* Posts by Silverburn

1609 publicly visible posts • joined 24 May 2011

Microsoft offers Internet Explorer 10 preview for Windows 7

Silverburn
Joke

Re: Does this mean...

Yeah, but I've just spunked £200,000 on a "4 wheel drive" Ferrari, I'd certainly hope it didn't have any annoying niggles either.

Silverburn
Thumb Up

Re: Still a pain to code for

+1; XP = a ton of enterprise blue chips, so this is hardly a minority audience you can just ignore.

Silverburn
Happy

Did anyone else read this as...

...<rex the runt>

Join us...join us....

</rex>

Industry in 'denial' as demand for pricey PCs plunges

Silverburn

Re: Hardcore gamers

You're onto something with the gamers...they are the target of these big machines.

Snag is, the gamers also know that upgrades are incremental, especially with Video cards which is where most of the immediate benefits and requirements lie. Buying a brand new machine from scratch is rare

What these guys should be doing it getting into the components business. Box shifting is dead.

Apple forced to cut dealers in to get iPad Mini shifting, says analyst

Silverburn

Re: Peak Apple

Apple has peaked? Are we sure?

I thought this was just another in the series of El Reg titles for Apple...makes a change from Foxcon rebrander, for example.

While I agree with the El Reg sentiment, I can't claim it with anything more concrete than "gut feeling". I hope there's an El Reg article soon to justify the title.

Apple MacBook Pro 13in Retina display review

Silverburn
FAIL

Re: Ethernet vs wifi - HD streaming

Errr, no, I think you read that wrong.

I used Apple TV as an example of a device being able to stream HD over wifi, which was the authors original concern and thus his reliance on ethernet.

Why did I chose Apple TV? Because I own one, and know this scenario works, and because it has both wired and wireless media, is easy to analyse/prove streaming quality.

What you *should* have correct me on, was the signal degradation wireless vs wireless being a factor in the design; trying to stream HD wirelessly to 3 rooms away through solid concrete walls will fail, whereas ethernet signal degredation will be minimal.

The fact you picked up on the Apple TV rather than the actual point, say more about you than it does about me.

Silverburn

Ethernet vs wifi - HD streaming

Just FYI - the apple TV can stream 1080p content across wifi just fine, so there is no absolute requirement for ethernet. Well, unless you're streaming native blu-ray bitrates that is.

Silverburn
Windows

Re: Touch

Witness the bile directed to W8 and it's touch/metro interface on this very forum, and you maybe understand why not going touch - at this moment in time anyway - is probably a good thing.

Silverburn
Thumb Down

@ K

One hopes you apply more critical thinking than this in your real job.

But going by this post, I'm not even sure you're old enough for paper round.

Google, Amazon, Starbucks are 'immoral' and 'ridiculous' over UK tax

Silverburn

Re: How they do it

then hide the Swiss profits elsewhere.

Most likely in....errr...Switzerland. Banking secrecy laws an' all that, and even then, the TAX cooperation agreements need a legal case from the originating country, and only apply to individuals.

The added advantage of buying in CH is the 8% VAT rate, compared to the 20% in the UK. Even taking into consideration the "import duty" of the UK (if it even applies), I bet they're still quids in.

Brits swallow Google Nexus 4 supply 'in 30 minutes'

Silverburn
Facepalm

30,000 sold in the first hour?

By the looks of the posts above, it's due to people ordering far too many by mistake - either due to flaky web hosts or plain ol' PEBCAK...

What a clockup! Apple's Swiss clock knock-off clocks up $21m fine

Silverburn

Re: leaves and snow

As a former UK'er now in CH, I find all these excuses amusing. Wrong type of snow? Trees dropping leaves on the line? Pfft.

The reason the SBB is so consistent is that they actually clear and maintain the lines - daily and overnight if required. There is no magic or fancy tricks.

Samsung turns screws on Apple, hikes A6 processor price 20%

Silverburn
Devil

Revenge..

...is so delicious.

'Perfect' INVISIBLE SHED stuns boffinry world

Silverburn

Invisible Shed

Pictures, or it didn't hap...

oh wait.

Star Wars VII: The Disney Movie signs Toy Story III script genius

Silverburn

@ AC

...whoosh!

Besides...how do you shoot the sequels when:

- The emperor is dead

- Darth Vader is dead

- The death star is....errr...dead

- The master star destroyer and the chain of command is dead

- The ewoks are dead...no wait. Damn.

Silverburn
Joke

Lets all do the hotdog dance!

...with light sabres!

And if you know what the hotdog dance is...you are officially in hell, and you have my condolences.

Surface sales 'modest' so far, Ballmer modestly admits

Silverburn
Thumb Up

Re: Well thats no surprise is it

There might be more to it than a collective incompetence of the marketing drones in this area. Though it's hard to believe I actually came out with a statement like that...No, I think the problem here is that they saw what Apple did, and decided they had 3 choices;

a) copy and undercut without compromising "perceived quality". Which has proven harder than expected. Maybe the plastic vs aluminium is something to do with it. Who knows.

b) copy Apple wholesale; form factor, pricing/margin model the whole shebang and hope people associate their product as being identical to an iPad. Which has failed for some, as their either end up in court (unfairly or otherwise), or can't match Apple "perceived" quality levels at this price.

c) Differentiate. Snag here is that that takes them down very niche roads, and so far these niches are much narrower than expected. Or by tweaking the form factor, and in the process alienate the "I want an ipad, but don't want an ipad" crowd. And then some have just arsed it up royally in a hurry to get to market (eg aforementioned Playbook).

MS could do well here, but they need to think about instilling "coolness" and some USP's into their products, as it's certain unique.

EU proposed emergency alert system won't work on iPhone

Silverburn
Happy

Cricket scores = time critical?

are they really that important...or did I just read that wrong?

I suspect being eaten by zombies would be preferrable to being spammed by cricket scores.

Apple-v-Samsung $1bn iPhone fine: 'Jury foreman was biased'

Silverburn

A technical question occurs...

..if Samsung manage to discredit the foreman, sure that's only 1 vote, and unlikely to swing the majority decision?

Assuming that a majority verdict is even a requirement, of course?

Silverburn

Oooooh

Samsung might have a case here...

...but damn, they're really stretching the case here, no matter how much you'd want to see Apples win turned over. Then again, with a billion dollar fine due to be paid soon I guess it doesn't harm them to try appealing it.

Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 handset review

Silverburn

Nice phone...I'm actually tempted. Shame about the OS X support being terrible.

But then again...a windows phone, syncing with a mac? It just seems...wrong. Taboo, even.

Silverburn

@ Graeme

Given the abundance of sour grape downvotes on any articles/posts even slightly critical of Android, I'd go with the later.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7in Android tablet review

Silverburn

Pic 2/3...

...ok, who else thought "Mills and Boon" when they saw the book the auth was reading...?

I, for one, would like to welcome our Android overlord

Silverburn

Re: @ AC

Plenty downvotes, but not clarifications or corrections? Or were these just Fandroid sour grape downvotes?

Since platform allegance seems to be important for credibility to some, this was written on a Galaxy Note.

Silverburn

Re: @ AC

You mean only allow downloads from the super secure and safe play store...? This play store: ?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57476986-83/when-good-android-apps-go-bad-a-security-lesson/?tag=postrtcol;FD.posts

(fixed now, IIRC)

And re: the sources...so you're telling me that *everyone* that reports this has a hidden agenda...? Including these guys...?

http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/android/

Silverburn

@ Craigness FUD? Pfft!

FUD? You mean like this:

http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792222/Mobile_Malware_Evolution_Part_5

http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/android-malware-report-may-2012-2194.html

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/MobileThreatReport_Q2_2012.pdf

http://www.ibtimes.com/android-malware-increases-64-q1-2012-sms-based-trojans-see-faster-growth-report-742530

http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/press/2012/Android_Under_Attack__Malware_Levels_for_Googles_OS_Rise_Threefold_in_Q2_2012

Please quote your sources which point to Android malware decreasing or not being a significant risk, and I'll give you 5 which show it increasing.

The only one guilty of FUD here is you, since malware denial can be considered a form of FUD.

Silverburn

Cue Fandroid denial responses in 3...2...1...

Silverburn
Happy

Lets see..

Yesterday: Fanboi-appeasing post re: ipad Mini

Today: Fandroid-appeasing post: re: Android

Tomorrow: Winboi-appeasing post re: win8 on mobile?

Friday: Clickbait article on how they're all brilliant and we should just have group hugs?

Comet staff should be for life, not just for Christmas

Silverburn

I agree - any job is better than none. But they'll still be booted out, even if xmas provides a temporary stay of execution IMO. Comet need a miracle, and in this climate, they won't get one (through a massive and sustained sales spike).

Be interesting to see how many seniors fall on their swords for this...

Bird of Prey: 1980s IT on on the small screen

Silverburn

Never heard of it, but sounds interesting. Will give it a go. I'll just pop over to my online vendor of choi...

...oh wait. DVD. <Scotty>How quaint</Scotty>

Phone lacking NFC pay-by-bonk tech? It can go on a SIM

Silverburn

Re: NFC - No Flippin' Chance

+1. Too many potential security issues with NFC for it to be released in the wild properly, IMO.

Put it this way...an NFC skimmer will be *a lot* easier to build and disguise than a traditional ATM card skimmer.

Are you an IT pro? It's no longer safe to bet your career on Microsoft

Silverburn
FAIL

@ NomNom

"sorry you must use Internet Explorer 6.1 to view this website". This also reduces traffic.

a) If your site only advocates using a Swiss Cheese browser, I'd steer clear of it too. To my mind, there is only one reason you could possibly want me to use IE6...

b) You do know IE 6 is dead, right?

c) You wrote a site for yourself? Why bother with a website at all then?

Silverburn

Re: And the public *still* hasn't really seen Win 8

Apart from Joe Punter has never heard of gnome. Chances are, he's probably never even heard of UNIX/Linux either. He probably only even has a vague notion of what a "server" is, other than that's where his files and emails are.

He cruises into Comet (ha, ha!) or PC World and he sees Windows boxes or Apples. To him, that's the entire PC/IT market.

Nvidia heralds Steam for Linux debut with 'double-speed' drivers

Silverburn
Boffin

Graphics @ double speed

...meh. So compared to windows, my games will be how many fps faster/smoother?

Microsoft shoots Windows Live Messenger, brings in Skype IM

Silverburn

Ok, who seriously did not see this coming. I'm just surprised it took so long after the skype purchase.

Classic game 'Elite' returns … on Kickstarter

Silverburn

Re: Love Elite

Will never forgive realistic physics in a space sim

So...it's still to be a sim, but without the realism part? Yes, that makes perfect sense...

Fair enough, the newtonian physics detracted from the dogfighting, but I think you're being a bit harsh. I was more annoyed that the autopilot would sometimes not work out the physics correctly either, and smash you into a planet.

Silverburn

Re: Will you be able to take on assassination contracts?

And that was the great thing about this - you could choose.

I'd like to see the a "consequences engine" in the new one...pick up too many mafia hit contracts, and *you* become the target in a contract. How cool would that be...being chased across the galaxy by the mafia and other player assassins, trying to stay "off the radar" as much as possible.

Silverburn

Re: @dz-015 - Multiplayer game based on Elite?

And the "Omigod omigod I'm gonna die!' aspect of the combat takes a lot of beating.

Or docking, come to think of it. Then there was the "c'mon...c'mon...c'mon" nailbiting as you raced for the safety of the "S" zone in an anarchy system, with all your shields and missiles gone. Only to crash into a *stupid* python emerging from the gate while you are on finals. Lets hope the new version has some sort of flight controller employed at the space stations...

Silverburn

Newtonian physics

I actually massively respected the achievement made with this, and if you were simply in the mood, it made a really interesting gaming/simulator concept - even if aiming for an human-controlled orbital insertion from vast distances impossible. Especially in system like Apha Centauri where the jump point was "months" out when using a big cruiser.

If anything, it underlined the fact that humans simply don't have the mental capacity or concept of scale for realtime space flight.

Silverburn

Re: You know what would make a cool setting for a game like this?

Mostly, I agree...apart from the battles are all done in slipspace, barely last more than a second or two, and done over vast (3 dimensional) distances and well beyond visible to the naked eye, and invariably end in a simple massive explosion.

A good dogfighting experience it would not be, I'm afraid.

We don’t talk any more... on the commute

Silverburn

Re: “Is this the train to Faversham?”

The cryptic response works too:

"Is this the train to Faversham?"

"I hope not"

Hmm, I think I'll order an iPad Mini on Amazon ... Oh no I won't

Silverburn

Re: So, when will apple be applying to patent the laws of physics?

I'll take the down vote as "yes".

Silverburn
Happy

Re: So, when will apple be applying to patent the laws of physics?

Nice wee rant there... Feel better now?

Silverburn

Careful of the ad regulators.

So Amazon release a "selective" side by side comparison - woopee. Show me a manufacturer who doesn't do this - Apple included.

However, I do think Amazon need to watch what they say here, as two immediate issue jump out the Ad regulators will want to explorer. And guaranteed Apple, being the litigation happy company they are, will already be exploring a way to get this ad retracted.

1. Can't play HD. Actually the ipad mini can, but not at HD. Semantics, I know, but other advertisers have fallen foul of worse.

2. Comparing radio hardware, but not listing Apple's hardware. Again, they have to watch here, especially as The mini does Group N, plus LTE and bluetooth 4.0. They've maybe go a point with MIMO, but the regulator won't care.

Fans' loyalty questioned as iPhone popularity plummets

Silverburn

Dilema

Ok, I had 3 generations of iPhone before I moved to a galaxy note, because I need a mapping program, and and the bigger screen was needed.

So I stroll into a store and play with the iphone5...and I realise apple have dropped the ball. The screen is not enough - micron levels of finish? Irrelevant. Apple have misread the market. Samsung have not.

However... The polish as general attention to detail in ios still makes android look like a work in progress. IMO. Will I go back to iOS? Hmmm.. Sorry apple... Nice operating environment, but the hardware specs are not what agnostic consumers want.

Hurricane Sandy stops Apple stock deflating

Silverburn

Given the state of the channel (margins, stock etc), and the fact Apple runs its own stores and pretty much takes all the margin, why does anyone bother reselling apple kit?

Only a mass dumping of their lines by multi big names, robbing apple of reach and share, will encourage apple to be more channel friendly.

Microsoft aims to herd 70% of enterprise onto Windows 7 by mid-2013

Silverburn
Facepalm

That's lovely.

Do you mind if I send you our legacy apps for conversion? There's on 16, with only 3 of those deemed "mission critical".

Only 3,000 workstations too.

If you can do by tomorrow morning and for free that would be great.

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid car review

Silverburn

Re: The problem is weight

Doesn't help when most of the weight gain is due to the battery.

Which seems slightly circular and self-defeating.

Silverburn

Re: Close...but no cigar

Additionally...have you seen that display? Good gahd, I could barely understand what it meant after 3 attempts while sat at my desk. A quick glance while driving? I'd have no idea what the vehicle status was!

Silverburn
Thumb Down

Close...but no cigar

It's just about there...bump the electric range to 60-70, and drop the price to something sensible and it's a deal.

Right now, it's 10 miles too short and 10 grand too expensive.

Still waiting for fuel cells though...