* Posts by Steve Evans

2772 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Apr 2007

Multimillion-pound hoard of 50BC GOLD PIECES found in Jersey

Steve Evans
Joke

Re: Searching over the same field for 30 years?

It's only a small island and you can't dig the rocky bits.

Raspberry Pi to skipper microship across Atlantic

Steve Evans

Re: The power of Pi

It does sound like a bit of overkill... I can't help thinking an ATmega could read a serial GPS and control a rudder/motor perfectly well for only a few milliamps.

Steve Evans

I can see this ending in tears...

If this works, I suspect the English channel will become clogged with hoards of little self navigating boats trundling across from Amsterdam and all the way up the river Cam with supplies.

BT Vision beats rivals to honour of being worst UK Pay-TV

Steve Evans

Not much sympathy...

"BT pointed out to The Register that its telly service is dependent on the quality of customers' Freeview reception and broadband, as opposed to the other big boys in television Sky and Virgin Media, who deliver via satellite dish and cable respectively."

Very true, and freeview signals can be patchy, but *YOU* are the ones charging that monthly rent on the 50 year old corroded pair the customers broadband has to struggle along!

Microsoft: no plans to make own phones

Steve Evans

Re: They may not have to...

They don't need to make their own phones... They pretty much have Nokia owned and bent over the kitchen table.

Nokia have burnt and sunk all their other boats and sacked anyone that know another way. So they are the MS "premium partner" until death do they part. Why would MS need to make their own phone? Nokia will do whatever they say (they have to for survival), and Nokia might still even remember something about building phones too (bonus).

'Inexperienced' RBS tech operative's blunder led to banking meltdown

Steve Evans

Re: no backup of the schedule?

The same way call centres work... Crib sheet.

Press this, click that, just say "Yes" to anything it asks you to confirm.

Now off you go.

Even Apples sometimes have worms in them, admits Cupertino

Steve Evans
Facepalm

Re: @Steve

D'oh, yes, sorry... Missed the point on that.

Nope, not a friend of Ms Leach, just not enough coffee in the system yet!

Steve Evans

Re: iOS PCs?

PC is an acronym for Personal Computer, there is no mention made of any specification beyond that it is a computer for one person to use.

So there's nothing technically wrong with calling a Mac an iOS PC in the same way you have a Windows PC and a Linux PC.

Ford touts tech to bottle up traffic jams

Steve Evans

2 wheels?

If it can't handle cyclists, then the only place it might work is on the motorway... Unless it also can't handle motorcycles either. In which case it just doesn't work at all does it!

Nintendo supersizes 3DS

Steve Evans

Re: Since when does $$$ to £££ actually add up ?

Indeed. I'd be more up in arms about their complete inability to use a calculator!

Kodak's using bankruptcy to rob us of our rights – Apple

Steve Evans

Re: Apple demonstrated ideas without patenting them first?

I too found the idea of Apple not having patented something the moment they thought of it as rather odd.

Major London problem hits BT broadband across southeast

Steve Evans

Re: OOPS!

Well the tape unit is an old Revox reel to reel. I have one in the attic... How you'd control it automatically, when most of the mechanism is mechanical, is the big question!

Ten... pieces of tat for Apple fanboys

Steve Evans

Re: I can just imagine

I couldn't help notice it seems to be the single bed variety...

Ten... celeb headphones

Steve Evans

Re: @jeebus

There is "spoiling you ears" and "throwing money away"... When the premium headphones cost over half the price of your chosen top of the range smart-phone or tablet, I have to react with WTF?!!!

There is just no justification for those prices. It makes the iPhone profit margin look positively frugal!

Vodafone's small, controversial tax bill validated by UK.gov

Steve Evans

Re: We can negotiate for a lower tax bill!?

Looks like it.

And judging by the "it was a reasonable deal considering the cost of taking legal action against the company." though process, all I have to do is offer them my tax bill minus expected legal cost + £1.

Given a lawyer costs a few grand per hour, and that my paperwork is a mess, I have recalculated my current tax bill to be -£127K. I shall be writing to Mr Osborne shortly.

HBO 'sorry' for skewering Dubya

Steve Evans
Joke

A wooden spike is probably the first solid useful thing to ever exist between Dubya's ears!

Reborn UK internet super-snooper charter to be unveiled today

Steve Evans

"half a million requests to intercept communications data"

WTF?!

If anything that figure should be used to show why the interception should only be done via a warrant. There is no way that level of intrusion is justified. It proves there are a hell of a lot of very nosey people out there.

What I would like to know is how many of those half million were approved as justified, because if this law is passed, all the previously unjustified will have their head in the pipe. Not to mention all those that didn't bother applying for access as they already knew they had no real justification.

Asus Transformer Pad TF300

Steve Evans

re: invalidating warranty

That would be an interesting one to see play out in the UK (and probably EU) courts.

There are statutory rights which you have, no matter what you sign or agree to. If you root it, and the case bio-degrades within 6 months because it's made of the incorrect plastic (for example), you would still be able to throw the sales of goods act at them. (Unfit for purpose).

Apple's Retina Macs: A little too elite?

Steve Evans

"the optimal video editing Mac just got a lot more expensive this week."

I'm not sure a laptop, even a high spec'ed Macbook Pro could be considered an optimal video editing platform.

If you perform any kind of rendering, After Effects, Maya etc etc, you need cores, RAM and lots of it.

So something with at least a couple of Xeons please.

Germany reveals secret techie soldier unit, new cyberweapons

Steve Evans

Re: Weird morals...

I agree with what you say, but there is no mention in the article that the cyber unit has even been used. Merely that they maintained an operational unit, in just the same way as they maintain an operational army, bombers and artillery. The article states that there are no details on any operations it may have carried out, i.e. "none" is a possibility.

Steve Evans

Weird morals...

"Legislators reportedly expressed surprise at the existence of the unit and questioned whether military commanders had the legal authority to launch attacks on foreign networks."

So it's normal to research and plan for a war where you'd flatten a country with explosives, tanks and nukes if you so chose, but surprising and legally dubious that you'd consider interfering with their ability to post a facebook status update of "OH NOES! WE ARE BEING BOMBED!" ?

These legislators must live in a strange little world.

HP Z1 quad-core Xeon 27in PC

Steve Evans

Re: Why oh why

For that money you could build yourself a couple of SSD based Shuttles of similar CPU and RAM grunt and plug them into IPS panelled Dell U2711 monitors of identical size and resolution, *but* with a practical matt screen instead of the Apple-esque "Must only be used whilst wearing black" gloss screen. Yes, *that's* why Mr jobs always wore than turtle-neck.

1,000 Foxconn iPad workers trash dorms in riot against guards

Steve Evans

Anna Anna Anna....

What's with that factual sentence listing other companies using Foxconn's services?

The Appletards aren't getting to you are they?

O2, Be Broadband axe Pirate Bay access

Steve Evans

Re: Right or wrong

Next week's news:

Music business flood all media channels with propaganda. Within 2 months 90% of the population believe VPN is an acronym for "Virulent Pirate Nastiness" and campaign groups spontaneously (with backing from mysterious benefactors) spring up to outlaw such heinous systems.

Next year's news:

VPNs and all encrypted transport systems have been found to be used for 49% piracy and 50% terrorism, and all forms of encryption now carry stiff custodial penalties.

Steve Evans

Re: Still accessible for me

Read sentence 3

"We have no option but to comply with this order and will be doing so overnight,” an O2 spokeswoman said today.

Come back tomorrow and report.

Steve Evans

Some Be Broadband customers hit back by claiming they would take their "business elsewhere".

Ummm...

Dunno quite how to break this to you, but unless you are planning to emigrate, you are going to discover finding a UK ISP that hasn't (or isn't about to) block TPB is a little tricky.

Options are:

1) Emigrate as previously mentioned (not a bad option to be honest!)

2) VPN

3) Use a private tracker that's kept its head down.

4) Wait 5 minutes for a different, unblocked domain/IP to appear. Use it for 6 months whilst the wheels of the court go round and round. Once blocked, wait another 5 minutes. Repeat until Music industry resort to using contract killings on pirates with HM Govt blessing.

Changing from one UK ISP to another will not have the slightest influence on the above, except BT moving at their typical glacial speed is actually a slightly beneficial to the end user just this once!

Strong ARM: The Acorn Archimedes is 25

Steve Evans

Re: As an Acorn fan girl...

IIRC the first 3 byte pairs of the 6502 memory map were the jump points for reset, NMI and IRQ... Although I could be wrong, it's been a while!

I shall consult Rodnay Zaks when I get home tonight!

Other scary things stuck in my mind:

VDU23,224,24,60,90,255,24,36,66,36

No wonder there's no room left for anything useful!

Steve Evans

Re: As an Acorn fan girl...

Don't worry, it you want to feel old try still remembering 6502 instruction codes in hex!

I rather missed out on playing with ARM in the early days. I suspect I have a few years on you. I do remember playing lander on one once, and having a true jaw on the floor moment. An insanely powerful machine. Unfortunately I couldn't afford one :'(

Apart from that, I'm not going to talk to you any more... I'm still waiting for my RaspPi :-(

Windows 8: We kick the tyres on Redmond's new tablet wheels

Steve Evans

Re: I finally get it! It all makes sense now...

And I just covered the last base by patenting the circle.

First letter being drafted to Tefal as we speak.

Steve Evans

*rolls eyes*

Correct me if I'm wrong, but M$ are "forcing" a UI designed for a touch screen tablet onto their entire desktop user base just so they can claim "Work on your tablet just like you do on your desktop" on the advertising blurb of the Windows tablets.

They're crippling their desktop users just so they can have a punt at 3rd place in the tablet market - aka over taking the abandoned WebOS!

Oh well... Guess that's me sticking with Win 7 for a while... Which at the moment is hosting an XP VM!

Hmmm, I've got Windows 2.0 floppies somewhere, I wonder if I can find a floppy drive...

Terror cops hunt laptop snatched from retired MI5 spookmistress

Steve Evans

Re: You'd think she, of all people, would be more careful

I don't think she even know Mr Fugu!

Steve Evans

Re: You'd think she, of all people, would be more careful

You forget, MI5 are a government department, so they just spend all their time telling others how to be careful and whilst in practise still being about as data secure as my mother.

82 London Underground stations to get free Wi-Fi for the Olympics

Steve Evans

Ahhh...

Crank up those extended laptop batteries and prepare to sniff many foreign language passwords for many unencrypted websites via the unencrypted WiFi.

Steve Jobs speaks from beyond grave: 'iPads are toys'

Steve Evans
Linux

Re: Haterz gonna hate

Well we have to get our chuckles amidst the barrage of continual iphone/pad rumours from somewhere!

Steve Evans

@Dr. Mouse

I didn't think Metro had any redeemable features!

Steve Evans

LMAO!

"world's biggest recycler of Bill Gates' best ideas"...

Anna, you need a troll icon! Even as I type this I can hear distant mouths starting to foam.

Wealthy Kensington & Chelsea residents reject BT fibre cabinets

Steve Evans

Have fun on your super-highway B road.

"Perhaps one of its competitors will step into the role."

Let me see... Who else provides cables to the premises? Oh, that'll be Virgin Media...

Good luck with that idea if the road isn't already cabled.

Steve Jobs was top of the flops, says Apple's Tim Cook

Steve Evans

Re: Visionary

Well that would certainly reduce the price of the next iphone!

Not sure it would do it any other favours though.

WD investigating origins of fake drives in UK channel

Steve Evans

The chap from KMS did a better job of defending Aria, than Aria does!

Aria's quote just makes him sound shifty and either hiding something or being in denial.

Self-driving Volvos cover 200km of busy Spanish motorway

Steve Evans

Re: 6m?

Sorry Mark ;-)

It was fresh in my mind as I had that exact Audi pleasure on the way to work in the morning.

No idea what he was trying to prove. I was quite happy doing just over the limit along with the car in front and the car in front of that and the car in front of that... etc etc

It's not like he'd ever have been able to impress me with his speed, I was riding my 1000cc sports bike!

I thought about a kill switch backfire to rattle him a bit, but instead just nipped ahead and put myself two vehicles further up the line.

Steve Evans
Joke

6m?

Is that it? Audi already have a system on the UK roads which get them within 2 meters!

Steve Evans

Re: Slight problem

Another slight problem... What happens when you find yourself coming up to a junction and the lane leading to the exit you want is full of 100 Volvos all 6 meters apart with none of the drivers paying any attention to other road users and letting them in.

Dual-dock prototype iPad eyed on eBay

Steve Evans
Trollface

Re: Uh...

- "WHICH DOESNT WORK?!?!?"

Nothing new there, just ask some of the ipad 3/new wifi owners!

Ex-Lloyds bank digital security chief 'submitted £2.5m in false exes'

Steve Evans

Re: How much??

Exactly my thought... If this was her fraud amount, how much were the "genuine" expenses? The mind boggles!

Nvidia Kai to enable cut-price Android tablets for all

Steve Evans

Re: Lower price components?

I don't think you can level that one just at Nvidia, half the tech industry were caught out by that dodgy electrolyte formula.

I've seen boards from countless manufacturers with caps labelled from countless other manufacturers which have spilt their guts for no reason.

However, if you wanted to some Nvidia ammunition you could always mention the poor bump material choice on their BGA chips which caused Apple to issue a recall and admit a status of "non-perfect"!

Steve Evans

Yeah, right...

The day a $199 device arrives on UK shores at £127, I'll eat my hat.

Price conversion into UK£ is usually a character replacement, not mathematical.

Everything Everywhere activates top-secret erections

Steve Evans

Secret eh?

I don't agree with that... Time to crank up Wigle again.

Jailed Facebook hack Brit targeted Justin Bieber's girlfriend

Steve Evans

Ahhh...

That explains how the FBI got involved over a single facebook account hack... A celebrity was involved.

*yawn*

Windows XP update fails in infinite .NET patch loop

Steve Evans

Re: Deja vu all over again

I've seen this before too.

When it happened the other day I just ran M$'s own "dot net removal tool", removed them all, rebooted and reinstalled the versions of dotnet I need. Good excuse for a clear out.

US space programme in shock metric conversion

Steve Evans

"even if "six-tenths of a kilometre" still has a ring of old school about it."

Worse than that, they haven't twigged the simplicity of the metric system allows them to just move the decimal point and make that 6 hundred meters.