* Posts by Andrew Hall

8 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Aug 2007

Nokia Lumia update spreads Black death

Andrew Hall

It all went OK on my 925, I too was running the developer preview of GDR3 beforehand.

App folders are useful, Beamer is interesting, but a little flaky i.e. stops updating the screen after approx 1 minute, though this may not be the handset causing this.

Even if Microsoft did control the hardware, they still have many handsets to support. Apple release so few handsets and still screw it up, so Nokia not as bad as some may think.

Audiophiles: These Wi-Fi speakers have a stereo drift of less than 25μs – good enough for you?

Andrew Hall

Maybe they're aiming at the same people that buy iPhones...

Nokia Lumia 1020: It's an imaging BEAST... and it makes calls too

Andrew Hall

Re: What?

Some screens are locked, others not. Obviously browsing the web, you can simply rotate the screen and the orientation changes to suit, but on the home screen, rotation would be pointless and therefore it doesn't do it. For me it rotates in the situations that I need it to, I haven't really had any issues where I though "I wish this goddam app would rotate", it just does it where it's appropriate.

What is Windows Mobile, isn't that an old OS from about 5 years ago? Windows Mobile probably can be rooted as it's so old.

Andrew Hall

Unless they've changed the options specifically on the 1020, you can most definitely turn off uploading to SkyDrive if you'd prefer it not to, at least I've had the option on the Nokia and HTC Windows phones I've had.

YouTube Wars: Microsoft cries foul as Windows Phone app pulled again

Andrew Hall

The article is not entirely accurate

Microsoft didn't just re-release the app, the recent YouTube app that MS released had several features that Google took issue with, two of them being that it bypassed all of the adverts and allowed downloading of content.

Google cried foul, then shortly after this Google and MS announced that they were going to work together on a YouTube app. The new app now shows the adverts and basically complies with everything Google wanted. But less than 24 hours after release, Google blocked it because it wasn't coded in their preferred language... WTF. To me at least, this seems at the least petty, and at worst just blatant obstructionism (is that a word?).

This app has cost Google nothing, Microsoft have done all the work, so I'm not really sure what their issue is, surely people who pay to advertise with Google/YouTube would want their ads on all possible devices. Granted Windows Phone has a small share of the market, but every little counts.

If I were in charge at Microsoft I would seriously consider releasing an update with the next round of patches for desktop Windows that blocks all Google apps.

Anatomy of a malware scam

Andrew Hall

The easiest way to get rid of this is...

I have come across this particular infection a lot over the last couple of months on various PC's, I have found that the easiest way to remove this is to use Malware Bytes Anti-Malware. Run a full scan using the free version, remove everything it finds and you should be good to go.

Another issue I've found is that some machines infected with this also have a secondary infection which turns your machine into a mass mailer spewing out thousands of spam emails (this may or may not be related to the first infection). So as well as doing the above, make sure the PC has up to date anti-virus software and run a full scan. I can confirm that Norton is able to successfully remove the secondary infection, whereas Malware Bytes Anti-Malware only removes the first.

A 2-week trial version of Norton Anti-Virus 2008 can be downloaded for free if necessary, a quick Google search should point you in the right direction for Symantec's Norton trial products.

Good luck.

How to watch TV on your PC

Andrew Hall

Virgin Media Transmission

Actually Virgin Media stream all channels including HD channels (but not pay per view) to every subscriber. I believe it is the card in the front of your box that determines what channels you can actually view. I'm not sure how far you would get using the cable tuner you touched on in your review with Virgin Media.