@JDX

"You can do it already and it works great."

(rant continued...)

No it doesn't - not from the point of view of those making the decisions. How on earth can you expect decent kickbacks/excellent board prospects off the back of a cheap device that is optional? To really secure the gravy train it needs to be mandatory and overpriced/underspecced/require replacement in a much shorter timeframe than existing devices ("Oh, that security vulnerability? Just have to get all the old models replaced. Just put it on the consumers' bills. Trebles all round?").

(/rant)

@zmodem

Yes there is - the present "pay as you go" does not have an easy way to switch you off remotely at the behest of commerical forces/governement of the day/some jumped up oik in local government you gve the bird to (you just *know* that the rules are going to be so over-broad on this that even dog-wardens will have the authority to switch off your power).

(/rant)

Re: Revolutionary small payment method

@Bill B

you, sir, are a cunt.

Hopefully you will survive long enough to "enjoy" the effects of old age described above and maybe realise a bit of patience is required at times.

Re: Let me be the first to say

@Eadon

Next thing you will say you know nothing of the moderatrix of El Reg, the marvellous Sarah Bee (ah, she is sorely missed. Even with using the cream).

Still, her influence remains, for I find myself channelling her most common response to commentards: ODFO. And in case you are unaware of the meaning - "Oh, do fuck off" Eadon.

Re: "100 IQ would change over time"

@OrsonX

nice of you to volunteer to be "data-cleansed". You seem to think that you would make the cut, but from the very shaky knowledge you have about genetics and how IQ works, I have serious doubts on that front.

Re: may be worth it

Shame that they will most likely keep "fair usage" policies in place that limit monthly downloads to 2Gbytes (or something ridiculously low). Seems like the speed of the network keeps increasing, but all it really means is that you hit allowed limits in minutes instead of hours...

Re: Servers

@another_vulture

way to completely miss the point of the article. Your optimistic "...will continue to increase exponentially" is about to run into a brick wall called "physical limits of the current technological process". Which is the whole point of this article - scientists and engineers trying to find new technologies to replace those that are about to hit their limits.

Re: Innovation

Tired meme is tired.

(For recursion: see recursion.)

Re: Intel, embrace ARM.

(daydreaming) wonder what an ARM processor fabbed on Intel's current fab technology be like? (\daydreaming)

Re: Sounds like

Quite a few downvotes for complaining how the disability system (fails to) work. Must be a bunch of Atossers reading this site.

Re: Sorry but

@Brangdon

Digitus Impudicus...?

Re: Actually...

...and we are supposed to trust the word of an Anonymous Coward without any links to any such research.

Re: As "ruskie" (the poster above) says.....

And just how would you find out which sites are on the banned list, without being one of the "insiders" making the decisions? I suppose you could only know if you happened to know of the existence of the site beforehand - in which case, you will soon be contacted by the Department of Love for re-education.

Re: another Poorly researched poorly written Nokia / MS bashing article

Don't you just hate Microsoft shills? They are so stupid that they don't even recognise when an author is actually attempting to boost the company they spin for. AO has long been a supporter of competition, and, as explicitly mentioned in the article, an *actual* user of the device in question. So go ahead Simonbuk and Zarniw00p (gah, don't you hate it when someone takes a Hitchhiker reference as a handle and turns out to be a complete turd?), keep attacking a journo who is at the very least is fair to your product - you might just succeed in turning him into an MS-hater.

Re: live tiles and pit to start

I didn't notice a "posted from my Nokia", but if it was, then the keyboard input system must be fairly rubbish (going by the number of typos in such a short post)

Re: sovereignty only important for your country

@asdf

you can't visit El Reg very often if you think people here are quiet about taking the piss out of Britain. However, we are equal-opportunity piss-takers, and will happily pour a golden shower of comments on any country/person/entity/company that deserves it (or doesn't move fast enough to get out of the way).

Re: Sharp shooters need some practice

Point of enquiry - have the police "firearm experts" actually shot anyone who needed shooting, or have they only ever hit unarmed civvies? Genuine enquiry, as obviously the mistakes get well-publicised, but I would also expect that successful firearm operations to get some pretty significant publicity.

(Paris, only because it's got a question mark - not that I am blonde or anything)

Re: @ Adam 52

Wow - 2 upvotes for Adam 52 and 2 downvotes for anyone criticising him (at the time of this post YMMV). Must be 2 members of the Met perusing El Reg - surprising as I didn't think there were that many literate Met members.

Re: Yellow.

@Shemmie

yellow is for the piss they are taking.

Re: Hahahaaaa (@ac 12:56)

Really? Really??? Do you really, seriously, honestly-cross-that-shrivelled-thing-that-might-be-a-heart believe that Project Managers actually add anything (except time and misery) to a project. Wow. That's... touching. Really touching.

"...align anything like to PRINCE2" - and you claim to try to make things understandable?

"The PM doesnt write the business mandate or magic their own budget" - or, um, do anything useful?

Maybe I'm unlucky and have never worked under a decent project manager. Or the majority of PMs are genuinely crap at anything other than marketing doublespeak.

Re: Microsoft in schools IS a GOOD thing

@Bugs R Us

Let's see. Student learns MSOffice. Then goes to 6th form,maybe even college. So say 5years between the learning and going into business. How relevant is knowledge of Office 2003 in 2008, or 2008 by 2013? Don't know if you have quite kept up with the changes that MS are making, but knowing only how to operate the specific version of an office suite is not going to help with the subsequent version released by MS let alone any other developer.

cloud security

Something that doesn't seem well covered yet is document security within the cloud. What encryption is implemented by default? What guarantee that MS will not parse through your document for advertising (or worse)?

Basically, what guarantees are there that the data uploaded is only readable by the people that are supposed to see it and no-one else. (I would expect that would be something that most British banks would like to know also!)

Re: cash cow

@Don Jefe

"Stupid is as stupid does."

The iPad was always designed primarily as a consumer consumption device - thinking otherwise suggests a lack of critical thought capability. Dropping $800 just as an experiment confirms it. Oh, I have a letter from Nigeria here with a wonderful offer for you - I think you are their target market.

Re: What's so damn bloody annoying

There's a slight problem with your view on economists - they are not scientists. When you have a bunch of economists who completely screw up the world with their voodoo "science" and then just keep on using their pet theories (that have singularly failed to work) rather than try to fix them, you really cannot call them scientists. Until neo-classical economists admit that their pet theory has fundamental flaws and start using scientific method to fix them,we should certainly not be giving economists any control of anything. (A good place to start would be Steve Keen's book "Debunking Economics".)

Re: Hmm...

I think the part you are missing is that the "smart" meters have nothing to do with actually providing people with meaningful energy consumption information. If you really wanted to show customers what is consuming energy, then they would be provided with a gadget that goes between the consuming device and the mains, and which could clearly show the impact of each and every device measured. As opposed to a "smart" meter which shows that, well, you use electricity. Only dumb people think that smart meters have any benefit for them*.

*"them" being the average person, as opposed to politicians (who love having more power over people - in this case, to remotely shut off your electricity supply because they have screwed up the nation's power supply) and smart meter salespeople.

Re: Poor Siemens...

Maybe Siemens believe the adage that big things are made up of very small things, and so even small contributions are meaningful.

At least, they definitely believe that in their pricing models, where they charge extra for even the tiniest effing thing that you would expect to be included in the original quote (the weaselly bastards - "oh you wanted faceplates on your network ports rather than bare wires? That's extra then.").

Re: his engineers have found batteries that could power a flight for 100km (62 miles).

yeh - there's a f'ing long cable to a swimming pool of chemicals to power it (please note icon!)

@loopy lou - pile-up waiting to happen

Getting tired of all those people wanting to computerise cars so that they travel as a train, with only a few feet between them. Yes, fine, when all the systems are synchronised so that all the systems brake and accelerate in the normal course of driving. However, when an accident happens e.g. tree falls on car, if there is no braking distance for the speed the vehicles are travelling at then you are going to have the mother of all pile-ups.

Computers may help resolve some of the problems caused by the meatbags travelling in them, but physics still rules (bitch).

Re: Heard Lewis on BBC R4 this morning

Aye. Did notice that the presenter (Evan Davies? Not sure which) almost had an embolism at the stark frankness in Lewis' voice. Must have been having thoughts about getting sued to hell and back when Lewis casually dropped the bombshell about the number of lobbyists usually involved in the simplest "confidential" government meetings. Confidential as in, if you think you can get an FOI against what happens in those meetings, I have a (naval) bridge to sell you...

Nice interview Lewis ;-)

Re: "Dick recognition software, perhaps?"

That's not sufficient - will also have to filter for twats

Re: Desalination will never work...

re Matt Bryant's comment 'I do know that it was advertised that the Beckton plant runs on "100% renewable energy"...'

So that's why the plant only runs 10% - 40% of the time (or off altogether)!

Re: It's unfortunate

"I thought CO was odourless :/" - no, it's the cover-up that stinks

Re: yes but (@LarsG)

OK, maybe I did wander over the edge when I said "smart arse" and I apologise, but the point still stands.

"I understand the need for invention, but to be realistic there has to be and end result that is of benefit. Invention for inventions sake goes nowhere." This clearly shows that you do not understand the need for invention. As shown in previous examples (electricity and lasers), the original inventions had zero known benefits until decades after the discoveries.

"If it take 20 tonnes of coal or 1000 cubic metres of gas to produce 1 cubic metre of hydrogen then they would be on to a loser." Well, yes. Obviously. Nice strawman there, as the device in the article is ultimately designed to use artificial photosynthesis to get us out of the problems associated with eventually running out of coal or (natural) gas. Whether it will be successful or not, only time and research (you know, that scientific thing that some people do with no guarantees for success, only accumulation of knowledge) will tell.

"Again I refer you to the batteries in the Prius." Um, what? Hate to admit this, but this suggests we may be arguing at cross purposes, as I do not see the link with the points I am trying to make. That marketers have managed to present a "green" image on a vehicle does not invalidate the science, and yes, the overall impact of mining/manufacture/recycling/disposal needs to be looked at. Also sustainability. Ultimately, a battery-powered car still has the potential to keep working as electricity can be sourced a number of ways that do not involve fossil fuels. The Ferrari will have problems when oil runs out - unless the research in the article (or some other lab-work) manages to overcome obstacles and become fully working and scalable technology. Yay, go science!

Re: yes but (@LarsG)

"...investment must have a return...", "Science is littered with great ideas that have no value or no application".

OK smart-arse - who knows IN ADVANCE of the science being done, and the technologists bringing the results into the practical realm WHICH science produces simply interesting results, and which brings the "monetary bacon" (hmmMMMmmm, bacon!). If you go the route of incremental improvements on already known processes (low risk financially), you will never achieve breakthroughs (high risk financially - but world-changing if something genuinely new is found).

How long was electricity known about as a "well, isn't that a weird little thing" before the commercial and large scale applications were found? Similarly, lasers. Two pretty major items that were originally just curiosities for decades until someone twigged that they may have a use somewhere.

If you base your decisions purely on low risk evolution of existing technology, then humanity will be doomed to ultimate stagnation. A world run by economists and bankers is a world devoid of vision and curiosity. I don't know about you, but that is a vision of hell to me.

Re: yes but (@LarsG)

Spoken like a true neo-classical economist - know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

If science were left to the economists, we would not have even got to the "banging rocks together" stage. (Pre-stone age scenario: "Where's the value in that? Can you show positively what benefits 'banging things together' brings to the swinging through trees and eating fruit before we waste time on such frivolous research when you could instead be scratching through my fur and removing my lice.")

Let the scientists get on with their stuff, finding new and interesting discoveries.

Let the technologists get on with their stuff, finding out new and interesting ways that the discoveries can actually be applied to the real world.

Let the developers do their stuff, finding ways on incrementally improving those discoveries, bringing the price down so that more people can benefit.

Let the economists do their stuff, finding ways to .. to... um, what the fuck do economists do anyway apart from completely bollox up the world economy through their stupidity and greed? Actually, let's *not* let the economists do their stuff - we will probably end up with a better planet.