* Posts by andy

40 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Apr 2007

Hunt for MPs' expenses leaker hots up

andy
Coat

The Mail

"Fleet Street insiders describe the deal at amateurish, mainly because neither the Daily Mail nor the Mail on Sunday, the two papers likely to pay the highest fees, were offered the scoop."

Amateur or not he certainly goes way up in my estimation for not dealing with those right wing, racist pricks...

Sony takes on iPod Touch with Walkman X

andy

title

Just when you thought ripping off the iphone/ipod touch couldn't get any more shameless...

Fetish club forces ID scanner climbdown

andy

@ac 8.43

"In fact we could be taking real risks by putting vast amounts of personal information in the hands of people at best incompetent and at worst malicious."

Mr Hume is on very very very dangerous ground here with his sweeping statement that those who work, own and manage pubs, clubs and shops are at best "INCOMPETENT" and at worst "MALICIOUS"

Seems reasonable to me, unless of course everyone who works in the industry also happens to be an expert in data protection and IT security...

Kettering to London: 18 hours by rail, bus and pack mule

andy
Flame

@chris byers

You're joking right?

You don't think their website maybe, just maybe, has a database behind it (that of course returns whats it's asked for with no concept of what may or may not be reasonable)...?

...And a dig at Apple as well, wow, comedy gold...

Firefox passive-aggressives adjudicate Nerd Law

andy

title

"To capitalize on this, he made NoScript update itself fairly frequently, and the update page on his website displays some Google ads."

Sorry but that just seems a bit spammy to me and it kind of ruins any argument about having to pay hosting costs - I download the extension from the mozilla site and only visit the NoScript site because i'm forced to.

More generally - by all means stop me accessing your site with an ad blocker on but you'd better have the best, most accurate, most exclusive, most compelling content there is if you want me to turn it off and stick around, and lets be honest, the chances are you don't (by a ridiculously huge margin), especially as the worst offenders are normally shitty blogs where you hit the site not knowing what it is and immediately go for the the back button.

Apple power brick sparks lawsuit

andy
Coat

No problems here...

On a 2 year old Macbook Pro and a year old Macbook.

What I see a lot though is people disconnecting them by yanking on the cable which (as with any cable) is a stupid idea. Its magnetic to save your pricey laptop if you trip over it etc. not to save 1/3 of a second when you're packing up...

So basically (in most cases) - user error... suck it up...

Google sued for 'stealing' Android name

andy
Flame

I can't stand Google but..

This guy seems just seems to be some loser trying to revive his failed company... I couldn't find any trace of a website made by Erich Specht let alone a mobile OS.

As for 'people may get confused', please, your a fuckin' nobody!

iPhone developers gifted lovely free extension

andy

@Corporate Apps

I believe apps can be distributed via itunes without going through the store but you need to be registered as an enterprise developer with Apple and have a certificate from them to sign apps...

Texting peer gets prison

andy

@Trevor.. Why 12 weeks

The guy he hit was pissed up, parked in the fast lane and facing the wrong way (after crashing himself).

It doesn't excuse it and it still seems a bit light to me but it was a bit of a 6 of 1 situation...

Facebook does U-turn on eternal data grab

andy
Thumb Down

Blah blah blah.. a title

What I don't understand is all these sites coming out with catch all, we own your content and can do with it whatever we want terms and then saying "we just use that so we can legally distribute it on the site".

If that's what they mean why don't they just say that in the first place, might I suggest something like

"By uploading your content you grant us permission to distribute on our website until such time as your account is deleted."

If necessary they can also include a warning that content may still be held in backups/caches.

Windows 7 'upgrade' doesn't mark XP spot

andy
Coat

@Mark

I've corrected you...

Migrating to Linux is a viable solution for serious techies who happen to have just the right set of hardware, lots of time on their hands and don't play games or use any specialist software.

US woman says Ubuntu can't access internet

andy
Coat

What a bunch of pricks...

Christ, I can't believe how many truly venomous c*nts there are on here.

Turn your lights on, stop building the latest kernel from source (or whatever it is you linux geeks do during your circle jerks) and spend some time in the real world. Some people can build skyscrapers, fly a plane or cook a 5 course meal for 500 people, you would probably fail spectacularly at any of these (and i'm sure in a lot of cases leaving the house or talking to people)

Windows is far from perfect but a huge majority of the time for your average user (email/internet/word) it works just fine and when it doesn't there a many more people available to help you out.

Linux is not ready for mainstream.. FACT.. and it's going to take a lot more than arrogant scorn from a few saddos to change that...

I'm out

Microsoft eyes metered-PC boondoggle

andy
Thumb Up

Sounds like a great idea...

You know any security will be cracked within days and we'll all have shit cheap, unrestricted linux boxes!

BBC's TV detector vans to remain a state secret

andy
Flame

@AC

"So, you still have to pay for a TV license regardless of whether you plug an aerial into it or not. The law states that if you have a device capable of receiving BBC broadcasts then you must have a license."

More bullshit FUD... You have to be using it to recieve a signal not just have the capability...

I can't work out if this comment section is full of shills or muppets...

andy

@simon painter

"The small print of the law states that the TV monkeys can enter your house to seize television equipment if they know that there is a TV in there because it can be heard from the street."

What a load of bollocks.. that <em>might</em> get them a warrant but TV licensing 'officers' have no warrantless right of entry under any circumstances...

PayPal glitch freezes sellers' cash for weeks

andy
Coat

risk to buyers

"A very small proportion (less than 1 per cent) of PayPal transactions on eBay are regarded as potentially posing a risk to buyers"

As apposed to the 100% of transactions that are potentially a risk to sellers...

The war on photographers - you're all al Qaeda suspects now

andy
Thumb Down

@david

"As for the peeeedo concern, I can understand it's at least distasteful to think that someone's taken pics of your kids in public for sexual gratification, but I'm not sure what harm it does anyone."

Try taking pictures of my kids for sexual gratification and while you're on the floor catching my boot you can think about who's getting harmed...

Hidden messages buried in VoIP chatter

andy
Black Helicopters

@Edward

"...but on the other hand, it wont take 30 of these convos to transmit a 5 MB file..."

But 'Suitcase nuke in Union Station, Locker 148. Attack now!' takes up a tiny fraction of 5Mb...

Yahoo! Flickr video play sparks online revolt

andy

I propose a new rule

Flickr is not Youtube, anyone posting any of the following :-

Lipsyncing

Crap dancing

Driving Fast

Happy slapping

Bad copies of famous clips

Chavs

Chris Crocker

Shall be immediately and permanently banned.

OOXML approved as international standard?

andy

@Zac

"I've not seen an E-petition link yet (for those that don't know: UK gov has an online petition thing going on, quite effective sometimes)."

Hahaha.. Thats a fuckin' joke... Effective if you want to be told 'Fuck off, we know best' by a smug scottish twat!

US government forces military secrets on Brit webmaster

andy
Black Helicopters

"gave his address to spammers."

"gave his address to spammers."

C*nts... Lucky it wasn't me, i'd have got my own back by selling anything that came through to Iran and China...

New York subpoenas Comcast 'reasonable network management' records

andy
Paris Hilton

Re: @Andrew Norton: Then Pay For What You Use

"Indeed, nor would most people accept a phone company that billed everyone the same monthly amount, regardless of whether they hardly used the thing, or whether they spent 20 hours a day calling satellite phones in the Australian outback."

Ummm, what a load of bollocks... I pay £10 per month for a landline, unlimited local and national calls - the same as my mother - she spends all evening on the phone, I use it twice a week... Then theres mobiles, I pay the same as a colleague for 300mins per month, he uses all 300, I use 180-200.

Yes there are different plans but there are different internet access plans as well, I could pay £10 per month for 10Gb but I choose to pay £30 for an unlimited amount and expect to get exactly that.

What I want to know is why ISPs keep increasing their speeds and then whinging about usage and introducing traffic management/caps etc... Instead of upgrading my connection to 10Mb (which you obviously can't manage properly), shaping traffic and introducing limits why not just leave me on an unrestricted 4Mb connection?!

Paris as shes less of a moron than the Anon. Coward...

Sergey Brin: 'Microhoo! makes me nervous'

andy
Flame

Re: Pedants' Dictionary

"Why do pedants need their own dictionary? How does it differ from those used by everyone else?"

It's got an extra chapter called 'How to be an annoying c*nt'...

New Jersey bans sex offenders from the web

andy
Alert

whats the problem?

First might I suggest that some of you actually read the article - this will apply to people who used the internet in their crimes so were talking pedophiles, date rapists etc. here not people pissing in public or mooning the filth.

Second to the people saying they've done their time leave them alone etc - If this is part of their punishment they have not 'done their time' but are still serving their punishment.

Lastly who cares - if you've set up a child porn site, or raped the date you met on craigslist then we don't want you on the net! This seems to me to be entirely appropriate - and this punishment has been used previously for hacking (a far less serious crime).

Oh and to the person talking about a ban on buying alcohol after a DUI... Nice try but have you never heard of driving bans, seems very similar to me...

iTunes battles Amazon with DRM-free price drop

andy

@smell my finger

"There is nothing in law to stop any copyright holder from deciding which territories may or may not get a work"

But there are no longer any feasible means of stopping people in other territories getting it.

"In any free market a producer is free to set the price at whatever he or she thinks they can sell something for."

Yes, and more and more people are saying 'its not worth that'.

"The idea that prices globally should be set at one level is absolutely fatuous and is based on the comedic idealism which says prices should be set at what consumers are prepared to pay"

I don't know if this is a joke or what... companies who try and sell something for more than consumers are willing to pay don't last very long.

Today with the ease of global travel and communication things are very different than they used to be and in the long run the companies that are going to stay profitable are the ones that adapt, not the ones that fight the changes every step of the way badgering, abusing and eventually alienating their customers.

Jobs hits London to announce O2 iPhone deal

andy

Thanks Steve...

"Steve Jobs claimed that 3G negatively affects the handset’s battery life and that an enabled model shouldn't be expected to appear until next year."

|'m glad he mentioned that.. i'll wait until next year then thanks. More fool the people who jump on it now with an 18 month contract!

Google Germany slammed for Neo-Nazi YouTube clips

andy

re: Defending this with freedom of speech???????

"Besides, I struggle to see how the freedom of speech is a valid argument when applied to deliberate acts of human suffering. Can you?"

Yes. Freedom of speech means exactly what it says - you are free to speak about whatever you want - even if applied to deliberate acts of human suffering.

The minute you start restricting things every two-bit interest group wants a piece of the action and pretty soon the restrictions affect you as well. Better to let some twats spout off once in a while than start ruining things for everyone else.

Xbox 360 Elite games console

andy

Shock! Horror!

"Who'd have thought that a review of the 360 Elite would turn into a debate about whether the 360 or the PS is better?"

Who could possibly think it wouldn't?? Games consoles have the most rabid fanboys around!

Natalie Portman: Attack of the Film Fans

andy

re: Can we all please stop .....

Danny, are we making you think twice about your own sexuality..? ;)

Fans left guessing over Samsung 'designer' phone

andy

re: blimey

The article doesn't say there is definitely no 3G, just that its unconfirmed... In the interest of fairness and to keep you happy though let me be the first to say...

"If this has no 3G then its a waste of space..."

Having said that just because its got a touch screen doesn't mean it's a direct competitor to the iPhone, there's no mention of any web capabilities let alone being forced to use ajax/the web for any 3rd party apps and add-ons. A phone with a decent organiser and push email doesn't cry out for 3G like the iPhone does.

LG Touch Me FM37 MP3 player

andy

looks a bit gimmiky to me...

A big, colourful, battery-sucking touch screen but not enough storage space to make it any real use... Think i'll stick with my Nano...

BrainAcademy 2007: are you smart enough?

andy

re: Some idea of where to apply to take part would be nice

May you've heard of a little thing called err, umm Google...

http://www.brainacademy.qmul.ac.uk/

Found in about 5 seconds...

Crocodile tears for under-fire Microsoft MVP

andy

MS in the right for once

After the initial knee-jerk 'f*ck Microsoft' reaction I actually read all the correspondence and a few blogs and MS definitely seem to be in the right here...

'You may not work around any technical limitations'

Thats it right there, just because it's easy to work around (although arguably not so easy for the target audience of the Express products without 3rd party help/code) it is still a technical limitation and further it appears to be a code injection attack in modules that MS have left in so they didn't have to cripple the Express software any more than necessary.

If MS let TestDriven get away with this then they would be setting a precedent for all the other add-in creators to do the same thing and before you know it noone will need to buy a full version of Visual Studio. MS have never claimed Express was anything other than a hobbyist/learning/gateway version of the Visual Studio software.

In my view MS have been pretty generous, basics-wise VS Express is pretty fully featured and the fact that its been left so similar to the pro versions is in my view a good thing. Not to mention they even allow you to use it for commercial purposes.

Suck it up and if you need add-in support buy Visual Studio Pro or use a free alternative.

Joost views ex-Cisco prodigy as CEO

andy

Broadcast quality???

'YouTube quality' would be a more accurate description...

Indian dealers are squealers over Microsoft piracy raids

andy

Title

"Try running Windows on a Mac and you will see what I mean (you can't!)"

Umm, where have you been for the last year...

New, New Labour gets new logo and website

andy

all pricks

"Like all roses the labour party continues to look good on top but look closer and underneath its full of pr!cks."

Nah, the Labour party has pricks at the top as well...

Logitech Alto keyboard and laptop stand

andy

Re: Doesn't work with macbook pro

"Unfortunaly the stand doesn't work very well with the macbook pro.

The screen on the macbook pro doesn't open enough and since there is no adjusting the angle on the alto the screen ends up pointing slightly down."

...and it'll block the DVD drive (although it would probably trash your disks if you tried to use it at that angle anyway...)

Vista – End of the Dream?

andy

Apple updates

"Apple have come out with five major upgrades to OS X, upgrades which (dare I say it?) install with about as much effort as it takes to brush your teeth in the morning. No nightmare calls to tech-support, no sudden hardware incompatibilities, no hassle."

This is just not true, install, for example, OS X 10.4.6, do the updates then you find you have to do more updates to fix the updates.

Then there's the fact that every single update seems to cause niggly problems (i've twice had to archive and install after updating).

Now I trawl the Apple forums before even considering installing any updates to check on exactly what problems i'm likely to have (and this is on a MacBook Pro so no unusual hardware...)

With regards to Tech Support from Apple - it is terrible! Go into a store, explain to the 5 salesmen that try to flog you more Apple gear that you need support then wait 30mins for the 1 techie to appear. The forums are OK but full of over protective fanboys suggesting that the problem is anything except an Apple problem.

I am, in the main, a happy Apple user but lets not pretend they're as perfect as the fanboys would have you believe.

O2 offers incentives to end phone upgrade insanity

andy

nice try

Nice idea, now all we need are some handsets that actually last more than a year...

Reg readers admit to faking it

andy

first line support

I don't think the problem is with all first line support, its the companies that employ people for first line support that know nothing other than what is in the script and then panic and/or get defensive when you ask a question, make a suggestion or they get to the end of the script. Unfortunately I don't think i've spoken to a comsumer helpdesk who have had well qualified first line support, all the qualified staff are on the corporate helpdesks making the company lots more money than just the cost of a phone call.

My other big problem with a lot of first line support is they are totally incapable of adjusting what they are saying to the technical level of the caller, I understand they need to cover all bases/their ass but going through basic diagnosis is a lot less painful if the rep is not trying to talk me through every step of opening internet explorer or searching for a file because thats what they've got written on their screen...