Posts by Ray 11

Ubuntu dev proposes new package format for mobile apps

Ubuntu Hate?

How is this different from APKs on Android?

New Zealand to bar software patents, again

FOSS

Having a minister named Foss is a good sign...

Canonical bungs kill switch onto Ubuntu's Amazon 'adware'

Is this really any different from Google Now?

If people had bothered to actually see how it worked rather than towing the "AMAZON ADS" FUD would see that it is just an extra set of results at the bottom of the dash in the other results section.

What is wrong with a universal search in Ubuntu? That is what Google Now is on Android. For the average user being able to hit the super key and type in something they want to search for is useful. The local results are prioritised at the top and other web results at the bottom.

It is a new attempt. I see other search engines being able to be plugged in and a management screen to configure everything.

Give it a try and see how it works.

Profs: Massive use of wind turbines won't destroy the environment

He is not quibbling over 2%

If you had read the article you would have read that they were claiming wind could handle 50% of the energy needs up to 2030. As noted in the article the 7.5 teraWatts would only account for 48% of the energy needs in 2012. Do we really expect a negative growth in energy usage over the next 18 years?

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hands-on review

Galaxy Tab 7.7

I recently got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Tablet as it is also a phone. I was using my Samsung Galaxy S (1) as my only internet device when not at work and I rarely make more than 5 calls a week.

The 7.7" AMOLED Plus screen is brilliant for browsing and reading and the device is small enough to just fit in a pocket so I carry it everywhere. Yes a look stupid making calls but as they are so few the benefits far outweigh this drawback.

The Nexus 7 with 3g will be a worthy successor to this tablet even if it does not support voice calling as SIP or other voip over 3g will alleviate this lack.

I think the iPad Mini will not be as useful because if Apple sticks with a 4:3 ratio the device will be too wide to fit into a pocket. If you don't always carry the device what is the point of getting the smaller one.

Don't let the size dissuade you.

Tracking Android phones is easy, says researcher

Most A-GPS does not use network for location information

Most stand alone GPSs are slow to get a first lock because they have to download data about the GPS satellite orbits from the GPS satellites. About 56KB of data but the download rate is really slow and often times out. Once the device has this data it can get a fix in a couple of seconds which is why the second fix is quick. The data is useful for about 6 days.

What most A-GPS systems do is download this orbit data from the internet rather than from the satellite which is quick. Most smart phones do this.

Google also does mapping of IP addresses to approximate locations. This is a form of A-GPS but when a phone spec says it supports A-GPS this is not what they are referring to.

Intercepting orbit data downloads is not going to help you pin point a phone. Most phones do not use tower signal strengths to pinpoint locations.

HP Pavilion dv6 15.6in quad-core notebook

Agreed, since I had my dell with a 1920x1200 I can't go back to low res screens. If we are now getting 10" tablets with 1920x1080 screens, why do manufacturers persist with only offering low res screens?

HP unveils glass-cased Ultrabook

Lets hope breaking every rule includes crappy low res 1366x768 screens

Fusion boffins crack shreddy eddy plasma puzzle

Why produce Petrol?

With a cheap electricity source, producing Hydrogen will be cheap to and we will have truly clean Hydrogen powered cars.

Ubuntu republic riven by damaging civil wars

I quite like Unity too

as does my brother-in-law who is just a user and does not do anything technical.

Dell intros '14in screen, 13in body' notebook

Why no hi-res screen?

I have 1366 x 768 in my 10" netbook. I'd want 1600 x 900 as a minimum.

Samsung seeks bans on the iPhone 4S

Apparently these are FRAND licenced...

...but Apple declined http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/04/apple_rejects_samsung/

Hologram Live

How much power do Live Wallpapers actually use?

They only use the CPU when visible and generally I don't sit with my Home screen visible the whole time and when it is visible the AMOLED screen is drawing significantly more power than the CPU for live wallpapers to really make a difference to battery life IMHO.

Samsung outs MacBook Pro lookalike laptop

Does Apple own the look for non black laptops

The Macbook is white the Samsung is brushed Steel, how dare they copy...

The Reg guide to Linux, part 3

Typo Fail

Sorry for the typo of 0.0012 instead of 0.012 but the final result was still correct, 1.2%

They know Linux is not Ubuntu

If you had bothered to read the rest of the articles in the series you would know they introduced all the major distros with pros and cons for the first time Linux user. If you are trying to get a Linux first timer to try installing Linux, Ubuntu is a great place to start.

It is this kind of whining and infighting (my distro is the real Linux) that makes MS and Apple smile and helps to hold Linux back.

Percentage Fail

1 Billion PCs of which 12 Million Ubuntu Machines (Assuming US billion of 1000000000)

= 12 000 000 / 1 000 000 000

= 0.0012

= 1.2 %

England win World Cup, says dried vulture brain

I see there is no The Register Vulture head icon in the list

Was it used by a Sangoma for muti?

Toshiba mulls hybrid flash and spinning drive

Could it act as 2 partitions?

My laptop supports one one drive and a large SSD would be out of my price range. What I would like is a 16 GB SSD for OS and Swap Partition (Linux) and a 250GB+ HDD for data. That would allow the HDD to spin down when not in use and allow for a big speed increase due to quick seek times.

Google pushes out Chrome 5 beta for Windows

But does it have a warning when closing multiple tabs?

http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=147"

Dell Studio 15

1920 on 15" is fine

I've had a Dell with a 15.4" 1920x1200 res screen and I'll never go back. Just up your DPI to 150 in Linux (or up your font sizes in Windows XP) and you can see everything fine and crisp.

Apple's 13in MacBook Pro in online strip tease

SD Card

The SD card sticking out is not a bad thing. It is not a netbook where you are using it as main storage. You will be popping it in to get photos off then pull it out. The SD card reader on my Dell has stopped holding the SD card properly and I need to hold it in while downloading so it does not shoot out. Even before it was fiddly to eject.