Posts by Andy Christ

LASER RAZOR blunted by KickStarter ban

But they already surpassed their goal by about ten times.

I take it there is still a time frame before the funds are released? The article does not spell that out.

I'd be more impressed with the KickStarter ban had they managed somehow to recover the funds raised so far and return them to the original punters. But am assuming this is not the case so perhaps not the most effective deterrent. But the message KS is sending reads rather more like "Just take all that dirty money and get out of here right now!"

LOGITECH - TECH = 'LOGI' ... that's non-Logitech tech, is it?

Trouble with all third party peripherals, they are at the mercy of whatever operating system they support. Along comes an OS update and suddenly they no longer function as when first released. My Logitech keyboard allows me to use my iPad almost like a laptop when sitting at my desk, really a godsend considering how buggy Apple's iOS has got at editing text. But under 8.3 - 8.4 I can no longer invert the screen using the home button, and the function keys for brightness still have no effect at all. Considering Logitech is an authorized Apple licensee, one would expect better synchronization between the two companies and their devices.

Had even worse problem with Macally; loved their trackball but each time Apple updated Mac OS the software would fall behind until the thing became useless. Ended up paying more for a third party driver than I did for the original trackball, grrr...

Google's Cardboard 2.0 virtual reality device is a triumph for humanity, said no one sane, ever

"Anyone will be able to build a Jump-ready camera," Bavor beamed.

That is, anyone who can afford to purchase sixteen GoPros.

What ever happened to the single unit camera with the 360° lens that was supposedly in development?

Tesla reveals Powerwall battery packs for homes, Powerpacks for cities

Here's a link to the presentation Musk gave last night.

https://youtu.be/yKORsrlN-2k

Have to say I was dissappointed. If the technology is open source, why were just about no details given about how the battery bank works and what is actually innovative about it, other than price? Makes me sadly suspect there is nothing all that new and revolutionary inside, or he'd have had plenty of reason to flaunt it.

Richard Widmark fails at show and tell. :(

Feds cuffed for allegedly PILFERING Silk Road drug souk's Bitcoins

"Force quit..."

Saudi Arabia to flog man 1,000 times for insulting religion on Facebook

eh, nuke Mecca.

Careful - your helmet might get squashed by a Volvo

Re: Please wear something reflective

@tapedor: Dahlink! You missed the part of the post saying this incident occurred when going DOWNHILL on a RURAL road. Pretty sure most everyone is well enough acquainted with the laws of physics to understand that a cyclist could be going rather fast in that situation. I routinely exceed 30 mph on certain precipitous drops along my commute (and yes, I am lit up like a carnival.) Out in the sticks, the distances between destinations is not typically walkable: so really not a hazard to pedestrians, as there are none. IMHO it makes cycling sense to go as fast as possible whenever sharing the road with motor vehicles, in that they will (well, should!) pass at lower frequency.

As to whether reflectors might be more effective than lights... The new LEDs can be visible for miles. But there is no reason not to use both; in certain jurisdictions, when traveling after dark, it is the LAW.

Wish you the best in all your cycling endeavors. Peace and love, peace and love.

Sony looks at unpopular Google Glass, shouts 'ME TOO!'

Re: This is a Sony...

At this point the technology involved is becoming commonplace. I can see these being marketed for the same price as an "entry level" Apple Watch, for instance, at about $350 USD. Whatever, because in no time there will be cheap Chinese alternatives flooding the market. They'll look like crap and be less than reliable, but will offer a gazillion extra features that may or may not work in conjunction with one's smart phone. :P

Prescription is already built into GoogleGlass so I can't imagine Sony would not take that same tack. And these don't look fragile at all to me, rather think they are still too ungainly for a contraption that is to mount discreetly to one's eyewear. Talk about making a spectacle of yourself!

Why, hello there, Foxy... BYE GOOGLE! Mozilla's browser is a video star

Skype is available on both Apple's OS X and iOS. I Skype with my friends on their Windows machines from my iPad and Mac all the time. Not to mention, use Skype Out to dial phone numbers. Skype is completely platform independent. Facetime only works with Apple devices it's true, but also moot as it sucks so bad there's just no reason ever to use it.

Chinese search engine Baidu to peddle SmartBike

Is the seat post spring loaded? Because while the front fork suspension appears to have ample travel, the rear stays look incredibly stiff, which would make for quite a harsh ride. Funny but the whole frame is so voluminous, at a glance one might assume it was designed to enclose batteries for electric assist, especially as the drive train appears to be single speed. Perhaps there is an IGH? — couldn't get the video to play.

Honestly though, this kind of super-connected bike isn't really for me. I don't need a slew of sensors and read outs to tell me how poorly I am doing.

GT sapphire glaziers: You signed WHAT deal with Apple?

Re: Silly little three year old...

Only flaw in this line of thought is that there are absolutely no phone manufacturers at present using sapphire screens. Whether Apple even had any intent of incorporating such into their current line up is not known for certain.

PEAK APPLE: iOS 8 SHUNNED by refusenik fanbois

That sounds odd, gotes.

My iPad 3 runs a lot better on iOS7 than it did on 6, and battery life is still phenomenal. Haven't updated to iOS8 yet, only received notification of it from Apple a couple of days ago — which might explain why many others still haven't installed the new iOS either. Me, I'm temporarily in the boondocks where I don't have access to decent WiFi, just LTE, so won't be able to update for a while, but certainly will when I get the chance. Hear [Mobile] Safari is much improved.

Google Maps can now tell cyclists how HIGH they will get

What are the system requirements to see this new elevation info, anybody here know? Because it doesn't appear on Maps using my old PPC Mac desktop. Even on my up to date iPad using Atomic Web Browser set to spoof Safari Desktop I don't see elevations, just get the same site as on my Mac.

Yes I know I am a planker for owning Apple thingies, can we move on please?

Hot, fit, SWEATY users stroke Backbeats model, beg: DON'T CALL US

Mine are fine

Accidentally let them go through both a wash and dry cycle at the laundromat and they still work (very clean sound... Sorry.) Actually they have gotten better over the four years I've had them, as Apple has improved their Bluetooth implementation so they now support Skype. Looking forward to scoring a new set, these look like they'd be just the ticket on summer cycling tours. Only wonder how many hours they run on a charge, my current BackBeats last maybe five and I occasionally ride longer than that.

Mexican drink-driver shopped to cops - by his own gobby parakeet

Re: Bluebottle?

I think the author meant that the meaning ascribed to El Torito as "bluebottle" is common to South America rather than Mexico. Have no idea whether that is so.

Apple-hungry thieves defy sinking New York City crime stats

Re: maybe it's the idiot to ipad ratio..

You need to get out more.

All over the world, people are obliviously walking around while waving their cellular devices about, regardless of brand. Makes it difficult to resist the temptation to snatch 'em out of their hands, if only to toss down a sewer grate or over the side of a bridge.

Not that I would ever do such a thing, oh no...

Parisian cabbies smash up Uber-booked rival ride

Re: re: Random tours

Why did you not just ride your bike directly to the station, rather than drag it along in a case?

Get lost, fanbois: Nokia pulls HERE Maps from Apple's App Store

Re: Gone away on a Safari ?

Maps apps on iOS 7, not web apps — though Google's works passably well in Mobile mode, not Classic (desktop). Don't think Apple has released Maps for the desktop yet, so you can't access it through mobile Safari.

Re: "old faithful Google Maps" on Android is becoming MUCH less useful

Street view on iOS is less than perfect too. Dropping a pin on my current location brings up an image from a block away. :(

Would love to know what it is about iOS 7 that Nokia found so lacking. All my apps work much more smoothly on it than under iOS 6, including both Apple and Google Maps. Though I sadly concede Here is a dog (and There is a cat...)

Texas teen jailed for four months over sarcastic Facebook comment

Re: This is Texas

And take Florida with them.

Movie, TV ads annoying? You ain't seen nothin' yet

Even more creepy,

I had just added the Oster BVCB07-Z to my Amazon wish list before coming across this reference on el Reg so it really had me freaked!

The 6706 might be not-so-hot, but the BVCB07-Z is still pretty cheap, at least here in the States, when compared to real premium brands like Vitamix or Blendtec, which retail for about four to eight times as much as the Oster, gulp! But I just did my 2012 taxes so even that spatula/pliers combo is out for me right now. :(

Mozilla to Apple: we don't care about iOS

Re: While we're here

Samesung

Opera sings WebKit's tune for new mobile browser

Re: New design direction?

Unlike Speed Dial, because there is no chrome, just a field of icons. Actions are all gesture controlled.

All your audio, video kit is about to become OBSOLETE

Re: Flanders & Swann

But I never did care for music much,

It's the high fidelity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fJmmDkvQyc

all expenses PARED ?

Ooh, way to go!

Tibetan monks lose their TVs as China's censors raid monasteries

Rotten English

Gotten is not an Americanism; the word has merely fallen out of use in Great Britain.

"USAGE As past participles of get, the words got and gotten both date back to Middle English. In North American English, got and gotten are not identical in use. Gotten usually implies the process of obtaining something ( : he has gotten two tickets for the show, while got implies the state of possession or ownership ( : he hasn’t got any money)."

Kickstarted mobe charger 'kicked to death by Apple'

Re: USB

No, Macs had USB before they had Firewire.

New Year's resolution: Don't use Instagram, it'll sell YOUR photos

Makes me wonder

Kind of bizarre, though hardly surprising, how may posters here jump in to denigrate Instagram and its contributors. Yes the Popular page is rubbish ("nail polish, shoes, and One Direction") but it is extremely easy to find mind-blowingly gorgeous images through the search feature — navigation within the app is brilliant. By now I'm guessing the majority of the world's professional photographers have accounts and are uploading their works in order to hawk either prints or full resolution images. These pros are not taking pics through Instagram's crappy filters but are using their own cameras and commercial software. What I wonder is whether they will want to stay on after this latest change in policy. Kind of a difficult calculus as to whether having the odd pic swiped for an ad will devalue a work or burnish the artist's reputation.

Belgian finds missus was born a MAN after 19 YEARS of marriage

Reading between the lines

Perhaps the crux of the story here is simply that just about every one knew Monica was transgendered save for the guy who had been sleeping with her for nineteen years. From the article:

"A friend told me that he had heard that Monica was actually a sex-changed man," recounts Jan.

Things came to a head when Jan discovered saucy messages from other blokes on his wife's computer. He said:

"I pushed her against the wall and said: Now I know the truth. Are you a man? She then announced that she was born as a boy and that she had been operated on..."

So for one thing, Jan's friend had heard on the grape vine that Monica was a sex-change, thus the secret seems to have been pretty open. For another, one might deduce that she had actually been trumpeting her transgenderedness online, as those "saucy" messages from interested gents bore out rumor.

Anyway, there's the IT angle for you. Husband's still scum though.

Incidentally, long time ago I tended bar in a gay establishment where we had weekly drag shows. One evening while hauling a case of booze up from the basement I chanced upon an incredible creature standing by the stairs. She was the spitting image of Marilyn Monroe — well, save for being much more petite — complete with gold lamé dress. While I stupidly gawked at her she smiled bashfully and lowered her gaze. Assumed she would appear later on stage but never saw her again. (Honestly I have no idea what the point of my story is, so take from it what you will.)

4G: Bad coverage, crap battery life - but at least it's really expensive

Why no VoLTE?

Wonder why they can't get voice over 4G yet. Because here in the states, where I am on AT&T with my iPad 4G/LTE, seems I can use VoIP apps over LTE just fine. Doesn't sound like I am falling back to 3G/"4G" when I place a call, because there is no lag at all. Whereas even HSPA+ still has dismal upload speeds even when my connection is at 5 bars, such that conversations always get choppy when I am out of LTE range. Huh.

Man files FCC complaint over AT&T FaceTime blocking

"Supported" = "Not Blocked"

FaceTime has always worked over cellular on appropriately modded, jailbroken iThingies.

Apple iPod Nano 7G review

Camera? What Camera?

Where in tarnation did El Reg dig up that Vital Statistics iPod Nano 2012 chart with camera specs from the iPhone? This Nano ain't got no camera.

Sky support dubs Germany 'Hitler's country'

Don't mention the war!

I did, but I think I got away with it.

Just how good is Nokia's PureView 41Mp camera tech?

iOS based on Linux? Really?!

But thanks for the laugh.

Pastafarians: Get your noodly appendages off that Facebook suspect

Who you calling a right-winger?

Kaczynski was pretty much an anarchist and certainly NOT a right-winger.

US dope farmer in Walmart rattlesnake chomp shock

If You're a Viper

Dream about a reefer five feet long

A mighty immense but not to strong

You'll be high, but not for long

If you're a viper

I'm the king if everything

Well I gotta be high before I can sing

Light a tee and let it be

If you're a viper

Now when your throat get dry

And you know you're high

Everything is dandy

Truck on down to your candy store

Get you kicks off peppermint candy

Then you'll know your bodies set

You don't give a damn about payin' no rent

The sky is high and so am I

Whoa ho, if you's a viper

Monty Python and the Holy Grail on Blu-ray

But not too expensive.

Virgin Media site goes titsup in Pirate Bay payback attack

Re: Rosa Parks

Sit down for your rights?

US Judge says IP addresses don't identify pirates

You missed the punch line

The article concluded:

The judgement nonetheless permits the plaintiffs Malibu Media and Patrick Collins to “... obtain the name, address, and Media Access Control address for each Defendant designated as John Doe 1” and says the defendants' internet service providers must hand over relevant information.

So if the judge is overruled, it will be for the opposite reason you suggest.

Sony outs its first Ultrabook

That's not how it is supposed to be set up

The bottom of the screen is slanted in the picture; if you rest the thing on a table with the display tilted back a bit, as is normal, then the bottom sits flush and the weight of the body helps retain it in that position.

You still couldn't pay me to use one though.

iTunes fanbois outraged by Apple's sex-life quiz probe

And I enjoy laughing.....

At those who misuse whom.

UK ad watchdog probes Apple iPad '4G' boasts

Real World Tests

As an owner of both old and new iPads here in the States, I'm left scratching my head over this brouhaha. In my [admittedly meagre] travels, the 3G networks to which the older device was limited averaged around 1.2 Mbps, which was slow enough to cause many net based apps to crash regularly. Web surfing was most often lugubrious, VoIP st u tt ere d at best. In contrast, even in areas of fairly poor “4G” service, speeds rarely dip below about 5 Mbps on my new fondle slab. The most data heavy web pages/apps load within a second or so, and video streams without lag. Yes, where I can connect via LTE, d/l speeds do range up to 50+ Mbps, but the improvement in over all performance is not all that earth shattering. (Far more impressive are upload speeds hovering around 20 Mbps, but I digress.). Maybe for gamers LTE would offer more noticeable benefits, but current data caps tend to preclude such wanton consumption.

Anyway, a few dozen punters bellyaching, out of perhaps the million or so contented with their purchase (don't have UK sales figures at my fingertips) doesn't seem like such a big deal. Am curious to know, has anyone there actually taken advantage of Apple's offer of a refund over this issue? Guessing not many.

iPhone 5 in ICE CREAM SANDWICH photo riddle

Ice Cream?! Ice Cream?!

The iPhone 5, it melts in your hand, not in your mouth.

Mine's the one with a mess in the pocket.

Brydge pledges to turn iPads into MacBooks

Looks like Crux beat Brydge to it with the CruxLoaded.

http://cruxcase.com/products/crux-loaded-2/

It has both a trackpad and I believe the software also provides a cursor on the iPad's display. Still only in development and $250, but they are apparently taking orders.

Also, I doubt Apple would sue either of these companies, as long as they do not employ the Apple logo or claim any such endorsement.

Hanging's too good for 'em - so what do you suggest?

Re: My suggestions

I assume that by "corrupt," you mean "all"?