Posts by SimonAldrich

Open Invention Network adds Microsoft's exFAT to Linux System Definition, Satan spotted throwing snowballs

Re: Does anyone here use exFAT?

Yep, all the time on micro SD cards for my kids android tablets. It's handy when you want to put a file on which exceeds FAT32's 4GB file system limit. For example a movie to watch on a road-trip.

Log us out: Private equity snaffles Lastpass owner LogMeIn

Bitwarden

I can recomend Bitwarden. It's open source, has apps for all the platforms I use and you can self-host if you choose.

Startup bank Monzo: We warned Ticketmaster months ago of site fraud

I know that you're joking but what's more of a joke is the service they're providing. It's Experian DataPatrol (Garlik).

It's not credit monitoring, instead you have to give it all your details (email, phone, driving license #, passport #, credit cards etc) and it supposedly alerts you if those show up somewhere on the web. Basically it's just Googling your details and, as an attractive side-note for hackers, is also now a repository of all your essential details.

I decided it was about as much use as a chocolate teapot and declined to give it any of my financial or identity details to "monitor"

You mean Google updated its smartwatch OS and nobody noticed?

Re: Easy to charge?

I removed the rubber flap on my SW3 and put a magnetic micro USB plug (can't remember which but just search Amazon for "magnetic micro USB") in there so now the charging cable just snaps into place, much like an Apple magsafe charging cable. The plug is a snug fit in the micro USB socket and I've been out in all winds and weathers and it doesn't seem to have affected the water resistance of the watch.

El Reg straps on the Huawei Watch 2

Re: Reasons to be Wear-y

"You're like one of them kids that has their music playing on their mobile as they walk about."

I take your point but at the speed I'm going you'd be lucky to hear more than a snippet of narrative from my audio book. I want some entertainment on my long(ish) commuting ride but I also want to be able to hear what's going on around me for my safety/benefit as well as everyone else's.

I think listening to spoken word audio through a relatively small speaker is a fairly considerate compromise for everyone.

Re: Reasons to be Wear-y

Cycle paths are a great thing, and where I live we're lucky enough to have a great network of them. I can get from home to my office without having to mix with motor vehicle traffic at all.

Re: Reasons to be Wear-y

Not on the road (cycle paths) and I have a handlebar mounted bluetooth speaker, so I can definitely hear everything going on around me. Also, I'm listening to audio books, not music. Thanks for your concern though :-)

Reasons to be Wear-y

I bought a refurb'd Sony Smartwatch 3 last year and I find it really useful:

1. It cost me £70 which is cheaper than a GPS activity watch

2. I can control Strava and the music player app from my wrist allowing me to keep my phone in my panier bag when I'm riding.

3. I find the ability to read notifications at a glance really useful. If I want to react, I get my phone out.

I thought I'd object to the short battery life but I just charge it when I charge my phone and it's not really an issue. For £70 I haven't regretted the purchase at all. Don't think I'd splash £300 on one though

5G is looming, but network innovations are needed far more urgently

Re: TDD is Test Driven Development to me

RAN == Radio Access Network == Cell towers & backhaul to the network

Sony's 4King with us now: Xperia Z5 mobe has UltraHD screen, cam

I'm on my second Sony handset now (previously an Xperia Z and currently on the Z3 Compact) and my own experience of them has been nothing but positive. Great hardware and (importantly for Reg readers) Sony will let you unlock the bootloader and stick a custom ROM (I'm currently using CM12.1) on. They even have their own AOSP build. I am definitely tempted by a Z5 Compact (my tiny hands aren't manly enough for a 5" screen) the only downside I can see is that they seem to have dropped the magnetic charging connector which I really liked.

CIOs: Don't listen to tech vendors on ICT skills, listen to US

Computer Studies A-level

Back in '98 I took an A-level called "Computer Studies" (can't remember which exam board it was). It gave me a proper in-depth understanding of computer software (and a little hardware too) and was excellent preparation for my degree course in Computer Science. It covered everything from the binary system (I remember countless hours of doing binary arithmetic by hand) to Codd's rules of database normalization. Surely something similar must still exist?