* Posts by Si 1

441 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jun 2009

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Amazon quietly un-wipes remotely wiped Kindle

Si 1
Big Brother

So the question is....

How many other Kindle owners out there have had their collection wiped by Amazon and not been fortunate enough to garner any kind of attention in the press to force Amazon to change their minds?

Apple unsheathes MacBook 13-incher

Si 1

The only snag...

... is it only has Intel's HD4000 graphics chip on board. The 15" model has an overclocked Nvidia 650M which is at fairly decent for games (although not ideal for running at the full resolution). I can't see many games being able to run at "retina" resolution with Intel's piddly graphics on board on the 13" model.

Google adds 25 million grey building 'footprints' to Maps

Si 1

Re: It has to be said...

I doubt Google would have rolled this out to iOS, it looks like something that would be added to their vector maps but not the static tiles version that iOS was stuck with. It's probably worth mentioning that Apple's new maps also have building and house outlines for many cities and can also display them in 3D (using a simplified version of the 3D flyover data).

Apple: Blue-shirts can fix iOS Maps in their spare time

Si 1

Re: But how

If there's something missing you tap and hold on the location until a pin drops onto it. Then you choose "Report a Problem" -> "Information is incorrect" and then enter the name, address, phone, hours, URL and category of the location. I've done it a few times now and they've appeared fairly quickly.

Sony PS3 sales soar on slimmer system

Si 1

One bit of speculation I've seen recently is that Nvidia are up to their old tricks and are blocking Sony from putting the RSX and Cell onto a single chip. Nvidia pulled something similar with MS on the Xbox 1 so I wouldn't be surprised if Nvidia were doing it again, especially if the rumours of AMD winning the design for the PS4 are true.

So all Sony can do is try to save costs elsewhere like on the system casing and drives.

When it happened to MS they just dumped the Xbox 1 and moved on to the next generation. Sony on the other hand don't really have that luxury as the whole company is currently struggling to turn a profit. If it were up to them I'd bet they would have loved to stick with the PS3 for another 5 years!

Instagram on iPhone 5: Now you can spoil even MORE snaps

Si 1
Big Brother

Where's the article rating feature gone?

Just curious but why has the ability to rate an article disappeared? Has it been disabled because it was being abused? I've noticed iOS/Android articles tend to be quite harshly rated if the author says something unpopular, even if there's nothing specifically incorrect or inaccurate to the journalism.

Apple begs ex-Google bods to fix crap maps app

Si 1

Re: The problem is ALWAYS the PEOPLE.

Indeed. While it's currently cool to bash Apple's maps, I think the underlying system is fairly competent, it's the data that's crap. Throwing more programmers at it isn't going to help, like you say it requires lots of cheap eyeballs to sort out the flaws in the data.

Windows 8: Never mind Office, it's for GAMING

Si 1

If it's an advantage it's one they're squandering

I'm pretty certain if MS were to launch a tablet and phone combo with ports/spin-offs of Gears of War, Halo, Forza, etc it would garner a significant amount of gamer interest. However I've seen absolutely no signs of MS trying to use their IPs to their advantage.

Microsoft's decision to sell ARM and x86 tablets is also a baffling one to me. Don't get me wrong, I love ARM but based on the rumoured specs of the x86 Surface with an i5 CPU in there it's far more interesting as it has the potential to run fairly recent PC games and a significant proportion of emulators. Why MS isn't going full steam ahead with that platform I don't know.

I think MS are sitting on a gaming goldmine and they're ignoring it to faff around with Notro and hiding the start button...

iPhone 5 tops benchmark chart

Si 1

How does the benchmark differ between platforms? Surely it's not much use as a benchmark if it doesn't perform the same tests on both? I've never used it so I've no idea why it's not able to produce a comparable result.

That said, it doesn't look like a very reliable benchmark, half the Galaxy SIII results show the devices have 0KB in cache and the number of cores varies all over the place, with many showing 1 or 3 cores! There are also lots of overclocked SIIIs with scores the same as or lower than stock SIIIs which makes me wonder if people are somehow overclocking during the benchmark and then scaling back to stock when it reads the clock speed... (http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/chart?q=model%3A%22Samsung+Galaxy+S+III%22+platform%3A%22Android%22+architecture%3AARM+bits%3A32+)

I also question the validity of a benchmark that doesn't appear to test the GPU's performance. Given that both iOS and Android accelerate the UI using the GPU it would make sense to take GPU performance into account. Also, looking at the benchmark it tests things like image blur and image compress using the CPU, which are tasks more suited to using the GPU.

iPhone 5: skinny li'l fella with better display, camera, software

Si 1

Re: Evolutionary

I also think the A6 is quite a surprise. All the predictions were it would just be a downclocked A5X or a clocked up 28nm version of the A5 like in the recent iPad 2 refresh. Of course it could still be one of those two, just with a new name, but for it to deliver double the performance it might have more under the bonnet than expected. I doubt it's a quad core though as I'm sure they would have mentioned it!

Google sneaks in back door, slips YouTube onto iPhone 5

Si 1
Unhappy

I wouldn't exactly call the new app "better"

Personally I'm not hugely impressed with the new YouTube app. For starters my biggest pet peeve still hasn't been addressed: playlists don't auto-play the next entry in the list, it still has to be done manually. My next biggest gripe is background playback is gone, so I can't carry on listening to something while doing something else.

They've also used their own progress bar on the videos meaning the "fine scrubbing" feature is lost. Playlists and favourites have been buried much further down into the menus. There's no ability to add videos to the Watch Later list either.

Also, unless something has changed in the last few hours, the app isn't universal so there currently isn't an iPad version of the app, which is going to be a bit crap if iOS6 launches and the iPad is left without a YouTube app (I'm not a fan of the mobile site as it doesn't play full screen, it leaves the browser controls visible and just fits the browsable area. I've no idea why they did it like that as the iPad is perfectly capable of playing videos full screen on other websites).

All in all, not a good start. :(

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Si 1

Controller

I would argue that unless you have an N64 USB adaptor it's tricky to enjoy Ocarina of Time with an emulator. The N64 had six face buttons on its controller, while most joypads only have four. This means the C-buttons cannot easily be mapped to the face of a controller.

On the Wii Virtual Console version, Nintendo have mapped the C-buttons to the analogue stick, which I found to be usable but not ideal. Often I would try to select one item and accidentally nudge the stick too far along another axis and end up using something else entirely. It's also pretty fiddly when you want to rapidly fire arrows or the slingshot.

Also, I find most emulators can't use the rumble on modern joypads which means the Stone of Agony doesn't work either.

I think the best options are to get an N64 pad and USB adapter for the emulator or play it on the original hardware or get the 3DS version.

Internet Explorer needs fresh dev infusion for a full recovery

Si 1

Agreed, I generally find IE8 to be quite well behaved only requiring a few specific CSS hacks to make sites work (if any). Compared with the huge amounts of extra CSS I would have to generate for IE6 and IE7 it's a big improvement. Debugging on IE8 is crap, but generally I find the JS engine to be fairly well behaved too. It's not perfect but it's good progress.

If anything, I wish other browsers supported the <!--[if IE 6]> way of hiding browser specific stuff, as ever so occasionally Safari or Opera will display differently to everything else and it would be nice to have one tidy method for including specific .css hack files rather than doing anything server side or in JS to detect other browsers.

Why Java would still stink even if it weren't security swiss cheese

Si 1

Re: Trevor, I love you

I remember the good old days at Uni working on a Java applet game for my final year project. Back then (~1999) Microsoft were busy trying to sabotage Java by including their own Virtual Machine with Windows. Their Win 98 VM was an interesting beast in that it was much faster than the Sun VM but also much less compatible (for example Sun's VM would run the midi music in the game, the MS VM could only manage to play wav files IIRC).

Even better was Microsoft's VM on Win NT, which would randomly stop the for loops in my code whenever it felt like it, causing all sorts of odd bugs. Of course Microsoft's piece de resistance was J++. It allowed you to use all sorts of proprietary Windows components in your apps and applets to ensure they wouldn't run on anything other than Windows. An epic piece of evilness by MS. They just aren't as devious these days...

Ghostbusters

Si 1

Re: Just when you thought it was safe to make a cup of tea....

Yes, just what I was going to say! I remember Invade-a-load popping up the first time the game was loading and thinking it was an utterly brilliant way to deal with the long load times. Anyone know if it was C64 only or if the Speccy version had it too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqCR6xnv1kE

Apple accuses Samsung of abusing its 3G power

Si 1
Headmaster

Minor error

It wasn't 75 witnesses it was a 75-page document containing details on 22 witnesses.

Microsoft: It's not Metro, it's Windows 8

Si 1

Well this makes things much easier

Now I can just say I don't want Windows 8 in my Windows 8.

YouTube app wrenched from next Apple iPhones, iPads

Si 1

Re: good, this can only be useful

Yep, when I first heard the news I was a bit worried/disappointed as I do use the app quite a lot, but if Google can release a decent standalone app I'm hoping they can add in a lot of features that I've been missing for some time.

In particular I'm really hoping for proper playlist support where it can automatically play the next video in the playlist (along with shuffle and loop options), automatic background playback would be nice and the ability to add videos to a quickplay list would also be very useful.

I just hope Google don't cripple the app as part of the on-going tit-for-tat between them and Apple.

'Sacrifice another goat!: iCloud is Apple's biggest failure before Google

Si 1

Re: iCloud works for me.

Same here, it would be nice if the article author had put a bit more detail into what specifically iCloud was failing to do for him. I find my appointments, notes, documents, reminders, music, etc all sync very nicely. I've never had something not show up or a sync fail.

My only real criticism of iCloud is that parts of it aren't free (iTunes Match would be nice to have, but not nice enough that I'd pay for it) and that for no explicable reason if you switch iCloud sync on, your device will no longer automatically sync with your desktop, it has to be triggered manually. I don't really see why that restriction exists. Surely two automatic backups are better than one?!

Orange San Diego Intel-based Android phone

Si 1

Does AnTuTu use JNI/NDK?

I'm curious about the difference between the AnTuTu benchmark and Sunspider. Obviously they're very different tests but while AnTuTu suggests middling performance the Sunspider result suggests a chip that can keep up with the quad-core chip in the SIII.

So I'm wondering is AnTuTu running via the Binary Translator and taking a performance hit or is AnTuTu multi-threaded and showing up limitations of the Intel chip when trying to run several threads at once?

Who runs UK? 'Tories, Lib Dems and Google' says Labour

Si 1

If they're so close, how come David Cameron has an iPad?

Windows Metro Maoist cadres reach desktop, pound it flat

Si 1
FAIL

Re: Experience learnt from Vista

Until today I didn't think Microsoft could possibly fuck things up worse than they did with Vista, but it appears I was wrong...

That new 'Microsoft GCSE': We reveal what's in it

Si 1

Re: Good words

I'm not so sure about the lack of any guidance on programming languages. If it's anything like my computer science degree where every lecturer rolled out their favourite obscure pet programming language (including one lecturer who'd written his own) I think there's a risk of kids being taught a language that has little industry demand.

While I do think being exposed to so many different languages helped hammer home how similar most of them are and how easy it is to learn a new programming language from scratch, I can't say I've ever had cause to use my skills in things like Eiffel or SmallTalk and would rather have had more time getting deeper into C or Java.

Still, if the alternative is everyone leaving school with just Visual Basic skills I'm all for a little diversity!

Dual-dock prototype iPad eyed on eBay

Si 1
Joke

Soundwave?!

One of the icons on there is of the Transformer Soundwave. Presumably this prototype once transformed into an '80s boombox of at the touch of an icon. Definitely more than meets the eye...

Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy S III

Si 1

Video in a window

I know it might sound funny, but the ability to keep a video playing in a little window while I do other things is actually something that has me seriously considering the Galaxy S III as my next phone. I might be very happy with my iPhone 4, but Apple now really need to do something amazing to keep me from switching. If their next phone is another 4s they've had it, even if there are fewer games on Android.

Star Trek's Wesley Crusher blasts Google+ landgrab

Si 1
Big Brother

So what's going on with the Like/Dislike buttons on YouTube?

They disappeared for me about 2 months ago to be replaced with the G+ button, but then about a month ago they came back. Are they appearing/disappearing for people at different times or am I missing the point about what's going on?

Kaspersky: Apple security is like Microsoft's in 2002

Si 1
Devil

I don't think Apple will do anything...

Personally, I think Apple's answer to this will be the Gatekeeper feature in Mountain Lion. It basically lets the user select between running anything or only apps signed for the App Store.

I strongly suspect that "App Store-only" will be Apple's "default" mode and if a user chooses to leave the walled garden then Apple will take no responsibility for anything that forces its way onto users' system.

Assuming it actually does block all malware when switched on it's a clever way to side-step the problem without actually dealing with it...

Major science fiction publisher to zap DRM

Si 1

I think the Megadodo Publishing Corporation has been putting pressure on them.

Look back in Ascii: Computing in the 1980s

Si 1
IT Angle

Frontios

Sorry Christopher, if you're reading I need to talk Doctor Who for just a second. I'd just like to say Frontios is one of my absolute favourite Doctor Who stories, the whole thing was great from start to finish.

I'd love to see the Tractators revisited in the new series, I'm sure with CGI they could do justice to them curling up into a ball like a pillbug. That said, the recent Silurian story borrowed very heavily from Frontios with people being sucked into the ground which is a bit of a shame.

'Unibody' iPhone 5 said to debut in October

Si 1
Unhappy

Re: 4G on an iPhone? I can't wait!

Is it so hard for you to believe some people buy iPhones because they're good pieces of kit? Why do you feel the need to tar all iPhone owners as people who would buy anything with an Apple logo?

Aliens Blu-ray disc set

Si 1
Thumb Up

Still my favourite film ever

It's been my favourite film since I saw it on VHS back in the '80s. I'm not sure how old I was, but I definitely wasn't 18!

I'm really looking forward to Prometheus, the only thing that could get me more excited than Ridley Scott making a new Aliens film is James Cameron making a new Aliens film.

Home Sec: Web snoop law will snare PAEDOS, TERRORISTS

Si 1
FAIL

Re: hmmmm...

Yes, I spotted that bit of bullshit too. First she said: "No one is going to be looking through ordinary people's emails or Facebook posts."

But if that's the case, then how will they know to investigate or suspect someone of being a terrorist or paedo in the first place? They have to snoop in order to know!

And of course as we all know any terrorist/paedo/criminal with at least two brain cells to rub together will know to encrypt and obfuscate their communications so that they're impossible to track/read. An utter waste of tax payers money.

Vote now for the WORST movie EVER

Si 1
Facepalm

No Bayformers?

Surely Bay's three Transformers films count as crimes against both celluloid and humanity?

Climate-change scepticism must be 'treated', says enviro-sociologist

Si 1

Re: I'll consider myself cured, then

You can't call it global warming any more, they had to change the name to climate change after the warming stopped about 10 years ago.

Female Chinese astronauts must have no scars, straight teeth

Si 1

Scars opening up!?

I've got a large scar on my arm from when I broke it once. Does this mean my dream of one day being an astronaut is knackered then?

Judge orders O2 to name suspected smut burglars

Si 1
Big Brother

Why did they go after O2?

Was this a case of picking off a smaller ISP with less legal resources so they could then move on to bigger ISPs after setting a bit of a legal precedent?

Microsoft set to launch Xbox Lite in 2013

Si 1
WTF?

ARM based 360???

I'm sorry but how is an ARM CPU supposed to stand in for the 360's PowerPC based Xenon CPU? It's not going to happen is it? The instruction set is wrong and there's blatantly not going to be enough horsepower for emulation.

Reading the original rumour it's clearly a Windows on ARM powered set top box with Kinect compatibility and built-in apps like Netflix, not a slimmed down, backwards compatible Xbox 360.

OAP sues Apple for $1m after walking into store's glass door

Si 1

Did the window have an oleophobic coating and was it made from Gorilla glass?

Ten... new games you may have missed

Si 1
Thumb Up

Binary Domain

It's great to see Binary Domain in the list, I think it's quite the underrated gem, mixing elements of Terminator with Gears of War and a small dollop of Mass Effect character interaction. To be honest after the bad taste the Mass Effect 3 ending left in my mouth this is the game I've gone back to replay again.

Despite having very cliched seeming characters, the sci-fi story on offer actually asks some interesting questions about what it means to be human or a robot and where the line between the two is drawn...

New iPad can't get its Wi-Fi up

Si 1

Re: I can honestly say that

Are you still waiting for Apple to ship yours? Me too!

Osborne names UK cities to land £100m broadband bonanza

Si 1

While it is annoying that I get faster broadband over a Three HSPA+ dongle than I do via BT's rusty wires, I knew I what I was getting into when I moved out of a large-ish town for the countryside. Of course with Cameron's plans to concrete over the countryside I'm sure a major conurbation will be sprawling in my direction soon.

Fragmentation bomb wounds Android in developer war

Si 1

Opportunists

Looking at that graph the Android dip starts at exactly the same time that Windows Phone 7 started gaining. My guess is that these developers losing interest in Android are perhaps early opportunists looking to exploit an initially empty Android app store with clones of successful apps on iOS.

Now that the Android app store has matured and has plenty of decent apps, they're off to the fresh pastures of Windows Phone 7 where clones and simple apps once again have a chance of selling.

Apple New iPad Wi-Fi only

Si 1
Happy

I'm upgrading from an iPad 1. My main reason being the lack of RAM (256MB) in the first model. While it just about copes, surfing with multiple tabs quickly becomes a problem with the device forgetting the page I've just looked at because I've switched tabs. The single core CPU is a bit slow at loading web pages too, and the upgrade to iOS 5.1 seems to have made things just a touch slower all round as well.

I'm definitely looking forward to the new screen, but a faster more stable device is also something I'm really looking forward to. I was such a sceptic when Apple announce the iPad, yet it hardly leaves my side these days!

The true, tragic cost of British wind power

Si 1
Mushroom

With any luck Chris Huhne will be off to prison for lying about his speeding ticket and the government can put someone who doesn't listen to whale music in charge of building a new generation of nuclear plants. It's a pity our nuclear skills have been allowed to atrophy to the point that we need to buy in French expertise to build the new reactors.

Of course that assumes we won't have all the scaremongers spreading FUD about nuclear power...

Cameron denies personal Trident missile firing iPad app

Si 1
Thumb Up

Re: If only

I would so buy that game.

New Yorker sues Apple: 'Misleading and deceptive' Siri ads

Si 1
Alien

The New iPad

If Apple's servers are struggling to process Siri requests, that would perhaps explain why the new iPad doesn't have Siri. It seemed like such an obvious feature to add, yet it doesn't have it, but if Apple are overloaded then that would explain a lot...

Mass Effect 3

Si 1
Unhappy

I completely agree

The endings are awful. I finished the game earlier today and I was utterly gobsmacked by how bad the three ending options were. It was Deus Ex Human Revolution all over again, except this time it's the end to an epic trilogy rather than a single game being spoiled.

Would it have been so hard to do a Return of the Jedi-style "Yub-Nub" ending? :(

Carmageddon

Si 1

I never played this one thanks to not owning a PC with the horsepower to run it, but it does remind me of the old DOS classic Quarantine, which helpfully had windscreen wipers for when you ran pedestrians over: http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/146/Quarantine.html

Labour targets Tories' Google problem

Si 1

I stopped reading as soon as I read Harriet Harperson's name.

Dell Latitude E6220 12.5in Core i7 notebook

Si 1

Tell me about it. What's the point of all that i7 horse power if you're going to shackle it to Intel's pathetic graphics chip. Given the thickness of the casing they should have had plenty of room to squeeze a dedicated graphics card from nVidia or AMD in there (Dell's Alienware brand has an 11" system with an i7 and a decent dedicated graphics chip).

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