* Posts by Will

37 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Nov 2007

Apple power brick sparks lawsuit

Will

Really

Well, I've had Mac Laptops for 10 years, I have 4 of the current MacBook adapters and I've not had a single problem with any of them.

What on earth do you think you are doing, Darling?

Will

bored of the misery and wallowing

Our turnover has tripled and profit doubled in the last 6 months. Colleague who writes iPhone apps doesn't have enough hours in the day to take on all the projects being thrown at him, he's looking to take on staff shortly.

Instead of wallowing in self pity, lets look at the positives, both Apple and Amazon have released good numbers this quarter, showing that you can make money in a recession.

Don't worry, be happy (I know that goes against our British nature)

Oh, and my local Michelin starred restaurant is always fully booked and I can't get a table.

Man U fan pwned in Facebook honeypot

Will

Against their will?

A few points that nobody has mentioned.

He was on holiday alone, that indicates in itself that there were problems in the marriage. He was also travelling to Aberdeen for the weekend, was his wife not suspicious.

Why did he have a vibrator with him on holiday?

How did the scousers know he had the said vibrator.

He broke his ankle and a rib when he was chucked in the pool.

They have a kid, imagine the impact this is going to have on it.

"Cage fighters" says it all really, they were probably bullies at school and they are still bullies now.

Football is for morons, it should be banned.

Its all very well self righteously passing judgement, but I wonder given the right circumstances, how many of us men would avoid a honey trap?

Google G1 successor spied in video?

Will

Is the G1 rubbish

I know all the open source fan boys rushed out and bought this, simply because it wasn't an iPhone. But is it any good? I've not used one, but from what I've seen, it looks a bit pants.

Another miserable quarter for Dixons

Will

The problem is

As has already been stated, I'm happy to pay between 5 and 10% over internet prices for the convenience of walking in to a store to get the thing today, however I', not prepared to pay 60%. Of course, the problem for DSG is, that running a retail business cost more than 5-10% more than internet operations. The only solution is to train your staff really well, make them very knowledgeable, then maybe you're prepared to pay those high prices. The danger is that punters come in to a store, do all their research and then buy it online. However, Richer Sounds seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.

Apple 'niche player' in touchscreen phone biz, says analyst

Will

Samsung phones

the UI is utterly useless, I used on e the other week and its just dreadful. They may look like iPhones, and have similar functionality, but in the words of Obama, its like putting lipstick on a pig.

Dell launches Inspiron 9 mini laptop

Will

Apple's and Oranges

Ones a phone and ones a computer, they do different jobs. The Dell is just another me too product. Acers new 6 cell aspire one is a much better option in my opinion.

Data watchdogs did not want to see eBay bank server

Will

OFT, FSA, ICO are all pants

We run a company helping people get their bank charges back, and for our sin have to deal with these muppets on a weekly basis. We get claim forms sent back because from the Financial Ombudsman's service because we haven't put the customers occupation down...sometimes, other times they don't mind.

To my mind the OFT and FSA are the worst, the FST's waiver to the banks last year was the biggest slap in the face to the consumer for a very long time. Apparently they put the waiver in place because customers complaints weren't being handled consistently, only about 99% of customers were getting their charges back to the tune of millions of pounds. Of course the best way to protect the consumer was to put a waiver in place to stop anyone claiming. Of course, the banks are still able to charge even though the OFT have concluded a report in to the fairness of bank charges and the high court have declared they have the right to investigate and impose sanctions.

Of course its not really surprising as most of these regulators are headed up by ex bankers anyway.

You also have banks ignoring the data protection requests. They have 40 days to respond but often don't bother, the ICO isn't interested.

My faith in these organisations is non existent.

Samsung unwraps MacBook Air beater

Will

@webster

You're quite obviously a moron, Why do you insist on making your idiotic comments. Go away, gain some life experience, try being creative. its easy to knock others, but it's a lot harder to actually get off your ass and be creative. Apple are a hugely successful company that are making a lot of money. You can no longer put that down to Appletards. People buy their products because they like them, pure and simple.

I'm hoping you're about 15 years old, because if you're any older than that, there's no hope for you. The problem with teenagers is that they think they know everything, when in reality, they know jack shit!

Asus' own Eee-beater spied on web

Will

OS X

Just stick OS X on it, job done :-)

Looking forward to Apple's netbook, of course it will cost £500 but us Apple users are loaded and we don't care ;-)

Apple faces lawsuit over wobbly 3G claims

Will

How much of a problem?

The problem is, nobody goes on to internet forums to say how trouble free their phone is. I'd like to see the real numbers relating to this problem. I know I have a 3G iPhone and I'm not having any 3G problems at all, nor are the 3 other people i know with them. I used to have an Orange phone that would drop calls many times along the motorway, I never started a class action suit or blamed the phone, I just blamed Orange. Now when someone with an Iphone gets a dropped call, it must be the iPhones fault.

And why launch a class action lawsuit, surely you simply buy a different product? It wouldn't be because the lawyers smell a profit would it?

Apple preps patch for 'problematic 3G' iPhone?

Will

@webster

Don't you get tired of spouting the same old shit day after day?

iPhone 3G isn't necessarily

Will

@ Greg

Now who's the stupid one :-) Glad everyone here has put you straight.

Will

@ Anonymous Coward

How exactly is AGPS not proper GPS? GPS has trouble locating you under certain circumstances such as when surrounded by tall buildings. Assisted GPS is exactly that, it uses various methods to quickly approximate your position and then narrow that down using GPS.

No problems here with the Jesus phone and 3G.

With regards to the N78 having the iPhone beat on features, how good a product is, is not always about how many features it has, but how well it performs the tasks it is set to do. I've been using "smartphones" for years, and they are all crap in everyday use compared to the iPhone. Is it perfect? No, but it's a damn site better than the competition. I don't respect anyone's argument on this unless they've actually used the thing in a real world situation for a decent length of time.

Oh and the Jesus phone is HSDPA.

Ballmer upset by Apple cart

Will

@webster Phreaky

Your post says more about you than it does about Apple :-) You must be a real slow learner, did you not think after 5 years 'hey, these products are crap'?

Or....you're lying! I doubt very much this is your personal experience. I run a Mac support company and I rarely have to provide hardware repairs. All companies have hardware issues, Apple provides a very generous 3 year repair extension programme when there is an identified issue such as the iBook logic board. If I could be bothered, I'm sure I could find a similar list of issues over the last 15 years for any manufacturer. so you've got a HP that is 7 years old, I've got a PowerMac G3, Mac Plus and 2 PowerMac G4's that haven't missed a beat, what's your point?

You're quite clearly a geeky idiot with a big mouth, not unusual in your line of work though.

O2 buckles under 3G iPhone demand

Will

same story in Birmingham

I was at the Northfield branch, about 40 in line at 8 am. They refused to let people leave with unactivated phones due to the instructions of the area manager. However they were able to process new contracts, but not upgrades. As a result, even though I was tenth in line, I left without a 16GB iPhone, because all the new customers got them.

So much for existing customers getting the same deal as new ones.

Not a happy bunny at all.

iPhone 3G to be in 'very short supply for weeks' - carrier

Will
Jobs Halo

Come on people

He obviously meant 13000 people a second were attempting to order and then when this failed at any point during the process, they had to start all over again, no wonder there were so many order attempts every second.

Here's how you should have done it O2

Monday, existing iphone users get text inviting them to upgrade.

Tuesday, existing O2 customers who are not Iphone users get change to upgrade.

Wednesday, free for all.

Not hard is it?

AT&T prices up PAYG 3G iPhones

Will

@ yeahright

its hardly Apple's fault that Rogers pricing is so bad. That's what happens when there is a lack of competition. While I'm a big fan of unlimited data, its worth noting that my iPhone has only downloaded 600MB of data in 6 months! I'd consider myself a heavy user and use it for email and browsing on a daily basis.

Looking at everyones pricing, O2 seem pretty good.

Apple to announce handheld games console at WWDC?

Will

iPod

The iPod is the best MP3 player because it keeps things simple enough for grandma to use. Thats why when each new iPod killer came out loaded with features, few bought them. Techies fail to realise this time and again, the vast majority of the populous have no clue when it comes to technology.

Will

@studentrights

Owning both an iPhone and a touch, I'm fully versed in their features thanks. Having played a racing car sim demo the other day, I'd still like the option of a conventional controller and stand by my comments. This would also provide the opportunity to provide additional battery power and better audio (especially for the touch)

Will

Mectron

Your clearly an idiot! Failing to make an MP3 player? Have you seen how many iPod's Apple sell?

As for failing to make computers, Apple is selling more Macs than it has ever done and their growth is outpacing the PC industry.

Will

Ahhhh

An accessory that you plug your iPhone/touch in to that incorporates a controller, now there's an idea!

Will

What I think is going on

How annoyed would you be if you purchased a full price 2.5G iPhone the day or week before the 3G version came out? Remember what happened when Apple dropped the price of the 8GB version and dropped the 4GB? There was uproar.

I'm fairly confident that Apple will release the 3G iPhone at the same time as they provide iPhone software 2.0, which will be at WWDC. I'd be very surprised to see a gaming device at WWDC. If Apple does have plans to release such a device, I would expect it to be in September/October in time for Christmas. If you think about it, by that time there will be a number of games already developed for the iPhone/Touch and developers will be up to speed on the capabilities. Any new device would run on the same development platform and thus be a no brainer for developers.

Freesat launches in UK

Will
Thumb Down

What a pile of pants

Great, idea, typical British implementation :-/

Only 1 HD channel on launch, no PVR.

They've only had two years to get things to this point. I will buy the Humax PVR when its available in late summer.

Apple update trick triples Safari share

Will

Against their will?

err, just how did IE get so popular. Oh yes, that's right. They bundled it with Windows. Just because you install it, doesn't mean you have to use it. As people are using it, they must like it?

Now, if it removed IE and Firefox, I'd have a problem with it.

Carphone Warehouse cleared out of 8GB iPhones

Will

Why would anyone buy an iPhone?

Nokia N95 blah blah, it costs £900 blah blah, its got a rubbish camera blah blah :-)

Mac is the first to fall in Pwn2Own hack contest

Will
Jobs Horns

That's all well and good

Anyone know of any Mac's that are part of a botnet? What about one with a virus? A keylogger or a trojan anyone?

Its good news that Microsoft have improved their security, shame that this has made little difference in the real world. The fact remains that I would be happy to put my Mac outside a firewall with no virus protection, can the users of Windows say the same?

Of course these kind of incidents are useful, and teach us not to be complacent, hopefully Apple will take note and improve things.

I never understand why people get so cross at a computer platforms.

Apple forbids Windows users from installing Safari for Windows

Will
Gates Halo

Wow, it doesn't have 3G!

My God, I've been using it for 4 months now, getting email and browsing the web, its been far more useable than any other mobile browser I have ever used. However, now I know it doesn't have 3G, it's going in the bin!

It was the MacBook Air sub-notebook

Will
Jobs Horns

Share price

To the guy gloating over the share price, anyone who has ever watched Apple's share price after an Apple announcement will know that it always takes a dive. This is because the mediatards and fanboys whip themselves up in to a frenzy of expectation which drives up the share price, then when the products don't live up to the expectations it crashes between 10 and 20%. Now is always a great time to buy, you can make a good return by the end of January.

Nintendo kills Wii ads due to console shortage

Will

@Steve

Steve, I wasn't aware that I was asking for your sympathy.

I fail to see your logic though. Why is it that people in the UK hate to think of anyone showing a bit of entrepreneurial spirit to make a profit? Isn't the basis of a capitalist society supply and demand? Perhaps Nintendo should sell the Wii at cost price, heaven forbid that they should make a profit. Why are Audi R8's demanding a 20% premium over RRP at the moment? Because demand is greater than supply. Impatient people who have the money will pay the extra 20%, others will wait until supply catches up.

Nobody makes parents spend £250 on a Wii do they? However, if people want one desperately enough they will pay what they will pay.

As for being £14k short, don't be silly, the worst that will happen is that we will have gone to a lot of effort for very little profit and that's the risk people like us take. You on the other hand are probably Mr Play It Safe who just moans about 'greedy' people.

Greed is what drives our society, if you don't like it toddle off to a communist one.

Will

There is no shortage

I went over to France 3 weeks ago with my business partner and purchased 75 Wii's just after Nintendo announced there would be shortages. Problem is, everyone else had the same idea which meant the price on eBay crashed. In reality you need to sell a Wii at about £250 to make a decent profit, most are selling for around £220. Each Wii costs us £190 (because banks screw you on the exchange rate) then eBay charge you £10 to list it, £10 when you sell item and then Paypal take £10. If you send it special delivery, that's another £20. So to those that are bemoaning the price on eBay, wake up and understand why. People like us take a risk, sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. If you don't like the price on eBay, perhaps it would be cheaper and easier for you to travel to France/Germany to pick one up?

Also, I don't believe there is any shortage, they have had them consistently in stock in various places for about a week now at the likes of Argos and Game, yes they sell out within a day but then another retailer gets them in. Ninendo are playing games, there are no DS's anywhere now either. By this point, Nintendo don't need to advertise for Christmas, it would have been responsible for them to stop advertising in November but they are just making this announcement to hype demand further.

With one bound, Apple is free of 54 security bugs

Will
Happy

Sophisticated Port Trojan?

Define sophisticated :-/

Tumbleweeds outnumber punters, as iPhone's First Night flops

Will

@Anonymous Coward

"It sounds like he already has a job, with Apple's Reality Distortion Dept."

That's right, just because I make positive comments about Apple I must somehow be weak willed and deluded. I'm not adverse to criticising Apple but I think you're wrong on this one.

Will

Anonymous Coward

I don't see your point. Nokia have multiple mobiles at different price points aimed at different users to a worldwide market and are have been in the market for over 10 years. Of course Apple aren't going to sell anything like the number Nokia do. However, everyone is comparing the N95 to the iPhone so that's why I'm comparing the sales figures of the 2.

Will

@Danny

Thanks for the link, are those worldwide numbers? If so then Apple's numbers hold up quite well. That link is also incorrect when it states that Apple intend to sell 1 million in a year, they did that in its first quarter, the target is 10 million.

I think Apple deserve a pat on the back, I really do. How many other companies do you know could enter the mobile phone game and stand toe to toe with Nokia with their first product? Nokia sold 1.5 million worldwide, Apple sold 1.2 million in the US alone. Entering a developed and mature market and selling as much as they have should be something that is admired.

I'm sure Apple's presence in the mobile market will be a good thing for everyone, it will certainly keep the likes of Nokia on their toes.

Will

Yes the N95 is technically superior

Just as a Mitsubishi Evo is faster than an Audi R8, however it doesn't make it a better car. This is what geeks often overlook, its not just what a product does but its how it does it. This is so reminiscent of the Mac PC debate its funny. How many of you iPhone knockers slagged off the iPod as overpriced and foretold its demise and failure? Was the Razr a success because of its superior feature set or its superior UI? Products succeed and fail for many reasons, not just because they have a superior feature set. This is where Apple's strengths have always lay, taking common tasks and features and doing them better, and making them easier to use.

I think if you consider that the iPod touch is £199 then the iPhone isn't bad value at £269. Sure you have an 18 month contract but then I'm sure a lot of people have 18 month contracts that are around the £35 a month mark, I know I was on a similar deal with Orange when I got my SPV M3100 and the networks are pushing them more and more to avoid churn.

Reports today seem to indicate that they sold 70,000 over the launch weekend, that's good going by anyone's standards. Unfortunately we don't really have any competitors figures available to contrast with the iPhone's sales, perhaps someone can point me in the direction of sales figures for the N95?

For what its worth, I think it would have been better if they had just sold an unlocked phone but time will tell if their strategy is the right one.

Will
Jobs Halo

Negative coverage

In the days running up to the iPhone launch it seemed every journo and blogger embarked on a iPhone bashing fest, with the BBC leading the way. Now the launch is over the 'iPhone launch failure' stories are cropping up. The launch in the UK was never going to match that of the US. We in the UK were never going to queue in huge numbers for a mobile phone that had no stock constraints.

So the media whipped themselves up into a frenzy of anticipation and then conclude the launch was a failure because it didn't live up to their inflated expectations. The fact that anyone queued at all for a mobile phone is a sucess in itself, perhaps the media should be comparing the launch to that of other mobiles, not their own expectations. I'm sure Nokia would be delighted if it had sold 10,000 on launch day.

This was posted on my iPhone and though its not without its faults, its the best phone I have ever owned and is a pleasure to use. As Apples first attempt, I think its pretty amazing. If I was Apples competition, I'd be pretty worried about version 2.