Posts by Dave 126

Apple set to drop 17in MacBook Pro, says watcher

Re: Wouldn't surprise me - Tooling

I was considering tooling costs being a factor (if this rumour turns out to be true) but there is not the traditional 'tooling costs' with the CNC milling of the Macbook chassis - just a different program. The footprint areas and volumes of the 15" and 17" versions respectively are roughly 905cm2, 2180cm3, and 1050 cm2, 2620 cm3... so it would take roughly 20% longer to machine a 17" chassis than a 15".

(Please correct me on my methodology, I may have missed something).

Re: Well

As noted above: There is no power in Thunderbolt.

iPad as secondary display

For some users a two monitor setup (15" + 10") would be an acceptable alternative to a 17" display- Photoshop, for example, with a primary 'workspace' and a secondary 'tool / palette' space. This would work, but only for some users.

One would have thought that Apple would find it easier than others to allow a tablet to function as a secondary display for a laptop (or vice versa), what with having control over all hardware and software involved. I can only imagine that the reason they don't implement this is that iPads are already selling very nicely, thank you.

All in one cable

and whatever happened to the 'superduper cable' idea on the G4 Cube- one cable between Cube and monitor with: Monitor power, video signal and USB to be daisy chained to keyboard and mouse?

When you hear someone cursing computers for 'that bloody snake's nest' behind their desk (with the inference that they would pay good money to be rid of it) you can't help but think Apple were on to something.

Look back in Ascii: Computing in the 1980s

Re: Microwriter Agenda

... and I imagine that you must get naffed-off by the many mice that are made today in Right-Hand-'Drive' configuration only! Maybe this 3D printing malarky will mature and allow everyone a mouse or HID of their choice.

It seems curious that a right-handed guitarist would use their left hand to form 'chords' in a similar fashion to a Microwriter. I would like to hear from Reg Readers about their experience of chorded typing, because I have a sausage-fingered friend who swears keyboard keys are too small for him. He can play guitar very well, though, so I'm not sure what to recommend to him - perseverance or technology.

Battlefield Earth ruled worst film EVER

Re: that ENDLESSLY SCREAMING KID

Ah, but she wasn't Welshman!

Workers' comp covers sex-related injuries, judge rules

Australia!

The same country that gives sex lessons to miners, on the grounds that if they are happier at home, they will be more focused on their job and less likely to make a dangerous mistake.

This here is the Wattle

Emblem of our land

You can stick it in a bottle

Or hold it in your hand

AUSTRALIA!

'Attitudes to robot sex will change'

Re: To quote from Frank Zappa

An acute observer of human sexuality, was Frank, RIP. Observations of Catholic Girls, Jewish Princesses, and, with all these goth girls filling up one's local boozer "Where's my waitress? You can take this pen and hang it on your ass! You ain't the devil!"

Re: Don't why blokes just use ...

,,,because they don't stop until they've taken ten pints!

Re: Sex tourism?

I want loads of gold

and fuck loads of diamonds

and I hope lots of men

die trying to find em

Abuse of others has sadly always been a symbol of wealth and power - it can't be faked.

Re humans on robots vs humans on humans, you might have neglected a third option: human on human on robot:

Consider our (in The West) ageing population, and older people's desires are complemented by pharmaceutically-extended ability. The robots described in the article may well be descended from the elderly-care robots the Japanese are working on (because there are not enough young people to care for their old), so designed for lifting and supporting human bodies. Having an extra pair of strong hands might be handy for a caring coupling couple whose joints aren't what they used to be!

An another note, there are areas of the world where there is an imbalance between the genders, indirectly caused by government policies. In parts of China, there just aren't enough ladies for every man. The Chinese government last year even had a pro-porn (and thus anti-prostitution) drive, in a bid to curb STDs.

Re: Not going to happen

I was going to say "consider the history of photography- and then of film, and later media- and it seems pornographers always got there with in a year or two of any invention"

but then I thought of 'the internet'. Your point stands, sir!

. Does anyone here know when the first naughty picture was put on the internet?

Re: Nothing for the girls?

You might enjoy the video that results from popping 'David Prometheus' into YouTube, if the comments left there by the girls are anything to judge by!

I'm clueless, but it seems the positive views are because the android looks like Michael Fassbender and is willing to do things his human colleagues might find 'unethical'.

[ It's advertisement for a new line of Synthetic Person by Weyland Industries - the latest 'Prometheus' film 'viral' video. ]

Re: Long time coming

Possibly Brian Aldiss?

In a short story related to 'A.I', (and included in a compilation of the same name) the board of the company discuss the marketing of sex robots.

In the preface to the book, Aldiss expresses frustration that Kubrick wanted to make a Spielbergh-style popular film. Reading these short stories shows Aldiss wanted the film to be much darker.

We gentlemen might not need robots, but...

... Anne Summers still do good business in things that take batteries, I have been led to believe. Vibrators were invented by Victorian doctors so as to save themselves from having to perform RSI-provoking actions. Their clinics specialised in treating the latest nervous malady of the day - 'hysteria' - and their patients were wealthy ladies. Sometimes, it seems the 'feelings and desires' of these ladies might have been 'I want to get off. Now. And Simply.'

: D

Lytro light field camera

Re: Only Mac?

" a Mac-only product being released some years back"

"since when was the iPod Mac only?"

Answer: when it was first released. Most PCs were only USB 1 at the time, Macs all had FireWire.

Re: Cool - but scary!

And how big would you want this camera to be? : D It uses roughly 150 sensor pixels to record a single 'pixel' output, since it needs to know not only the final destination of a ray, but its direction, too. To get DSLR levels of resolution in the output would require a massive sensor (or else a dense, noisy sensor) and optics scaled-up to match- though this is less of an issue with a fixed wide-angle lens.

For the Grand Canyon - and other stationary subjects - you'll be better off with a conventional DSLR, a tripod and a focus-bracketing script - then some messing around in post-production.

Re: Rethinking composition

Good analogy. RED cameras are experimenting with it... the cinematographer can do the shoot, and tweak the exposure afterwards. Like audio recording in 24bit, it gives you greater margin of error with regard to your levels.

Re: Just the thing for lab photography

Industrial light-field cameras already exist - Raytrix.de - and Stanford are continuing research in this area by doing strange things to a Nikon microscope. Doubly cunning, because the illumination system it uses is also a computer controlled light-field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-field_camera#Manufacturers_of_light_field_cameras

"Need to find some way to work in low light though"

It can work in low light, because it can create focused images using a more open aperture.

Re: Only Mac?

Making your first proof-of-concept simple to use and visually appealing, with a clear aim at the most receptive segment of the market... seems like Lytro choose the best strategy available to them!

But yeah, it is a toy. Prove me wrong, kids!

I remember a Mac-only product being released some years back, called the iPod... I wonder what ever happened to it?

Re: Hybrid option?

"were the tech here in a hybrid with a normal camera..."

It seems that Mitsubishi have the same idea as you, with a film that sits in front of a normal sensor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-field_camera#Manufacturers_of_light_field_cameras

The issue is this: Most compact cameras have lenses that distort the image, a barrel distortion that is then corrected for either in-camera (JPEG output) or in RAW conversion software. AFAIK, this is why the Lytro has a long body - a genuine undistorted 8x zoom. Making the sensor bigger means everything else gets big too.

Re: Shutter delay?

Other reviews suggest there is no shutter lag. Shutter speed varies between 1/15 and 1/250 depending upon light- and entirely controlled by camera.

So yeah, it could be suitable for instant shots. The Nikon J1 takes a different approach to the same issue: very fast autofocus, 60 fps full resolution burst mode, and buffering (so that your series of burst shots starts before your press the shutter release).

Rapidshare tells world+dog: Stop PIRACY now!

Re: So...

It'l be the old enlightened nightclub bouncer attitude: "We don't care what you do, as long as you're not blatent about it, cos it puts us in a tricky position"

Smartphones to supersede games consoles?

Re: Smartphones to supersede games consoles?

Interesting points.

1. Use a wireless controller

2. ditto

3. Plug it into charge at the same time you connect it to your telly.

4. Reasonable point. And you could also have asked "What happens when your on the verge of getting a new track record, and someone rings you?" - though you could take the call on your bluetooth headset...

5. Game publishers are already looking to curtail second-hand sales of their games on current platforms...

6. (You could add)- the big box under the telly can play your library of optical media, do a bit of PVR work, and has a couple of handy USB sockets for charging phones.

7 (you could add) the trend seems to be for your portable device to work with your console: Sony- use PSP as rear-view mirror on PS3 racing games. Nintendo: Wii U controllers with screens. Apple: iPhone users can have their scrabble tiles on their iPhones, and place them on the iPad board.

The best multiplayer games are those in which you work with your friends, or else ninja-rope across the entire map just to uppercut their worm into the water, and hear them shout "You absolute bastard!"

Metallic Glass iPhone 5 to battle pottery Samsung Galaxy S3

My thoughts exactly- if this wonder material is as brilliant as we are led to believe, $11 seems awfully cheap for an economic way to process it.

Do any Reggies here have the 3G tool? And if so, have you performed some destructive testing on it, possibly whilst bored or drunk? Any observations? : D

Sony optical disk archive

A few things yet unknown to us, but:

Depending upon how the discs are retained inside the cartridge, it could be a tougher, more shock resistant package than a harddisk, far better suited to offsite archives or sending to partners.

Once archived, optical disks give you resilience against floods, shocks, and strange magnetic fields.

I would imagine that they will be manufactured with the same scratch-proofing as Blu-Rays, if only because they will be manufactured on the same line; a knocked read-head might not be a complete disaster (XBOX 360- I'm looking at YOU).

All plus points if they can be made cheaply enough... they could easily be made for far less than a HDD- just compare the components each contains!

Instagram

Re: It's a fast-changing app all right...

@Chris 19

So you're saying its gone from being Decca to Myspace? (to pick up Some Beggar's music analogy)

WD lets loose ferocious 1TB VelociRaptor

Re: I still don't get it

I was looking into the same sort of issues, when trying to work out whether to use 'Readyboost'... most of the time I'm using less than half my RAM (4GB total) and a 7,200 HDD so figured I didn't need a crutch designed for Vista-era machines. I should suck-it-and-see though: Test, don't guess.

Re: Survivability

Good point. However, I was under the impression that an SSD was more likely to survive being dropped on the floor... perhaps the best back up / mirrored solution would use a mixed bag, in the hope that whatever catastrophe befell you, something would survive?

Re: Too late.

@Danny 14

Good on you for throwing some numbers at the problem. Always a good exercise, and can always be refined afterwards:

It might be the PC we are considering spends much of its time transferring files. When this job is completed, the entire PC will shut down, saving the energy that is consumed by the rest of the system components. The power consumption of the SSDs versus that of the HDDs isn't the only consideration, is all.

French perfume house bottles 'Eau de new MacBook'

Magic (apple) Tree!

'I remember seeing car fresheners being offered for sale... vanilla, pine, and 'new car smell'. This might have been before the scaremongering around the VOCs and other residual nasties left over from the rubbers, glues, foams etc used in making the car.

It is easy to imagine that sticking our nose into something we have just opened is a survival trait... 'is it fresh enough to eat?'. Many people like to savour the smell after breaking thee seal on a pack of coffee.

Ten... smartphone survival accessories

Re: Item 5 is incorrect IMO

The device will just draw the current it needs. It is too high a voltage that you must look out for!

A dead-handy gadget is a universal Li-ion battery charger - adjust the pins to the + - terminals and voltage and polarity is determined automatically. Great if you have a camera and other toys besides your phone. Many also do AA AAA for your flashlight, plus USB socket. Good for group trips where at least someone will have mislaid some propriety camera charger! Hahnel makes mine and it works well, imagine that other makes do too.

Re: big battery

Maybe someone can make a universal adaptor: 18v modular power tool system (Ryobi, Makita, Dewalt etc) to 5V USB?

You might already have a compatible stereo, air compressor and florescent lamp...

Austrian village considers a F**king name change

Must find a copy of The Telegraph...

...so I can see how they reported this. When they routinely substitute '****' for 'fuck' (or maybe 'c***', it's hard to tell), I don'y know how they'll do it.

Microsoft details Halo 4 release

Re: Keenly awaited?

Keenly awaited is what Bungie's next outing is, now that they're not tied to MS (and in the same building as the Skyrim team.) Known as 'Destiny', it seems to be some sort massively multilayer on-line galaxy-exploring trading space combat game, possibly, maybe hopefully.

A fleshed-out 'Elite', in other words.

Re: More dull plot

Agreed- like The Matrix, the plot of the first episode worked very well - you knew who was where the goodies and roughly what said goodies had to do. When the plot gets expanded out for sequals,I quickly lose track of things.

And yep, 343i really messed up the DLC deployment. Those who've bought it find the population in each lobby too low to get a game.

Ikea to integrate TV, Blu-ray, sound system into sideboard

Hmmm, I'd rather have Korean or Japanese equipment built in! Nice enough idea, but would prefer cabinets with integrated VESA pillars, incorporating a cable conduit.

It's going to be a poor (wo)man's Bang and Olufsen, but at least B&O's panels are made by Phillips.

IKEA are alright... 15 quid gets you a cabinet thing on wheels that accommodates hi-fi separates perfectly : D

Toshiba Regza 46YL863 46in Smart TV

Re: Motion sensor

Dunno about Toshiba, but my mate has a Sony with this motion sensor. It very rarely turns it off, and he is the least fidgety person I know. It's no issue. If anything, it saves you from waking up on the sofa at 3am and hearing the DVD-title loop muzak.

Re: it being switched off - no idea, but I'm sure you can find a Tosh PDF on the internet : D

Himalayan glaciers actually gaining ice, space scans show

Re: Watch the excuses come out

Organic chemist: Benefits ICI. Gets paid by ICI.

Microbiologist. Benefits GSK. Gets paid by GSK.

Climate Scientist. May benefit future generations. Gets paid by who?

Lesser-spotted Raspberry Pi FINALLY dished up

Re: which language?

Kids (or 'children' as we were known then) of the 1980s started programming for games.

Today, perhaps they can start with scripts for sandbox-type games, such as Gary's Mod? They would also learn things such as content creation and the importance of organised asset management, to boot.

Re: Wuh?

" the main educational release, which will come later in the year"

Good thing you mentioned that, otherwise we'd soon be reading headlines like:

Schoolchildren MUGGED by TheRegister Readers for Their Pis

Hmm, a shade of Withnail and I, there.

[prepare for boarding, me young hearties!]

Ten... Bedroom Gadget Treats

Blue light does it

Blue light upsets your body's cycles and yes, can stimulate you. Lighting of a specific 'temperature' is used in 24 hour police control centres, for example, to help employees stay alert throughout the night.

At night, 'white' depicted on screen will appear bluer than the white of, say, your walls or sheets (if you have white walls or sheets) because of low-intensity artificial light tends to be warmer.

Many TVs have a user customisable scheme, in addition to the baked-in 'Sports', 'Films', 'Dynamic' etc, so experiment.

Re: @Blubster. Time for a finger up the bum?

Either your prostate, or you just happen to be a fine gentleman who regularly drinks a healthy and moderate quantity of good beer each evening... roughly 5 pints!

Bulletproof iPhone case set to survive shootouts

Re: Front?

No need to use touch, you can use Siri.

"Siri, get me a map outta here!

A MAP FOR OTTOWA

"No! Away fro.." BANG "Siri send a text message with my GPS cordinates to my Medevac insurance company, title: urgent"

Actually, I don't think that Siri would work, what with requiring a data connection and all. Any word on what that metal lump does for your signal?

In fashion still?

I thought the US urban fashion for wearing bullet-proof jackets had passed? If it hasn't, then this would make a good accessory!

That said, for this money it would be better to buy a spare iPhone. If both get hit by bullets, then take that as a hint to get off my lawn!

It just looks wrong. And it doesn't even come bundled with http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/20/bulletflight_iphone/ What does Lewis Page have to say about it?

Samsung S III to enter Galaxy next month

Out of curiousity...

what are the limitations of / issues with the S II that make the S III so attractive? Honest question- since one would expect this new model to cause the price of the S II to drop.

@ Lewa - why are you interested in NFC? Are you plotting to steal my credit card details? : D

Mobee Magic Numpad

Re: but why?!

"Targus Numeric Keypad" - £8.25, delivered.

Please amend my my above comment to "a third of of the flipping price [of this sticker]"

I'm not against putting hardware to different uses in principal, though: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2011/07/track-master-makes-your-trackpad-a-midi-controller-a-must-download-for-mac/ seems to make better use of the Magic Trackpad's capacitive multitouch. In this case, equivalent dedicated hardware (Korg's Kaoscilator, for example) is the more expensive, rather than cheaper, option.

Re the review: how accurate is it in use? Is it suitable for people with fat fingers? ('to order your special dialling wand, mash the keypad with your palm now')

For the accountants with little laptops

... I propose a numpad that goes in the optical drive bay... it would pop out like the disc tray does. Their main keyboard would still be aligned centrally to the screen.

HP ships hack-friendly all-in-one

Form factor

If desk space is really such a big issue, why have we not seen a 'flat-tower' form-factor, as a compromise between a bulky tower and a tied-to-a-monitor all-in-one? It would look like a bit like vertical PlayStation 2 Slim or overgrown 'net top', and use convection (and its greater surface area) to help those little fans. Being placed further back, behind the monitor, the noise of all those little fans and 10k rpm HDDs would be less of a strain on the user.