Posts by AndyS

Regulator reckons telly advert caps are just peachy

the X Factor is basically an hour-long product placement

Luckily, though, nobody watches that drivel. Right?

Paul Allen latest plan: Space rockets on MEGA PLANE

On the mark here:

"Obviously people who are a lot smarter than mean have done the calculations"

Women love phone cams, for snapping pics of cute babies

Anna, stop this nonsense and get back to looking after the kids! Honestly, clogging up our tech site...

Spillover from 400lb man squeezed fellow flier into galley

Funny how few people have those "genes" in countries where calories cost more, isn't it?

Kindle Fire: An open letter to Jeff Bezos

never smoked astroturf...

That's nice. I'm sure you're telling the truth too, as one of only 6 or 7 people who signed up specifically to say you're taking your fire back, cos it's not as good as your ipad. I'm sure you're not astroturfing. Honestly.

Good grief, another astroturfer signing up specifically to talk about returning the fire. Someone at Apple must be very scared.

Americans' right to hang fake balls on trucks left dangling

Didn't quite follow that

I'm sorry, but, what?

Olloclip three-in-one lens

Inventor?

Pedant moment, but this annoys me. One does not "invent" a gadget.

UK punters happy to pay £3 to top up e-wallets

Mugs?

How do you suggest we book flights these days then? The wrong-doing isn't always on the part of the (abused?) consumer.

Anonymous/LulzSec chick-lit MP kid threat pooh-poohed

title.

Wow, fair bit of hate around for this woman. From what I've heard of her, she seems refreshingly honest. Which you you prefer - a straight "yeah, that was me," or the weasel mouthed "but I didn't inhale" type of answer we've come to expect from politicians? Sticking the answer out in public may seem like publicity hunting, or it may be a very effective way of castrating the "journalist" trying to corner her.

Insulin pump attack prompts call for federal probe

title

Not that it can't, just that it hasn't yet.

New Apple move against Galaxy Tab on Euro front

title

This isn't about patents, it's about the over-all design of the device. But in either case, I suspect retailers could be held responsible for selling an item over which there is an injunction, but doubt Apple would chase them.

Can't wait for the fanbois to flame me now whoohoo! lol

Oh do shut up.

title

The injunction isn't to do with a patent, it's the over-all design of the device.

Scientists devise 260GB CD-size glass disc storage tech

Surely that's about...

...one pico-football pitch?

Sky Movies too expensive, says Competition Commission

title.

If so, it's not a day too soon.

Sage looking to mind Mind Your Own Business' business

title

"...which offers similar services"

What's that then? Not that I can't google, but you know, it's kind of central to the article?

MySpace site glitch mistaken for hack attack

title

At least it wasn't Islamicists, like the ones in Norway, eh?

Google lands patent for, um, estimating shipment time

title?

In a previous job, I had to do a patent search relating to unconvntionally powered cars. My favourite one I came across was for powering a car with a steam engine.

Like, you know, the first cars ever made, in the eighteen hundreds. Talk about prior art.

Atlantis crew pay awkward tribute to 'iconic' shuttle

GPCs in standby

Can anyone explain why a computer which has crashed is kept in active duty, while others are in standby? I would have thought after a crash it would be put straight into standby mode.

Ten... sub-£50 budget MP3 players

"there was nothing else available with a name I trusted"

You trust Sony?

Wow.

Google robo cars drive selves on public streets

From the article you posted:

"The car achieved speeds exceeding 175 km/h on the German Autobahn, with a mean distance between human interventions of 9 km."

While very impressive, it could not cope in driverless mode in unexpected conditions, and is far from mature. Just because early prototypes existed 15 years ago doesn't mean the technology is mature. And yes, it could overtake, but only with approval from the driver, on a motorway.

As others have said, and despite what you want to believe, this is next level stuff, and is cutting edge, new and exciting technology. If you disagree, maybe you should go back to reading science fiction novels.

Re: Ugh

"...with a mean distance between human interventions of 9 km."

No. It's not. Sigh.

Schmidt: 'Google doesn't do data mining'

Americans

What's with them using the word "Americans" to mean "people?"

Rackspace claims credit for shushing Koran-burning 'pastor'

"They are all the same"

Sounds like you've got the type of mindset the world needs more of. Open, accepting, tolerant.

Oh, wait. No you don't.

Toshiba warns of fiery laptops

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

I think the key is in this sentence: "It will tell you if your machine is overheating and disable its external power supply if it is."

that seems to say it will disable the DC input until such time as Toshiba load a new firmware to re-enable it.

If that's true, it means that from when you load the new firmware, you have exactly as much juice as is in your battery until you'll need to return it for fixing.

General Motors bitchslaps Tesla with Range Anxiety™

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

It's from Lewis Page, author of "People have NO BLOODY IDEA about saving energy."

Which said, abridged, "Tumble drying uses more power than hot washing, so we should all do both."

Enough said.

Open source PS3 hack code posted

Good

Sounds like a decent step towards putting back into place the functionality the consoles were sold with.

Tosh has tiniest flash bits

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

So now the question we all want to know. What's the memory density in Encyclopedia Britannicas per thimble?

Microsoft reshuffles Windows 7 Family Pack

once it runs out of “supplies”

Rare stuff, these ones and zeros. Get 'em while their hot!

Wikileaks publishes secret CIA memo

Interesting document

Summarised in two sentences:

'The Afghanistan mission’s low public salience has allowed French and German leaders to disregard popular opposition and steadily increase their troop contributions. [But] if domestic politics forces the Dutch to depart, politicians elsewhere might cite a precedent for “listening to the voters.”'

Half of UK road users support usage-based road charging

Comment backlog

Cue 20 posts below (mine not yet even published) saying exactly the same thing, with everyone (myself included) thinking they were the first to say it!

I agree.

It's only fair that we should pay a tax for how much we use the road. Obviously bigger, heavier vehicles should pay more. I guess you could administer this based entirely on vehicle usage - say, by taxing the fuel.

On top of that, a one-off slap-in-the-wallet every year, scaled to make people think about whether they really need that Chelsea Tractor, would probably go a long way to reducing overall vehicle sizes. A large one-off large yearly payment stings more than small incremental fuel bills, so it makes you think more.

Sounds like a good system to me.

Flyover states up attacks on Craigslist

Seems like a simple choice

Either make prostitution illegal, or cope with it. I've never quite understood this half-way house of demonising it, and deliberately equating it with illegal actions, while it in fact remains fully legal.

Argentine court overturns ruling on search engines' link liability

sexual context?

What, more so than by posting pictures of her posing provocatively in underwear? Begs the question really, doesn't it?

Information Commissioner calls in tech experts

Good news

<cynic>How long till the government announces the closure of the ICO?</cynic>

Unhackable PS3 finally jailbroken, video claims

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

If a device doesn't do what you want it to... don't buy it.

And what about if it does do what you want it to do, and you buy it, and then it magically stops doing what you want it to?

PA school district avoids charges over webcam spy scandal

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

I think you're missing the point. A criminal suit could have led to sackings and criminal records, costing the school nothing but a recruitment campaign.

Cops cuff armed white supremacist in banana costume

Brilliant.

Just the sort of story there should be more of in the news. Crazies doing crazy things.

Facebook Places - why, and why not

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

option 4 - people use a *lot* more *stars* when they type, to make it *really* difficult to read what *they* *wrote*.

More choosing maths A-Level

Disappointed

I am.

Iranian activists deface UK genetics website

Wow.

That's some broad statements you're making there. Care to provide some links?

Actually, care to mention why you're spurting off here?

Minister hints that libel reform will create privacy law

Paul Dacre

Why should we be listening to that revolting, nasty, racist little piece of work again?

Acrobatic pilot survives loss of wing

This is a title

Wow, haven't come across that one before.

Says that they didn't realise they had lost a wing till they already had the aircraft under control, due to the flames... So I guess that's not so scary then?!

People have no bloody idea about saving energy

(title)

What's that? A "reply" button? My, that must be a useful idea!

Croydon Advertiser blows lid on 'sinister' brothel

Yes, just you.

Nothing wrong with a charity opposing trafficking.

Nothing wrong with that charity being aware of the link between trafficking and prostitution.

And finally, nothing wrong with said charity pointing out rank hypocrisy in local papers.

I must have missed the bit you're objecting to.

Apple fans drool over Liquidmetal widget

Liquidmetal TM R C

seems to be a company entirely built on buzz words, marketing a material (not even a product) which is not a liquid, with a trademark that is about as novel as belly button fluff.

Their "technology" page starts with:

"Liquidmetal® alloys are a revolutionary class of materials that redefines performance and cost paradigms."

Forgive me if I don't get excited.

ISS spacewalkers tackle failed cooling pump

more to the point...

...what?

US starts charging for online visa-waiver

guessing he did

...but you can apply now and your application will be valid for 2 years...

BBC workers lose £240k of tech gear in two years

(title)

Do the companies you've worked for have open doors to the public? No, thought not. And did you just pull that out of your rear? Thought so.