Posts by Thomas Bottrill

Manhunt 2 to hit UK on Halloween

PC?

As far as I'm aware, Manhunt 2 hasn't been released on PC yet.

Barclays online banking falls offline

The message is there

But I can log in quite happily.

Apple faces iTunes case in Norway

You're missing the point

The Norweigan court isn't against Apple selling DRM-protected tracks - it's against the fact that Apple's DRM is closed and can't be used by other companies, thereby preventing those other companies from allowing their software/devices to be able to play DRM-proteced tracks bought from the iTunes Store.

They seem to be regarding iTunes as a bit of a monopoly, as its market share is so large. This is, of course, bollocks, because, as we all know, there are plenty of other companies willing to sell you tracks, both DRM-protected and not, that can play on lots of different devices (excluding iTunes-exclusive mixes, but I don't think that these represent a great deal of the available music). The reason the iTunes store has such a large market share is because the iPod has such a large market share - how many non-iPod owners even have iTunes installed, let alone actually use it?

UK faces long wait for faster number porting

@andy

You can already do this. UKreg, and I guess other registrars, lets you manage the nameserver records for your domain (you can even change the IPS tag if you want to move it to another registrar), and various free services allow you to manage the nameserver entries for your domain.

HTC Touch Pro smartphone

I bought one of these last week

It's a very nice phone. TouchFLO 3D is a fantastic interface, and Opera is a very good mobile browser (at least on the same level as Safari on the iPhone). The keyboard is easily the best smartphone keyboard I've used, and even the on-screen keyboard isn't that bad (though you probably wouldn't want to use it for writing long messages).

And Teeter, which uses the phone's G-Sensor to move a ball around a maze, is surprisingly addictive.

Epilepsy tests delay PS3 videogame launch

Warnings

Isn't there usually a massive warning included in all video games that state that they may cause epileptic fits? Surely that's enough to not really worry too much about it (although, if this has been done fairly easily without compromising the game, there's really no problem in doing it)?

@AC

Clubs which use strobe lights usually have a massive warning at the front door saying that they use strobe lights. Having said that, I was still asked by someone not to use it as they were epileptic.

Oz woman sold mobe with preloaded smut

Silly woman

Surely she missed a trick by not selling it on eBay?

Gemalto glues DVD onto a SIM

@bluesxman

I don't know why, but I'd guess that, since Gemalto also make credit cards, it could be cheaper for them to do it this way.

Microsoft slashes US Xbox 360 to sub-Wii price

They're for different things

I've always seen the Xbox 360 as the better console for traditional games, and the Wii as the better console for when you have a few people over.

Now Hollywood is chasing UK downloaders

@AC

"Cancels the direct debit or changes credit card straight after"

Or get the credit card company to do a charge back, if you continue being charged on your credit card.

Ofcom considers termination charges

They already do it in America

When I was over there, I had a T-Mobile prepay account, and had to pay the same whether I made or received a call or text.

It's ridiculous - if someone makes an unsolicited call to me, why the hell should I pay for it? The only answer would be to never answer your phone unless you knew who was calling, and that would be stupid - what if the person calling you is someone you know but you don't have their number yet?

Ofcom need to seriously grow some balls.

The robot at the border: UK bets big on face scanning

A machine can't replace a human

The immigration officers do more than see if you look like the picture on the passport. They check the passport for any obvious damage, as this could indicate a forged passport. They also check the person for signs of nervousness, as this could indicate someone travelling with a passport that isn't theirs. A machine can't really do either of these things.

Road Pricing 2.0 is two years away

Why not...

...get rid of road tax and increase fuel duty?

It's pay-as-you-go and encourages people to use more efficient cars, and also encourages people to use their cars less. And it's a lot cheaper and easier-to-manage than either this or an emissions tax.

But then we all know that what the government really wants is to track us wherever we go.

Apple to charge iPod Touch owners for new OS - again

Accounting laws

If there really is law saying this accounting law then why can Microsoft and Sony offer updates that add new functionality for their respective consoles for free?

In fact, with the Zune, Microsoft offered all the v1 owners a free upgrade to the completely rewritten version 2.

Face it, it's just Apple trying to make up reasons for being able to get more money out of its customers.