Posts by tgm

Oi, Elon: You Musk sort out your Autopilot! Tesla loyalists tell of code crashes, near-misses

Re: Whisper it…

Yeah nope. I have 4 cars: a BMW 335i, a Golf R, a BMW X5, and a Tesla Model 3.

The model 3 gets driven the most. It's fun, it handles well, the throttle response is amazing, and the build quality is good. It's relaxing using autopilot in stop and go traffic, and it's fun and sporty in the twisties.

The 335i is gonna be sold soon, I just don't drive it anymore.

My wife drives the Golf, the X5 is good for the dogs and big heavy things, the Tesla is great for everything else.

Yes, there's a cult around Tesla which is toxic, but get past that and the model 3 (I can't speak for the S and X) is a damn good car.

Pure Silicon Valley: Medium asks $5 a month for absolutely nothing

Medium?

I thought this was a story about a physic start-up.

Making us pay tax will DESTROY EUROPE, roars Apple's Tim Cook

Re: I don't get it.

it appears that Apple acted and negotiated in good faith believing that Ireland had the taxing authority that it claimed.

Hahaha! So Apple's army of tax lawyers are claiming ignorance of EU tax law? That's their defense?

"Sorry officer, but I bought this bag of weed in good faith believing that surfer dude over there had the legal authority to sell it to me. I didn't know it was illegal!"

AWS works on 'urgent' deals for UK customers as £ dips against $

...rather than simply paying as you go

The problem with Amazon constantly lowering their prices, is that ironically, it leads to people being less likely to commit long term. One two occasions now I've purchased reserved instances for 36 month terms, only to hear of a price cut two weeks later!

I know that logic suggests that buying 12 month leases or even paying as you go (even factoring in future price cuts) is still more expensive that a 36 month term, it's really frustrating to hear that if I'd have waited two weeks, I'd have got a better deal!

After eight years, NASA's Dawn probe brings Ceres into closest focus

Re: Please

"Keep the pseudoscience out of this, you are runining the moment."

Ahh, so NASA ruined the NASA moment?

Interesting.

Using leather in 'leccy cars is 'unTesla', rages vegan shareholder

Re: and the electricity?

You said nothing wrong.

A car that runs *entirely* on coal has an MPGghg of 30, which is better than the average petrol car.

See http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/electric-car-global-warming-emissions-report.pdf for more info...

WTF is Net Neutrality, anyway? And how can we make everything better?

Re: What are my broadband choices, exactly?

@wub - yes, that's exactly what I meant. Choice as in "comparative" choice. 2Mb (if I'm lucky) for DSL, or 50Mb for Cable for LESS money...that's not a choice. I guess it is *technically*, but then again so is a plastic cup and a piece of string!

I've lived in 5 different places in the US since I moved here from the UK 6 years ago. And that's in three different States. I've never had a choice of broadband companies. I've had a choice of comcast or comcast, mediacom or mediacom, and RCN or RCN.

Amazon unleashes JavaScript SDK so devs can conjure cloud gods

Re: AMZN://java/trap?trapped=yes

I presume they mean because an S3 bucket can be accessed via http. Therefore, as the article stated, just upload your app into an s3 bucket and set the permissions accordingly.

Don't use Google+? Tough, Google Glass will inject it INTO YOUR EYES

I thought I saw an ad for glass

..there were people taking photos of sunsets through their phone (instead of actually looking at the sunset), people watching rock-concerts through the back of their phone (instead of actually experiencing the concert), proud parents watching their kids on a trampoline through their phone (instead of actually watching them).

I thought "this has to be an ad for Google Glass...look at all these idiots"

But it was an advert for the iPhone....(more photos taken each day using the iPhone than any other camera..blah blah blah).

Nudge nudge, wink wink interface may drive Google Glass

Re: touch sensitive frames

They do have touch sensitive frames

Never mind Azure: They BROKE Twitter!

Re: I blame the Daily Mail

Same here!

Facebook phone app attempts to seize ALL YOUR MAIL

Re: Is this really, actually happening?

If I remember correctly, Google stopped any Facebook contact integration when Facebook didn't want to 'share' back.

So, I might be wrong, but perhaps this only affects older versions of Android? My ICS Android phone doesn't have any Facebook contact integration even though I have the app installed...

Microsoft's Surface plan means the world belongs to Android now

Re: Mixing two stories doesn’t stop it being twaddle!

"HTML5 is in the *very* early adopter phase."

Not on iOS and Android it's not - which is what this article is about.

Microsoft's Surface proves software is dead

Re: Software isn't dead...

Has it really done "so poorly for so long"? Last time I looked, windows was the dominant desktop OS. Apple's recent success isn't because it bundles the OS with the Hardware; it's *always* done that, and it didn't work out that well in the 80s/90s did it?

Apples recent success is all about the AppStore.

The lock-in that Microsoft had wasn't actually physical lock-in: you have always been free ditch windows and install linux, but people didn't because everyone else used windows and office. It was "lockin-via-annoyance". The same is now happening with iOS. Everyone has an iPhone/iPad because everyone else has one. Friend: "oooh, you should get this new app". Me: "oh, I can't, it isn't available on WinPhone7 AppStore".

That's what makes people want iPhones, so they can have what everyone else has.

10m years ago there was less CO2 - but the Earth was warmer

Re: It makes me laugh...

@Slartbardfast - I'm with you.

I used to think Orlowski was bad, but at least he can actually write good articles, even if I don't completely agree with his slant on them.

Facebook's ONLY failure: Expectations management

Re: hundreds of billions of dollars?

I thought it was a trillion. As @Bernad said earlier http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/09/facebook_trillion_dollar_valuation/

Windows 8 release preview imminent

Why didn't they do what they did with media centre?

With media centre, you can set it to start up automatically in full screen. You hardly know windows is running in the background, and from the sofa windows isn't too usable (but it's nice to have on occasion).

Instead, they've tried to bake metro into the perfectly usable windows UI.

The windows / media centre formula/solution worked well - why can't they just do the same thing with metro?

i.e turn it off completely if you're using a desktop, have it start automatically (if you WANT) when you're using a tablet?

BBC uses lifted Iraq war photo to depict Syrian slaughter

propaganda?

"The photograph, taken in 2003 by photojournalist Marco Di Lauro and licensed to Getty Images, was passed on to the BBC by an anonymous source for propaganda purposes."

I believe that statement is a far better example of "propaganda".

HTC One V Android smartphone

chin

The chin also stops the screen getting scratched when you put it face down...

Steve Jobs' 'private Apple spaceship' seeks public love

"...but the locals still get to look at it."

Exactly, isn't that what Apple's all about? Creating stuff that's nice to look at, and *then* thinking about how it will be used?

GM snatchback of $10m Facebook ad cash = amateur move

Good article

..and exactly what I've been thinking. You can't compare Google Ads to Facebook Ads - which is what everyone seems to be doing. "If Facebook can do what Google did with revenues after their IPO, then they're not over-valued at all".....

People are *looking* for something when they go to Google, they're not looking for something when they're on Facebook.

Facebook Ads are much more similar to TV ads; you're not looking for something when you watch TV, and you're not looking for something when you are on Facebook - Ads just get chucked at you.

The difference, is that TV is a far richer medium - ads generate "feeling"; they make you laugh, they make you envious - even print ads have more effect. Facebook Ads are just crappy little images with a snippet of text - there's not a great deal you can do with that....

Ubuntu will hit the big time on Amazon: Here's how

Re: Huh?

I think, but don't quote me on this, that "linux" is Amazons own AMI - which is just called "linux".

Apple's HTML5 bet against Android extermination

Re: True enough.

"The iPhone 3GS, released in 2009 runs the latest version of iOS."

Runs, as in like a one legged dog? Agreed. My flatmate has a 3GS, but can't actually answer his phone; by the time the display shows an incoming call and becomes responsive, it's already gone to answerphone.

So it doesn't really work as a phone at all now, which sort of defeats the purpose.

Educating Rory: Are BBC reporters unteachable?

Re: Deadly

"Compulsory lessons where kids walk out thinking they can talk french is deadly."

mangetout Rodney, mangetout!

Re: Err...

"Where is the IF in HTML, and DO etc. etc."

<!--[if IE]>cry<![endif]-->

Himalayan glaciers actually gaining ice, space scans show

Re: Look at history (geological that is)

@Mad Mike,

"However, as I said in all this, humans simply need to use their ability to adapt".

I'm all for adapting in terms of effect (rising temp., sea levels etc). I'm less inclined to "adapt" in the *perceived* cause (CO2). I'd like to go for a walk in the lake district without myself and my dog needing to wear an oxygen mask.

I think it's inevitable we'll need to adapt - and I think everyone knows that if AWG is true, then we've already gone past the point of not adapting anyway. But at the same time we should all be doing everything we can to ensure we create the cleanest energy possible, reduce the amount of rubbish we dump into landfill, and generally all try to "do our bit". If not for the planet (or to stop/reduce the speed of global warming), then for our own well-being and enjoyment of our natural spaces.

We need to get past this "it's all a hoax!", or "see, told you so, we're all f**ked!", and start thinking about adapting (because either climate change is happening because it's influenced by human activity OR its a natural cycle that will happen anyway), and creating clean energy (because regardless of whether climate change is influenced by human activity or not, we're going to run out of fossil fuels eventually anyway).

Extreme weather blown away from unexpected direction

Global Weirding

"One "surge" that is not disputed is the recent rapid increase in reports attempting to link extreme weather to a human influence"..."the BBC chipped in with a Horizon documentary on "strange patterns of severe weather".

The Horizon documentary wasn't about global warming. It was just about weird weather; whether it's increasing, and what people plan to do about it, and *possible* causes.

Andrew is being just as disingenuous as those he's critising by painting all discussions about weather changes with a "climate" brush.

Melting Arctic leads to snowy winters

Re: What Am I Missing?

"Which is another way of saying that Arctic ice levels have been <i>increasing</i> since 2007."

Err, no.

If I place three bets and I lose on all of them, if the first loss was the biggest, it doesn't mean the rest of my losses since then are somehow magically turned into winnings, does it?

Google swings new mobile unlock patent punch at Apple

Re: Re: Patents...

Hmm, anyone every unlocked a gate or garage door with a bolt? It's like you slide it sideways, and...it unlocks.

Amazon Kindle 3 e-book reader

however

Seeing as all your books are stored on amazon anyway, you just get another kindle, enter your email address, and all your books are downloaded automatically.

Vote Lib Dem, doom humanity to extinction

doomed to humanity

Possibly the worst piece I have read on the reg for some time - I thought the Sun was good at scaremongering but this takes the biscuit.

Welcome Lewis to my new ignore list - you and Orlowski will be very happy together.

Many more articles like this and I'll be setting my homepage to the bbc instead.

Apple in shock public attack on Adobe

really?

"As of today, there is not a single mobile device which runs a full version of Flash. None. Zip. Nada."

http://theflashblog.com/?cat=56

seems you're wrong

A multitasking iPad? Let's bin the netbook

deal breakers

The form factor.

It's good for movies yeah? So I hear - but spending 2.5 hours with my arms in front of me like a I'm driving a car doesn't sound like fun. I only have two hands and I want them BOTH available whilst I'm watching a film (to eat/drink/smoke/masturbate).

Touch screens are great for small and large devices - small devices like a phone, large devices like a blackboard or screen for presentations.

When I first saw the iPad, I thought it looked rubbish because the plastic surround was so big - then I realised, "how else can you hold it with one hand?!".

The only thing I'd want this device for, is an e-reader, and my Kindle does a better job. I can turn the pages with one hand, the battery lasts for months at a time, I don't have an annual contract and can use it anywhere in the world with cell phone reception, it's easy to read, works great outside in sunlight, and I get my newpapers delivered to it every morning. It doesn't have nice page-turn animations like in the iPad advert (the guy turns 10 pages in 2 seconds...who really does that!?), but in reality I don't care about how "realistic" the page turn animations are - page turning is less than 1% of a reading experience. The rest is, well, reading!

It may very well work for games - although I have my money on Project Natal at the moment for that....

Leaked details on HP iPad challenger reveal tight fight

Correct

I stand corrected. You'll get a 0.5Mb stream on that lovely big screen (until they develop something specifically).

no iPlayer at all

You won't be able to use iPlayer at all on the iPad - it requires flash, innit?

Apple details iPad's 'breakthrough' mobile contract

Michael C

Thanks for the emphasis hints in your text, I'd have had NO IDEA otherwise.

Murdoch promises WSJ on the iPad

IFad

@RichyS With a 24 month contract and hideous roaming charges, I doubt it will be cheap.

The iPad will be a good "lounge" device for surving the net (without flash of course).

Reading on it, I just don't see the point. My kindle is far better; the battery lasts for weeks at a time, it has an easy to read screen, doesn't have a contract and doesn't have any roaming charges. When I read, I just want to do exactly that. I want the content. I want the text. I don't want pages "animated" as I go from one to the next.

Multimedia Encylopedia's didn't change the way we read. Wikipedia did. I don't want the content changed, I just want better, easier, quicker access to it.

For everything else I have my netbook. Jobs says "netbooks don't do anything well". Of course sell. They do that pretty well don't they Steve? The reason for that being they have a keyboard, fold away when not in use, are cheap, and have a built in stand so I can watch movies in bed.

Apple to take iPad orders this week?

on your hip

"The phone can live in its carger, instead of bothering me on my hip"

you wear your phone on your hip. nuff said...

Sky 3D soccer fails to score

More interesting?

More interesting than Man U vs Arsenal?

Go back to WoW!

Tories swallow Web 2.0, spit out £1m crowdsource prize

never head of 99designs?

It's actually not a bad system - see 99designs.com