Posts by Jess

BlackBerry axes 200 jobs – including a third of its HQ staff

The biggest security feature of BBOS is not being subject to the patriot act.

BB10 is mostly a great system. Annoyingly the niggles are generally things BB6 did or did much better. My concern is they will now never fix them. I was waiting for more to be fixed before I buy a Passport. Now I shall wait for the fire sale.

Text input - auto-correct is inferior to 6 (BB6 'shel' > 'she'l'l BB10 'shell' > 'she'll', and similar, really annoying the number of times 'Oh, hell' has gone out as 'Oh he'll') BB6 the dollar key did the local currency, BB10 it does a dollar. (It was far worse initially, there were no phonetic keyboard layouts for Cyrillic for the first few updates)

Email client - inferior to BB6 (but it used to be unstably so, now it is usable)

WiFi Calling - my old BB had UMA. new one doesn't.

2G override my BB6 device could be switched to 2G only, useful in some areas . The new one is consequently unusable in certain areas.

No timed power on/off (and alarms fail from off) unlike every other phone I have owned. (even a £60 android phablet does it).

These (in increasing order of annoyance) were the show stoppers that prevented me getting a Passport. (The final couple mean I need to carry a second device, if I am staying away from home).

They had been fixing them with updates, my list was several times as long when I first got the thing. My expectation is BB10 going the way of Symbian. (Pulled the plugs before all the niggles were fixed).

I suspect unless either BB fix the worst of the BB10 niggles or the Passport becomes available for £100, I shall stick to the Q5 until it dies.

Windows 10 overtakes Windows 8.1's market share

Re: Users hate windows 10.

The only windows users who hate windows 10 (excluding those who don't like being pushed into it, the same reason I hate Windows mobile) are the small minority who actually like Windows 8.x (without shell replacements). 95% of those are going to be table users anyway.

Windows 10 is pretty crap on a tablet, but on a desktop or laptop is fine.

But for a Windows 7 user, there isn't much to be gained, and certainly for many users would be offset by learning where they have moved everything to and the worries about software compatibility.

I have heard 3 complaints about windows 10 from previous 8.x users. Trackpad drivers (re-installing them fixes it). Loss of DVD player (VLC solves that). And an inferior photo app.

The big issue is having it forced down your throat. (Unless you actually want it, it seems to know somehow, and you have to use media creator. Plus most XP/Vista users would probably like the option)

Windows 10 will now automatically download and install on PCs

Re: you agreed to the terms and conditions

I'm sure the T&C are also written in such a way that they would protect Microsoft if they had to do anything under instruction from the NSA.

It would also be interesting to know if the legal protection from hidden T&C, that exist in some regions, still apply after agreeing to the new T&Cs of the first update.

Re: Breaches No. 1 rule of upgrading.

Previously my experience was Windows, never do an over the top upgrade (wipe and present qualifying media, in the old days). With OS X it always worked.

Windows 10 has gone on fine to every machine I have tried (four so far). (Getting it to upgrade was the challenge, every time I have had to force it with media creator, and usually do lots of updates first).

El Capitan failed disastrously the time I tried it and required a complete wipe and fresh install.

(I actually own an Intel Mac that would upgrade to 10, but not El C)

Two-thirds of Android users vulnerable to web history sniff ransomware

Re: Bit unfair blaming Google

Not really, they designed the monolithic structure.

If the system were more modular, then they would be able to update most of it, and what was left would be hardware specific and down to the manufacturers.

This gun says you ain’t leaving until my PC is fixed

Re:stage props: lightweight construction, no sharp or pointy bits?

Unlikely. Re-enactment weapons are generally heavier than the real thing, because they are made of approximately the correct material, but are blunt not sharp.

Injury is avoided by pulling the blow just before impact. How well that has to be done depends on the armour of the opponent. (If it is just a loincloth and a gladiator helmet it has to be done really well).

Windows Mobile users suffer backup super-slurp as Redmond forgets Wi-Fi switch

re: client whose internet connectivity is 0.5 meg

If this is a professional user, what is the problem?

It is the domestic version that has no off switch.

Apple growth flatlines ... Tim Cook thinks, hey, $80bn is still $80bn

Re: BlackBerry

I love my Q5 and want a Passport (Though having been burnt by the Playbook, I am now basing all purchases on the sad assumption BB10 is now a legacy system).

It is a fantastic music player, and a nice OS, but I wouldn't go as far as advocating BBM any more

Universal Credit: The IT project that will outlive us all

They have done what all our recent govenments do.

They have identified a real problem (in this case the benefits system is too complex.)

They have come up with a solution so poor it makes the situation worse.

Universal Credit sounds like a nice simple solution, a halfway house between the current system and a basic income scheme. How can they mess it up so badly?

Research: Microsoft the fastest growing maker of tablet OSs ... by 2019

It could possibly go that way

but only because PC laptops all end up with detachable keyboards and touch screens.

I think it highly unlikely that it would still apply if restricted to things people actually use as a tablet.

If I had need of a windows pc and had to pay for something, I'd probably buy an £80 Windows 10 tablet, a plate stand and and a keyboard and mouse.

(It would also mean Apple become bigger in laptops, because no-one else would make them)

In 1994 apparently the EU initiated a tablet computer initiative. Acorn produced a thing called the Newspad a couple of years later. (Concept/prototype presumably). I can't help the suspicion that Tablet XP was a result of Microsoft pursuing the same initiative, and not finishing in time.

Sight for sore eyes: Dropbox lands on Win 10 with iris recognition

Drag and Drop

Hasn't RISC OS done that since the late 80s?

Facebook Messenger: All your numbers are belong to us

They do not honour the privacy of PMs.

Once I discovered this, I seriously locked down my Facebook use.

I had a minor foot injury that a gym instructor suggested a possible diagnosis for.

I mentioned the name once in a PM on facebook. From that point almost all my adverts on FB were for the condition.

I removed all FB apps as a result. I removed FB from the noscript whitelist. I also installed the self destructing cookies addon.

I now almost exclusively use mbasic.facebook.com (much nicer on a desktop than the regular site, to be honest)

I no longer have in depth conversations using the chat facility (I generally used XMPP, but that seems to have packed up anyway)

Waving Microsoft's Windows 10 stick won't help Intel's Gen 6 core

Re: Unless we get "incremental updates...

> "Metro" interface

What Metro interface?

(I don't have a touch screen system so is that why I'm not encountering it?)

Microsoft herds biz users to Windows 10 by denying support for Win 7 and 8 on new CPUs

Re: that they should only develop for the latest version of OSX and iOS?

I think you will find it is down to the tools apple provides, so if they develop on old systems it still works on old systems, if not it doesn't.

Re: Vista is actually not that bad and updates will continue until 2022 at the earliest.

11 April 2017 according to this page http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/lifecycle

It's usable now (unlike when it was brand new), but were it the only version I had a licence for, I would be dual booting with linux and only using it when specific software demanded it.

Re: I just don't get the Windows 10 hate

I wouldn't go as far as saying fantastic. (Unless Windows 8 is your reference) But I have found it a decent OS. I find it far faster than Windows 7 on the PC I'm typing this on. I certainly wouldn't bother with 7 on any machine for myself.

If the telemetry is of concern, then migration to a different OS entirely is what is called for, not sticking to a previous version. (And I certainly won't rule that out for myself, my PC laptop is already dual boot 10/mint.)

As someone pointed out earlier, saying Windows 10 is a poor OS compared to previous versions is as valid as saying Linux is too techie.

However, pushing people over to it as they have been doing, is wrong.

It is not a big enough improvement over 7 to be worth the bother for many people, and especially for anyone with an investment in software that might not work properly.

(Of course the story is a bit different for anyone with windows 8 on the desktop, software issues should be far rarer, and 8 is vile.)

I suspect this will be a bit of a gift to the second hand market.

Up until XP became tricky to get, I had not seen any large corporate buy second hand kit.

situation where a CPU wouldn't run a recent version of Windows.

I recall an issue with Windows 95 where it wouldn't run on certain high speed AMD processors. Pentium 2 was fine. (But emulated 16 bit code iirc, so wasn't always fast)

Spoilsport scientists unstick Spider-Man

How would the pads work through his gloves and boots?

Anyway according to the comics it was static electricity. (Unless they've retconned it) They should have proven that impossible rather than gecko style pads.

Trump's new thought bubble: Make Apple manufacture in the USA

Re: he's just managed to turn the labour party into an unelectable comedy act.

It already was that. The last election proved that.

At least now you can tell the difference between their policies and the Tories.

It’s alive! BlackBerry 10 users lobbed fresh 'Hotfix' update

I don't think the major problem with BB10 was its lateness to the market.

BB10 phones could not be used with existing old servers.

BB7 Apps will not run

BB7 phones could not be upgraded

When introduced BB10 was missing loads of important features (it still is missing a few).

Had they made the first couple of generations of BB10 phones dual boot with BB7, none of these issues would have been showstoppers.

(And of course the current uncertainly about BB10 could be solved by making all new phones available as BB10, Android or dual boot)

No escape: Microsoft injects 'Get Windows 10' nagware into biz PCs

The telemetry phoned home to Redmond

Why does anyone think that if they seriously want this telemetry, it won't be slipped out inside Windows 7 and 8 updates anyway?

Server retired after 18 years and ten months – beat that, readers!

Re: power consumption nightmare

Huge power consumption isn't always wasted.

I have a G5 PPC in my bedroom. Last winter it provided pretty much all the heat I needed. (Must get an ARM system for the summer though)

Re: Fan lasting 5 years +

In about 2002 (+/- a year) I set up a large fan from an old olivetti 386 to act as an extractor in the entrance to my house.) It was running 24/7 (powered by an old gamegear psu).

It packed up about 9 months ago. And that was in a harsh environment, dust, damp and temperature extremes.

Confirmed: How to stop Windows 10 forcing itself onto PCs – your essential guide

Re: a Linux desktop that doesn't suck

>> "Windows 10 has pretty much the same desktop as Linux Mint. So where's the problem?"

> Ribbons

Where?

> Tiles.

On the 'start' panel, where Mint has a regular menu. Big deal.

> You were talking about the Windows UI, right?

Yes

> And yes, any of the Mint GUI's are actually more like Windows XP/7 than Windows 8/10.

Given that windows 10 is more like XP/7 than 8 that makes your comment nonsense.

Windows 8 is nothing like mint.

Mint has always looked like what you would have got if Microsoft had skinned 2000 with a little more taste than they used making XP.

With Windows 8 Microsoft ditched the Bling, so it was fast, but went back to a Windows 3 style interface, so it was horrible.

With Windows 10 they restored the Win 95 family interface, but didn't restore the bling.

Re: a Linux desktop that doesn't suck

Windows 10 has pretty much the same desktop as Linux Mint. So where's the problem?

Re: the ramifications of what this really means.

I disagree with your conclusions, but I think you have a point.

Don't forget Windows 10 users can revert to the previous OS, providing they have the install media.

I don't believe MS will try to charge for any existing 10 installations after July.

However I could quite see this as being an attempt to move in that direction.

They could easily start OEMs shipping home users with a Win 10 core OS, which required a subscription to give it a full feature set. (Businesses already have the choice of renting or buying, so they might just play with the pricing for them.)

The free versions for a year could easily be a loss leader.

Re: no but why should Microsoft put out some information that only the likes of...

Because that is their nature.

Every time time they do something a bit unreasonable to promote upgrades, there is always a solution provided. (Behind the Beware of the Leopard sign, as pointed out elsewhere.)

For example with office 2007 and the new formats, the solution they wanted you to take was to buy 2007 everywhere. But they provided a converter pack for previous versions. Officially it requires the latest service pack on Office 2003. In practice this only applies to Excel. The Word and Powerpoint converters work at least back to Office 97. (It wouldn't surprise me if it works on 95 and Works, but I've not tried).

Re: I predict win10 is so bad

Do you mean install figures?

If so I could see you being correct, an awful lot of regular users don't want to upgrade from 7, because they are happy with it, having avoided 8.x which they were either warned off or made the effort to revert from.

Realistically that is a sensible decision, Windows 10 is better than 7, but not to the extent that it worth the upheaval for a non techie user. They also don't trust that it won't be a POS like 8. (Obviously Windows 8 users are jumping at the chance to change.)

For me it was a no brainer, find a machine with a bios that licenses Windows 7, install and upgrade. Of course, I need to be familiar with the latest Microsoft OS.

Had the OS been a POS (like Vista and 8) the machine I am typing this on would by now be running Linux Mint. (Also if it required a payment.)

If however by bad, you mean the actual OS, I disagree. The UI is fine - looks and feels like Linux Mint - and the system is fast and stable (much better than Windows 7 on this particular PC.)

It would be ironic if Win 10 flops because of the legacy of Vista and 8 and the forced upgrade from XP. (Perhaps they should have given 10 home basic free to XP and Vista users)

Microsoft's 200 million 'Windows 10' 'devices' include Lumias, Xboxes

Re: Microsoft watching you viewing your photos?

If you can't trust that they honour the settings not to spy on Windows 10, then how can you trust they won't install the same spyware on their other systems?

(And I'm not referring to anything they might be ordered to do under the patriot act, because if that is a serious worry, then you shouldn't be using any system that has an upgrade system ultimately subject to the act).

I am also curious about all the posts saying Linux mint and Windows 7 are both fine but 10 isn't. Windows 10 looks just like Mint (probably why I quite like it TBH.)

iOS 9 kludged our iPhones, now give us money, claims new lawsuit

Apple do other dirty tricks with their iDevices

On a snow leopard mac itunes will offer to update an iDevice without an obvious warning that the device will no longer work with the system.

Of course there is the option of El Capitan, (unless it is a system with 32 bit firmware), but that of course makes a lot of software obsolete (iPhoto, even the paid for version, and anything requiring rosetta)

Chat messages in Skype for Windows are bang out of order – so here's how to 'fix' it for now

Re: Alternatives that work please...

https://www.getonsip.com/webrtc/ (requires a modern browser for their web client)

Does audio to regular sip clients (on other providers too).

Allows the use of your account from sip softphones and hardware (the instructions for the paid for Bria also work for the free X-lite).

Provides a url so that you can be called without the other end having to sign up. (This will also work to a softphone etc, but audio only)

Microsoft in 2015: Mobile disasters, Windows 10 and heads in the clouds

I can't understand the hatred of Win 10 from techies.

(Unless it's the baked in spyware, but they can push that out to any Windows they want).

I have been using it on a system that was clunky with Windows 7 and it has been fine. Look and feel is pretty close to Linux Mint.

Saying that though, I can't see any reason that someone should upgrade from a Windows 7 system that is working well.

I shall probably sort myself out dual boot with Linux Mint, and do a direct comparison.

The negative feedback I have had from users is problems with certain touchpad drivers (solved by a manual re-install) and inferior support apps (no DVD support, and poorer photo app).

I also see no reason that anyone should choose 10 over Mint, other than needing specific Windows apps.

I think non techies are suffering forced upgrade fatigue, though.

EU mobile roaming rules to save customers billions in bills

Re: Not a problem for long

It won't matter that Vodaphone will be able to shaft us again, because once all these countries with lots of sunshine and poor economies realise they can charge us for visas, it'll be back to Skegness and Margate for our holidays. (And all the mates I would be able to stay with will get sent back to Blighty anyway).

Oh well, was nice while it lasted.

Microsoft steps up Windows 10 nagging

Re: Linux Mint

I just installed Linux Mint for the first time in a couple of years and I just realised why I find Windows 10 so familiar, and pleasant to use.

The interface is virtually identical. (OK, the search is at the top of the menu panel in Mint).

Obviously Mint itself was based on the look and feel of an interface somewhere between that of Windows 2000 and XP. So they can't really complain too much about the 'Tribute' interface.

I have upgraded several machines from 8.1 to 10, and all of them required using the Media Creation Tool to force it. (Oddly, no-one has asked me to upgrade Windows 7 to it).

I have yet to see the nag screen do anything other than say you are in a queue.

Do they have some means of detecting those who actually want the system and make it hard for them, while forcing it on those who don't?

The complaints about Windows 10 after the upgrade are due to the bundled software being replaced by less functional alternatives. (Inferior photo app, loss of DVD support) But to be fair, the same is true of the latest OS X. (iPhoto won't run, even if you have a paid for version).

Still running IE10? Not for long, says Microsoft

Seems rather artificial.

They will support 9, 10 and 11 but only on the certain platforms.

Would have been better if they made 11 available everywhere, and dropped the rest.

Google proffers plugs in Android MMS pwnfest

Android does seem a bit of a mess

I don't understand why they didn't simply push out a new messaging system without the bug from the play store. (Even if some need to manually install it).

I recently discovered that android phones alarm won't work from off. WTF? (The same flaw is my main gripe with BB10, every phone I have used before did it.)

Doctor Who: Oh, look! There's a restaurant at the end of the universe in Hell Bent

Was worried he'd do an RTD

After a penultimate episode as good as Heaven Sent, I was worried that this week would be a let down. (There are precedents.)

However it was really good.

I liked the twists. Making out Me was the hybrid. The implication that the 8th Doctor was telling the truth about being half human, but without confirming it.

Sysadmin's £100,000 revenge after sudden sacking

Re: What kind of moron terminates a tech mid-project

The way I interpreted it was that the decision maker wrongly believe the project was complete, and so Karma bit him on the arse.

Russia's blanket phone spying busted Europe's human rights laws

Amazing how many people don't know the difference between ECHR and EU

(or the EEA for that matter)

Makes me wonder how many people will be voting against the EU to get rid of something that comes from a different organisation. (e.g Freedom of movement comes from from the EEA, not the EU, which why we can work in Iceland or Norway.)

Back on topic, This sort of thing is probably why Cameron is so keep to dump our commitment to the ECHR, he doesn't want the same thing happening here.

Google to end updates, security bug fixes for Chrome on 32-bit Linux

They did this on OS X ages ago

32 bit support went ages ago. (fortunately it only needs a 64 bit processor on OS X, not 64 bit firmware or kernel, so only the earliest machines have a problem.)

Windows 10 lags 7, 8 … and even Vista in the channel race

Upgrade fatigue?

Given that it is probably the best upgrade to Windows since 2000, and I actually find it pleasant to use (I didn't like 98, ME, XP, or Vista and I found 8.x the be the worst system I have used since 3.x) it is a bit odd.

I suspect the memory of being forced off XP is still too fresh for people to want to be forced into something new again.

I certainly wouldn't suggest people ditch a working windows 7 system for it. (Though I would recommend an upgrade prior to a re-install for any machine that needs it, just to retain rights).

However for Windows 8 it is a no-brainer, or so you would think. If the machine has classic shell, (and is a bit slow, so it needs it on 10 to perform well) then it isn't so clear. I know someone in that situation who was very disappointed with the replacement bundled apps, and may still revert.

Outsourcer didn't press ON switch, so Reg reader flew 15 hours to do the job

Re: Ẁhy does nobody use skype ?

> Because, since Microsoft acquired it, it is not very good any more.

Here is a useful alternative (compatible with standard sip, though video has to be browser to browser or phone to phone)

https://www.getonsip.com/

Yahoo! Mail! is! still! a! thing!, tries! blocking! Adblock! users!

I'm so sick of all the garbage on the web (I'm not referring to the content) I'm now going to the mobile versions of many sites, while running no-script. (Many sites that don't work without JS, have a mobile site that does.)

Works great on Facebook, I haven't tried it on yahoo, because I normally use Thunderbird to access it. (Not that I get many emails to it).

GMail I always use the plain HTML version (when I'm not on my main comp with Thunderbird), but it is irritating how it tries to force you onto the horrid new version.

Apple's design 'drives up support costs, makes gadgets harder to use'

I think Mac reached their nicest with the PowerPC

I have a couple of G4 laptops. The Snow is far nicer than the design that replaced it. The PowerBook, is virtually the same as Pro that replaced it, but far nicer than the later models.

I find Leopard nicer to use than the newer OSes, and it looks far nicer (though I think Mountain Lion probably looked best.)

I think OS X is slowly becoming less pleasant to use.

On the other hand Windows is improving. I actually rather like the release version of 10. (Wasn't impressed by the earlier versions) I thought 8 was the worst dog's breakfast of a UI I have ever seen. I also liked 95, 2000 and 7. I thought 98 and XP were retrograde steps. (Vista just didn't work properly, as opposed to having a really bad UI)

MPs to assess tech feasibility of requirements under draft surveillance laws

Won't this just provide a smokescreen for terrorists?

If everyone is worried their porn history will be available, then surely TOR will become the standard for adult browsing. (Perhaps even using a live CD.)

This will make TOR work far more effectively, and provide far better cover for those using it to damage the lives of others.

BlackBerry Priv: After two weeks on test, looks like this is a keeper

When the time came for me to update from my N8

The choice was between a Q5 and a Fonepad.

(The reason I didn't stick with the N8 longer was that I either need a tactile keyboard, or failing that a tablet size device. I would have been better with an E7x type device, had the plugs not been pulled).

I couldn't bring myself to buy android and went for the Q5, which it turns out I really like.

If I am forced into having a choice between Android, iOS or Windows it will be a large phablet, and I will probably carry a dumb phone for emergencies.

It certainly won't be a BlackBerry.

However, I eagerly await the BlackBerry Passport fire sale (As I'm sure do many)

Microsoft rolls out first 'major update' to Windows 10

I've updated 3 machines to 10 and one to el cap

The 3 machines on 10 seem to work fine, upgrade went smoothly (apart from having to force it with the media creation tool) a fourth one wouldn't upgrade by that route, not investigated further yet.

The upgrade to EL Capitan was dreadful, basically it trashed the machine. It worked once then wouldn't complete a second boot. (Not a unique situation, I have since found.) It also seems like a lot of software won't run. End result after a LOT of faffing around was a dual boot system (fresh installs) of Snow Leopard/El Capitan.

It is like Microsoft and Apple have traded teams. The WIn 7/8 update to 10 was as smooth as pretty much every previous OS X upgrade I have done, while the SL to El Cap upgrade was as bad as the worst windows upgrade I've ever done.

Typically an over the top upgrade for Windows is something I would avoid, (but obviously required to get the free Windows 10 activation). But it worked fine twice and had a trivial issues once. (And refused once).

Anyone planning an El Cap upgrade, I suggest waiting, or doing an install on a separate drive or partition.

Amazon vendors flog thousands of rooted, malware-laden tablets

Re: playbook malware

or mine

Facebook conjures up a trap for the unwary: scanning your camera for your friends

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