Posts by Can't think of anything witty...

Gay-bashing cult plans picket of Steve Jobs funeral

To paraphrase Linda Smith...

Never mind denying them the oxygen of publicity, we should probably deny them the oxygen of oxygen.

Murdoch muscles BBC out of Formula One driving seat

You are wrong. There is a market.

But you are not the target market. It's the same with so many things that are "opened to the market". Lets look at premiership football. The FA offered the rights to the market, they got a range of bids and worked out who would give the best investment (ok, maybe not, but lets not go into detail here, we're already at 250+ comments...). There is the market - the market is for the FA and the the question is "who do we sell to?" you are confusing this with a market where you are free to watch football / F1 on the BBC, sky, ESPN, Setanta or someone else.

you are not part of the market. you are just the guy who has to pick up the tab for it.

If these companies believed in a truly free market, then they would have no problem with other companies selling the same services and they would compete on some other differentiatior. If sky truly believed in a free market, then they would pay some licencing fee to (whoever) but if the matches / races were also screened on another channel then why would they care? After all, they are the best, they provide the best coverage and people would CHOOSE to watch it on sky as opposed to anything else.

But they do not want a free market. they want a free market ON THEIR TERMS. Which means that they they are free to by up and monopolise whatever they can for the best price possible. To be fair, they are probably no worse than other companies for this... it's just that they are really good at it.

Some things work really well in free markets (cars, clothes other tangible goods) but this approach really gets over-applied to stuff where it only works for the seller and not the general public. Train franchises also spring to mind.

Capitalism works. it's just that maybe it doesn't work that well for you (or me).

ratings..

i think that this might well be Bernie testing the water with sky... if people still watch it on the BBC as opposed to paying the extra for sky then maybe he'll figure out that completely selling the rights to sky would be a really bad move for viewing figures.

and i think that is probably (one of) his main criteria.

By the way - who thinks that next years championship should be decided solely on the basis of the Free to air races - with the extra "demonstration events" on sky not counting to the points total...?

:)

Steve Jobs unveils 30% subs model for ... everything

^^ Plus 1 ^^

Simply for the use of the phrase "Das Apfelreich"

@Graham Dawson

Of course, the side effect of this is that apple will be in the perfect position to accurately describe market segments, for all those who bought this subscription, or that one. That will be worth a lot to them for the advert revenue alone.

Remember that ad company that apple bought not so long ago...?

Telegraph to charge for online news

Go Left ahead...

"Telegraph, sun and times can all feel free to charge for there right wing..."

Judging by your confusion of "there" and "their" along with your anti-right stance, I'm assuming that you are a writer at the Guardian?

:)

Vulcan bomber lives to fly another day

I think that...

you are confusing operational with OPERATIONAL.

It's all very well keeping the vulcan flying as much as possible but ultimately, the owners could turn around and say "sorry fellas, but the maintainence has over-run and we can't fly it at your airshow today... come back next week".

i don't think that the same applies to the RAF... and that is before you try to take all those pesky weapons into account...

Apple's iOS 4 beams into unprepared world

Wow... that was quick.

While I accept that the iPhone is really popular and does a lot of interesting stuff, I am always amazed by what it can't do. For example, setting the wallpaper, setting a song from the media library as a ringtone, create playlists on the go and so on. These are things that I assumed pretty much every phone in that class would be able to do. Many phones have been doing it for a long time, so in fact it is conspicuous by it's absence. if I got an iPhone, not being able to do those things would surprise me.

Now maybe people don't miss those things. Maybe they are not important to you. Maybe a lot of people don't use them. Maybe other manufacturers have something to learn here - in that it is worth taking everything out then adding it back later for a premium.

But to be blunt, if you are going to talk about exciting new feature X you have to expect that some people will wish to point out that feature has already been done. Apple often claim to have re-invented the wheel every time that an update is made, other people seem to be frustrated / bemused by the way that people buy into this - getting excited about something that everyone else has been doing for a long time.

What's your opinion the Nokia version of cover flow, on the upcoming N8? Let me guess... the important point is that you iPhone has been able to do that since...

Apple iPad

Re: Erroneous Reports?

Glad you are enjoying your iPad. But in terms of mobile navigation, wouldn't an iPhone be a better bet? Much smaller and easier to carry. That's what I don't get about the iPad - It's not a great netbook / laptop replacement or a great iPhone replacement. It seems to carry several of the limitations of each of those devices in one package. I know that Apple are spinning this as a third way, but at the moment, I'm afraid I just don't get it.

Though I do agree. Google maps has been very useful when I'm out and about and slightly lost. But Google maps is available on a lot of other platforms (not least the iPhone). The only thing I found more useful was ovi maps... simply because I could install the map files for France before leaving the UK and avoid the obscene international data rates... but I digress...

Apple: iPhone App and iTunes stores don't make money

I was wondering aobut that...

I mean are they actually allowed (legally) to do this (restrict sales on the iphone platform)?

or is it one of those issues that no-one knows the answer to because it has never gone before a court?

Having software approval from the hardware / OS vendor might be good in some respects (e.g. less buggy code) but if they get all their bugs sorted, how will anyone sell version 2.0?

It also raises the issue that if for some reason you annoy the powers that be, then you are in serious trouble.

Speaking of which, is The Register covering the press launch tomorrow..?

Soot warming 'maybe bigger than greenhouse gases' - NASA

Where did they loose me?

I'm trying to work out what it is that I'm struggling with regarding the Climate Change... Agenda.

I wondered what word to use there, as if I write "Debate" I have a feeling that I'll be shouted down as a denialist and I am Wrong / Stupid / Evil as appropriate.

Anyway, i generally like the environment and reckon that we do need to be careful with it. I see myself as a scientifically minded person and yet there is still something that doesn't seem right about the issue of climate change as it is currently presented. I think that now i am realising that what I can't get along with (among other things) is the closure of debate and the single focus on CO2. I fail to see how a system as complex as the atmosphere can be simplified down to CO2.

The other thing that is concerning is that carbon (by which people generally mean Carbon Dioxide) has had so much social and political capital invested into it that even if everyone decided that soot or something else was actually the big bad, we'd never be able to turn the (metaphorical) oil tanker around to do anything about it.

So thanks to the Reg for highlighting something that otherwise seems to be being overlooked. I bet that this gets written off as "denailist" propaganda in the wider media where as actually it expands the debate. And yes, it is a debate, just like any other thing in science is a debate, even if there is a lot of evidence on one side and not a lot on the other. Just because it's a one-sided debate doesn't mean it's not a debate.

Intel punts portable text reader for the blind

@ Not Fred31

I wonder how that would fare under the Disability Discrimination Act? Would that count as copyright holders discriminating against people with a disability by blocking their access to goods and services?

In the same way that a library would have to put in a ramp for wheelchair users...

Just a thought.

@Robert E A Harvey

I was wondering if someone was going to mention this. Most blind people still have some light perception and are not totally blind as many people believe. The percentage of people with absolutely no light perception at all is relatively low.

Apple preempts Win 7 with fresh iMacs, Macbooks

@everyone complaining at anyone mentioning price..

Wow... not seen a Mac-lash like this for a long time... i think someone touched a nerve. It's completely fair to mention price as a part of the package.

One of the AC posts above mentions that it's not "fair" to talk about price (a feature) before going on to talk about how OSX is so easy to use (a feature). You need to compare features with other features.

Yes, apple make shiny products - but they charge accordingly. Pay your money and take the choice.

By the way, I got stung by buying an iPod for Apple to release a shinier, bigger and better one a week later... pretty annoying. But if it's any consolation, I use an Apple keyboard... it was the best one i could find when i was shopping for one.

Wikileaks publishes BNP 'member list' (again)

@Juillen 1

I think that you miss the point here. We do have freedom of speech, but it is not complete freedom and never has been. MOST people can say MOST things MOST of the time - but that doesn't give everyone automatic "rights" to say what they like when they like.

Generally, society decides what is acceptable, but where you draw the line is, as always, the issue. I'd be interested to know what you think about the Stephen Gately article in the Mail last week..? Did that journo have the right to publish her views, or was it just homophobic?

For what it's worth, i don't think that we will make any ground against the BNP by marginalising them or not letting them speak. I'd be interested to know about their policies - particularly the ones that do not have an angle on race (i think we get the gist of those ones). At that point, I suspect that we will see just how narrow minded* and single-issue they are.

---

* I can think of many, many other adjectives to use here, all of which are too colourful for this time of day...

Lloyds TSB's online banking system shows no love for Firefox

@Fifi

In terms of customer service, there is a reason that many organisations say that they want to "be the First Direct" of whatever area they operate in - I've heard that they are really quite good.

By the way, it's quite easy to change banks these days - usually one phone call and it's done (so i hear). In fact, probably easier than installing and living with MSIE... Yet people hardly ever change banks.

Banks are a business providing a service. If you don't like the service, move your business.

Funny old world.

Phorm takes a bullet for the advertising industry

@Ed Blackshaw

"Since all washing powders contain pretty much the same ingredients, I would go for the cheapest"

So if you saw an advert on the TV telling you that "new supa-white washing powder was half price!!" then you would buy that one?

It doesn't matter to you which power you buy, but it does to the company selling it.

I still find adverts annoying (and hence am a fan of the BBC for my TV) but I just wanted to make the point.

@Ed Blackshaw

"I do want to by a certain type of product, I will do the research and buy the one that does the job best, or cheapest, or best..."

Do you do this for EVERYthing you buy? I mean, sure, i research some purchases (Laptop, Car, MP3 Player, Mobile etc) but do you research your washing powder? How about the brand of shower gel?

I think that claiming that you will research all your purchases is a big generalisation. For all those other things in your life (like soap, kitchen cleaner, etc etc) advertising is perfectly fair game (it's fair game for anything, but it's likely to play a smaller part in your decision if the purchase is bigger).

having thought about it, targeted advertising doesn't bother me at all. In fact, i must compliment The Reg for really good contextual advertising. If i'm reading a laptop review, laptop adverts appear in the side bar. if it's about a mobile, mobile phone ads appear. It''s really subtle, but quite effective.

I do of course have a problem with Phorm, for pretty much all of the reasons discussed many times before. However, I agree with Phorm in that i find relevant adverts less annoying - where we differ - and this is the important bit - is on the method of deciding what is relevant... but it'd be a shame to loose good targeted adverts because Phorm act recklessly.

Highways Agency plans new speed cameras

Hold on a Minute...

@TheBigYin...

You ask why uninsured drivers are not tackled. Well, the easiest way to do this would be to put an ANPR (Automatic Numberplate Recognition) camera on every street. Then the police would easily be able to spot untaxed / uninsured cars and act accordingly.

Something tells me you would not be happy about this either.

There's a lot of rage on here this afternoon, but it would be good if people managed a consistent argument. If there were more police on the road surely they would still be stopping people for speeding?

Don't forget that these cameras are going to be a lot more sophisticated than a radar triggered film camera (i.e. a gatso). I don't see why the ANPR network couldn't be used to deal with tailgaters as well. CCTV systems can already judge distances and movement, why not apply that technology here?

So with two of your pets hates addressed, surely what you want is MORE cameras?

ANPR cameras are of course are already used in unmarked police traffic cars -one camera on the front, one on the back to instantly (well, quickly) read every number plate that drives past the car and check for outstanding issues on the car - everything from not being on the MID or being registered to an unlicensed driver. It notifies the officers in the car if it spots one and they go and stop the car. Untaxed cars can already be removed at the roadside by police and then recovered by the owner (once the tax / insurance has been paid) or be crushed two weeks later if they don't.*

Before getting too worked up can we decide what we are worked up about? Either it's a fascist surveillance state or we let these reckless drivers get off scot free... I'm not sure we can have both...

/rant

*Don't you ever watch Street Wars? What else is Sky 3 for??