Posts by James Pickett

@unwashed

Go to the MSE site first. There are form letters there you can use directly - probably quicker than the Ombudsman, who is probably a bit busy right now...

Market share

"Everyone who wanted a Wii already has one"

I don't think so - plenty of youngsters (including one of mine) are raiding their piggy banks as I write (or pinning their hopes on Santa). The current shortage in the UK suggests that demand is pretty high. I got the last one in our HMV today, and Argos, Game and Woollies were all out of stock.

Oh, and since PS3's and Xboxes sell at a loss, Nintendo seem to be the only ones who actually did their sums right!

Effervescent goat stew..

One for Heston Blumenthal, I think.

Er...

>because we're "always horrible" to the Beeb

Don't they know you're always horrible to everyone..?

Footprint

"biographical footprint data"

Fingerprints not enough now, then..?

Fairtrade

How about a 'fairtrade' label for record companies that provide more than a minimum royalty for their performers? I buy CD's but only when they are a reasonable price (everything else I get from eMusic). The official excuse for CD prices years ago was that they were costly to produce, but then the old ratchet principle kicked in and they never came down, even though they now cost a few pence. I'd pay a reasonable amount if I knew that the artist was getting more than the suits.

Gigapixels

Worth shooting down one of these, just for the camera, I'd have thought...

FWIW, I think they're missing a trick. The chopper is moving in something approximating a straight line, so the camera only needs to view a wide but thin line across the path, as with a desktop scanner, but on a larger scale. Still, that might save money, and we wouldn't want the military doing anything on the cheap...

@John Naismith

"Or if you have the choice go somewhere else"

China sounds increasingly attractive. Somewhere nice and liberal like that...

Sid James

I was thinking that too.

As for "the true meaning of hard time" I assume this means he might actually get some first, er, hand experience, in which case he'll be spending eternity in Hell. That's the trouble with hard-line Christianity - no forgiveness...

Worrying

So, it's alright because the system isn't live yet, rather than alright because it was all backed up?

Perhaps it was, but in the same room. You have to wonder...

Verified

At least it sounds like MS is attempting to verify their code. IIRC, Steve Ballmer was asked about this a few years ago and (like Gandhi when asked what he thought of Western civilisation) he replied that it would be a good idea.

AFAIK, Excel's arithmetic has never been officially verified - everyone just seemed to assume that it had been properly programmed...

Progress

"we can claim that we're as good as Google"

That must have been said through gritted teeth! Even if true, why would I want to change to something that was merely 'as good as'..?

In any case, I imagine that part of Google's superiority relies on the scalability of Linux - when MS does the same, I might sit up and pay attention!

Illegal?

"into a Best Buy store in Florida to purchase a copy"

With what? If not cash (unlikely), he must have had a card, which can't have been his, etc...

Basics

"Currently many non technical users don't even realise that 'Windows' isn't just part of the hardware."

Indeed. In fact, a lot of people end up disappointed that it doesn't actually 'do' anything useful, and that the office applications they have seen on other computers are an (expensive) extra. This is the main reason that MS is so damned rich - people have been suckered into buying a computer that needs more money spent on it to make it work, and are almost invariably 'advised' to spend it with MS. Or they 'borrow' their work copy, which only reinforces the habit...

I'm with Jonathan

Climate change is not something new - it's been happening since the world began. When the Vikings arrived in Greenland it was, er, green. They left when it got colder, but AFAIK, they didn't blame the local blacksmith or farting animals...

Good news

I know it's not in keeping with the tone of most El Reg commentators, but I'm pleased about this. Someone on R4 this morning was rooting for extra space funding from our Science and Academe-phobic government, making the (to me) arresting comparison with our national spend on shampoo, which is, apparently, greater. Puts it in perspective, I feel...

Technology

I wonder if his phone is one of those that also allows the user to speak to another person? This feature might have saved him some embarrassment...

Flying lessons

"as well as training of Saudi citizens in the field of aviation"

IIRC, whenever any precision flying is called for (e.g. exhibitions, royal fly-pasts) the pilots are British or American...

Megalomania (as usual)

"the most the US Government will allow"

Still making laws for the world, then?

Questions

IIRC, when Evelyn Waugh visited the US, he had to fill in an entry form that asked if he intended to “subjugate the government of the United States." He wrote, “sole purpose of visit,” and was detained for a week...

I wonder..

..when/where Darl McBride will re-surface? If there was any natural justice, he would be unemployable.

His future CV will be an interesting work of fiction, no doubt.

Totals..

..are one thing, but the Wii must be selling a LOT faster than the others to have overhauled the 360, which was released earlier. I'm all in favour of smart graphics, but the gameplay's the thing. Mind you, I still enjoy the odd round of Space Invaders...

Budget

"send two astronauts into space at a cost of roughly £50m-£70m"

And the cost of bringing them back..?

Further uses...

Inkjet tattoos, anyone?

And how long before third-party refills are available, containing the medication of your choice? Or perhaps you could just refill it with alcohol and bypass the tedious process of drinking...

Re. Murdoch

"This is just a typical non-issue stirred up by a Murdoch lead media to try and force the UK away from Europe."

And the less well-known reason for that is because the EU wants to harmonise tax law, and the Dirty Digger currently avoids paying most of it...

Oh, and I approve of miles (as on UK roadsigns) and pints (as in every pub). It works and it doesn't need fixing. Even the French sell stuff in livres.

Infamy, infamy

"Once the uber-beautiful Marié Digby is revealed to be just another young music wannabe"

So what does that make the other hopefuls on YT? At least this one can sing...

Maybe

the judge just wanted to shoot the government's fox. After all, the Home Office has now had to issue a public denial, while previously they were beavering away to that very end. Most judges are brighter than they look...

Boffins

"a term only used by wholly unscientific journalists"

Apparently not.

I trust that El Reg will (in the best Private Eye tradition) use the term as often as possible from now on.

Meaningless

"75% of European studios releasing on HD DVD's"

So 25% of them aren't? And of the 75%, how many are supplying both? Studios can produce in whatever format they like - they'd go back to VHS if there was demand!

Casio

"They are crap and still are!"

Well, there speaks an expert, obviously. Dpreview, whose opinions on cameras count for rather more, concluded that "the Casio EX-Z750 [was] the best ultra-compact 7 megapixel on the market today for the serious photographer"

WRT the timing, I was quoting in milliseconds, too. That's what 'ms' is short for...

Ground effect

The irony is that ground effect vehicles do exist. For an interesting diversion, Google for ekranoplan...

His left ear

*His* right ear, I think...

Best bit of Britart I've seen for some time. I'd be interested to know who commissioned it and why they changed their mind, though...

Anticipated

For once, I seem to have ticked (or in this case, unticked) the right box. Plusnet offered me their spam filtering service a few months ago, and, tempting as it seemed, I had a feeling that it might throw the baby out with the bathwater, so I declined. You'd think they'd have learned to be a bit more careful by now, though...

Power

"Your 500kW radar in a MiG claims are still implausible though"

It's pulse power, which is how most radars are rated. Not especially large for a ground radar, but quite impressive for a fighter, even if it did weigh 30 tons (the plane, not the radar). Air traffic control radars are well into the Megawatt range, and a leaky waveguide (the signal 'pipe') will kill you if you get too close to it.

Nice try

These will be the same climatologists who claimed that last year's drought (in the UK) was the start of a trend? As Professor Philip Stott points out to anyone who will listen, climate change is normal and computer models are just that - models.

So Marvin..

..when you apply for your ID card, how exactly will you prove to the authorities that you are you? NI number? Lots of bogus ones about. Driving licence? Not that solid, and assumes you drive. Ditto Passport. Utility bill? Probably...