* Posts by Stephen 2

200 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jun 2009

Page:

Amazon UK to offer collection service at corner shops

Stephen 2

Save the environment and the wallet?

If there were enough orders going to a single shop, then perhaps Amazon could put multiple items in one box and have it opened up at the shop. Or maybe even just strike a deal with the courier since it involves less work than going to multiple locations.

Google wingmen rain Project Glass on San Francisco

Stephen 2

Agreed. I'd happily spend $1500 on them

Ten... dual-band wireless routers

Stephen 2

Re: Surprised...

I use the time capsule which is pretty much just the Airport Extreme with a HD inside it. It's nice to be able to push 5ghz for the laptops and desktops and then 2.4ghz for the gadgets like phones and tablets.

I've never had it crash, something that I've experienced who knows how many times with d-link and other cheaper alternatives.

So it's reliable but it doesn't really give you much control over things. It's a bit too dumbed down for my liking and the latest airport update seems to have taken even more options away.

My favorite routers for reliability and technical options are from Draytek. I really can't praise them enough. We use them at the office for dual-wan (the ONLY reliable option I've found, even against dedicated linux boxes and expensive cisco boxes that need 50 technicians to maintain) and just for regular access too.

Apple introduces 'next generation' MacBook Pro with retina display

Stephen 2

Mac OS X doesn't scale for big resolutions

I recently bought a monitor that can support the same high resolution as the Apple Cinema Display (2560x1440) but after using it for a few minutes I realised that nothing is readable at that size! Load windows and it's fine, but mac, no deal!

I searched around various Apple forums and it seems that everyone is saying the same thing. There are some hacks you can use to try make it a bit better but what's the point in running that high resolution if you have to hack things together to get readable text.

So what more on these new 'retina' resolutions?

1,000 Foxconn iPad workers trash dorms in riot against guards

Stephen 2

Desktop computers full of Foxconn stuff

I took apart two old desktop computers at the weekend and there was tonnes of stuff in them with the foxconn name. Why does Apple keep getting slung onto these "news" reports but no one else?

Terror cops hunt laptop snatched from retired MI5 spookmistress

Stephen 2

You'd think she, of all people, would be more careful

The title says it all.

Apple confirms WWDC keynote for June 11

Stephen 2

Re: Looking at the mac buyers guide..

I'm not bothered by iphones, ipods or ipads. I'm talking about full computer systems like the Macbook Pro, Mac Pro and Imac. All of which are lagging behind current technology.

They're far behind the usual updates for the Mac Pro and Imac and tbh the last macbook pro update was pretty minuscule.

I'm not moaning because I have an issue with Apple, I'm moaning because my Apple tech is getting outdated and can't keep up with what I want to do. I could go elsewhere, sure, but I like Apple stuff. I don't want to get into an argument over 'its the same as over x86' stuff cos it's not. The screens are amazing, the comfort is amazing and generally you're actually getting quite a lot for your money.

Stephen 2

Looking at the mac buyers guide..

you'd wonder if apple died with Steve. Most of the products haven't been updated for nearly a year or more!

UK Border Agency servers go titsup, thousands grounded

Stephen 2

A grand for a visa

Over a grand for a 24 hour turnaround on a visa? That' seems insanely expensive!

Google fined for stalling Street View cars' Wi-Fi slurp probe

Stephen 2

Re: Everyone smells Google money!

Phone lines are unencrypted.. but you can't just go to the front of someones house, splice the wire and start listening in.

Our wifi data didn't just accidentally fall into their systems. They purposely made software to grab and store this data.

Stephen 2

Re: Google is laughing

Uhhuh, cos there wasn't weeks spent on the code that slurped data and there wasn't weeks or months of testing. And no one signed off on all the HD space required for the data in the cars and the huge database of data back at HQ.

Right... just an accidental misconfiguration.

Watch a 747 refit in just 105 seconds

Stephen 2

Pretty cool

Fun to watch although as you said, it would be nice to have a bit of info about the whole thing.

Kogeto Dot 360° video lens

Stephen 2

Saw something similar on Kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1106196796/the-gopano-micro-a-lens-for-capturing-360-video-on?ref=live

40,000 XO PCs destroyed in Peru fire

Stephen 2

Re: And here *I* though...

I still don't understand why they couldn't just sell the laptops worldwide for $99 + shipping. Surely the more of them they make, the lower the price of manufacturing becomes.

Sure they had a short period where you could buy one for yourself and one for someone else, which came in at like $240. But come on, just sell them to the masses at a dirt cheap price and it will eventually help the whole goal of the company.

Hell, If you offered us geeks one of those laptops for $99 plus shipping, I'm sure most of us would jump on it. Just for the sake of seeing how well a laptop really can run on solar+winding power!

Human 4G masts assemble roaming hobonet for pennies

Stephen 2

Meh

It's a bad business model, it's obviously not gonna be of any real use. It's obviously just an attention grabbing advertising idea.

Tbh, any way for homeless people to earn some money is better than nothing. It's up to them whether they want to do it or not.

World's Raspberry Pi supply jammed in factory blunder

Stephen 2

I don't even want ethernet

I'll be hooking up one of those tiny little usb wifi adapters.

New iPad 4G data connection will only work in America

Stephen 2

4g in Germany

Is it not possible that Apple would release a different hardware ipad for Germany that matches their frequency? Or is that kinda big deal?

Apple pushes out Mac OS X update to fix Time Machine fail

Stephen 2

Re: Seems OK to me

Same here.

Comparing time machine backup to HD cloners and such like seems a bit of an oranges and apples scenario. I have a time capsule so my laptop backs up wirelessly every so often. No need for me to do anything at all and I can grab a copy of an old file at various stages of its life. Throughout my Windows/Linux/OS X life, I've never come across a better/easier backup system than Time Machine.

If my harddrive was to go tits up right now, I could swap it out for another and restore from an automated backup which is less than an hour old. A backup that I had absolutely no interference with, I didn't have to remember to do it or fiddle with anything, it was just done magically in the background :)

Linux PC-in-a-stick to cost coders £139

Stephen 2

Re: Bootable USB

Indeed, it's a bit confusing really!

You need to plug it into a usb port to power it, chances are that usb port will be a laptop or computer, which you could just use as a.... computer.

Sure you could plug it into a usb wall wart but meh. They've pushed for a usb stick style just for the "cool" factor I think.

Apple's Messages beta will self-destruct on Mountain Lion launch

Stephen 2

Ryan from the Office already did this

Anyone watch the episode of "The Office" where Ryan 'the temp' created something called 'WOOF' which would alert you to an incoming message by phone,sms,fax,computer etc. Sounds quite similar to this offering from Apple!

Sky to open net telly channels to all

Stephen 2

Agreed, haggle with them if you want a discount

When I did it, they refused to do anything so I just had to play along with the cancellation and then at the last moment they finally made an offer. This was a couple of years ago, I don't have Sky anymore.

"Sky to open net telly channels to all" - Anyone know if this means 'to all' or if it's going to be restricted to UK IP addresses?

Flag-waving Lego Canuck soars to 80,000ft

Stephen 2

More interested

In the fact that it travelled over 100km in such a short distance of time. If you could somehow direct it then it could be a good way of moving light loads (i.e urgent post) around.

Boffins cook up transparent solar car roof

Stephen 2

Like the glass in private rooms @ night clubs?

Where you apply power and it goes from clear to blocked out/frosted.

Kiwis collar Megaupload kingpin, Anonymous exacts revenge

Stephen 2

@Jan and @AC:

I'm not sure where you're getting your facts about megaupload. They've always been VERY fast to respond to DMCA requests and to remove content that allegedly infringes copyright.

Stephen 2

Like youtube

They're as guilty of copyright infringement as youtube, mediafire, rapidshare etc.

The real deal: http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/onplj/feds_shut_down_megaupload/c3in8qx

Google boots out contractors for allegedly damaging OpenStreetMap

Stephen 2

every time google are caught

they say that it was just a rogue employee or a contractor or someone who is only loosely affiliated with the company. It's amazing how many people eat that shit up and still bow at Googles feet.

Nearly every decent service that comes out of them was either bought up and relabeled as a Google Beta servie or copied from a competitor and slightly improved.

Google to join Wednesday's anti-SOPA protest

Stephen 2

Doodle

you mean like this - http://i.imgur.com/bXtID.png ?

NHS fined £375k after stolen patient data flogged on eBay

Stephen 2

Idiots?

Why are the ICO so quick to throw huge fines at councils and (now) the NHS? But they dare not go near big corporations?

In this case the NHS followed the rules and paid for secure destruction. They got screwed over.

Sites knocked offline by OpenDNS freeze on Google

Stephen 2

mmm well personally

I think El Reg could have made more of a point that this will ONLY effect those who have opted to use openDNS (or whose ISP pushes them out as the default servers).

Homeland Sec., RIAA Torrent lists published

Stephen 2

Dynamic IP

The website doesn't seem to take into account that many people are stil on dynamic IPs.

I can see what other people have downloaded on this IP but the garbage text waffles on about it being *me*.

US spy drone hijacked with GPS spoof hack, report says

Stephen 2

Log the drones position every 60 seconds. Compare its new position to the old position. If new position is too far from the old one, message HQ for help and continue flying without initiating landing sequence.

Grand Theft Auto 3 fires towards fondleslabs

Stephen 2

No go on the kindle fire

So after patiently waiting for ~400mb to download, I've sorry to say it doesn't work on the Kindle Fire.

The app opens and it does the opening animations/credits but then the screen goes black and the game exits.

Shame :(

Stephen 2

I tried

I tried playing a similar style game on an ipod touch. I found it a real pain in the butt and was always loosing control. Maybe if you spend long enough playing then you can get used to it..

Stephen 2

Downloading on my Kindle Fire now

I've got it downloading on the Kindle Fire now. It's downloading around 400mb so it might take awhile on my connection. I'll come back and confirm whether it works or not.

Asus Tegra 3, Android 4 tablet priced up for Brits

Stephen 2

Wow that's quite a beast of a machine. I like that the keyboard is an exact copy of the current macbook models.

Amazon preps major update for Kindle Fire UI

Stephen 2

Hardware = Good. Software = Bad

When I first got my Kindle Fire, I was worried that I'd bought a pile of junk. It was so unresponsive to prods.

Then I swapped out some of the stock software for alternatives. E.g. I loaded up Dolphin HD web browser. I couldn't believe the difference! Nearly every click worked perfectly in Dolphin! In the Amazon Silk browser I'd have to click several times before it finally registered it.

The same thing goes for most of the other Amazon apps. I dunno what they've done wrong but it's a big cock up. I'm glad they're going to fix it.

Aside from that, I've really got no other major gripes with the Kindle Fire. You can use a microphone with some apps (inline headphone type). I got it working with an audio recorder but most apps can't use the mic. I'd like to see them add proper support for it so we can use Skype. It's half way there so it shouldn't be hard for them to do it!

Also the onboard chip that handles Wifi also appears to have bluetooth and FM built in. Not overly bothered about them getting enabled but it wouldn't hurt. May allow us to hook up a bluetooth GPS and run TomTom or something.

TBH I'm looking forward to those geniuses over at cyanogenmod and xda-developers releasing the ICS rom for Kindle Fire so I can just run regular Android 4.0 without any of the Amazon stuff. I'm not in the US so there's no benefit for me anyway. They're nuts if they think their UI changes make android look better than other third party apps like Go Launcher.

Stephen 2

Hardware = Good. Software = Bad

When I first got my Kindle Fire, I was worried that I'd bought a pile of junk. It was so unresponsive to prods.

Then I swapped out some of the stock software for alternatives. E.g. I loaded up Dolphin HD web browser. I couldn't believe the difference! Nearly every click worked perfectly in Dolphin! In the Amazon Silk browser I'd have to click several times before it finally registered it.

The same thing goes for most of the other Amazon apps. I dunno what they've done wrong but it's a big cock. I'm glad they're going to fix it.

Aside from that, I've really got no other major gripes with the Kindle Fire. You can use a microphone with some apps (inline headphone type). I got it working with an audio recorder but most apps can't use the mic. I'd like to see them add proper support for it so we can use Skype. It's half way there so it shouldn't be hard for them to do it!

Also the onboard chip that handles Wifi also appears to have bluetooth and FM built in. Wouldn't Not overly bothered about them getting enabled but it wouldn't hurt. May allow us to hook up a bluetooth GPS and run TomTom or something.

TBH I'm looking forward to those geniuses over at cyanogenmod and xda-developers releasing the ICS rom for Kindle Fire so I can just run regular Android 4.0 without any of the Amazon stuff. I'm not in the US so there's no benefit for me anyway. They're nuts if they think their UI changes make android look better than other third party apps like Go Launcher.

iPad 3 out in March/April say part maker moles

Stephen 2

I'm glad I bought the Kindle Fire now

I was holding off buying a Kindle Fire because I wanted an ipad (mainly just for the camera, I guess partly for iOS). Anyway, I'm glad I gave up waiting now that it seems more likely that the ipad 3 wont be released in January.

I'll consider selling the Kindle Fire when the ipad3 comes out though! Looking forward to seeing what comes out from Apple.

Dell XPS 14z 14in Core i5 notebook

Stephen 2

Fatbook Pro?

Wow, it's like a mix of the 2008 Macbook pro and the 2011 Macbook pro - just fatter and uglier.

Four Romanians charged with hacking 150 Subway shops

Stephen 2

150 subway stores

What's the chances that Subway used one password for ALL of their POS machines?

Google's Schmidt strikes Carrier IQ off Xmas card list

Stephen 2
Mushroom

Pot calling the kettle black

Goto: Title

OpenDNS puts crypto in beta

Stephen 2

The hack doesn't require that the user has an openDNS account - it simply requires that they're using openDNS.

Remember that it doesn't have to be used as a targeted attack. You could just put the code up on any busy website and hit any openDNS user who happens to access the website.

Stephen 2

Fix other issues first

I'd like them to fix other issues before worrying about encryption. It's trivially easy ( http://www.esrun.co.uk/blog/hijacking-an-opendns-user/ ) to hijack an openDNS user and have all their DNS queries put through your own account!

Does your smartphone run Carrier IQ? Find out here

Stephen 2

I did read that in the original story and at no point did I blame El Reg.

“Our technology is not real time,” he said at the time. "It's not constantly reporting back. It's gathering information up and is usually transmitted in small doses.”

This quote is vague and does not specify what data is being sent. It could be the personal data that was shown in the usb data log video or it could simply be a non-personalised overview of data which doesn't include keystrokes and such like.

So before you get on your high horse, YOU try comprehend the data :)

Stephen 2

Heya,

My original comment was meant to be removed after I spoke with the author of this article earlier in the day. When I noticed it hadn't been removed, I again withdrew it.

My concern was that comments on other stories about Carrier IQ hadn't been approved, yet the article had been updated to reflect the concerns outlined in those comments. With the comment count suspiciously low, I wanted to know if El Reg is reporting fairly on this story.

I want to see sniffed data from a consumer. The quote from Carrier IQ doesn't make it clear what data is/isn't sent back to them. For all we know, it could just have launched apps sent back, nothing more. So far there's not been any proof that our sensitive data (such as keyboard presses) is being sent to them or anyone else.

Stephen 2

Snooping or logging?

I want to see some packet sniffing going on to see if this data really is being sent off somewhere. Are they actively snooping on the world or are they just overzealous with their logging.

If the data is just sitting in a log file on the phone and not being sent off anywhere then it's not that much different from your phones regular call logs, sms inbox and sent items storage and so on. It's a bit more intrusive but are they really snooping on us?

US Senator demands answers from Carrier IQ

Stephen 2

Log reader, not packet sniffer

The video that was posted here on thereg the other day showed the guy reading a log file over USB, he wasn't using a packet sniffer and his video didn't show the data being sent off anywhere.

I said it then, and I'll say it now, I want to see proof that the data is actually being sent off somewhere and isn't just a log file on the phone.

Apple Thunderbolt Display 27in monitor

Stephen 2

The quality is absolutely stunning. I've yet to see a better screen ANYWHERE. But 900 quid? Seriously? And it's only 27 inches.

I regularly blow money on Apple products but even I couldn't justify this.

Anyone know of a screen with comparable quality for less?

Boffin's bot spots red light jumpers before they kill

Stephen 2

How long before

How long before we see stories of people slamming on their brakes and getting hit from the rear, all because their car told them that someone at the intersection ahead was about to the jump the red light. And then guess what, the guy ahead didn't even jump the red light!

Page: