Posts by Ceiling Cat

Remember when SimCity ABSOLUTELY HAD to be online? Not any more – fancy that!

Ugh... Simcity 2013 :(

To be perfectly honest....

The game was crap, and te updates haven't helped. Maxis/EA roped me into a $70 purchase with promises of a decent game, and failed to deliver.

It looks much too cartoon-y. and yet, for it's lack of detail, it manages to get my video card (Geforce GTX 560 Ti) running so hot that the fan triggers my tinnitus (or a migraine) within an hour or so of starting a session.

The sound is terrible. The music in particular grates badly on the ears, whilst the older Simcity music was pleasant and somewhat relaxing. So far, the free DLC has all been pretty awful, and having it installed means that you'll always be pestered to put in a Progressive Insurance building, or build a place of worship.

My last attempt to play the game ended with me running a 4000 person mining town into bankrupcy within about 20 minutes of founding it, then quitting and playing Eufloria HD on my Playstation Vita for about 3 hours.

Pisses me off no end that a $10 game that I bought on impulse turns out to be better than a game I preordered for $70. Beer, because Beer!

Haswell micro: Intel’s Next Unit of Computing desktop PC

Re: Power Usuage

500 watts? From a laptop-style power brick? not a chance of that happening. Even my old Amiga 500 didn't draw that kind of power, and the brick was twice the size.

Someone else quoted some real-world figures. I just wish that people wouldn't jump to conclusions, especially conclusions that a little research would show as impossible.

HP: We're axing 29,000 workers? Add another 5,000 to that

HP - Never Again

I'll not start with my opinion of HP's pre-loaded software, as I found it at least all uninstalls fairly clean.

I *will* make mention of my opinion of HP build quality. It's crap. Even their Pavilion Elite line ship in off-standard size cases, with inadequate power supplies, and are built using components that are known to be faulty (MSI Geforce 9500 GS). Cable management is non existent. Their cases mount the motherboard on the wrong side, so that all the expansion slots are above the CPU rather than below - making it very hard to cool the video card. Extra cards are placed so that they trap heat (video card sandwiched between the video capture board and the (B/g only) wifi card).

I have two of these machines - one has had all it's extra cards removed and been turned in to a linux box for the missus to do her web stuff on. The other is my audio recording workstation, and has yet to give me further issues.

Here's what YOU WON'T be able to do with your PlayStation 4

Re: Commentards are xBots?

> Hands up who ever used a DVD or BD to play CD's...

Sheepishly raises hand.

Not only have I done that, I have used my DVD players and BD players to play CDs full of MP3s. I'd have used them to play DVDs full of FLAC instead, but there's a shortage of reasonably priced gear with FLAC support. Hell, there's a shortage of audiophile-centric gear that plays FLAC.

Loss of streaming support may well be no big deal - the current PS3 streaming options STILL struggle with subtitles. On last try, none of the streaming solutions could handle 1080p video with FLAC audio and "Advanced Substation Alpha" (ASS) subtitles. Hell, it was a toss-up whether or not it could manage subtitles from DVD VOBs.

This new announcement means very little to me, as I plan on sticking with my PS3 for as long as possible. There are still LOADS in the supply channel, and it would be monumentally stupid to buy a first-run PS4 as the PS2 and PS3 both suffered from overheating problems on the first run - a problem they managed to fix in later revisions of both consoles.

Beer, because breakfast.

E-reader barons file FCC plea to opt out of disabled-friendly regs

Re: Simple. If it can connect to the net, it is subject to the law.

You sound bitter. Especially in your last statement.

Probably doesn't sound that way when you process it through a screen reader.

Pink Floyd blasts Pandora for 'tricking' artists with petition

Let's see....

I have prchased Dark Side Of The Moon no less than 10 times, and many of those copies were purchased brand new. Roger would be quite displeased to hear that nowadays I prefer Eclipsed over DSOTM, and Eclipsed was never ever released as an official recording. Best version of it was the Empire Pool recording, iirc. If the boys need cash, perhapse they should look at arranging somthing with the bootleg traders. It'd b a damn sight more interesting than just another reissue of the same stuff again and again.

Also, not all internet radio pays royalties. How many Icecast "djs" would be willing to pay royalties on everything they broadcast? probably not too many.

wish I could choose more than one icon, sinct this post is sure to get a bunch of thumbs-down and flames in response.

isoHunt loses appeal against search ban

Re: Another mole is whacked with a rubber mallet...

I remember those days - I was a not-so-spotty teenager hammering away on my Amiga. I do seem to remember, too, that I didn't own much in the way of "retail copies" of games back then. The ones I did own, I actually *OWNED*. Now, you don't own a game, the company grants you permission to use the game.

I don't agree with the whole DRM thing, but I fail to see an alternative. One of the biggest problems is that the people who "vote with their wallets" in regards to DRM are quite often more than happy to pirate the game. Phrases like "If they're going to treat me like a criminal after I bought the game" are happily connected with the phrase "I'll just go download the cracked version whe it comes out.", and nobody seems at all willing to acknowledge the hypocrisy of this behavior.

Personally, I take the stance that if I want to play the game badly enough, I will suffer with the DRM. I have many many games which I have had to bin because I didn't want to use a crack to bypass CD protections that didn't work under modern operating systems. I could build and maintain a legacy box, but I already have 3 desktop PCs and a laptop to deal with. Some of them, like Earth 2160, I had to bin because the activation servers were taken down (nobody could possibly still want to play this, right?).

There's no way I believe that SimCity (or any of my games which use Uplay) are going to be playable in 5 years. Even 3 would be a stretch. The point is to get the most out of them while you can, not worry that sometime down the road, you'll have a hankering to play some more and it won't be able to authenticate. That's even a concern with my PS3, but I'm not just going to stop buying games (and DLC for those games) just because they might go away.

Re: Another mole is whacked with a rubber mallet...

@ asdf :

No way with the roaring success of DRM heavy handed online titles like the latest SimCity convincing users of the value of DRM, the MAFIAA is just a few take down orders from ... having to pay more lawyers.

All the SimCity "fiasco" convinced me to do is wait a few more days before trying to play any "AAA" releases which use online DRM.

And where were we talking about DRM?

Oh, that's right, you must be one of those bitter customers who vented their spleens on the forums and in the comments at Amazon. Good job, that. I do understand the frustration at not being able to play, but did you guys really have to take it that f**king far just because you couldn't play on release day? Sad, really - poinsoning the reviews just because you couldn't get on with sitting on your duff. Classy!**

** - Not much of one to talk, though, since I'm cutting down some poor tool who's still pitching his toys out of the pram over something that happened a fortnight ago. I could have some sympathy, but I'm fed up with the anti-DRM squad. Actually had a "friend" turn against me just because I wouldn't avoid DRM laden games. Someything about I was helping to encourage them to take away his freedom.... no I wasn't, I was buying and playing a f**king video game.

Nuke, because I'm not a trained IT professional, I'm the bloke who cleans the lavatories.

Experts finger disk-wiping badness used in S Korea megahack

AhnLab? Seriously?

I didn't know AhnLab even made an Antivirus program. I do know that they make anti-cheat software for K-MMORPGs. Their product, Hackshield, is absolutely BRILLIANT at stopping legit players from playing, while allowing the cheaters to get on with ruining the games that it is being used to protect.

Imagine that : It's OK to edit network packets so that you can do obscene amounts of damage, but it's absolutely not OK to monitor a temperature sensor on your motherboard.

Not that any other anticheat or antivirus is 100% effective, but AhnLab's offerings seem to be worse than many. Never had Avast block Speedfan from operating correctly. Some anticheat software does take exception to being run in a virtual environment, but some game companies REALLY don't want you multi-boxing*.

* - Once played a casual MMO hosted at Aeria games. Their reasoning behind not allowing multi-boxing at that time was that some people can barely afford the one computer they own, and that it's not polite to flaunt the fact that you can afford several machines. I've played other games where it was thought to just be too difficult to multi-box (Granado Espada, where you control 3 characters at once). On Granado, I managed to juggle 3 (!) teams of 3 characters, with at least one team farming on a different map (and therefore not able to benefit from the other two teams apart from a couple of bonuses based on how many faction-mates you had logged on at one time.

Acer's tiny raft of profit smashed onto rocks by Gateway and co

Re: Gateway kit was good

Still is. My most recent Gateway box came with excellent specs for a (just barely) sub-$1000CAD machine. So, for that matter, did my previous Gateway, which is only 2 or 3 years old. Even my Tablet is a Gateway.

Acer/gateway build quality is miles ahead of HP. My HP Pavilion Elite 9505mf suffers badly from airflow problems, partially because the used a sub-atx case and partially because there wasn't even an attempt at cable management. Also, HP's cases mount the motherboard on the wrong side - the CPU is Dow near the bottom of the case, and the video card is up i n an unventilated area. In the case of my HP box, a video capture card and a wifi card helped to strangle the GPU's supply of fresh air even further.

Virty market share race reaches the bend and heeeeere comes Oracle

Virtualbox Vs. VMWare

Up until recently, I'd always used VMWare for virtualization. Lately, though, I use a mix of Vmware and Virtualbox. It really depends what I'm doing in the VM.

If I need to run Windows XP in a VM, then I always use VMWare, because it can run DirectX 9 games fairly well. I'd just dual boot, but I hate having to attend the morning bootup on days when I want to run XP.

If I want to run a desktop linux that utilizes OpenGL in the window manager or any of the programs I'm using, then I use Virtualbox.

If I want to run a server OS, then who cares, both are pretty damn good for a hobbyist's needs.

Both have their problems, although price is not one of Virtualbox's problems. TBH, the cost of VMWare was off-putting too, but when I need a feature, I will pay to get it.

I haven't had a go with Citrix, but I have heard that it's not good on the user end.

Explosion - because I'm NOT a trained professional, I'm the bloke who cleans the lavvies.

Amazon yanks SimCity download from store

Actually, the game is fairly good....

Really good, although let me be perfectly clear that it's NOT the same as the old simcity games. It feels like a cross between The Sims Freeplay, Simcity, Simcity Societies, and Cities XL. As such, even though I'm quite enjoying it, I still have no idea what I'm doing, and am constantly having to restart my cities/regions. With the way things are going right now, I may never have a city that I'm happy with, but at least I can play.

Don't get me wrong - I wasn't happy about the release-day problems (actually it was only on Thursday, March 7 that I got to properly try the game, and the release was on Tuesday, march 5). It is blatantly obvious that EA tried to go cheap with server provisioning. To be fair to them, two limited closed betas is NOT the same thing as real load testing - it also doesn't take into account that not everyone plays SimCity the way it was designed to be played. Still, it's no excuse. I'm just glad that I have other games (on PC and PS3) to keep me entertained while stuff like this is driving other people batsh*t mental.

Not a fan of Always on DRM, but considering the number of people I see saying they'll just wait and pirate it when the inevitable (and extremely buggy) crack comes out, I don't really see people offering any other alternative to the piracy problem that the studios believe is running rampant.

After all, what better way to "stick it to the man" than to do exactly what it is they're trying to stop.

No AC, because I really don't care what you lot think of "ceiling cat". It's a lame throw-away alias I only ever use on this forum anyways.

Beer - Because everyone knows the best way to design a city is drunk.

Shiny, shiny! The window's behind me...

Matte vs. Glossy

I currently own 3 matte displays, a laptop with a glossy display, and a tablet.

All 3 Matte displays are used daily. The tablet is used faily often as well. The laptop, for various reasons, has been mostly abandoned to the "oops" pile. The reason :

The Glossy Screen.

The problem isn't fingerprints, or the fact that the screen is 100x easier to scratch when cleaning (even with a microfiber cloth). The problem is that the "Optimal viewing angle" (you know, the one where black looks black, and not kind of brownish-reddish-blueish) and the angle at which there is no glare are so far apart that the display is unuseable when there's no glare, and also unuseable when there is.

The tablet doesn't suffer this problem because it has a very wide "optimal viewing angle", and it's very easy to put myself between the source of the glare and the screen if I can't find an angle that works.

Bad news: PC slump worse than feared. Good news: It's Friday

Not a MCSE, but . . .

I'm not a MCSE, but having owned a tablet (Gateway Tab TP A60 a.k.a. Acer Iconia 500) for just over a year, I can't see what all the fuss is about. Sure, it was a great distraction on my work commute, but since I no longer have to travel that far, it's been used mostly for email. It spends about 90% of its time on the (improvised) stand, plugged into the charger, since I couldn't find a dock for it.

What really annoyed me was the shortage of full-featured free apps. It seems to me that every time there's a feature I *need*, it is only available in the paid version. I know most apps are cheap, but so am I.

Beer!

The year GNOMES, Ubuntu sufferers forked off to Mint Linux

No love for Kubuntu . . .

Even though it, as far as I can tell, is actually useable*.

Granted, KDE has gotten a bit bloated and "fancy" itself, but they still let you turn off the eye candy. There's none of this "lens" nonsense either.

* - your opinion of "useability" and mine may be radically different, so feel free to downvote this comment and tell me - in no uncertain terms - why I am a complete noobcake for using KDE, and what the advantages of your favorite window manager are. After all, there's nothing like "userbase fragmentation" to prove that Linux is ready for the desktop :^)

Beer, 'cos I have to go to work today (it's not yet 01/01/2013 here).

Rampaging gnu crashes Microsoft Store, hands out literature

Re: How about if GNU opens its own mall stores?

Most of them ran the fans full-speed, ignoring the temperature sensors.

I'm betting that the laptop you're referring to is an HP G62 laptop or similar. My HP laptop certainly doesn't like linux quite as much as Windows did, but here's the deal :

Your laptop needs a BIOS fix in order to get the fans and sensors running properly. HP, more than likely, will not provide such a fix, as the laptop was shipped with an HP-Specific OEM version of Windows, which contains fixes for the fan problems.

How the hell would I know? Because I own an HP G62 laptop. I know that from day 1, even running Windows, the machine ran hot. Recently, during a file backup, the laptop hit 70 degrees Celsius. Granted, I was using it on a flat, laminate-topped desk without a cooling pad, but still.... AFAIK no processor should run at that temperature for an extended length of time, and certainly should never hit that temperature with the (very inadequate, even by HP's lax standards) fans running full-bore.

I put up with it because it was an entry-level 15.6" laptop with 3gb of Ram and a 2Ghz processor, whereas the other machines within my price-point were sub-2Ghz Netbooks with a 7" screen and 1gb ram. Now, I'm trying to find the bill of sale to check whether or not it's still under extended warranty. The shop clerk said that even if I OC the video card and cook the machine it would be replaced under the terms of their extended warranty.

Beer, because I'm thirsty.

Valve hauls down The War Z, offers refunds

Users weren’t allowed to post to the game’s forum about why they were leaving, with the forum rules stating “do not post ‘I quit playing this game’ threads. No need for drama”.

I wish there were rules like this for more games. Seems every stinkin' time I try one of those Free-to-play MMORPGs, the first sign of whatever (botting, packet editing, the company being "greedy" and not giving away all content for free), the forums fill with quit threads. Not only that, everyone feels the need to make their own thread about quitting, rather than keeping it all to one thread.

Funny thing is, unless they do one of those petulant "givein' it all away" things ingame, they'll be back. Even if they do give everything away, they'll still have a mule account or pet that they can log in as. They never just leave quietly and permanently.

Beer, because I always need one.

Boffin: Android's on-board malware scanner utterly FAILS

Re: Using a tablet to get away from AV software?

Micro$hill?

Web users: We've got NO IDEA if we're stealing content or not

39p ($0.97cdn @ 2.5% exchange)

I'd pay more than 39p, but most of the stuff I *like* is from the 60s and 70s, and is already available dirt cheap.

The problem is that many "record stores" give very little shelf-space to any one given genre.

The further problem is that a lot of the stuff I like has been out of print for a decade or more, with no plans to re-release.

Apple and iTunes confound the problem by having a crap platform, using lossy codecs, and using DRM to prevent me from using my media when and where I like.

Music publishers also confound the problem by cancelling much-anticipated releases (Well, I for one was looking forward to "The History of Iron Maiden Part 2", but evidently it's been cancelled).

KISS ruined any chance they had of selling me on their last DVD Box-Set when I discovered that all the footage had in fact been "liberated" from the bootleg traders - people who evidently gave more of a shit about sound and video quality the Gene Simons and KISS, Incorporated ... judging from a direct comparison of the official releases to the best available bootleg copy.

I have had more than one official DVD which was virtually unwatchable due to encoding or authoring errors, and the label refused to fix the problems or provide a replacement DVD/Refund.

Many will scream about the FREETARDS, who will, in turn, scream that the PAYTARDS are the ones who help perpetuate this B.S. That "Big Music" keep spouting about losing money.

What was I talking about again?

Ubisoft: 'Vast majority of PC gamers are PIRATES'

Re: @ ceiling cat - overkill?

The UPLAY account takes less than 5 minutes to make. Hardly a hardship. Your loss.

Not that I'm defending Ubi, mind you. Their attitude in this little spout-fest has left a rather foul taste in my mouth, and they'll likely not wind up seeing another penny from me, at least not for a PC title. Barmy twunts.

overkill?

Interesting that you feel that Ubi went overkill with the D.R.M... Care to explain HOW they "went overkill"?

I've purchased Assassin's Creed Revelations, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Settlers 7. Only twice have I been unable to play the games - once was because Uplay was being updated (and it was back online within a couple of hours), ans once was my ISP's fault for doing maintenance during off-hours (which is when I prefer to game). True, if I wasn't on a decent ISP with decent uptime, their DRM might pose a small problem, but it hasn't been anywhere near "overboard".

I'd just like to point out that it's genuinely Ironic that one of the related articles is titled something like "Ubisoft say DRM works". In which interview, I wonder, were they talking out their arse?

Ubisoft assassinates Uplay flaw, denies DRM rootkit

Re: Plugin

Just disabled the plugin and fired up ACR . . . game works fine without the plugin. Happy stabbing!

Re: Plugin

@ASDF : "not sure but probably means you can't play game if you remove the plugin. lame."

Proof?

Actually, I'm just going to patch, disable the plugin, and then try playing ACR ....

back soon

Ten... PC games you may have missed

The Walking Dead

Umm, you might want to mention that Episode 2 is available as well.

Currently playing this on the PS3. The controls can be a bit difficult, but once you get past that it's turning out to be a really good story so far. The ability to have multiple saves means that you can see how several routes play out. Some of the choices have to be made in a hurry, though, and you never know which choice will come back to bite you in the ass.

Lollipop Chainsaw

Good game...

Had it since release day - pre-ordered it based on the premise alone.

I found it a bit short, but there's definitely replay value. I really wish that they had included the Japanese voice packs as well as the English dub... I'd really dig hearing Eri Kitamura as Juliet.

The wife liked it as well, even though she just watches me play. If she was a bit more of a gamer I could see her actually having a go, but she's not. Oh wells.

Paris, mostly because there's no chainsaw icon.

Free apps suck your power: researchers

Re: @Nathan

Is messaging/email really that important? Do you have to be reachable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year or else your boss/friends/government (pick one) will think you're dead/ignoring them/plotting terrorist acts (pick one)?

Sad, I tell you.

Open-sourcers suggest Linux secure boot block workarounds

An easier solution . . .

would be for the hardware manufacturers to refuse to support "secure boot", as it only benefits Micro$haft.

I, for one, am goingto have to consider my options carefully - I will not pay out hundreds or thousands of dollars for a computer, only to be told what I am allowed to run on it. After all, if I wanted to be treated like a numpty f**ktard who doesn't know how to use a computer, I'd buy a mac.

Micro$haft need to either admit that this is a cash grab, or improve the overall security of their OS, and preferably not by preventing the end user from installing OSes which aren's Micro$haft products.

"Oi! Keep yer filthy hands off my PC" (with apologies to R. Waters)

Sony network ransacked in huge brute-force attack

[FuzzyTheBear] I say it's time to change customer attitude and make them think before they buy that the corporation dont give a shit about them and that they count for nothing.

-----

Really? And how much of a shit should they give about me? I bought an MP3 Player, not stock in the company. Furthermore, I bought the cheapest one, because even their more expensive players don't support FLAC (my preferred format).

Newsnight presenter pwned by snarky hack

Genders?

No Genders?

So when anime characters deride each other for using "boku wa" instead of "watashi wa", it's not REALLY about the gender of the person saying it? Perhapse I need to read manga/watch anime that's less dodgily translated.

Hardware-happy HP has swallowed a Sun death pill

Maybe they SHOULD leave the hardware biz . . .

I have owned an HP Pavilion Elite for 2 years. For a box that cost $999CAD, I am less than impressed that :

- the original video card shipped with a faulty fan, which dies within 5 days of unboxing.

- the replacement video card shipped with a faulty BIOS. As temps increased, fan RPM Decreased.

- Hard-disk (Hitachi DeathStar) packed it in after only 6 months. I have drives over 6 *years* old which still work.

- replacement video card died, facilitating the purchase of a replacement @ ~$30CAD.

To be honest, I did find their customer service people fairly helpful, and they always shipped my replacement parts promptly.

My other problem was with the use of a non-standard form factor for the inadequately cooled casing - still a sticking point since re-boxing the internals will cost me over $500CAD, and I just can't bring myself to throw away anymore good money on that machine.

Videogames caused riots says plod

This is a steaming pile of horsepoo!

First off, GTA is just a game. Anyone so unhinged that they can't tell fantasy from reality shouldn't be breathing in the first place. (cue the unhinged and delusional downvoting my post)

Second off, in the GTA series, there are no looting scenes, no rioting, no rape. Certainly there is plenty of (dodgily) justifiable homicide, but it's the same in any Military Combat sim.

Thirdly, in GTA you play the good guy. Sure, you're not a law-abiding citizen, but most of the time you're still a LOT more reserved than the people you're working for.

That having been said, I was well over the legal purchasing age for these games when GTA2 was still popular. Maybe if I had been raised on these types of videogames I too would be less hinged than I am now.

US state bans Netflix, Napster password sharing

Hrrm...

"These studies, the RIAA claims, help explain why US music sales have sunk 47 per cent since the dawn of Napster in 1999, from $14.6bn to $7.7bn."

Nice try guys, although they'll never admit the truth - It's not piracy costing them sales, it's the price of CDs/DVDs and the quality of modern music that's killing CD sales.

I like buying concert DVDs and retrospectives, and will buy a regular CD if and only if it contains supplemental material such as a DVD of promo vids or live footage. However, purchases are becoming exceedingly rare, as I already have most of what I want (the stuff that's not permanently out of print that is).

Can we pleaz has cieling-cat icon, El Reg?

Waking to check mail? You're not alone

o_o

Once upon a time, I tried replacing my land-line with a cel-phone :

- When I was sleeping, the phone was muted. Any calls which came in would be ignored until morning.

- When I was on the bus to work, The phone was muted. All incoming calls would be ignored until I arrived on the jobsite.

- When I was at work, the phone spent most of it's time locked away in my storage cupboard, because carrying a cel-phone is a bloody nuisance.

In the end, it didn't pan out. Now I have a land-line again, and screw "24-7 connectivity". Being a pay-to-talk phone, mine never had web browsing/email anyways, and at $0.25 per SMS, anyone who text'd me found themselves facing an angry diatribe on cost vs. efficiency.

Read-only nation: can Open Source change the British way?

This is a title - it could have been auto-generated, but it wasn't.

Most pre-built PCs which "come with Windows" no longer come with a Windows Install CD, they come with a "recovery media set" which installs not only the OS, any included Service packs, and a base set of drivers for the hardware in question.

They also come with a TONNE of branding, bloatware, trialware, and the like.

The recovery volume for my HP-Branded Vista machine was 3 DVD-R. The recovery volume for my Gateway-Branded Windows 7 machine was 3 DVD-R + 1 DVD-R of "reference" drivers + 1 DVD-R of Gateway Bloatware. My HP-Branded Windows 7 laptop was, in fact, an "out of box" model used for demo by the shop from which it was purchased, and as such the 3 DVD-R recovery volume could not be created by me (the shop did, however, unbox another laptop of the same model and use it to generate the discs for me.).

Still, feel free to believe that Windows comes with off-the-shelf PCs. It's just the same as believing that your Macbook is the be-all and end-all of Computing technology - A nice lie if you can believe it, but a lie nonetheless.

Natty Narwahl: Ubuntu marine mammal not fully evolved

The underlying OS may be good, but the UI fails...

Jono said : "I can't help but feel that the review doesn't particularly represent the needs of potential users of the product as well as it could."

I have been using Ubuntu since version 9.10, having changed over from Debian after I wasted an entire week trying to get my video card's proprietary drivers to install.

Ubuntu, since v9.10, has served me quite well - both my main systems run Ubuntu as a secondary OS for various tasks, as well as being the only OS installed on my pair of Folding (@Home) boxen. I also have a file server running under Ubuntu, although for my needs I found the desktop version easier to use for this task than the server version.

My experience with Ubuntu 11.04 was not a happy one - Canonical has pushed ahead and changed X-server versions to one which is currently not supported by the latest available ATi drivers. As a result, I was unable to properly access the features of my Radeon 5570. My Wi-Fi didn't work, whereas it did under v9.10-10.xx. When attempting to access the help system, I discovered that all the instructions contained therein were for the Gnome interface.

As an end user, I have to ask why such a drastic change was deemed necessary? Personally, I don't want to have to re-learn how to perform simple (or complex) tasks. I want "innovation" and what it brings to get the heck out of my way and let me work, not leave me struggling to figure out how to access my applications.

Badgers, because......

Posting from a USB install of 11.04

The current problems I'm having with the new Ubuntu are :

- Dock/launcher is absolute shite.

- Unity does nothing to improve my workflow.

- Very counterintuitive approach to UI design.

- Currently does not support use of the proprietary ATI drivers (supposedly ATI's fault).

Do... not.... want.....

Google location tracking can invade privacy, hackers say

What's a title?

Found my router in there... Address was wrong, as was postcode etc. Not surprising though, as I am in a medium density resi-mercial area.

This would be a bit of a hassle if my router wasn't locked down. Of course, I'm pretty sure I could change the BSSID and disable the beacon, but then I'd have to run a wire to my laptop for network access. It's the only machine I use wi-fi on though, and I'd get much better speeds from wired, so it's a toss-up really.

Would be interesting to see which of the other base stations in my area show up on the map.

GNOME 3: Shocking changes for Linux lovers

The linux desktop is doomed!

To be honest, I didn't even bother reading the article. One look at the screenshots was enough to prove to me that Gnome has gone down the crapper along with Ubuntu.

Looks like they're trying too hard to compete with DisUnity in order to try to win back Shuttleworth. I, for one, won't touch either interface.

Quite offputting to see the direction the linux desktop is heading in. I much prefer usability over looks.

Grenade, as someone needs to have a live one stuffed in their trousers.

Natty Narwhal with Unity: Worst Ubuntu beta ever

Correction . . .

As per :

http://www.nextag.com/Desktops--zzall-in-one+touch+screen+computersz300413zB6z5---html

Sony, Acer, Dell, and HP all produce Touch-centric desktops, but not a single one seems to be boasting about massive uptake. Also, quite a few of the touch systems mentioned on that page are Point-of-Sale systems, and thusly should be excluded from the desktop debate.

The specs of these machines also fit into the "NetTop" category - not true desktops, more a "convenience" box than a high-powered PC with touch capabilities.

Is this really the market segment Canonical are aiming for? Seems pretty limited, if you ask me.

It might have been said before.....

But moving to a UI that is touch-centric, on a platform (desktop PCs) which is dominated by non-touch hardware, is a decision whose motivators are confusing at best.

I know HP have made some attempts to bring Touch to the desktop, but TBH most of these touch-based "PCs" are little more than WinTel versions of the iMAC (all the PC innards are built into the LCD/TouchScreen casing). I can't recall seeing a flood of rivals hitting the shelves, trying to compete for HP's share of the touch-centric desktop market, either. Mostly because this market really does not exist.

Hopefully Canonical manage to pull their heads out of their bottoms and realize that, outside of the laptop/netbook/fondleslab market, Unity really isn't wanted or needed. What's wanted and needed is something that works, and for all it's quirks, Gnome does indeed seem to "work" on all my Ubuntu-based machines (2x store-bought pre-builts, 3x Frankenboxen).

Disunity?

Ubuntu board rejects slippery Flash installs

Funny thing . . .

When I install Windows from a proper install media (not from a "recovery set" issued by an OEM), I don't even get the OPTION to automatically install Flash. I have to go and download the plugin manually, or surf to YouTube and Firefox will semi-update the installation process for me.

Personally, it's sad that they'd even WORRY about people getting turned off Ubuntu because YouTube doesn't work "right out of the box". Since when did YouTube become a selling point for EVERYTHING?

Android malware attacks show perils of Google openness

Am I the only one . . .

Who wonders why a damn phone has to do anything more than make and receive phone calls?

Even SMS seems a daft, thumb-killing "feature" from which nothing good has come.

"R u gng 2 b @ skl 2mro? I nid ur notes."

D-Link Boxee Box DSM-380 media streamer

But what about the privvies?

Your comment relates solely to Media Indexing, but what about media that you already have?

Some of us care not a toss for accessing any media other than that which they already have stored on external hard-discs. If It can play those back fine, it might still be worth a look-see (if any of our local retailers ever decide to carry one, that is).

Texter who fell in fountain threatens to sue

What confuses me . . .

Is why people are so addicted to cel-phones.

Sure, great, something that makes it bloody impossible to get away from friends/co-workers/collection agencies...

Back in my day, we had land lines... and answering machines.

US woman sues again over XP 'downgrade', seeks class action

This title conatins some words.

"now she is complaning that she cannot get 2nd operating system for FREE?"

No, she's not.

She's complaining that downgrading to XP costs extra.

"Downgrading" Vista to XP does not give you the functionality of both operating systems.

Pirate Bay verdict: Three operators lose appeal

RIAA Fanbois?

Wow! This thread seems to have been hit hard by the RIAA/MPAA Fanbois.

If the fanbois had the testicular fortitude to post using their real names, would we see a who's who of artists whose career went down the toilet because of filesharing?

Badgers!

Jumpin' Meerkats! Ubuntu moving to daily downloads?

This might be a good thing . . .

Totally aside from Mr. Shuttleworth's desire to turn his "software center" into a source of revenue, this would prove useful for those of us whose hardware isn't immediately supported. For example - 9.10 supports my HP Desktop's temperature sensors, but not the sensors on my HP Laptop or my Gateway desktop. I have to move to 10.10 to see the temperatures on my laptop, but 10.10 doesn't support reading the sensors on my Gateway. Daily updates would mean that I could grab the modules when they come out, rather than having to wait for the next release.

Windows Phone 7 leaves operators on the hook

McNorton

>> where Norton and Mccaffee can't pre-install their crap on new laptops <<

I think you mean where Acer/Dell/HP Can't install Norton or McCrappy on new laptops.

Either way, it only took a few minutes for me to remove the McNorton bloat from my new laptop. I'm far more concerned with the amount of bloat that makes up the "system tools" that Acer and HP supply with a new laptop/desktop, and the fact that OEMs no longer supply bloat-free Re-Install media, opting instead to use "recovery media". Way to make sure that we can't actually re-install "clean" without having to purchase a brand new Windows 7 disc.

Car wrecks rise after texting bans imposed

This is not a title.

> And what about the morning commuters on the bus?

And what about them? I, for one, don't need to hear how sh*tcanned Suzie the office tramp got last night, the gory details of someone's broken arm, or anything involving the politics in anyone's office.

I wonder sometimes, if people have become convinced that they will cease to exist if they don't communicate with someone 24-7-365 (366 on leap years).

Badgers!

Cyberlink v. Nero media authoring suites

Tmpeg Authoring Works?

How about reviewing TMPEG Authoring Works? Experiments with older TMPEG products yielded quite decent quality results, and I'd like to see how the newer iterations of their products fare.