Posts by Levente Szileszky

How to relieve Microsoft's Surface RT piles problem

Re: Shills

PS: just want to add that while XB1 finally looks like the first decently designed Xbox as far as hardware-software goes it still seems to be hindered by some weird decisions eg going with a measly 32MB fast embedded RAM + 8GB lousy GDDR3 system-wide memory adds a lot of complexity and limits performance for no reason compared to Sony's straightforward 8GB system-wide fast GDDR5 modules, not to mention Sony's 50% higher compute unit count in the GPU etc etc... again, something that once again smacks of a classic Ballmerian 'it's good enough'-type of beancounter argument.

Re: Shills

"Let's take a look at Xbox. Not exactly a failure."

Hah, GREAT POINT: Xbox in its entire existence STILL DID NOT GENERATE A PROFIT in total, thanks to MSFT's utter incompetence in advanced consumer electronic hardware design (remember the original Xbox, basically a shitty PC with a low-end Nvidia GPU, jammed into an ugly plastic box?), which caused BILLIONS of losses thanks to 360's RROD replacements.

"I do believe they've sold quite a few"

Oh they did, a LOT - and yet they ARE STILL IN THE RED in total... what does that tell you about their incompetence and effectiveness? It's breathtaking , this level of utterly clueless mgmt.

" and they aren't nearly as disreputable on the DRM front as Sony."

You mean after they were forced to perform a complete 180 when they announced they will kill the used game market by not allowing trades/change of ownership? :D

"Nokia line up is solid, with growing sales"

You are funny with this marketing BS... in reality Nokia is still LOSING MONEY, even despite BILLIONS MSFT PAID TO NOKIA to keep them afloat as the single WP handset vendor - and now they were forced by their own Trojan horse to buy it out, once again, to keep at least one brand behind WP.

Sales are growing in the lowest price bracket, with ASP lower than even Android ones - that's why Nokia is still losing money, grabbing market share for MSFT by losing money? Sure, and Nokia said 'hey, fatty, then buy it and finance it yourself, you fool!" and that's exactly what happened.

"while the OS is much leaner than Android"

You mean in terms of users, apps, devices, options, support, variations? Sure, I agree - but, surprise!, that't not a good thing actually...

and has more flare than iOS."

Looks ugly as hell, just like iOS, you mean? I agree but it's a subjective thing, y'know...

"although we're all going to have to get used to it" - hell, NO, NEVER, NADA, NIL.

You wanna bet? You will lose, big time.

Write whatever nonsense you want but WE WILL NEVER GET USED TO IT AND NEVER LET THIS JUNK ONTO OUR NETWORKS WITHOUT PROPER BUILT-IN START MENU, period. And you can quote me on that, dear - so far most of you journos tried to sell it in a sort of sneaky 'let's trash it but you will have to get used to it' and I predicted that you will fail - and I was right, we HATE it.

And I'm still saying this: NO WAY FOR THIS JUNK ONTO MY NETWORK WITHOUT START MENU - and it stands regardless how desperately you try to sell this shining example of f'n Ballmerian arrogance and incompetence.

Go work for Ballmer, after his retirement but stop trying to kiss MSFT's ass so hard, seriously.

Investors on Microsoft: What, Ballmer, leaving? Hand me my wallet

Re: Sell! Sell! Sell!

I doubt "Trojan" Elop will get the job - Ballmer is totally toxic now and he was Ballmer's implant, not to mention his lack of expertise in most of what MSFT is doing and shareholders are very strong now.

Even if Old Bill would push for it he would have a handy shareholder revolt on his hand - which is probably the last thing he want to deal with right after he was forced to let his oldest buddy's hand go (I hope you don't think there was anything else behind Ballmer's sudden disposal - it was clearly Old Bill and his chunk of shares that kept that arrogant, loudmouthed yet utterly incompetent bald fat chair-throwing clown at the helm so long despite his horrible performance.)

I hope for someone from the outside, who might keep Elop at hand and give him the Windows Phone division - Belfiore must go, no question about it, along with all the other incompetent Ballmerian golden boys - but makes sure MSFT turns its focus back to its core business: enterprise software and services and stops wasting BILLIONS on Bing, Xbox and all that stupidly distracting-disruptive consumer-space hobby etc.

SECRET draft copyright treaty LEAKED: Meet the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Re: Australians play Uncle Sam's pink oboe

Yes, I actually never understood that: just how on Earth managed Australia to culture the MOST SUBSERVIENT PoS political class that actually puts ANOTHER COUNTRY ahead of their own corrupt political interests (forget their constituency's...)

Qatari sovereign wealth fund among BlackBerry rescue party

Re: BB Security

BB is Canadian, for starter, not sure if they have to comply with any secret Canadian law. Secondly its encryption means if you run your own server you can keep your information to yourself as long as you don't leave the secure pipe of communication, as far as we know NSA did not break AES256 (recommended by BES setup.)

Re: BB Security

"All communication for a telephone, voice,IM, and email is required to go through a local server And the local govt's always has a key. "

Err, no, it is not true at all.

"Seeing as we know from Snowden that the NSA have already remotely exploited Blackberry handsets"

More "gyezinformacija" from Redmond..? Pretty low-brow tactics...

...FYI, no, Snowden never said they have broken BB's encryption, all he claimed that they were able to read messages - which, considering BB recommends AES which is practically impossible to break (AES256), most likely meant getting around their BES server ie either compromising the other end or, most likely, eavesdropping on the transport layer on the internet (beyond BES.)

They didn't get any keys. They got some bonds that might be converted to equity shares after a certain period in a publicly traded company - this has nothing to do with any direct access to the technology the company uses (eg ask yourself: just how much patented secret technology you can take a look at when you buy, say a bunch of Apple, MSFT or GM shares, without becoming a majority shareholder? Yep, exactly.)

Ultimate electric driving machine? Yes, it’s the BMW i3 e-car

Re: Why couldn't they make...

Yes and that's ugly too. WTF is wrong with BMW, they decided all their e-cars will be ugly as hell?

Uhh, it's UGLY...

...as hell.

And it COSTS MORE THAN $40K...

...seriously?

A Tesla X, coming next year, is a beautiful-looking (eye of the beholder, 'eye know'), 7-people SUV, will "only" cost $60k - just what BMW is thinking? Or they expect it to become just another very expensive stupid status symbol...?

Microsoft's EAT-your-OWN-YOUNG management system AXED

Finally...

...my favorite article about MSFT, that told the brutal truth about the utterly incompetent Ballmerian troupe, shined the light on this so badly mismanaged, wasted decade-long period, finally got the right treatment - after many links in comments by me it's got mentioned in an article! :)

BlackBerry flings John Chen $89 MILLION to save troubled firm

Oh PLEAHHSE - stop whining about some update for your $100 loss-leader tablet that works perfectly fine even today. TH might have been incompetent when it came to marketing etc but he was dead on with PB: it was never meant to generate any revenue, it would've taken up a lot of engineering resources from delivering the much-needed OS v10.2 update w/ Android 4.2 runtime so he pulled the plug on the project. Considering the state of the company it was the right decision - I would've canned the project well before that, focusing instead of preventing the eventual ONE YEAR LATE debut of BB10 (mostly due to limited resources.)

Seriously, PB owners are the whiniest bunch in a long time - and I'm saying this as I still own and use couple of Touchpads + sent two more to family members, I know what some outdated sw can do to your browsing habits.

Heins didn't have the beans. Can comeback king Chen fish BlackBerry out of jam?

Article misses the main point...

...the tight integration between BB10 and BES10 and how it could very well be an Unwired-type solution sales push effort to BB's existing corporate BB7 user base eg offer full upgrades, with literally no profit on the phones, or even giving them away subsidized/free while asking for the license fees or the other way around, all spread out through a 2-3-y support cycle etc.

Not only that but the writer completely misses the point behind QNX and its optional (also tight) integration with BB10 - as more and more personal and other things (car, fridge, watch, glasses, coat, snowboard/ski etc) will join our already numerous internet-enabled devices in our several domains (home, work, mobile) the market is ripe for a windfall - the question is if QNX can ram up feature development and Chen can execute it properly, both quick enough to not to miss the boat like BB always did with everything...? Or is it gonna be another missed boom and someone else (Samsung, Apple, MSFT or some another embbedded RTOS vendor) will take the crown...?

There are lots of opportunities for BB but it needs money and most importantly very tight and top-notch execution. It's really their last best shot - all eyes on Chen now...

I survived Spiceworld 2013, heat and all: Here's how I did it

Spiceworks is the best kit...

...one can get for free, for sure; I'm using it since v3 and boy, it came a long way since (though due to its limited user roles HelpDesk is still practically useless for any serious environment sans its latest iteration in v7 which I haven't had a chance to play with *fingers crossed*...)

That being said unless they start moving these festivities around the US it's unlikely I will attempt one - sorry, some of us are busy, have families etc, taking a multi-day trip to the Deep South for fun is the same as flying to the Alaska or Moon (not to forget you are still charging for the tickets despite being a sponsor-paid show, ahem.)

Bring it to me, it's not a small neighborhood (NYC) or at least within the usual D.C.-Boston boundaries and a one-day getaway could work just fine for many of us...

Microsoft offers 'free' backup for Azure users with the cloud fear

Ahhh... "with an annual commitment of $50,000 or more"...

...I guess that settles it.

Want a Microsoft cloud subscription? You'll need to be 'committed'

Re: Committed?

Heh, could be - I think anyone willing to trust MSFT's online cloud services after its HORRIBLE track record over the past several years with his critical services must be insane and should be committed to some institution, at least to get his head examined.

Here's what YOU WON'T be able to do with your PlayStation 4

Re: This is definitely a DEALBREAKER, a classic sneaky, royally scumbag corporate move...

Nope, that's just a never-heard random site claiming they spoke to a "Sony rep" (sic!) who promised it's all coming in a later update...

...until they can get someone on the record it's nothing but attention-grabbing fake nonsense.

This is definitely a DEALBREAKER, a classic sneaky, royally scumbag corporate move...

...from the old, mid-2000s rootkit-installing scumbag Sony I thought was gone forever - it seems they did NOT learn anything, it's time for another punishing backlash.

They were out and loud touting their used-games support, (rightfully) making fun of MSFT's disastrous utterly incompetent marketing campaign of Xbone, led by Don Mattrick who soon left for Zynga (OT: a match made in heaven, between the most disgusting sleazebag of the gaming industry Mark "I Don't Fuckin Want Innovation" Pincus aka "Copycat King" and Don "Blast From The Past" Mattrick and his hilarious antics, see his 'sit-down' with the NFL Commissioner etc.)

Anyone I talked to was convinced that Sony, after bleeding red for several years, finally learned the lesson and won't try to dupe its customers AGAIN. And it really looked like that.

Until this week, only 14 days before the launch, they dropped the bomb and effectively killed PS4 as anything more than a dumb game console and a force-fed Sony-supplied streaming-only device.

Let's face it: PS4 is a crippled *&^% at this point, at least for the next several months. There are only 2-3 meaningful games at launch and even that includes the current junk-quality FPS wannabes (eg Call of Duty XXVXVI or Battlefield 44445, both are being the lamest kind of junk), maybe with Killzone making a turnaround (doubt it, it's a SONY game after all, not exactly the brand of highly challenging, complex games)...

...and that's about it if you want to see the supposedly " most powerful console ever" to shine (PC-based player smiles or rolls eyes hearing this kind of crap.) You wanted to utilize it at least as a media player?

Sorry, cannot do that.

Or as Shuhei Yoshida had the audacity to put it: "Had a very good discussion w the PS4 Dev team today. We're happy & appreciative to learn so many people use and like PS3's media features." Here: https://twitter.com/yosp/status/395844205215363072

O RLY? How nicely you can show your middle finger to everybody!

What a smiling arrogant prick - welcome to the new-old SONY, it's 2005 all over again.

Ding-dong! Who's at the door now with a big wad of cash, BlackBerry?

Qualcomm is...

...no stranger to making handsets either so who knows, if they can come up with the money and with Lazaridis on board, BBM is quickly getting close to 100M registered users they might even have a chance to stage a serious comeback within a year or so - and that's just on top of the fact that Qualcomm would get BB's patent portfolio, antenna tech etc... again, it might even just work fine for everybody.

Next up: show us the money - 'til then it's nothing but pure speculation.

Bigger, fiddly to manage: The second coming of Windows Server 2012

"SCCM is already well proven across tens of thousands of devices, so it's hardy a brave choice. "

Hahaha, suuure - provided you can set aside DAYS and DAYS or a dedicated admin to investigate all the issues that will arise during the trip...

...as always with MSFT: expensive, clunky, unfinished, over complicated yet still falls short many ways.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

...as it's still the same half-illiterate W8-based junk desktop (ON A FREAKIN' SERVER!), RSAT still does not work without W8 and you still have to pay through your nose (actually MORE than before!) to get what is essentially a giant service pack etc.

Re: "Most" enterprises "want" hybrid cloud??

" Considering most small/medium businesses don't hire an Exchange Admin, and taking care of emails is just another task for the inhouse IT staff, or the service provider that comes round on a do and charge basis, Office 365 is a nice option and as long as it works, most won't care."

And considering Google Apps for Business offers even more, for a LOT LESS, sporting a FAR BETTER RELIABILITY track record anyone can see that Google Apps is actually a much nicer option.

Re: "Most" enterprises "want" hybrid cloud??

"The US Military"...

...is pretty far from being a profit-oriented, sane, properly-run large business enterprise - as a matter of fact it's pretty much the definition of waste and awful efficiency... with that in mind O365 is certainly a fitting solution.

Just HALF of 10m iPhone, Android BlackBerry BBM app downloads activated

Re: Competition Lacking?

PS: Err, 'their' = there - pardon (clearly due to lack of proper amount of sleep/morning coffee...)

Re: Too little, too late.

"You might like to ask WhatsApp about their slightly broken encryption..."

...that and their infinite retention of user data including messages - the two together is classic ripe target for a security breach (not to mention certain federal agencies' apparent interests in capturing and retaining your messages sent to your mistress, ahem.)

Re: BBM is free...

"...what you are paying for is access to BIS email and web acceleration on BBOS 7 and older OSs."

Err no, there's no acceleration at all unless you live in some 3rd World country - and even there it's just an old fee, nowadays simply being tacked on as a legacy practice in those countries (also called "ripoff fee" if you prefer a more straightforward tone.)

"BB10 doesn't do any of the BB special data tricks unless you use BES."

As far as I can tell from my limited BES10 trial run there is no "data trick" especially for BBM - aside of being a very good MDM system all BES do is proper encryption but it only makes sense (vis-a-vis NSA et al) if it does NOT cross/end up on any public/commercial service (eg GSM/cell providers, Gmail etc) anywhere in transit.

Re: Competition Lacking?

"Wow, you little crack(berry)-heads are desperate to cling onto absolutely any last straw, aren't you? lol"

Well, some of us to earn our living do more than flipping burger in your corner joint, our messages also say more than 'lol' usually so yes, we prize our time and the importance of knowing when our message was delivered and when it was read etc - and I'm not even a Blakcberry user, I'm using Android since v1.6 (aka Donut) and I am really happy to have this functionality now.

"Dirty little secret? I found what the double-tick means on the WhatsApp website in, ooooh, seconds!"

In other words you didn't know until know - classic loudmouthed reply...

"How self-important do you have to think you are to have to know that somebody has read the message you've sent them?"

See my first comment above about our different lifestyles... their is a whole world outside of your bubble, pal, be brave and make the first step out...

"If I've sent someone a message, and I know its been delivered, but they haven't read it I couldn't care less. I've done what I needed to do, if they choose to not read it is none of my concern"

But that's just you, really - and that's exactly the attitude that landed you in the burger joint on your corner...

Windows 8.1: A bit square, sure, but WAIT! It has a Start button

Re: april fools october

"Like being ahead of everyone else in touch and gesture support you mean?"

That'd be Blackberry with BB10, sorry.

Re: For the last time, baldie: NO START MENU = NO WIN8 ON MY NETWORK...

"Anyone constructing a multi site, multi tenant cloud environment - such as large service providers should consider it. "

Says who, MSFT internal PR docs?

Wake up, troll and semll the reality - NOBODY will ever build large networks on MS routing. Mark my word: NOBODY.

even if they ever did none apparently EVER touched it.

"I work as a cloud and infrastructure architect - not for MS. Here is a long list of what's new if you don't like the example cited: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn250019.aspx - a number of these features are simply not available on alternative platforms like Linux, or don't scale as well."

Ah yes, you are and independent infra architect who does not work for MS but recommends implementing MS-based routing...

...as one infrastructure architect to another let me be straight with you: no offense but are you high? Seriously.

"Google had a total Google Apps blackouts on a number of occasions."

Link, please.

I have a feeling you don't know what the word "total" means in English - or you just playing the good ol' BS game from MSFT's playbook when they try to boast their reliability percentage, conveniently leaving out the fact that their outages ARE WORLDWIDE, SYSTEMIC ONES, lasting for HOURS at every other occasion (yes, MS have a LOT MORE than anyone else in the business.)

" I have previously been involved in migrations off Google Apps that were partially due to stability and performance issues (but mostly due to functionality issues)..."

Or could it be that you, as a well-paid MSFT "architect" just couldn't make any money out of that/didn't even know how to set it up etc?

See, it's very easy to counter lame 'empirical evidence' (my fav euphemism for made-up stories impossible to check) injected into some argument, presented something like a trend - if anything it's vica versa, Google Apps is practically OMNIPRESENT now, the fat Ballmerian super troupe managed to lose its old email market as well and it's unlikely they will ever get it back.

As for stability - is it one of your bad jokes again? If you want I can pull together a list of all MSFT outages in the past 3-4 years, with impact, scope and length, it won't be pretty - but hey, it works for me, the more people are aware of it the more can avoid it, the better we all off...

"I recall that Google Apps had a 30 hours total outage at one point."

At this point I have to question your basic understanding of the subject - you really need to define "total" or just admit you have no clue about the subject whatsoever/full of MS <ahem>.

Anyhow, ball is in your court - in short put up or shut up. :)

PS: BTW why is it that all you lame (obviously paid) MSFT trolls are ALWAYS ANONYMOUS, huh? You people are so pathetic, seriously.

Re: For the last time, baldie: NO START MENU = NO WIN8 ON MY NETWORK...

"And it's not a Service Pack - it's a full product release with loads of major new functionality - for example BGP routing with multi tenancy support..."

You (paid) MSFT trolls are so easy to recognize - all you do is copy/paste from your dumb cheat sheet, provided by your Ballmerian DoubleSpeak Office... new product? Especially "loads of new functionality" then all you can bring up is the most extreme crazy internal MSFT example (just who TF in his right mind outside of MSFT would use Windows Server for BGP routing, seriously???)...? :D

"Microsoft have a better record than Amazon or Google for instance.... Google had a major outage a couple of weeks ago in September just after the last one in August"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

...ah you're joking, I see! You almost got me there...! :)

For a sec I thought you're being serious... then I realized nobody, not even the stupidest MSFT troll would claim something so obviously false and easily double-checked nonsense ie Google almost never had a total blackout (eg if IMAP was out I was always able to use web UI or vica versa) and certainly never had a system-wide worldwide one while MSFT and its HOURS-LONG, WORLDWIDE OUTAGES, MULTIPLE TIMES EVERY YEAR (365, Azure and previously BigPOS etc canonical names for the same craptastic service bundles) clearly show why MSFT's reliability is an utter pile of dogsh!t, a butt of every joke in the service industry for years now... tsk tsk tsk, for a sec you almost got me, I admit. :)

For the last time, baldie: NO START MENU = NO WIN8 ON MY NETWORK...

...period.

Oh yeah and FYI I'm really fed up with your clueless-worthless, pushy, arrogant @ss behavior so here's the deal: NO MORE MONEY FOR YOU this year AND next year. Yes, you heard it right: no more Office upgrades ever so current one will serve out their times for those few who haven't switched to Google Drive yet and then it's over - no, we will never switch to any of your online services because your reliability SUCKS, the WORST in the industry.

No more Windows upgrades for anyone (W7 will last for many years for us), no tablets, phones or anything with your craptastic W8-sourced experience. No R2 for Server 2012 because it's a ripoff to ask money for fixing missing things in a SP, not to mention you keep jacking up the price. No Azure/SkyDrive/mail/whatnot because no sane person would put a critical service on any online service with your track records.

I warned you of this, you clueless, bald, chair-trowing clown with anger-management issues - you are still so f'n arrogant you just keep pushing your crap agenda. Now you have it.

It's a long probation - we'll see what you will make of it in the next 18 months, you come back sane and start making things we want or you will keep doing lunatic crap like W8 etc... if the latter then I guess we'll start migrating away from MSFT and you can go die alone within few years or keep selling Xboxes and el cheapo entry-level cell phones - if so, be it. Good riddance, I'll say.

Microsoft's Techdays Online: Steve Ballmer speaks

"Steve Ballmer will be here to answer questions..."

O RLY? About what, the entire LOST DECADE, the now obviously utterly broken product pipeline that cannot even deliver software updates without breaking things left and right, including its own OS and devices?

Jesus, just keep throwing your chairs and STFU Stevie B, remain silent and then you might get to stay on for the next 6-8 months - but as things go now I doubt you will last until the end of this year... one more royal fuckup like the current string of utterly incompetent launches/updates/etc, like screwing up Xbox One launch or similar and you are OUT, immediately, in the most humiliating manner.

FYI pretty much ALL shareholders (sans Billy Buddy and your illks) are out to get you, with knives out, waiting for just another one of your signature missteps to finally butcher you the same way you killed most of the creativity, opportunities, products etc at MSFT during your 10+ years long reign.

"...on any developments in the Windows platform and its expanding family of devices."

Yeah right - after reading this line one might even believe he knows something about all these things...

Microsoft pulls Win 8.1 RT code which upgraded Surface 'slabs into BRICKS

This is what you get when the Ballmerian rot reaches into the roots - a company that's now unable to deliver ANY product, not even an update, for its own product, without delivering a BROKEN PRODUCT first...

...incompetency at its highest/management quality at its lowest, that's what you get.

Internet Explorer 11 BREAKS Google, Outlook Web Access

Truly PRICELESS...

..., seriously, it's just PERFECT as this crazy, unstoppable Ballmerian train wreck is running towards the station at full speed, just perfect - because it perfectly shows the level of utter incompetency under Ballmer, originally stemming from the top, now reaching so far into the roots that the company is practically delivering BROKEN PRODUCTS ALL THE TIME, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, not even being able to maintain compatibility with its own core products...

..priceless, indeed.

NSA boss Alexander and deputy to take a hike next year

"This has nothing to do with..."

...HAHAHAHAHA, suuure, NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, right.

PS: never understood how on Earth this guy retained his position after REPEATEDLY deliberately LYING TO CONGRESS, always quickly being caught afterwards...? Just what kind of dirt he knows about whom that allowed him to stay after such (repeated) criminal offenses? He should've been replaced and held accountable per Section 1001, Section 1505 and Section 1621 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, namely for knowingly and willfully concealing a scheme and making false statements to a committee of the Congress, for obstruction of proceedings of a committee and/or perjury, respectively.

Former Nokia boss Ollila: Stephen Elop was second-choice CEO

"Mahdoton menestys"...

...sounds like some long-extinct, peaceful dinosaur-like huge, slow-moving animal that couldn't adapt to the changing environment...

...oh, wait.

Violin gangs up with Microsoft: Psst, big biz, want an all-flash Windows Server box?

I don't care about iops...

...show me file sharing/SMB bandwidth benchmark numbers only, I want to see if I can feed my 10Gb-enabled workstations with files fast enough.

Microsoft: Everyone stop running so the fat kid Win RT can catch up

Win RT...

...is a classic stupid, idiotic and horribly mismanaged end product of this utterly incompetent, clueless, lunatic Ballmerian bureaucracy - a tablet that should be omnipresent at every place where they run Windows Server it's nowhere to be seen...

...seriously: just how would the fat, bald, chair-throwing sweaty beancounter explain the fact that THERE'S STILL NO RSAT for Win RT...? Just how much more obvious it should be that had MSFT released its first Surface RT w/ RSAT etc available it would've been thrown into every single storage-server-rack-etc purchase, even at its laughably high ripoff price, because the VAR or the vendor would just toss in its own version (Dell 10", HP wouldn't have pulled out completely) in for any order above ~$25k, gratis?

It would be EVERYWHERE, every Windows Server admin would be using it now, making them ripe for buying one (rather a Surface Pro) for themselves, at home etc etc.

Clueless-worthless MSFT management, that is.

Re: This has actually brought me to Blackberry 10

As much as I always hated every BB OS before (and I was a Windows Mobile user back then) I'm ready to admit that BB10 is great, it's far the most advanced for communication, sports the best keyboard etc...

...only if some decent investors would take it over, slim it down, getting rid of all the incompetent people (starting with its CEO et al) then quickly put in enough work to broaden some its niche feature-list and would make loading Android apps a very trivial process, giving prospective users a confidence. Ah an some extra investment on the hardware-side wouldn't hurt either, running on last year's platform does not exactly help them to stand out from the crowd. ahem.

Re: New phone!

Replacing an Xperia with a Windows Phone is a very courageous move, borderline masochistic, to put it mildly, I'm surprised you're only missing that one.

Ahahah, AWESOME TITLE!

Seriously, thanks for this great morning laugh - and it's SOOO TRUE. :)

BlackBerry's AD BLITZ: Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

Re: Could be a very bad sign

I'm puzzled why would you be puzzled at all - they have NOTHING to lose at this point, sitting silently would do more damage than admitting the obvious, that they need to reinvent the way they do business. It's PR101, you just weigh more scenarios and you can clearly see this was the way to go (though they should've done it months ago but we already knew TH et al are truly incompetent fuckups when it comes to public relations.)

It's called USB on-the-go (USB OTG) and Z30 supports it already, all you need is a cable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_by44N9o50

Problems at Home: Facebook opens alpha testing to world+dog

What?

"Those interested in quality testing for Facebook will need a Google+ account,"

Come again...?

I'm actually on the FB beta group, it's a FB group as far as I know... is this something new, to force people to use the competitor's product..? Just how high Mr Sugarhill was when he made/OK'd this decision? =)

Oz government knew about PRISM BEFORE Snowden leaks

Sorry but it seems every subsequent Australian governments were always...

...lapdogs of the US, let's just state the obvious. I did search for it but cannot seem to find any case in recent history where they have replied with anything other than "Of course we can, when do you need it? How about right now?" to a US request...

...and what's worse that Oz seems to be also pretty much the only country in the developed world that so frighteningly openly abandons its citizens if they don't line up politically, it's an absolute disgrace how they behave. Think of what you want about the man (I'm certainly ambivalent about his actions) but this disgusting, rotten Australian official behavior/policy should have become absolutely obvious by now to anyone who follows the Assange-story ie when that lowlife turtle ForMin and his ugly, cruel scumbag boss (Gillard) practically openly stated they will not help the man, regardless of his citizenship, even after their AG threatened him with treason (sic!), revoking his passport etc and all turned out to be false and baseless.

Ironically I cannot imagine the US similarly abandoning its citizens abroad, so openly especially if they are in such a mess and dire need for diplomatic and legal help - as long as they didn't break some major US laws, of course (eg acts like helping the enemy of the US etc, in which case they will be tried for treason, correctly.)

PS: to his credit Kevin Rudd defended Assange once, by stating the obvious ie that Manning leaked the documents and it's the error of the US security services.)

Microsoft watches iPads flood into world's offices: Right, remote desktop clients. It's time

Re: Charging for a SP is already...

PS: if they would sell the extra functionality like some 'add-on' I could totally understand that - I just dislike the idea of reselling essentially the same thing + fixes for more.

Re: I'm still baffled as to how anyone can do proper work on a tablet.

Dunno, my office have glass walls, employees in the main area would be definitely offended if I were to try the same w/ my 27"+24" duo...

...come to think of it, being a medical viz firm they'd be offended only by the size.**

**: of my display.

I mean the vertical one.

I mean the MONITOR.