Posts by The BigYin
2838 posts • joined Tuesday 25th March 2008 12:38 GMT
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Not new
When this story last broke it was pointed out that this case and system were already on sale (http://www.cybernetman.com/).
So, El Reg, why not do some journalism and ask these jokers how they think they can get away with claiming someone else's product as their "own" and simply re-branding it for cool?
They've not even bothered to try and get a customer case/colours/keys FFS!
The Cybernteman looks like it could scratch a few itches and if the Ubnutu distro was properly re-themed and configured, you could maybe ape some Commodore cool (pre-installed Commodore emulator, games etc).
But this? This is a feckin' joke.
In this case...
...you may well be right. It smacks much more of a crime of opportunity, and if it wasn't - a lot of effort went into stealing £50 worth of bike! This does not negate the fact that Street View and Google Maps could be a valuable assets to the criminally minded.
House stolen?
Cripes. I've heard of shoplifting, but houselifting?
Sorry, you fail
If he didn't open the door, how would he get the car (or anything else) out?
*LEAVING* the door open for extended periods without good cause is the issue.
You can bet they are...
...the police use Street View for planning raids FFS! You can bet your arse that the (smarter) crooks are using it too. Rather savvy, the modern day scum.
Posted in Oracle freshens its VirtualBox
Hardly matters...
...and this is what is good about F/OSS. If enough people find that VBox scratches their itch, if Oracle do something stupid a new version will come from another quarter befor you can say "Fork in hell!"
A F/OSS version would lose USB etc, but I am sure a way around that would be found.
Is MS scared?
If so, what of?
As far as I can tell, Linux* is still no threat, nor is Apple. Or is Linux a major part of the cloud-world (something I have nothing to do with) and giving MS cause for concern? Or have they some crystal ball and can see a paradigm shift coming (Linux** on mobiles, set-top boxes etc).
Their talk of "community" amuses me. All the "communities" I am involved with have rather open and frank debates, usually with the oh-so-precious code clearly visible, showing its warts to one and all. Anyone is free to update, add-to or even fork the project. No way in hell MS will truly engage with any community in what one could call and "open" manner.
MS do make some good GUI tools. Previous versions of VisualStudio have had quite a few things going for them. If MS want to help a community, how's about they help the already flourishing Eclipse community? Hmm, wossat? Not a chance in hell? Yeah, thought as much, just more empty words and double-talk from the Beast of Redmond.
If they actually did what they said they wanted to do, then they might just get a positive response. Instead I think we'll just see more words and then another lawsuit or something.
*Sub 1% penetration - but it does depend a lot on how you slice 'n dice the figures.
**I say "Linux", but it really could be any non-MS OS. e.g. BSD, Haiku...
Posted in Oracle freshens its VirtualBox
VBox is (almost) freakin' awsome
The seamless integration is cool, but that's just eye candy really.
The ability to run the images headless AND to have it's own RDP host is the cow's conkers.
The user license is also very liberal, and the community is great.
Just a shame the USB support is still a bit shaky.
Oh, and some MS products run like a dog (but that could be more the fault of MS than of VBox).
Have a hosted Linux show you 3d Compiz magic on a windows box is pretty trippy!
Apple...
...is not a monopoly player, other computers, portable players and phones exist.
If Apple controlled, say, 90%+ of the desktop PC market and acted the way it is currently, then you would have a point.
This is why it is MS (and not Apple) who needs to face the judge again.
Too much data
I wish I had the time to listen to/watch/play all the crap I can get perfectly legally. Want some music? Spotify is free (bar ads) and pretty good, or any internet radio station.
What to see film/TV prog? Might be on demand, might be on air (so just record it for watching later), might be cheap on DVD.
Want to play a game? There are seriously good games available as abandonware or FOSS.
Even books! Project Guttenburg.
I think this is what the major labels fear, a total collapse of their market. I, you, we simply don't need them. Content creators need not fear. marketing distribution etc. need not fear (although their jobs will certainly change). but major labels ripping off their talent and squeezing the customer for every penny they can get certainly need to fear.
So they lobby governments to pass laws that entrench their out-moded and dying business models and carry on shafting their customers even more.
I've not mentioned anything illegal - and I simply have no need to buy anything at full price or to even use illegal channels.
Why not...
...check out the (public!) bug report?
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/light-themes/+bug/532633
Open Source generally encourages involvement and community. Even if a decision does not go your way, you will often find out how to configure things to suit your needs.
So rather than sit on the interwebs and whinge, why not actually do something?
Just a suggestion.
Reinstalled?
Per unit, (beyond right at the start when I was playing silly beggars) I have only upgraded the OS with the release cycles. So once every six months (I don't have to, of course; it was my choice). The system keeps itself up-to-date and only needs to reboot if the kernel gets updated.
This is much less hassle than Windows which needs to reboot after just about every update and which also moans, moans, moans, MOANS! if you do not retsart immediately.
You clearly have never run Ubuntu, let alone and modern Linux distro, so why not keep your ill-informed opinions to yourself.
Linux is not perfect, but it is arguable less imperfect than Windows.
Downvotes
I see the MS astroturfers are hard at work.
The UK supports MS and only MS
The UK supports, nay, forces MS on users. It makes sure that MS products are given to schools (either free or at heavy discount). Laptops given to schools carry the MS infection with them.
People are taught how to make MS products do this or that, not how to use a computer.
Exams are set that can only be passed by using MS products.
So, in the UK at least, the government does not support F/OSS, has never supported F/OSS and probably never will.
That will explain why all their major IT projects have been such successes. Hmm.....
No apologies for strong language
In two words: Fuck that.
It's all very "Ghost in the Shell" if you ask me. Quick! Best get those attack barriers in place in case of a back-hack.
Posted in Best Buy buys in modest iPad supply
Love 'em or hate 'em...
...you have to give kudos to Apple for the way they can manipulate their customers and whip up a media frenzy.
(Sod the iPad, gimme a wePad or whatever that Chinese one was called.)
JSITFO
Just
Switch
It
The
F...
Off
Or use another mail service, it's not as if Google has a monopoly or antyhing....
H.264 is open...
...but patent encumbered and you need a license if you are encoding for anything other than personal use. At least that is my understanding.
And sorry to burst your bubble, but OGG.Theora is inferior, it is based on tech that precedes H.264 by a good few years (OGG.Theora is base on On2's VP3 codec, they were at VP8 when Google bought them: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/20/google_nabs_on2/).
Why choose H.264? Hardware support, pure and simple. None exists for OGG (Theora or Vorbis) and there is plenty floating about for H.264 (and MP3). This makes the encoding/decoding a much easier proposition. Xiph simply isn't in a position to bargain for OGG Theora/Vorbis hardware support, and there is not point in using OGG as there is no hardware support. Chicken, meet egg.
It would be nice if OGG won (and even nicer if Google released VP8 under irrevocable license), I won't argue that. But I fear it won't happen. Vested interests, money and shafting the consumer once again are much more important to Google et al.
My thoughts...
...exactly. And I use the fox!
@Say What?
Smart meters aren't here (yet) in the UK but the poster is right, they will be able to control power consumption (switching off non-essential items when demand spikes to smooth out the load). That's before we even consider how long it will be before these meters get hacked and what (if any) recourse consumers have against incorrect billing.
The same mentality can be see again in the Labour (and Tory?) backed policy of having a remote system control the speed of your vehicle. This is what the Galileo satellite system is for.
This is the same mentality that is giving us mandatory ID cards, the DNA database and the CRB check idiocy (not so much the idea of a check, but the crazy way it has been implemented).
Tin foil hat maybe, doesn't make them wrong though.
Posted in Lords: Analogue radio must die
FFS
DAB quality is crap.
DAB coverage is crap.
DAB sets costs more.
DAB takes more to manufacture.
DAB sets draw more power.
DAB means millions of (perfectly good) radios going to landfill.
I thought we were all mean to be saving the planet or something?
I wonder how many of our fearless leaders have shares in companies with DAB interests?
Posted in BBC ices launch of free iPhone news app
Agreed
And why have the gone proprietary, DRM-lock down on their media? Cutting out many users who were watching their content quite legitimately and inconveniencing those who break the law not one bit.
The BBC may have some of the best shows on TV, but they really need taken down a peg or two.
The internet has adverts?
How quaint.
Guns don't kill people
Bullets do, aided by the person who pulled the trigger.
Drug patents do not allow people to die. They're just a piece of paper.
Abuse of the patents and profiteering allow people to die.
@Sarah Bee
Will you be doing stand-up any time soon? Some of your come-backs are total class!
Posted in Dell Mini 10
@AC
The only models they offered were cripple, not marketed and hidden on their website. MS probably told them to do that to so that they could continue to say that sales of Linux boxes weren't worth it.
But that wasn't really my point.
They should be compelled by law to offer a "no OS" option. What we have now is more like an MS led cartel.
If they did...
...then I think people would twig just how evil Google are being.
Posted in Times websites want £1 a day from June
Pfft
Screw that.
Actually I might consider it if it was advert free. If I read the Times in the first place...
Posted in Darling confirms telephone line tax
In a few years time...
...it will be an "internet license" or something and cost £10 or more (on top of your ISP contract). The money (like most taxes) will not be hypothecated and will simply keep MPs in champagne and fois gras.
You read it here first.
@What's wrong with bipedal locomotion?
"and everyone can do it."
You sure about that?
The Segway looks fun 'n all and the self-balancing tech is definitely cool. I can (maybe) see a use in warehouse etc, if it is more efficient than a buggy...but everywhere else? Don't see it. For those who can walk...get a good pair of shoes/boots and walk!
What is this Segbike like under hard braking? Think I stick to wheels front 'n rear ta muchly. Might interest the NABD though!
Posted in Dell Mini 10
MS told them to
As a consumer, it is not possible to by a PC from any of the major OEMs without buying Windows.
I know you might find a page or two should that, say, HP sell a SUSE laptop; but you can't actualy buy it.
Offering one crappy netbook (as Dell does) is not an option either.
It's time the EU looked into this and forced the OEMs, at the very least, to offer a no OS option.
Having just gone to both sites...
...it seems they even use the same pages.
Something smells off about this.
Fait accompli
Moan all you want, but we are just going to have to take ACTA up the wrong 'un.
Civil Servant: Minister, here is the first ACTA related bill for you to sign and make law.
MP: Some of this seems a bit off; a bit much.
CS: Negotiations went on for years minister. Everyone agrees.
MP: Oh, why wasn't I there?
CS: Secret negotiations minister.
MP: So who was there?
CS: The stakeholders minister and few representatives for the interested countries.
MP: "Stakeholders"? What, members of the public?
CS: No minister, the MAFIAA and other groups.
MP: So why do I have to sign this?
CS: It's all been agreed. The whole world agrees on it. if you don't sign it, we will never get an agreement like this again. You'll be against free trade. No one will trade with us.
MP: And what will it mean?
CS: Continued profits for the members of MAFIAA et al. But you can dress it up as "Less pirates selling porn to kiddies". The Daily Hate will love that.
MP: Won't there be public outcry?
CS: Not really, we'll do it bit by bit. Then in a few years we will just say the new ACTA bill simply harmonises and streamlines what we already have in place.
MP: Really can't see the public liking this.
CS: As you often say minister "Fuck the proles, show me the money". You will, of course be invited to all the upcoming ACTA conferences around the globe. First class travel, the works. I am sure you could be head of a few steering committees or the director of a consultancy related to this as well. You won't even have to declare it as an "interest"; I'll see to that.
MP: Jolly good! Where do I sign?
Better marketing, that's all.
As the first post points out, even the "Super" key has that weird, squiggly squares symbol on it.
It's probably just some money men (who know diddly about computers) bought the rights to the name, bought a license to distribute and now have this "new" Commodore.
Maybe it will be a success, maybe it won't.
Towers...
...a good for cooling. And. Err. Umm. Yeah.
One of these "PC in keyboard" things with some kind of wireless connection to a TV/monitor would be good. You could then hide that tower in the closet and have it do all the heavy-lifting (transcoding, broadcast recording, media serving etc).
I want more money so I can buy more toys...
@Sarah - Is it better
Now, now petal. Do be a love and don't get your feathers all ruffled. It's just the trolls trying to pick a fight, flower. Alright me dear?
But then you will feed them! :o)
[Did I squeeze enough colloquialisms in?]
Again!
Why do companies insist on storing personal data unencrypted? FFS.
Fine them £1,00 per breach. That's £46,000,000. Should help the budget.
@Sarah
Umm..."female" is a noun (and an adjective). I guess it's a bit formal (sounds like a police report, "And then the female in question did....").
What say we call her "the woman with the whoppers"?
[I am soooooo going to get banned!]
Lies
It's all lies! How do we know? "[Laker] pressed a button to take a revealing photo". See? LIES!
We were told by our MPs and the manufacturer that these machines cannot take pictures, so this bint is lying.
She must be.
Our MPs wouldn't lie to us, would they?
Simple answer?
Start making the outer casing of fibre cables with a "No copper" symbol.
lolz
Yeah, and security by obscurity works sooooooooo well.
Posted in Penalty for silent calling goes sky high
I get these...
...even though I am registered with TPS. They are a total pain in the arse. And the bastards block their number too - that should be illegal for any company using auto-dialers. If I knew their number I could report it and request a block (at the offender's expense).
This fine is pointless as we all know it will not be applied and it is just to easy for these companies to avoid any censure (mostly because the have enough wonga to grease the right palms).
@Mods hate me
No apology forthcoming, there is still no link to a page where a consumer can buy a PC from a major OEM either naked or with a non-MS OS. I know there are landing pages for business customers, but they lead no where if you want to buy on-line.
Dell's singular offering does not count as a real choice in my book.
That leaves Joe Schmoe with no viable choice other than Windows (tech savvy users can always get what they want (either going to a niche retailer or DIY), but I am not thinking about them).
Don't misunderstand; I want to be proven wrong, I want people to have a choice, I want to issue that apology/thanks for getting a link.
It's not happened yet.
And yes, I have been looking too. I can find Linux systems from other sources, but again that is not what I am talking about. I am pretending to be the average consumer going to the "household names". When you do that it Windows or nothing.
Huh?
HTML, dotNet, Java etc; these are tools. When I hire a joiner, they do not charge me for their saws etc (well, not directly). They charge me for materials, but mostly they charge me for knowing how to use said materials, what materials and how to approach a piece of work.
That's what I pay for.
If a joiner said I needed to pay $n for a special saw because it was the only thing that would cut a certain material, I'd be off getting a new joiner!
It's a different (better?) way of thinking and working.
@Not so smart, are ya?
Thanks for proving me right. Those links go no where. Yes, the first page shows SUSE for some notebooks. Now, click on the clink for one of them (say the 4710s), SUSE no longer an option. So then you select "All models". Still no SUSE.
I can't find the page where I can actually BUY this laptop.
AND this is appears to be a business device.
This is exactly what I was going on about - thank you again for helping me prove it.
Caught you out Steve.
I just did as you suggested - no results (beyond a few components).
http://tinyurl.com/ycblsmc
C'mon Steve 44, put your money where your mouth is and show me the hard links (UK site, consumer device, any Linux distro, direct from HP, Sony, Tosh, ANY major OEM).
Or I can only conclude you are in serious error with reality.
Show me the links
C'mon, so me the links. I ahve asked time and again on here for links to the ACTUAL PRODUCT and NO ONE can provide them
I know the HP is a lie, because I have tried. Yeah, you'll get Google results but they go no where, or they vanish into the quagmire of USA business account handling. Urgh. UK site, consumer device; prove it.
I would LOVE to be wrong.
Oh, and those links?
Show them to "proper" systems, not to the single, crippled version of some netbook that they may sell as a pathetic PR stunt.
@Fred Flintstone
I agree completely. By and large the choice on all PCs should be
- No OS
- Windows flavour(s)
- Linux flavour(s)
The first one is THE most important. I can live without the other two.
FFS!
"Its like buying a new car, then a week later asking them to take the seats back because you've decided you don't like the colour, and have found the ones you want at another dealer."
Another bad analogy. The problem in the consumer PC market is that all the seats are blue, for every major manufacturer. THERE IS NO REAL CHOICE! Dell offer NO REAL CHOICE (one shitty netbook does not count). Nor to HP, Toshiba, Sony etc.
I'll type this slowly so people can keep up.
There.
Is.
No.
Real.
Choice.
