* Posts by David Evans

345 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Aug 2007

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Reg man the most-flamed recruiter in the UK?

David Evans

I didn't read the original article...

...I've just gone back and read it now. As someone who's had to look at hundreds of abomnible CVs over the years, there's very little that's wrong in the original article; and the pedantry and bloody-mindedness of the responses confirms my experience that techie CVs are usually amongst the worst (web designers are THE worst, but IT CVs run them close), because the people writing them fail to understand what they're actually for, and who's actually reading them.

The author was honest, self-deprecating and most importantly, right.

What's that sound? It's PC sales plummeting into abyss

David Evans

End of the line

To be honest, if it wasn't for regular installments of Battlefield games, I wouldn't own a desktop at all. My media consumption is generally via tablet (Galaxy), I have a work laptop and a netbook I rarely even switch on any more, (and neither will need an upgrade for anything I do workwise) and a smart TV is on the way which will become the the focus of iPlayer, Skype and Youtube (Elmo vids for the baby you understand). I don't even store much on the desktop as there's a NAS whirring away under the stairs. Its only because I can't bring myself to play FPS games on a console that I have my own PC at all.

Micro Anvika forced into cash-only trading

David Evans

...and another one bites the dust

Tottenham Court Road is going to be horrible when its just coffee shops and M&S.

Dating sites can be haven for sex pests, say cops

David Evans

And in other news

Pope found shitting in the woods.

'Angry Bird' netflinger projectile brings down drug ultralights

David Evans

How long before...

...the smugglers start using unmanned UAVs to send drugs across the border themselves? Its surely only a matter of time.

New plastic telescope ammo machine gun is light as a rifle

David Evans

Re: Old Idea in a new jacket

<troll>So, why cling to 5.56 when you have alternatives with more stopping power but insist on worshiping the 1911 and .45 ACP, eh? We have learned a thing or two in the past century, even if you haven't.</troll>

Military small arms has ALWAYS been the most conservative part of arms procurement, and often the reason is simply economic; there are literally billions of rounds of 5.56x45NATO knocking around the various western armies and the rifles to go with them. It took NATO nearly 25 years to standardise on 5.56mm in the first place, and the bigger the pool of troops that need re-equipping and training, the more resistance to change there is (its one of the reasons the British Army was saddled with .303 Lee-insert model here rifles for 60 years; don't believe the cod about what great rifles they were - the MOD had a mountain of ammo to get through*).

*I know they were good rifles in isolation, but British troops shouldn't have been using bolt-action rifles as late as the Korean war.

Best Buy to shutter all UK megastores

David Evans

I don't think DSG will be too concerned about MMC attention these days, it would probably be a nice problem to have. Its becoming increasingly obvious the days of the physical specialist electrical store are coming to an end; Best Buy gone, Comet can't sell itself and DSG a shadow of its former self. With music, books and games stores not far behind, what the hell is bloke supposed to do on a Saturday when he's dragged out shopping with the missus?

Airbus brews Scandium smackdown for carbon Dreamliner

David Evans

If I was a betting man

I'd bet on Airbus, because a. The "Hubs" have a lot of money invested in their infrastructure, and more importantly a lot has been in invested in ground transport links to an from these airports, and b. people like big aircraft because they erroneously think it means more room, when in reality it doesn't, and it takes twice as long to get on and off the damn things. (However, if the likes of RyanAir ever decided to go long haul, I bet the Dreamliner approach would be their choice every time).

The other thing that worries me about the Dreamliner is the longevity and repairability of carbon fibre; I don't know much about Scandium (my hands on aerospace experience is 20-odd years out of date) but I'm still a bit twitchy about composites for so much of a commercial airframe.

Argentina stakes online claim on Falklands

David Evans

@rpjs

We don't have much of a navy, but fortunately for the Falkland Islanders, Argentina doesn't have much of anything. They've been the lowest defence spenders in South America for a long long time; their air force has pretty much the same equipment as the one that fought nearly 30 years ago.

We like zombies… because we are zombies

David Evans

Can I just say...

...oh good, another way to shoehorn zombies into anything and everything. Enough with the fucking zombies.

Amazon’s shares slashed as profits drop 73%

David Evans

I love the stock market; sales up, huge capital investment and pre-orders up the wazoo, and the share price tanks. Fucking idiots. On the other hand, now would probably be a good time to buy some Amazon shares.

Netflix announces UK debut

David Evans

It'll be different over here

Netflicks will do bundling deals with ISPs, exempting them from data caps etc. Its the fastest way for them to offer a legitimate Sky Go rival. Biggest issue they'll have is the same as in the US (and the same problem Love Film has); the range of available films leaves a lot to be desired.

If they offer it in Ireland I'll probably sign up to it (nothing, not even Love Film, here).

Rupert's MySpace mea culpa

David Evans

Have any of NewsCorp's online aquisitions been successful?

Three questions that could put out Amazon's Fire

David Evans

@Paul 139

Yes, you missed the massive DPI initiative sat on Amazon's EC2 and C3 servers. NB. While I think you can turn off Silk's compression and fetching, I don't think you can actually avoid going through Amazon's proxy servers completely without rooting the device.

I rather like the Fire and its price point (not that its coming to Europe anytime soon) but I can't say I trust Amazon not to spy on me, so I won't buy one; which is what makes it different to Phorm, I had a choice.

Sesame Street YouTube page hijacked by smut pushers

David Evans

Twats

I watch that channel with my daughter all the time. Some people really are just fucking arseholes.

Biker gang plunders Covent Garden Apple Store

David Evans

"Two men are being questioned by coppers after the "smash and grab" raid at 1am today, just days after the death of billionaire Apple baron Steve Jobs."

Sorry, I fail to see the connection.

Ten... Androids to outshine the iPhone 4S

David Evans

I have an iPhone 4 as my work phone and I genuinely can't see what all the fuss is about (I think its a bit boring to be honest and the single button thing just irritates me). The missus has a Galaxy SII and its just orders of magnitude more desirable.

If I was buying for myself, the Galaxy (for the screen), the HTC (for the UI) or the Xperia Arc (for the external design) would all be in front of the 4S for my hard-earned.

Samsung shows second second-gen 7in Galaxy Tab

David Evans
Gimp

I was unaware Apple made 7" Tabs as well. In fact I seem to remember a certain Glorious Leader of the Fruit Clan highlighting the rubbishness of that particular screen size.

Amazon revamps E Ink Kindle line

David Evans
Unhappy

non-story for the UK

No way is this coming out in the UK any time in the next year. Look at all the content integration; hardly any of that stuff is available outside the US.

Brits not keen on 3D, reveals poll

David Evans

Hmm, a weirdly accurate survey

I'd say this survey reflects the public's ambivalence pretty well; more than once this year I've said to myself I won't watch any more 3D versions, then find myself picking the 3D screen next time I'm in the cinema, probably in the (always in vain) hope that this time it won't be a shit waste of time that gives me a headache. So I guess at the moment, the subconcious desire for novelty is trumping the actual experience.

I saw Facebook's music service 3 years ago. Done properly

David Evans

Tyranny of the stock market innit?

Decent engineering doesn't get over the line because no-one is prepared to take risks with their share price, so everything is engineered for the short-term.

As for MSP, well at least someone benefited from all the work; eircom MusicHub is in large part VMMU; but of course the labels had fewer fears about dipping into a 4M market rather than a 60M one.

Microsoft merges Windows 8 with Xbox Live

David Evans

Looking forward to playing BF3 on my PC against XBox players; should be good for a larf.

Comet can't sell anything, including itself

David Evans

@big_Jim

You can do all that at Comet and have been able to do so for years (they were one of the first in the UK to implement a proper "Click & Collect" strategy). Hasn't helped though.

Bottom line in the UK for electrical retailers is that margins suck and property and labour overheads are high; not a great recipe for success.

Why Android houses should give Google the 'fork you'

David Evans
Thumb Down

Perhaps...

...forking will work, but only if you believe apps have had their day and we're moving to a fully compliant HTML5/CSS3 environment for all, which is a nice dream, but I don't think one that's coming to fruition any time soon.

Apps are great because they allow developers to easily monetise content, for the first time really. Key to making money is to follow volume, and forking Android is not going to help them (version control on Android is bad enough already), so guess what? Developers say "ah, screw it, I'll stick with Apple" and concentrate all their efforts and revenue-generation opportunities there. Then the forked versions of Android don't have credible app catalogues (the "where's my Angry Birds? effect), and die anyway. Its not about just owning the OS, its about owning the ecosystem, and I doubt Samsung or Moto or HTC (or anyone, except....maybe...Amazon) have the chops to do that.

Waterstone's to take on Kindle and Nook with own reader

David Evans

@DrXym

Wow, its a loooong time since you had a wander down the high street isn't it? Waterstones ARE the high street these days; WHS hardly stock anything outside the charts, Dillons and Borders are gone, which just leaves Foyles, which is great, but has no brand recognition outside London. On the other hand your idea isn't a bad one, except maybe they should be thinking about a European angle; tie up with the major book chains across Europe to save on manufacturing costs.

Waterstones have to do something in the ebook space or they'll cease to exist, but the publishers don't help and Amazon and Apple make for formidable competition that I don't think Waterstones can handle (although I can think of a couple of ways around agency pricing).

David Evans
Meh

Dubious

B&N at least have access to an enormous (350M people) market; can Waterstones make it work with a market of 60M? I doubt it. Probably better to do really excellent apps rather than getting caught up with the capital risk of hardware. Ironically their plan might have worked better if it included HMV and had video and music on board.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 gets aired

David Evans
Thumb Up

Mmmm

Likes. Wonder what I'd get as a trade in on my current Tab (7")?

Game denies Steam threat claims

David Evans

@StooMonster

Could be lots of things, not least publishers wanting to be competitive in the UK market while Valve want parity with the Euro, meaning publishers lose margin if they don't agree? When it comes to pricing, Valve are no better than bricks and mortar. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Brits buy more e-books than other Euro readers

David Evans

silly report

Since the only European country with a Kindle store was the UK until 3-4 months ago, its hardly surprising it took such a large share of the market. This article says more about Amazon than it does about the e-reading habits of Europeans.

Piles of unshiftable HP fondle-slabs choke Best Buy

David Evans
FAIL

Its simple

It's shit. Sorry but it is. Had a play with one in Dixons in the airport the other day and it just didn't work properly (I eventually got stuck in a game and couldn't get out). Personally I wouldn't buy an iPad because of file support issues (and my deep loathing of iTunes), and I was keen to see if HP had created a credible alternative. Answer; no. I'll be sticking to Android, at least until I see what Windows 8 brings to the party.

Apple changed shape of Galaxy Tab in court filing

David Evans
Facepalm

I have ploughed through 100 posts but...

...surely a judge didn't make a ruling on the basis of photographs? Please tell me the judge actually INSISTED on seeing the physical objects side by side. No? Sad face....

BBC testing fix for iPlayer on iPad ... 6 months later

David Evans
FAIL

So let me get this straight...

...The iPad version of iPlayer, the ONLY version of iPlayer the BBC has released internationally, is also the only version of iPad that doesn't actually work? Oh, Bravo.

Sony S1 and S2 screenshots leaked

David Evans

Not the only ones

Samsung do the same, the Galaxy Tab has a proprietary connector. Its very annoying.

Stream vids to your laptop ON A PLANE ... but prepare to pay

David Evans

because it makes sense

In the long run it makes far more sense for "infotainment" to be delivered to the screen you're carrying anyway than carrying all the development and capital expenditure for seatback screens, which are then stuck in the plane for years (or decades) while screen technology moves on. A similar thing will happen with cars; pointless hard-wiring in a satnav and a music system that'll be out of date before the car rolls off the forecourt; better to give the customer a slot for a pad and let them get on with it themselves, or at worst a high res screen and access to your own apps.

Murdoch accused of operating illegal US air force

David Evans
Big Brother

model aircraft

Er, where does the definition of model aircraft end, and UAV begin? Would seem to me like an awful lot of people could be "breaking the law" if USGOV wants everyone with a remotely piloted vehicle to have a licence.

Beeb rolls out global paid iPlayer app in €urope

David Evans
Thumb Down

Grr

Well done to the BBC for finally bringing out the international version of iPlayer they've been talking about for...well, years actually. But which stupid bastard decided it should be just for the iPad?

Dell Streak 7 Android tablet

David Evans

needs a better screen

I'm a big fan of the 7" form factor (its way better than iPad for ebooks and video), but this needs a better screen. If they could updgrade the screen for say, an extra £50 on the retail price, I'd be seriously tempted, because unlike my Galaxy Tab, this at least has the possibility of an upgrade to Honeycomb.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo bow to Apple sales edict

David Evans
Childcatcher

I really can't believe you went there.

Apple are doing it to protect the kiddies? Really? Reaaalllllyy? Not for the 30% revenue take, oh no, no sirree Bob, its for the kids, because y'know, Amazon and Barnes & Noble are big-time porn merchants, everyone knows that.

David Evans

Analogy

Actually, now that Apple have dropped the anti-competitive price matching restriction, I have no problem with Apple demanding a cut. And I also have no problem with Amazon et al, saying "30%? No chance". (FYI no way are Amazon or B&N making 30% average margin on ebooks). But that's a perfectly reasonable business decision. Apple will eventually make the choice between revenue and the strategic content integration play; If iBooks doesn't take up the shortfall from Amazon and Nook (and I strongly suspect it won't), then Apple will quietly go back to Amazon and B&N and negotiate a bespoke commission deal (at probably closer to 5-10% affiliate rates rather than 30%), which is what grown-up businesses used to do before the likes of Apple (and Google and Facebook) decided take it or leave it models were a better business strategy. Apple thought it could bully Amazon based on its ereader market share on the iPad, and they've found that Amazon have as much clout, if not more, than they do.

This whole farce is a bigger problem for the likes of Spotify and Rdio etc. who also don't have 30 points to give away, but don't have Amazon's deep pockets or alternate channels; unfortunately Spotify really need iPhone distribution to make their model stack up.

David Evans

@Mr Cheese

They're *not* bending over so readily. Apple have said "if you want to sell through an iApp give us 30%"; they've said "fuck you Apple" and cut the links. Be interesting to see who blinks first, and who customers complain to; do they moan to Amazon that they can't order Kindle books anymore, or do the more enlightened ones complain to Apple for forcing vendors off the platform? I think someone should do some "test complaints" to see what the response is from the respective companies.

Virgin Media blames Activision for Call of Duty lag problems

David Evans

That'll learn ya

Trying to play FPS games via P2P is a mug's game. Be interesting to see if VM tested games where everyone in the game was on-net versus games where there was a mix of ISPs. I'm guessing its the offnet traffic that's being throttled.

EA angers fans over Battlefield 3 pre-order exclusives

David Evans

Read the article - understand marketing speak

I did the read the article and the key phrase is "launch day exclusive". I guarantee you those items will be available as unlocks for everyone else as soon as you unlock a few levels. Think it through, Dice are not in the business of doing exclusive development for GAME/Gamestation. They've done this before.

David Evans
Gimp

Oh for crying out loud

You may get an early weapon unlock that you'll get anyway if you play for about ten minutes. Storm in a teacup. Good to see the fanbois getting whipped up into an irrational lather of nothing. Again.

HTC Flyer 7in Android tablet

David Evans
Thumb Up

@Ru

No you're not. I love the form factor of my 7" Galaxy Tab and have no interest in a larger tablet. I AM interested in the Flyer though because HTC have obviously given some thought to tablets as a productivity tool, which is refreshing in this market. Its too expensive, but once they upgrade it to Honeycomb (I thought that was reserved for Dual Core chips though?) as promised, I could seriously make a case for getting this.

Use of Weapons declared best sci-fi film never made

David Evans

words go here

That was my thinking too. Its why I thought The Mote In God's Eye was a better option as a "filmable" piece of SF. Use of Weapons would be better off getting the HBO treatment.

Steven Moffat fumes over Doctor Who plot leak

David Evans

err...

...don't reveal plot details in advance of the broadcast? Just a thought.

He's pissing in the wind frankly; if you want to maintain the element of surprise in the internet era, you need a kind of anti-PR media lockdown and you need to schedule the show's release simultaneously in major markets (which also the best way to stop TV piracy btw), or you may as well not worry about it.

Books biz talks up Kindle effect

David Evans

Its not just the price

The pricing situation is annoying, but I could actually live with it as I'm a firm believer in authors getting paid, and in the UK a big part of the problem is VAT anyway. But that's not my main gripe; its the ridiculous rights and availablity situation that really winds me up. I can order a physical book from Amazon.com and have it delivered to my home outside the US, but I can't order a US Kindle book (or a nook book or a Kobo epub book etc. etc.) without a US credit card (I know there are ways around this, but that's not the point), and half the time UK publishers haven't made an ebook version available in the UK even though they HAVE released the physical book. Have these people learned nothing from the example of music and TV? Ebook buyers are early adopters, by definition their inclination is not to wait, so don't piss them off so much they decide the only alternative is to go the "free" route.

Vote now for the best sci-fi film never made

David Evans

@Phil 54

Neither can I, but HBO are doing a bang up job with Game Of Thrones...

David Evans

@AbortRetryFail

I kind agree about a lot of these not working (I made that very point about Snow Crash and Ringworld in the original vote), but I don't agree about Cryptonomicon; it would need a great script, but I think it would be actually pretty accessable as a combined thriller/action movie. On the gripping hand, I've voted for Moties anyway.

Save the planet: Stop the Greens

David Evans

@Dunstan Vavasour

He probably means "don't work" in the more traditional sense of "don't provide power when you need it to heat your house", rather than the more progressive interpretation you seem to favour.

To be honest I'm amazed this article even needed writing; I thought everyone knew this already? Never trust a hippie.

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