Posts by dracnoc

Boffins make graphene micro-distillery

Re:

Bear Grylls is on the ISS?

Consumer interest in Windows 8 tablets slumps

MS have a lot of work to do.

MS never rush themselves into a new product. As far as MS is concerned, the big money is in supporting businesses, and they're going to make sure that any slab they push out is going to suit the need of their business customers first.

They'll have to worry about it working well with Win Server, any new cloud tech that goes along with it, and all the other goodies that makes business customers happy with Windows products. It's a far bigger infrastructure than just one product - and it's their biggest failing. They can't rush with anything because it would be too expensive if it failed and made MS look bad. It's like trying to steer a fully-loaded lorry around a racing track - everyone else is going to zip past you because they don't have to carry the excess weight.

As far as Joe Public goes, MS won't care about them. If they buy an MS slab, then great, but there's no money in that.

Government seeks public views on open data, PDC

open standards

for the love of Bacon, DO NOT make any format or standard the domain of a single company.

* glares at Microsoft *

Any good format should be 100% open, platform independant, and should be up to public scrutiny/consultation. Whilst I know it is easier for a single entity to maintain something, anyone else should be able to come up with a better means to do the same job and any government contract must dictate on such terms - "Do the job, or we'll give it to someone who can do it better".

Dell hails happier UK reseller relations

Well...

... I suppose when you're at the bottom of the barrel, you can only go up.

Adobe offloads unwanted Linux AIR onto OEMs

Oh noes...

... we're going to lose a wonderful platform from a company that produces a sloppy web media platform and a bloated document viewer.

Adobe should learn from this - Air didn't take off because Linux only has a 1-3% user base, it's because their code is awful; the number of "critical" flaws that pop up in the news is worrying. A lot of us switched from Windows because of that crap, and good riddance to it.

Three adds iPhone 4 to unlimited data package

around these parts...

... the only place 3 have reception is IN the fancy shop they have in the middle of town. It's easy to spot, it's the only shop with no customers in it.

Perfect combo!

With the iPhone's infamous location data "feature", you can build up an exact map of where you are not going to get reception with 3.

Indonesian anti-smut MP caught ogling filth

Good grief...

... if he does get fired, he should be able to get a job over here as an MP - he'll fit in like a pro.

Facebook lets users report friends who post suicidal content

I'm bipolar...

... dark little thoughts aren't a stranger to me, but this really isn't an issue that FB should be dealing with.

If they have real "friends" on FB, then those friends would be calling the appropriate professionals to help them.

You may as well pin up a Samaritans card on a public notice board, just in case someone reads a note that looks a bit off-colour.

Man jailed after cops uncover 'crack in bum'

Here goes...

This investigation highlighted the need for an in-depth probe into Police investigation methods. Naturally, the Police don't want to make an arse of themselves and the man in question is now feeling the full arm of the law.

The prosecution don't want to see a crack in their case, so they are employing the best QC available; no doubt there's no finer talent between here and Uranus.

Such an excessive use of taxpayer's money on such a case may be seen as a bum deal by most people, but recent studies show that the overall population is split somewhere down the middle on such expenditures.

The young man is question is maintaining his right to silence, but this may work against him and he could find himself in quite a dark hole by the end of court proceedings.

Crematorium to heat council swimming pool

Hmmm....

If you're going to come up with a money-saving idea, you might as well jump in at the deep end... oh, wait....

Ubuntu-based Windows XP looker freshens up

I've given it a try

OK. When you go to install, English isn't exactly the first choice, but it's there.

Apart from that, this distro is very competent. It does everything you need it to. Codecs are pre-installed as is "build-essential", it's certainly enough to get most of the major file formats running from the starting blocks. The install is simple and clean and there isn't an excess of configs slowing it down.

As for the XP-esque layout - it ain't perfect, but it is enough to get XP users roving around the system without crying. The CLI is, as always, a "new" feature to most Windows users, but when it comes to getting the job done, a single typed command is a welcome relief to navigating a bunch of icons. Say what you like about the console - the direct approach often works brilliantly.

I like this distro - it's simple, it works and pretends to be XP well enough for XP users to get the hand of it in a few minutes. An awful lot of distro makers should learn a few things from this in making an OS that gets to the point. YLMF does exactly what it says on the outside of the box.

The penguin - in trying to look like Windows, it looks like Linux at it's most brilliant. A tool that works - no matter what that look is like.

Robobeachcop demands licence from Poole snapper

I live in Poole...

... and I quite agree with AC. Poole is a dump, it's beaches lack anything resembling golden sands. I suspect the beach bods are trying to stop people from taking pictures just in case that people notice that Poole is bloody ugly.

People should take pictures of these so-called officials, so that people visiting the area will know who to avoid.

Welcome to the Photography Class of 1984...

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 embraces - yes - HTML5

Hey, Reg...

... you're two weeks early for April Fools. The day MS follows standards is the day they publish flight plans for pigs.

Is it art or is it pr0n? Australia decides it's ALL filth

Before you know it...

Every Australian will be branded as a criminal... oh, wait a minute...

Data breach howlers to get up to £500,000 fine

Here's an idea...

If one of those G'ment lot get let loose with a bunch of data in a public place, then their actions should be classed as treason against the state - life imprisonment without parole. That should get their bloody attention.

Santa Fe man demands half a mill for being near iPhone

Oh dear...

... perhaps we can send him to a nice, quiet, and overall EMF-free zone so that he can live out a happy and peaceful life - that is until the French use it as a nuclear test site.

Problem solved.

Japanese bloke gets arsey over artificial rectum

Why bother with court action?

I'd be fecking furious enough to tear 'em a new a**hole... oh, wait...

Apple squeezes video camera into iPod nano

Good to see...

... Steve back on stage after the liver transplant, but I thought he didn't like 3rd party hardware, even if it is compatible... Pystar must be pissing themselves with laughter.

Tesco gets Flash of Silverlight in 'virtual DVD' deal

Ironically...

The last thing I purchased from Tesco was my 19" monitor - it was a good price too. Shame I will never be using it to view their new service.

Apart from the fact I run a Linux box, I have no interest in wasting my time or money with a video (or music) service that restricts me on what device I watch it, where I want to watch it and when.

If Tesco has any sense, they would see that this service is going to die in about 18-24 months anyway, it seems like another half-hearted attempt by MS to get into the video market. Their idea of DRM is one of the oldest on-going jokes in the IT world, and it will be broken just like all the other attempts to lock content.

UK Music secret data: 'Young people will pay for downloads'

@Mectron

That's the exact point I'm trying to make. There will always be a market where things are cheaply and freely available, regardless of popularity. All I ask is that ALL artists be represented equally in promotion and price, let the consumer make the choice about what is popular.

Here's a few ideas...

... for the music industry in general

1 - STOP treating your customers like thieves and get rid of anything that resembles DRM. It's been broken so many times it's got more stitches than material holding it together. It's a joke, and the punchline isn't funny anymore.

2 - PEOPLE are willing to pay a good/fair price for a unlimited service, many surveys have come to this conclusion. Take the damn hint and start providing it. Yes, that means letting customers keep the music. If it's at a price everyone is comfortable with, there will be no incentive to steal it (although there will always be a few who do).

3 - PROMOTE every artist equally. Yes, someone will enjoy the more obscure bands. Trying to promote only a handful of artists is counter-productive. Give people lots of choice and they'll choose it, but the choice has to be there. Don't forget, MySpace and other sites allow bands to promote themselves, your promo teams are no longer alone at the top of the food chain. You might be surprised, customers might start choosing musicians with talent rather than picking up on names you push into the spotlight. At least have the decency and self-respect of providing good music.

Microsoft warns of 'irreparable harm' on court's Word injunction

Uh?

"Microsoft", "Word", "Office" - nope, I can't say having a lack of any of these products are causing me major disruption.

Oh well, life carries on - as normal.

Mozilla tries to shunt Firefox 3.0 users over to 3.5

No thanks.

I dumped FF3/3.5 entirely and went back to Konqueror.

Why?

Simple, it's fast, it's clean and no, I don't need 1,001 different addons to get the job done. The only useful thing I've ever seen on FF is AdBlock - no wait, that's in Konqueror too.

FF promised to be a decent browser, but the usual curse of bloat has struck in successive releases. I saw no speed difference in 3.5.2, and compared to simpler browsers like Arora, it's bloody embarrassing to watch FF3.x start up.

Hey, Mozilla, sorry guys, you dropped the ball.

Man catches MSI laptop with... his arse

WTF

Congrats MSI, after watching that, I'm never going to buy any of your products.

I will probably end up with some weird fetish or OCD involving sniffing the spine/hinge of every laptop and netbook I see.

I'm going to find a dark room with a dirty mattress, so I can rock back and forth with some very unhappy thoughts.

Makes me think though, do MSI provide a warranty against cracks appearing in their products?