* Posts by David Evans

345 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Aug 2007

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Obama reverses Dubya's tailpipe emissions

David Evans

@Doug Southworth

Maybe you shouldn't get your information about the cars Europeans drive (or their socio-economic status) from Hollywood.

In addition, maybe you should also stand any US-made car from the "big three" alongside a European car (of ANY size) from the same manufacturer, and ask yourself why the American car industry has been taking the piss out of its US customers for the last 30 years with shoddily built cars made out of egg boxes and engines made out of pig iron. Yes, Europeans drive smaller cars because of higher taxes (and smaller roads), but when a 1 liter Opel Corsa has better interior and exterior build quality than a 5.7 liter Corvette from the same company, ask yourself who's being fooled, those commie yurrupeens or the Land of The Free?

HTC S740 Qwerty keyboard smartphone

David Evans

This or the Sony version?

Surely the most direct competitor to this is the Xperia X1? Pretty much identical in concept and OS and made by the same manufacturer I believe? Despite the shortcomings of Windows mobile, I quite like the look of the Xperia but I'm now wondering if this is a better option.

Google AdWords: 11 herbs and spices revealed

David Evans
Pirate

To all you people who don't click on ads...

...will you stop being such smug gits and shut up? Since its self-evident (from Google's enormous revenues) that millions of people can and do use search advertising your pointless posturing is muddying the debate. So you don't click ads. Well done. Have a cookie.

Suffice to say, Google's secrecy is the key to their success, and is also the key to the success of the enormous number of search agencies that have grown up around the ubiquity of Google and have a vested interest in Google being secret enough to make it worth paying agencies. Unfortunately (smug gits button it), search advertising DOES work, and certainly in my last role (for an online retailer), was by far the most effective acquisition tool, to the extent that an awful lot of companies now have a lot of their advertising eggs in one Google-labelled basket, with the attendant risks (like when Google, "tweaks" its algorithms, or decides not to protect brand terms anymore), than can blow your sales forecasts right out of the water.

Vikings' bleeding-edge tech came from Afghanistan

David Evans

Old (very , very old) news

Putting aside the rather dubious history lesson, Isn't this just the famous Wootz steel that the Indians have been making for millennia? Its not really surprising that the Norse used it; pretty much everyone who could get their hands on it coveted the stuff; the British did a lot of research into it when they took over India because they still didn't have anything as good by the eighteenth century.

City of Heroes fingered in MMO patent lawsuit

David Evans

What a job...

...working in the US Patent Office. Much as I loathe the patent trolls, the big question is how on earth did this one get granted? Even as broad as it is, there was plenty of prior art in 1999 when it was filed, never mind in 2004 when it was granted. Its about time someone like NCSoft counter-sued the US Patent Office for negligence and wasting everybody's time.

Scientology refuseniks sue over compulsory workplace courses

David Evans

Unbelievable

"Disklabs argues that religious instruction in the workplace is protected by the First Amendment, making the proposed sanction unconstitutional."

What an interesting interpretation of the right to free speech and free expression of religion - compulsory indoctrination. I'm surprised no-one thought of it sooner. I sometimes think we're fighting the wrong religious war...

New York 'iPod tax' incites media bleating

David Evans

@Christopher Martin

"I presume there's no good way to force overseas businesses to pay these e-taxes?" It didn't stop the EU doing exactly the same thing a few years ago. They took a pragmatic approach; lots of companies delivering digital content have registered subsidiaries in Europe (e.g. Apple, Vivendi for WoW etc.), so they're the ones they go after and largely ignore the rest. I'm sure it will be the same in New York. Of course the US could make a lot more money out online taxation if the states simply put together a federal online VAT plan...

Brits decline to 'think outside the box'

David Evans

Guilty

I use some of those. I bet most people on here do as well. At the end of the day.

BBC relives The Day of The Triffids

David Evans

Again?

Has no science fiction actually been written since 1951? Seriously BBC execs, get your arses down to Forbidden Planet ffs.

Speed cams ditched in Wiltshire

David Evans
Thumb Up

@"whatever next?" AC

As the Swindon councillers realised, excessive speed is a minority cause of accidents (about 6% according to the gov's own figures). If Swindon are going to reallocate their money towards better road design and driver awareness, then I applaud their efforts.

Your line about the M6 pile-up shows the typical "think of the children" pig-ignorance about speed; speed had nothing to do with it, and the accident happened in "heavy, slow traffic" according to the beeb. Would a speed camera have saved those people? Would it f**k.

(we really need a Maude Flanders icon).

Alien crustaceans clash claws in UK waterways

David Evans
Coat

We need proper science here

Put them in a tank together, see who wins. Possibly place bets. Sound science policy for a better Britain.

/Mine's the one with the Ladbrokes slip in the pocket...

Chrysler intros electric trio

David Evans

At least Tesla changed the panels

Why aren't Chrysler mentioning the fact that the Dodge EV is clearly a Lotus Europa with added batteries? Nothing wrong with that, but it just seems a little impolite not to mention it (and pass it off as all their own work).

Labour minister says 14 year olds should get ID cards

David Evans
Black Helicopters

@Keith Oborn

You think they don't KNOW 14 year olds will lose them? Of course they do; which gives, a. a nice replacement cost market, and b. makes the next marketing campaign even easier; "Do your kids keep losing their Identity cards? Get the new iD, embedded ID chip instead! Never lose a card again, and with our unique KidLocate(TM) technology, you can find them on Google Earth at any time! Or get iDPlus, with added barcode tattoo! Your kids will be the coolest, and safest, in their neighbourhood." (iD, iDPlus and KidLocate are NuLab Products. Known side affects include chafing, unexpected rebellious behaviour and possible revolution).

Did the width move for you, darling?

David Evans
Coat

I like it...

And people who who moan about fixed width are usually techie anoraks anyway. Oh, wait...

Those old timer sign results in full

David Evans
Happy

Ooh I missed the results

I won! cooool. How do I get my T-Shirt?

Brits are Europe's biggest gadget buyers - official

David Evans

dubious stats

Erm, does this account for exchange rates? I've a sneaking suspicion that the actual amount of physical kit bought per head in the UK is a fair bit lower than the US, even if we spend more money per head in dollar terms.

US noses past Western Europe in 3G stakes

David Evans

Lies, damn lies...

...and statistics. Arbitrarily describing Europe as only five countries (even Western Europe) and then claiming "we win" is hardly a great showcase for a so-called analysis company like ComScore; especially as it leaves out the two highest penetration European territories, Sweden and Austria. The actual European 3G number passed 100m back in May, way bigger than the US.

PC Gamers get Bill of Rights

David Evans
Thumb Down

Sorry but...

The way they're written 2 & 3 ARE mutually exclusive. Its simply not reasonable to expect a game to be 100% bug free given the almost infinite variety of hardware configurations out there (MS & Sony can't even manage it with single platforms); which means item 2 is impossible to deliver, which makes item 3 impossible to deliver as well (as some updates will only be relevant to some people). I'd also suggest that item 9 is a tolerable price to play for piracy; I know YOU'RE all good little chillun but unfortunately there are an awful lot of naughty boys and girls out there who abuse retail returns processes with a quick diversion to gamecopyworld; checking against an online registration database is the "least worst" piracy solution.

Three found guilty of web extremism plot

David Evans

@Chris Byers

Speak for yourself; when I was a kid it was the Cold War, and if I thought about "war" it was about fighting Soviet invaders and maybe getting nuked; I didn't start building a bunker and stockpiling weapons, but I did read about it, and wondered what I'd do if it happened (including implausible "Red Dawn" fantasies) and yet last time I checked, having a vivid imagination wasn't a crime (I was wrong, obviously).

@Philip. You may be terrified of moslem kids talking shite and reading stuff on the web, YOU may think that giving up basic freedoms is a fair price to pay for "safety", and YOU would be wrong. If the price of freedom is the occasional 7/7 then so be it. This doesn't lessen my compassion for the families hurt, but you know what, maybe we need to accept the idea of matyrdom too; matyrdom to the idea of freedom rather than becoming like those we fear. (and yes, I live in London, so I take the same chances as everyone else). If people stopped being such pussies and said, "no, you won't change us"; governments wouldn't be able to get away with this shit.

US judge says University can ignore Christian course credits

David Evans

@So many atheists

"And you guys said the Bible isn't relevant today. :)"

Yes, yes we do. And quoting Skyfairy stories written several decades to several hundred years after the fact isn't really going to convince an atheist of your cause. That's kind of the point. We've come to an informed decision based on available information. Its kind of our thing.

David Evans

@Bill Fresher

"That's a very aggresive stance to take against people, who aren't harming anyone as far as I can tell, simply because they have different beliefs than you."

Actually, by demanding access to courses that their *ahem* "education" makes them thoroughly unsuited for, they are wasting time, money and potentially damaging the education prospects of other students. And that's before we get on to the basic corrosiveness of fundamentalist dogma no matter which version of sky fairy worship they follow. So yes, they are harming people and "wankers" covers it quite nicely.

UK.gov pushes £50,000 fine for online copyright infringement

David Evans

re:"for commercial purposes"

They have indeed. Too busy downloading MP3s to actually read the article I reckon.

Blighty's electro-supercar 2.0 uncloaked today

David Evans
Thumb Down

Very pretty, but...

...is it real? Come back when there's a working demonstrator and then you can start making comparisons to the Tesla. Right now this is about as real as Doc Brown's Mr.Fusion-powered DeLorean.

David Evans

@Fluffykins & Sam

The Lancaster and the Spitfire both used Merlin engines...

The Top Ten 3G iPhone beaters

David Evans

dubious

Any smartphone review that ends up with the n95 in first place is immediately suspect. Have you actually USED an n95 in real life? I've got one and I can't wait to get rid of the piece of crap. The latest firmware updgrades have improved the shocking battery life (a bit), but they can't do anything for the lousy ergonomics and the creaky UI, and the map thing is rubbish.

Personally, if I don't get an iPhone (and I now see no reason NOT to get one) then the SE Xperia X1 looks like the only interesting alternative on the horizon.

Mayor Boris to cover Porsche costs in CO2 tax brouhaha

David Evans

@Roger Heathcote

"You'll find the "they" in question were the extremely affluent outer London boroughs, not the inner city which ironically is where this measure would actually apply"

Hmm, boroughs like Kensington & Chelsea you mean, where the vast majority of the locals were against extending the Congestion Charge, but Ken ignored them and did it anyway? Maybe if those outer London boroughs hadn't seen this particular bit of democracy in action they'd have voted differently; but you can only take the piss for so long before even the apathetic English say "enough".

As for switching from a congestion charge to a C02 charge, it was a. a blatant "tax the rich" exercise that would have had no effect on air quality (which isn't really damaged at ground level by C02 anyway) and b. would have actually caused MORE congestion as those selfsame "rich" would have simply bought second, low-C02 cars that would have been exempt from the charge altogether (and caused MORE environmental damage by doing so through extra car production).

There's a perfectly good means of managing congestion; its called the price of oil, and anyone driving around London will have noticed its effect already.

Think tank slams paedophile paranoia culture

David Evans

@Mike Taylor

"Regarding vomit, it is a bio-hazard. Very silly comment. Obviously handling bio-hazards should involve training and some protection."

And by that simple statement you define everything that's wrong with Britain today. Training to clean up kid puke. Jesus wept.

Croydon devil dog execution: Exclusive photo

David Evans

The Camera Never Lies

Yep, I can confirm this is totally authentic. That's definitely Croydon in the background.

Top Tory resigns on principle over 42 days bill

David Evans

@Carol Yates

You're missing the point. Magna Carta is usually invoked in these debates because that was the jumping off point for the concept of "English liberty" (sorry rest of UK), that continued to develop nicely for the next 900 years or so, until this government decided we'd had enough of that nonsense and decided to start rolling the clock back.

As for your comment about the process; this is what's so ridiculous and shows the level of Brown's grandstanding; if the police felt they had sufficient evidence after 28 days, the law ALREADY allowed them to go to the Home Secretary for an extension (and of course, there was always the gitmo option). Brown is playing to the gallery; to flog 'em and hang 'em Sun readers, and the ACPO, and it does nothing for so-called "security".

Finally, your comments about Davis; his stance on these issues is well established; since his party machine won't back him, he's chosen an approach that at least lets the public have a say on this single issue; an opportunity denied to us at the general election, where most of us subsume our uneasiness about erosion of liberty at the alter of economics, or can't actually tell the parties apart on this issue anyway. For that, even if you completely disagree with what he's saying, he should be applauded. Would that more politicians had his cojones.

Competition watchdogs urged to act on 'commercial iPlayer'

David Evans

Pot...kettle

If it was anyone but Sky I'd give this some credence, but they're not exactly averse to abusing their content dominance where they have it (e.g. football) . As for Virgin, aren't they incorporating iPlayer (so presumably Kangaroo) into their service anyway?

Personally I think Kangaroo makes sense because a common platform should save cash for all the players involved, and maybe Sky should consider joining them rather than whining about it.

Peter Gabriel cranks his f*ck machine

David Evans
Thumb Down

Needs work...

...to say the least! After 13 years I still await the first of these recommendation engines that actually recommends me something surprising that I'd be interested in, and I include Amazon in that; the only benefit seems to be with pre-orders; I've had the odd recommendation for an author's upcoming new title that I was unaware of (new Neal Stephenson title most recently, on Bookrabbit I seem to remember), but that's about it. As for this effort, its very buggy (westerns mixed up with sci-fi, incorrect pack shots etc), and initial taxonomy seems decidedly odd (and dare I say it, American). The other big flaw, especially on the movie side, is their trick of giving a movie title, but without an image, making many movies (e.g. remakes) impossible to rate without delving into the product detail, and who can be bothered with that? At least it doesn't have the annoying Amazon habit (yet) of recommending you the same movie in a million different versions/formats; if I say I dislike say, "Braveheart" on DVD, I'm hardly going to want it on NTSC VHS am I? Doesn't stop Amazon trying to flog me it that way though.

British newspaper websites liable in France for privacy invasion

David Evans
Coat

Oh those whacky Frenchies

This isn't the first time they've tried to exercise their jurisdiction over the whole world; remember their Nazi memorabilia digs at eBay and Amazon?

Interesting to see what the MGN and Mail's response will be; a resounding "F*** off" I'd guess.

Mine's the grubby trenchcoat with a baguette in the pocket.

Dixons admits 'it's even worse than you thought'

David Evans

@Chris Walker

Actually, the "buy online, pickup in store" thing is probably one of their few saving graces. With bulky items in particular this is a far better option than waiting in all day for a surly courier. I know that Comet get a huge proportion of their sales from this option and I'm sure its the same for DSG.

Their real problem is the one its always been; staff training. People ARE prepared to pay a (small) premium for good service, and the vast majority of people (e.g. NOT the typical El Reg audience) wouldn't know where to start with the likes of Scan or Dabs. If people actually trusted PCW staff for advice they wouldn't be in quite such a mess, but everyone knows someone, or IS someone, with a horror story to tell. In addition it doesn't help that one of DSG's traditional strengths, their Buying Dept. (DSG buyers used to have a good rep within retail), seems to have deserted them, compunding the problem.

Welsh Darth Vader dodges jail

David Evans
Coat

@Rob Holmes

If they thought it was serious, belt the bugger! Are you seriously telling me you watched that video and thought that was worth court time? Because if you do, you epitomise the abdication of self-reliance to the state that's the reason this country is in such a mess. "Ow, that kind of hurt" doesn't warrant police and court time.

/Mine's the one with manly shoulders.

David Evans

Are you f*kin' kidding me?

Common Assault, Court, a suspended sentence, for THAT??? So I assume one of the, ahem, "Jedis" reported him to the police? What a pair of big girl's blouses.

BBC iPlayer continues platform sluttiness with Virgin Media launch

David Evans
Jobs Horns

@Scott Alexander

You and the other 3 people in the UK with Apple TV...

NB. What's the difference between the TV Replay service on BT Vision and iPlayer? It's certainly the same content as iPlayer and 40D...

French Colonial Marines to get Aliens medic-datalink

David Evans

@yeah, right.

Never understood that either. Occasionally it makes sense as a rallying cry ("Remember The Alamo!), or a crumb of comfort when everything's turned to crap (Dunkirk) but give me a Rorke's Drift over a Camerone (or a Den Bien Phu, or Roncesvalles) any day of the week.

New York lawmakers approve 'Amazon Tax'

David Evans
Thumb Up

The party had to end some time

To be honest, the "tax free" nature of e-commerce in the US is a bit of an anomaly; it probably helped stimulate the growth of e-commerce, but the point has long been passed where online transactions have become a significant proportion of all retail in the US. It was either going to be a state or a federal move to make online pay its way. A federal move would have been simpler from a technical point of view, but American sensitivities are such that the state route makes sense. If NY can make this stick, other states will follow pretty quickly. Of course states like Delaware (no sales tax as I recall) will see a thriving PO Box/Tranship sector develop, if only for high ticket items.

Snort coke, shaft the environment, say boffins

David Evans

@Jai

Legalise the drug and you create a legitimate market. Believe it or not, people will naturally prefer to buy their drugs with a bit of a quality control guarantee. There may continue to be a smugglers market, but it won't be financed by the producers, it will be at the duty avoidance end as it is with booze and fags or by internet counterfeiters selling crap to gullible idiots. And if you think the coke producers won't go legit, you're mad. Even if they paid taxes, there are still huge fortunes to be made because the market would be larger and their end cost of distribution would drop through the floor, more than offsetting the increased taxes, coupled with a dramtically increased opportunity for them to actually live long enough to enjoy their profits.

This isn't just supposition, we have the real example of the end of prohibition in the US to show us what would happen; no doubt, just like in the US, a lot of rich former drug runners turned legit would turn to politics, just like a certain family from Massachusetts who made their fortune in the bootlegging business.

David Evans

@anonymous

"Anyone pro coke obviously hasn't been confronted with a knife wielding pleb, high as a kite. Coke is bad for society. Don't dress it up any differently"

No, but I've been confronted by plenty of plebs off their face on cheap lager. You can argue (correctly) ANY drug is bad for society, but then you can actually live in the real world and accept that people are going to do it anyway. Legalise it, make a shedload of tax revenue off it, kill the illegal distribution networks at a stroke, accept there are going to be casualites. But of course no government would have the balls, because we have to think of the children.

We really need a Maude Flanders icon...

Blu-ray 0, SDHC card 1, THX Chief Scientist predicts

David Evans

Window of opportunity

This could work, but only until the point where we have decent fibre networks. I don't see it replacing DVD/BD sales quickly but a kiosk-based hole in the wall type operation makes sense (think of those Blockbuster 24/7 kiosks). Retailers could install these in low population density areas where they wouldn't want to carry the overheads of a complete shop, hell they're already doing it for DVD rental, and my PS3 and my telly can both read video off SD cards/memory sticks right now. There are a lot of security issues and DRM would no doubt rear its ugly head, but nothing insurmountable.

Of course once we have ubiqitous fibre, then the need for this would go away, but how long is that going to take?

Byron review calls for computer game ratings

David Evans

Parental neglect

I'm constantly amazed that anyone thinks a rating system will have an effect, as if somehow the parent buying GTA will be amazed that games are somehow inappropriate for little Johnny if they have an 18 sticker all of a sudden. Apart from the fact that games are already rated; does anyone seriously believe that the current generation of parents (aged twentysomething to fifty) are so wilfully unaware of a debate thats been going on for twenty years? In fact, since most of those parents were children themselves? It beggars belief. Surely the simpler explanation is that most parents don't give a toss what media their kids consume and all the ratings in the world won't make a blind bit of difference?

Maybe the parents should be rated for their maturity to raise children instead....

Wider London c-charge mooted as road pricing bounces back

David Evans
Stop

@Nice one Ken

Except Ken will extend this to the whole of London if he gets in again. And the public transport system is working sooo well isn't it? Been on a bus on Oxford Street lately?

The bus network doesn't work because they chose the wrong type of buses, the tube network doesn't work because it was designed with a much smaller population in mind, and is ancient anyway. The emissions charge won't work because it won't reduce emissions and will actually increase congestion thanks to all the extra vehicles now allowed in for free (which all the well off in the congestion charge zone will buy for weekday use, thereby increasing pressure on parking as well). But it doesn't matter that none of this works; the figures will be manipulated to show what a "success" it is, and the government will roll it out all over the country.

New Labour use Ken Livingstone to try out their little experiments on the population of London, with some nice political 'distance' between him and them if it goes really titsup; and some nice revenue and social control upsides for them if it just goes titsup enough for them to fudge the figures. And like sheep we continue to let them get away with it.

Biometrics plan for London Olympic builders

David Evans
Black Helicopters

@Steve

I've yet to meet anyone in London who really gives a toss about the Olympics. If it was the World Cup, that would be different...

Its becoming increasingly clear to me that the whole Olympic bid was just a massive Trojan Horse operation to bring in automated social control and billing. London will be no safer after all of this, just even more expensive and a lot creepier.

Malaysian woman jailed for worshipping teapot

David Evans
Pirate

Apostasy

I was in KL about a year ago and I remember reading a comment in the Straights Times while I was there; it was reporting on a conference about apostasy that had just taken place; the keynote speaker said the death penalty for apostasy subscribed under Islam was not suitable FOR THE MOMENT (my caps). I nearly choked on my cornflakes as I sat in a 21st century city reading about people discussing killing people for their beliefs (or lack of them) just around the corner.

Vote now for your fave sci-fi movie quote

David Evans

I chose Blade Runner...

...because its all profound (and not a little nerdy), but my real favourite is:

Howard Marner: "What if it goes out and melts down a bus load of nuns? How would you like to write the headline on that one?"

Benjamin Jabituya: "Nun soup?"

Short Circuit. Shit film but full of great quotes/

Points mean passports: Citizenship Smith unveils 'like us' plan

David Evans
Coat

Uh-oh

I was born here and it looks like I'll be getting deported. Somewhere warm I hope.

Porsche to challenge London CO2 penalty in court

David Evans
Thumb Down

@Peter D'Hoye

I live about a mile outside London, so I have a Kent postcode instead of a London one, and I spend most of my waking hours inside London, but Ken can set up his little exclusion zones for people who don't vote for him and I have no democratic say in the matter? How is that fair? In fact, as a pollution charge it sucks because it will force people to use more fuel to avoid the zone!

I wouldn't mind if there was any logic to this on real environmental grounds, but this is just the cult of C02 being used to create an iniquitous tax. Again. And what's worse it will probably increase congestion AND raise overall pollution levels.

David Evans
Thumb Down

Peel off the green paint...

...and you'll find Ken's true red colours underneath. This has nothing to do with congestion, nothing to do with emissions and everything to do with his class hatred. Porsche, symbol of Ken's 80's yuppie nemesis, is exactly what he wants to target. Its also why he extended the zone west into affluent Kensington & Chelsea and not into areas with worse congestion (like south and east).

There's already emissions charges for cars, the road fund licence and fuel duty; and it disgusts me that this martinet can pull this kind of stunt unilaterally. And I know his supporters will say "vote him out" but unfortunately all those millions who work, but don't live in London, don't get a vote do they?

When poor people pollute - the Tata Nano and eco-crime

David Evans

@janu

Actually, if you'd read the replies on here you'd see that most people AREN'T worried about the environmental impact of the Nano, and are criticizing the western enviro-doomsayers who want to pull up the drawbridge.

Believe it or not, most of us can watch Top Gear and treat it as the entertaining show it is and separate our enjoyment of that from our views on economic growth in the developing world. And funnily enough, if Tata were selling the Nano here for £1500, even JC wouldn't mock. He takes the piss out of badly built junk like the G-Whizz because its slow, unsafe AND expensive. There's usually a method to his madness.

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