Posts by alexh2o

Report: Microsoft tried and FAILED to offload Bing on Facebook

Really??

I'm not convinced that this story is true. Bing is the special child of Balmer. I don't believe he would ever sell it. How could Microsoft take on Google without a search and ads business? No, it's a stupid notion.

The truth I reckon lies more in a similar story. Something along the lines of a Bing/Facebook merger, with Microsoft retaining a massive stake in the combined entity. Or a merger of the search and ads platforms of the two, like the Yahoo deal. Not a sale of Bing, sanctioned by the man at the top.

Cellco execs lay into Nokia's Lumia

Re: Ace in the hole

@Lost all faith...

You should actually read about PureView before complaining about it. It doesn't take 41 megapixel pictures (although it can), it takes 8 megapixel pictures just like most smartphones. The difference being it over samples and averages the results of 7 individual pixels down to just 1. The massive oversampling does a very good job at compensating against the smaller lens. Obviously, it's still no DSLR, but it's pictures will blow any other smartphone pictures out of the water! The results are impressive.

Nokia on 'brink of failure', warns analyst

Re: Utter bollocks.

You're completely right. But sadly El Reg is filled with Microsoft haters today, so any pro MS article or comments get the downvotes like mad. There is a strange desire amongst many on here to see Windows Phone fail at all cost, so deride it and Nokia at every turn. In all likelihood it's born out of worry at the fear people might actually like a Microsoft product and start using it.

This bull of measuring their success based on months is stupid. Everyone know Microsoft plays the long game. Was the original Xbox succeeding 18 months in - I don't think so. The combined effect of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 will be massive, all of which is 6 months away! It's hardly a BlackBerry upgrade style time frame. It doesn't matter where you are today, it's where you are going!

And for everyone who keeps harping on about how Nokia should have moved forward with MeeGo or Symbian - how do you still not understand it is all about the ecosystem and not the OS?!? You can create the greatest OS in the world, but if you can't back that up with all the services people desire it will fail. Whether you like it or not, there are only 4 companies in the World that have the resources and services to maintain and compete with a smartphone platform - Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

HTML/JS is just one way to code for WinRT, and fundamentally there is no reason to believe WinRT won't become massive. It's clearly obvious WP8 will run WinRT apps just like Windows 8, and porting the existing WP7 apps over to WinRT will be absolute minimal effort. It's also pretty obvious WP8 won't simply drop support for all the existing apps, it will happily run everything WP7 runs today. Microsoft aren't f'ing idiots!

I simply don't see why any developer should be put off developing an app today, nor do I see why any developer wouldn't have faith in WinRT. There is already massive amounts of documentation freely available from Microsoft detailing all of this.

Re: Costs too much :-(

Or just unlock your device and side load your apps...

Nokia drops Lumia 900 price to $0 in response to bug outrage

Re: Dear oh dear.

They get commission. I'll find you thousands. Do really think salesmen care in the slightest whether the product they sell you is any good?

BT fattens fibre customer pipes for free - with a contract extension

Re: What's BT infinity like for gamers?

Not had any problems at all with gaming using Infinity, Xbox and PC. The average ping for me is probably around 20-22ms, sometimes it creeps a little higher and I've seen it down at 16ms quite regularly. Not sure how "hardcore" you are, but for me that level of ping is more than fine! I've heard people say less than 50ms is optimum. Hope that helps.

Re: Meh...

I'm in the same boat. The torrent throttling was really annoying at first but I've since realised it goes so quickly the rest of the time it's not really the end of the world. Seems to only affect me between 4pm and 10pm though, so you can get many gigs done in the morning!

Foxconn staffer lets slip iPhone 5 ship date

5th Gen iPhone...

...that'd be the iPhone 4S then?

Munich's mayor claims €4m savings from Linux switch

Re: If by a "certain company" you mean Microsoft...

"Hopefully it'll be their downfall."

Why do people have this attitude? It makes no sense. Competition is good for everyone. You don't have to like Microsoft or use any of their products, but their presence in the world is of net benefit. Not just in technology, but even down to all the jobs they provide to thousands of people...

ARM-Android to outship Windows-Anything by 2016

Don't believe it....

No doubt I'll be downvoted for this like mad but here goes...

The reason Windows owns the PC world is because of content creation apps - think Office/Creative Suite/AutoCAD etc. The only compelling alternative is OS X - but Apple's way will always restrict it's adoption. Currently, tablets and phones are simply content consumption devices, and haven't grown up. The iPad is just now beginning that transition. Windows 8 will continue on PC's for the same reason, but also bring that into the world of tablets. Android has fallen flat on tablets and Windows 8 will only reinforce this further.

Android will continue to have a strong presence on phones, but never really expand meaningfully beyond them. OS X and iOS will merge, and carve out a healthy proportion of the market. Windows will dominate PC's and tablets, and gain enough traction from it to be a solid player on phones.

When the dust has settled in a few years and these devices become more connected, Windows will take 50% of the market, OS X/iOS will take 30% (and 60% of the profits), and Android will take 20% (but 40% of the phone market).

It's hard for the tech folk on here to realise, but the general consumer and business will dictate this. There isn't the hatred of Microsoft and the love of open source out there. It will simply be down to - does Android have iTunes? No. Does Android have Office? No. Does Android play all top games? No. Hence it's restriction to phones....

Size DOES matter: Nokia snubs Apple's royalty-free nano-SIM

Re: Time to move on from ISO 7816

"Nokia decided to cover the microUSB port with such a flimsy cover."

Never understood this argument. The cover is actually pretty robust and the Lumia I got from launch has never had a problem with all the opening it gets. Nokia I'm sure tested it like made too.

Wii U graphics said to be no better than current consoles

I agree to a degree, but if the power increase allows for say, a racing game to include actual grandstands of crowds and not constantly duplicated 2D cut-outs bouncing up and down - you are improving realism in a sense. The closer the simulation becomes, the more immersive it can be.

I don't want super hi-res Call of Duty: Corridor Edition... but neither do I want another Mario clone with last gen graphics. There needs to a happy medium and I fear Ninty might be restricting themselves a little. Especially if Microsoft/Sony pair a Windows 8/Android tablet to the Xbox 720/PS4 and totally gimp the USP of the Wii U...

Public borrowing hike overshadows Osborne's tax breaks

Re: All in it together

The sad facts are, if you follow the actual economics and not the straight up logic or your ideology, lowering the top rate of tax will result in more incomes being declared and more tax paid.

It's hard for some to understand as people are blinkered by their financial perspective, but if at the end of the day UK plc takes more tax by cutting the top rate, then that's good for everyone!

The top 10% of earners provide 50% of the tax take. You hammer that 10% too hard and they go elsewhere, then your tax take dives. Ignore the annoyance of seemingly giving the rich a tax cut, and realise the harsh realities of economics should outweigh any social ideology.

This BTW is coming from someone whose earnings are very definitely in the lower tax band of 20%...

Samsung Galaxy S II punters get a lick of Ice Cream Sarnie

Re: i don't want to come across as a clueless dimbo but

There is no official release of ICS for the SGS1 coming so you have to do your own thing here.

You could go down the root of a custom ROM built for it:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1398223

Or you could go for the excellent CyanogenMod ROM which is similar but with some 'extras':

http://www.cyanogenmod.com/devices/samsung-galaxy-s

You can find the relevant information on the what the ROMs are and how to update to them on the sites. Hope that helps.

Telefonica flashes cash, jangles office keys to lure UK startups

Re: why London

You ask why London and not the rest of the country.... but shouldn't you just be happy Telefonica S.A., the massive Spanish company, chose the UK at all?!?

As a Northerner shouldn't London be better than Madrid?

Microsoft and Apple should hit Amazon, not Google

Re: Active Myth Manufacturing & The August Effect

Agreed. A small US centric, content consumption device that has limited appeal beyond the Amazon system, really won't have Apple worried.

Something like a global Windows 8 tablet that has access to all of Amazon's content, plus the content from almost every other media company around, is the tablet Apple should/does fear.

Bikini clad Princess Leia spied shakin' booty in Star Wars game

Re: Microsoft, stop, for the love of god just stop

Oh wow the rumbling of a bitter old tech nerd claiming the Kinect and controller-free gaming is pointless...

...funny how my family, especially the kids/nieces, seem to adore Kinect. And I adore it because hopefully it will stop them becoming couch loving, socially inept, internet farts!

I'll go back to Half Life now, with my keyboard and mouse, because it's too late for me too.

Microsoft drops 'risky' Windows 8 preview on World

Re: Re: Ooh look...

The metro start screen implementation of the Developer Preview was simply awful - but it wasn't even remotely finished! There were basically no metro apps and the Windows Store didn't work either. The only way to use the DP was like a Windows 7 install in Desktop mode. Of course it stank!

The new Consumer Preview, also not a finished product and severely lacking in the metro departments, is leagues ahead already! But it still isn't at the point where you could just live in metro, due to the lack of apps.

When it's *finished* it will be a lot better. There is a lot of Microsoft hate on here! And a lot of metro hate! Of course some people will just not like it, but just as with every Facebook redesign, most people will hate it until they actually use it. Then suddenly non-metro will be like using a Windows 95 PC.

Re: OK thats horrible

They want you to sleep/hibernate rather than shut down.

And is "Charms Bar > Settings > Power" really that difficult to find? I think it's probably a case of you just not knowing about the Charms Bar properly yet.

Re: One thing I'm wondering

They've added a feature known as Windows To Go which allows you to boot a Windows Install directly off a USB drive. Go and grab the .exe rather than the .iso though.

Intel joins The Document Foundation, pushes LibreOffice

Just to annoy MS?

Given Microsoft has just brought ARM into the Windows fold and killed AppUp with the Windows Store, whats the betting this is a mini F U MS!

Ubuntu for Android: Penguins peck at Nokia's core problem

Re: Re: Elop wrong?

There's some interesting debate going on here and it's nice to read the different sides.

But I think I should clarify that when I say I want a phone to be a phone, that doesn't mean it shouldn't do things like web browsing, camera, music etc. I just don't see the logic in it booting a full desktop OS and becoming more than a phone...

I want a *smartphone* that remains just a phone. My sole complaint is this current race to the top in processor power will be coupled with a decrease in the usability of the device as a phone. It's nothing against dual cores, it's just a problem when their performance seems to take preference to battery life.

I'm still running an old Mesh computer that has a 900MHz Athlon processor and 384MB of RAM, which happily runs Windows XP (albeit slowly- but it's fine for web browsing/emails/document editing). So it just seems to me a smartphone could be optimised to work perfectly on lesser hardware and offer better battery life...

Elop wrong?

Am I the only one who would actually prefer a phone to be just a phone - single core with good battery life over anything more! If I want to do more, I'll use a tablet/laptop/desktop. A smartphone that last more than a day is to me worth 10x the ability to play Crisis on it.

The closest I've seen to something worthwhile was Nvidia's idea of a powerful multicore coupled to a weak core, so the phone runs on the weak core until it needs more power, then starts up the beefier cores. That could be useful!

Will Windows 8 sticker shock leave Microsoft unstuck?

Re: Confused by the confusion....

I think they should rename Windows On ARM to...

Windows In Walls!

Valve responds to Half-Life 3 grumbles

It's fine!

I have decided that Valve is doing the following...

-Developing a next gen game engine, "Source^2", with the XB720 and PS4 in mind.

-Developing Half Life 2: Episode 3 based on the new engine.

-Developing Half Life 3 based on the new engine.

-Porting all of Half Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Half Life 2, HL2: Episode 1 and HL2: Episode 2 over to the new engine with relevant updates.

-Releasing the entire updated collection as a super pack game release, like Orange Box, but only Half Life... perhaps called "The Combined Box" ;)

Therefore, I am willing to wait patiently until all my dreams are answered!

Anglo-French nuke pact blesses 4th-gen reactors

Re: Psshaaa... Nukes, who needs em

In all seriousness, by that time I would like to think ITER and DEMO had succeeded and PROTO was operational - so we should all be moving to lovely fusion power!

Microsoft explains bland new Windows logo

Re: Re: Re: Back to basics?

"Bzzt, sorry, but if you remove the text and just show the "flat flag" to a random person in the street, I absolutely guarantee that none of them will know what it represents"

In all fairness they would probably say something like "I dunno, a Window? Maybe some tiles?" - which pretty much fits the whole Windows and Live Tiles business.

Once people start using Windows 8 and the logo is on the charms bar, it'll soon get recognition...

Google befriends Microsoft with WinDroid tablets

Windows on Arm T&C changing to ban installation on devices with any other bootable OS in 3... 2... 1...

Microsoft mulls touchscreen controller for next-gen Xbox

Xbox 720?

My money's on it being called "Xbox HD"... or as the cool kids would say, "XBHD".

PlayBooks lapped up from RIM by distributors

"HP had built decent share on the back of heavy discounting before its withdrawal, which Apple picked up."

You mean HP built decent market share after the Touchpad's withdrawal, thanks to the heavy discounting during the fire sale...

That wasn't part of the actual market, more some jumping on an opportunity. I seriously doubt Apple "picked up" anything but the sales they were going to get anyway!

Apple orders PC builder to 'choose sides' in laptop battle?

Now I'm not really an Apple fan, more into the Microsoft offerings in general, but I hold no grudges against any company - and I really don't see what's wrong with this?!

If you're a defence contractor, doing work for a particular Government, that work is 'ring-fenced' (can't think of a better term). You aren't allowed to use the knowledge or ideas to assist a foreign Government to create similar technology.

That's just one example, but their are many instances of suppliers having to abide by similar arrangements. It's obvious that Apple had to do a lot of research with manufacturers to perfect the unibody construction. Pegatron could easily slip Asus a few hints to help them avoid similar problems that Apple may have encountered. So it's easy to see why Apple might be a little annoyed!

If Pegatron wants to profit off Apple products, then they must obey the terms Apple sets out. I'm not arguing that it is a wise business decision, there are plenty of pitfalls, but when Apple holds all the cards and supplies a massive chuck of your profits, it's a decision to consider...

New driver-snooping satnav could push down UK insurance premiums

Wow judging by the voting here, IT professional =/= automotive engineers!

Showing a very basic lack of understanding about how cars perform, and even just driving, if you fail to see why a Ford Puma can corner safely, faster than a Smart Car. It's not actually worth bothering trying to explain if it isn't just strikingly obvious to you. GCSE Physics? CoG? Moments? Friction? Ringing any bells...

Smart cars...

-Short wheelbase

-Thin tyres

-High centre of gravity (proportional to length)

...equals being able to corner safely at legal speeds, and toppling at more. Pretty simple.

And there's a corner in a flat open field: can you see round it? Of course you can!

Indonesian train roof fare-dodgers given the brush off

Or use the night bus driver's trick... refuse to go anywhere until they are off. Eventually, the paying public get so annoyed, they 'deal' with the situation to get the journey going!

Android's Chrome finish comes too late for Flash coating

Well said! No one argues Flash will die... but why people demand it's death NOW when no suitable alternative actually properly exists is nuts!

Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 DNA splice is on - report

@ratfox

"Windows Phone 8, codenamed Apollo, will reuse code from Windows 8, due this year - specifically the kernel, network stacks, security and multi media. That means Windows Phone 8 will ditch the current Windows Phone 7.5 core that uses Windows Embedded Compact."

That basically states that the underlying kernel will move from WindowsCE to WindowsNT. That's it! At no point does it imply the entire operating system is becoming Windows 8!

Think of it like a car. The kernel is the engine and the OS is the car. Two cars can share the same engine but have very different performance. An example, the Toyota 2ZZ-GE 1.8L engine (Windows NT kernel) is used in the Toyota Corolla, a big family saloon (Windows 8), but is also used in the Lotus Elise (Windows Phone 8). The Lotus is demon fast in comparison, because it is lightweight and tuned, whilst sacrificing certain amenities.

That won't be the case at all! There are 2 distinct branches: Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

Windows 8 will be a singular operating system. It will however come with or without proper legacy support, depending on ARM or x86. This won't be 2 separate Windows, it'll just be branded differently. Think 'Windows 7 Home Premium' as 'Windows 8' without legacy, and 'Windows 7 Professional' as 'Windows 8 Pro' with legacy. Then they simply tell users, if you want to run Windows 7 programs, you need to pay more for the Pro version, otherwise you just get Windows 8 apps. The underlying hardware won't be brought up.

Windows Phone 8 is completely different to Windows 8. They are moving to the NT kernel and using some common elements, like the network stack, but the OS is not the same! Windows Phone 8 will on the surface be no different to today (bar feature additions/modifications). It's resource requirements will be the same - the NT kernel is actually very small and efficient. There is no reason why any current Windows Phone, even first gen devices, won't be upgraded to Windows Phone 8.. unless Microsoft does something stupid like try and charge, but given their current market position, they won't! The only issues will be hardware specific, like no NFC support because the phone is missing it.

A Lumia 710 will be running Windows Phone 8 before the end of the year!

Totally agree! Just last week I was trying to post on these forums saying the Lumia is great and people should give WP a chance - only to be downvoted like mad and told it's terrible, WP8 will be cr@p too, and Android is vastly superior. I wonder how many of those people now realise how short-sighted they are...

Ofcom proposes fall in BT Openreach charges to rivals

Who wins?

So that's a miraculous saving of 30 odd pence per month for a year of unbundled phone and broadband!

Will we see that translated to lower cost for the consumer? Of course not! That's just a tidy little profit boost for all the other companies...

What's that BT? Your increasing charges elsewhere to compensate. Who's paying those charges? Oh yeah it's the lowly consumer again!

As always, at the end of the day it's just us getting screwed.

BT Vision throws Microsoft Mediaroom under a bus for Linux

YouView

Why no real mention of YouView? Surely this is simply a stop gap before a full YouView implementation! Transfer the back end and boxes over to a Linux based system, just like YouView, probably sharing very similar traits- then the switch to YouView can be a relatively painless process. In fact there is probably no direct means to go from MediaRoom to YouView, so you need this half way house to bridge the gap!

Five ways Microsoft can rescue Windows Phone

Careful there OffBeatMammal... you'll have all the Reg commentards downvoting you like mad for suggesting such things!

Stick to the script - Android is the one true saviour of humanity, iOS is for fashionistas with no tech knowledge, Windows Phone is the worst thing since Hitler, and BlackBerry users might as well just be shot for support a "dead" platform!

Oh sh*t... now I've gone and broken the rules too! Thumbs down o'clock!

Yeh I really don't get the Skype bit - the article basically wants MS to go back to the 90s. Skype's value is in being platform neutral and available everywhere! I also don't get how operators afraid of becoming dumb pipes would see Skype as anything other than another threat to their offerings?

Dumb salesmen are hurting us – Nokia CEO

@Piro - it is true that I am probably not the typical phone user in purchase patterns. But Im in no means loaded either. I love gadgets and generally dont spend my money on designer clothes or anything, so my luxury in life is splashing a little on these toys. Though, if you think about £1500 over 3/4 years on buying or subsidising phones is a lot, I best not tell you what I blow tinkering with my gaming rig. But even that pales in comparison to what the flat/car/misses cost!

@Manu T - I accept all of those are legitimate weaknesses, and if they are deal breakers to you, fair enough. I would argue though, that (1) and (3) are not common needs for 99% of consumers. Find me an ordinary Joe Blogs on the street who even understands the 3 words in (3)! I would also say its next to impossible to get a "smart" phone these days that doesnt have some type of data plan, which generally is only £5/m. I dont really see how you could want a "smart" phone without a data connection? With data, (4) is redundant and (2) is easily worked round. Of all of them though, I agree the crippled Bluetooth sucks! Though it is certainly not unique to WP..

Well yet again the predictable pattern occurs... a lot of downvotes, a lot of noise, but no real answers.

I never at one point said WP7 is inadequate and just wait for WP8 - I find WP7 more than adequate today! But it doesn't hurt to make sure a platform has a future and to look to it. What is the difference between people looking forward to the Lumia 1000 or whatever and WP8, to say people looking forward to the Samsung GS3 with ICS?! Its just hypocritical...

I dont care my Lumia wont run WP8 - I dont expect it to! Its a great phone today and will be for a while. Who needs a resolution greater than 800x480 on 3.7in screen? Who needs a quad-core in a phone when it runs smoothly on a single? (Although, according to Vic its actually a powerful phone - make your mind up people!)

As for the "locked down" argument - still no one mentioned the iPhone which is selling gangbusters, is locked down more! There was one reply which brings up the notion of freedom to access the device and your data. I accept that is valuable. Thing is.. I changed 3 keys in the Windows registry and now my Lumia appears as a mass storage device and I can copy anything stored on it, straight off it through Explorer. Problem solved!

After all the app complaints, no one address my comments. So Im going to say my assumptions are right, and people are just complaining because its an easy, cheap shot. The same way iPhone users used to use the same argument about Android, now its WP turn.

I dont know who Stephen is? Unless thats a poor joke attempting to imply Im Stephen Elop, because apparently anyone who likes or promotes WP is a shill, yet its fine to go around stating why Android is amazing and the iPhone is magical. Get over it - some people like WP!

And just to clarify... I got an iPhone 3G at launch in 2008, I was out of the 18m contract by the end of 2009, when I got the HTC Hero. I didnt like it and found it vastly inferior to the iPhone, so replaced it with the 3GS after a few months and saw out the 18m contract. Then around the middle of last year I bought a GS2 and a sim only contract - which I gave to my dad when the Lumia launched and I bought that. (My dad wanted a big screened phone so this was always my plan - got me a wicked phone for 6 months before the Nokia I wanted came out.)

Rather than just downvote me, if Im so wrong, just confront and answer my questions please..

Personally, I own a Lumia 800 and have done since launch. It does upset me a little its still such an underrated device! And this is coming from someone who has owned an HTC Hero, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and a Samsung GS2 over many years.

The OS is fast and fluid. Runs well on simple hardware. Has some really awesome UI tricks too. Like everything though, its better in some respects, and worse in others. I personally think the good outweighs the bad.

I don't get complaints about it being locked down - the iPhone manages just fine, it doesnt stop it doing everything I want from a phone, and what exactly is it people are doing to their Androids that demand unfettered access? Other than tweaking the look, which personally I prefer vanilla to any day!

Complaints about apps, again I dont get. Yes there are 1 or 2 still missing, but no deal breakers, and they'll appear soon. What are these apps people really need also?? The phone out of the box does 80% of what I want, and going to the actual website offers the same or more functionality, and I can just pin the bookmark as a tile to the start screen. Even if you have invested in apps, how many of those would you actually want still, and what is the real cost of repurchasing? Id be very surprised if you are talking more than £20/30, and even that seems high! Maybe game are more, but that doesnt stop people when a new console comes out!

I genuinely believe that when Windows 8 comes out, Windows Phone 8 moves to the NT kernel, and the HTML5 windows apps work across all Windows devices, these things will be streaks ahead!

Maybe Im just a dreamer, a blinkered fool, or a soothsayer... but I love my Lumia and wish more people would come round to Windows Phone!

Facebook sheds light on Nokia's Lumia sales

You do realise how stupid a comment "I have no respect for a company that is reactive" is, yes?

No one company can solely survive on innovations. It's part of the whole competitive market process. Every company must be 'reactive' to its competitors innovations. That doesn't mean for one second that said company can't also be innovating.

If you said, "I have no respect for a company that is solely reactive", then fair play.

Based on your comment, you're an Android user. Android was built as a complete reaction to Apple's iPhone. Note how it looked uncannily like a BlackBerry before the iPhone. That doesn't mean Android is not innovating or great in it's own right.

Whatever hatred you might have for Microsoft, and I agree they were slow at "reacting" to the arrival of the iPhone, you can't deny there is also a lot of innovation in WP7. Some of those innovations will have Apple and Google reacting, and adding them into their own offerings.

If everyone had an Android - what is to stop Google from just sitting on the asses? Competition, innovation, and reaction are all essential! No one company is immune from the dangers of losing any of those three things...

Google+ funny numbers mask falling growth

Google+... Bing's greatest asset?

Vodafone manages to fight off £3bn tax bill, claws back cash paid

Wow some people really are naive and just sound like a broken record spitting out the same old tripe!

Do you really think that Vodafone plc completely avoids paying all tax in the UK?

Do you believe that one man's decision to "let them off" would be vindicated by the Chancellor, the Treasury, and the Supreme Court, if they actually legally owed £4/5 billion?

Do you believe our political and legal system is that corrupt, that buying a few dinners will revoke the need to pay tax?

A company that employs thousands, pays £Bs annually in tax, has contributed £Bs in buying telecoms licenses, and is one the few remaining globally successful FTSE100 companies - is in actual fact "a damage" because they came to a legal agreement to pay £1.2B in tax on OVERSEAS earnings instead of a phantom £6B. Generally, we should be happy we got over a billion as normally companies don't pay tax on overseas earnings!

But here come the downvotes from bandwagon numpties who fail to understand the big picture!

(and please get the company's name right - it really does degrade your argument when you don't even really know who you're talking about!)

Why the Vodafone hate??

Why is there so much Vodafone hate about?? Both the UK and Indian supreme courts ruled that Vodafone doesn't owe outstanding tax. The law has spoken!

Vodafone happen to be a massive British company that employs about 10K people here and pays a lot in UK taxes. That's good for our country!

I suspect half the wingers boycott British Vodafone and go get contacts with Franco/German Everything Everywhere or Spanish O2 - siphoning profits out of the UK and into foreign lands. But that's fine because Vodafone supposedly stole tax and every other corporation around the world doesn't employ the exact same legal tax evasion methods...

Typical British foot, point, shoot.. as always!