Posts by That Steve Guy

Pipex 'silence' condemned punters' emails to spam blackhole

Pipex are still around?

I used to be with them when they were good, then when Tiscali bought them everything went to the dogs. Eventually I left them when out of contract and they tried to charge me £150 cancellation fee for being in contract.

They caved after an angry letter was sent along with copies of every email they ever sent me regarding my service/contract to prove I wasn't in contract.

Tiscali really did a good job, to turn a moderately decent ISP into one of the crappest in no time at all is quite an achievement!

Diablo III

Re: Has anything changed ?

"I DO however vividly remember standing in a doorway, a big-ass axe in one hand, and revitalisation potion (of which I had many) in the other, a pile of around 250 baddy bodies in front of me and Ithey kept coming ( hack hack hack hack - gloop...rince and repeat)."

its like that again but less potion chugging and the big melee warrior dies within 2 hits on difficulty levels above normal. Right now Demon Hunters and Wizards own the game above normal due to kiting and every other class is crying for a nerf to enemy damage and to be buffed themselves.

Only 85%

Only 85%? The game itself deserves more imo and yes I agree the launch night was annoying but that has always happened when an online service sells beyond expectations.

To anyone complaining about the DRM, just cast your memories back to how the lack of it destroyed D2. Item duping, trade scams where one player fakes the content of the trade window, item buying/scamming rampant online. Diablo 2 was one of those games that created the gold farming industry.

Blizzard knew they had to come down as hard on cheating as any MMO and also bring buying and selling items in house to regulate it and stop the scams.

Biz law reform: Bad news for lawyers, good news for hippies

Copyright Extension

Here we go again, because we cannot have the beatles coming out of copyright into the public domain now can we?

Facebook IPO plunge sparks tidal wave of lawsuits

Re: Stock and shares are naturally risky.

My point was that the investors bought into the hype fed to them from Morgan Stanley without researching the facts on their own merit and got burned as a result.

I'm no stock market investor by any means but if even I as a layman can work out the company is overvalued and its price is going to tank after it floats (and most media reported it would do so as well) then those investors are certainly not smart enough to play the market.

I agree that the company should report accurate data to all investors and while that should be punished and enforced to ensure it doesn't happen again, but investors shouldn't expect their money back when they choose to make a bad decision.

Stock and shares are naturally risky.

This is one of those cases of buyer beware.

The stock market is all about risk and frankly the warning signs were there as in the same week with GM pulling out of facebook advertising because it was not cost effective.

Comments on this very site predicted the share price would tank, frankly investors have nobody to blame but themselves for making a bad decision. Now they must accept that their risky gamble did not pay off and stop suing someone else because they are out of pocket.

What's copying your music really worth to you?

Forced format shifting apathy....

The big issue here is that consumers hate formats being made obsolete and all their music collections with it.

People above me summed it up 100%, "Why should I buy again something I already own" and this is the one thing that always gets people's backs up.

These days data is provided on certain media formats and then those formats get made obsolete deliberately by the suppliers. First we had vinyl records, then we had tapes, next we had CDs, now finally we have digital files and the whole myriad of file formats and devices that go with it!

Each format was forced into obsolecence by manufacturing companies who wanted to shift newer hi-fis, steroes, ipods, and most importantly a record industry that wants us to buy our music collections multiple times over.

The way I see it people have invested a lot of money into their CD/DVD collections and they do not want to buy them again so soon after having to do so after the whole vinyl/tape/VHS thing. I for one don't want to spend more for what I own.

Txt-speak is a sign of humanity 4 U

I cannot use txt speak

My smartphone won't let me, it keeps popping up with real words!

Carmageddon coder seeks gamers' cash for revamp

Nice!

Now this is something I would love to see return! I had the first two games back in the day and they were a real blast.

It would be great to have this one back and giving the moral outrage brigade something to worry about!

US Judge says IP addresses don't identify pirates

Re: Smacks of the old scam

Sounds like you have been watching Lock Stock on DVD.

MP blasts 'ineffective' games regulation

Re: I played Portal....

That gives me an idea.

Maybe we should send Keith Vaz some fo Cave Johnson's combustible lemons.

Telly is becoming moving wallpaper for constantly online Brits

Well I for one don't watch much live TV anymore.

Why? As others have said its bloody awful! With the endless amounts of soaps, reality tv, and awful talent shows on these days I'd much rather do something else or go online instead.

These days I may watch top gear (if I can find an episode that I haven't already seen!), family guy and american dad on bbc3 and maybe the odd unexpected gem such as a film or maybe a re-run of classic red dwarf on Dave.

As a bloke TV turns me off big time these days, feels like its all drivel meant to appeal to women.

Oh and don't get me started on the awful adverts!

Virgin Media cuts Pirate Bay access for millions of punters

Where's my hammer?

*whack* Thats one dealt with, oh look another popped up over there as well!

ICO mulls stiffer probe into Google Street View Wi-Fi slurp

RIPA broken? it won't matter.

I wish I could be optimistic about this but when RIPA gets broken by big business they tend to go unpunished.

If BT can escape unpunished for the whole Phorm mess, you can bet the all powerful Google will as well.

Microsoft hikes volume prices by more than a third

Greed pure and simple.

Interesting this price rise is coming in and Microsoft decided a month or two ago to ask for audit submissions from everyone on their books (according to our reseller everyone was hit with it all at once), including our company.

I bet once the price rise has gone in they will claim a bunch of legitimately paid for licenses are invalid so we are forced to buy them all again at the inflated price.

Apple, Google and Intel to face angry ex-IT workers in court

Re: "Sued my ex-company"

Been here for years so hardly a newb.

Maybe you should go work somewhere else if your employer is so awful.

Re: "Sued my ex-company"

What good is a CV if the companies you apply for all have agreements in place with your employer not to hire any applicants?

Someone has to stand up for their rights and fair play to those that are taking these companies to task over their misconduct.

Battlefield Earth ruled worst film EVER

Re: can't believe,... 2012

yes but 2012 was useful it proved to me that when the world is going to hell and volcanoes and earthquakes are rolling everywhere I can still board a jet to fly out to somewhere and get on a boat to survive.

I'm also surrpised the Day After Tomorrow escaped the list.

Disaster movies are... well a disaster to watch!

Minister blows away plans for more turbines

Re: Laugh? I nearly cried.

A 40 year old Nuclear power station gets hit by both an Earthquake and a Tsunami beyond the range at which it was designed and the contamination was minimal.

I'd say that is a resounding endorsement of Nuclear power safety.

Of course lets apply the same arguments to the UK as we are so likely to be hit by both an Earthquake and a Tsunami of that magnitude... oh damn if only we lived on a fault line!

30-year-old global temperature predictions close to spot-on

Re: Stating the frickin' obvious

yeah we know, time. /slow clap

History shows the climate has always changed without human intervention, The Romans grew grapes for Wine in Northern England, the Victorians held ice fairs on the Thames when it froze...

Ultimately there is enough complexity in this planet alone to make accurate modeling and predictions impossible, to say nothing of the impact changes in the sun has on our climate as well.

UK net super-snooping clashes with Euro privacy law - expert

if your angry, best contact your MP

http://www.writetothem.com

Make your objections heard, its your right to do so after all.

Worst movie poll screening delayed 7 days

I bet

The front runners are bound to be Battlefield Earth and Highlander 2, they just got so many nominations!

Medieval warming was global – new science contradicts IPCC

Re: Business as usual.

This goes both ways you know, all scientists are funded by vested interests on both sides. Oil companies and others may fund the sceptic camp but thats only logical given they stand to lose so much.

Of course the "renewable energy" industry and the governmental quangoes like the IPCC are funding the Pro camp because anything found negative will upset their own gravy train as well.

After all if global warming is disproven what use is the IPCC for? They'd be shut down andlooking for new jobs, and the renewables sector would lose the subidies that keeps it afloat because their business is so uneconomical.

Business as usual, every scientist needs funding and those who provide it to both sides are certainly not impartial.

You're crap and paid too much for the little work you actually do

Re: Dominic responds...

IT as a rule are always judged by failures in the systems so how do you measure how useful we are?

People expect things to just work, they have that much of a sense of entitlement, if something goes wrong they demand you fix it immediately, if you don't your incompetent.

Nobody thinks what a good job we are doing when things are working, we are always measured on failures and responding to failures and that is why we are undervalued.

Paying for IT is like insurance, you don't like paying for it but when things go wrong suddenly you need it.

The Facebook job test: Now interviewers want your logins

Employers can demand access?

I don't think so.

Under human rights legislation I have the right to a private life and my facebook is kept private for real friends.

Sorry but if companies are getting this petty I won't "friend" co-workers on facebook. More trouble than its worth.

So, what IS the worst film ever made?

Pearl Harbour

I take back what I said earlier, someone just reminded me of Pearl Harbour.

Deep Blue Sea

The only good part is Samuel L Jackson being killed during his "we gotta pull together" speech, apart from that utter drivel with the worst acting and CGI ever seen.

Peter Molyneux parts with Microsoft and Lionhead

Some good titles there

Bullfrog now there's some good games right there.

Back in high school the network admin used to allow everyone to stay back and play games on the network. Hi Octane got a lot of usage (a bullfrog title).

Dungeon keeper 1 & 2 were awesome and I cannot forget that one! Beating up imps, having fun with the torture room (dark mistresses optional!), best of all was the evil voice overs that made me laugh, especially when playing late at night: "Keeper: Your nocturnal persistence has earned you a free gaming tip, GO TO BED!"

Black and white was but flawed in that you could not keep the minions happy late in the game so had to finish the game as an evil god. The sequal however was poor imo.

Carmageddon

A True Classic!

I wasted so many hours on this one.

So much madness in the game that was very politically incorrect at the time! The satisfying sounds of splattering peds, cattle that moos as they get dismembered, and killing the competition by smashing their vehicles up or off the edge of a high drop.

Pure win.

Court claim slapped on bloke via Facebook in landmark case

Yep lets serve sensitive court notifications by facebook, a platform infamous for clickjack scams!

Wouldn't surprise me if the person getting the message deleted it thinking it was fake.

Activist supplied illegally obtained docs to DeSmogBlog

Re: Would *anyone* like a rational debate?

Because its more effective to shoot the messenger than deal with the message.

Both sides do this, which leads me to not trusting either.

Troubled Game wins reprieve on debt, mulls axing more stores

Not been in a Game store for ages.

Game really did this to themselves when they stopped stocking PC Games to anything but a token "top 5" shelf in the corner.

I used to buy a lot from them years back but not for a long time since they never have what I was looking for. So in the end I was driven to Steam and Amazon.

My guess is even their console games must be suffering that good ole curse of being cheaper online than in a store.

Teen net addicts pee in bottles to stay glued to WoW

They actually do that?!

And here I was thinking the line "hardcore raiders pee in bottles" was just a joke!

Parental controls exist within the game account to prevent this so there is no excuse on behalf of the parents.

Murdoch slams White House over SOPA in Twitter row

How the mighty have fallen.

Nobody in the halls of power listens to Murdoch any more.

Satnav mishap misery cure promised at confab

Drivers not using Map updates.

-"Meanwhile, many drivers apparently fail to update their satnavs to gain access to the latest road-mapping data."

Given how they often they used to charge for map updates on tom toms and the like its no wonder that this is the case.

UK's solar 'leccy cash slash ruled unlawful

Unsustainable

If your business model is unsustainable economically without being propped up by massive amounts of subsidy handouts then frankly you need to consider if you should be in business.

UK doesn't get much sun so why would they assume solar power would be viable?

Cheap energy revives US manufacturing, skint Brits shiver

Nuclear

Just go Nuclear and be done with it. Buying into an unreliable energy solution that requires a backup of another solution to work is not worth it.

Nuclear is safe and proven.

Is Bill Gates mulling a return to Microsoft throne?

The Dinosaur

The thing is the world has changed Microsoft still has the same business model since Bill first set it up.

Force your software down the world's throat by deals with OEMs, strangle the consumer with your licensing.

Microsoft is the great dinosaur that seems stuck in the PC market it has always existed in no matter how much they try to branch into search or mobile.

Bloke claims ex swiped his sperm to make twins

"I nearly believed this, until I got to the part where he was trying to avoid paying child support."

true but wouldn't you naturally want to avoid paying for child support if this had happened?

"But he maintained that the clinic had signed consent forms from Pressil, and called the lawsuit disingenuous and suspect."

if you read the other article it expands on this...

"He also said the clinic has signed consent forms and information sheets from the father.

Sheena said he couldn't say for certain whether the father had ever actually been to the clinic and it's possible that the forms could have been fabricated by the mother.

"When patients provide information like [the ex-girlfriend], we rely on truthful and accurate information," Sheena said. "

""We do know that we do have his blood work, we do know that his insurance was billed for it, and we do know that his credit card was used to pay for [some of] the visits," Sheena said.

Pressil admitted he allowed his then-girlfriend to sign onto his health insurance as 'domestic partners' when they were dating, but he said he thought his insurance was being billed for treatment of the fibroid condition."

This is going to get messy...

Engineers seek funds for world’s largest Tesla coil

"capable of spitting artificial lightning for hundreds of feet."

Sounds like a certain base structure in Red Alert.

Remember to keep your tanks away and blow up the power stations!

Robbers steal £1m worth of Modern Warfare 3 packs

Games cause crime...

And this time Grand Theft Auto is nowhere to be seen!

UN set to dump GMT for tech-friendly Atomic Time

RE:

Works both ways.

That hour less we have in bed during Spring SUCKS!

EU recording copyright extension 'will cost €1bn'

Of course they will do this.

We can't have hits from The Beatles, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Cliff etc all going out of copyright now can we? Industry would lose all its revenue at christmas with greatest hits albums.

RIM profits nearly sliced in half

Active Sync

We pretty much ran into this as well. On our corporate deal with Vodafone we found out that Blackberries are now more expensive than an HTC Android and also don't work very well with our Exchange Server unless we fork out loads of money on a BIS Server.

Needless to say despite the disadvantage of shorter battery life on an HTC (still inferior to blackberry) management have realised the cost benefits of android.

Most bosses monitor or block social-network use at work

Benefits...

"And it's stopping them benefiting from new collaborative technologies, says ClearSwift Research."

Always makes me laugh when some web 2.0 fan comes out and says something like this, they talk about benefits but do not give any examples of said benefits in the real world.

As a manufacturing company what benefit would allowing our employees on farcebook have? We have a marketing department that manages the "like" page for our business and our twitter feed, sure ok but beyond that?

Very difficult to find anything that counteracts the negativity of employees goofing off by commenting endlessly on what their mates did when they got drunk last weekend, or levelling up again in Mafia Wars or Farmville.

Two UK suspects cuffed in Anonymous manhunt

Lady hackers

Interesting you say that.

The Sophos article on this story suggests that one of the arrested "guys" might be the hacker who went by the name "Kayla" in lulzsec, who as I understand it presented "herself" online as having the identity of a 16 year old Schoolgirl (but still not verified due to the fact nobody talked to her on Skype)

here is the link.

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/09/01/hackers-anonymous-lulzsec-arrests/

I guess there are no girlz on teh interwebz...

Game denies Steam threat claims

RE: Hoisted by their own Petard

Too true here.

Like so many of the comments above I too shopped at Game for a great many PC titles now that the whole PC section has been reduced to a tiny section of the store that only comprises the top 10 or a bunch of really old discount games nobody wants.

Frankly the last few games I have bought online through Amazon then I was introduced to Steam by getting Shogun 2 (which requires it), now I will not go back to Game!

They snubbed PC Gamers by refusing to stock our titles and moving towards Consoles and now that someone else has a good download service they want a piece of the pie. They have only themselves to blame for where they are by their coprorate strategy.

Essex cops slaps cuffs on social media riot crusaders

Going to far?

If you are in the street inciting people to riot you will get arrested, why should social media be any different?

Glaswegian arrested for pro-riot Facebook posts

Incitement to riot

that offence existed before the Internet, he should not have been such a tool.

Honestly what's with the kids today...

black helicopters because, well they are coming for you and you deserve what you get.