Posts by Ihre Papiere Bitte!!

The year's best... PC games

No no no no no no no!

I love BBLE. Even with the incredibly annoying repetitions on Jim & Bob's commentating, for sheer gameplay alone, I find myself getting up a half hour early Monday to Friday to get a couple of downs in before work. Don't find it buggy at all tbh, and I've played it to death.

And PA? Tycho said "I want to recommend the game universally" and "Cyanide have made a videogame of Blood Bowl, and a pretty good one at that" (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/7/1/) - he did say it could do with patching, but most of the issues were sorted for Legendary Edition (he was talking about the original there - LE includes patches and a buncha new teams)

GO! GO! GO! GO!

TOUCH! TOUCH! TOUCH! DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!

PARIS concocts commemorative cocktail

NSFD?

Damn right. I read the story, and my blood glucose level soared by a stomach-clenching 12 points!

The one with the insulin in the pocket thank you!

ISPs under pressure to control online porn

@ Tom

Interesting info there Tom, thanks. Insomnia struck at 4am, so I've been having a look at this and at some other stuff about the banjo-players...

Interesting to note that the O2 response confirms that the transaction will only be made once (from chris@O2 1721 26/11).

Be keeping an eye on the credit card statements, and in the meantime have taken a copy of the one-time only statement. The monitoring/disclosure (job applications? WTF???) is a concern, it'll be interesting to see what they come back with in response to yourself and prking.

(I assume you're using the *****7 monicker on there, so info above for anyone who is following here only)

Cheers

@Graham

"Ummm.. are you saying you just got a random text message asking for your credit card details and you replied to it????"

No.

-I received a text message from O2 (verified sender as compared to previous comms from O2)

-I contacted O2 to confirm that this was a valid current operation - it is.

-I went to the update website - via the main O2 site, on my desktop - and completed the transaction at this secure (https) location.

I assumed that Reg readers would be familiar enough with the basics that I wouldn't need to spell it out in detail.

O2 already jumped on board

Just had a SMS from O2 this morning - they're blocking access to all "Over 18 Content" via mobile phone for anyone who doesn't verify age. What "Over 18 Content" actually means is anyone's guess, I don't know if it's just porn, or if it will also include (e.g.) video game sites where the game is rated 18 (as the sites often request confirmation of age before allowing entry) and the like.

Apparently confirmation requires a credit card, where they debit £1, and then credit £2.50, so people aren't out of pocket by verifying.

I would've thought that the fact that my phone is on contract (which you can't take at under 18), and they've got all my details - including date of birth - would be enough to verify my age!

Sarah Palin calls for US to stand by North Korea

Amazing.....

Jakeson 26/11/10 10:18: "cut out the stupid talk and get a life when you are talking about your superiors."

But I'm talking about Palin here...

"Sarah can and has done more than most of you"

Define "more". I've done lots and lots of things that she hasn't done (like read a map), and she has definitely done lots of things I haven't (and wouldn't particularly want to - like opposing abortion in rape cases).

How are you counting "more", then? I assume, from your reference to Mrs Palin as your "superior", that you're a Republican yank, and so I also assume then, that you're counting on your fingers. All thirteen of them.

Kind Regards,

A Canadian (who laughs himself silly every time the US Border Police make a statement about how they're going to stop the flow of BC Bud)

Robinson - are you for real?

"You'd still bang her though, wouldn't you?"

You've gotta be kidding me, I'd sooner bang an actual grizzly bear than that.

Apple coughs to time zone problems

set to repeat all

Based on some fun testing with my boss' iPhone 4.1 (fun cos he's a real fanboy), we've found that:

Set a 1-off alarm, works ok

Set alarm to go off every day, works ok

Set to go off 'some days', whatever the combo, goes off 1 hour late.

And it's been fun reminding him (over & over) that my Blackberry managed this horrendously complex operation with no problems or manual intervention at all :-)

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

6 hours? Hardly.

Finished it in 5 hours (on normal), and I'm not what you would call a hardcore gamer at all. The story was very "meh" compared to the first, and nothing compared to epics like KOTOR. The levelling system was simplified beyond belief (upgrade force powers only, combos are available from the off), and combat was nothing more than button-mashing, leaving no need for tactics, even when swamped with a dozen or more enemy "elite" with force powers of their own. Boss battles were "do this, repeat twice, battle over".

At the end (Light side), there was an obvious "cliffhanger", which made me say "meh, whatever" (won't spoil it for anyone who wants to play) with leads to a 3rd in the series.

NPCs were irritating, especially Kota and Vader. Starkiller was even more so, just repeating "I have to find Juno!!!!" over and over until you wanted to get yourself killed just to shut him up.

This could have been amazing, and there are improvements, such as lightsabres cutting enemies, rather than being a glowy-stick battering them to death. But overall, I was disappointed.

Man wins $650k for stripper shoe eye snafu

@ Sarah 1440

"I didn't immediately swing a punch when something similar happened to me but I'd understand it if someone else reacted that way."

Yeah, sorry about that....

(I ducked in preparation of the slap and everything!)

Quango bonfire torches websites

Homeopathy & Herbalism

Current Advisory bodies going = Good. They're useless.

Not replacing them with a body that says "produce _evidence_ or stop claiming you can cure everything in the world from AIDS to cancer to a cold with a smidge of pollen that's been diluted a zillion zillion zillion times and then banged on a horsehair mat" = Bad.

Can I have an icon of a hand from the Deep South of America where there's a thumb at the top and the bottom to indicate that it goes both ways?

Apple to lead fanbois 'Back to the Mac'

Re: Annihilator

Mark Morrison is going to be the special star guest at the party. You heard it here first...

Foxconn faces leaked report of worker abuse, violence

re AC 1839

Little unfair to pick on Apple in this instance. As the article mentions, Foxconn manufacture for a bunch of other high-profile companies, like Dell, Sony, Nintendo...

(I know you refer to 'other companies', but Apple's mentioned twice directly, and no-one else)

It may be early Monday, but I need a pint to wash out the taste of defending Steve Jobs!

Kiss frontman gives file-sharers tongue-lashing

RE: drugs

Much as I hate to defend him when he's being a twat, Simmons was never a drug-taker, nor was Paul Stanley. Ace Frehley & Pete Criss were both fired for doing drugs.

Does't mean I agree with or like Simmons tho. Grew up on Kiss, and I still think Destroyer is an amazing album, but the last decent work they did was Revenge in 91, and that was the first good album in 15 years!

I still have nightmares about their Disco Period - I was made for lovin' you baby... Yeeeeurch.

McCanns join CEOP quango row

Revoked Vote

"hearing that all Daily Mail readers have had their right to vote revoked, as they are clearly not responsible adults."

The crushing disappointment when I realised that this isn't actually true....

UK head of online child protection resigns

Don't let the door hit you on the arse...

"The world of child protection is unlikely to be quite the same without him"

And thank god for that... We might see some intelligent ideas rather than policy by Daily Mail headline!

Star Wars set for 3D rehash

James diGriz FTW

A Stainless Steel Rat film would be most awesome, I loved those books.

As long as they drop the entire Esperanto-push, anyway.

RIM unveils The BlackPad BlackBerry PlayBook

BlackBerry Bold?

A brave marketing strategy by RIM here with the choice of name and seeming focus of user.

'PlayBook' sounds like it's aimed at the consumer market rather than RIM's core existing business users, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

I expected them to go with something that would appeal to their existing user base to consolidate the market there before expanding to the 'casual users' and taking on the iPad directly.

Or maybe I'm just bitter cos I had a fiver on the unveiled name being BlueBerry... But as an existing BlackBerry user, I'm looking forward to having a look at this when it's released and seeing what it can do. No pre-order, but I have no doubt I'll pop in to a retailer and have a play then make up my mind.

Facebook on the blink for second time in two days

whoa!

Thanx for the people who gave an answer.

4 downvotes (so far) for asking an honest question?

I'm at a loss unless I've broken the commentard rules by admitting my ignorance rather than just bluffing?

DO YOU LIKE THIS TITLE? DO YOU?

I assume the twitter quote about people roaming the streets showing pictures and shouting is a funny that relates to something Facebooky? Anyone care to enlighten me? I'm Completely Confused here...

Google ordered to pay out for automated defamation

*BING*

One money-making idea coming right up!

1. Google (own name) + (nasty word) * 1,000

2. Take screen shots of suggestions including search term

3. Sue Google for ONE MILLION DOLLARS

4. Profit!!!

And there's not even a ??? In sight!

Apple iPod Touch 4G

As a member of the Blackberry-toting crowd

"i.e. for the blackberry/Nokia and laptop toting crowd who see no need for the iPhone and iPad"

(RegisterThis, 21/09 12:15)

Nope, sorry. Perfectly happy with my Zen, which does everything I need and more,, at a fraction of the price.

One of the main selling points of the Apple range is the App Store. If you're not interested in these, they don't compare as favourably with other devices.

RIM's iPad rival 'arrives next week'

Can make financial sense...

An iPad requires a SIM with a separate data plan to use 3G (based on what the Apple Store says) which costs extra every month, starting at £7.50pcm cheapest option - another £90 per year. My Blackberry plan comes with unlimited data, so I could use 3G on one of these for no extra cost beyond purchase price. It would make sense to have an option to insert a SIM into the BlackPad (I prefer PadBerry, myself...) in the same way as an iPad for non BlackBerry users. It could be a way to try to consolidate a 'range' of devices in the same way that Apple have, as people who like this are more likely to buy a BlackBerry handset as well.

(Though, TBH I doubt I'll buy one, as I have enough portable devices with my BlackBerry and PMP, and don't personally need a device of this nature.)

Netizens now Facebook more than they Google

i'd be interested...

To see a FaceBook v Porn comparison... (Yes, I know it's not feasible, but even so!)

Seriously tho, as someone mentioned above, I do wonder if this is 'active' FB time, or includes 'open on another tab' time as well. Back in the days before FB & MySpace I was on a precursor, and would be logged in on one window, whilst using other windows, and would just flick over to check messages etc every half hour or so.

<-it's Monday, after 3 1/2 weeks off!

'Hyperbolic map' of the internet will save it from COLLAPSE

tossing into a black hole

I can think of quite a few, very large, sites that I would happily see thrown into a black hole, never to return, if it means the rest of the interwebs will be saved...

I nominate E-Bay, it's not been useful for a long time. Problem solved, where's my cheque?

Paris, because, well, just refer to title!

Eric Schmidt warns Berliners: 'We know where you are'

The Only Way

That Schmidt could have made this less attractive to your average German would have been to don a long leather trenchcoat and add 'Und if you vill not co-operate, ve haf vays of giving you ein... SPECIAL augmentation! Ze Google Reich vill last hundert jahre, tausand jahre, ZEHN TAUSAND JAHRE!!!!'

(You'd think with a name like 'Schmidt', he might have an inkling about why the Germans are so unhappy? Guess not...)

Twitpic pulls 50 Cent bum burger snap

it's a slow Sunday...

So I'm tempted to take a copy of the pic, put 'Serving Suggestion' on the bottom, then pin up in the frozen burger section of Sainsburys.

Internet, China and Russia destroying US, rock and roll

the 'China-Russians'?

Who are they and why do thgey want to take away my rock and roll? Although if they only destroy Fleetwood Mac, my concern will be somewhat mollified...

<-the studded leather one with Rammstein artwork on the back

How extreme is your pr0n? Depends on your lawyer

@ responders

Yes, I really *DID* get iin trouble. They knew full well that we "didn't have any but innocent reasons" etc, but we had to "think about the consequences of allowing filming in a maternity ward, how the staff can't police what people are filming if they allow it, etc.

Thanks for the congrats, I'm bringing him (and his mum) home today. I'll be cracking open a very expensive bottle of vintage laphroig, and it's gonna taste real good after 6 months of being dry*!!

(*his mum couldn't drink, so I knocked it on the head too. Modern man? No. Coward who married a martial artist? Yes!)

me three...

My son was born Friday last week, and has developed the amusing (to him, anyway!) habit of weeing all over the shop when I change his diaper. My wife thought a vid of my unexpected golden shower would be something we could use to embarass him into a semblance of obedience in his teenage years, and boy, did we get a telling off for that mistake. We even got a visit from Scary Matron to tell us why we shouldn't do Things Like That.

Unfortunately, they don't come home until tomorrow, so I wasn't willing to fight the odds at the time, as my missus still needs a lot of assistance from the staff when I get booted out at 9pm.

Microsoft digs Macs in back-to-school ads

oh boy this is gonna go *boom*

Making my comment and skedaddling!

Personally, I find Mac mice infuriating. My boss runs Win 7 on Mac hardware, and every time I try and do something on his computer, the mouse drives me to distraction. No doubt, in the minds of Mactards, that makes me "too stupid to use a computer", as I've been told before on the Reg for daring to say I prefer a PC, but never mind.

The rest of the list sounds a little too much like a unpopular little boy desperately trying to get the rest of his class to come to his birthday party rather than that of the cool (but widely considered arrogant and annoying) rich kid who's gonna have Glee (insert other inexplicably popular "band" du jour if you prefer) present.

Time to skedaddle...!

UK.gov finally kills ContactPoint

As someone

Due to be a 1st-time parent in the next couple weeks, this is the most welcome news I've heard in a long time.

It might be for the wrong reasons (financial rather than civil liberties), but I'm glad to see the back of this nonetheless.

Beers all round for everyone involved in burying this. Hopefully, it's face-down so it can't come back to life and claw its way out of the grave.

The Wrath of Jobs' latest victim: Motorola

is antennagate petty?

No.

Why?

Because *waves hand* antennagate is not the story you are looking for... There is no antennagate.... And even if there were an antennagate, which there isn't, everyone else has it too, just nobody noticed it.

Yorks cops charge Segway rider under 1835 road law

additional charge

Of being a pretentious git in a public area.

He's actually quite lucky it was the cops that stopped him. Barnsley isn't exactly known for its tolerance of "posh buggers" (pretentious is too big a word there*)

*i live in Sheffield. Barnsley is the only place we're allowed to look down on as 'rural'...!

Child protection campaigners claim hollow victory over Facebook

13-18

Huh? It goes to users who are legally old enough to be having squelchy fun already? Or did someone raise the age of consent to 19 when I wasn't looking?

Legally, you can have sex with a 16yo. You just can't jack off whilst looking at suggestive pictures of them.

Phillies fan tasered for field incursion

now, i'm not in favour of tasers as a rule....

But DAMN, I wish they'd had some police like this in Sheffield the other day after Wednesday's fans went on an explosive sulk*.

*i never understand why fans go on a 'rampage' after a game at home, at their own ground...

OU: Digital divide now between clued and clueless

@Suburban Inmate & The_Noble_Rot

Ah yes. My fail indeed. In my defence, however, I posted a few hours earlier than the time marked above, and I did indeed need more coffee.

Harsh words from TNR, but deserved, I guess.

Mine's the one with the pocketful of downvotes!

Say what??

Wikipedia as a trusted source of information?

Sorry, but that just blew his credibility out of the water for me. It's useful for summaries/overviews and as a link to more in-depth information, but a trusted source in its own right? I think that's been disproved sufficient times.

Google and friends back bid to block warrantless email search

World turned upside-down!

I'm stunned that I'm rooting for Google to help defend my privacy...!

'Groom-a-Tory' iPhone app sparks privacy paranoia

Why you're waiting for a response...

"The Tories are yet to response to our repeated attempts via both email and phone to get an answer to this question."

Because David Cameron is busy, and nobody else is allowed to answer questions...

Primark pulls 'disgraceful' padded bikini for kiddies

Paedophile Pound??

**Child protection consultant Shy Keenan, of The Phoenix Chief Advocates, which "helps victims of paedophiles", thundered: "It never fails to amaze me just how many High Street household names are now prepared to exploit the disgusting 'paedophile pound'."**

Huh? Surely, the paedos wouldn't be very interested in trying to make young girls look older? Or am I just completely misunderstanding the definition? I'm pretty sure that the paedo pound is spent more on products from Cadburys and Pets At Home than Primark (I was always warned to avoid grown-ups offering sweeties and puppies when I was young). Quick, get a quote from David Cameron about the evils of Rowntree Fruit Pastilles!

(Nice to see that Dave Cameron is continuing to make sure that he is the Tory SpokesPerson On Everything In The World Ever. I can't remember the last time I heard The Official Tory View on any subject from anyone else. Apart from Chris Grayling, who doesn't count, as I'm pretty sure he's not actually a human being.)

Last.fm now offers Less.fm

Thanks

To all those commenting about the X-Box side of things. I've set it up but not really used it yet (the joys of having building work on the house at the moment!) - so the extra info is appreciated.

Not too bothered about not being able to use in-game, was looking for a free / cheap alternative to music channels & radio, as I loathe the adverts & talking bits, and my pc with media library is currently in storage.

Bloody typical!

I only joined Last.fm about a week ago on the X-Box!

*harrumph*

Labour manifesto: More ID cards, less NHS IT

RE: 'Slice Away' AC 1550

"Any block of figures you chose to draw from is down to personal interpretation, so why bother debating it as a point?"

To illustrate the point that just because one person says 'crime is down, all the numbers support this' is an assertion that can be countered by looking at the numbers in a different way.

The OP to which I was replying stated that anyone who said crime was increasing was 'lying' - and that the numbers proved this.

I was simply demonstrating that this is not necessarily the case. Maybe you should have read both the OP and the reply before jumping?

Data-Slicing

"Yes. That's because crime is down. According to every credible study.

Anyone who tells you crime in general is increasing is lying. Some types of crime may have gone up, but the overall crime rate has dropped considerably."

Depends, like everything else, on how you slice the data.

I can say, using the crime numbers supplied by my Local Authority, that violent crime has more than tripled within the area since 2001-2 (violence against the person, wounding endangering life, other wounding, common assault) - 1,826 in 2k1-2, and 6,253 in 2k8-9. Including all crime types, it has increased by more than 10% over the same period (17,328 to 19,229).

I'm surely not "lying" when I cite this, as I'm using exactly the same data that the LA use to prove how good they are at reducing crime, I'm just slicing it a different (and, I would argue, more realistic, way). I would also include the caveat that crime in 2008-9 is significantly lower than it was in 2006-7 and 2007-8, so it has reduced in the short-term from a peak high in 2k6-7.

McKinnon's mum stands against Straw at general election

Winners and Losers

"We can't all be winners. We can't all get our own way."

That's very true. However, it'd be nice if the winners were, just occasionally, people other than the career politicians and their associated cronies (of whichever stripe).

And sometimes it's important to keep resisting things that are wrong, rather than to just "realise she lost this one" - even if you know you can't win. If everyone just said "oh well, this is completely immoral, but I guess we lost this one, we better just give up", then there's no telling just how far things could go. ID Cards? DNA databases? Increased stop & search without reasonable cause or suspicion? Long-term house arrest at the discretion of a politician without a conviction? Extradition without evidence? All these would have been unthinkable 20 years ago and we now regard them as just part of life in the UK. They're all in place, but people are still resisting them - and I'm proud of each and every person who does, no matter how small their contribution.

She probably won't win. But kudos for trying.

Labour unfriends Twitter rant candidate

I'm right with him!

as long as he doesn't diss Black Label, he's fine by me!

(PS Who the fuck are Jedwood?)

Bloke threatens BT with giant plywood cheque

Another Thumbs-Up!

From myself and my co-workers who've just been inspired by Mr Humpage putting his words into action, and doing what so many of us would want to.

If you're* ever in Sheffield, I'll buy you a real pint!

*That's Dave Humpage, not a general invitation to every reader...!

High Court: Moderate user comments and you're liable

To be fair to the Moderatrix...

(And I wouldn't dare do otherwise!)

The mods on El Reg are incredibly liberal with what they allow through.

One post I made got, not rejected but.... "delayed" whilst Sarah asked the legal team about it (it was quite damning of a particular organisation, and included details). She had the courtesy and good grace to contact me and tell me that this was the case, which was very much appreciated - most moderators would have simply rejected it and not said why (in the end it was allowed through).

On the other hand, on 01/04, I had my first 2 posts rejected, and I had no idea why. They weren't offensive or controversial. I mailed asking why, as I was wondering if I'd pissed someone off. I didn't get a reply to that one - but other posts I made later in the day were accepted, and, crucially, when I posted about the new Reg Comments thing, falling hook line & sinker, that was accepted. I reckon it's because they were in reply to April 1st Fool posts, and were a little too early to blow the game open - I know other people had posts rejected for that reason (or at least that's what they believe)

Moderators don't need to give a reason for rejection. And remember that the Moderatrix in particular is no doubt inundated with mail DEMANDING to know why their post about Gordon Brown "obviously having syphilis, it's the only explanation for his behaviour and appearance, plus he's a cunt that was begotten by a pox-ridden whore" that's posted by "T_Blair" in response to an article on Google, was rejected. And she has better things to do than wade through that.

Like tea and biscuits *ducks*

@ Gilbert Wham

It had the word "Cameron" in it. Of course it's a joke....

(*disclaimer: as far as I'm concerned, it would be equally a joke if it included either of the other two clowns.)