Posts by Dave 126 10664 publicly visible posts • joined 21 Jul 2010
And I always get internet ads promoting single ladies in Basingstoke. Whilst I'm sure the good women of Basingstoke are as charming as those in the next town, their beauty has never reached the popular imagination in the same way as their Swedish or Brazilian counterparts.
>if they've solved the problem of the vibrate alert triggering the accelerometer and cancelling some incomming calls automatically
Not difficult in principal, the vibration is reciprocal movement back and forth, the whack would be a greater distance and with greater acceleration. Just a matter of calibration.
There was a lad years ago who hacked his Macbook so that he could use its HDD's G-sensors for interacting with it. In his case he mapped it so that whacking the left hand side of his monitor was 'Browser: Back' and the right hand side was 'Brower: forward'.
Still, I think MS deserves some credit, since its software has inspired many users to hit their computers over the years.
>Just the sort of thing for one of those new let's do things differently business environments.
You're right - especially as it is designed by the same studio as the Olympic 'Cauldron' and the new London busses, Daniel Heatherwick. That would be the 'low cost' rotationally moulded version, though I suspect it ain't cheap.
http://www.heatherwick.com/magis-spun-chair/
>archaeologists scraped some crystaline blue paint from a cave painting
I won't hate you, though I've not heard that one... if true, it is pleasing that cavers themselves aided the development of a useful caving tool- energy efficient, shock-resistant lighting. However, I think you may have got your wires crossed, if the following is what you were thinking of: http://accelrys.com/resource-center/case-studies/archive/studies/maya.html
"ceramics coloured by Maya Blue have not faded over the centuries. What is even more remarkable is that the colour is resistant to extremes of pH, chemical solvents, and biodegradation. "
No less fascinating, though!
I remember a Q&A with Shuji Nakamura in New Scientist- though I've just had to consult Wikipedia- famous at the time because of his dispute with his employers over the size of his bonus for cracking the problem of high-efficiency blue LEDs.
Good points about the bubble wrap- I hadn't thought that one through. I stand by my pipe-lagging modification, though- cut one in half to make two C-sections, glue one piece along each side of the enclosure, thus leaving plenty of exposed metal to disperse heat.
On the static electricity front, I would hope that a portable HDD enclosure would be tolerant of being slid in and out of laptop bags of various materials...
Maplins make me laugh... They have had complete external HDDs in their stores for cheaper than they will sell you a standalone enclosure.
I did spot some 2.5" USB 2 enlclosures - choose from SATA or IDE internals - in PC World for around £8 just last week... worth snagging in case your laptop dies from anything not HDD related. No doubt they can be found cheaper on the web, if deliveries aren't inconvenient.
I'm not certain about this, but you might want to read up on booting from a USB 3 Device. It should be alright if the OS on the SSD already has USB 3 drivers installed, but it will be worth double checking.
If you want to make your SSD enclosure more rugged, then pipe lagging and some silicon sealant will work, applied to outside of the case, obviously. Not pretty, but will work. If you are closer to a post office than a builder's merchant, then bubble wrap and and package tape...
...and many of these folk don't even have their own phone, but do have their own SIM. For farmers, being able to check market rates has really given them a bargaining tool to use against traders.
Nokia have traditionally dominated the market for phones in the developing world... does a strange market for HP to want to get into.
Looks like a handy gizmo you've linked to. But that isn't what this Apple patent is for, since it involves combining your voice command with other information, such as the phone state, or its location. The clue is in the title of the patent- it wasn't mentioned in the article though, hence the comments here protesting about something that isn't even happening, or else citing irrelevant prior art.
What Tom38 said. That and the voice command is processed in conjunction with other information supplied by the phone, such as its geographic location or which app is open at the time... but most comments here give the impression that they haven't even read the title of the patent, let alone its contents. In fairness, the patent title wasn't stated in the article, though Anna did give an example of its possible use.
Hiya peoples-
The patent isn't for voice control (which I think we can all agree has been done many times before) but for the combination of voice commands processed in combination with other data... such as where the phone is when the command is uttered, or who the last person you spoke with on the phone is. The full title of the patent 'Electronic Devices with Voice Command and Contextual Data Processing Capabilities' didn't appear in the above article, though Ms Leach did give some examples.
If you think it is ridiculous that a patent has been given for straight forward voice control - you're right. And that isn't what happened.
Four ecosystems, including the PC - though Crytek amongst other developers are saying that they don't actually sell many games, due to piracy. Those PC gamers who don't pirate often wait til a game is about a fiver on Steam. I don't know, but I suspect many XBOX users spend more on the Live Gold subscription that they do on software.
And there is the stirrings of some other systems in the works, such as streaming from the cloud, or Valve's rumoured Linux box (though this could arguably be considered a PC)...
I can count to twelve on the fingers of one hand not including my thumb.... there are three fleshy bits on the inside of each of my (four*) fingers, separated by the knuckles... It also leaves my right hand free to prod them as I count, if I needed to.
I think I've heard of this being put forward to explain why many units are based around 12 or 24, or maybe, as Issac Asimov noted, 12 is conveniently divisible for the purposes of sharing things out.
*Still four, despite the ambitions of a spirited angle grinder. Had it been successful in its objective, I would have been left like a Spinal Tap guitar amplifier...
It's easy to forget that Nokia aren't the only manufacturer making Windows 8 phones... Samsung are keeping a toe in the water... not sure who else because all news is about Nokia.
You mention developers not wanting to develop for more than one platform... just wondering how hard it is to reuse code from Windows 8 RT to Windows 8 phone, or even Win8 x86? This question might be more relevant if/when Win8 RT has some market share, and obviously things designed for a tablet don't necessarily work well on a phone...
If Microsoft could really pitch this as a great corporate phone OS with good Office etc integration, tempered by some XBOX fun and games, then maybe it could work out.
hehe, not wrong. But then I'm basing that on older models that we have deliberately chosen for having the more reliable engines- mostly that near immortal 1.9 diesel unit before they became high pressure injection. We've gone through a fair few Berlingo vans and a 306 (before they have met their fate under the wheels of tractors etc), and whilst the engines have all been as good as gold, the electrics have often been eccentric. When my friends fell about laughing at the noises my central locking made in a spirited but unsuccessful attempt to work, I would just say "It's a French car, the electrics are supposed to be like that!"
On one occasion, an engineer couldn't get his brand-new diagnostic tablet to talk to my 306 to reprogramme the ignition key... after an hour of head scratching and swearing, he changed tack and addressed my car as a Partner van, and it worked. To be fair, it was his box of tricks that was at fault, not the vehicle. "I'm never getting version two-point-ZERO of anything ever again!" he declared.
> You want a phone, get a 6310i, it does the job *much* better. As it's a computer, the OS is upgradeable.
I both agree and disagree with Mr Campbell.
Many people don't WANT a pocket computer ( though I do) but they do want a pocket device that goes on the internet and plays Angry Birds. Something I have heard many times from the less IT savvy is that they don't like the way "things keep bloody changing as soon as I've just got used to them!" (Apple seems to know this, iOS and OSX look roughly like they always have done)
Technically, I'm sure Mr Campbell is correct- its self-evident that securing a smartphone is a far bigger challenge than securing a fine old 6210i- though it is itself a connected computer.
That said, my advice to old boys in the pub inquiring recently about getting a smart phone is: stick with your clamshell phone with big buttons and buy an [Android- 'cos of the price] 3G tablet (no long term contract) for checking the cricket scores and emailing grandchildren, and as a general email option for when your laptop starts playing silly buggers again. (This isn't a generalisation of the abilities of my senior fellow drinkers, but based on specific individuals talking about their eyesight, fingers and what they might want such a device for). Any input from Reg readers- or even a Reg article- on this subject would be appreciated.
Cheers
At least it was the microUSB plug that failed, and not the micro USB female part of your phone... I did read that was by design, and a reasonable decision it was too. That said:
The micoUSB 3 plug is a mess - looks like it came with a Sony Ericsson phone from 2004... it is basically a microUSB 2 plug with an extra bit bolted on the side. So you can't even use a micro USB 3 plug to charge or connect to a USB 2 device... So it is bigger and less elegant than it was before, still not reversible, not backwards-compatible, still liable to scratch whatever you plug it into and also not suitable for just slotting a device onto, dock style.
Some twit has accused FutureShock of being a shill... Why? All he has done is to point out the shortcomings that we, as non-Apple users, have experienced first hand.
Apple have produced a good connector. Now, how can it be brought about that other device makers start putting some thought into the same issue, ideally as a standard? Or maybe this brave new world of near-field data and wireless charging will render the question moot within a couple of years.... your answers on a postcard, please.
As far as I can make out, the connector will contain a DAC... Apples website says something like "Have some existing kit with the old 30 pin connector? No problem, simply use a converter!* *Not suitable for all 30 pin accessories. No support for iPod Out or iPod Video"
Suggesting that audio docks will work with the connector. Since the slide at the Apple event explicitly stated this new nine pin connector is completely digital, one then assumes the converter will contain a DAC. But let's wait until iFixit rip one open to see.
...I'm reading sentiments like yours a lot. I'm just curious as to what more someone would want from this class of phone. What would like to see included that they have left out? I don't just mean the iPhone, but from top models from Samsung and the usual suspects. I mean, the screen can only get sharper and brighter, not bigger, and the phone can only talk to every radio standard in common use, and have a processor that will do anything you would want to do on a screen that size without killing the battery TOO quickly.
What do from it want? Tell me! : D A Swiss Army knife? A fag lighter? The ability to play back MiniDiscs? Little legs so it can walk around your desk, automatically scanning all your documents for inclusion into the 'cloud'? You'd better tell me what you have in mind, because all my ideas are plainly crazy, or straying into Q-department territory. Concealed plastic explosive? Ultra-strong magnet? Device for unsnapping a beautiful Russian agent's bra strap at ten paces? Triangulating transducers at each end so that an entire desk can be used as a drum kit?
I appreciate that my comment can be read as unimaginative- I won't disagree. But without some breakthrough in flexible screen technology, or battery magic, I am having trouble imagining what you guys think is missing from these high end handsets -from any company- besides a sense of 'Wow!'.
Anyway, sorry to have singled you out. Its all meant in fun.
Not just you, I could never understand why USB A only goes in one way, but is bloody tricky to determine which way that is!
Whilst micro-USB is D shaped, micro-USB 3 is just weird- can't really blame Apple for using their own solution. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-superspeed-external-enclosure,2597-2.html for a picture of a microUSB 3 plug.
>Am I alone in finding thinner phones more awkward to handle?
I found my aluminium Xperia P a bit easy to fumble, so placed a strip of self-adhesive plastic down one side. I haven't been able to find a silicone case for it yet.
>Yeah, what's teh point of 'thinnest ever'? Surely there's some cutoff point where the phone just gets very awkward to handle.
Not necessarily, for example a credit card can be held by its edges fairly securely. With the first square iPod Nano (with the little scroll wheel), the polycarbonate face was deliberately made sharp, so as not to slip from the finger tips. To prevent slip you can either up the co-efficient of friction by choosing a different material, or you can increase the pressure by decreasing the surface area (like the knurling on a Maglite body)
When the The Register gave us ten alternatives to the new iPhone in an article yesterday, most of the featured phone were larger than the iPhone. If you are used to the size of iPhones, but want to try Android, then you could do worse than the Sony Xperia P.
iPhone 5 124 x 59 x 7.6mm
iPhone 4 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
Xperia P 122 x 59.5 x 10.5 mm
I'm no expert; the Xperia P is my first smartphone. I do note that my thumb can reach most of the screen very easily, something I imagine would give me cramp on a larger screen. Since Reghardware positively reviewed the phone, the Ice Cream Sandwich update has been released and has significantly improved the battery life (mostly achieved by giving an option to turn off off non-essential data when the phone is in standby)
There is no microSD card slot, but there is the option of reading thumbsticks and memory card readers with USB OTG, if you use a cable- not included. A mini HDMI cable comes in the box, though, and it happily puts iPlayer on a big TV.
>It's been well demonstrated it was the poor choice in thermal compound under the heat spreader that made Ivy Bridge "run hot."
That's my understanding of what happened, too. Recently built a passively-cooled, completely silent PC around a i7 3770 S. The 1 Kilogram cooler looks like it fell out of the hood of a 1970s American muscle car, but has kept the chip around 45º.
It is neither too small or too cheap to convert an uncompressed digital video signal to analogue. However, it doesn't.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/47498/25-quid-lightning-adapter-free-upgrades
Paragraph 7 "you'll find Apple's website also states: "Many of your 30-pin accessories.* Video and iPod Out not supported." And that asterisk refers to this statement: "*Some 30-pin accessories are not supported.""
Strange, cos Apple's UK website makes no such caveat:
"Soon many iPhone accessories will be Lightning compatible. But if you have one that depends on the 30-pin connector, you can still connect it to your iPhone 5. Simply use a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter (sold separately)."
www.asa.org.uk/...
@Fuzz "On top of USB they need at least two pins for SPDIF or similar digital audio."
It is possible for the USB pins to carry digital audio, so additional contacts aren't necessarily required- in fact, it is promoted as a feature of Jelly Bean 'USB AUDIO':
http://www.talkandroid.com/119937-jelly-bean-brings-usb-audio-support-to-android-devices/
Why do you say that the adaptor won't convert signal types?
The slide at the iPhone clearly states that their new cable is "all digital", whilst most docks receive an analogue signal from a iPods. This suggests that any dock adaptor twixt the old and the new requires a DAC, if a new iDevice is to be used with an older speaker dock.
Or am I missing something?
Nokia PureView 808 Vs Lumix LX-5 - comparison:
http://asia.cnet.com/shootout-nokia-808-pureview-vs-panasonic-lumix-dmc-lx5-62216561.htm
They give the nod to the PureView. Heck.
Nokia would have a great product if they ditched the phone part and packaged the tech to compete with ruggedised 'action sports' type compact cameras- the sort you might take up a mountain. Its surely easier to protect a camera with no moving optics against shock and dirt ingress.
I don't know about the other phones listed, but I'm under the impression that at least the Galaxy S3 and the Xperia S allow USB On The Go (USB OTG), if you want to order an appropriate cable. Making your own is possible, but varies in difficulty depending on how much glue the makers of your spare microUSB cable have decided to use at the male end. Short pin 4 to ground, solder it to a female USB A, and you're good to go.
Okay, it isn't elegant, but arguably more versatile than just a microSD card slot, in that you can use card readers and USB thumbsticks. Keyboards and mice, too.
If you really need data without a WiFi hotspot, there is a company that lease 3G>WiFi dongles with the correct SIM cards and data plans already set up on your behalf: You contact them before you travel, telling them which countries you are visiting- they then send the correct kit out to you. I would imagine that they will have 4G>WiFi dongles and SIMs available as and when they are available.
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