* Posts by MJI

6857 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Mar 2009

Chinese boffins grow new eye lenses using stem cells

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Re: So they've "solvedcd" a problem that does not really exist?

DougS

I am up for that!

Google-backed British startup ‘stole our code’, says US marketing firm

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All the type of rubbish

We do not want on websites, both can go away AFAIC

Microsoft wants to lock everyone into its store via universal Windows apps, says game kingpin

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No WIN32 no Windows

If MS do depreciate WIN32 and X64, there will be no reason to use Windows over any other OS.

This would be THE nightmare scenario for many smaller software houses.

BBC telly tax drops onto telly-free households. Cough up, iPlayer fans

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Re: Not iPlayer but apiPlayer

>> Yet works terribly on my Macbook Pro and Wii U.

Well ancient XP PC - works fine

PS3 works fine

PS4 works fine

Win7 works fine

Sounds odd to me, perhaps it is your connection.

MJI Silver badge

Re: Then start showing ads

The worry with multiple appliances is validation. If you have 5 or 6 Iplayers on one licence, they are going to get suspicious, are you giving them to non payers. has it been hacked, has anyone considered this. They may restrict to ONE login.

MJI Silver badge

RE: NOTHING there for me.

Some people like Eastenders

Some watch MOTD

One person watches the Voice (shite)

Strictly gets huge viewing figures and is made in a way only the BBC could do. (See XCraptor for why ITV would fail)

I just wish they would keep on with series rather than pull them when they get good.

Black marks for Atlantis (pretty good) and Outcasts (not very but I wanted to know what happened)

But they peaked with Life on Mars/Ashes to ashes

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Re: Not iPlayer but apiPlayer

BBC are pretty good, still works on a 9 year old design console

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Recently

Great American Railway Journies

Eric Brown documentry

Death in Paradise

Plenty more for everyone

Question time

Newsnight

Coast

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Re: “The BBC works on the basis that all who watch it pay for it."

Does anyone who regularly watches broadcast TV not watch BBC?

For a quick news fix News 24 is still OK, and I do like checking over 2 and 4 looking for interesting programmes.

But then I watch about 1 to 1.5 hours a day, usually someting from BBC 124, C4, Film 4.

However I am wondering if the licence is worth it, no DW to Christmas, no proper Top Gear, no more of a few other programmes to next year.

MJI Silver badge

Re: Then start showing ads

What about us current TVL holders with multiple appliances?

I use I Player on 2 consoles, my wife uses the TV.

I HAVE to use the PS3 for shITV as their Iplayer analogue is pretty shite but worse than that missing from PS4.

IPlayer though was hopeless on my Freesat box

Ad-blockers are a Mafia-style 'protection racket' – UK's Minister of Fun

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Re: Internet Advertising needs regulating

Luckily the forums I use do not have one as they would be blocked.

Nice using forums with vetted relevant advertising.

"Oooh look I like that new wagon kit."

"I didn't know they did that."

And the advertising pays for hosting and staff!

MJI Silver badge

Internet Advertising needs regulating

Any UK sites need to be vetted and if they pass be available for an optional whitelist for ad block software.

Simple banner, I would allow them if relevant to the site, text ads the same. Simple 3 or 4 frame GIFs is not irritating.

I used to allow them until the advertisers started their war.

No I see none except on 3 forums.

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Re: Ad-blockers are a Mafia-style 'protection racket

Read in a bit more, it is to do with ABP charging advertisers to go on an allowed list

Hillary Clinton private email server probe winding up – reports

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Re: IMG Do not understand the issue

OK I know nothing about Clinton Foundation

Nothing about US aid to Haiti

This is why I was asking what the issue was, they seemed to be going a bit postal over an email server.

This is the equivalent of a US person asking about the EU referendum.

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Re: Do not understand the issue

But no deaths, no thefts, no injuries, it is a lot more trivial than say a nutter shooting up a school.

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Re: Do not understand the issue

OK now I see

Not really that big an issue as she was only doing what other people have done before.

I suppose being at a home, it is a lot safer from hackers!

MJI Silver badge

Do not understand the issue

I am British.

This appears to me to be pretty trivial, what actually is the issue?

More and more Brits are using ad-blockers, says survey

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Re: Message to advertisers

I detest moving ads one of the moain reasons along with popups I usually block ads.

I also have this with moving channel logos, ordinary channel logos bad enough, but moving ones!!!!!!!!!!!

Despite having a Freesat HD PVR I prefer to watch C4 than C4HD.

Haven't watched C5 since their logo returned, I told them at the time that viewers were more important than branding, but they are morons.

And if logos on TV channels are so important why take them off in the ads when all ad channels look the same.

Some of the TV ads are more watchable than the dross around them. As I FF rather than skip I stop to have a look if an ad grabs my attention.

MJI Silver badge

Re: Like it or not...

Same here.

Popups and hoverovers.

I blame the admongers

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Facebook

My wife moaned at me because I had FB in HOSTS to 127.0.0.1

Simply because other sites linked to it and it was putting crap on the PC

MJI Silver badge

Re: Turn it off? Not no way, no chance, no how.

I will admit I get ratty when I see likes to that site.

Why can't google news automatically filter out paywalls and the like?

Or could I configure my browser to look like a robot?

NASA funds new supersonic airliner research

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Would Airbus be a better bet?

Well they do have previous!

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Re: Supersonic flight

Concordes sonic boom

I think a lot of us didn't mind because it was Concorde, one of the most beautiful aircraft ever, and is pretty British.

However if there had been hundreds would people have thought the same?

MJI Silver badge

Re: The big difference with Concorde...

Or did research start earlier?

Rumours of some German WW2 research involved

Donald Trump promises 'such trouble' for Jeff Bezos and Amazon

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Re: he just needs to switch to an antifungal shampoo

Oh shit he is becoming a clicker!

http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/The_Infected

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Re: It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world...

You are all wrong, the hair is the alien and uses the idiot underneath as transport

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Donald Fart

I am not sure who is more stupid, the small furry creature called Donald or his pet buffoon who carries him around on his head.

Who hit you, HP Inc? 'Windows 10! It's all Windows 10's fault'

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Re: "(normally people buy a new machine to get a new Microsoft OS)"

And the rest, my current PC was rebuilt built just at the end of Win Vista.

Still works well, components said Vista compatable, check still XP compatable.

Until I see a reason to change (I know about SSD) I will let it run

NASA boffin wants FRIKKIN LASERS to propel lightsails

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I think the Culture vessels used something like this.

Sir Clive Sinclair in tech tin-rattle triumph

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Re: Wake me up

I had a VIC 20 and my favourite smart phone ran Symbian

Confused as to WTF is happening with Apple, the FBI and a killer's iPhone? Let's fix that

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Just thought

Kept company phone, destroyed two other phones.

I bet there is nothing to do with this case on the phone.

Finding the remains of the old phones and trying to extract off them could produce more info.

Good thing this dev quit. I'd have fired him. Out of a cannon. Into the sun

MJI Silver badge

I am allergic to VB6

I cannot touch the stuff, I have had to help maintain some and I detest it.

I try to neatly line up = when assigning variables and it removes the white space.

Used an external editor, it broke my code again.

The only module I had to write has EVERY VARIABLE NAME the same length in characters.

There is a special place in hell for IDE writers like that.

Google wins High Court fight with StreetMap over search results self-pluggery

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Re: OS maps

Multimap was my favourite!

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Re: More bile

That was missing when I did my head to head.

May be a Firefox thing.

Oh and one final thing, for reasons of wanting my eyes to last with Windows and similar WIMP OSes I need to crank brightness back down to prevent dazzle.

Some people suggest upping brightness with Google maps - not an option

MJI Silver badge

More bile

MS - allow me to remove that pile of junk from the left so I can fill the screen with map.

MJI Silver badge

I bl00dy hate google maps

It just annoys me

They restrict the URL call for showing things on the map, then cut down the details.

They show lanes as white on light grey, very difficult to see zoomed out. If I zoom out to see my commute I cannot see 3/4 of the route.

As to streetmap - I want a bigger/wider map! Then I could zoom in more.

OS - p155 poor compared to their printed maps, completely wasted opportunity

MS - white/grey stop copying google - but then it has OS overlays like the paper maps, OK it ONLY usable with OS overlay.

For all the online mapping agencies take this piece of advice for free, we do want to see routes we take, we want to see more than a yellow line with nothing off it, go to a map shop and pick up the following types 1/50000 Landranger (Purple) and 1/25000 Explorer (orange & yellow)

These are clear, easy to read and usable.

OS - USE YOUR MAP STYLE ON YOUR ONLINE MAP.

For all of you, use the German tinplate toy map site ran by MS and select OS overlay, I can see my whole commute, all roads clear, even footpaths, green lanes, and very importantly pubs

Blighty cops nab Brit teen for 'hacking' CIA Brennan's AOL email

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Re: No rendition

So if he lives there perhaps he could apply for a job at the other end of Golden Valley By Pass

Firemen free chap's todger from four-ring chokehold

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Re: Oh dear sir,

Does the US figure include the height of donald trump?

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Re: I think they are used to help with softness

No just wondered why people did it

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I think they are used to help with softness

So they get better erections, or get one in the first place, but sounds like they were too small.

The idea of them stuck on scares me!

This is why copy'n'paste should be banned from developers' IDEs

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Re: Code Review

I once merged a lot of code into one set, replaced around 60 tab pages with ONE base version inheriting into 10 so specific ones.

Shrunk by a lot and so much easier for ME to maintain.

The original writer found it confusing, but I did have to add a new feature to every page, took about 40 minutes rather than hours

Microsoft quits giving us the silent treatment on Windows 10 updates

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Mobile phone

I am currently trying to get my old N8 operational again.

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Starting to feel vindicated

For not bothering to move from XP on my home PC, well I am moving but not to another MS OS

Silent Nork satellite tumbling in orbit

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Tumbling

Have they gone from washing machines to tumble driers now?

Fleet of 4.77MHz LCD laptops with 8088 CPUs still alive after 30 years

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Wish it was true but.

Electrolytic capacitors are a common fail point, then there is the nightmare of lead free solder.

We're going to use your toothbrush to snoop on you, says US spy boss

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Funny really

But tech people are often like this. Often programmers get bored with PCs so find other things to play with. I used to be an early adopter, not so much now, only when it is something I really really want.

IoT will pass me by as I have no use for it. Smart TVs, well mine is just a bit thick rather than dumb, but network cable not plugged in.

I early adopt when it benefits ME.

Digital TV, more channels and anamorphic, so bought one.

DVD, no contest, if I wanted to watch films I needed one.

Blu Ray, wanted HDTV so a good place to start, also wanted newer gaming device.

Not so bothered

Smart phones, not bothered, waited until work bought them.

MP3 players. bypassed that totally.

Tried and gave up on pay TV twice, one was very cheap but went bump, it also worked on my TV via a CAM, the other I never used except for BBC downloading, but got a free (but now dead) PVR from my ISP.

Streaming, not impressed, worse than broadcast normally, but I will join Amazon prime for ONE show, (as well as delivery options)

IoT will join this as well.

Finally the amount of companies trying to stop me using the internet is getting ridiculous. Here are a few.

Mozilla - Australis.

Google - Chrome no menus, searching privacy warning needing logging in or cookie retention.

Paypal - dumbing down to telephone screens.

Ebay - also started the downgrade.

MS - ribbon menu, the mobilifaction of windows.

And that is just for starters

EU could force countries to allocate 700 MHz band to mobile by mid-2020

MJI Silver badge

Re: Stupid frequencies

And also why can't the spectrum be used for more HD? or UHD?

Why is it always TV spectrum taken?

As to receivers, can't see the point in ones without HDDs.

MJI Silver badge

Re: Stupid frequencies

Why should I?

Had broadcast TV on these frequencies for many years, millions of people use it, not everyone can get cable, not satellite, some prefer terrestrial to satellite (in the early days BBC looked better on Digital Terretrial than Digital Satellite).

On the satellite side, not everyone can have a dish, not everyone can afford a Humax PVR on top of their TV.

MJI Silver badge

Stupid frequencies

This would take large chunks out of broadcast spectrum.

Why does data on a telephone take prioirty over TV broadcasting?

That said there would be some large jamming stations around!

AdBlock Plus, websites draft peace deal so ads can bypass blockade

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How come some sites can manage aderts properly?

A few sites I use, I see ads, I click on them, I buy from them.

Why?

Because they are from companies directly applicable to that site, a forum for x has adverts from companies involved in x. And they are small banners.

eg a model railway forum has adverts from model shops, manufacturers, magazines, auction houses.

OK not the last but "ooh a nice new wagon kit I need that" gets a sale and my click through helps pay for the site.

If every site was like that ad blockers would not be needed.

Oh and I could not boycot the advertisers without getting a different hobby!