Posts by SB

Apple MacBook 2015: Twelve inches of slim and shiny fanboi joy

Going to buy one, never had a mac before

Previously had dell xps, the older version. Really enjoyed the lightweight, didn't like the lack of ports - but got used to it.

I want a decent screen, lightweight, no fan, performant enough for dev work/movies/surfing. this ticks the boxes. The core m is actually a decent processor, check out the anand tech article which goes in depth. I will only ever use the macbook for surfing/watching movies/development. The cost is comparable to other laptops with similar spec. Except for the asus zenbook ux305, which is tempting. But I want to try some apple dev for shiggles.

Never had a an apple before, not a fanbois.

Winklevoss twins claim to have enormo $11m Bitcoin stash

Re: WTF

Yeah much better leave it with a bank its not like they are untrustworthy, incompetent, bankrupt and recnetly the cause of largest finanical crisis in the last 100yrs, oh wait hang on ...

Re: Free from human error eh?

how does that compare to the % lost in forgotten prmium bonds number, down the back of the sofa , etc etc

Re: Is there anything to stop bitcoin2 being invented?

no there already quite a few, its just bitcoin is the popoular one.

whats PG ?

lucked out is rather a strong phrase. Is that view based purely the movie ?

Microsoft Office 2013 vs. Office 365: Is either right for you?

Re: Who needs Office?

you are a bit stupid ?

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/buy/compare-microsoft-office-products-subscription-plans-FX102898564.aspx

YouTube's hilarious cat videos could soon cost you $5 a month

Re: @Stephen 2 If they really want to help video creators

I don't think the link you posted is the definitive answer as to how much youtube earns.

I think the billionaires and investment funds who invested in youtube would be very surprised if it doesn't ever return a profit, if it isn't already.

Live blog: Facebook's 'screw you' to Google revealed at last

Another massive company finds itself with loads of cash and customers

And not really sure how to expand.

Google (search and email) and facebook (social network), both great at what they do - but not much else.

This must be one of the biggest non-event in tech, you will in the future be able search facebook and find someone who posted a picture tagged with india ... how is that news ?

select user_id from users where picture_tag = "india"

Review: Google Nexus 4

Re: Battery life...

9 - 10hrs ? That seems appalling ... although my phone is very old and up until last year I had a barebones nokia ... that lasted a week.

Axe falls on Directgov as GOV.UK launches

Re: you know

"be headed up by the same people who brought you 'whatdotheyknow' and the other open government sites"

I am pretty sure that is not the case, those sites were built by mySociety, whereas gov.uk has been built by a new in-house team (the house being the cabinent office) .

Mozilla dumps iOS, pulls Firefox Home from iTunes Store

Re: WTF?

the rendering engine of safari is webkit, the same used by chrome.

Study shows half of all websites use jQuery

Re: javascript is not actaully crap

if node.js is the same as erlang, and node.js is all "marketing shit", doesn't that make erlang "marketing shit" too ? For what its worth I have never seen a single node.js marketing release and prefer C derivative languages.

I don't get the hate for javascript, it used to frustrate me, but that was only when I was learning it.

javascript is not actaully crap

Its really really powerful.

Its just a PITA when you don' understand it. It is, after all, the most misunderstood language. Look up the crockford lectures : "its the only language people try and use without ever actually studying".

node.js looks interesting and is gaining momentum, its all javascript.

Galaxy S III pay-monthly tariffs compared

giffgaff ?

At lot cheaper, no contract. And a better graphic :

http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Deals/ba-p/4174227

Apple design chief Jony Ive knighted - but not by the Queen

Re: Civil list

The crown estate will still generate revenue if we were to become a republic. The ex-royal family couldn't siphon of the profit to their offshore account. The crown estate is owned by the people, revenue goes to the treasury.

Its not a their job to host,its their right. They did not have to interview for the position, their references certainly were not checked and employment law does nto apply. They are literally above the law.

Re: so few republicans

She could abdicate, she is perfectly free to do that. She should trying living via an alternate form of state housing/benefits.

Re: What (most) republicans fail to realise

I can't tell if this is serious or not. Good work.

Re: Hereditary office

The french are commies by most peoples standards. And my measure of whether a society is works is the standard of their rail services, which is excellent btw.

I win ?

(tbh honest, I quite fancy a trip to cuba and venezuela)

Re: Civil list

and @localzuk you seem really hung up on the figures.

But you have only provided the 230 million figure from the crown estate (not the royal family as you correctly pointed out) and the 40million civil list. So its simply minus 40million by your accounting.

Show me the other figures where you think the queen makes a profit ... ? Otherwise I will just assume you don;t know the figures and are acting like a good proletariat by being conformist and wanting to maintain the existing status quo.

Re: Hereditary office

show me a form of capitalism that actually works

Re: Civil list

the crown estate is not the royal family.

Re: so few republicans

and @localzuk you seem really hung up on the figures. And suggested i research them. But you have only provided the 230 million figure from the crown estate (not the royal family as you pointed out) and the 40million civil list.

Show me the other figures where you think the queen makes a profit ?

Re: so few republicans

I don't really care how much it costs or what biscuits she buys (duchy surely?), but get someone in the job that I can sack - or at least have a say in if they get sacked.

Re: so few republicans

But I am getting away from the what is important. I would be against the royal family on principle, even if it were turning a profit.

It reinforces the outlook that you are born into your place in society, there is less freedom. it is simply plain wrong that heritage and lineage determine your life chances and opportunity. This view should not be encouraged.

A complete reworking of uk inheritance law is not immenient, I am not saying it is. But that doesn't mean I have to support a monarchy.

Re: so few republicans

The queen entertains 50k people a year, of course of course. She must be tired. I could do it cheaper, and the bash I would put up woudl be fun. Would be decent tunes playing at least.

Right, so you have now read wikipedia and how do you get that the royal family makes a profit

"The Royal Family does not 'own' most of the land - the Crown does"

OK, so the royal family are not generating that 230million then ? and just taking the civil list money ? Thats not a profit, thats minus 40million.

Re: Civil list

lol. The country makes a profit out of the royals, how on earth do you think this is possible ?

From the land they inherited ? From the tourists they bring in - the tourists would come anyway, we could use the palaces etc much more efficiently.

Oh from the arms they sell, the tornado jets and missiles, well I hear they are pretty good anyway without the royal seal of approval.

Re: so few republicans

@localzuk what harm, its using tax payers money, its exploting land it inherited. It is supporting very questionable dicatrships and regimes in foregin countries, and it reinforces the outlook that class based society is correct and entitlement is ok.

Plenty of figures ? it gets 40 million from the government, and owns massive amounts of land. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_British_Royal_Family

And @gordon that sort of aggressive childish response just confirms my view to be honest.

Re: so few republicans

So you think it is just,fair and ethical that some people are afforded great riches and opportunity based on who their parents were ? Wow.

When did I say I was the national arbiter ? Do I have to prefix everything with "imho" ? I am speaking for myself, I think it is morally reprehensible.

The UK is so conformist.

Re: so few republicans

I know I am in the minority it makes me so sad and makes me want to leave the country.

So you actually want the queen to have more power, wow, thats a new one. Most people argue that she has no real power and just brings in the tourists. (baloney btw)

I am genuinely a real nice guy, but because my daddy was workign class I have to get a job and do proper work. I'd much rather ponce around on my estate cooking biscuits or go to meet evil dictarors (king of bharain most recently), or facilate dodgy arms deals with saudis.

Re: so few republicans

You want me to list successful countries that are not run by a monarchy, is that a joke ?

The royal household makes a profit ? What are you talking about, it inherited half of england and is subsidized by the tax payer.

But that's irrelevant it is morally reprehensible that society values someone above someone else based on their lineage.

Re: so few republicans

I don't.

But she still has lots of power:

"The Royal Prerogative includes the powers to appoint and dismiss ministers, regulate the civil service, issue passports, declare war, make peace, direct the actions of the military, and negotiate and ratify treaties, alliances, and international agreements."

Its disgusting.

so few republicans

So many seemingly intelligent and rational people support a monarchy. It perplexes me.

Council fined £70k after burglars nick vulnerable kids' files

harsh

the laptop was encrypted. the paper files were stolen from someone's house, after they printed them out. I guess the only solution is advise people to stop printing sensitive documents at home.

And : "how were they even getting details of said "sexual activity"?"

A social worker probably just asked them, whats the big deal. I think most IT bods would be amazed how hard it is actually doing a proper job (eg being a social work).

Quantum computing in our lifetime - IBM breakthrough

yeah but

can it play crysis on ultra settings ?

Intel 520 240GB SSD

SSD's reliable ? Pah, who cares

Mine failed yesterday, but I have already bought another one.

This is quite pertinent :

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/05/the-hot-crazy-solid-state-drive-scale.html

Culture matters: Why i-mode failed

Appalling journalism

The popularity of the Internet and vast income it generates leads to a proliferation of poor articles written by opinionated and u-educated philistines, whom perform little or no research, and produce output that is comparable in quality to sensationalist tabloid journalism.

I think theregister is crap and dull - stick to regurgitating press releases and writing reviews. If I want to read cultural comment I'll go elsewhere.