Posts by Philip Harvey

Air Video 2.4.6

@RichyS & @Michael C

I think you need to get your facts right. Apple pulled VLC from the app store rather than comply with GPL. If you guys want to dispute the facts how about quoting some sources rather than just slagging people off.

http://applidium.com/en/news/apple_pulled_vlc_off_the_appstore

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/as_vlc_for_iphone_ipad_pulled_from_app_store_whats.php#

One of the VLC developers complained to Apple that they were putting their DRM on top of VLC application, which restricted the number of devices that the application could be installed on to to 5. The GPL says you can't restrict re-distribution, so they were not complying with the licence of VLC. Steve didn't want to comply with the GPL so instead decided to pull the app.

@RichyS

"So control freaky that you can download the free VLC app from the App Store and play pretty much any format you want"

Lord Steve pulled VLC from the App Store since he didn't want to abide by the GPL licence terms, dooh!

Transcoding with Handbrake and playing using FileAppPro works very well. You don't get the poor playback performance and reduced battery life associated with VLC and other software based players such as Oplayer, no need to stream over 3G and no need to add the file to your iTunes library. Of course this isn't streaming, so you have to think an hour ahead of time to convert the video you want to take on the road with you...

Apple MacBook Air 11.6in sub-notebook

Expensive compared to what?

I am somewhat miffed to see this sub-notebook described as being too expensive. Traditionally sub-notebooks have been very expensive, usually over $2000. People who have to carry their laptop frequently are happily pay a little extra for reducing the size and weight. At $999 for the entry model I consider this a total bargain.

I currently have more than 10 laptops all less than 3 years old, ranging from several 15" desktop replacement models, to a few 13" ultramobiles, a 12" ultraportable wannabe, and a 9" netbook, so have a good basis for comparison. Apart from the netbook the Air was the cheapest of all the laptops I have, and gets the most use currently...

The laptop that was used the most before I got the Air was my X301, which is possibly the best 13" laptop made, so how does the Air compare:

- Speed - Despite having the same CPU the AIr blows the X301 away due to the faster disk and GPU.

- Screen - The screen on the Air is far superior, much better contrast and clarity.

- Keyboard - The Macbook keyboards are the worst I have used on a notebook. The flat tops on the keys make tough typing close to impossible. The keyboard on the X301 is far superior. The Air however does beat any netbook hands down since it is full sized.

- Ports - I have never used more than 2 USB ports at once so I don't miss the extra port. Ethernet might have been useful some day but no great loss. The only thing I miss from the X301 is the DVD drive for ripping DVDs to the hard drive.

- Expandability - I wish the RAM was expandable aftermarket. I got the 2GB model and I really hope it is enough since I am now stuck with this option. The Air is the only laptop I have that doesn't have one RAM slot that is removable.

- Battery - The battery life on the Air is the best of any of the laptops I have in every day use. Video playback is 4-5 hours (less for Divx since it uses more CPU then H264 on the Air). Web surfing is 6-8 hours depending on screen brightness. If you crank the CPU up to 100% and the screen up to full brightness you can drop the battery life to under 2 hours. This really shows how efficient the battery management is when the CPU isn't under stress. It is somewhat of a drawback that the battery is not removable, but at least the battery doesn't poke out the back like it does on some other notebooks. When the battery dies I will be forced to pay Apple to replace it, and often when traveling long haul back home I need a battery that can last 8+ hours of video playback. I have two batteries for my notebook to fill this role. Hopefully someone will come up with an external battery to plug into the Magsafe port which will solve this problem.

SkyFire flees iTunes store

Already has ads?

If I am not mistaken, when I tried it they inserted a 5 second long video ad before my content started playing. This would explain how they plan to make money...

Apple kills browse-and-get-hacked bugs in iOS

no fix for iPhone yet....

No word from Apple about a fix for the original iPhone yet, since the original iPhone can't run iOS. There are also a lot of iPhone 3G and 3GS owners that won't update to iOS until Apple fixes the speed and battery issues in iOS so the exploit won't be patched until they release a 3.1.x patch as well.

Toshiba Satellite T130

No optical drive = FAIL

Come on, the X301 (and X300 before it) have optical drives and are just as small and light at this laptop. About time someone else caught up with Lenovo on the small, light but full spec laptop....

E-book buyers favour iPad over Kindle and co.

Reporter FAIL

"Web browsing, email and e-book reading are the top three favoured applications, chosen by 68 per cent, 44 per cent and 37 per cent of potential iPad buyers, respectively"

So they arn't wanting an e-book reader then are they! They want a moble web surfing device that also does email. The survey must have missed out the part about watching TV and movies since it seems to me that is what the iPad is best suited for.

If you want an e-book reader then you would be stupid to get an iPad since it has a LED desplay so it similar to looking at a computer screen. What you want is an ePaper device so it is easy on the eyes.

And of course if you ask people what they plan to buy they will mostly respond the name of the next device that is coming to market, if they wanted to buy a device that was already available they would have already purchased it.

How about this for a title for your next article:

100% of e-book readers prefer Kindle over iPad.

At least this would be true since no-one can prefer a device that doesn't exist yet.

YouTube and Hulu dabble in for-pay vids

FAIL

USA only = FAIL.

Good thing the rest of the world has eztv.

I REALLY DO WANT TO PAY FOR MOVIES AND TV SHOWS. I just wish there was a way for people outside of the USA to do it. Studios complaining about piracy rings pretty hollow when I try to pay for content only to be told the content can not be sold since I don't live in the USA....

GlideTV Navigator

Or you could use a software only solution

For iPhone/iTouch owners Mobile Air Mouse is worth a try.

Been using it for a while now and for only $2, well worth the purchase price!

Philips BDP3000 Blu-ray disc player

@Christian Berger & @AC

Agreed on both points. I can't believe anyone would try to sell a region locked DVD, let alone a region locked BR. And why can't it play content from the USB port, FAIL

Masked passwords must go

Cause and effect

"Shoulder surfing is not a largely phantom problem at all"

Ahh, that would be because passwords are masked.

Ryanair requires web check-in, shuts down website

Never again

Flew with them once, and found a bunch of unauthorized charges on my credit card when the statement came the next month. After months of letters to the credit card company I finally got the money back, but if I took my time into account I could have hired a private jet......

Avoid these crooks at all costs

Europe-wide emergency number is go

FAIL

Reg hack fails to understand the difference between the EU and Europe. The title should have been "EU wide emergency number is go"

There are plenty of countries in Europe that are not in the EU. e.g. I live in Switzerland, and there is a different number for each emergency service. Dumb I know, but hey, if the Reg kills someone with their crappy reporting then it won't be so funny will it?

Be Broadband doubles down on ADSL to catch cable

Really what is the point?

I don't see any reason to pay BT more money for this.

I have a 24MB down, 4MB up connection and I can't imagine why the difference between waiting about 8 minutes per GB download or waiting 4 minutes per GB downloaded. 24MB is also plenty for streaming full HD... and still room to spare for the kids or wife to facebook....

Netbook SSD usage to fall under 10% in 2009

Why are Reg hacks so convinced Netbooks don't need storage?

Am I the only one that likes to have my Netbook loaded up with films, TV shows, and also use it to look at my photos that I have taken when traveling? All these things take bucketloads of storage. I love to watch TV shows and Movies on long flights and the eeePC costs about the same as a good PMP but is infinity more flexible and means I can leave my 15" laptop at home.

I purchased a eeePC 901 for the battery life, but at the HDD equipped models didn't exist. Now I am seriously thinking about changing the 8GB SSD for a 64GB one.

I already put a 32GB SD card into it which made it useable, but with my new digital cameras churning out 720p HD video, 32GB doesn't go far....

Speaking of battery life, if you turn off WiFi, dim the screen a bit, slow the processor to 1/2 speed, you can watch close to 7 hours of films on a good battery, which blows the 3 hour battery live on my 15" brick out of the water. Even so I still had to purchase a second batter for long haul flights down under...

Apple unleashes not-crap iPhone iPod earbuds

@Chris and @AC

@Chris

I can't comment on iPod Touch 1st Gen v 2nd Gen, but I have both 1st Gen iPhone and 2nd Gen iPhone, and the first Gen iPhone sound is the worst I have heard from any MP3 player. The hiss overpowers the music on sensitive headphones at low volumes, and as you noted the hiss is still audible even at zero volume and when the music is paused. The bass response is awful on flat EQ, and if you turn on bass boost, the amp produces more distortion than bass.

The end result of this is you can only use a 1st Gen iPhone with in ear headphones that have a slightly bass heavy response and low sensitivity. I find the mid range Sony or JBL fit the bill nicely. The JBL are slightly cleaner, and the Sony more for bass heads.

The 2nd Gen iPhone has much better sound. Hiss is basically gone, and bass responce is slightly better. Using the bass boost EQ setting still sounds awful, but not so bad as an average Joe will notice. If you are a bass head you still need to select bass heavy headphones, but otherwise the sound quality is very good.

@AC, great news about the iPhone compatibility of the Apple in-ear model. I might have to buy a pair and try them now to see how they compare.

For those that didn't read the KB article, it says if you have an iPhone that the Mic and call-answer/end/pause/skip button will work, but the volume control will not, so no big deal since you don't loose any functionality, you just have two buttons that do nothing...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3310

Stob latest: It was a cunning trick, says Open University

Great article!

Sounds like the OU is a money grabbing sham though.

Legal digital music is commercial suicide

#1 reason I won't pay for music

Is because the #@$%! music companies won't let me since I am fortunate enough to live outside of the USA....

I would happily pay a REASONABLE amount for HIGH QUALITY DRM FREE downloads.... and I am sure I am not the only one....

Shopper connects to Jesus via Denon link cable

No joke!

When I saw this on Amazon I thought it was either a typo or some company trying to rip off idiots. However Denon actually has this on their web site!

I think it is time someone started selling "AK-DL1 100% compatible" cables for the discount price of $200!

http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3429.asp