* Posts by Andrew Bush

62 publicly visible posts • joined 31 Aug 2007

Page:

Fiat 500 TwinAir

Andrew Bush
Coat

Extra cylinders?

The extra cylinders are actually just empty space and as such don't weigh any more

iPhone-wielding chumps rush to give data to phish sites

Andrew Bush
Unhappy

Insulted

r ewe calin me dum?

Posted from my iPhone 4

World+Dog says 'no thanks' to 3D TV

Andrew Bush
FAIL

World+Dog says 'no thanks' to 3D TV

+1

I'll get one when I replace my current 1080p HD TV if 3D is already on every half-decent TV anyway by that time at no extra cost. It wouldn't be a reason for me to buy a new set on its own. That whole fake movie 3D thing annoys the shit out of me. I deliberately AVOID 3D versions of films in the cinema.

Distressed cock whipped out of wheelie bin

Andrew Bush

Ooh-er!

Matron!

Punters still puzzled by broadband ads

Andrew Bush
WTF?

21CN?

"Petter said .... BT was busy building its 21CN network."

I thought that BT had pretty much ground to a halt on any new 21CN Switch 'upgrades' since last year?

People have no bloody idea about saving energy

Andrew Bush
Stop

Lights out - in your head, anyway!

Turning off unused devices which consume electricity has to be worth the 'bother' no matter how small the saving and you are lazy and ignorant if you leave lights on for no reason. The switching off of unused lights is a 'free' saving in that it costs nothing to do and has no consequential impact.

Consider an average home which consumes around 3,000 kWh per year. That equates to an average constant consumption of 342 watts. Even switching off a single 60w unused lamp saves about 17% of that average ongoing consumption.

Perseid meteors 'thrill star-gazers'

Andrew Bush

Good show near Bath

I'm just outside of Bath and the 'spectacle' was considerably better than last year, thankfully the light pollution is very low here. A reasonable quantity of long thick streaks with good persistence. Unfortunately, based on last year's showing my 9 year old son didn't consider it worth bothering to brave the cold, so he missed out.

Granted, it's not exactly Day of The Triffids but it's as good as it gets, I suppose. Better than the non-event Northern Lights a week or two back, more like northern headlights from the odd passing car :(

Air steward resigns via emergency chute

Andrew Bush
Thumb Up

Hero

Steven Slater = My Hero

Customers. They buy a $2 cup of coffee and think they own your ass.

Fring-Skype iPhone slanging match: Telcos v freetards

Andrew Bush
Jobs Horns

iSmell

Well this certainly has an iSmell to it.

Imagine what a pain it would have been for Skype if the possibility of iFacetalking with people on Skype was mysteriously blocked by some dubious edict issued from the Cupertino overlords.

So Apple get Skype on board by twisting their arm behind their back over Fring and offering some potential revenue sharing deal at the same time.

Most new 2009 EU powerplant was wind oops, gas

Andrew Bush
Grenade

Coal not Gas

This is a disgusting waste of a non-renewable, yet easily transportable energy source. I'd rather they built coal fired power stations as temporary power sources until more nuclear installations can be commissioned and renewables further exploited where practical.

We have a heavy investment in transport infrastructure to supply gas direct to homes where it can be used for heating at up to 92% efficiency. To burn gas and turn it into electricity and then have it arrive at homes with less than 60% efficiency is a criminal waste of energy.

We should be burning coal to generate electricity in the short term, it's bugger all use for anything else!

Want nips like church coat pegs? Click here

Andrew Bush
Coat

Bond

Reading this made me think of Scaramanga! In fact, with these, you could even go for the 'sow look' and have a whole battery of nipples...

Robot cars can now do a Rockford into a parking space

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Why park there?

In the second vid 'more detailed explanation of the science', if the computer model is so smart why does it perform a crazy handbrake-turn-slide into a narrow space between two parked cars instead of just parking in one of those easy to drive into free spaces in the rank?

Megan Fox not world's sexiest woman: Official

Andrew Bush

Cole is okay, but...

...I can't understand a word she says.

Even the L'Oreal shampoo advert rapidly voiced over most of her 'vocal talent' in their advert with a more easy to understand bloke. Perhaps subtitles would have been an option?

I think I prefer Megan Fox too. Plus, if my car ever breaks down she can fix it for me.

New Reg comments system ready to launch

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Too easy, but...

Does not being able to work out if the posts from people apparently outraged and not 'getting it' are genuine, or not, make me a retard?

Paris, because I'm beginning to worry myself.

LG InTouch Max GW620

Andrew Bush
Alert

Your cat...

... looks like he might have early stage hyperthyroidism. Drinking lots of water, ravenous? Struggling to maintain / loosing weight? Loss of energy? Take him to the vet for a few tests. It's better to catch it now and get him on medication before he looses too much weight and it's too late.

http://www.hyperthyroidcat.co.uk/diagnosis.htm

Apologies if it's just the camera angle, but my memories of holding down poor little Kipper on our kitchen table while the vet administered a lethal dose are still raw.

MS update gives some XP boxes the Blue Screen

Andrew Bush
Thumb Up

Many thanks

Thanks Guys, that update has been sitting there for a couple of days. Just excluded that particular patch (977165) from the process and perhaps saved a whole load of bother.

Digital Dividend could cost cable TV dear

Andrew Bush
WTF?

LTE WTF?

Sorry for my ignorance, but at least one example of an acronym is both useful and expected in an article so that readers can understand its use throughout. But would this actually have been much use?

What is LTE? All you clever clogs who already know can flame me with impunity.

Searching LTE reveals 'Long Term Evolution' - a not very descriptive term for a collective of technology for wireless data. I offer a prize of one jelly bean for the most accurate and succinct definition of LTE posted here. Entries to be in before 17.00 GMT today.

Sony Ericsson admits 'PlayStation phone' woes

Andrew Bush
Coat

What a carry on

Friends, Romans, {countrymen} - AINO!!!

Where do Sony get their names from?

Designers detail the cars of 2030

Andrew Bush
Jobs Horns

Research

Perhaps a good starting point for these 'designers' would have been to take a look at what cars looked like 20 years ago to see how much they have changed since then?

My prediction? A car will be available from Apple which comes in just two colours and runs on special Apple 'fuel' which is subscribed to under contract depending on how many miles you wish to drive each month.

Sony Ericsson Satio 12.1Mp cameraphone

Andrew Bush
Coat

Pronounced...

Sashio?

Wasn't that some crap in-store brand from the 80's in Dixons?

115,000 nabbed for in-car calling

Andrew Bush
Pint

@ David Cook

"Yes you BMW/Audi driving twats, you know who you are."

Indeed, it seems that many Top Gear-watching BMW drivers are now attempting to hide their 'cock' status by driving an Audi instead. Mr Clarkson, take note.

I'm actually quite surprised at the lack of support here for these selfish b'stards using hand-held mobile phones whilst driving, considering the amount of people I see doing it whenever I manage to get out of my chair and into the real world.

I had a very narrow escape in the early 90's driving whilst using a mobile. No accident took place, no person harmed or property damaged, but I leaned my lesson.

Andrew Bush
Grenade

Simples

If you see some inconsiderate retard muppet using their hand held mobile phone whilst driving, throw a medium sized rock at the car/windscreen. Either that, or the coppers should crush the toe-rags' phone in addition to the fine.

I followed some daft be-atch for two miles from the centre of Bath during the rush-hour a few months back. The journey took around twenty minutes and she was on the phone the whole time. Her driving was pretty sheeite, although this may not be directly attributed to her marathon nattering session it couldn't have helped.

Only nabbed 115,000? Considering there's probably about 2,000,000 doing it every day those figures are piss-poor. Now, where's my jack boots? I fancy going out for a bit of goose-stepping.

Michael Dell: Netbooks go sour after 36 hours

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

I could do that, give us a job...

And he's the CEO of Dell? Does he really not get it, or is he just trying to convince himself that netbooks are just a flash in the pan and he can soon resume selling higher powered offerings for more profit, which for basic tasks, we simply don't need?

It's obvious that netbooks really hit a sweet spot. Granted, the screen res is an inconvenience and I'm guessing that the manufacturers are sticking mostly to the 600 pix restriction to restrict cannibalization of the notebook market. Most things in life are a compromise and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages here.

I love my little netbook. I mostly keep it hibernated so it 'boots' quicker, and it's usually downstairs and ready to hand for a quick Google or to check the email. It's recently been promoted to my iPod sync machine too. Natch, for work I use a 'real' computer, but then don't we all?

Paris, because she and Mr Dell might just have been separated at birth.

Web firms seek Royal Mail rivals with GSOH for delivery fling

Andrew Bush
FAIL

But you just can't beat RM

For domestic packages under 1kg, Royal Mail is simply unbeatable. For higher value items, switching to a courier is a possibility because the margins might permit, but for low value items punters just won't pay a fair rate for a courier door to door service and so post is the only option.

In reality Play.com have no options other than RM because a DVD for £10 can't be sent any other way without losing money. The other 'postal services' in competition with RM still use RM sorting offices and postmen to deliver anyway, so they're pointless in this situation.

10,000 Hotmail passwords mysteriously leaked to web

Andrew Bush
FAIL

@Anonynous Coward : 17.06

Be my guest and dump your landline, but I'm telling you that it drags down your credit score and bumps up your fraud risk just as much as using a hotmail address for eCommerce transactions. Think about it for a minute will you?

Andrew Bush
Welcome

Alphabet soup

There would also be accounts which start with a number, natch. Plus, the use of letters within the alphabet is not distributed evenly.

Hotmail is a hotbed of criminality. Orders from customers using a hotmail email address are assessed as being a higher fraud risk, as are those supplying a mobile phone number instead of a landline. It all adds up... Add in an alternative delivery address and you're glad to have VBV and MSC 'protection' even if it does scare the bejesus out of customers trying to pay with their new card for the first time.

Philips waves farewell to point-and-press remote controls

Andrew Bush
FAIL

PR

Some companies release utterly pointless information like this on new 'innovations' just to keep their brand up in the air.

What a load of crap.

Why teachers fear Callum, Chelsea, Connor and Crystal

Andrew Bush
Terminator

Adoption agencies

There is also an alarming correlation between children's names and their likelihood of needing foster care / social intervention.

This is all of course down to choices made by the parents, not the children themselves.

Hint: If you've called your daughter Dawn or Eden, social services are watching you like a hawk.

Explorers unearth cat-sized rat

Andrew Bush

Any day now...

... the year of the Diamond Dogs. Cue guitar riff.

Fleas the size of rats sucking on rats the size of cats, that is.

BMW's X6 turns eco

Andrew Bush

Indicators?

No, I doubt the indicators will work and it'll be fitted with the same BMW windscreen glass that makes objects in front of you look further away than they really are.

"Drive BMW - Every journey is a race" ™

Man catches MSI laptop with... his arse

Andrew Bush

Nice throwing!

Wow! Sod the guy with the cheeks, that guy throwing the laptops is incredible. England could do with him against Australia next week. Mind you, the guy with the cheeks has potential as an out-fielder...

Martha Lane-Fox: No broadband, no citizenship

Andrew Bush

@Rob Beard & your Granny

Rob. Do your old Grandma a favour and fix her up with a Freeview box before the switchoff.

Suppose she wakes up one morning to find static on the TV where Bill and Sian should be; she might think that the end of the world has come already and it could be fatal at her age...

Down with the Lympiks! Bring back [insert name of crap old BBC sci-fi prog here] NOW!

It's Friday, I'm off.

Tesla's first UK showroom opens for business

Andrew Bush

Sport version

Well, there were plenty of passengers willing to pay the premium price for flying Concord to New York to save a few hours off the journey time, so I can see no reason why there shouldn't be a queue of people paying an extra £13,000 to save two tenths of a second each time they need to accelerate to 60 mph.

Safety wonks condemn digital TV satnav

Andrew Bush
FAIL

Dead man's switch

Presumably, the the facility to receive TV signals on the move has been designed in for the benefit of passengers who might use the device in the rear seats of a car when the satnav is not required, making it a dual function device and increasing the market appeal.

The inclusion of a 'dead man's switch' might have been sensible so that TV signals could only be viewed in motion whilst holding the device in both hands? Mounting the unit in the cradle might also activate a secondary switch to deactivate the TV facility whilst in motion.

Govt powers up electric cars with £5k subsidy

Andrew Bush

* price after govt EV subsidy

These cars should only qualify for the subsidy if it results in the vehicle being equal or lower in price than the equivalent petrol/diesel powered model from the same manufacturer.

As previously stated, without regulation manufacturers will just 'top-up' their pricing with whatever the car qualifies for from the scheme. EVs currently seem to be priced like low volume cars, so they are far more expensive than their mass-produced counterparts. The manufacturers have to bite the bullet and accept that the R&D they are doing now can be amortized over the range of EVs they produce over the next decade or more instead of trying to recoup it on a single model.

Has anyone done a tear-down and BOM for any of these cars based on costings for common car industry parts, plus whatever the items unique to EV (at reasonable prices, not NASA rates)?

Online retailer offers Sim-free iPhone 3Gs

Andrew Bush
Jobs Horns

@ Alan W. Rateliff, II

You are being very naive if you can't see how the mass adoption of the Apple Dock Connector by a substantial sector of electronics manufacturers is the fruit of a calculated strategy by Apple to 'lock down' consumers to Apple branded mp3 players, and next, cellular phones. This can only lead to consumers having less choice in the future and thus the victims of Apple's demonstrated failure to innovate. Look at the latest Nano. Refined, filtered and extrapolated into utter crap in the name of profitability. This is the ultimate future for all Apple products. Once there's no credible competition left for Apple to copy 'only a bit better, a bit more stylish', Apple will simply run out of ideas and have no motivation to innovate.

The ability to output the audio from portable media devices via the headphone socket to 'iPod Compatible' electronics goods is a paltry consolation compared to the mating of two devices via the ADC. Apple know this and have used it to their advantage in the mp3 player market.

Now watch as they dominate and destroy the cellular phone market.

Apple have thus far priced and contract-tied and the iPhone to 'cream off' the most profitable cellular phone users from the market. They will slowly work their way down the user base until they reach customers providing their lowest acceptable call revenue. Although this does not appear to impact other phone manufacturers, it does. The subsidised prices of other brands of cellular phones will be forced to rise as the more lucrative air-time contracts defect to Apple, resulting in less profit for the manufacturers. As those manufacturers make less profit, they have less funding for R&D and the downward spiral commences.

As for the unlocked price of the iPhone, look at the Nokia 5800 for comparison. Similar hardware at less than half the price with the same Jersey retailer, only it's not Apple, so no me-too sheep factor.

Andrew Bush
Jobs Horns

Overpriced

It just goes to show how ridiculously overpriced the iPhone really is.

Queue long list of Apple fanboys to blindly defend it...

The only thing on an iPhone which interests me is the Apple dock connector, allowing it to copulate with my assorted iPod speaker systems. The adoption of ADC by the majority of electronics accessory manufacturers now restricts my choice of replacement mp3 player when my iPod eventually dies.

Bring on an anti-trust suit against the Apple for the ADC.

The time has come for it to be made legal for all phone/mp3 manufacturers to be able to produce devices with a built-in ADC (subject to a fair licence fee) so that the mobile phone market does not become so distorted as the mp3 player market.

Nokia sweetens juice-monitor app

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Application drinks itself?

.... but running the juice-monitor application 24/7 will itself no doubt lead to significantly reduced battery life, sigh.

To achieve anything like respectable battery run times with my S60 phone I need to shut down those apps like a tyrant as soon as they're done with. Leave a few running by accident and the battery runs flat in no time.

Self-destructing apps, now that would be useful for preserving battery life. A bit of code that could be added to any application or service so that if it has not been used/accessed within a user-defined period of time, it closes on its own.

BBC relives The Day of The Triffids

Andrew Bush
Coat

The show is yet to be cast, but...

... any odds against Freema Agyeman having a bit-part in it?

Do fish have salty piss?

Azure, Windows 7 and it's OK for MS to hate Vista, too

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Vista - ahead of its time.

Predecessor, I like it. Windows 7 is looking like it'll slot in nicely between XP and Vista.

Some people will never get satire. You're wasting your time on them.

Radiation warning for low-energy lightbulbs

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Hmm?

If is put one in my desk lamp and have it really low down over the keyboard, will I be able to get a nice tan on my hands while I type?

EC wants pan-Euro online shopping laws

Andrew Bush
Stop

What now?

Jeez, the existing EU Distance Selling Directive apparently already entitles savvy/dozy web-shoppers to buy goods online, dick about with them so they are 'second hand' and then demand their money back including delivery costs both ways. Now they want to make it even worse for online retailers.

Most bricks and mortar shops wouldn't allow customers to return non-faulty items after using/wearing them for a refund - let alone include the return costs of transport to the shop for both visits including parking fees. Why should this be different for online purchases?

Shopping online allows buyers to easily compare prices at many outlets at no expense and then conveniently have the goods delivered instead of having to visit a shop. The trade-off is that you don't get to 'handle the goods'. Yes, there is a trade-off, but this should be recognised and emphasised, not eliminated with draconian legislation. Many goods sold online have detailed descriptions, access to pdf user manuals, hi-res images, and reviews etc. In a shop you get the box, a price, and a lousy teenage weekend sales assistant who hasn't a clue.

This is all fucked-up and it looks like it's going to get worse.

Virgin rejects $1m space sex offer

Andrew Bush
Paris Hilton

Pearl necklace

Perfect little globules floating around - for a few minutes, at least.

I just wanted to be the first to post it, I know it's juvenile.

Paris, who else?

Finally launched: Nokia's iPhone beater

Andrew Bush

iPod dock connector

Will this fit into an iPod dock for charging on my swanky iPod music system in the kitchen and play my favourite tunes at the same time?

Can I dock it in my snazzy 'Halo' iPod dock alarm clock to charge overnight?

Will it dock with my, etc., etc.

I can see a global anti-trust action coming for use of the iPod dock connector for non-iPod devices. Either that, or this thing and anything else like it just won't get off the ground.

C'mon Google, use some of that Google gold to prise the dock connector into the public domain, maybe then you really can invent the Satan Phone.

Nintendo introduces redesigned DS

Andrew Bush
Thumb Up

@Steven Foster

My five year old son doesn't "have a camera on his phone(s) already".

These little toys are for kids. The grown ups surely buy a PSP? The camera add-on for a PSP is £35, so the inclusion in this new DSi is nice for kids who will get a kick out of taking the odd picture or mini-video with their toy hand-held games gadget.

I'm sure it'll be a runaway success, even if it is crap compared to a PSP.

Dell's dinky designer desktop

Andrew Bush
Coat

I don't get it...

Raises hand to ask question. I don't get it. If they can do a laptop for £299 with a screen and battery included, why is this thing £100 more? I can see a big market for these mini desktops now every man and his uncle has a 42"+ monitor sat in their lounge, but not at more than £150-200. After all, anyone wanting a full blown media centre will buy/build the beast. These little tiddlers are just right for a casual bit of surfing with your TV dinner on your lap, but currently too expensive for such infrequent use.

Virgin Galactic to unveil tool to fling rich people into space

Andrew Bush

@Andy Barber

Ah, but he later fell to earth. Problems with global warming or something.

Who will be the next Doctor?

Andrew Bush

Eddie Izzard

I still like Eddie Izzard. But then without RTD, there'll be no need for further gender ambiguity...

Boffins: Roadrunner hypercomputer could drive a car

Andrew Bush
Stop

Bunker

At the risk of sounding trite. Why do you all assume that the 'Roadrunner Hypercomputer' actually has to be in a vehicle to control it? Surely only sensors and communication are required in the vehicle. Roadrunner can control its vast army of war machines from its bunker in complete safety and wipe us all out with impunity, no problem.

We now need a back-up network of EMP satellites just in case it does decide to 'rise'. Unless, 'they' have them up there already.

WD pitches Firewire pocket HDD

Andrew Bush
Pirate

Dollar gaining strength?

And check out the Dollar/Pound conversion.

Do WD know something about the future of exchange rates we don't?

Jolly Roger for piracy across the high seas of the Atlantic.

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