Posts by Tim Greenwood

Italian competition watchdog slaps Apple with €10m fine over allegedly misleading iPhone waterproofing claims

Re: After a short dive in sea water.

IP68 has a fairly specific meaning, or at least it did when I was dealing with ingress protection of industrial products. Maybe it's different in the consumer world and IP68 means whatever you want.

Uri Geller calls off 20-year ban on Pokémon trading card that 'stole' his 'signature image'

Re: Hardly unexpected.

Credit to Uri for the spoon council video which was a nicely acted piece that he agreed to film as a send up of himself.

He might be a celebrity on the wane but being willing to be involved in making yourself look a fool isn't that common as a celebrity.

When even a power-cycle fandango cannot save your Windows desktop

Re: Toshiba

IBM monitors were sturdy devices back in the day. In an open plan office with a monitor on each desk, you could spot Val's monitor from a distance. It was the one with the "Gaudi" inspired case, where it swooped and drooped in most interesting shapes. This was ever since the day she watered the plant on the wall shelf above her desk and spilt quite a lot. It ran down and straight into the vents on the monitor without any apparent effect for quite a few seconds. Then there was a literal shower of sparks flew back out accompanied by hissing and spitting sounds, and then a cloud of steam/smoke. The colleague at the next desk leapt across and ripped the plug out of the wall which stopped the internal light show from the case and rapidly reduced the noises from within. Since it was the end of the day (hence the last minute watering before leaving) things were left alone without reporting anything and it was the following morning before damage was properly assessed.

Val came in and started things up as normal and to everyones incredible surprise it worked fine, and continued to work fine for years. The only external visible evidence was that the heat generated had caused significant reshaping of the plastic casing and the grille was just about touching the internals it had slumped that much.

They don't make them like that anymore !

Bloke rolls up to KFC drive-thru riding horse-drawn cart only to be told: Neigh

Bicycles are not allowed in some instances. There was a recent twitter posting from Costa coffee confirming that all vehicles must be taxed and insured and therefore cycles were not allowed (despite such vehicles generally meeting the tax and unsurance reles fro road use).

Not so easy to make a quick getaway when it takes 3 hours to juice up your motor, eh Brits?

Get with the program guys.

Just over 100 years ago there weren't any filling stations in the UK (or much anywhere else either). When you went on journeys you filled up by grazing fields as you passed.(well, at Inns with fodder etc ). However, these new fangled internal combustion engined vehicles started to appear and although most people initially went on short round trips before refilling at home. Eventually filling stations started to pop up to allow people to fill up elsewhere.

Fast forward a little and we are at a similar point with EV's becoming viable for must current uses. Disclosure - I have had a PHEV for a couple of years now and have been surprised at the little use that has been made of the petrol engine. Even though I only have a 30 mile range on pure electric it's pretty easy to find somewhere to plug in before a return journey so most local trips are easily done on electric. At the weekend I have a 170 mile trip each way so will be back on the petrol. However at about the halfway point I know there is a motorway service station with a fast charger (for free) so will be stopping for comfort break (coffee and doughnuts !) and will plug in for 20-30 minutes. This will add a free extra 25 miles driving or so on electric. Whats not to like ? The previous vehicle was costing almost £500 a year just on VED and now I pay nothing. As the battery technology improves and the range gets bigger I can well see the replacement vehicle being battery only, particularly as I have3 a fast charger at home which goes nicely with the solar panels meaning I can fill up for free at home (at least when it's sunny).

Electric vehicles won't help UK meet emissions targets: Time to get out and walk, warn MPs

Re: The ones calling for it first.

Whilst I am not particularly calling for it, I do support rapid movement towards it. To that end I now commute more regularly by bicycle and my other larger personal vehicleruns on electric which I charge from my own solar panels (backed up by the national grid).

OK it's a drop in the ocean, but I just need the rest of you to do the same to turn a few drops into a trickle and so on.

I could throttle you right about now: US Navy to ditch touchscreens after kit blamed for collision

Training ?

Whilst agreeing that maybe touchscreens are not the greatest idea for basic controls on a warship. I have to wonder about the apparent appalling lack of training there must be if the helmsman didn't know he needed to throttle back both drives. This is about as basic as it gets on board a vessel or indeed other powered craft (twin or multi engined aircraft, tracked vehicles etc).

Uber JUMPs at chance to dump load of electric bikes across Islington

Re: Islington...

Probably quickest to use your own bike if you and the bike are in reasonable condition.

If you're ever lost on the Moon, Ordnance Survey now has you covered for Apollo 11 anniversary

I like ordnance survey these days. They could have become almost an irrelevance in the modern GPS equipped world. Instead, they seem to have become quite interesting, proactive and still relevant.

I do love real maps anyway, so am really glad they are going from strength to strength.

AGM X3: Swoon at this rugged interloper mobe then throw it on the floor to impress your mates

Perhaps slightly pedantic, but there is no difference in waterproofing between IP55 and IP65 at all.

The first numeral is protection against solids (fingers, wires, dust particles), the second numeral is protection against liquids. So IP 65 is better protected against dust (no ingress) but still the same against water. It would need upgrading to IP56 to be better protected against water.

Truly waterproof basically means IP68 or I suppose IPx8.

Jammy dodgers: Boffin warns of auto autos congesting cities to avoid parking fees

Possible answer ?

Bicycles ?

Just a thought.

Clone your own Prince Phil, says eBay seller hawking debris left over from royal car crash

Re: What I'd like to know

What armour ?

Pretty standard vehicles with no armour, after all this isn't America !

Mr Angry pays taxman with five wheelbarrows worth of loose change

Re: He'd be shit out of luck in the UK

Although cheques written on large plywood sheets can be perfectly legal and accepted. As I understand it, there is no obligation to actually accept them. Kind of a reverse of the coins where large quantities are not strictly legal tender but could be accepted.

British military laser death ray cannon contract still awarded, MoD confirms

Never mind Lasr cannon

I think a laser sword is something we should be developing. Although it might be better renamed as a laser sabre, or maybe just lightsabre !

Elon Musk: I'm gonna turn Mars into a $10bn death-dealing interplanetary gas station

Suicide mission !? People going to their deaths !?

I can't understand why it seems so difficult for people to understand the concept of emigration or colonisation. How is this seen as a suicide mission with people going to their deaths ? The truth is that everyone reading this is heading for their death whether they stay right where they are or move elsewhere. Others have commented before me, but there will be plenty of people who would jump at the chance to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where apparently too many media types are scared to go at all.

Lester Haines: RIP

Very sad news

I am not usually inclined to comment much on here. But in this instance am very shocked and saddened to hear the news of yet another untimely death, and wish to add my regrets to all the others. Like many I appreciated the humour and the apparent honesty of his writing.

Condolences to family and friends.

Facebook turns 10: Big Brother isn't Mark Zuckerberg. It's YOU

Fortunately it is still possible to be non conformist by being non facebookist. The established media does tend to assume that "everyone" uses social media and can't survive without. Fortunately it is still possible to exist and interact in the flesh, in the real world.

We may not have "quite" got to big brother watching, but certainly we are at "rather large cousin" level.

ULTIMATE cuppa contenders prepare to go mug-to-mug

Hard water!

How on earth are you going to make the ultimate cuppa with hard water ???

You need to come here, to gods own county to brew something really worth drinking. All that messing about with different teabags is OK but you have to start with freshly drawn Yorkshire water if you want to produce anything decent from any of them.

Saudi Aramco: Foreign hackers tried to cork our gas output

Normal service after 10 days !!

I found the throwaway comment about systems working again after 10 days amusing as even now the Aramco networks are compromised. This is almost certainly a result of them tightening up their own security but until yesterday any emails I sent to any Aramco address were rejected by their system. Even now emails are only accepted with plain text and containing no weblinks or addresses and attachments don't seem to get through.

Peter Moore: IT consultant, Iraq hostage - Part Two

What an apparently great guy. I know you shouldn't judge from just a short written article but Mr Moore comes across a genuinely nice person who had to cope in a very difficult situation.

I think many people, myself included, would be interested in reading a more in depth account of his life including both before and after the hostage situation. I don't really know if writing a book would help in any way with psychological issues, but I suspect it would be a good read.

It would be nice to think you could pass on my best wishes to him for a more peaceful and happy future.

Vote now for the ultimate bacon sandwich

It's a bacon sandwich poll

Only the first page offerings actually qualify as all the rest include eggs, cheese etc and are therefore more than bacon sandwiches so are ineligible. I had to vote for the A90 as that is essentially the basic bacon sandwich and it looks well made with nicely cooked bacon.

Given a free choice of bacon based sandwiches I like the look of several of the others and would even contemplate the peanut butter version as I can be a bit adventurous. The bacon choices in some of the others look pretty good as well and addition of black pudding elevates the end result to stratospheric levels, but the poll is clear and therefore all others must be disqualified.

Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy S III

but what's next ?

This will probably be the latest and greatest when it comes out. For a period (unless there is some unlikely horrendous fault) it will be the one to beat, but then Apple will finally launch the iphone 5 and perhaps there will be a new Sony and Motorola and even Nokia ? Each time the later top of the range device comes out there is a good chance it will be an improvement over the last.

I am wondering where the size will finally stop. I seem to think 5 inch screens were laughed at as ridiculous when the norm was 2.8 to 3.5 inch screens but flagship phones are heading dangerously close to this size now !

Council spunks '£100k on how to wash your hands' vid

Its a good idea

The principle is correct, in that thorough handwashing is a major contributor to public health. However, as has been mentioned already, only a national video is required and I am pretty sure that health authorities already have such a thing. The money should have been spent on promoting it and not on making it in the first place.

iPad users 'risk shoulder pain', say US gov, Microsoft boffins

Or maybe...

get the screen on a stand at a steep angle and mounted high up so the veiwing angle is horizontal, put an input device level and lower down in front of you and keep the actual workings out to one side where the weight, heat and noise from it doesn't affect you. You could even have a smaller separate input device at the side of the main input device and use that for manipulating images on the screen so that you don't haver to bend forwards.

I think I have just invented the PC, I wonder if it's too late for the patent ?

HTC Explorer budget smartphone

Can I be first

To mention the ZTE Blade/San Francisco that I will be sticking with for just a bit longer. I am not sure that this new phone would offer much in the way of improvement for an substantial extra cost.

Sleep Cycle

Hmmm

The suggestion being that they do work, as they are a placebo.

Placebo's are concusively proven to work which is why they have to be allowed for in trials.

Red Cross: 600m videogamers may be war criminals

Hide the chart !

Don't let that chart out into the open. It appears to show that violent video games don't lead to violent people and that must be wrong. Even if it was true we must not let that get in the way of a good story.

UltraViolet: Hollywood's giant digital gamble is here

It sounds generally OK

This actually seems like a sensible plan, so I must have misunderstood something.

Currently I haven't really messed about with downloads and have stuck with my own version on dvd. I have ripped one or two of these for convenience sake but actually don't pass around to other people as that would be a bit naughty.

If the price is right then I might well consider the ease and convenience (and it had better be easy and convenient !) worth looking into and possibly spending a bit of money on kit if needed.

Man fights felony hacking charge for accessing wife's email

Hmmm

I think I may have commited a similar offence as I have accessed my wifes email. Arguably there might be mitigating circumstances as she also accesses my mail. Strangely enough we have a trusting relationship where we have things like a shared bank account and shared ownership of property etc.

More and more I feel out of step with the modern world.

Nokia Lumia 800

But ...

Dare I get one for my wife ?

Android is probably a bit too messy and time consuming to work well for her (she likes "geeky" stuff and is technically competent but doesn't have the time to constantly monitor, adjust and tweak to keep things running).

Apple and iOS she doesn't particularly like and would find restrictive as she does want flexibility at times. Tight integration with Windows is required for business use.

Blackberry doesn't seem to offer the hardware form that she wants and the recent 3 day outage has put her right off.

Currently she still has a Nokia with Symbian and she has aleways liked Nokia's build quality and to be honest, styling. Strangely a key feature for her is absolute volume of the ringer. She sometimes works in noisy environments and needs a substantial ring tone volume level which surprisingly many phones are pretty feeble at.

This review picks up the point that phones these days are definitely multimedia devices first and have a phone function as an option, but this isn't always well integrated.

I might just pass for the moment, or maybe take a punt on the Lumia710 as a cheaper first pass which one of the kids can take on if she doesn't get on with it.

Man builds smartphone dock into arm

Apple were probably right

You have to think that if Apple had developed a prosthetic arm with a dock for the iphone there would have been some people insisting on surgery just so they could have one fitted.

Tweens would miss web and mobes more than TV

32GB in 10 days ?!

I have 3 teenage children and have had to upgrade twice this year from the original 40GB a month, firstly to 80Gb then when use peaked at 120GB I had to pay even more. I turn the router off when I go to bed just to make sure no-one tries downloading big files overnight and have deleted file sharing programs off their devices to stop them watching pirated films etc.

I think it's the fact that all 3 catch up on the same TV shows at different times so quite often the same show will be streamed 3 times in the space of a couple of days.

Pah! in my day we had to make do wit........ (walks off muttering to himself).

Intel pitches stalking smartphones

Holy Shit !

That's just plain scary. I can see that these things are possible but whether they are desirable is a different matter.

Maybe I am just getting old and out of touch with the modern world, but I want to live my own life on my terms, not as suggested/dictated by a digital overlord.

Ultra-cheap HP TouchPads to hit UK at 6pm

It's not even the 1st of April

At those prices I am actually tempted, and I haven't even been looking for one.

That's assuming that the prices are genuine.

Tag Heuer readies €4700 Froyo phone

Another ...

triumph of style over substance, form over function or whatever.

The only thing to be said is I hope that plenty of people have the money and the stupidity to buy them and hopefully subsidise the better but less bling products for the rest of us.

Google field tests (yet another) Facebook rival

Sounds like a better idea

The problem with facebook is it's too messy trying to keep people apart. What you might want to discuss with some friends, might not be what you want your parents/spouse/children to see, or vice versa. This could be a better way although whether you would trust it is a different matter.

Interacting with people in the real world still seems to work for me.

IATA: this iPad could BRING DOWN A PLANE

Just turn it off anyway.

Since you will probably struggle to get a connection through large parts of the flight due to being out of range, why not do everybody a favour and turn it off anyway ?

Alternatively, if you must be at someones beck and call all the time then only book flights where you can use the airlines own phone. You can subsidise the flights for the rest of us by paying over the odds for the priviledge.

BOFH: Every silver lining has a cloud

Note to self

Don't read BOFH whilst eating a pot of yoghurt.

Save the planet: Stop the Greens

Green anything, not just windmills !!

Whether windmills are generating at full chat or becalmed they generated a hell of a lot of carbon to produce them and install them. If they operate through their life time (often only 15-20 years with full stripdown service with some renewal after 10 years) at 30-40% efficiency then their payback is pretty bloody crap. This is one of my biggest issues with "green" products - WHOLE LIFECYCLE IS IGNORED. Electric bloody cars are apparently super green provided you scrap your existing car buy the electric one and keep it for the 2-3 years the batteries will last then buy a new one. Of course this assumes you don't take into account the effect of scrapping your otherwise acceptable existing vehicle, take no account of the effect of producing the electric car, and in particular ignore where the electricity has come from.

My existing car can become super green and generate no emissions providing you only take a snapshot such as turning the engine off and coasting downhills, it's not real worls though is it !

Spanish cops rush to cuff 'webcam killer'

Dammed if you do and .....

Hats off to the police this time, and I guess someone in the force is breathing a sigh of relief that they jumped the correct way. This could so easily have taken 2 days of discussion before going round and finding several bodies. Alternatively it could also have ended in bad headlines as "heavy handed cops storm a house to arrest a bloke due to a prank caller". It's a tough call and too many people are too quick to judge and condemn.

EA blocks user from game after alleged forum outburst

Consequences ?

Whilst it does seem an incredibly over the top reaction it does serve as an interesting reminder that there are always consequences to your actions. Even when the actions are apparently virtual/online. Not always the consequences you intend or want either.

Chicken Little report: Sat-nav dependency spells DISASTER!

Ah the good old days

I remember being really impressed 20-25 years ago with the accuracy of Decca off Bridlington. It took us to within 100 metres of a mark in foggy conditions allowing us visibity of it.

These days the GPS on my phone knows which room of the house I am in if I use the Sat view on Google maps as the marker switches around as I wander about the house.

Dell netbook-cum-tablet priced up

Should I wait?

My wife is starting to have performance issues with her slightly older single core netbook and has also expressed considerable interest in the ipad, tablets and touchscreens in general. I had been considering the purchase of one of the dual core mini laptops/notebooks and pondered adding a cheap tablet for the novelty value.

I had eyed this up and thought it might be interesting, but is it worth hanging on a bit longer for??

26,000km 'leccy joy ride crosses finish line

Darian Gap?

Perhaps I am behind the times, but I didn't think the road connected all the way. I seem to think there is a bit of a gap in the middle through Central America.

I am not bothered enough to sit through hours of BBC footage to see how they get through however.

Rethinking the iPhone

How much!!!!

This seems like a good idea based on US systems and requirements. However, I am a bit gobsmacked at how much was being spent on the iphone contract in the first place!

I can't help thinking that carrying a phone, an ipad and a mifi around might give a better and cheaper experience, but it isn't going to be as convenient.

App steers cyclists away from traffic, upward inclines

Another confident cyclist

As another cycle commuter (OK, not all the time these days) I would say that whilst I understand the issues of cyclist passing through/jumping red lights. It's still not something I would do as it just sets a really bad example and tends to lead to "retaliation" or remonstrations from motorists (I have gone through temporary lights at roadworks however, as there is often room to pass safely inside the cones out of the traffic flow).

A bit more tolerance and understanding of each others views from pedestrians, cyclists, motorists (including taxi & bus drivers etc) is whats really required.

Dell Streaks on stage

Subtitle

It's not much of an article (short and to the point) but the title and subheading is a work of genious.

Thats all.

Coca-Cola and Facebook get touchy with Israeli teens

perhaps we are just old and cynical

My own kids really do not see any problem with broadcasting their details, location, movements or thoughts to all and sundry. They complain that I block too much of the info that they would like to freely broadcast. It seems all their friends are quite happy doing this and the occasional hiccup or problem caused by the wrong information or the wrong people finding things out is apparently funny rather vthan a problem.

I guess the Swedish kids prosecuted for bugging the staffroom and spilling the beans via facebook would just be passed off as funny.

I sometimes wonder if I am just too old to realise this.

PARIS in hot glue gun action

Stronger joint

Sounds like a good idea but a lot of extra work. It would produce a lighter weight joint as well.

I have to confess that my first thought on seeing the comment title was that the whole project must have come about as a result of a few too many strong joints!!

FTC kills ingenious micro-payment scam

A bit like work really

I can't help thinking the guys that run this could have run a legitimate business as succesfully. It must have taken a substantial amount of effort and planning, along with substantial work time to keep everything running along. It's a shame they didn't try a more legal basis for their enterprise.