Posts by hurtlebum

Australian Parliament issues summons to Apple, Microsoft, Adobe

Re: @AC 08.32 Listen

"Our normal petrol is much better than the US, they run (IIRC) 85RON, whereas we run 95RON (burns far more efficiently) - the US premium petrol is what we consider normal."

They don't use RON to determine the octane content over here, they use AKI (written on pumps as (R+M)/2 ) . The basic stuff (87 in most places, not 85 unless you are in high elevation places) is pretty much equivalent to European 92 RON. The US premium at 91 AKI is pretty much equivalent to European 95 RON.

Still and all, I (a Brit living in the US) laugh when they complain about how gas is costing too much (it's all Obama's fault apparently) here. It's cheaper than most places, so quit whining. Additionally, whilst it costs half as much, I use more than twice as much here as I did in the UK. Cars are horribly inefficient and distances are much further (I live on the West coast). There is no equivalent to parking in the town center and walking around all the shops, we have to drive to each one we need to visit.

Official: Fandroids are smarter/tighter* than iPhone fanbois

Can't wait to be back in Blighty (if only for phones!)

As a Brit working in the US (I've been here 6 years) I can't wait to start paying UK prices on phones again when I return in 12 months (most other things are a different matter however...). My wife and I have a joint plan on Sprint, me with a Galaxy S2 and her with an iPhone. Each phone cost us $200 and we have a 2 year contract which costs (with some random discount they gave me) $147 every month. We do get unlimited data, however Sprint's data speeds are so awful that I don't ever use more than 1 GB per month, the wife even less (her iPhone can't get the "4G" which I can in certain areas of the US, so I get through a bit more). Americans also seem to think it's OK to be charged when someone calls them or sends them a text too, which is compeltely baffling to me. Why should I pay to receive telemarketing calls?

The really bad bit is, Sprint is the CHEAPEST contract you can get (or it was when we got it 18 months ago). Verizon have better data speeds but they charge accordingly. Don't know much about T-Mobile over here, but they are more expensive for less than Sprint. Since half the the US telcos insist on using CDMA technology, I can't bring my S2 back with me and bung a PAYG SIM in it when we return, luckily wifey's iPhone is GSM/CDMA so she can keep it if she wants.

Cars, lorries stalked via GPS to create live traffic super-map

Waze is a free app that will do this, I use it most days (I live in the US at the moment, but I believe Waze covers the UK too). I lets you see live traffic speeds using data collected from other users and lets you put markers on for hazards like accidents etc. Worth a look if you are in need of a mapping device.

I really wouldn't want to be a shareholder in the likes of TomTom these days, there is no way they can keep charging £50+ for a map update when it's all there for free (if you have a data plan) or use the offline mode of Google Maps.

Valve: Games run FASTER on Linux than Windows

Re: Gabe!

"Steam is a particularly virulent variety that demands you create an account in order to be buttraped effectively."

What utter tosh. If I have to have DRM on my games then Steam is by far the least intrusive and most user friendly I have ever come across. The "buttraping" is done by the like of Ubisoft who demand an internet connection to play (say goodbye to playing while on holiday, or on a plane or...) or the morons who insist on a 3 or 5 install limit. AND THEN PUT IT ON TOP OF STEAM!!! Steam is good enough on its own, it doesn't need extra DRM.

I know the companies who make the games don't care a squat about my one sale, but games like Batman AA etc are off my list to buy until the extra DRM is removed. Even for the cheap prices Steam sales sell them at, I won't do it.

Will TWO next-gen iPads be unveiled at January's iWorld?

Why sell them the processors?

"The new iPads will feature quad-core Samsung-made A6 chips"

Presumably Samsung make more money from selling Apple their chips than from selling their own Galaxy Tabs? Surely one way to deal with the lawsuits Apple are flinging at them is to refuse to supply processors for iPads? I would assume that if I can think of that, then Samsung's far more business savvy people have already dismissed it...

Verizon retreats on ‘convenience fee’ for online bill payment

Nope, you are correct. As a Brit living on the wrong side of the pond, the fact that I get charged to receive spam texts is enough to make me spit my cornflakes out when I receive one. I usually calm down when I remember that I changed to a plan with unlimited texts and it doesn't now cost me anything, but still, it's the principle.

I have noticed over the few years that I have been here that the Americans are happy to put up with extortionate charges for cell phones and data plans here that we won't in the UK (and I guess the rest of Europe maybe). Which is odd, given that most other things over here seem to be consumer driven and mostly cheaper. A quick example, my 2 lines (one for me, one for the wife) cost us c. $135 per month. We get unlimited data, however since the max 3G speed in our city seems to be about 350 kbps, we are unlikely to need it! The handsets cost more too, can't get many nice ones for free, even on a contract.

UK CB radio crowd celebrates three decades of legality

@ Dodgy Geezer

Pretty sure you deserved all you got for flying on 27 MHz, 27 MHz is for ground use, 35 MHz for air in the UK. That's the case nowadays, can't recall if it was 30 years ago since I wasn't flying until the early 90s.

http://www.ukrcc.org/

iPhone 5 a no-show at Apple's 'Let's talk iPhone' event

Antennae? Is this a bug?

Bugs have antennae, the plural of antenna in the RF world is "antennas" please. I see your fail and raise you a fail.

New DVD discs claim 1,000 year life

Readable by standard DVD drive?

I am obviously missing something here, the article says it claims to be readble by normal DVD drives, yet later suggests a storage capacity of 20-50 gigs. Not sure how that works...

Aircraft bombs may mean end to in-flight Wi-Fi, mobile

I wasn't talking about gaps, merely pointing out poor physics

At what point did I mention gaps? Windows? Using a cell phone on a plane?

The post said that the wavelengths were <1mm, I was pointing out that if someone wants to make a point about wavelengths, it should at least have some basis in reality.

Any phone operating on a wavelength of <1 mm would be so small you'd lose it in your pocket and there aren't many consumer products out there operating at 300 GHz (wavelength of 1mm is 300 GHz...)