Posts by John Bailey

Asda knocks out Kobo e-reader for £49

Re: Great deal, it's not a Kindle

It's hardly difficult to read Amazon format books on a Kobo. You can convert practically any format to be readable on practically any device. Would that really be a major influence on your choice of e-reader?

Analogue switch-off hits London today

Re: Farewell analogue

It's not always like that though..

I live in visual range of Crystal Palace, and I can remember getting ghosting, soft pictures and snow on analogue terrestrial channels. And stereo sound was very hit and miss. Sometimes two channels, sometimes left, sometimes right.

Digital.. Occasionally the picture breaks up for a few seconds, or the sound stops for a little. But that is not that common on most channels. Generally, I get perfect pin sharp colour correct picture, perfect stereo sound etc..

Analogue is more forgiving of a bad signal.. True enough. So you get a range of badness. Digital is go or no go, but when it works, it works very well.

Google planning to brand and sell Android tablets

Re: is it bullshit Friday or something?

Well.. iPhones and iPads are alternately the same things or totally different when the point being made requires them to be.

Re: Google "taking the fight to Amazon"

Mostly.

It uses a custom compile of Android and doesn't use the Android store.

"Android" is defined in many ways depending on the technical expertise and the agenda of the person defining what it is.

Enormous Apple market cap swells and swells ... like a bubble

Re: Uhm...

"Don't trust the "market share" statistics unless they've separated out the "Consumer sales" numbers too. If they haven't their numbers aren't worth a damn, because they'll also include every single PC in every office, every storage cupboard, every server room, every data-centre, and so on. None of which are even slightly relevant to Apple's target market."

But entirely relevant to the computer market figures as a whole. Which is kind of the point. Counting areas where Apple do not hold a significant share is not actually cheating.

Phone-hack cops nab six 'including Prime Ministerial horse lender'

Not so easy any more. This has gone very public now. Any evidence kicked under the sofa or tipping off suspects is a strict nono. And I'm sure a few minor MPs will happily fall on their swords for the party.

All the politicians will be only too happy to see Murdoch's empire crumble, and too scared to rescue it. And the police and law enforcement will be too worried about being seen to be colluding with anybody to dare to cover up anything

World's Raspberry Pi supply jammed in factory blunder

Re: Thank heavens

Especially if done in old London town by a phantom...

Metro breakdown! Windows 8 UI is little gain for lots of pain

Re: Over to Linux for me

Just returning the favour.

Why do all the Windows bores come out of the woodwork when ever there is a minuscule hiccup or niggle with Linux?

Could it be to gloat when the other guy is down?

If so.. Why do you get all the fun? I mean.. It isn't our fault you have no options like we do..

Chancer punts cig pack case for Raspberry Pi

Na.. It's a screened case.. Those usually cost more..

Very thin textured foil with an insulating layer is carefully folded to the exact shape and size of the case, and even provides extra protection at the sides.

Apple: We never said Siri would actually work in the UK

Re: Besides the point..

Well.. They should.

But apparently, there has been a grass roots movement which claims the spec don't matter, and nobody researches because Apple products just work..

Except when they don't, and the customer gets blamed for believing in Apple's PR fluff, which up to then was scientifically proved fact..

Texan TSA crew accused of nude scanner ogling scheme

Re: Missing the point

Because they are expensive and reassure stupid people.

People want to FEEL safe, much cheaper and easier than actually being safe.

Raspberry Pi ship date slips

You know.. I noticed the same thing. And I've bought lots of stuff that has so far resolutely failed to electrocute, poison, or otherwise damage me.

Still .. I'm sure the BNP are compiling a dossier of such crimes to show just how bad China is. Staying over there stealing jobs that were never ours to begin with.. Seducing their own women.. Eating their own food.. How dare they.

Ohh.. And I got an Arduino.. So I'll be chucking out my desktop any day now. .

Pratt or troll.. I'll leave it for others to decide.

Study links dimwits to conservative ideology

There there... It's all a bit too complicated for you isn't it?.. Why don't you go and shout at the telly or read he Sun or something..

Portland Jedi jailed for lightsabre rampage

Well.. When you try to use the force on the force, they are going to use force..

Now he is up sith creek without a padawan.

Ok I'm done.

Ten... smart TVs

Between 6.3 and 12.5 feet.

http://www.thehighdefinitionstore.com/TV-Viewing-Distance-s/79.htm

HUD's up! Ubuntu creates menu-free GUI

Nope...

The taunt just works.

Use iBooks Author, only Apple can ever publish the result

Ahh.. But it's iFree. Which is better.. A special magical type of free, where the least useful context is the free part.

See also the open nature of h264.

That Brit-built £22 computer: Yours for just £1,900 or more

It's not you.

There seems to be a faction who scream abuse at this project, while having no idea what it is. You think this is bad, try slashdot.

Best idea.. Sit back and laugh at the "CE experts" (really fanboys who read tech blogs) claim it will never sell.

Steve Jobs action figure set for shop shelves

And a little string coming out his back to pull so he says "Developers Developers Developers".

Apple’s Siri gets sweary with British child

Question is..

Was the kid shocked at the language, or scared because Siri knew his name?

Chinese confirm Beidou satnav system is operational

Translation..

Whaaaa.. If everybody has their own, we can't turn ours off and ground everybody else.

Grow up. Nobody is going to attack you, You have nothing anybody wants.

UltraViolet: Hollywood's giant digital gamble is here

People will pirate. This is unavoidable.

A small number will pirate anything they get their hands on. This is inevitable. They will never stop.

The majority can, but can't be bothered. And the lower the barrier to getting what they want, how they want, the less piracy.

It's a nice little step in the right direction. How important a step is yet to be seen.

China pad peddler wins iPad name from Apple

Now remember kiddies...

If round corners are enough to cause confusion, then Apple can't really use the iPad name, as it is far too similar to IPAD.

And in this case.. It's a trade mark, so it really does go away if you don't defend it.

Kindle Fire to consume half of Android tablet biz

No.. He actually does have a worm in his mouth

2011's Best... E-book Readers

Provided you redefine the meaning of tied.

Ahh.. The Amazon astroturfer is out again I see.

1) All e-book readers read more than one format. And usually all but one are DRM free.

2) Free ebooks are not just available in Mobi, which since the Kindle came out, has pretty much been abandoned by Amazon. So really.. You are more likely to need to convert even free books to mobi. But can download direct with ePub.

3) Calibre (great tool) supports pretty much EVERY e-book format, so converting from Mobi is just as easy as converting to mobi. And there are few, if any readers that Calibre does not recognise.

4) Amazon and Apple are the only ones who tie your book purchasing to their store. Everybody else uses ADE. So everybody else allows you to choose who you do business with.

Now stop trying to mislead people.

GCHQ code-breaking challenge cracked by Google search

But that isn't funny.

European court advisor slams software copyrights

Copyright.

You can't patent a photo of something.

Apple fanbois get app to summon store staff

What a shocking idea...

Would you walk into Westminster Abbey and shout "Oy.. You in the frock"?

Please remember an Apple store is a place of worship. One must use the appropriate means of registering an iRequest to be attended by one of the vestal virgins. This is a solemn ritual, and must be done with the appropriate sense of occasion.

Or an app.

Microsoft to offer dual upgrade path for Windows 8

Yes...

But the question was about upgrading from 7 to 8.

Chief rabbi: Steve Jobs' Apple lust spreads misery, despair

No.

Because then we would be the same people we accuse them of being. Ignorant, closed minded and intolerant.

We can instead, examine the points they make, and de construct or validate them on their own merits. Spotting a religious rant, as opposed to a valid observation that happens to be made by a religious person is easy.

Then if we call them god bothering tossers with all the sense of a thimble, we are at the very least, speaking from a position of rational discourse. Not laughing at someone cos they believe in a god.

The guy who got fired for refusing to wear a badge with 666 on it.. God nut. Laugh at will. A fool citing an old book is still a fool. Even more so if the reference is inaccurate.

This story is not the same.

His status as a religious leader is irrelevant to me. I'm an atheist. So he is just a bloke making an observation.

Does his observation rely on the existence of a sky fairy for validity? Nope. So it merits further investigation.

Is the point he is making valid? I think yes.

Now think for a minute..

Why is a Rabbi speaking at some event or other getting quoted in a tech website, and getting such hysterical disagreement?

Kind of proves his point.. Yes?

Brussels: Water cannot be sold as remedy for dehydration

No they didn't.

They spent 3 years coming up with a good way to stop bottled water companies from presenting it as a medical claim in advertising.

I know.. You want to get into one about bent bananas, and hard hats for tight rope walkers and other EU tabloid mythology. But think for just a minute. And you may very well realise that they are doing something right.

Why would a bottled water company want to make this claim? Doesn't everybody know that the cure for dehydration has always been to drink a high water content liquid? Or even eat a bit of fruit with a lot of juice, or have a cuppa?

Could the answer possibly be marketing? In which case, you know as well as I do that they will try to present their water as being higher in hydrating properties than ordinary tap water. Especially when one bottle can make up a whole quarter of your daily recommended water intake. Instead of just an eighth from a glass of water that is half the size of the bottle.

This is an important decision. Food labelling is dodgy enough as it is, and strewn with special interests and back room deals to keep any semblance of truth out of it.

Today we get bottled water companies selling over priced bottles of water as a dehydration cure.

Next week we get vitamin C sellers proclaiming on the bottle, the pills are vital to a healthy immune system. Which is true. But doesn't mention the fact that we get enough from food every day unless all we eat is meat. Or that any excess is excreted next time we have a pee.

Making a medical claim for a product is a very serious thing.

Stating the bleeding obvious as a medical claim is misleading too if done just right. And that was what took 3 years to stop happening. Not agreeing that water is essential, but figuring out rules that stop someone slapping it on a bottle of Evian.

Right.. Back to your rant now..

Hackers port iPhone 4S' Siri to rival devices

Bbbuut....

It's so magical.. And Siri can talk back like a real person..

Think of the enhancement to objectophiles when the object of their love can talk to them. If Steve hadn't given them freedom from porn, there could be a whole range of special inflatable personal docking options..

Gimmick? Absolutely, and nothing new to be honest. A few typical phrases for maintaining the illusion, a few stock replies to common "funny questions", and the deal is done.

Why GNOME refugees love Xfce

How abotu not doing this.

Because it's pointless. No matter what is said, someone will disagree. and they are right... For a given amount of right. Because each one fits the person who chooses it. And will be awkward, unfamiliar, and annoying to someone who can't give it a good week or two.

I recently switched from Gnome to KDE. And it took a week or two to get my bearings. Now I like it.

Use what you like, be open to trying a new one every now and then, and you can make your own mind up. Each one is a yum/apt/what ever away. Go see for yourself.

Apple was OK to fire man for private Facebook comments

Wouldn't that require the fact to be previously unknown?

Apple have a long reputation for being control freaky vindictive gits.

And..

If you think any sales assistant actually tells you what they feel about the products they sell you, they must see you coming a mile off.

Shocking truth.. When the guy in the shop tells you he has the same one at home.. Her is very very likely lying to you.

Official: Kindles get heavier as you add e-books

Only if it's a book about cats.. Written by a Mr Schrodinger.

Well..

If it works like my watch, then no.

A "1" is lighter than a "0" obviously, but my watch has the LEDS light up for a 1, and stay off for a zero. So the light would be heavier... right?

WHSmith Kobo Touch wireless e-book reader

Not very

Save yourself the annoyance. And do not listen to the twits who will swear that they use their e-ink readers for PDF every day. HTey are all without exception.. Rubbish for PDF.

Get a tablet for PDF, and if you read for pleasure, an e-book reader for fiction.

End of story.

How Jobs bent reality with LSD, Apple hype

Oh come on.. .

Peewee Herman did not start a war!

Jobs: 'I'll spend my dying breath destroying Android'

You really need to ask?

All Apple positive data tends to be cherry picked. Why would this be any different?

Android grabs quarter of tablet market

Yes..

Aww.. yet another iFanboy screeching about the dishonesty of the statistic that is showing the all powerful Apple in a less than devotional glow, while trying desperately deny the fact that the iPad, like the iphone has peaked, and is going to be losing percentage of market share from now on.

What you can do..

1) Claim that Apple is only one company. And can't be expected to compete with everybody else.. Again.

2) Brag about how much you are being over cha.. Ahem.. How much more profit Apple is making than anybody else.

3) Claim that market share is not important.

4) Face reality, and discover that in fact, it's a consumer electronics product, not a religious icon. And it really doesn't matter which is the most popular, because nobody outside a bunch of pathetic people care either way.

Jobs was 'working on future product day before he died'

And being free does not stop it being a STUPID CHOICE..

Crap alchemist jailed for poo-into-gold experiment

Wrong continent. Plea bargains are not part of UK law.

Ballmer disses Android as cheap and complex

Yep..

Just like all those bankers who pissed away billions for years, and were shocked when it finally caught up to them..

I think you place way too much emphasis on the figurehead, and none on the captain and crew.

Running a big company is not so big a deal. Steve is a figurehead. He gets wheeled out for press and for corporate meetings, and that is about it. He doesn't code any of Windows. He doesn't really make the important decisions.

Microsoft is a company that makes a product that is too expensive to move away from without a damn good reason in most cases. Microsfot is also a company who makes a product that is part of practically every PC that gets sold. It will take decades of epic and spectacular mismanagement and really horrible decisions for it to die. Not just a few dodgy press conferences, and the rantings of some fat bloke in a stage.

Leo DiCaprio slated to play Turing in biopic

So..

What kind or robot will the enigma machine transform into?

October 14 declared 'Steve Jobs Day'

Only if by visionary..

You mean salesman.

Poll: Porn-watching, net-savvy kids are a myth

Simple to eliminate.

Room of kids.

Stack of survey forms.

Box of pens.

Mu8ltiple choice questions where they tick the boxes.

No way to tell who filled in which form.

Now full disclosure is possible, and the answers are going to be as honest as the kids will entertain.

Methinks you are a bit concerned about the survey not being the usual shock horror kiddies being exposed to hard core porn while looking for Sponge bob websites.

To be honest. If anything, I'd expect kids to exaggerate. So it is quite possibly less.

Samsung preps anti-iPhone 5 lawsuit before it's even out

No.

Only trademarks must be defended, or they are considered to have fallen into disuse, and cease to be the "property" of an entity.

So if Samsung found someone using a misleadingly similar logo, they would have to take action, or risk losing their trademark.

Patents are a 20 year (I think) period of exclusivity. And no matter how many people are infringing, one offender can still be singled out and brought to court. The patent holder must choose to sue, but they are not obliged to.

Same with copyright. No matter how many people infringe, the copyright period doesn't change at all. If it was otherwise, pretty much every movie, every song, and every big of software would be out of copyright, due to being copied by so many people.

Microsoft: No Windows 8 ARM support for x86 apps

"Office will be ported to ARM, for sure."

Or more likely, some cut down heavily touchified version thereof. Remember.. we are talking tablets. Not powerful PCs with huge hard drives and 4 gig or more memory. And no.. I have no idea how much space Office needs to run. But I'm betting it will be way more than a tablet can manage without serious rewrites.

Office readers, with limited editing capabilities.. Sure. Office the fully functional feature compelte package.. Nah..

A tablet 4-5 years from now, perhaps... if they still exist. But one from the next two years.. No.

Just how many failed implementations of desktop Windows on a hand-held device do you need before the fact sinks in that they are two different use scenarios, so need two different UI concepts. That will take a wee bit more than a recompile.

Which means numbers are needed to get the big developers on board. Big numbers.

"A W8 ARM tablet will not run 'legacy' Windows apps, but will a tablet buyer care? I don't think so."

Really.. Ask 5 non tech people what they expect a windows tablet to do.. If the top five answers do not contain "run windows applications" I'd be astounded.

Apple broke away from OSX, and made iOS. They make an iPad, and an iPhone, which is different from a Mac. and at no time is it portrayed as the same OS, the same hardware, or even as a computer. Nobody really expects it to work like a Mac.

Android is a new and expectation free OS. There is no desktop version in common use, no multiple hardware platform implementations. So no expectation that anything but Android software will run on it. And as it's basically Java, not a big cross platform problem anyway.

But Windows is used by people who think every comptuer comes with Windows.

All software is made for Windows.

All Windows computers can run Windows software.

And as a Windows tablet is a Windows computer, it surely must run Windows software.

When they find out it is not true.. Oh dear.. Especially after the sales zombie in Dixons talked them into a six month paid virus scanner.. ON CD..

Windows tablets might very well have a place in business. Built in full MS connectivity is a real selling point. But for the generally computer illiterate home user. Android or iOS are perhaps more natural choices. And pretty much any name brand software outside MS stuff. Forget it for the first six months.