Posts by Blitterbug

Acer dishing out 16,400 cheap OLYMPIC laptops to schools

Re: Especially those who've had the misfortune to buy Acer kit in the past.

...?

As an independent consultant I see hundreds of different PCs & laptops each year. Obviously a large proportion of those are Acer lappies & the only issue is with their default software, Acer Empowering Technology' which should be renamed 'Acer Pours Treacle In Your CPU'.

Aside from this crud, & the Acer GameZone, all of which can be removed, Acer kit is solid enough. IME the major fails are VAIOs, which overheat & destroy their RAM if even very slightly mistreated (left resting on a soft surface while on, etc) & Tosh, which tend to blow their Aetheros Wifi cards up with gay abandon.

I've personally bought a few Toshes, Dells, Acers etc & have to say the Aspires are quite nice. Shame they dumped the 'proper' keys in favour of scrabble tiles though...

Apple patents shopping lists

Re: I'm getting fed up with the volume of ignorant comments on patents

So?

Virgin Media punters stung in mobile data bill cock-up

Re: well done chaps. good customer sevrvice all round!

The trolling is strong in this one...

Foldable NFC keyboard could tempt Android users

Re: Battery aside.....

And one /could/ argue 'chocolate teapot'...

Microsoft tightens grip on OEM Windows 8 licensing

Re: You know, I keep seeing you posting the above...

I beg your pardon??

I read then re-read your post several times and am still at an utter loss to know what you are referring to. 'Knowingly posting incorrect information'...'how do I rationalize dishonesty...'

As I am a huge fan of MS and a long-time coder in VS, and a defender-to-the-hilt of MS against nearly every anti-microsoft comment I find here, I am just flabberghasted. The only *two* things I dislike about them, and have commented - pretty extensively about - on this forum is Metro and (here for the very first time) the 'alleged' (better?) lockout of non-MS OSes from shop-bought Win 8 PCs.

I've also seen your username many times. I've read all your posts with interest, and replied to some in (what I hope) was a polite fashion. But it would never occur to me to accuse you - or any other poster, even rampantly nutty ones - of dishonesty.

I can honestly (!) say that I have never read anything quite like your post, and coming from someone whom I had assumed was a fellow Microsoft admirer, albeit one who takes a different view on some of their recent policies, just makes it all the more incredible.

Re: building it yourself just isn't an option.

Vic, you have a point but we're talking about Linux here and how MS are going to lock non-MS OSes out on shop-bought PCs, so I reckon full DIY will suddenly become rather attractive!

Re: But these days most people want a laptop

...Not sure if that's true.

Don't get me wrong, I treated meself to a nice new laptop a couple of months back - but it was mainly for on-the-go work, certainly would never use it as a main rig. The price was right & I needed a 2nd machine, but my main PC will *always* be a desktop for obvious reasons which include raw power w/out overheating, plus room for 4 HDDs (currently have around 3TB online, this could go up to 8 or more now we have 2TB & 3TB units).

I repair too many overheated laptops to ever rely on one as a primary PC!

Re: Is it worth the effort to hack?

Almost certainly not. And if I were an OEM I would give MS the middle-fingered salute over their new audit requirements. If enough big names tell 'em to fuck off, we could have our very own Windows Spring...

...And then I woke up. Bah!

Re: And if I don't want Windows?

Um - Shirley an uber-cool Linux beardy wouldn't be seen dead *buying* a PC on which to run the holy of holies? What happened to the DIY mentality? Still the cheapest way to a powerful rig IME.

NHS trust: Not buying through NHS IT saved us £7m

Oops

DH I mean

overruns etc jack the price up...

Of course tenders are submitted with an eye on using overruns to add some fat back, but I still think you're being pretty unfair here. The point is that an independent private IT provider has massively undercut the internal bureaucratic bollocks, and by so much that even with huge overruns and claims of 'mission creep', is still going to be a good deal less.

And the DE are tight-lipped, seemingly unwilling to engage in any kind of defense - which ought to be easy, were they to point out what you just have. Which tells me 'hand, cookie jar, caught in'.

Rampant fake Facebook ad clicks riddle hits dead end

Re: I don't get who would make money out of this fraud? Surely only Facebook?

Yes. Facebook. If you read between the lines of the original story, the guy was hinting at precisely this. Imagine if FB had a rogue element (a la Google Wifi slurpage) that realised what a jolly wheeze it would be to stuff their coffers with free click cash. But got found out.

Hobbyist builds working assault rifle using 3D printer

Re: if you're sane and not a convicted felon...

...some would say you fail the former criterion immediately upon application for said licence...

Virgin Media nukes downloads after SuperHub 'upgrade'

Re: Because by-and-large it works?

I'm sorry, was that a question?

BOFH: Shove your project managementry up your mailbox!

Re: a good rounders bat ...

In other words, a baseball bat

Microsoft promises Metro developers 'fame and fortune'

Re: ... are you one of those people that covers their desktop with icons ...

h4rm0ny, you're conflating two mutually-exclusive concepts - the start page in Win8 and the desktop. Ok, so the OP you were answering did the same, but remember that the real work in Windows is done at the desktop, not from a butchered start menu full of full-screen clunky HTML gadgets.

As an example, my Win7 desktop is icon-free. Completely. It has a couple of widgets, and a dock. Yes, an idea from Apple perhaps, but good ideas should travel, not be provincial.

Just to re-iterate - I hate tatty, icon-filled desktops as much as you. I like a clean, neat interface *that I can boot into directly* !!!

Re: So I think they're doing what they have to do...

I absolutely get that. Have spent a lot of time wondering why it is how it is, and can see a need for this, *up to a point*. I would 'fix' things with a registry value named 'DesktopBoot' that is 0 by default, added to,say, the good ol' key below:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Incidentally, an earlier comment of yours about 90s-style icon filled desktops sounded as if you don't actually use / like Windows? Seeing as it is where one actually produces work (Win8 metro nonsense aside), it's a place that's hard to avoid! If it's just the proliferation of random shite that offends you, use a dock! Slight nod to St Steve there, perhaps, but my desktop is a Clean Machine.

And I like to boot to it!! Aw, but...

Re: Take a deep breath ...

Ok - done that...

Hasn't helped! Incidentally those 3 posts were lumped together for no reason I can fathom - I replied to 3 different posts and ended up looking like a rabid dog. Ah well!

You make a good point about the boot speed. Absolutely love it. But the HTML5 / JScript mess that looks so nice on a tablet (I do admid that) now prevents my fastest rigs from displaying a desktop on booting. My beef is that the desktop - the core of the system - is relegated to nothing more than an incidental app. As in: 'Oh, you're an old git from the Before Times? Don't worry, sir, just click the little box and there you go...'

some people genuinely love to hate...

Well argued, h4rm0ny but ultimately irrelevant, given the sheer number of hardcore MS devs (myself included) who *do* give things a fair go. For instance, not all of us thought Vista was a steaming pile. At first, sure - it was badly broken. But so was XP in 2001 (peeps have short memories), with hideous driver issues and 'orrible USB 1.0 support, etc. Now both XP & Vista are well-sorted.

I liked bothXP & Vista from the start - at least, I liked the potential and am glad I persevered against 'the tide' of h8t0rs (XP was loathed amongst the gaming fraternity, for example, as well as businesses).

Win8 is another thing entirely. It's changed me from a happy excited kiddy down to the level of a fevered ranter. And this is after installing both previews on several different bits of kit. Just the fact that I can't boot to my desktop is enough to piss me right the hell off. I don't care about Metro per se, as long as it get's the feck out of the way when I don't want it!

But apparently that's too much to ask. Additionally, complaining about this coiler of serpentine proportions labels me and like-minded techies as the dreaded 'hater', or even a Macolyte. Please accept that there are competent professional opinions out there that differ from yours without having axes to grind or being luddite in origin!

Re: As someone who's been in the computer biz since the 70s

Jim, seriously - Not only have we tried it, many of us *wanted* to like it. And many of us have also 'been in the computer biz since the 70s'. Furthermore, El Reg is just *one* online resource of many (Ars, etc) carrying similar stories and comments from concerned would-be users.

Please don't be so surprised - it's almost as if you haven't been following the 'story so far' as it has developed online. Which I'm sure isn't the case...

I find the response to be very positive...

What. Have. You. Been. Reading.

O2 outage outrage blamed on new Ericsson database

Re: stuck up a creak looking for a paddle ...

There's a filthy joke in there, somewhere...

'Extreme' solar storm speeding straight towards Earth

Re: Methinks it is a way for a certain section of the scientific community ...

OMG - Srsly? And you read tech news sites? I'ma gonna lie down now, blood pressure hurts.

Apple rejoins EPEAT green tech cert program

Re: Something smells.

It's an old trick. The word 'strengthened' here means, as has been mentioned elsewhere, 'adjusted'. It really is as simple as that.

Re: Just received EPEAT Gold Cert...

O. M. F. G

O2's titsup network struggles to find its feet

Re: All O2...those pesky chinese.

Careful - seems to be a downvote-mad pro-outsourcing and/or pro O2 contingency at work on teh threads here...

O2, GiffGaff network goes titsup for unlucky punters

Re: Thanks for your random rant that has absolutely nothing to do with this story.

Cheers for the inexplicable thumbs down, chaps! (speaking as an ex-Logician)...

Re: It was the second most read article on their mobile site

I suspect he meant their TV / radio coverage?

If the measure of a company is in how well than handle an outage ...

Indeed. Flogged off most central IT support to parts foreign, is my guess, a la Bobby Diamond.

Re: Not that ownership of the *masts* actually means anything in itself....

It means everything. For the 12 years and more that I've been with them (cos of the loyalty discount), their reception @ my house is crap. Yet T-Mobile (my wife and kids) phones get 5 bars. It is precisely because O2 Telefonica don't share masts that I can only take business calls on my mobile while crammed against the kitchen window. Often I have to perform a ritual O2 'rain dance', quite literally, jumping and waving my iPhone around in the air until the No Service icon buggers off. This, despite masts being a precious resource.

Re: Thanks for your random rant that has absolutely nothing to do with this story.

It had everything to do with the story, as it concerned muppetry of the highest order at O2. Are you employed by O2? Do you work for Logica? We should be told!

Disable Gadgets NOW says Redmond

Re: I actually prefered them in vista to win 7

You aren't alone in finding nothing really wrong with Vista (assuming SP2) but the gadget bar did cause probs. I like to bung my recycle bin @ bottom right of the screen in Win7. Can't do that in Vista. Actually you can kind of position it there (at least, I've managed it) but then you can't right-click to empty! Awesome foolishness or what.

Re: I thought metro was the new sidebar.

You sir are a comedy genius

Re: Egg Meet Face

@ Mr J,

Fear not. I think MS are saying that whilst the Gadget platform yeilds a juicy attack vector for asshats, it's gadgets from 'unknown' sources that 'could' compromise your system. I for one (awesome cliche) will remove my default MS-branded clock and weather jobbies when they pry them from my cold, dead hands...

Microsoft sets October date for Windows 8 release

Re: Personally, I am not touching Windows 8 with a 2,500 ft pole

Me neither. I'm pretty galled, too, at the number of so-called MS 'fans' who think all the negative comments are from fruity fanbois. Bah, humbug! It all started so well, too. Installed both previews on two different lappys, one a 4-year old dual core and the other a core i7 jobbie with touch screen and nVidia graphics, to find:

1. Win8 installer refused to proceed on either laptop 'cos it detected Alcohol 120%. Uninstalled Alcohol. Installer said it was still there. Ripped every Alcohol entry from the registry. Installer said it was still there. In the end opted for 'Install and destroy all existing apps' option as the only way to try Win8.

2. Windows refused to run widescreen on the older machine. It defaulted to 1024x768 and would not recognise the 1280x800 screen.

3. Tried some cool-sounding Metro apps only to find my Core i7 + nVidia lappy creaked and grumbled over pinball and other games. The older machine gave a frame rate of about 1fps.

4. Was very, very, very impressed by 20 seconds boot time.

5. Was impressed by the Metro mail app. Until I found it lacked half the basic functions.

6. Very much liked the Win8 desktop fishy goodness. An Up button on the explorer toolbar - yay!

I was going to keep the later preview on my newer machine, until I found serious problems - can't recall the exact details now, but it felt really beta-like and I couldn't understand how real people were getting real work done on the previews. For me, the bugginess was too problematic.

The reason I'm so pissed now is that my experience turned me into a raging hater, from a position of excited anticipation. Now I'm just sad and angry at the whole thing...

Re: Your over confidence astounds me!

You utter moron. Many of us Win8 haters are devoted MS fans who feel let down by the steaming turd Microsoft have just crimped off. Read some tech news. Better yet, install the Win8 preview.

Bank Trojan crooks trouser £800k from 30,000 Brits

Re: a combination of not using Windows...

Nearly voted you up, Mr Handle, but then you wend and spoiled it...

Yes, your point is well taken but a less incendiary phrase would be: "A combination of not being an idiot..." An informed, cautious Windows user who doesn't visit every jerk site on the web or click on every damned email in their inbox, together with a good free AV just in case, is all you need to be safe.

Re: My bank says internet banking is secure.

...and my bank wants me to install Trusteer Crapport. Over my dead body!

Review: Samsung Chromebox

Re: The GPU is where it's at and Intel GPUs are crap

Duh - massively >low< budget, I meant...

Re: The GPU is where it's at and Intel GPUs are crap

Yes. Intel GPUs are nasty in comparison with AMD's embedded ATI functionality, but this is only true of 3D accelerated graphics. HTPCs, by definition, are mainly used for audio / video playback applications, and all Intel CPUs (as of HD3000) handle blu-ray and other 1080p content perfectly.

Your argument is therefore nonsensical, as no one uses an HTPC for gaming, unless they are on a massive budget or just very uninformed, and this is the only area where AMD wins.

Re: replace the intel part with AMD ...

You had me up until that rather inane statement.

FTR I used to be a rabid AMD fanboy back in the days of the K6, etc, when they totally kicked Intel's butt - but >every< AMD-powered machine I have worked on for the past six years or so has struggled badly in comparison with similarly-specced Intel jobbies, to the point where I sadly have had to stop recommending AMD as a platform to clients.

CPUs aren't a religion; they are a means to an end.

RBS customers still suffering tech issues at Virgin One Account

Re: Amazed the real explanation hasn't escaped

Have patience. It will come. Good news this morning also in that chief Barclays asshat Bob 'dodgy' Diamond has 'resigned'... Reap = sow etc...

Naked Scarlett Johansson pic snatch 'is worth 6 years' porridge'

Do you think they'll let him print some copies to pin on his cell wall?

Hope so. Give him something to do during his very stiff sentence...

Microsoft: Don't overclock Windows 8 unless you like our new BSOD

Re: So, to summarise...

No indeed. And also, the spurious 'Windows 8' in the article headline is misleading and rather naughty, as these are generic rules across the entire installed OS userbase.

Posted from a happily O/Cd i5 Win 7 lashup.

Apple hardware fixer Bob Mansfield retires from Cupertino

Re: Maybe you should have paid attention in school

Well said. Except in England they don't teach us about colonial administrative processes... Ouch!

But yes, you are right. Because US coins have no numerical denominations on them, and all US citizens refer to 'bits', 'dimes', 'nickels' and so on, and because the US dime actually says, rather stupidly, 'dime', I'd assumed all the other coins followed suit.

What >is< a nickel, anyhow?

...and shouldn't it be spelled 'nickle' ? And while I'm at it, what's a 'bit' ? I always wondered...

</troll>

But seriously, we English may have had some odd slang for money in primeval times (and still do for large sums, eg monkey = £500), but >mandatory< coin nicknames? Makes me shudder. A currency with no actual denominations embossed on the coins - just nicknames. Wow.

Apple faces Italian shutdown over warranty skulduggery

Re: correcting pernsickety details

Right on, brother. Except... that last comma in your diatribe should have been a semicolon...

Nexus 7 and Surface: A bonanza for landfill miners

Re: This is

You make some excellent points, Mr/Ms H. But I would say the killer app you're all missing - for me, anyhow - is video media. There are some nice apps (like the excellent RockPlayer) that play all video types in common use on teh innerwebs (and who doesn't have a few gigs stashed away?), so plug in my trusty 32GB MicroSD loaded with sum fillums and telly shows, and I'm happy as a fanboy in an aluminium factory.

Half the team at the heart of the RBS disaster WERE in India

Who is the downvoter?

Anyone else noticed the single (sometimes double) downvote theme here? Odd... well, not really - someone has obviously mistaken the outrage and concern for raging xenophobia.

Even Apples sometimes have worms in them, admits Cupertino

Re: Flashback is NOT a "virus"...

Doh! Please post when a) a little more informed and b) not offering straw men for our consumption.

Traditional old-skool viruses are relatively thin on the ground. Trojans are where it's at these days. Windows PCs get infected cos people click on stuff they shouldn't; it's as simple as that. I clean this stuff up for a living; I'm reasonably qualified to make a qualitative assessment of the problerms out there.

So please stop clinging to the old saw that 'But Macs can only get trojans' - that's pretty much all that >any< machine can get, as it is damned hard to do a straight infection through an AV product these days. Thus 'old-skool' viruses (virii?) really don't figure much any more.