Posts by dotdavid

BBC apologises for Top Gear outrage

Having seen the episode in question last night...

...I am so glad the Aussies appear to have a sense of humour and have (as yet) to sue the BBC. There was much more "national stereotyping" of them in that episode!

Google man: 'Honeycomb' only for fondleslabs (so far)

@ThomH

So, possibly 3.x for tablets and 4.x as a later "unifying" release (which may be the fabled "Ice Cream").

I find it odd that they haven't come out to say 3.x supports phones if it does, so I guess we can only assume it doesn't.

Google would be a lot better if it was more transparent. Getting any definite information out of them (even unofficially) is difficult, a fact that was obvious on the Nexus One "support" forums!

Madness or method?

I've given up trying to find any method in Google's madness regarding Android.

They repeatedly deny fragmentation, claiming it's actually evolution (which is a bit like saying it's not drug abuse, it's alcoholicism - different words, often the same result) and whatever they call it they do almost nothing to combat it - even their Nexus One isn't on the latest Android release yet.

Then they go and make an incompatible version of Android called Google TV.

Then they make Android Honeycomb (3.0, which indicates it's a sequel to Gingerbread 2.3) for tablets but are unclear as to whether it's also for phones (is this their way of hyping tablets or something?).

Then they *finally* get round to enabling a webstore for the Android Market, which should have been there years ago as people like AppBrain managed to do.

It seems to me that there are several teams within Google working on "Android" and no real overall direction. As a fan of the system I think this is a shame. I'm getting confused about the whole thing - I hate to think what the less informed are thinking!

iFan because at least you know where you stand with the JesusPhone.

No longer flavour of the week

Oh come on, your Nexus One is over a year old now! It's yesterday's news. You should be going out and buying one of the new Nexus S phones! Or at least Google would have you think.

As a fellow Nexus One owner I'm a little miffed. I reckon CyanogenMod 7 (which at least is easy to get onto a N1) will provide an Android 2.3 implementation way before Google do - latest I heard it's a matter of days away from a beta.

Google in Android 'Honeycomb' fondleslab demo fest

Web-based Market

You have to wonder why it has taken up til now for Google to enable a web-based Android market. I thought the firm was supposed to be all about the web, and a quick shufti at it just now doesn't show anything that AppBrain wasn't doing a couple of years ago...

Apple tosses Sony iBooks rival from iTunes

I think it's down as Reader in the market...

...which means it's a bit difficult to find!

This appbrain link might help - http://www.appbrain.com/app/reader/com.sony.drbd.mobile.reader

Facebook launches location-tracking Places Deals

has checked in to 'The Moon'

The only "places" I've checked into on Facebook have been fictional or impossible. Hence my recent visits to the moon.

Well, it amuses me anyway. Joke alert because you might not get it otherwise.

Google wants Android developers

About time

Hopefully some of these new devs will work on fixing some of Google's existing Android apps. Some of them are embarrassingly broken (My Maps Editor anyone?) and have the air of hobby apps done in some Googler's spare time (which they probably often are, in fact).

Not to mention the persistent app2sd-related installation problems plaguing the Market at the moment.

O2's free Wi-Fi in detail: How free is free exactly?

Can be spoofed

MAC addresses can be spoofed, although I think support for this is dependent on the hardware? In Windows for example, the MAC address field can be set for many cards using the Device Manager and many wireless routers also provide an option to input a custom MAC for their WAN interface.

Oracle spurns Ruby devs for Java love

Why do people use NetBeans

As a Java dev who used to main code .NET I find NetBeans quite similar in design layout to Visual Studio so it is easy to pick up. To me, Eclipse is a confusing pile of obscure menus, weird hotkey-combinations and plugins and while I do use it for Android stuff (mainly because the Android plugins are all for Eclipse) I don't much like it. I suspect that people only really use Eclipse because they always have done so know all the tricks and quirks, and can stand the muddle because it has grown up around them.

The other main thing for me is that NetBeans has proper Apache Maven integration which is useful. Can't believe Eclipse still doesn't, to be honest.

Middlesbrough cabbie relieves lad of iPhone

In the UK, sure

Yes, if the phone is being used in the UK. A lot of these stolen phones are sold and shipped off abroad where the networks aren't part of the IMEI-blocking agreement, alas.

Although as only an opportunist alleged thief, the taxi driver might not realise that.

UK tech retailers are rubbish

Talking about Which...

Have you seen their tech reviews? I remember them reviewing antivirus scanners at one point and recommending Norton. After that I began to wonder whether they knew anything about the other product categories they review either...

Special cables

I love the special cables they try and sell. A while back I was in Currys (or Dixons Digital or whatever they're calling themselves this week) helping my father in law buy a new TV. We'd found the deal online, and this was actually the cheapest 42" plasma we found - surely it couldn't be in Currys I thought? But we went to check it out.

Indeed the price was correct, but they must have been using it as some kind of attempt to get people into the shop as immediately after we arrived and enquired about it we were given the hard sell to "upgrade" to the better (and undiscounted) models. Naturally we turned them down. Then they tried to sell us "special" HDMI cables, which I said I would get elsewhere thankyouverymuch. They did manage to sell us a stand though.

In the shop they had two displays up, one displaying a picture with the special cables and one with the normal cables. I am sorely tempted to go into the shop one of these days and see whether all the brightness/contrast and tuning settings are the same on both these displays... ;)

Paris because she probably knows more about technology than most of these shop assistants.

Aussies demand Poms cough up first 'Australia' map

May as well...

...give it to the Aussies rather than keep it in some government office in the UK where no-one can see it, assuming of course that they'll put it in a museum.

But the indignant tone of the quoted Aussies is a bit rich I think. Didn't they ever learn to ask nicely?

Casio touts 'Bluetooth Low Energy' wristwatch with 2 year battery

Anti-theft

Could this be rigged so if your bluetooth device drops out of range your watch buzzes? Perhaps would be a useful anti-theft feature, although you'd have to be quick to see which of the people walking away from you in the crowd is the perp'...

I quite like the idea of this technology, although I can't really think of a good use for it. If it's cheap enough I'd probably buy into it anyway.

On a completely different topic, I've always thought the killer app for digital watches would be, well, clock face skins. Casio could sell them for download and the kids could collect them ;)

Ford cars get draconian parental controls

The point?

Soooo... we trust little Johnny enough to drive around a lethal chunk of metal which could easily cause serious damage to people and property if misused... but we don't want him to listen to naughty words on the car radio? What a ridiculous position to take.

And can someone explain how limiting the top speed would solve the problem? What if Johnny needs to accelerate quickly above the speed limit *gasp* to avoid an accident, which can happen now and again? I also bet it doesn't stop Johnny doing 60mph in a 30mph zone if he is so inclined.

I can see the next step being putting location surveillance into the system, so you can make sure little Johnny really is popping out to see gran rather than his good-for-nothing friends, as well as doing the correct speed in the right zones.

Either you think someone is mature enough to drive a car, and trust them to do it responsibly - or you don't. There shouldn't be this nannying.

US woman sues again over XP 'downgrade', seeks class action

Unlikely to be successful

Sympathising somewhat with this lady, but I doubt she'll be any more successful this time. I suspect that not many people bothered to try to downgrade Vista - even I didn't, and I have the requisite technical knowledge - but those that did may have just decided that resorting to... uh... unofficial distribution channels of Windows XP was easier than trying to do it the official way.

Mobile operators handed content billing blueprint

VPN won't work

Some people have suggested a VPN as a way around these sorts of measures, but when the contracts undoubtably say you can use Facebook and MySpace for free but pay by the byte for all other sites (including your VPN) it won't really make much difference. Except for a little privacy of course.

I have a feeling it will never happen though. From the comments here (which admittedly aren't exactly representative of the general population), it will annoy people too much - or at least the people that give advice on what to buy to their less techie friends and relatives.

Just like the good ol' dial-up days

Remember the days of 56K dial-up? Before all that 0800 number nonsense? People used to merely go on the net to check emails for an hour or two a week. Having to worry about every time you open up Google Maps or your browser, or every thing your newly-purchased iPhone Fart App is sending or receiving may well herald a return to those good old days.

Regardless of how fair and cheap per-MB billing is, I will avoid contracts that include it and I am unlikely to recommend such contracts to less tech-literate friends and family who are quite likely to not understand the importance of watching what you download ("I spent all day on YouTube on my trip to Edinburgh, why am I being sent a bill for £100?"). And if there are no contracts that don't, I'll probably be buying a cheaper contract anyway (or PAYG) as I hardly use any minutes or texts. This could lead to a net loss of revenue for the operators.

Cambridge boffins rebuff banking industry take down request

No action

Having just read the thesis, I think it's disturbing that no action is seemingly being taken by the banks. The banks seem to be assuming (at least publicly) that fraudsters are too stupid to exploit this, a policy that I think is a little on the, well, naive side.

But also quite disturbing to me is the fact that this flaw doesn't seem to be reported more widely. It was published at the beginning of the year but I only heard about it today! Surely the Daily Mail and the like should be screaming loudly about our insecure debit cards by now, forcing the banks into action?

Fail because the whole thing smells pretty badly. Kudos to Cambridge for sticking up for its' researchers though.

Android Marketplace gets AT&T billing

Open marriage?

"Not that Android users can exactly divorce themselves from the chocolate factory just yet - Gmail on mobile still offers a vastly superior experience to the default email client using IMAP"

But if you're using Gmail surely you're already quite married to the chocolate factory already?

World+Dog says 'no thanks' to 3D TV

I wonder if they asked...

...whether people would have one if it was cheaper?

Me, for example - I can take 3D or leave it, but if I were buying a new TV and the choices were one with 3D and one without, and there was say £50 in in, I'd get the 3D one. Else not.

I don't understand why anyone would want to pay more for it.

E-book reader demand boom near

...and another thing

I forgot to mention the battery life. I somehow don't see Tablet devices lasting for two books on a single charge :)

Reflective Screens

The key benefit of a dedicated ebook reader is that it usually has a reflective screen, which you can read fine without eyestrain, on the beach etc.

Until the technology moves on enough so tablet screens can be read in brighter light, I think there will always be a market for a dedicated device. That said, I don't know how big that market would be - while I don't agree with them, a lot of people find the screen on their tablet or even smartphone "good enough".

US iPad to get BBC pay app - with 'handcrafted British feel'

Um

"He said Apple's fondleslab "also maps pretty nicely on to our core target audience for the service". "

What, rich people?

We probe the Google anti-trust probe. Vigorously

Customisation

To me the obvious answer would be more customisation of your search page, using your existing Google account.

Don't like results from roseindia.net (or whatever it's called?). Click the X next to the search result and exclude them from future result pages when you're signed in. Want your little map or image results that appear when you search for "Taj Mahal" to be provided by Microsoft? Select Microsoft from a drop-down menu of sites that implement that interface, a bit like the browser choice screen the EU forced on Microsoft in Windows.

Then the services can compete on merit - which the Google products still seem to come out on top in most cases. MapQuest is a good example - the old MapQuest was awful, Google Maps came along with a nice AJAXy seamless view and I moved over to using that almost overnight. The fact that it sometimes appears at the top of Google searches has very little to do with my use of the service - the excellent mobile apps and nice uncluttered interface does.

Badgers icon because you can never be too cautious of badgers.

Nokia X3 Touch and Type

Nice phone, shame about the OS

Would be excellent if this ran Meego or Android. This is my favourite form factor (touch/type).

Apple to give away iPhone tracking tech

Excellent

Now hopefully Google will decide to allow remote locking/tracking of Android handsets for consumers, not just business users, in Android and I can remove WaveSecure (which I got free, but refuse to recommend as I think the subscription is extortionate for what it is).

Angry Birds struggle to take on Androids

BBC

Android fragmentation - meh. I don't think Rovio are that concerned, sounds like when Apple tried to claim Angry Birds was an example of Android being a nightmare to program and they replied saying "er, no". I do like DrXym's suggestion of gaming profiles though - that would certainly help.

No I'm a bit more annoyed at the BBC. What kind of statement is that? So they're too lazy to make an Android app - fine, their choice, but why deny 3rd parties the ability to do their work for them? Are they stupid? And as for Flash and their awful mobile website being a valid replacement for a well-written app - as if. Even if all Android phones supported it, which of course they don't, on the Wii they eventualy made an app after claiming people should just use the inbuilt Opera browser for ages. Hopefully they'll capitualte the same way here but I doubt it - their media luvvies are probably all kitted up with iDevices so don't understand nor care about Android.

NASA's new 'Bullet' airship to fly from Moffett Field

Don't know about this military stuff...

...I always thought the killer app for airships would be long cruises over pretty landmasses, like the himalayas. People pay ridiculous sums for premium berths on cruise ships - surely airships would be the same just with a nicer view?

Google: Oracle doctored that 'copied Java code'

Seriously, what the...

Google's "don't be evil" motto evidently doesn't apply to its Android business partners.

I always wondered why they didn't come out quickly and say they'd help defend HTC et al against patent claims but figured they were keeping quiet for strategic reasons and would ride to the rescue when it made best legal sense to. Turns out they were actually keeping quiet because they never intended to help defend their business partners at all.

I can't believe how stupid this is. I always thought Google at least had the moral high ground here, but these weasily statements are unexcusable. As previous commenters say, this might actually really hurt Android.

Android bugs let attackers install malware without warning

Android security might be the kicker the networks need

I'm usually a rabid Android fanboi but this highlights the platform's major shortcoming - the lack of a viable OS update mechanism like Apple's and Microsoft's (well, for their new OS anyway). This may or may not be a serious issue but there will be others, and unlike Apple users can't update their phones to fix all of them.

Operators and manufacturers need to get out of the mentality that these phones are just boxes they can sell/give away with a contract and then forget about. They're mini computers and security updates should be provided for their expected lifetime.

Google have tried to mitigate the problem somewhat in 2.2 by modularising more of the OS, so you can update certain system components via the marketplace. However this isn't going to be able to fix core OS vulnerabilities that might arise in future. They really need to be thinking about ways of allowing OS upgrades in full - now Android is in the public eye and mindset, and people have an investment in it (through app purchases and now being in Google's ecosystem wrt contacts and calendars etc) it's an ideal time to force the operators and manufacturers to play ball.

Nexus One to get Gingerbread OS?

Of course it will hit the Nexus One first

That was the main advantage of this handset.

I suspect it will be one of the first to get Android 3.x too, Nexus Two or no Nexus Two. Google haven't yet released a version of Android that the older 500MHz handsets can't run so I don't think they'll release one any time soon that the 1GHz Nexus One can't.

After the debacle of all those pre-release firmwares of 2.2 it seems Google have learnt from the experience and kept this release close to their chests. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Bluetooth HID support and maybe the enabling of the Nexus' FM Radio ;-)

Researcher outs Android exploit code

Class action lawsuit?

When this was brought up on Slashdot, someone suggested that in the US people might get together and force the operators/handset manufacturers to provide Android upgrades for longer, by claiming they have suffered harm as a result of the lack of security patches. I find this possibility quite exciting.

These phones aren't anything like the dumbphones the operators are used to selling (where they can just sell you a box with a contract, and two years later sell you another box with a contract) - they are full handheld computers and thus should be supported with security patches at least for an average contract length of time.

Toshiba ships Folio Android tablet

Is that...

...Opera Mobile I can see on the screenshot? Didn't think that was ready yet.

No wonder CompSci grads are unemployed

The youth of today...

...don't have a clue. Now get off my lawn!

Vulture 1 rolls out of fab bunker

No camera?!

That's awful news. I was looking forward to a Duplo-model's-eye-view from a real spaceplane. I presume there is no chance of another miniature camera being found at this late stage?

IBM Java defection leaves Apache sourcers shellshocked

Google won't do anything

When have they ever?

Even when Microsoft blustered about suing Android manufacturers over patents, did Google step in and offer to help? No. I doubt it cares too much about the ASF.

I suspect Oracle and Google will reach some agreement before this thing is finished in the courts. And that's a right shame for Java in my opinion.

Tesla Motors: Our cars don't burst into flame, but our emails do

Ouch

That one backfired on the PR woman somewhat spectacularly.

But I'm curious - where in the Corporate PR Handbook does it say "write an angry email to a publication that disagrees with you, as they will invariably deal with it in a fair, balanced and confidential manner rather than plaster it on their front page and deconstruct it line by line making you out to be a snivelling whining idiot"? ;)

Motorola sues Apple over - what else? - patents

Think you missed a bit of that last quote

""It's just a dog fight out there," a patent lawyer with the business-centric law firm Lowenstein Sandler told The Wall Street Journal."

...while rubbing his hands in glee.

Logitech unveils first Google TV box

Disappointing

I was hoping it'd be much cheaper - $300 will mean about £300 when it's eventually released over here. As others have said, this just won't take off unless it's cheap as chips.

That said, there will no doubt be some Google TV boxes released by the Chinese and Koreans soon enough that might make it a bit more palatable - Logitech aren't exactly known for their reasonable prices.

Samsung shows Wave II smartphone

Still don't see the point of Bada

It has loads of apps! Er, no it doesn't. Well, um, it's cheaper than other smartphone platforms! Um, no it's not. Well, then it must be easier to use/better/faster/shinier than the other smartphones? Uh, no it isn't.

The only reason I can think for its' existence is that Samsung potentially get to make money on app store revenues. That is, if anyone releases any apps for it.

Also, you mention this is Bada v1.2. Does Bada support updates, OTA or otherwise? And will the original Wave be upgraded? Although the question is academic really - the only two people with the original Wave smartphone I know took them back to the shop and exchanged them for Android handsets.

Android is turning a profit for Google

App store revenues?

Considering Google take a 30% cut of the price of each app sold in the app store, surely that's making them some money?

Granted, probably not enough to cover dev costs up until now, but it was always going to be a longer game than that.

Spuds for laptop fraudsters strike in Huntingdon

Stolen?

"Try and buy a stolen laptop. Deserve everything you get!"

Well that as may be, but I doubt the fraudsters come up to you and say it was stolen. You're much more likely to be offered a second hand, or surplus, or ex display model or somesuch laptop.

But £650? You can get a new one for that!

Symantec HackIsWack contest packs in

"a laptop running absolutely bugger all else"

Only someone who hasn't had Norton Internet Security inflicted upon them would call it "bugger all else". Indeed, it slows your computer down as much as only hundreds of lesser applications working in concert would be able to. Truly a wonder of software engineering.

Blighty's carriers to field Windows Phone 7

Who knows?

I, as it seems like many others in this thread, migrated to Android after bemoaning the general stagnant state of WM6.x and have never really looked back since. However techies like me who seem to have taken a shine to Android isn't why the OS is succeeding - it's the cheap yet surprisingly functional handsets like the HTC Wildfire which will drive growth - the cheap smartphones that replace the dumbphones people used to get.

Windows Mobile 7 probably won't have any of these kinds of handsets, so as another commenter said I suspect they'll mainly do well as a mobile gaming platform if the supposedly easy Xbox-porting actually happens. Kinda like a replacement for the PSP or DS. It's not surprising to me that Sony is rumoured to be developing an Android-based PSP phone to try and counter this.

So if the games are any good, it will probably be a relative success, but I suspect mainly at the expense of Sony, Nintendo and Apple. Android will continue to grow, fuelled by the people wanting cheap smartphones. But who can tell really, especially as very little is known about the devices and the OS at this point.

Intel slips anti-theft tech into hardware to deter thieves

Sell the stickers

Now all someone has to do is sell the stickers so you can protect your normal laptop. If it's really that successful at detering casual theft, it'll probably be worth it.

Orange goes High Definition

Just those phones?

Orange say they are using the WB-AMR codec. Android, for example, seems to support the codec (at least that's what Wikipedia says, so it must be true!) so wouldn't that mean that most Android handsets also support this?

Is this just a lame attempt for Orange to convince you to upgrade your handset, for no good reason?

LG: big, bendy e-paper screens out by year's end

Killer app

I've always thought the killer app for colour e-ink would be digital photo frames (and maybe eventually posters, pictures etc). The current ones are a bit silly (although in my opinion surprisingly popular), needing to be plugged in all the time, but theoretically e-ink ones would only need to be plugged in while you configured what photo to display and then you could hang it up wherever you like without further access to power.

You could change your wall pictures as often as you change your desktop wallpaper.

Lexmark files patent gripe against 24 cartridge makers

Rip-off cartridges

When it is almost as cheap to buy a brand new printer than to buy a new ink cartridge you know they're basically just profiteering. Oh I'm sure some people argue that there's nothing wrong with this "razor blade" business model, but it does get on my nerves.

However considering how many 3rd party cartridge manufacturers there are around, I'm a bit puzzled why you can't seem to get Gilette-compatible 3rd party razor blades. Do the razor companies have better lawyers maybe?