* Posts by Steven Jack

27 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Feb 2009

Anonymous squirts all over NORKS in birthday surprise outrage

Steven Jack
Joke

Who is going to sort this mess out?

I know! Kim'll Fix-It

Alleged 'Xbox 720' dev box eBay'd for $20,100

Steven Jack
Mushroom

Re: My bet would be Sony

Xbox 360 has sold 67.2 million units as of April 19, 2012 with around 25 million of those sales being in the US. Sure that's a big number but hardly neglected by the rest of the world. Here in good old blighty around 5 million units have sold! So that's one Xbox360 for roughly every 4 households.

You do nothing for your argument with these troll like flame statements, sure you might prefer PS3, plenty of people do, but that doesn't mean you are right and those who disagree are wrong. The fact is all platforms have their merits and disadvantages a more mature approach is to recognise this fact rather than coming from the point of view that “xbox is shite” and “PS3 is awesome!” were that the case it wouldn’t have sold more units than your beloved PS3 (63.9 Million units sold as of March 31, 2012). Still me thinks that posting with such venom perhaps you need to keep reassuring yourself that you spent your cash on the right platform, rather than just enjoying what you’ve got with confidence.

Redmond campaigns for gay marriage rights

Steven Jack
Mushroom

Civil Partnership > US Gay Marriage

True some U.S. States have gay marriage, but what that actually means from a legal perspective is a ceremony, and recognition within the state they live, they don't get to file join federal tax returns, if their partner isn't a US citizen they can't get a visa for their husband/wife to life with them on the basis of the marriage, if fact no federal recognition at all. Where as in the UK Civil Partnership is marriage by another name, it come will all the same rights and responsibilities. There are only a couple of minor legal technicalities around dissolution / divorce, these are that annulment on the basis of non consummation is not possible and adultery is not a reason for divorce, however unreasonable behaviour is, which would cover the bases there. Before I start cries of out rage at this last one in UK law adultery is a very specific act involving a man, a woman, his penis and her vagina. Thus not generally applicable in most LGBT divorces, it's cleaner and easier just to justify the divorce on the basis of unreasonable behaviour.

But the main point here is smugness restored, LGBT people in the UK can have all the benefits of marriage when in the US they are lucky indeed if they can have just a few in marriage lite which some states have. Said but true.

Next Dr Who game to leave Xboxers in the cold

Steven Jack
Unhappy

Sad

I love my xbox360 and I love doctor who, come on BBC I thought you were supposed to be platform agnostic!

Well I'm not buying a PS3, just for this, so that's one less sale than they could have had!

Union enraged by secret driverless Tube plan

Steven Jack

I don't want people to lose their job, however

The tube should be run for the benefit of Londoners, not TFL staff. I don't want to see people lose their jobs and the invetable social costs that brings, but what is wrong with running down staff numbers over time? The Tube is expensive, Londoners need better value from TFL in these tough times!

Xbox 360 sales reach Sony-smashing milestone

Steven Jack
Thumb Down

Who buys a new console after RROD?

I don't know anyone who bought a new Xbox 360 after hardware failure. Microsoft has extended the warrantees so in most cases consoles are replaced for free but even out of warranty last time I checked they charged a fix fee £50 GBP to have a broken one serviced.

I’ve had my xbox 360 since just after launch, it RROD once, I had it replaced by MS for free and since then it’s been fine.

So to suggest that Microsoft are only doing well because consoles fail and people buy new ones, is frankly a big pile of poo!

HP dumps Microsoft's Vail Home Server 'to focus on webOS'

Steven Jack
Unhappy

Such as shame DE had to die

From what I understand Microsoft wanted to roll out drive extender to Windows Service Small Business edition and then to other Windows server products after that, however they couldn't make it work with legacy server software that enterprises were likely to use and after many attempts to make it work, canned drive extender for the sake of backwards compatibility, which to be fair is a key requirement for enterprise customers. It's just a shame they were unwilling to leave it in WHS only where no compatibility issues exist, but I guess given the relatively low sales of WHS it wasn't economic to do so.

Windows home server has now had it’s number one feature removed which begs the question is it even worth Microsoft selling and promoting a product that gives the intended target audience very little benefit at all.

Apple iOS4 upgrade adds multitasking, folders... and pain

Steven Jack

Go back to Iphone OS 3

If only you could, apple make this impossible without jailbreaking which really most users don't do, because it is quite a techie process. I have found some of my apps don't work well on iOS4, I'm not prepaired to Jailbreak so I have have no option to go back!

Vodafone tosses out idiot tweeter

Steven Jack

LGBT

Just had to nitpick but the equality acronym used across in the UK in the vast majority of organisations is LGBT, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans.

As for it being funny, it's a matter of taste depending on the forum, I think the key thing on these occasions is who has said it and what do they really mean, is it a cheeky tongue in cheek remark or something more unsavoury. This can only be determined by knowing the person and the wider context.

What is clear in this instance is that it is totally inappropriate to say something like that on twitter and even more inappropriate to do so on the official Vodafone account. It’s impossible to understand the context and many people will take offence, which is clearly not great for Vodafone.

I’m a gay man myself and I to say I was insulted to my very core would be overdoing it, but I do think the remark was at best distasteful and very ill-advised, unfortunately the person concerned is likely to be paying a heavy price for his moment of stupidity.

Apple to end AT&T's iPhone exclusive?

Steven Jack
Thumb Up

O2 PAYG

If you buy an O2 PAYG Iphone, while it is locked to 02, they will then unlock it for you.

http://shop.o2.co.uk/update/unlockmyiphone.html

You do have to pay £15 if you are PAYG, but it's free if you are on a contract.

Acer T230H multi-touch monitor

Steven Jack

Multi Touch on a Mac?

"Apple fans have been enjoying the advantages of multi-touch computing for some time", let me count the number of apple laptops and desktops that have multi touch displays or even touch displays. Hmm, only a quick count is required - none! Comparing a phone to a multi touch monitor and saying windows is late to the party is totally disingenuous!

The article goes on "The T230H supports two touch points, so you’ll be able to perform the essential multi-touch operations outlined above, but is doesn’t come close to palette of sophisticated many-fingered gestures supported by the Mac." You are reviewing an monitor not an OS and while you can multi touch a track pad on a mac, this is totally different functionality to a monitor. The tone of this article comes across as "Humph! I want to review a mac device and instead have to review a PC multi touch monitor, so I'm going to pepper my article with snide and irrelevant digs because it makes me feel better and superior to mere windows users.

Come on El Reg, let’s start reviews with a open mind, all this Mac drivel makes what could have been an interesting review, feel more like a Fan Boi tantrum.

Is Mandy right to cut science funding?

Steven Jack
Unhappy

Cuts are never popular

Is Mandy right to cut science funding? Hmm, let me think no one is going to say yes, I'm really glad science funding is being cut, it's just what the doctor ordered.

Cuts are bad, and there will be more to come, the political reality is that savings have to be found, sadly science funding is an issue that not all that many people care about so is less politically damaging than cuts elsewhere.

We have a large public sector deficit and budgets everywhere are under review, these reducing aren't the first and if they didn't happen now they would have happened after the election no matter which party wins.

For those of us to care about science funding we have responsibility to lobby for the money back plus real increases once the currently public sector squeeze has eased, but that is likely to be at least 3 or 4 years, if not longer.

Official: British telly really is almost all repeats

Steven Jack
Megaphone

@Citizen Kaned - "bbc == pants now"

What a load of Pants you write Citizen, the BBC is far and away the best provider of new content in the UK, News and Current Affairs, maybe not as good as it used to be, but still the best in the market place, great drama, spooks, hustle, Doctor Who, Torchwood to name just a few. Then there is the BBC website, both news and non news and of course BBC Radio. The Licence Fee is great value, especially when compared to the cost of Sky or cable. Long live the BBC and long live non commercial funding of it!

Apple voids warranties over cigarette smoke, users say

Steven Jack

I had no idea

As a non smoker I had no idea the damage smoking could cause to a PC, while I agree this shouldn't be acceptable, unless there is some warning in the legal stuff, I think Apple should have to pay up. You can't change the terms of the deal once the computer needs repair. It's clear this issue of smoking around your computer has been known for many years so there is no excuse on apple's side no to have a had a disclaimer in the warranty.

MS exec gets shot down after 'inaccurate' Windows 7 spiel

Steven Jack
Grenade

I thought as much

When I read the first article about Simon Aidous’s comments I did think that this guy was talking out of his bottom. I know all the Mac Fanbois loved it. But it sounds to me like this guy likes the sound of his on voice and speaking to the press. When he had the opportunity to get his picture on a website and his name under “Microsoft’s new vision” he allowed himself to make up a whole pile of drivel!

But hey it fed the Mac fan bois and allowed them to feel all self righteous however I don’t imagine it’s done very much for Mr Aidous’s future prospects at Microsoft.

HP, Dell punters furious over Windows 7 upgrade delays

Steven Jack
Pint

Same timescales as Vista

I did this with Vista, bought a laptop with XP Media Centre on it and got a free upgrade to Vista Home Premium. It took a couple of months to arrive. The manufacturers need to test the upgrade and provide a revised driver DVD. All of this can take some time. Good things come to those who wait.

Loud sex a human right, says loud sex woman

Steven Jack
Unhappy

Rights with responibilities

I think what this woman fails to understand that her rights do not override those of the people around her. Those db levels aren't just a bit loud, they are very very loud indeed.

It's depressing to hear that some people can be so selfish and show such utter disregard for the quality of life of their neighbours.

MSI Wind Top AE1900

Steven Jack
Unhappy

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit?

The 64 Bit versions of Windows 7 have a ram requirement of 2GB, the 32 bit version would have given better performance and could well have eleminated the performance difficiuties you refer to. The main benefit of 64 bit windows is support for over 4 gigs of Ram, which as this system only has 1 isn't really a concern.

For the record I'm not doing down Windows 7, I run the 64 bit version on my PC and think it's a great OS.

Vodafone joins the iPhone throng

Steven Jack
Thumb Up

Got to be good news for pricing

Having 3 operators in the UK selling the Iphone has got to be good news for pricing and general terms and conds.

I've got a 16GB 3G S and before that a 3G with O2 and they do charge premium tarrifs for the iphone with less text messages than you would get if I had a Nokia and paid the same, so hopefully this will work out for Joe public.

Bring it on!

Microsoft's Office Web Apps - a long way from here

Steven Jack

Still in development

Let's just remind ourselves what this is an invitation only technical preview. NOT a finished product, NOT a early beta, NOT in any way feature complete!

It is an early glimpse of a product still very much in development and something that is having to be built from the ground up.

To read some of these comments you would think this was gold code! One thing is clear there is a long way to go. Of course these apps will never provide all the functionality of the paid for Office Suite it’s a way of getting people into the eco system with cut down versions and also a way of allowing office users to do basic editing on the move.

The thing that pisses the Microsoft haters off out there is that Office is far and away the best suite out there, yes it can be pricey compared to free for open office, but you get what you pay for.

Dell XPS support takes a catnap

Steven Jack
Happy

In fairness

I own a Dell XPS M1530 laptop and while this was a small issue, my power adapter died and XPS support were great, yes it was India and a bit scripted but it was fast and they just sent me out a replacement adapter and I received it next day.

Fingers crossed I don't have any more major issues, but I really like the hardware and have to say I think the support is ok, I'm not sure where I would go for a better level of service.

Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout

Steven Jack
Gates Halo

Windows 7 - XP Mode

The article talks about XP and Vista compatibility, I’ve been running 7 as my main OS since the beginning of the year, my experience tells me if it runs on Vista it will run on 7, unless the software manufacturer has included version checking to ensure it will only run on a specific OS. Even then there are workaround to get software like this to work

With XP most relatively recent apps will run and if you are a business you will have professional 7 or greater deployed where you can use the XP mode feature to run applications that don’t like 7 in their own window directly on the win 7 desktop. There is a little bit of config to set this up, but it does mean that if you have vital apps that are years old, you will be able to keep them working post upgrade.

Wanna upgrade from Windows 7 beta? Go back to Vista first

Steven Jack
Gates Halo

RE:James O'Shea

"Interesting. I've simply done an upgrade install on my various Macs ever since I've had Macs... since 1984. Never had a problem. Not even once. That method is Apple's recommended method for doing an OS upgrade and has been for, well, years, decades even.

Is Mickeysoft quality really that bad?"

One thing apple fan bois like to forget is that with a Mac, apple controls more or less the whole eco system of hardware and OS. With Windows, Microsoft have to cope with almost limitless combinations of system hardware, while migrating from one version to another does work, it's not always the slickest of systems going forward. It works, it's just not optimal.

James's Apple fan boi comments aside, a clean install of any OS gets rid of traces of naughty programmes that don't uninstall properly and generally give you that new system sparkle, every time there is an article on EL Reg about this they give the impression you have to reformat your drive to do it and it's a major issue. When in fact it's a minor inconvenience. In this case moving from a free beta or free RC, it’s not too much to ask to do a fresh install, let’s face it if you’re not in any way technical a pre release OS isn’t for you. Microsoft make this quite clear when you sign up for the beta product key.

I run the beta of Windows 7 and personally I’m looking forward to a nice fresh install of the RC that will fix the very few bugs I have come across with the beta.

Microsoft 24 hours late with IE8 pwn protection

Steven Jack
Gates Halo

Beta with a flaw, fixed for final release SHOCK!

Come on people, the flaw was in the beta version, the final release had measured that would have prevented the hack.

Oh and of course we all know that IE is the only browser that has ever had any security problems, oh no wait, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and every other browser out there is not water tight. Writing water tight code in something as complex and interactive as a browser is all but impossible, thankfully all the companies who release browsers regularly patch them to ensure security vulnerabilities are fixed.

It does get a little tiresome when people jump on the Microsoft is shit bandwagon time after time, without any balance. Microsoft = Shit. Apple, Mozilla, et all = wonderful software. It’s just not living in the real world.

Amazon's Kindle goes soft with iPhone app

Steven Jack
Paris Hilton

UK Kindle ....... Coming soon

Amazon have said on several occations now they want to bring kindle to the UK, they were aiming for a Christmas 2008 launch and then had to can that idea, but hopefully UK readers will soon be able to buy it.

Paris because she has been available worldwide for quite some time.

Apple shares MacBook break-in tips

Steven Jack
Jobs Horns

Dell XPS M1530 - Fantasic design

What is all this, other laptops are just as difficult to upgrade! Admittedly I have only owned 2, an Acer Aspire and a Dell XPS M1530, both have been really easy, nice easy to open panels on the underside of the case, simple installation of new ram modules. The Dell has a one screw and slot out hard disk, making it really easy to change, also installed a 3G data card in my Dell with just 4 screws for the cover and 2 to hold the card in place. Oh and it looks rather pretty too!

Apple does not equal best value for money. Apple produce high end premium products that they don’t really want you to upgrade, as they would rather milk you for more cash with an apple upgrade or even better a new computer! Great business if you can do it, not so good if you like to tinker and add as time goes on.

Oz man collared with pigeons down trousers

Steven Jack
IT Angle

Tech Angle

Ok, Vaguely interesting, slightly bazaar story, but I’m failing to see the technology angle on this one!