Posts by TechW

Mozilla drags Microsoft, Google, Apple for obliterating any form of browser choice

How Google gets you to install Chrome

You ask how does Chrome get installed on so many Windows computers. Well, to a large degree people use Google for search. When you go to the Google webpage it asks if you want to install Chrome. Only Edge has this advantage on Windows. You're never asked if you want to switch your browser to Firefox, Brave, Opera, DuckDuckGo or any other so Edge and Chrome have a big advantage.

I recommend Firefox as your primary browser with a few privacy add-ons and Edge with add-ons as a secondary browser to use at the infrequent times Firefox doesn't work on a Website. (I like DuckDuckGo and Brave for privacy as well)

Engineering fault stops SpaceX launch of machine comms satellite network

Sensors

When my car has problems it seems it is always the sensors and not what they are monitoring that is at fault. It's going to be the sensors...

Apple bests Dell for first time as preferred US consumer PC choice

They think they are going to buy a Mac and then they ask the salesperson if they have a Mac for under $500 and later walk out with a Windows OS computer. This isn't a slam on Apple, it's just that not everyone can afford an Apple computer. Same hold true with IOS vs. Android really.

FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS: Microsoft faces prising XP from Big Biz

Re: Even Win 7 is iffy

I respectfully disagree with your comment that Windows 7 in iffy. Window 7 is an excellent operating system and I have had less trouble with it than any other operating system I have used in the last 30+ years. XP was never better than Windows 7.

I find Windows 8 usable only if I install Start8 on it. At that point, it works reasonably well for me. I look forward to trying Windows 8.1 but, it will not install on my notebook as I am running Windows 8 in a virtual hard drive and it will not install on it from the store which is a big pain.

I do like a few current versions of Linux and many open source applications available for it. I would recommend going that route for many who have limited needs such as web, e-mail, word processing, etc..

US highway agency awards Tesla Model S record safety score

Re: Plus this was an American "test"

Loud stereo, seriously? Obviously you don't live in LA. This is considered a "feature" here...

Ability to drift across 4 lanes of freeway without indicating. Is there any car that forces the driver to signal his intentions or does it automatically for him? Not signaling happens here on a regular basis unfortunately. It would be a nice feature but how do you mark a car down for that if, generally, other cars do not support this feature?

I'm sorry, I totally don't get the McDs reference or how the cup holders are relevant.

Turning radius? Is it that bad on the Tesla Model S? How does it really matter as a safety concern? Genuinely interested in intelligent answers here.

This was a crash safety test we are talking about. I do not see that any of your points are relevant in this context.

Plus this was an American "test"

So, you automatically assume testing in America is unreliable? Testing methodology used by the NHTSA is no secret, (you may have mentally removed the HT and confused them with another agency, so perhaps you and others can tell me how it fails to be valid?

Firefox takes top marks in browser stability tests

Re: Chrome; I am disappoint.

I noticed this too until the last two updates. I was ready to pull the plug on Chrome and go back to Firefox due to the instabilities of Chrome on my system, but it is now running fine again. Guess they isolated the problems and fixed them. (I may still switch back to Firefox as I like some the the recent changes they implemented and it seems marginally more compatible than Chrome for my work)

Apple crushes all competition in US Brand of the Year survey

Re: Newegg. Never heard of them

Your loss really. I've been buying from Newegg for years. It's the only #1 on any of the lists that makes any sense to me at all.

US Congress proposal: National Park will be FOUND ON MOON

Pass

So, I wonder if they will take my National Park Pass to visit there...

Study: US iPhone owners tend to be rich, educated, white

Not Fanboys then

"Consider, though, that the Pew study also found that African-Americans were much less likely to own an iPhone than were whites or Hispanics."

"African-Americans were actually more likely to own a smartphone than either of the other ethnic groups surveyed"

Well, IMHO, this seems to indicate that the African-Americans are the educated group...

Half of US smartphone owners have no idea which mobe to buy next

Wrong Question

Speaking as one who has no brand loyalty, I'd say they asked the wrong question. I do quite a bit of research prior to most purchases and buy the "best" product out at that time. A better question would be what specific phone will you buy next, or, at least, "What OS will be on your next phone?".

Public cloud will grow when experienced IT folks DIE

A little biased?

Rather a self serving statement by John Engates now isn't it.

If this is at all true, it is likely in 10 - 15 years that there will be a severe shortage of IT personnel that can handle onsite servers and networking. I don't for a second believe local resources will go away. I have been hearing this one for 30+ years. There are a lot of very good reasons that companies stopped using main frames and terminals to go with PCs and servers. Those reasons still exist today. Same song, different year.

I am NOT a PC repair man. I will NOT get your iPad working

Re: This is all too familiar.

This is the number 1 reason I don't service home computers. They want it for free or at 1/5th of what you usually charge and then think they own you for life never feeling like they need to pay you ever again to work on that computer.

To get out of it myself I say I only work with business systems and then give them the name of someone else that "knows" computers. This generally works.

Review: HTC One

Re: The cost!

I can't speak to the price of the HTC One in the UK, but, here in the states I can get $100 to trade in my 2 year old phone and $50 from Best Buy that I can use towards the purchase. That makes the HTC One an incredible deal!

Google blats bugs in Chrome - days before $560k hacking contest

Java Explained

I now understand why Oracle has been coming out with so many Java updates in the last month.

Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro gets laptop-level price

Very interested

If they could get the price down to $999 or less with keyboard for the 128GB model I would be very interested in the Pro tablet. Certainly sounds powerful enough to run any Windows applications I would use on it. If I could attach a USB to Gigabit Ethernet and USB to serial I could us it for testing and console configurations. A 2 pound tablet to carry around would be great compared to a 5+ pound notebook for much of what I do as long as it runs existing Windows programs.

Torvalds: I want to be nice, and curse less, but it's just not in me

Self Control

"I’m sorry - I tried, it’s just not in me"

Oh please, what a cop out. What is he, 2 years old that he can't control himself. Hey Torvalds, how about stopping and thinking first before speaking!

Microsoft preparing for diskless Windows 8 PCs

Time for new glasses

I thought the title said "dickless" Windows 8. This being The Register, that somehow made perfect sense to me...

Intel CEO predicts DOOM for fab industry and competitors

Re: OK

You do realize that the Air runs on Intel processors and not ARM. Intel wins there already.

Don't count Intel out, the CPU business is their main focus, and, you can bet they are focusing big time on this. Next year will be interesting.