Posts by RichyS 664 publicly visible posts • joined 22 May 2008
The P800 to P910 where great (for the time) smartphones.
Everything after that from SE was late and under delivered on the UX. I think this is a problem with SE rather than the OS. I don't see how Android is going to change the organisational culture.
Ho hum, after a run of 6 SE handsets, I've gone Apple. And I'm not going back.
Well, you're even more wrong.
Apple do not have have not ever sold a 16:9 laptop.
All Mac laptops are 16:10. The magic number you quote as the 'world needing'.
And don't hold out much hope for HTC. If HP and Compaq et al are anything to go by, the Android hardware manufacturers will race to the bottom and start pumping out cheap crap, just like the Wintel manufacturers have.
I currently have an iPad and a laptop.
However, I find I use my laptop less and less. In fact, the only thing I use it for now is the heavy lifting stuff -- RAW photo editing, video, etc.
Once my current laptop bits the dust, I'll almost certainly replace it with an iMac. For my mobile needs, the iPad does pretty much everything I need it to. For everything else, a desktop will do the job faster, cheaper, and more easily (hmmm, screen size!)
I can't help but think that a 7" screen is a bit betwixt and between. Far too large for a smartphone (I think these 4.5" smartphones are Trigger Happy oversized), and too small for a tablet.
7" is spot on for a simple eBook reader -- it's about the same size as a paperback; but for a tablet that's designed to read full web pages (and so that you can see the full width of the web page at once), and A4 sized PDFs, magazine style documents etc. Not to mention using them for knocking up simple docs and spreadsheets...
I can understand why the majority of the current Android tablets are 7" -- Android is not designed for tablets (according to no less than Google); so will scale badly to 9-10" (see, for example, the 2x scaling of iPhone apps -- okay, not so bad with Android as the UI widgets at least re-arrange themselves, but still not a great experience).
So, I will be interested to see BlackBerry's UI. Has it been designed with the tablet in mind, or is it a scaled smartphone UI? If the former, here's hoping Blackberry come out with a decent sized tablet in due course.
So, for just under a tenner a month, I get unlimited streaming (not the same as unlimited downloads). And then, only to my XBox or Windows PC (alright, not my XBox and PC, but someone who owns them).
What exactly do I get that I can't get for free from Spotify and/or Last.fm? The latter of which definitely has an XBox client, and the former may well do.
I can see exactly nobody taking up this stunning offer.
So, which EVIL (like the acronym, btw!) only have a thumbnail sized sensor?
Pretty much every EVIL camera I've seen as a MFT camera or Sony NEX. The former use a 4:3 sensor that's only 11% smaller (IIRC) than an APS-C. The Sony uses the aforementioned APS-C sensor (but ruins things with a Big Ears & Noddy UI). Now, unless you're a giant, I'd hardly call this thumbnail sized.
There are some oddities out there such as the Ricoh GXR. But this has an interchangeable lens and sensor, so the latter can vary according to the lens.
Personally, If I was on a budget, I'd need some real convincing not to look beyond the Lumix G2 and GF1 cameras.
What's the betting that the iPhone DevTeam have known about this exploit for some time know -- keeping their powder dry until Apple release the 4.1 update. By the sounds of it, they're satisfied that Apple won't be able to close the exploit in 4.2, so where happy to make use of it now.
I wonder how many more exploits they have up their sleeves?
You could have mentioned at the outset that the device doesn't work properly with iDevices, I could have saved the time it took to read a couple of pages.
I have no idea in this day and age how any sort of music centre cannot fully support iPods. And I'm not sure why you would expect Nokia not to. After all, some of the best (well, some) iPod docks are made by Sony, who compete even more directly with Apple in the iPod space.
0% CPU usage when just idling. Max I can get is 16% when flinging my balls about. This is using Safari on a ThinkPad X61 (no idea what CPU etc. I have).
However, some useless Symantec thing is gobbling up over 40% of my CPU. Damn you corporate IT. Honestly, having these anti virus things is worse than having a virus...
Cool. Where did you get the free Humax HD Freesat box? When I was looking for alternatives to Sky, they were about 300 quid (plus satelite and installation, if you don't have on already).
OTOH, The Apple TV is only 100 quid.
Personally, I don't think the new ATV is quite there yet (I have one of the originals, which I love!). I assume Apple will create an API and SDK for it at some point, at which point (as per the iPhone) things will really take off.
Oh, and I'd like to stream directly off a network disc (such as Air Disk or Time Machine, even if not a generic NAS), rather than needing my laptop booted up and running iTunes.
I think the most interesting element that was announced was AirPlay (and not just limited to the ATV). It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.
Other than that, I thought the article was crap. Slating the Apple TV, but offering no solutions. Praising other boxes that offer less, or are more troublesome to use, or do not integrate nicely with other kit people may have (iPhones, iPads, etc.). You really lost it when talking about the Kindle being perfect for video. Except for the small screen size; and the fact it's eInk with no video capable eInk on the horizon. Basically, to turn the Kindle into something remotely useful for video, you'd end up with an iPad.
Where did you get the idea that Jobs claimed to have invented HDR? He didn't. He didn't even claim that it was a panacea for all photos. It's a free upgrade, and may be helpful in some circumstances. I could certainly have done with it today when taking a photo of lake mid mountain biking. My DSLR was at home, so only an iPhone with me. No phone I've had before offers bracketing or HDR, so why complain?
And, if you can spare the time from venting spleen, you might notice that the iPhone and new Touch both have 24 bit displays, so really should have little problem displaying the resultant photo.
I'm amazed at what people fond to complain about...
The 4/3 sensor is only ~11% smaller than an APS-C sensor. With everything else going on (sensor design and sensitivity, quality of glass, image processing, etc.) it's not that big a difference.
Granted, a full frame sensor would be lovely; but the body alone for a Canon 5DII is about a grand more than the G2 with lens. There are other advantages to the m4/3 format when it comes to hybrid still and video cameras, as well -- including the fact that you can use the view finder, rather than being stuck in a tacked on 'live view'.
While not pocket sized, the m4/3 cameras are small enough not to be a hassle to take with you (remember, the lenses are much smaller too). Unless you;re very serious about photography, you're not going to take your not going to grab a 550D/7D (or Nikon whatever) just on the off chance of some photos.
My view is, that if you're mostly interested in stills, and don't mind the extra bulk, it's hard to beat a 550D (though the standard Canon kit lens isn't great).
If you're more of a keen amateur, and as interested in video as stills, then seriously look at the m4/3 cameras. Even more so if you don't have any legacy glass to worry about (there are adapters out there, but then you lose a lot of the benefits of the m4/3 system).
Personally, I'm glad there's some additional choice out there. And I'm glad that there are companies out there doing something a little different. Let's face it, if Panasonic just produced some standard DSLRs, they're never going to trouble the Canon/Nikon axis.
Yes, it does all those things.
Look at the top view of the camera. The dial on the left controls the focus -- full continuous auto, auto, and manual (for manual you can get a handy zoomed in view via the electronic view finder for pin sharp photos). You focus by twisting the lens barrel.
The PASM wheel to the right allows both aperture and shutter priority, both adjustable via the jog dial on the back (it's on the front -- much better -- on the GH1).
I suggest you head over to DP Review for a full (very full) photographers perspective. I guess El Reg is catering to the general gadgetista's interest here.
I've had a GH1 for nearly a year now, and have been very impressed by it. I'm by no means a skilled photographer, but have found the intricacies of the Panasonic easy to get to grips with.
The GH1 is, however, significantly more expensive than the G2. The kit lens is a big part of that, with the GH1 coming with a superior 14-140 (28-280 equiv.) lens (with an actual OIS button!) that's worth about 600 quid on its own. The only other major difference externally is a stereo mic (though placed so close together, they have little effect). There's no touch screen on the GH1 either -- sounds like it might be handy for video, but a bit unnecessary for stills (really, who uses the screen to compose stills?). Other than that, some of the controls seem to have been moved around (I like the iA placement, the jog dial and video record, less so).
In terms of the internals, the GH1 can record video in the regular AVCHD format, meaning 720p at 50/60 fps, and 1080p at 25/30 fps. It would be interesting to know if there are any actual differences to the processing chips and other gubbins, or are the restrictions on video simply down to firmware. I ask, as some enterprising people have hacked the firmware of the GH1 so that you can a) use 3rd party batteries, and b) ramp up the AVCHD bit rate from 17Mbps to waaaay higher. Apparently the video you can squeeze out of it is now absolutely stunning. You'll need a pricey SD card though (I have a Class 10 8MB card -- great for video and shooting in JPEG+RAW). So, what chance that these guys could hack the G2 firmware to similar effect? Could make this camera a bargain!
Re TTL and flash -- Panasonic flashes are just rebadged Olympus models (and oddly more expensive). I bought a pretty powerful (and slightly oversized compared to the camera) Metz which supports Panasonic TTL. Seems to work fine, particularly when bouncing the flash.
All in all, the GH1 is a great camera, though maybe a little overpriced these days (I bought mine pre-EOS 550D). It looks like you can get 80% of the benefits of the GH1 for a little over half the price with the G2, with a lens far better at video than the Canon kit lens on the 550D.
I'm now very interested to see what Panny come up with for the GH2.
Apple do not rush things to Market. They were apparently working on the iPad before the iPhone. Not much rushing there.
What Apple also do is release something with a limit feature set that works seamlessly. Most other manufacturers just throw features at the hardware and hope for the best. Just poplar the HTC Evo and it's front facing camera -- completely non functional out of the box.
And your evidence that Apple copied Fujitsu is the name? And I suppose the iPhone is simply a copy of the Cisco iPhone. Riiiiggght.
But Apple also replaced the exploding Sony batteries in their laptops free of charge. And everywhere, not just in Japan.
As did Toshiba, Dell, Sony, and pretty much every other laptop manufacturer.
So, what's your point? Or is it more pointless trolling.
And Lemon 4. Oh, my sides. You're hilarious.
So, where did you get these magic 1080p copies from?
Has someone somewhere managed to get hold of the digital or print originals, and converted them themselves? Doubtful.
So, what you probably have is the 576p (at best) DVD release up-converted to 1080p.
Nothing worth bragging about, really.
"It's not just the Federal Trade Commission that thinks Apple might be going all monopolistic"
Don't Apple actually need a monopoly first? Even the best estimates only give Apple around a 3rd of the smartphone market; and well under 10% of the total mobile phone market. Where's the monopoly to abuse?
Fair enough, you might not like their App Store strategy; but (and here's the important bit) because they don't have a monopoly, you're free to develop/buy from someone else.
The difference with MS is there basically was no-one else.
From 11th Feb.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/nexus-one-3g-problems-persist-after-update-is-it-a-design-pro/
One wonders how Google got such an easy ride. Maybe because they didn't manage to sell 3 million Nexus Ones in 3 weeks or so. Or maybe everyone seems to think Apple have got too big for their boots, and wants to take them down a peg or two.
Or maybe blogs and websites have seen what great click-bait talk of the iPhone antenna is; and perpetuate the story. Hey, I clicked (damn them, they're winning. Arrrggghhh!)
Either way, if this really was such a big issue, you would have thought the return rates would be much higher. Some phones are as high as 30-35%.
Oh, and to keep on topic; my last phone kept dropping calls when I touched the top -- that was, when it wasn't constantly resetting itself. And it was a Sony Ericsson.
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