* Posts by I Like Heckling

222 publicly visible posts • joined 30 Jan 2010

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Apple Fools: Times the House of Jobs went horribly awry

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Re: Apple peripherals....

I still use my old 5 button MS optical mouse that's around 3yrs old now, still working perfectly and currently attached to my mediaserver.

In the drawer next to me I still have my 13yr old MS keyboard that still works perfectly despite being repeatedly stripped down and the top half put through the shower to clean it out every few months... In fact I'm wondering why it's in the drawer and not attached to the media server instead of the dreadful £4 Tesco POS........

BRB

OK... that's sorted that out.

Microsoft USED to make fantastic durable peripherals... from what I hear today. They're not as good as they used to be... But then neither is the software they try to force upon you.

Net neut naught: Netflix throttles its own video

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If you're watching something on a sub 10" screen... then it really doesn't matter a great deal if you are watching in 480p.

If however you are streaming and 'casting' to a larger display then having the option to adjust to a higher bitrate would be nice.

Hackers giving up on crypto ransomware. Now they just lock up device, hope you pay

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Re: @Slef

aaaaaaaand... we're back to porn again.

Apps that 'listen in' to your mobile get slapped by US watchdog

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Re: What Frequency is used?

@Hurn

Fortunately the newest Android system allows me to lock out permissions in each app, and I lock out everything the app doesn't need to do what *I* want it to do. Permission to use microphone for an app that doesn't clearly need it? DENY.

This is EXACTLY why I purchased the WileyFox Storm recently, it'll be a long time before Android 6.xx becomes standard on handsets due to manufacturers refusing to patch or update vulnerable systems.

Cyanogen OS includes so many extra privacy features, more than even google provide in their latest version... and it's constantly updated.

Swedish publishers plan summer ‘Block Party’ to thwart ad blockers

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You Need 3 Things By Default To Browse The Net

Everyone should have the 3 following items installed in some form depending on OS/Browser and so forth.

1: AD Blocker

2: Script Blocker

3 Cookie Blocker

Personally I use

1: ABP

2: NoScript

3: Privacy Badger

Occasionally I run across a site that asks for the ad blocker to be disabled... some of these still allow full access and it's just asking (not forcing) and those that try to force it... I leave and never return.

For those who weren't aware, and that I've introduced to them... have been shocked by the number of things running behind the scenes. Just visiting what is a normally innocuous website can be filled with dozens of tracking cookies and numerous scripts that have nothing to do with the running of the site at all.

This website alone has 3 scripts that are blocked as well as a few tracking cookies and of course ads... Because until websites.. including this one learn that serving up bandwidth draining and potentially malicious services... is not the way to do business. Allow 3rd parties to server up content to your site is a security flaw that needs to be stopped.

Telemarketers hit with £70,000 fine for cold-calling pensioners

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What We Need Is Direct Compensation

I think that legislation should be made that forces these companies to compensate each individual person (whomever is named on the phone bill) for say £50-100 each.

Only by making it financially crippling to flout the regulations/laws will we see an end to these cowboys. Also make it illegal to hide their number in any form, with a fine of up to £500 per offence. Let the regulator collect the fines to go towards further cleaning up the system.

I'd also make it compulsory for all phone providers to provide free and easy access to blockers so they can in one swift go, block and log the number as a nuisance call and trigger an automatic complaint.

Facebook tells Viz to f**k right off

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Nostalgia Trip

I've not read Viz in a very, very long time... but from the late 80's through the 90's I or friends would often pick up a copy.

We even contributed slang words to them on more than one occasion... with many of them referring to a ladies front bum*. :)

*I used the term 'front bum' because I wasn't sure if El Reg would let me use the word 'cunt'

AMD accuses Intel of VW-like results fudging

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AMD = Better VFM

I had a few Intel PC's... from a 386 with turbo, right up to the PII Slot A. After that I started building my own and went with AMD because it was better value for money... At the time they were beating Intel, and my old T-Bird 1.2ghz would happily run @1.5Ghz. Over the years I continued with AMD and overclocking until around 2010... When I built a crossfire graphics setup with a Phenom II X4 BE... When I replaced that system 4yrs later I went with a single graphics card and a 6 core FX... I stopped overclocking as it no longer seemed worth it. I wasn't bothered about a few extra FPS in games.

I'm due a motherboard upgrade this year (was the one item I skimped on in the rebuild), so I'll see what they bring out and if it's AM3+ compatible. If so, I'll get a decent MB and upgrade the CPU the following year. Then it's just a question of adding a second video card again and I'll be good for 4K gaming for years to come.

Alert after Intel Skylake chips, mobo sockets 'warp under coolers'

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Re: Sounds familiar.

Same here... bought a titan fenir back in 2010 when I was OC'ing a Phenom II 955BE. Earlier this year I swapped out the MB for a Asus sabretooth and an FX8320BE and it still idles at around 36ºC and never gets above 55ºC when at full load gaming. Also swapped out the crosfire pair of 5770's for an R9280X and the whole rebuild cost me £200 after I resold the old parts on fleabay.

I also bought a Noctua cooler for the mediaserver and stepped the fans down so it runs quieter... and that is barely audiable across the room at all... and when the TV is on you can't hear a thing. That aircooler is coping very nicely with one of the hotter FX cpu's running at 4.2ghz and still never gets above 62ºC when transcoding for up to three other devices whilst also playing a movie/tv show locally... even if it's transcoding HEVC x265 stuff.

I used to buy air coolers everytime something better came along... at one point I had a drawer full of them. Had the very first heatpipe cooler, the first Jet cooler and so forth. I was so OCD about getting low temps whilst overclocking that if it went over 50ºC under heavy use I consider the cooler inadequate.

But 18yrs of building my systems, and the fact I've stopped overclocking them because it now seems pointless... and this Titan Fenir is still going strong.

I doubt it would cope with one of the FX9xxx series though... I think a 220w load is more than most basic tower coolers can handle. But if I was going to build a rig with one of those, I'd probably do a custom water cooled setup.

Doctor Who: Oh, look! There's a restaurant at the end of the universe in Hell Bent

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I can't make up my mind...

Was this a good episode, or another mediocre one with moments of genius... I really am torn on it. There were some lovely touches, some great moments from Capaldi who seems to be at his best when there's no Clara around... and that's not just because I have disliked that particular companion all along for her gormless and useless contributions to the plots of the last 2 seasons... whilst the writers desperately try to paper over the flaws in her character and give her depth and meaning.

I actually cried out 'Thank F*ck for that' when the new sonic screwdriver appeared at the end... good riddance to the glasses... the most pointless sonic device ever conceived of in this show.

I can see how the writers might want to set up a return of Clara, or a spin off. Maisie Williams has been excellent in her role and I'd like for her to reprise it at some point. But Clara's time is done and they should have killed her off and be done with it instead of this.

Once again we have a timelord character regenerating from male to female, the second time it's happened in the Capaldi era. Not only that, they went from white middle aged man to young black woman... They are certainly gearing up to do something similar with the Doctor, and that I think is long overdue if they can pull it of in the same way they did with Missy.

But aside from all of the wonderful genius moments... there was a lot of overindulgent and pointless melodrama that left me feeling bored.

I can't make up my mind if I really enjoyed this episode or not... the moments of brilliance overshadowed by the pointless bits or did they do enough to edge them above it all... it's 50/50 right now. Perhaps I need to watch the season again in the new year and look for little things I may have missed... but I was looking forward to the death of Clara and I feel cheated by what they did in the end.

Roll on the xmas special is all I can say... and please start a new arc so we can finally put this one ot sleep.

Doctor Who: The Hybrid finally reveals itself in the epic Heaven Sent

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Finally it starts to come together.

Well... I have been highly critical of this season so far... very few highlights in what has been a mediocre and dull build up.

But what an episode... carried entirely on the back of Capaldi who seemed to relish finally getting his chops into something meaty.

Great acting, decent writing, great directing and some nice one liners... the Tardis as a place to think reminds me of the Mind Palace from Sherlock... and I sniggered a little at that. But it was handled effectively enough.

At moments i could have sworn I actually heard Tom bakers voice such was the gravitas and finesse of the delivery... perhaps a bit of audio jiggery pokery too. Sent a little bit of a shiver down my spine when I heard it... or thought I did.

I did however think that it was spoon fed to the audience quite early on that it was the doctor leaving stuff for himself to find... scrapes of blood on the floor, shovels, clothes and the very old painting of Clara. I made the ending somewhat less than it should and could have been.

I'm not sure if one great episode makes up for all the mediocre and bad ones so far this year... and for once... I was not disappointed to see Clara for a few seconds. Knowing that she's dead soothes me and I really hope that don't pull a Ewing and he finds her in the shower in the morning... although I think they'll probably save that for the Doctor XXX porn parody.

Doctor Who: Even the TARDIS key can't unpick the chronolock in Face the Raven

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To paraphrase Robert Downey Jnr (because some one else mentioned him) as Iron Man.

Please be dead, please be dead, please be dead..... YAY!

If they bring her back in any way shape or form... I honestly think I will be done with this show. She has been a noose around it's neck for far too long (as I've often said) and I too have been suffering from death fatigue this series.

Ding Dong Clara's Dead, Clara's Dead, Clara's Dead... Ding Dong the useless Clara's dead.... I hope.

Capaldi on the other hand was fantastic, he has been the one bright light shining through the terrible writing of this series. A menacing darkness bubbling just underneath the surface the whole time that just slips through the cracks at the end. A testament to Maisie Williams acting ability in how she reacted to it... and thus the small ray of hope that she may become a future companion is dashed.

So the Doctor is teleported away some where mysterious and cannot be tracked without his tardis key... so I'm kinda thinking that they'll simply have had Clara slip her key into his pocket at some point towards the end.

But that would just be lazy writing wouldn't it... and they've not offered up predictable lazy stuff like that this series have they.... Oh... wait a minute.

Doctor Who: Nigel Farage-alike bogey beast terrorises in darkly comic Sleep No More

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I don't think I was watching the same episode as the author of this article... and WTF has his hatred of UKIP got to do with DW. Leave your personal bigotry in your personal life please.

As for the episode itself... yet another in a long line of snoozefests this series. Capaldi just isn't getting the opportunities to shine like he did last year. This years series has been on the whole dire, mediocre drivel... Out of 9 episodes, there have only been two of any note... both with Maise Williams in... and perhaps one scene in the season opener.

I'll be blunt... I have disliked Oswalds character virtually from the beginning.... the first outing of her character in Asylum of the Daleks aside. She's has been a noose on the show for far too long. Sure many of you may like her, but I don't and it's really, really dragging the show down for me when it's paired up with poor writing and crap like sonic specs, breaking the 4th wall and speaking directly to the audience have all cried of a show in turmoil that needs to find it's direction again.

I must admit that the main reason I am still watching this year is because I want to see Clara's demise... I don't want to see here leave... I want to see her dead... so there's no chance of her coming back.

As for the next companion... why not make it a bloke... there have been plenty in the past and I think that they're perhaps building up to the next doctor being female... and that perhaps Missy was a test to see how the audience would react to a major character changing gender.

Roll on next week... roll on the demise of Clara 'useless' Oswald.

Bosch, you suck! Dyson says VW pal cheated in vacuum cleaner tests

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WTF?

Re: Bad tests and worse marketing

Physics aside for a moment... I can see a real world scenario side to this and have experienced it a lot... and found the solution.

Problem - Boiling a kettle with more water in it than you need is a waste of energy - Now you might think 'just put less in it then' but it's not always that easy. If you just want a single cup of water, which is approx 275-300ml for the average cup of tea. Kettles tend not to work with such small amounts in them (they should have protection for low levels to prevent explosions... as my sister once found out by turning on an empty kettle many, many years ago).

The low level indicator on nearly all of my old kettles required at least 600-900ml before it was at the minimum mark. So for a single cup, you are using 3x the amount of energy required.

The other downside to boiling more water than you need... is reboiling the same water for the next cup and the one after that and so forth... ruins the taste of your tea.

The other problem is one I was always doing... put the kettle on, walk off to do something else (chat with a visitor for example) and forget about it... Have to boil the kettle again... either reboiling water or using fresh... both of which are a waste of energy and resources.

The solution has been very simple... I switched to a one cup kettle. Fill it up, it boils 280-300ml of water and fills a single cup. It's perfect, consumes less energy and doesn't waste water or cause reboiling.

Is it a perfect solution... No, the design of the one cup kettles are not perfect. But since I got one, I've never wasted any water or electricity on cups of tea since. In fact my folks have converted to one too. Not only is it easy to use for my disabled dad (who could no longer lift/fill a kettle), but they got the top of the range one with adjustable cup sizes... small for my dad, medium for my mum and because I like the large mug... Guess which setting I choose.

It's not without it's downside... making multiple cups of tea or a pot is kind of a no go now. But it takes 24 seconds from hitting the button to having a mug of hot drink... compared to 2-3 mins to boil my old kettle.

The coffee machines also work in a similar way, such as the tassimo and only boil enough water to fill a cup... Although I do believe some of the older models used to preheat the water to reduce prep times. So if the newer ones don't do that... saves energy.

So I can fully understand if they wanted to regulate kettles in a similar fashion... but if they seriously think they can reduce the power of kettles and outlaw >2kw ones in favour of <1kw ones... they're bonkers.

Doctor Who's The Girl Who Died ships in nasty Vikings floating atop a time-bending tidal wave

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Re: SEGIRÐU:AFTUR

VIÐ:KLÆÐAST:HORN:EKKI

A frog... in which bidet?

Oh... sorry, wrong show.

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Finally a Decent Episode

After suffering through the durge that has been this season so far... sonic sunglasses ffs, breaking the 4th wall (are they trying to give of a deadpool vibe)... some would say homages to other movies and shows... I say poor writing and a lack of decent ideas.... Desperately trying to make Clara something other than the poorly developed 2 dimensional character she's been since the beginning... Finally, we have an episode worth watching instead of watching and cringing.

Don't get me wrong... it wasn't perfect by any means... nothing screams pandering more than those stupid sonic sunglasses... undoubtedly the worst idea of sonic something ever conceived (and something that will date the show and make it laughable in future) in a way that hasn't been done in 50yrs.

But it was fun, it was clever, it was poignant and it hinted at something dark and foreboding to come. The twist of remembering where the face came from and why he chose it was a nice touch of continuity (let's pretend Torchwood never existed and gloss over that character please).

It's by far the best episode of this season so far, a season which has been awful in my opinion... But they are finally starting to understand this doctor and capaldi is starting to step up his performances. He remains the one constant in this show... If only the plots and writing could be stepped up to match his acting abilities.

At least I have one thing to look forward to in future episodes... the (hopefully) death of Clara and good riddance to her character. It's been a noose around the show for 2 long years.

I'm actually all for Maise Williams taking on the role of companion myself... an immortal alongside a timelord. The possibilities there are endless.

I'm actually looking forward to next weekends episode now... instead of dreading it like I was after the first episode and the following 3 eps.

Microsoft offers to PAY YOU to trade in your old computer for a Windows 10 device

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No Fecking Way

MS can feck right off, I've had to constantly monitor mine and my folks PC's for sneaky updates from US pushing their crap OS. Only 2 days ago I found that updates that had been removed and hidden had been automatically installed by MS updates, and 3 times in one day I had to remove the 'optional' but automatically downloaded 3GB OS... each time it was a factionally different size and seemingly counted as a 'new' update.

I'll stick with Win7 Pro thanks... if only for the reason that my media server is primarily used for Media centre and there simply isn't an acceptable alternative that's as reliable as the emby (used to be called Media Browser) plugin and server. I've tried others, but none can be started from the remote (I've tried all sorts of so called fixes) and none have the look, feel and flexibility.

So feck orf MS... I was actually converted from dodgy copies of your OS into a paying customer and purchased 4 versions of Win7... But you can feck orf now. I'll stick with these until they fall over and then I'll probably get a few Roku boxes and a NAS to replace the media server (in fact I'll most likely convert the media server into a NAS, it'll be overkill I know). If I do have to have a desktop for gaming, it will be locked down and the insidious spyware will be removed, blocked and thwarted by every means possible.

You converted me into a paying customer and now you converted me into a non paying customer again... Well done... Well done indeed.

Wileyfox Swift: Brit startup budget 'droid is the mutt's nuts

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Re: Dammit

Thank you Lionel Baden & Ol'Peculier for the suggestion, testing it out to see if it works for me... Calls aren't the biggest problem, it's the damn sms spam I hate the most.

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Dammit

I just picked up a 2nd Gen Moto G a couple of months ago, and this comes along with slightly better specs for just £3 more than I paid.

The call blocking and individual app feature blocking appeals to me a great deal... things that google have promised time and time again and then reneged on.

More than happy with my phone... just typical of the way my luck goes... Pick up the best phone on the market for less than £200 and a better one comes along that's even cheaper than the RRP of mine (I got it on sale).

Seeing as phones tend to last 3-4yrs before I upgrade... I'll probably be looking at one in 2018... so a 3rd or 4th gen if they're still around.

In the meantime... call blockers for lollipop that actually work... Mr Number no longer does on 5.0.2 and was effectively worthless... suggestions on a postcard please.

Vodafone UK rocks the bloat with demands for vanilla Android

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Bloatware is a curse

It needs to be eradicated as much as possible... I am a Moto G 2nd Gen owner and aside from a couple of motorola specific apps (which I believe can be uninstalled) it's very close to pure android... and for a quarter of the price of a Nexus.... I paid £126 for mine from Amazon. I prefer to be on a sim only deal as it's far better value for money and I'm never tied into a contract.

The worst offenders are Samsung and HTC who build at least a dozen or more apps into the build which cannot be uninstalled. HTC for example have Farcebook and Twiter apps, then on top of that their Sense apps for both... Effectively forcing you to have 4 apps for 2 things.

I am fully in agreement with any mobile operator that attempts to eradicate bloatware... even if it's because they're tried it, found it didn't work and are still getting grief from their customers about it because manufacturers are still ramming it down your throats.

It's one of the areas that google went wrong with Android, allowing it to be butchered by anyone... I understand the reasoning behind it... it gave them dominant market share. Time to reel things in a little I think.

The recent stagefright bug and the newer security issues being found only serve to highlight to users/customers that they need better updates more frequently for at least 3yrs after a device is released.

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Re: I imagine...

A phone is a tool... people who buy phones because it's new and shiny... are tools. :)

Get whimsical and win a Western Digital Black 6TB hard drive

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Sigh.... no one ever swipes right.

Testing Motorola's Moto G third-gen mobe: Is it still king of the hill?

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2nd Gen owner

I've just picked up a 2nd gen model for the princely sum of £126 brand new from Amazon (not via warehouse deals).

Typically I only change my phone every 3-4yrs... when they either break or become so obsolete that they become pointless using anymore. My old HTC Desire HD... had served me well for 4yrs and was still in good shape, works perfectly. But simply couldn't keep up with progress. I lost count of the number of times I couldn't install an app because it was still Android 2.3.5.

Now I couldn't give a shit about owning the latest phone... it's a tool that I need and use for day to day things... but it's not a 'must have latest/greatest' type of product... so I tend to regard those who must have the latest and greatest as 'tools' too. :)

I did want a Nexus device... but the price point was ridiculous for a phone. and I did my research and settled on the 2nd Gen Moto G because it was simply the best phone on the market in that price range... and at £126 there simply isn't anything out there to beat it.

I'm not fussed that some reviewer thinks the camera isn't up to scratch... it's frickin phone, you take opportunist snaps with it and nothing else. If you're trying to take serious amateur photographs with a phone... well, get your head examined. Buy a camera designed for the task instead of complaining that your phone camera isn't good enough.

Any hoo.... The phone is great, voice recognition is excellent, calls are clear and crisp (and I don't live in the best reception area), the screen is bright and clear... It does everything I need it too excellently and at a price point far below that of your average sheeple.

Is it the best phone around... No, is it the best phone you can buy for less than £150... Absofrickinloutely

Samsung looks into spam ads appearing on Brits' smart TVs

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Same thing here

Had some notification that kept popping up to tell me about some game... No way to turn of these notifications.

I had to dig into the menu and delete all notifications that were stored, only for it to keep popping up every hour... even though there were no notifications listed.

I don't use the 'smart' side of my TV anyway, but it is connected to my home network and media server via wireless so I can stream music, movies and tv shows that I have stored on it.

Bad move Samsung... I have been a fan of your TV for many years, and have owned many Samsung DVD and now BD players. I currently own 3 Samsung TV's and 2 of them are now 7 & 8 yrs old with the other being less than 1yr old. I liked the anynet feature that allowed me to control multiple devices with a single remote

But given recent activities by your company regarding things like this... When I replace those 2 TV's.... I shall be looking elsewhere I think.

Goodbye Vulcan: Blighty's nuclear bomber retires for the last time

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I remember them from my childhood

I have very strong memories of seeing them at an airshow my folks used to take us to every year... I know it started with an H... possibly Hendon in the mid to late 70's and maybe even early 80's.

The noise these planes made was the flew past was incredible, and I fell in love with the sleek looks.

Back then, aircraft were able to do supersonic flybys and I remember several sonic booms from aircraft as they passed, but I cannot recall which ones as I was only a kid. I just remember all the different planes, the Red Arrows display, parachutists landing on a little target and motorcycle display teams... and the smell of jet fuel mixed with freshly made doughnuts.

In fact my strongest memory of those airshows is not the aircraft, but the ferris wheel we went on... My older brother, younger sister and I went on it together... and it was going far to fast and all of us were in tears... according to my folks, huge sparks and that were coming from some of the machinery and electrics... and my mum was screaming at them to stop it. I used to love ferris wheels until that day and didn't go on another one for around 20yrs after.

Pisspoor EE customer service earns it a cool £1 MILLION Ofcom fine

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Re: ...

and I'm one of them... Got a better deal from 3 for 60% less than T-Mobile... sorry EE were offering. All this after 16yrs of custom, never taking a free upgrade phone (I prefer to buy my own and steer clear of long contracts)... I also had a joint account as I supply a phone for my pensioner mother who's not great with technology and she'd been a customer for 10yrs.

26yrs custom combined and their 'customer' service couldn't give a crap about retaining it.

3 on the other hand are excellent... never had a single issue that's required me to phone them and never tried to tack on extra charges nor put the monthly price up.

Microsoft: Stop using Microsoft Silverlight. (Everyone else has)

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Re: Sky Go

Yup... Sky Go does indeed still use silverlight, and still has repeated problems using it... and they wanted to charge me an extra £5 a month to be able to use it on more than 2 devices. I told the customer service rep quite bluntly... why would I pay for something that doesn't work properly... or does paying the money suddenly fix it?

She couldn't answer that.

This is one of the reasons I dropped Sky TV just over a year ago... I still have broadband and phone, but the TV service was a joke considering the cost.

Instead I use the spare device for Sky Go from my folks (I only use it for the F1, as I haven't watched broadcast TV for years and Freeview HD is sufficient).... tempted to add multi room to them and get it all back for a quarter of the cost... after all, I would never plug in a sky box to the phone or broadband.

Cambridge boffins: STOP the rush to 5G. We just don't need it

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I live in a small town of around 25,000... and it's great for many things... Peace and quiet, decently low crime rate in my part of town... But it's hard to get a decent 3G signal, and 4G is just a pipe dream.

But at least I have a fibre connection... close enough to a few more major towns that investment in the whole area happened.

Expand 4G so everyone can make use of it... there are still way to many phones out there that don't even have it. Coverage is so bad that manufacturers put out 2 versions of the same phone with and without so that those who can't make use of it are paying a subsidy for those who can.

Once coverage improves all manufacturers will switch to all 4G compatible phones.

IN YOUR FACE, Linux and Apple fans! Oculus is Windows-only for now

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Having just upgraded to an R9 280X it's great to know that my decent card isn't good enough... because I have no plans to upgrade it further anytime soon... I've just built this system to replace my old one, but opted for a mATX board from a friend (cost me £20) instead of the Xfire one I really wanted (£130). But I may upgrade the board at the end of the year, and may get another 280X and go Xfire again... Last time I did that the system lasted me 5yrs and could play anything at high res 1920x1080 without issues.

But then again... I could give a rats ass about Oculus as anything more than a minor fad for elitists to crow about. The fact that it's owned by Farcebook is just another nail in it's coffin.

Verizon in SUDDEN $4.4bn AOL GOBBLE, aims to make fourplay more exciting

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It's all about the media

AOL is a lot more than just the old ISP, it includes many media outlets... Such as the Huffington Post....so consider this.

Verizon is a staunch anti net neutrality supporter... It's been very vocal in lobbying against it.

Media outlets such as the Huffington Post have been very supportive of net neutrality, campaigning strongly for it.

Now I'm not straight out saying that the reason they bought AOL is to dampen down reporting on net neutrality and things in the same vein as SOPA... But let's see what happens when the subject rears it's head again, and how vocal these Verizon owned media outlets cover it.

YouTube flushes Flash for future flicks

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I am torn about which browser to use... I like chrome (I never login with an account though) but it has some serious issues when dealing with popunder tabs and redirects... that adblockers and so forth can't stop... But it runs 90% of the websites I use daily with out issue.

But I switched back to Firefox simply because those sites that chrome is unable to handle properly, Firefox does... But the dreaded flash in firefox is just abysmal. I cannot go for more than a few stories on the BBC website without it crashing..., but before it crashes... it freezes, then gives me a dialogue box asking if I want to continue or stop the plugin... I stop the plugin... it freezes again for another 15 seconds... and I go through this process about 5 or 6 times before I get the stop script dialogue... and even then it sometimes carries on forcing me to quit the browser.

So now I have to use 2 browsers... chrome for some sites that still insist on heavy flash use... BBC, get with modern times please. and then firefox for the rest... especially private browsing. the adblock plugins work better in firefox than anything else I've tried.

I am uptodate with browsers and flash plugin... it's just so bad that I wish it a swift a fiery death, never to grace my screen again.

Watch out Seagate: Here comes WD with a hybrid flash/disk drive launch

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Re: Really, El Reg...

>I don't usually vote on comments I've commented on but you're so special, have a downvote on me.

Get out of bed the wrong side, not had that cup of coffee yet that makes you appear... ya know... Human?

OP, have an upvote to cancel out the commentards.

ASA slaps Ebuyer AGAIN - this time for ignoring regulator

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Ebuyer - Probably the worst online retailer I've dealt with

I've used ebuyer before... quite a few times. But out of the 6 times I've purchased from them and with each order normally being in excess of the £100 mark... 50% of those orders have encountered issues... and 100% of the customer service staff have been ignorant, unhelpful and/or downright rude.

1: The graphics card that turned up was not the one ordered and delivery (which was 2 days late) was refused. Had to fight for a refund which took a further three weeks.

2: Hard drive that failed after 10 days and which they denied they were responsible for, even had a member of their staff suggest I was trying to fob off an old on them until I offered to send him a pic of the serial numbers that proved it was manufactured just a couple of months earlier (according to the manufacturers website). Tried to tell me I had to go to them for a replacement... until I started quoting the exact parts of the sale and supply of goods act to them and making sure that they knew I was aware of the law and in fact obviously knew more than them.

3: Monitor that they claimed had been sent and was delayed due to problems with their courier... had not in fact been sent at all and their staff couldn't even get their stories straight giving me three different versions of events in an order that would have been impossible to happen in real life.

They deactivate peoples accounts out of spite if they complain, they try and report people on forums if they say things against them... So I fully expect their down votes on this comment.

The true measure of any company is what they do when things go wrong... and ebuyer have failed entirely in that regard. As such I have never spent another penny with them... even if they were cheaper. I would rather spend more with a company I know for a fact gives much better customer service... Like aria, scan... hell even amazon have a top notch customer service dept in my book. ebuyer are a joke outfit and I will gladly point people to their competitors and inform them not to trust ebuyer at all.

Star Wars: Episode VII trailer lands. You call that a lightsaber? THIS is a lightsaber

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Joke

If only there was an Exibit icon

YO!... I heard you like lightsabres, so we added lightsabres to your lightsabre, so you can lightsabre whilst lightsabering.

Sony quietly POODLE-proofs Playstations

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I suspect that the author just really likes being able to use the word POODLE in an IT article... Either it's a slow news day, or they're very easily amus.... SQUIRREL!!!

Far Cry 4 review: It's a far cry from Far Cry 3

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After spending a few hours playing FC4... all I can say is that it's just FC3.5... The locations have changed as have the NPC's. But essentially it's exactly the same. Gain skill points to unlock new attributes, craft goodies from plants and animal skins, unlock broadcast towers and complete missions.

It looks ok... except for the fact that the game has been released with some major bugs, the visuals were awful until you messed around with settings. Shadows were pitch black and you were unable to see anything and there's a bug which makes the map black completely. As you tinker with the settings trying to get something that works... the game looks awful if you can't use the highest settings, especially the lighting ones... without that it looks like shite.

Plus the game can be completed in under 30 mins... just wait for Pagan Min to come back about 8-10 mins after he leaves and he takes you to where you were heading and you can complete the game that way... without ever doing a mission.

But the worst thing about this game is that you cannot skip through cut scenes at all... and the first cut scene is around 10 mins long... after that they can be a little shorter but die or fail a mission and you have to suffer it again and again and again...

Unfortunately on the PC...it runs like a bag of sand unless you have the very latest hadware. I'm running a Phenom II X4 955BE @ 3.75ghz and 2x 5770 in Xfire and even at 1280x720 with settings on high (2 levels down from max) it's struggling to get an average 35fps... Which makes it unplayable really... Yes I know my hardware is a little old, but until this game I have been able to play everything I've thrown at it @1920x1080 and settings pretty much at max levels.

It reminds me of when GTAIV was released for PC and it ran like utter crap... I had the latest hardware back then as I'd built a new PC just 2 months before it came out. Couldn't get a playable frame rate at 1280x10124 then (old 4:3 LCD monitor) and Rockstar made the pathetic statement that the game had been designed to run on hardware that wasn't out yet... when in reality it was just a badly optomised port of the Xbox version and ran like complete crap... I left the game until I built this one 2yrs later and you know what I found... even on hardware that wasn't around at the time... it still ran like crap.

But this time it's Ubisoft... and I know how they screw games up... so my money is waiting to see if they fix the problems that are wrong in the... erm... evaluation version I've tried.

All of the other FC games I own on steam, and FC3 is a basty on that because Ubisoft won't remove the uplay crap, nor will they patch the game to stop it trying to connect to their nonexistent servers every time you open the in game menu... which takes about a min to fail so you can carry on... Never had that problem in the evaluation versions out there.

and this ladies and gents... is exactly why piracy exists, because they have a better gaming experience than those that actually purchase them.

At the moment... I'll do what I did with FC3... wait for the summer sale on steam and pick it up for £5. :)

I'M SO SORRY, sobs Rosetta Brit boffin in 'sexist' sexy shirt storm

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He should never have apologised in the first place because he's got nothing to be sorry about... His crime was not having much in the way of 'acceptable' fashion sense... and by acceptable, I mean those pathetic types who actually judge a person based on their attire.

The only thing this has proved is that the online faux outrage community... otherwise known as 'Bullies' have proven yet again that if you shout loud enough and pretend to be outraged enough.. You can attempt to humiliate and upset a person so much that they think about changing who they are... when the person they already are is perfectly fine already.

It's yet another example of misandry being mistaken for feminism... but in the most basic terms... It's simple prejudice and bigotry towards someone just because they don't like something he was wearing... people like that are pathetic little individuals with so little meaning in their lives that bulling a person in this manner is their only means of satisfaction.

The internet has many great things about it... but the ability to act and berate people in this manner is one of them that I wish didn't exist... Stupid, moronic, pathetic little scrotes the lot of them.

Nexus 9: Google and HTC deliver Android 5.0 'Lollipop' at iPad prices

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I bought one of the original Tesco Hudl tablets last year, and it's done exactly what I need it to at a fraction of the cost. I don't really play games on my phone or tablet... that's why I have a PC (also used for work).

It still does what I need it too... So the only reasons I can see for anyone to replace their tablet are thus.

1: They're the lame types that 'have to have' the latest stuff regardless of whether what they have is still of use.

2: They want Android Lollipop

I like my gadgets, and I like to get new ones when I can... However I don't believe in wasting money on replacing stuff that works perfectly well. If anyone I know makes any attempt to point out that what I have is 'old'... I simply mock them for their gullible devotion to consumerism and suggest that if they don't already own one... to buy something from Apple like the good little sheeple they are. :)

My phone was released in Nov 2010 and still works well, does everything I need it to and when it breaks, I'll replace it. My computer was built in 2010, and because I looked ahead and invested in Xfire graphics, still plays anything I throw at it in full HD.

The only thing I was considering replacing was my TV, it's only 32" and was bought so long ago that it's 720p and 1080i... and I do so much now that requires proper 1080p. But as I was given another 32" that is 1080p... theres no need to replace it at all and the old one was put to use in the bedroom.

The one thing that does bug me about the Hudl though, and it goes for every phone manufacturer out there... and this could be the best and most honest reason to change a device... Manufacture bloatware and refusal to upgrade the OS on devices.

I've suffered from this and it pisses me of a great deal... So much that when I do need to replace my phone, the only alternative I would consider is a Nexus device... the same goes for my tablet.

But NOT because they are the new 'shiny' gadget out there, but because of the lack of bloatware and the speed at which updates become available... I don't imagine I'll be doing any of that soon, I have better things to spend my money on than the latest toy that isn't needed.

Want a more fuel efficient car? Then redesign it – here's how

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Re: Even simple maintenance helps

True... just keeping on top of maintenance, with oil changes every year regardless of mileage (I average less than 5k a year), keeping the fluids and pressures at optimum, or as is the case with tyres, a fraction above optimum... So as mine is supposed to be 32 psi, I keep them at 34 psi.

Manufacturer specs my Mondeo diesel at 58mpg, yet on long motorway trips using the cruise control... I've averaged 64 mpg at times.

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Interesting article, but ultimately pointless in some regards... I do agree that keeping an older car on the road is more cost effective than trading it in for a newer and more economical one. though, I've done that myself to a certain degree.

I used to own a nice V6 coupe, 200bhp (import version) and according to manufacturers specs, capable of 32mpg extra urban. Now bear in mind that when I got my hands on it, it was already 14yrs old and had been neglected a fair bit.

I replaced the knackered clutch with an uprated one, and fitted a lightened flywheel shaving 9lbs of it's 23lb weight. I fitted larger and yet lighter wheels, I improved suspension and braking, added extra torsion stiffness front and rear and fitted a fully stainless system with custom manifolds. I also improved airflow into the engine and fitted a larger catalytic convertor (jap ones were a third smaller than EU ones). I then set about making sure the engine was in tip top condition. Luckily these engines are pretty bullet proof and after some new gaskets,a proper flush, new O2 sensors, plugs and leads... I took it to the Nurburgring. On the 450 mile trip from the UK to Germany and with a car full of camping gear and 2 people, we averaged just over 35 mpg. We travelled at an average of 60mph, with occasional blasts up to 80 mph for overtaking, or just a little fun. If we'd stuck with a steady 60 the entire way, that could easily have been 36-38 mpg. In an unloaded car with only the driver, on a 250 mile motorway journey, she averaged 37 mpg. When put on a rolling road she topped out at 223 bhp.

I imagine that had I removed the aircon pump, and gone to electric steering and a more efficient alternator... I took could have seen 40+ mpg.

But the problem is... it's no fun owning a sports car and then driving it like a doddery old fool out for a Sunday drive at the slowest speed you can get away with. These cars were meant to be driven, and 90% of my driving was short journeys of around 25 miles at a time... and I averaged around 24-25 mpg... Because blasting around country roads on the way to see people is a lot more fun than driving in a car convoy of friends on the way to a racing track and trying to save as much money on the trip out, because you knew you'd be wasting all that fuel on the track.

As for the track time itself... in 7 laps of the Nordschleife I averaged about 17mpg and completed the circuit with a best time of 9 mins 48s... It wasn't the car, but the driver that ran out of nerves and was a little more conservative than I could have been... But that said, Lap one took 11 mins 23s and I improved on each one after that shaving 1 min 35s of my time. With more practice time, more money and better tires... Who knows how much more I could have shaved off.

Batman in the frame to take on Steve Jobs

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Yeah that's what we need

'Another' film about him... I didn't bother seeing the last one and I won't bother with this one... I'm that uninterested that I won't even bother to pirate it. :)

I'd rather watch 'John Carter 2' or 'Noah 2: The Clean Up' or 'The Lone Ranger: Not Really Lone After All' or 'Milk 2: Really Trying to Milk It Now' or 'Transformers 5: Look I'm An iPhone Now'

Son of Hudl: Tesco flogs new Atom-powered 8.3-inch Android tablet

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Re: Hmmmm

I also have a Hudl, cost me about £50 after I doubled up some vouchers, battery life is reasonable and I've had no complaints with it at all over the last 12 months. It can be a little slow at times and the wifi can be a little flaky when the signal is weak... But aside from that it's been excellent value for money.

I'm very tempted to get the Hudl2, I noticed the original hudl had dropped to just £79 and was considering getting one for my mum this xmas. She would find it handy for reading and shopping and she doesn't need the best on the market... Then I figured I might just get the new one for myself and give her my old one instead.

If the new one is as good as the reviews suggest I'll get one, but I'm annoyed by the fact that tesco have doubled the price of a proper leather case for this one over the old one. Pushing the price of the tablet and case to £155. My vouchers are a little light this year, and if I double them I've only got about £70 towards it.

Doctor Who becomes an illogical, unscientific, silly soap opera in Kill The Moon

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I like Capaldi, I think he's bringing a much needed darker edge to the role after 2 much lighter ones.

But the bad writing and plots has not helped, and it's a testament to how good he's been that he's been able to shine through so much dirge.

I for one can live without Clara, I've never warmed to the character at all... it's like they are simply trying to paper over the flaws in her character in this season. Trying desperately to give her more depth and make her more interesting... It's not working.

As for the schoolchild... please... no more.

But there's one thing that annoys me more than anything this season... and that's the damn theme tune. It's simply dreadful, a symphony of noise that forces it's way into my ears screaming 'oooh, listen to me, aren't I completely different from the previous theme tunes, doesn't that make me special and great'... NO IT DOESN'T... The theme tune is like some one took some bad 80's synth pop and threw in a bit of orchestra to be clever... and even added a little bit of vibrato on some of the high notes... because that must make it cool right.

Then there's the visual opening sequence... which is really, really tacky... oooh look spiral clocks... because he's a time lord... geddit... nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, say no more.

As for the trailer for the next episode... Titanic in space... sorry, Orient Express in space with space mummies... give me a friggin break. But no Clara... that might just make it work.

Atlas snubbed! Ad blocker says it can kill Facebook's stalker tech

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Re: Not with a bang, but with a whimper

I too use the following plugins/extentions/addons.

2 ad blockers

2 script blockers

1 anti-tracker tool

This is alongside the antivirus, firewall and peerblocking programs I use.

I also use incognito/privacy modes quite often, and through my old hotmail (now outlook) account I create email aliases specifically for each website (should I need to sign up for something).

I always opt out of marketing and contact, and don't allow/tolerate my info being sold... So any email addy that suddenly starts getting spammed... The source is easily identified, and the company blacklisted and loses any future business.

I may not be able to do anything about the big picture... But I can protect myself as best I can and refuse to do business with any company that sells my data onwards without my explicit consent.

As for facebook... I have that blocked at the router level and it won't even load the little fb icons and can no longer be used to track me... those that do are immediately blocked.

George Clooney, WikiLeaks' lawyer wife hand out burner phones to wedding guests

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Irony indeed

"Day 4: 'News'-papers STILL rammed with Clooney nuptials"

Oooh the irony... Could easily have been

"3yrs later - Register still spouting on about Steve Jobs"

Galaxy Note 4 latest: Samsung rushes iPhone 6 Plus rival to China as Apple flails in dark

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I agree

"But are the newer options really worth committing into a contract that means I wouldn't be able to upgrade again for a long time?"

I agree with your comments entirely, I'm still using a HTC Desire HD (released end of 2010) that I picked up in 2011 from a friend who had it as an upgrade. It was far, far cheaper than buying a new phone or signing up for a contract.

I stick to very cheap contracts without much commitment. I currently pay £9.90 for my contract which gives me all the minutes, text & data that I need... I'm on wifi 90% of the time, so it's only when out and about that I need it... Yet to hit the 1gb limit each month.

The phone can be slow compared to others, and I know it's never going to be upgraded past Android 2.3.5... But it does what I need it to and although I am considering a replacement shortly. It's likely to be a Nexus device free from carrier bloatware. But it's got a great little camera and can still do 720p video, so it's still good for snaps when out and about.

I have always refused to pay through the nose for a subsidised phone and be tied to a long term contract and I cannot understand those who so willing throw away silly amounts of money on the latest piece of fashion tech (no matter who makes it).... and before anyone suggests I can't afford it... I can, I just have far better things to do with it.

But then again... I've always conformed to non-conformity ever since I was a teenager.

Hey, Mac fanbois. HGST wants you drooling over its HUGE desktop RACK

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My Mediaserver could soon need that.

"What vast digital media repository could possibly need 64 TERABYTES?"

I'm currently running my mediaserver with 12TB of storage, and with only 2TB of space left over the 4 drives. So I'll certainly be looking to replace the 3TB drives with at least 4TB ones soon... I'm slowly replacing all of my DVD rips with Bluray ones... and it's hard having to compress files due to storage concerns. At the moment the best films are done at between 10-20GB and the ones that I don't really care about as much are done at 4-8GB.

Then on top of that there are the TV shows that I've not even started on yet and want on the server.

Having just built a new mediaserver 6 months ago, which should see me through the next 5yrs (last one did me 4yrs and would still be going strong if I hadn't placed it precariously on the edge of the sofa when moving stuff around and cleaning... so that it fell to the floor upside down wrenching the heatsink free which duly smashed into the ram damaging both a stick of ram and the dimm slot... necessitating the upgrade)... I'm hoping that by the time I do want to rebuild again... I can simply buy a few 6-8TB drives at reasonable prices. My storage needs are increasing by around 4-5TB a year at the moment, so in 5yrs I'll be needing close to 30TB I reckon.... and a raid5 array would be ideal to cover loss of data.

and no... I am nether a student, nor is it all porn... I have a seperate 500gb drive just for the porn. :P

Straight to video: Facebook to add 'view counts' to autoplay newsfeed vids

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Re: No wonder ..

HTC were complete basties for hard coding facebook and twitter into their phones... Then on top of that you had their sense overlay versions... which meant you had two facebook apps that couldn't be uninstalled.

Thankfully I left facebook several years ago after using google+ in the beta more than 3yrs ago now... It's everything that facebook isn't... a decent social media platform that allows you to make new connections based on shared interests without having to see all the crap... no ads, no intrusion, seamless integration of vids, gifs and images. It's great for content creators and the best part of it is the video hangouts where up to 10 people can sit around and chat in real time with HD quality video.

and before anyone says it's a ghost town... learn to use it properly and you'll understand why it's so good.

No... I do not work for google, I just appreciate a social platform that does what it's supposed to without being a blight on the user.

Just in case? Unverified 'supersize me' iPhone 6 pics in sneak leak peek

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Joke

I have to weigh in... because it's important dammit.

The whole Opal fruit/starburst issue needs to be settled once and for all... Because they are NOT basically the same.

They removed the lemon and the lime and instead combined them into a single lemon & lime, so they could add the disgusting blackcurrent.

As a result, I will no longer buy them... they were the only packet of flavoured sweets I would buy and be able to eat every single flavour. The perfect treat during a movie, now they are polluted with the hideous blackcurrent flavour which means left over sweets... or worse still... a blackcurrent sweet being consumed in the dark by mistake.

Flavours may be different in other countries I guess... But they're British dammit and they ruined them by tampering with the flavours, I can live with the name change but not the flavour one.

Oh and Moya used to Opal Fruit out of danger before the damn marketing people got their hands on the damn scripts. :)

Oh... you though I was going to talk about an iphone.... This is far more important than some fruity symbol phone.

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