Posts by Allan Rutland

Windows app store breaks old ground for Microsoft

Bet that...

the 5 submissions thing will of magically vanished within the first 6 months of it going live.

3D TV by Christmas, hints Sky

Lovely...

Just a shame the current HD service is utterly pants. 1080i? come on Sky, wheres the 1080p. And where's all the content? finding a show in HD is like finding an Apple product playing WMA's :P

No one in there right mind would want 3D, short of a few moments of craziness no one should bother with Sky's HD service with it lacking so badly in actual content. Forget the fluff Sky, get the content on HD, and get FullHD available!

'Vista Capable' plaintiffs seek class action revival

As above...

it it utterly silly. Doesn't really matter which version you have from Basic to Ultimate, they all run exactly the same applications. The only differances is the amount of gimmicks and fluff you get with them. They all have the same security changes, they all have UAC, this lawsuit ever since they first tried it has been nothing but a joke and continues to be so.

Microsoft plays with small, sleepy servers

Nice

Very nice, been running one of those Littlefalls2 motherboard and CPU combo myself. Don't blame MS for the great choice as they utterly fly for its power use, and amount of bang you get for the price. They make a great little package. Just a shame on the 945 chipset, the chipset fans noisy and do next to nothing for cooling. Kind of silly when you get a board which has the CPU passively cooled and the chipset needs that kind of cooling.

Love the research and looking forward to see what Intel will make on the mk3 version of the board and hopefully will lower the power thats needed to run the awful chipset. Would make setups like this even less power hungry.

Microsoft just wants to be touched

So...

MS has actually made something which works from the massive steaming pile of junk which MobileMe is?

Apple sued over iPhone smooth scrolling

Very interesting.

Interesting one...so they have licensed the technology to Palm, who are using it in the Pre, and who Apple are rattling the lawsuit saber at over using the technology. When it may turn out that Palm is legally using it, and Apple are the thieving little sods in all this. Heck, would almost be worth Palm aiding them a little bit in this with a few lawyers.

Could prove a huge kick in the nuts for Apples shoot down the Pre plans.

Libra freezes out Welsh legalese

What a joke...

no one in Wales uses Welsh as there primary language, English is, and always will be. Fine support it as a historical thing, but having stupid systems like this having to be bought, and the conversion of letters and signs into it, when no one has ever bothered to read them is a complete waste of time. Whats next? the delivery of all summons in Cornish and Cumbrian next at only the small fee of a few hundred million?

People are losing jobs, roads have 4" deep holes in them, hospitals are more like a session of musical chairs, and schools are pissing away money on as many idiot schemes going while not spending it on teaching kids. It's utterly insane how this government seems to go out of its way to blow tax payers money on the most stupidist things which benefit no one but a nice cushy job for some cival servant waste of space.

Microsoft goes retail with own shops

Won't work

Quiet simply it won't work as they aren't as much the bunch the bastards are screwing those who support them. MS will stick to there SRP prices in the shops, and not go out to compete against all the myriad of other shops and online places. One of the reason Apples shops work is they match Apples online prices. And the prices Apple charges those in the channel are such that they can't match the shops or Apple themselves online.

So no, it's a nice place to demo tech, but to actually sell things. It's futile.

Dell launches perfume ad teaser site for Macbook Air rival

Oddly enough...

The second MB Air I ever saw was actually running Vista. All turned out the user hated the pre-installed OS so much he upgraded it to something more useful. No jokes here, real world situation. If there is a demand for it, maybe Dell might have something here.

BBC pumps 60 quid a head into Gaelic

And how much is this costing us?

This costs the license fee payer a bloody fortune for no one to watch. Typical beeb pissing away money yet again. Kill the crap! Alba, BBC4, most of BBC3, and the other trash. Not needed, not wanted, and its not watched!

Windows 7 UAC shutoff 'bug' leaves Microsoft unmoved

So simple fix no?

Surely all they have to do is make sure any changes to UAC prompts and not make it classed the same as a control panel. Problem solved no?

EC will force users to pick a Windows browser, says Microsoft

Bonkers

An OEM can already choose, they want Firefox, they ship Firefox. Ok, most don't because its easier not to fiddle and end up just shoving on the usual crap bundled software.

This is nothing more then and EU trying to do what they did with WMP. They forced MS to ship a version without it, and what happened? everyone ignored it since users wanted it integrated (shipping a handful licenses across the EU in 18 months is not a sign the EU did what consumers wanted), they wanted a media player integrated.

We have Windows shipping with IE, we have the whatever Apple products shipping with Safari, we have every Linux distro shipping with some browser justable (and yes, some ship without but the majority come with one). Is this about allowing us to choose at first boot a Mac running Firefox or IE? no it is not. Is it about allowing me to choose Opera on an iPhone on first boot? no it is not. Is it about allowing me to run a browser other than the distro comes with on first boot on Linux? no its not.

Like them, or loathe them, Microsoft provide everything Joe Public wants out of the box (and a lot more for when they want more later), but they fit the market. The EU running around after a couple of companies is just crazy when it will result in nothing but a harder time for the public. Yes people will whine its in there best interest, yet the majority of users like not having to think. They like everything just to be infront of them.

Flocke, shipping a demo version of an enter OS again does nothing but aggrevate the customer. Windows is a component, the OEM and in the end the consumer already chooses to pay for it. We have a choice of machines shipping with Linux, which are cheaper. But do they sell as much? no. Because no body wants them! Dell allows you to choose your OS on some machines. HP does the same. Many others also. If you really want no OS at all, just buy the components yourself and build your machine your way, or get an independant retailer to do so for you. There is realistically only one walled in garden and thats the Mac, but as always everyone just ignores them as they never do anything evil or find new and innovative ways to extract huge amounts of cash from its userbase.

Sony at one point shipped Vaio's with Firefox preinstalled. They then changed back to IE. To be honest have no idea why, but the choice is there for an OEM to ship an alternative browser out of the box. The majority don't and frankly can't be arsed to do so.

Shipping a browser integrated is a huge aid to the consumer. Without one you bring in a confusing choice for many. And that scares many users who want as few questions as possible. They don't want some browser, to them they have no clue what a browser is and will end up saying no to installing one, then wonder 10mins later why the internet no worky, and insist they never clicked anything. If the consumer wants an alternative browser, nothing is stopping them from getting online once the machines installed and installing whatever they like. They have the choice already!

Linux to spend eternity in shadow of 'little blue E'

Very true

It's also a huge problem actually for MS. Many users saw Vista and screamed, not because of anything technical, but because it didn't look like XP. XP was around for far to long, and due to that became the default. Nothing else exists, or should exist. It was a known quantity (even if one which was incredibly crappy).

No matter what jazz they throw at Win7, and how it runs faster than XP on many machines (been testing the beta on a few older bits of kit, and its between the same and 10% faster than XP on the same machine). It doesn't matter. It's new fluffy interface means it will scare Joe Public. And if they can't see uniformity, they will scuttle back to what they know. XP.

The same is true of Office. Office 2007 scared the living daylights out of people. Yes, for the first time user it maybe a much better system, yet for the older user who has used it for the past 20+ years seeing the beloved menu bars vanish terrified them.

Is there a solution? Maybe, but not as it currently stands. Realistically the only possible way to stop such things is slow evolution over time so nothing majorly surprises the users. But the only way to do that would be something like the cloud.

Most Americans without broadband don't want it

Seen it in the UK also

Know a few customers who won't change from dial-up. The majority see email as the one thing to use online, and as such won't be persuaded that waiting 45mins for there spam to download can be done in no time should they upgrade. But the ones I've seen don't see a point in it since they hate browsing the web. Many using the excuse as mentioned in story because its "too difficult".

Not sure on the US pricing, but UK wise the big push to force people to switch is to continue to hike the cost of dial-up so broadbands cheaper. But doubt they would get away with that trick in the US.

My big grief with these folks is AV products and standard patching. The updates on them are usually 5-10 years out of date, and when they do finally switch they become a malware magnet instantly.

World's fastest production car to gain electric twin

It's Bollocks!

Shelby is mostly known for slapping a huge engine into small light things and it going like hell. Ok, he is a kinda "genius". But if all the claims on this drive unit are true...300mph top speed, 1200hp equivalant, 200miles on a 10min charge...then yes, he is a genius, and he'll be tripping up over car companies lining up to license this thing.

Somehow though, I can't see it, and sadly it maybe time for someone to look more closely at checking him into an old folks home before he causes his company a few head aches. Until it happens, will say what Alun didn't...it's bollocks!

EU says Microsoft violated law with IE on Windows

Here we go again...

Like the EU forced MS to ship a version of XP without Media Player, and MS did as required....guess how many licenses were sold over the 18 months period they started shipping them? 15 !!!!

This is nothing more than yet another brainless EU motion. And there is nothing to stop any OEM in shipping there machines with Opera or Firefox or anything else on it. Some have, most don't. But they can. The consumer does have some choice here, find a manufacture who will ship you the machine with Firefox preinstalled (and yes, they do exist). Now, where's a Jesus phone without Safari? I want to use Opera on that and not this crap Safari thing...oh yeah, no option at all there!

If they do it for MS, they need to act exactly the same across all platforms. No browsers on any machine, and no media playing abilities on anything....and guess what, they'll kill the market quiet quickly!

This is nothing but EU looking for yet more cash from MS and generally trying to make themselves look useful. They need to bugger off and go straighten some more banana's. MS provided a choice, and its up to the choice is with the consumer, and the OEM to make it. If they do so, is up to them.

LG shows off quad-band GSM watchphone

So...

The digital camera was replaced (almost) by the phone, the MP3 player was (well getting there) replaced by the phone, and the phones now heading for replacement by the watch. Quiet an interesting line of evolution and divergence.

Ok, this is only a very early model. But over time it makes a lot more sense the carrying around a phone for practicality....heck, even the rather pickled one night mob can't flush this with it attached to there arms....ok maybe not, but it would be a tad more noticeable to them :D

Infineon unleashes 4G chip

Nice

And a huge advantage in the placing of infrastructure in new locations. Why bother laying miles of cable when you can get away using a few set transmitters. As an alternative to fibre to home, its by far a cheaper solution and one which provides a lot less problems then the good old BT method of digging up roads and causing no end of mayhem.

I might be over simplifying things, but as a home connection replacement, 3g is already trying to edge into this market. Yet failing due to the infrastructure being there. In areas without the infrastructure 3g, and 4g/WiMax has a huge potential. And one thankfully away from BT.

In action: the Powermat wireless gadget charger

Utterly pointless...

So, instead of plugging the mobile phone (or whatever) into the wall, we plug a power plate in, buy an adaptor, then plug the phone into the adaptor, then onto the power plate.

Nice in theory if it just charged things if everything was compatible with it. Sadly though, nothing is and thus its a longer, more drawn out and utterly pointless device.

Sony sticks it to Xbox 360 and Wii

Just a shame that...

Blu-Ray is still nothing but an over priced, attempted cash farm for Sony which is sadly failing dismally. Heck, just need to look at the figures from Japan last month which showed Blu-Ray hadn't even manged to get to 10% of the installed VHS userbase in Japan....and that included PS3's.

Screaming about features isn't the PS3's problem. The lack of games is, and until Sony do something about that, a game console without games is of very little use. And no matter what they may try and push the PS3 as, it is still a games console.

Norfolk children get £310,000 of free laptops

Not the first, won't be the last...

I used to supply a local secondary school with laptops and it was criminally insane how they used to waste money. They used to replace the machines that all the staff had every year without question, and frequently waste even more cash on funding out the sixth formers laptops also. I remember them deciding to network out a classroom (fair enough), but did they just use the good old cat5 or 6? naww, its only a classroom, we'll fibre it out.

The government rattles on and on about education spending and we must pay more and more. This seems to be utter bull when you see the wastage. It is the usual method of how we must spend the cash on some half-baked project or we will not get the cash next year. The entire system is wrong, and it's long overdue someone fixed the stupidity in all these things...sadly though, won't ever happen :(

AC for obvious reasons.

Virgin Media to dump neutrality and target BitTorrent users

Good on you Virgin!

Shame more don't do this, if I could get cable here I'ld move to it solely for this since I'm utterly fed up of the torrenting bandwidth guzzlers screwing over everyone elses connections for themselves. As the Reg itself pointed out recently, the torrenters are using half of all bandwidth available, and yet they only account for 5% of the userbase. This is nothing but greed from them, and as such its about time other users got what they paid for, and not have there paid for bandwidth guzzled by the greedy torrenters.

Net neutrality? yes, but I want what I pay for and don't want to be funding someone else's torrenting. We all pay our fee's, we all get an even share. Thats a much fairer system!

HP puts Linux on business PCs

Re: Not far enough

HP have been offering FreeDOS on pretty much all there business class kit for years (at least three that I can remember, probably longer but never paid attention). As for the laptop you mention (as with all the FreeDOS stuff) its a built order, and the laptops HP part number GW680AV (just basic chassis no OS) and to get FreeDOS on it, thats the addon part number KX041AV#ABU. It's all part of there "built to your spec" ACE scheme they do where you pick a chassis, then choose cpu, ram, OS etc...kind of like Dell but with more choice and better hardware. As for buying it, try a independant who sells HP kit, not directly from the site or some mailorder company since these are all specific orders and they won't do a one off build.

Rogue Android apps rack up hidden charges

Unlimited?

Guess it all goes back to the old issue of how unlimited, is unlimited!

Red Hat and Novell duke it out in real time

Pronouncing

If MRG is pronouced Merge, this mean that SLERT is pronouced Slut?

No Zune phone at CES, says Microsoft

So maybe not a phone...

but quiet possibly a more entertainment mobile phone OS? like a Windows Mobile but a lot more simplified for just games, music and video? A Windows Entertainment Mobile or something.

LG tests 100Mb/s download phone chip

Forget the mobile...

People are already using the 3G mobile based system now for there laptops and desktops (ok mostly laptops) over DSL and cable due to it being more reliable and readily available (ok once they whack up enough decent transmitters).

But what’s the use of this kind of bandwidth on a phone even if display technology gets good enough? it's a technology looking for a use. while using it on a laptop/desktop, or for a replacement for landlines? it will be a much more cost effective system than the big push with some buggered up BT fibre system which won't ever reach anyone outside a major city.

A step towards the MS/Googlesk cloudy everything future maybe? it's a possible.

BBC relives The Day of The Triffids

Re: BBC Wales

BBC Wales, said: "We're hoping to attract a legion of new fans as well as give nightmares to a new generation of viewers."

Thought the Beeb did that whenever they mentioned the dreaded license fee.

One million Googlephones expected in '08

And to think...

if it wasn't the fugliest phone in existance it might even of sold better still.

NASA's lost toolbag filmed from Earth

If it hits someone...

doesn't that mean they'll die from a tool from space?

Kids blame technology for homework hand-in failures

If they thought about it a bit better...

they could just hand in some gibberish file and claim they were a Mac or Linux user thus getting the rest of the world to excuse them.

Batman sues Batman over Batman

Why is it...

I can see Lagos being renamed Spiderman soon and sueing Marvel :P

Of Dell's self-encrypting laptop

Slight snag...

is that knowing our incompetent government, they'll all be encrypted yes, but also have a very handy postit note with the password stuck to them :P

AT&T cops to Jesus Phone-as-modem app

@Back and Ivan

Aww come on, its the great and wonderful Messiah phone which will lead us to shininess...his greatness the almighty Jobsy proclaimed it as such.

But about the story...what a bunch of robbing bastards. Let’s steal someone else’s useful application and copy it for our own. Got to love how "innovation" works!

Microsoft: Windows 7 ready for Christmas 2009

Urmm...

but last I checked, Vista actually launched RTM in November 2006, and public Feb 2007...thereby a Christmas 2009 launch is inside the 3 years. Guess it depends on how you look at it though really.

MobileMe disappears for another 7 hours

You have to wonder...

if this isn't actually a feature? After all, it’s for security isn't it. Keeping the user from not being able to access their own mail is great for security *cough* and it’s so user friendly. They don't even have to look at their mail in the Apple universe, since they can't get it anyhow. Really makes things so much more productive doesn’t it :P

Why they don't just give up on the piece of tat and revert back to .Mac which oddly enough worked! and even supported IE (and before the whiners kick off on the anti-IE rant, remember how many public access internet cafe's, and libraries run IE only, and how it's still the most used browser on this planet, and by removing all support for it just ends up biting MobileMe's users on the ass since they can't gain access to anything in the majority of places). This little perfectly shiny walled garden world which is Apple these days just continues to get more stupid daily.

Microsoft sticks to its Xbox 360 prices

He's right

it doesn't seem logical that MS would need to make any further price cuts. Although the retailers seem to keep trying to (some kinda discounting offers going on from MS?? like with the supermarkets doing the £99 360's. If they do anything price related, it will over time no doubt more likely be they shift products around at the same prices. The Premium to the base model price, Elite to Premium's price, and the whatever they dream up next into the Elite price area.

But as it stands, at £99 for a base console, can't really see them needing to lower the price further. Thats pretty much in the end of life console price band once it gets under £100.

Windows 7 borrows from OS X, avoids Vista

So what did they actually learn?

other than its a good idea to carry on changing things and in doing so annoy the hell out of users who hate change? The ribbon was bad enough on Office which ticked users off since it was so different. Using a dock instead of the older and more familiar Start menu is going to do nothing but utterly confuse the Joe Blogs consumer again.

The dock is bad enough on a Mac, it's just bloody stupid to add one to Windows. It's going to do nothing but bite them on the ass again when users just look at it, see nothing familiar, and continue to go back to XP, or some Linux varient which ever increasingly move to look like XP.

The netbook newbie's guide to Linux

re: Newbie disappointment

Think that’s why there was rumours around that 80% of the Linux based netbooks were having XP installed on them inside the first month. I know the ones I've sold personally have had most returns to get XP installed onto them thanks to iTunes. Guess it makes perfect sense why Apricots going XP only on them. Saves the user hassle.

Love it or hate it, Joe Blogs consumer knows XP as its so dog ancient now it's pretty entrenched in their minds. They aren't to fussed about anything else be it Vista or Linux.

Microsoft's Azure means dark days for storage vendors

All well and good...

but these lot all seem to think that a connection to the cloud is unbreakable and never fails. Having you data stored where you have no means to access it due to a storm or other issue just means you become utterly destroyed due to it. If "somehow" the data centres holding all this data has some major issues (*cough* not like we've seen power stations get flooded in the last couple of years or anything have we), then it's a large number of customers who get screwed over. While keeping the data local gives you a much more scattered approach, and worst off, you maybe the only company down.

Used along side existing systems, as another backup maybe. But used as the sole replacement for current systems it's daft, or security, for reliability, for controlling your own data. It's just a bad idea all round be it from MS, or Google, or anyone else.

Robot vacuum cleaners - now with grenade launchers

You have to wonder...

if it likes to disappear off when no ones looking to watch John Wayne movies.

Blu-ray add-on coming to the Xbox 360?

Another rumour...

you know, wasn't it just a few months back that there was a rumour that MS has signed Liteon to make a few million blu-ray drives for use in the 360. Now its Toshiba and Samsung? May happen, may not.

Personally though, blu-ray is a waste of time. A decent upscaling dvd player gives you 1080p, and at a quality thats very similar but you haven't then had to fork out a shed load of cash on more Sony DRM loaded tat, or spend a fortune rebuying all you classic movies you have on DVD.

Technology wise, DVD will be my last physical media I'll buy. Can't see a point these days now when I would prefer downloads. But the perceived feature gap as mentioned, could be such that it might be worth MS looking for fill the space.

Web palmtop offers life-time no-limits mobile surfing for £60

Interesting

Am kinda interested in it, but as with the AC, do think that it sounds like they are going to disappear in the near future and as such, buying one on such a plan would sadly be nothing but a waste of cash sadly.

Hope to be wrong, but can't see it sadly.

PS3 too expensive, claims analyst

It's right though...

that unless Sony either come up with some kinda games bundle with the console at the current price (likely), or take a huge price cut (unlikely due to how much they already lose on the things), they are going to come off very badly market share wise come Xmas. They are already behind on sales due to the Xbox price cut. Come the major buying season, the current credit situation, which is more appealing...a hugely expensive console or one thats £99 (as some supermarkets are now shipping the basic Xbox). Hardware, rants off fanboys, and even the number of games out are not really the factors. What will be is whats in front of the presant buyers. And the thought of almost buying three consoles to one of another brand, kind of massively skews the situation in favour of the 360.

Black helecopters as we all know, the black clad minions of both Sony and MS will come a hunting us poor followers of the lizardy overlords one day!

Visa finds a home inside a Nokia

So lose the phone, lose your cash?

Am I the only one who see's this as an utterly bonkers idea? Ability to send cash from one phone to another? sheesh phone pilfer's dream isn't it! Least with you plastic if it gets nicked you have your phone to call the credit card co to stop them. Silly idea imho.

Sega to launch PSP beater in 2009

Waste of time

It's small, easily lost, no doubt expensive, and if that vid's anything to go by fugly. The screens to small, the camera will no doubt be pathetic, as will video capture on something like that. And game play looking at the controls (again judging off the button placement on the vid) are such it will be nothing but frustrating (adding in java games thats even more frustrating). The screens too small for TV also. It's trying to be the next iPod, but its not. Don't even bother Sega, it's a flop waiting to happen.

ITV gets adverts into video

But this doesn't address the problem...

that ITV has...that no one want's to watch the crap they show...because it is simply crap! They show such awful stuff, thereby no one watchs, and thereby the advertising funds go out the window as no one watchs them.

Fix the content and the viewers will come. Don't find new ways to lose even more viewers.

'I can see dinosaurs from my back porch'

Creationist Fiction

It seem's that alot of the Creationist lot keep whining (alot of the time) about that Theory of Evoloution, because its a Theory. Yes, just like relativity, and everything else is. And they want Creationism to be on the same footing, which from a neutral standpoint it all well and good. Just make sure everytime Creationism is mentioned, its given its true title of Creationist Fiction.

Complain all the like about evolution having gaps here and there. But its far better than the creationist fiction they are throwing at people with zero evidence supporting it at all.

Transmeta calls it a day and looks for a buyer

Hmm...

So, to name two, Intel and Nvidia are paying out nice large license fee's. Why does those same two seem very likely to buy up Transmeta and screw over the other one with said licensing fee's. But giving Nvidia's recent ability to piddle away cash through screwups, guess Intel surely has to be best bet to buy them up.

HP clocks up 24-hour laptop battery life

So...its basically the same as the Dell...

By HP's claims, the SSD gives 7% savings which gives just under 23hrs, and then remove the screen, thats 4hrs...so urmm we have the Dells 19hr battery life again. Guess it's looking like thats going to be the new norm for ultra endurance machines.

But still, 19hrs from a notebook isn't bad for the benchmarks, and throw in proper usage and the like that will probably be down to about 12-13hrs. Which is pretty handy for a good days work on the move. Guess we'll have to wait till they launch it to see how bad the screen is, but some ultra low power screen could be rather dull on its display quality also.