Posts by Dazed & Confused

Sonos rattles begging bowl, hopes for $130m cash stream

You can have surround sound with the Playbar - you use 2 Play:1/3 speakers as rears and the sub for extra bass.

Fiat Panda Cross: 'Interesting-looking' Multipla spawn hits UK

Re: Want one so much!

If I lived anywhere near London, I wouldn't be buying a 4x4....

Re: 80 bhp?

Sure it can't...

Go to 1:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRUWRO1_JWo

And that is the lower power, less 'off-road' version.

Want one so much!

I used to have the previous Cross - fantastic everywhere. Great round town, happy along European motorways, and truly awesome off road and in the snow. Note: Not awesome for its size - plain awesome. And I'm writing this as a guy who has driven tractors, Land Rovers and Land Cruisers.

There's a reason why you still see farmers delivering bales of hay halfway up an Alp in a 1980s original.

I just can't decide on the petrol or diesel. Or afford either....

Spanish village of 'Kill the Jews' votes for rebrand

"the village's coat of arms bears the Star of David"

"The coat of arms also features a keyboard"

That's clearly a flatbed scanner.

IT angle covered!

AMD demos 'Berlin' Opteron, world's first heterogeneous system architecture server chip

Re: Crossed fingers, but...

>There has been in the past a frighteningly moronic argument that we won't ever need addressing beyond a certain point because it exceeds the number of all the particles in the universe.

That is not a moronic argument at all.

Where could we store the x+1th address?

Lumia 1520: Our man screams into ENORMO new Nokia phondleslab

I wonder what this phone looks like?

Reg reader's nipper takes felt pens to Vulture 2

I genuinely think that this is the best one so far.

I know you probably can't print this exact design onto Vulture 2, but maybe you should just give the girl a bunch of permanent markers and let her loose on the real thing?

It will look completely different again, but it would definitely have a certain something.

(The other designs are just a bit 'meh'. Hard to describe without sounding pretentious - but they are all kind of obvious and predictable.)

Amazon DENIES launch of iPhone-killing freebie smartphone

@JDX

I'm definitely not forgetting - I didn't mention, or even imply, rooting at all. You seem to have misread my post. My comment is purely about using the phone in the form as supplied by Amazon, which basically boils down to:

Locked to Amazon? Hey, where's my Google Books apps?

Not locked to Amazon? Cool, my Google Books app!

Free = very locked down?

A free phone would have to be very locked into the Amazon ecosystem, Shirley?

Otherwise I'll get one for all the family, and we'll just continue to use the same apps we already use, and I don't really see how Amazon benefits.

And if it's locked down in terms of no Google Play store (I'm assuming an Android handset here) then won't it suffer from the main hurdle for Windows phones - a lack of apps?

BlackBerry: It's the end-to-endness, stupid

Re: Android

"other than Samsung who is making money?"

Microsoft.

PHWOAR! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, Prime Minister

It's poorly implemented, though.

I was moving house, so bought a 3G dongle to last me while Virgin got their act together.

I'm a photographer, and was using Flickr at the time. It was blocked.

I rang up and said I wanted to unblock Flickr. They said they could switch off the filter, but there was a £1 charge on my credit card to prove I was an adult. (Apparently 1p, or a refund afterwards, wouldn't be enough proof.)

I pointed out I didn't need the filter off I just wanted Flickr - the biggest photo site in the world at the time. Nope - all or nothing, and a £1 charge.

One this is implemented I can see ISPs rushing to get Reddit, Tumblr, even Twitter added to the block list - simply so that they can charge £1 to unblock 'adult content'. Unblocking will become the first thing people do, just to get access some core, 99% 'innocent' sites - thus invalidating the whole system, and making the only winners the ISPs.

LG's curvy telly and Samsung's Galaxy camera seen in the wild

Re: Curvy screen... why?

It's attempting to solve LG's problem of you being perfectly happy with your current TV....

Seven snazzy smartphones for seven sorts of shoppers

Re: I need to juggle lots of email accounts.

Yes - but which phone has the best mail client available?

I believe that the stock Blackberry one is good. But it's not going to have the amount of choice when it come to social meda apps like Buffer (OP said Twitter and Facebook too) compared to Android and iOS. I expect the same problem goes for Win Phone.

I don't know the answer, but I think that's the OP's question - platform rather than specific phone.

Google staffing boss: Our old hiring procedures were 'worthless'

Re: Creative professionals with advanced degrees

No, HR wil choose neither.

They'll have arbitrarily set the sift bar at 10 years experience and a BA. Because 10 is a nice round number, and if you've got 10 years experience then you must have a BA, right!

They'll also turn down the candidate with 11 years experience and an MA (as an MA is not a BA, and it clearly says BA in the person spec).

You'll just be told that nobody suitable applied for the job and to make do with 1 less member on your team.

The bunker at the end of the world - in Essex

Re: good to be able to look on this so light-heartedly

The thing I never get is that everybody 'high up' seems to have made the assumption that all the little people would rather be sacrificed than live under the Soviets.

Now, I really don't like the idea of living in he Soviet Union - but I like the idea of being dead even less.....

If the Ruski tanks really had rolled over the border, would the politicians have thought, 'Well this is worse than death' and pressed the big red button?

Full metal jacket: Nokia launches new Lumia 925

Re: I'd probably buy it....

I'm loving the fact that I'm getting so many thumbs down for simply having a personal preference!

I just think it's sad that Nokia have removed colours as an option. Making a yellow or blue or red one would not suddenly invalidate the grey ones - but the consensus seems to be that less choice is better!

I'd probably buy it....

if it came in yellow.

I like thinner, lighter, better screen, better camera.

But I don't like that anything other than a shade of grey is seen as childish - so they don't even give us the choice.

I guess this will at least appeal to Audi and BMW (any colour as long as it's black) drivers....

The Metro experiment is dead: Time to unleash Windows Phone+

Re: Windows Phone+ is a poor name

I think they got rid of the wrong word when the dropped 'Metro'.

For phones and tablet it should be Microsoft Metro - Windows is not a trendy name, and it doesn't even have windows now anyway!

The desktop one should be Microsoft Windows, and default to the old Windows desktop. It should include Metro (2 operating systems for the price of one! ;-) ) - which normal desktop users can ignore, and touch screen desktop and laptops can switch to (or set as default) if they want a more tablet-like experience.

Thousands rally behind teen girl cuffed, expelled in harmless 'explosion'

Re: What I'd Like.

There's a single downvote on every sensible comment pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation.

I sense we've found our assistant principle....

Review: Nokia Lumia 520

Where's Eadon....

AND HIS CAPS LOCK?

Foxconn must pay Microsoft for EVERY Android thing it makes

Eadon's late

Maybe his Caps Lock key is playing up....

Netflix plotting move to HTML5 video - but only if DRM works

Tom Tom?

Why is everyone on this thread called Tom?

Review: Sony Xperia Z

@AC 13:21

You're missing a zero or two at the end of your price!

Check out the Harry Winston Opus series, for example. I'm pretty sure the Opus V and 12 aren't waterproof.

Touch screens and greasy mitts: All you need is glove

I was eating my lunch while reading this

It made for a rather uncomfortable few minutes.

Coffee on keyboard icon. Except not coffeee.

Applications to run more white-space Local TV stations invited

Why no bigger cities?

Surely Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool, Leeds,etc. would be more likely to work due to viewer figures and moe content providers.

I know that some of them have national TV departments based there, but the content produced is rarely actually local (just based in location x because of pretty scenery), and I imagine you could get some really great stuff out of their universities.

Paris, because they can always fall back on more 'mature' programming if things get dfficult.

'Wireless charging' in Galaxy S4 will betray Samsung's best pal

"See if you can challenge their belief. Take them to a room that's secretly a Faraday cage (or just a very VERY dead wireless zone) and see if they can correctly call it."

A group of us went to a cottage in Yorkshire, miles from anywhere. A friend's now ex-girlfriend was 'WiFi sensitive' (and also allergic to magnesium, the 4th most abundant mineral in the human body, apparently).

I remember her saying how much clearer her head felt without all that wireless interference. As I downloaded a book onto my Kindle from the MiFi sitting no more than 2 feet from the back of her head.....

Don't Menshn the snore: Chick-lit queen's jabber site killed in its sleep

Re: I missed the announcment that...

>So what exactly did this ex tory mp have to do with the site?

According to her even the name was just a coincidence.

So I guess that leaves, ummmm, nothing.....

Why are dicks so successful?

In any other walk of life people with such incredibly poor social skill that they end up unable to even talk to their colleagues soon find themselves excluded.

Yet in business being a dick is, for some peverse reason, actually admired.

Watch your back, Amazon: Google coughs $125m for 'shopping engine' firm

Re: On a more practical note

I'm guessing Google are thinking they can bring lots of little companies, all with different software and web set-ups, but logistics in place already, under one unified roof

Much like Amazon sells stuff from small providers, but you still do everything through Amazon, you'd go to the Google store and buy something from Bob's Budget Baloney and something from Sheila's Scarily Sharp Steel Swords, and do it all with one payment and track it in one place. Bob and Sheila would still be responsible for the logistics, just as they are now.

I can already see all the products under Google Shopping - this just removes the need to go to the cheapest website, create an account, blah blah blah, screw it I'll get it off Amazon for 15p extra.

Socket to 'em: It's the HomeGrid vs HomePlug powerline prizefight

Your iambic pentameter is off

You've lost a syllable in the change from Verona to Vegas.

Shakespeare would be rolling in his grave.

I expect it's under a car park somewhere.

What a Liberty: Virgin Media in buyout talks with telecoms giant

Re: Yeah, terrible service ...

Where in Bristol did you get that? In BS6 and BS7 the service is basically unusable at peak times.

Why did your outsourced IT fall over? Cos you weren't on Twitter

Thank goodness for Gartner!

Because up until now I was always coming across posts like this on IT contractors' Twitter feeds:

"Wow, we've totally borked our latest project, and are 14 months behind schedule. Don't tell the NHS! ;-) LOL!!!111one!! #OutsourcingFail"

Is this possibly the worst broadband in the world?

Ultra-pedant mode activated!

He quoted his broadband speed to 1 decimal place: 0.1Mbps.

A dail up modem is 0.056Mbps, which rounded to 1 decimal place is also 0.1Mbps.

His current broadband speed could be, to 3 decimal places, 0.050Mbps, which would round to 0.1Mbps, and would indeed be slower than his dial-up's 0.056Mbps.

If he had quoted his broadband speed to 3 decimal places (0.100Mbps), then you might be correct about it not actually being slower, but he didn't, so you simply cannot tell.

Buying a petabyte of storage for YOURSELF? First, you'll need a fridge

A floor that supports 400kg?

A floor strong enough to support 5 biggish guys? I'd be worried if you thought any of the rooms in your house couldn't deal wih that.

First Mac OS X fake installer pops up, racks up your mobe bill

IBO?

International Boxing Organisation?

International Baccalaureate Organisation?

Independent Business Owner?

International Biology Olympiad?

Something to do with irritable bowel?

This is out of hand now: Apple attempts to trademark the LEAF

Re: Apologies...

I don't get it....

Tech titans lose our loyalty: Are fanbois a dying breed?

3rd reason?

I think all the lawsuits over trivial patent issues are also showing punters that the companies' priorities aren't making the best products they can, but money, money, money.

Just look on a forum like Macrumors. Only a year ago the dominant attitude was that Apple was a benevolent company that existed purely to bestow perfect products upon us mere, unworthy mortals. Now, thanks to news of a new lawsuit almost every other day, that image has been severely tarnished, if not shattered - and the forums reflect that. Apple is no longer a company that can do no wrong - even to the former fanbois.

(P.S. Bring back the evil Steve Jobs (or Whatshisname Cook) icon, and maybe add an evil Sergey Brin and evil Balmer. No need to bother with the good versions - the scales have been lifted.)

Nintendo Wii U Review

Re: 80% ???

It's not about the number of points, it's about their weighting.

This is not a hardcore gaming machine - to 99% of this console's target market the lack of 5.1 surround on 2D Mario is not going to be an equal negative to, say, the positive of playing on the pad while the TV is in use.

I've had almost every console since the Megadrive, and the Wii has been a storming success with various members of my family who have never even uttered the word 'graphics'. This is the target market, and I know they will love the gamepad, the ergonomics, the style of games, etc.

Cloud storage giant Amazon cuts S3 prices, waits for rivals to die

There are 24 months in a year?

Bungie talks up 'genre-defining' Destiny shooter

As 'deep' as Star Wars?

Ewoks deep?

Or Jar Jar Binks deep?

Sony KD-84X9005 84in ultra-HD TV review

@Dazed and Confused

Nice name....

Internet's first 'Hall of Fame' REVEALED

I have ridden the mighty moon worm!

Thank goodness Al's finally been recognised for creating the internet.

So, what IS the worst film ever made?

Samurai cop

Watch this clip, and you'll be left in no doubt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvni9KbZfoo

(And yes, it's a real 'serious' film, and not meant to be a spoof.)

US Army doubles fleet of enormous floating eyes

@ Wonko the Sane

One word: SAM.

If they can take out a Tornado or a Chinook with a shoulder mounted rocket, is this blimp going to pose a problem? Or is the fact that it's cold and round mean it's invisible to IR or radar? Or are SAMs cleverer than that? I know nothing about militray technology.

Stargazers spy retrograde planetary bloater

@ Anonymous John

Which weighs more, a balloon full of steam, or an ice-cube? Yet they're both made of water.