Posts by Techs UK

Microsoft: OK, we'll try indirect sales for Surface Pro 3 in Japan

did nokia sell in japan?

Surely they can use their new nokia resellars/agents to deliver on the SP3?

Microsoft and HTC are M8s again: New One mobe sports WinPhone

Re: bloat

my 8.1 phone system uses 1.8GB - where does this 8GB come from?

Most Americans doubt Big Bang, not too sure about evolution, climate change – survey

Are they stupid or just suspicous?

I think another possibility is that they are showing a healthy suspicion. Do you really see all the facts, and are able to come to your own conclusions in the class room? I think there are plenty of holes in current theories that would make people reassess their positions big time. The facts are there for everyone, but some of them never reach the classroom or mass media. We frown on countries that are blatently censoring and leading their nations and feeding the 'facts' in a skewed way, but for some reason we think it doesn't happen to us. That's what they think about us!

YES, Xbox One DOES need internet, DOES restrict game trading

All sounds good to me

don't you have to keep your Sky box connected every day too?

my 360 is connected every day too

i'd rather have this than the shuffling the disks in and out of the trays when I switch game - I just want to play it.

true, it's not like the PC.

how does steam do it? how often does it have to call home?

loads if you lot are winging about it, but it's an awesome way to get a reliable, fantastic spec gfx machine.

Microsoft reveals Xbox One, the console that can read your heartbeat

Re: XBox One vs PS4

DDR3 is better at general purpose processing than GDDR5, which they need for the whole flexible experience. PS3 showed that too much emphasis on pixels was a stumbling block for developers.

The software in the XBOX ONE is phenomenal. this is going to make it. they have the azure cloud behind the whole thing, so as sure as anything in a couple of years your GFX will be processed in the cloud anyway. this box will grow into the cloud for more performance. sure you'd need excellent broadband for that, but broadband is only getting faster too.

Office 2013 now available for some home users

It's so cool

Don't you know cool when you see it? They did a great job.

Another Apple maps desert death trap down under

Nokia maps puts it in the right place...

... if anyone is interested. I suppose that is what IOS6 users are using anyway.

Microsoft notices Xbox gamers actually slack-jawed TV fans, adds 43 new apps

Gold is good. Price of a good coffee once a month. More apps and choice - nice

Works well for us in our house. Xbox's in the lads bedrooms, 1 in the lounge with Kinect. Gold family pass. £1.4 per person on gold. I couldn't have afforded that with steam and 3 pc's to buy and maintain. Sure, AV/updates/software install isn't rocket science, but I can forget that on xbox.

Microsoft rolling out Windows Phone 8 update in Europe

I'm glad the WiFi goes off

I didn't that that was a bug, who wants the WiFi draining the battery when you don't need it? The baked in music streamers and stuff can persist the connection if they want. This makes the ability for an app to persist the connection available to all.

WiFi persists anyway when power is plugged in for a few minutes on my wife's 7.5 and my Lumia 920.

No reboots or crashes on the 920 for me

Amazon UK leaks Windows 8 retail box, TV ads

bunch of old men

What are Microsoft supposed to do, tweek win 7 again and hope for the best? they have to differentiate, and putting their OS in the space where the others say it can't work (touch vs desktop combined OS) is bold and I honestly think they've come up with the best effort anyone could make at it.

The touch/mouse is pervasive, not bolt-on pop up keyboards like other touch attempts on windows. It isn't half bad at all on keyboard mouse. even better I expect if I had a gesture mouse, or a keyboard with charms on it.

I suppose the GUI is the big news, but what about the other stuff?

Enterprise only: AppLocker, BranchCache, DirectAccess, Windows To Go

BitLocker improvements, Client Hyper-V, eDrive.

This'll work, I really think it will. it doesn't look like the old Microsoft.

Users told: Get rid of Internet Explorer (again)

So we can't use Java, because...

...that has bugs, now not IE (taking a pop at the favourite browser again) because that has a bug which can infect your machine when you browse to dodgy, badly maintained sites.

What about all the other software with bugs in it?

I'm not saying IE is better than the others, I'm used to it and am well aware that other browsers can be better and can be worse. Security of software it a process, not a state. My money is on Microsoft at the moment when it comes to process and support and the feed through to consumer and the enterprise.

Internet Explorer needs fresh dev infusion for a full recovery

Adobe Flash installs chrome and add-ins

my son asked if he should update 'flash' as it requests/advises recently, without looking I just said yes.

I came back a few seconds later to see it had nearly download google plug-in and chrome! manages to hit cancel in time and then download the flash update and disable the google bit.

what is that all about? why are Adobe distributing chrome?

I bet a good number of people get googlized by this.

I'm sure MS have been blasted for such activity, but this is a bit different I suppose - Google promotes Flash via YouTube, Adobe promotes Chrome via Flash.

It's Lego's 80th birthday party, but only the boys are invited

It's ok. boys and girls are different in body and brain. relax

Sorry, it's true. generally only boys 'get' lego.

I'm one of 3 boys and 2 girls. 2 boys into the lego (just the building bricks in our day), oldest lad not and the girls not.

my 2 boys were into lego, inventing and building (despite the very specific kits nowadays) my daughter wasn't really. liked playing with the girl stuff, but not inventing or building really.

Office for ARM will lack features, report claims

Porting Office - the best bits and used bits.

I guess they're doing a re-write as they add more and more stuff to their cloud based Office 365, etc. maybe that is the basis for the RT version - not cloud based, but more code in common with that than the x86 code base.

I'm really up for the Surface RT - doesn't replace my desktop - it's in between phone and desktop and complements the xbox maybe?

Outlook.com launch a gold rush for jokers, spammers

Re: Hack /and/ a hoax

It's a preview you muppet.

Google snaps bird's eye view of Olympic Village

Google earth plug-in required? (Bing user)

Do i need the 'google earth' plug in to see this? i just get aerial photo's/maps

45 degree is grey'd out.

Bing has this already though, yeah?

Microsoft picks October 26 for Windows 8 launch

A brilliant consumer experience in Windows

Hey, this is going to be great for Windows, and non techies. discovering and finding apps, with or without touch, chromeless gui options.

Brilliant - first thing i normally do is maximize and application windows anyway.

the video/music/game experience will be cool.

we'll be able to put some good stuff together for the management to live in metro gui's, etc. this is great. well done microsoft - you had to do it - no choice. Windows would be dead for sure if you didn't do this.

And, yes, I have used W8 it a lot.

Nexus 7 and Surface: A bonanza for landfill miners

content?

1. Content

Are you comparing iTunes with xbox live, xbox music/video (aka Zune) - Barnes & Noble?

2. Surface pro you're talking about? Surface RT will be a few $100's cheaper than an ultrabook.

MS have it gelling nicely via the cloud with most of the planets PC's and 66 million TV's (via XBOX)

I think they'll do well with Surface (It's what i've been waiting for PC wise) and Nexus will do well probably.

iPhones, iPads to be FULL OF FACEBOOK and NOT GOOGLE

Re: Where's Redmond?

Windows PHONE 8. although the numbers don't look any more significant when you call it the right thing. I'd really like it to be relevant to Apple, but it's not at the moment. There is a nod to it in the article, in that FB integration has been in it from the start (a lot of other stuff hasn't - I KNOW), but there is the balance of the device.

I expect Redmond to keep mum about WP8 for a few more months - or does anyone know when we're likely to hear if they have anything to wow us with soon? E312 tells us we'll get a zune rebrand.

Nokia Lumia 900 WinPho 7 smartphone

It looks fantastic, cyan for me

the phone design looks great - would have prefered the curved glass like on the 800 though.

OS is fast, 80% of the stuff i use is built into the OS, so no need for fart apps.

pretty fair score really, all things considered - i've have put it at 80% at least though - the design is great.

Half of UK smart TV owners don't know what the 'smart' bit is for

just a screen please

Manufacturer (I work for phone) shove loads of silly programs in them. just use an xbox or ps3 if you want real entertainment system. i'd rather pay for just a great screen.

Most anticipated videogames of 2012 revealed

why not kinect star wars?

I've only heared good about this game from normal people. are there games journalists that can review kinect/move games from the point of view of the market they are aimed at.

Workers can't escape Windows 8 Metro - Microsoft COO

err, you can still do all the stuff you're all whinging you can't.

Have any of you used this new GUI?

The desktop has always been an App itself (try task killing 'explorer.exe')

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

don't worry

Me and my non IT friends who have played with and seen this are very impressed.

Maybe the critics should take a step back from what they're used to. All feedback is useful though, if expressed in a helpful and constructive, rather than 'WTF' way. Pretty much demonstrates the emotional reaction of someone, rather than an objective one.

Go for it Microsoft - innovate. We like it.

Windows 8: Sugar coating on Microsoft's hard-to-swallow tablet

Just the kick everyone needs

This is great - I do like metro, it is nice and responsive, and natural.

The screen space used well on my 2009 laptop.

No touchscreen, and yes i did have to pause to think and read the screen when i wasn't sure. just move the cursor to a corner if you're not sure, or tap near an edge - you'll get used to it.

People are so used to Windows, it'll be good to wake us up! I know the windows explorer application (aka 'the desktop') is safe - i'm sure people will be ok. in my large company, once users are in their application/s they're happy anyway.

I like the cloud integration/skydrive/hubs my data is starting to come together, easier to find and move between machines.

Thumbs up.

iOS update woes prompt gnashing of teeth for Apple fans

staged?

Why on earth didn't they stage the rollout? Maybe they did. Maybe the Amazon and Microsoft clouds it's actually running on (yes) couldn't keep up. sounds more like the network itself than the service.

Microsoft: Mango arrives in two weeks

...last train

I hope you're not a train driver - on the phone?

Microsoft exec departs after tweet about Nokia phone

Back to the article...

His first tweet seems harmless enough to me.

Interested in his candid assessment of the hardware. 8 is a good score though. twitter is a powerful way to communicate with customers though, got to be really careful.

Windows 8: Half million previews downloaded in 24 hours

works fine on hyper-v and on Toughbook CF-19

sorry you had problems, not encouraging. worked in my case, no problem.

setup is nice for home use, and i like the live id integration

Schoolkids learn coding at GCSE level in curriculum trial

only found out this recently...

... having to teach my kids (who want to learn it) coding myself.

i was writing machine code on a zx spectrum and hand compiling when i was 12

I told their IT teacher about Microsoft Dreamspark, and how concerned I was about it. they'll teach the A-level students some programming though.

great.

Google shamed by Apple in race to HTML5

demo of HW accelerated IE9 on WP7 Mango

I saw a demo of all the handsets doing a HTML5 only 'task' a few weeks ago. WP7 started last, finished first. I know it was just one test, but i had the impression MS were well advanced in it.

Ballmer: Windows Phone can win third place in mobile!

It'd help if phone salespeople knew anything about the phone

went into a major phone reseller, and the Windows phone rep thought they had one in the back, but it wasn't setup. no posters, nothing on show. 2 were technically on sale according to their brochure, and they scored higher on stuff than many of the phones on show.

I don't think British phone shops know anything about it - a lot of assumptions about it to break.

Kids at school talk about iPhone being best or 'HTC' (they mean Android, but don't know it!)

the message isn't getting through to kids or to the salepeople.

anyone see a Windows Phone advert in the window of their local phone shop? didn't think so.

such a shame

Christ appears in phone advert, secular authorities act

Annoyed, but not offended as such

Bit annoying this advert. I didn't notice it, or complain, there are far more sinful things to correct advertisers on.

You think Christian's should just blend in and never voice God's guidance? You mean like Him and the disciples and early believers did? They turned the world upside down, and showed up "Religion". powerless, loveless rules that just highlight our predicament.

Jesus loves you.

Tricky Xbox 360 hack claimed to work 1 try in 4

just enough

the carefully timed reset may be that some internals on the chip receive and interpret the reset signal and take action on it, but others just interpret the signal as a brief transient, and carry on their merry way?

maybe a bit like switching an electrical device on/off too quickly usually doesn't reset the device properly. I know this isn't the power rails cycling briefly, but could help in explaining what is happening.

UBS tells IT contractors: Take a 10% pay cut ... or 100%

directors probably already took one, surely

directors and management were the first to take pay cuts at the large electronics manufacturing business I work for. surely the bank bosses have shown the way too?

We took a pay cut in our division of the business. rather that than lose the business and my job. A part of the business didn't take the pay cut. they're closing now, all of them lose their jobs.

Sony Vita to control PlayStation 3

Windows Phone 7 and Xbox too?

Anyone see that demo on youtube with someone using the windows phone 7 to control an xbox game someone else was playing on kinect? you know, the one with all the balls flying about. suddenly makes the Wii U look less innovative.

Official: PS3 has more fanboys than the Xbox 360 does

vgchartz is slightly different - xbox on top by 4M

4 million more xboxes globally in total. US it's charging ahead - been the top selling for months.

UK usually more xboxes ships, almost 2:1 since kinect launched.

Japan is as the article says. Although it's selling 10x better than the original xbox, it's 10x slower than the ps3 is shipping.

I think there'd be more traction outside the US if Live offered the full range of services (iPlayer in the UK is a no brainer - COME ON! - on xbox live free, passify the BBC and please your customers)