businesses that no-one else can?

So, that's the key (and you can have this consultancy magic for free): come in with a well known and trusted brand, and offer something unique to you, that no-one else can easily copy.

I'll drink to that.

UK Border Agency suspends 'flawed' asylum DNA testing

This sounds very sinister

<quote>he added, concluding, "what I would like to know is which scientists told them to do this!".</quote>

Dr. Josef Mengele, possibly?