* Posts by Bassey

1131 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Sep 2008

Asus Transformer Book T100: Xbox One? PS4? Nah, get a cute convertible for Christmas

Bassey

Re: Not for me :(

Try PCSpeciaaliist.co.uk Then you can spec your machine however you want it and, best of all, if you don't want windows on it you don't have to pay the Windows Tax. I got my current laptop from them last summer and stuck Linux on it as a Development machine.

I've also bought one of these T100 netbooks and it is a stonking bit of kit for the money. It has the odd little rough edge (literally) though I had no issues installing and registering Office. It took about 30s. The screen is excellent, it is a really nice tablet and I can imagine it being very useful for whiling away time on planes and trains. However, it is also plenty powerful enough to get some light work done. I haven't suffered any slowdowns yet. Normally I would shy away from anything with less than 4GB of RAM and my main machine has 8GB but the T100 seems to cope without issue. Oh, and I've been using it on and off all day including streaming video across the network. The battery currently says 57% remaining at 8pm!

Google RIPS aside curtain, exposes Nexus 5 phone, KitKat Android 4.4 coupling

Bassey

Re: UK rip off ?

Not sure about that. The rate is 1.6 today but has been much closer to 1.5 over the last couple of years. You have to think about the long-term rate not a current spike. Take the FX at 1.5 and add 20% and you get £280. Add in a few quid for "localisation", etc and I don't think it is too bad. Certainly, compared to any other equivalent phone, I think you are pushing it a bit to complain about £300! Whenever a company sells overseas they are taking a bit of a gamble on FX rate fluctuations and it is pretty normal to weight the odds in their favour. It is the shipping for devices from Google play that always sticks a bit in my throat. They lure you in with the ludicrously low price and then charge £10+ to ship it.

The Raspberry Pi: Is it REALLY the saviour of British computing?

Bassey

Strikes a chord

I'm about to be made redundant (1,2,3 ahhhh). Despite numerous offers I'm taking a break for a bit. My wife has just taken over the local pub so we have an income, a decent bit of redundancy and, as we now live above the pub, we have also rented out the house. So, I will have some spare time and, as the pub is next door to the primary school attended by both our kids I've volunteered to do some teaching. Specifically, I'll be spending one morning a week teaching the year 6 kids the basics of programming when the new term starts after Christmas.

So, I have been spending some time thinking about this. I've collected a range of online resources, books, opinions etc but still haven't settled on anything. However, I do have a few thoughts. To my way of thinking, the new BBC micro is not the Pi, it is the smartphone. Nearly every 11 year old has a smartphone of one type or another. Huge industries have grown up around apps and every company now has some kind of mobile presence - whether that be through an app, mobile website or whatever. Mobile is the present and foreseeable future.

Given that the kids will have various iphones, androids and - Who knows? - maybe even a WinPho, I'm thinking web development. Start off with a simple website. Get them to make changes and then see what effect those changes have. Introduce css, java etc and maybe even work towards a simple game.But iI'd quite like the kids to drive it. I'll have the time to set stuff up for them during the week and, by keeping the site available, there is no reason why any enthusiastic kids can't experiment outside of actual lessons.

However, advice from those who might have done something similar would be most welcome.

Motorola to kick off comeback with US-made Moto X

Bassey

No access to Android code

Was just wondering about that myself. I can only assume he was talking about the Google apps - Now, Play, Maps, GMail etc which are not a part of the Open Source OS but are considered an important part of the Android Experience. If he DIDN'T mean that, then we have a pretty decent idea of why Motorola have been failing miserably of late.

Smartwatch face off: Pebble, MetaWatch and new hi-tech timepieces

Bassey

don't unserstand the omission of Sony

As best as I can tell, the Sony smart watch does everything these devices can, more reliably, better, cheaper (£75 on Amazon) has a much larger catalogue of apps and widgets and with few, if any, of the limitations you highlight. So, other than being nearly 18 months old now, I don't understand why it only got a passing mention in the opening section? Anyone reading the article would get the impression there are no mature devices available that do all the things you list but that isn't the case.

Review: Nokia Lumia 520

Bassey

Re: dumb (phone)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Ericsson-Walkman-W705-Luxury-silver-Orange-Mobile-Phone-/281096395828?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones&hash=item4172a69c34

Bassey

dumb (phone)

If you only want to make calls, check mail and play music then why get a smartphone? Any £10 dumb phone will do that and with a battery life measured in weeks.

The ten SEXIEST computers of ALL TIME

Bassey

you guys are weird

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but cubes? Sexy? Seriously? When was the last time you saw a woman as wide and deep as she was tall and thought to yourself "Mmm, sexy!"? And as for the PS3 bread bin...

Official: Cloud computing invented by two technophobic old geezers

Bassey

Re: Not quite there yet

Funnily enough, just yesterday, someone at work was trying to get an older version of Assassin's Creed running on one of the work PCs* (Core i3, Intel HD2000 graphics). It coped, just about, but it did occur to me that, as he was paying £12 to download the game from Steam, wouldn't it be handy if Steam also provided a nicely spec'd VM with the game already installed, running and optimised, and just provided him with a remote session into the VM?

Now THAT would be a cloud computing service worth the name.

Taiwan's Polytron promises see-through phones

Bassey

Re: lost in translation

Thankfully, in the part of the world I live, I would be utterly astonished if the phone had NOT found it's way back into my hands. There has to be an upside to living in the arse-end of nowhere.

Bassey

lost in translation

I lost my smartphone whilst out running in the hills behind our house last Thursday night. Some bloke found it, went through the call log, called my sister and got it back to me. I can't help feel that would have been rather less likely with a transparent phone. In fact, I'm struggling to think of a single reason why it would be a good thing.

Tennessee bloke quits job over satanic wage slip

Bassey

new god required

How pathetically inadequate must his god be if it can't protect him from a number printed on a wage slip? He should really consider upgrading his god to a better/more powerful model

Analyst offers cut-price fondleslab recipe

Bassey

Re: How about £44.50

Try this;

http://www.eupson.com/pipo-u1-with-android-41-jelly-bean-tablet-rockchip-rk3066-16ghz-1gb16gb-ips-1280x800-tablet-pc_p710.html?zenid=gcksg108063q0f2u0fsh79e1r2

£94 for a 7" IPS 1280X800 Display, 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage, HDMI, USB, MicroSD, Dual Core CPU and Quad Core Graphics in an Alu Case. I've done a fair bit or searching and it seems to be the best around at the moment but things change pretty quickly in the tablet market at the moment.

And I have no connection to the above. Just been searching for a Christmas present!

Bassey

Re: sub $100 tablets

Not sure on your "Most of the ones I've seen" there Charles. There are many, many tens of these things out there and it is pretty rare to see Gingerbread on them these days. You are really only looking at a £50 Resistive-screen model. The vast majority are running ICS (4.0.4) at around £60-80 and come with 1.2GHz Single core CPUs and a single Mali 400 GPU with 512MB of RAM. Spend £80-100 and you can easily get Jelly Bean, Dual core CPU, quad-core GPU, 1GB of RAM and a high-res IPS display (1280x800) and some even have aluminium, rather than plastic, cases.

I'm not saying the feel, build quality or UX will be up there with a Nexus 7 but for around £90 you certainly can get a stonkingly good tablet WITH USB Host, HDMI and a MicroSD Slot. There seems to be a lot of crap being spread about the cheapo chinese tablets at the moment. Sure, 18 months ago they were churning out barely functional toys but they have seriously upped their game and it doesn't take much shopping around to save yourself a lot of money compared to a Nexus or Kindle HD.

Man strives to shatter Call of Duty world record

Bassey
Joke

And to think

I'm sure some naysayers suggested that spending so long playing games was a complete waste of time. He sure showed them!

Author of '80s classic The Hobbit didn't know game was a hit

Bassey

Re: Penetrator

I'm with you on Penetrator. I remember my parents playing The Hobbit but it really didn't do anything for me. For it's time, Penetrator felt fast and furious and being able to design your own levels felt revolutionary. I was just getting into programming through the school computer club and code listings in magazines. But the graphics on games you wrote yourself were always crappy (even for a 8 bit home computers) so being able to design levels with the engine used in Penetrator felt amazing.

Reader input required: review our reviews

Bassey

> do you prefer longer, in-depth reviews - or are focused, waffle-free appraisals what you're after?

It depends on the product but I'm usually in favour of longer, in depth reviews. I agree with the others though. The "10 best Androids under a fiver" style comparisons are excellent. I've used those reviews many times since they started a couple of years ago - and I pass them on to to others when getting the all to common "you work in IT. Which X should I buy" requests.

> Are you looking for science paper-style evaluations - or do you favour short, consumer-oriented 'should I buy this?'

Somewhere in between. There are plenty of sites that do full in-depth technical analysis and plenty that repeat the press release. I think 3-5 pages, depending on how complex the product, is plenty - with an extra page or two for camera reviews to allow for sample shots.

> Are benchmarks important to you

I think a few simple benchmarks can tell you a lot. A fairly standardised battery test for mobiles and laptops (we ran such and such for 2 hours with these settings and it reported x% left). I actually think the benchmarks and spec tables are excellent. The only negative is that sometimes they are omitted. Obviously this will be down to how long you got the device for etc etc but it is annoying if only 9 out of 10 laptop reviews have benchmarks - particularly if the missing one is the one I was interested in!

> Is a percentage rating a useful quick-look measure of a product's worth?

Yes. "Most" of us are adult enough to realise they are subjective and coloured by the reviewers opinions but, if I'm in a hurry and not sure if I have time to read a 5-page review, it is useful to know beforehand if it gets 50% or 90%.

> Do spec sheets or tables help?

Yes. It saves covering every single spec within the text of the review leaving the reviewer to cover only the important USPs.

> Do you like to see lots of product picture

Not lots, but photos of ports etc are helpful - particularly if something has a port cover or plug. Those things can be a real PITA if done badly so a decent close-up is always welcome. Also, something to show a product to scale. It is all very well stating how small, slim, huge, fat a product is but we need to see it in relation to a common, every day object.

> Games reviews - good or bad, more or fewer?

Not fussed personally but I'm sure you guys know how many clicks they get.

Overall though, I love the reg reviews, use them a lot and would just appreciate a little more consistency.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review

Bassey

Re: Shameless Amazon advert?

"Also - on what planet is it worth paying 50 of any currency to be allowed to borrow one book per month?"

It isn't and he doesn't suggest it is. But, if you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber then, effectively, you are getting twelve free ebooks a year - which is certainly worth considering if you are trying to decide between a Kobo and a Kindle.

As an existing Amazon Prime subscriber looking at a new 7" tablet it NEARLY tipped the balance towards the Kindle HD - until I read the reviews on that device.

Belkin flaunts non-Apple Lightning add-ons

Bassey

Not available

If they aren't available until mid-November then how do you know they will be the first? There is still a couple of weeks for someone to beat them to it by, you know, maybe announcing something that is actually available to buy!

GooPad's eight-incher gives Apple fans cheap relief

Bassey

Re: Hey up, what's the state of play with these cheap tablets?

I got a cheapo resistive android tablet July 2011 - but that was fairly crap. Really only usable as an ebook reader, email, RSS, music and low-res video. Simple stuff. Web browsing was possible but slow and painful and games were a no-no.

In May this year I got a new cheapo chinese one. It has a 1.2GHz CPU plus a 400MHz Mali GPU, 512MB RAM and 16GB of storage. Then it was £90 - I've seen them lately for £65-70. It runs Android 4.0.4 and most of the time it flies along. Web browsing is a joy, it makes a brilliant kindle, good for games, I've watched countless videos on it both on the screen and using the HDMI port to output to a big telly. Overall, it is WELL worth the money and makes some of the £400-500 tablets look daft. I use it every day and the kids also love it.

HOWEVER, there are (of course) a couple of limitations. Some stuff in the Android Marketplace isn't compatible with it. I'm not 100% sure why. But If I search for some apps (Amazon App as an example) it will tell me I can install it on my 2-year-old Android phone but not the tablet - might be the lack of GPS. Who knows.

Very occasionally, it goes slow for a couple of minutes. Usually it pops back again but sometimes it requires a reboot. I suspect it is doing some house keeping in the background.

If I were buying now, I'd get the Ainol Fire (about £110 on Amazon) with a dual-core CPU, more RAM, better display and metal body. But the cheap tablets ARE very good and have the advantage of HDMI, MicroSD and USB ports so carrying around a bunch of music and films becomes incredibly easy.

Amazon lends e-books free to Prime subscribers

Bassey

Re: Only on a hardware reader

That is a pretty crap restriction. I read books through various kindle apps on my PCs, phone and tablet. But I don't own a kindle so, despite having been a prime subscriber for many years, I'm excluded from this. Along with the free films that they get in the US and the ability to lend books to other kindle users (also US) Amazon seem to be going out of their way to annoy large segments of their users.

Dyson alleges spy stole 'leccy motor secrets for Bosch

Bassey

Re: "mine hasn't"

Yep, I'm with you on that one Stacy. I've had a Henry hoover for years. Nothing goes wrong with them. The parts, if required, are stupidly cheap and it only cost £80. But the main reason I use it is because it is so light. Dyson's just weigh half a ton. And because they are uprights, rather than cylinders, you have to move this half-ton mass back and forth all the time. I also hate the mess of emptying them. And others must agree as, whenever I see one, the cylinder is invariably full! Give me a decent bag-vac any time.

They are hugely popular so I must be missing something but having used them a lot (in two businesses) I found them overly pricey, overly heavy, a pain in the backside to empty and they don't clean any better than any other decent brand cleaner.

And as for "no loss of suction, ever" - give me a break. I'd love to know where the energy to keep that huge mass of dirt flying around the cylinder at high speed is coming from?

Their hand-driers on the other hand - awesome!

Publicity Stunt of the Week: Ten bizarre phone insurance claims

Bassey
Happy

Re: insert in cow

I can all too easily imagine how it got there - hugely overworked vet dealing with umpteenth calving of a late night forgets to swap his phone to his other hand before reaching in to check the calf is in the correct position. It is how he realised where it was that interests me;

VET: Damn, I seem to have misplaced my mobile. Can someone just ring it for me please?

Apple unveils iPad mini, upgrades its big brother

Bassey

Re: rant on!

Hi Mike, I'm no Apple apologist (don't own a single product) but their support IS (usually) excellent. They will normally exchange superseded products bought in the run up to a new launch. The window is usually 3-4 weeks so it is WELL worth contacting them, explaining how upset you are, and seeing if they'll swap it for the new model.

Bassey

Marketing Strategy

I don't quite get all the analysts hand-wringing "is this the beginning of the end" etc. There seems to be an assumption that, because Apple has followed into a market, instead of leading, they are suddenly doing something different. Apple have done this in the past and they did it for one reason - to make some more money. For all the "experts" talking about marketing etc Apple make money. The iPod was a premium product and completely defined the high end of the market. But, when other manufacturers released cheaper, smaller, flash-based products Apple followed suit. It didn't treat the iPod nano or iClippy-whatever it is called too seriously. It didn't make a song and dance. Sure, they devoted the usual attention to detail and made them lovely to look at (and more expensive than their rivals) but there was never any all encompassing market-domination strategy behind them. They were devices designed to sell a couple of 10s of million and sell a bunch of songs/videos through iTunes.

The iPad Mini looks like exactly the same thing. It is a shrunk down iPad 2. It isn't revolutionary. it isn't clever. It has nothing to make it stand out from the crowd. It isn't set to create or dominate a new market segment. But it will almost certainly sell a couple of 10s of million each year, it's a way for Apple to get rid of last years Big iPad components and it will generate a shed load of sales through iTunes. And at £300-odd quid a pop that is still a few extra billion in revenue. Why can't it just be about generating cash?

Amazon accused of remotely wiping punter's Kindle

Bassey
Mushroom

Re: Calibre is your friend

I had a similar (though not as bad) experience with Amazon just a couple of weeks ago. I am an Amazon Prime Subscriber (£49 gets free delivery for the year for our family, my Sister's, my brother's and my parents). My wife and I moved house, 2.5 miles (sorry, 4.02KM) down the SAME road. I went to Amazon to change my default address and all seemed fine. Until I went to place and order and was informed my address was not suitable for Amazon Prime Delivery. I quickly contacted Amazon via IM and, after 2 hours of trying to explain the problem, the response was "We don't know what the problem is. It is an automated system so we won't look into it. Is there anything else we can help you with?".

In the end, I solved the problem myself by changing the address so that the postcode was still my old postcode but the rest of the address was our new place. The postman is a friend of the family so everything has been fine so far - no thanks to Amazon.

On-demand streamed music services compared

Bassey

Re: Last.fm Scrobbling

This information is actually very useful - to you. Last.fm use the list of music you listen to on a daily basis to make (very good) recommendations as to new music you might like. I have lost count of the wonderful new bands and CDs I have discovered through Last.fm recommendations.

If you don't want to hand over such information, that's fine. It is an option and the default is to leave it off. But, certainly in this instance, there actually IS a very good reason to turn it on. If you're the sort of person that actually enjoys new music, new directions and despairs of the generic shit forced down the public's throats by most commercial radio stations then it is an excellent system.

Argos flyer confirms incoming 32GB Nexus 7

Bassey

Re: Nexus Media Importer

Doesn't work when you have kids, I'm afraid. Anything snappable is a no-go.

Bassey

Re: HDMI outputs

"The point of a tablet is to kick back and consume media on the fricken tablet"

I apologise for not wishing to use my tablet the same way as you. I will try harder.

Bassey

Re: Nexus7 comparible with the Kindle FireHD? Gime me a break...

It isn't QUITE that straight forwardly one-sided. The Kindle, to its advantage, has HDMI output and much better speakers than the NEXUS making it a much better all-round media device. It also has dual-band WiFi which would be important to some.

However, the lack of card slot is currently stopping me from hitting the BUY button on either of these. Plus, I can't help feeling that both devices are currently a bit crippled in the UK. Google doesn't make most of its PLAY content available to us and Amazon offers a much better deal to US Prime subscribers.

The Ainol looks to be a similarly specced device, with HDMI, card slot and vanilla Android for £40 less than the Nexus and Kindle. But can I bring myself to buy a device called the ainol?

Slideshow: A History of the Smartphone in 20 Handsets

Bassey

R380s

I had one of these - indeed, it was my first phone. I'm not one for talking so didn't see the point in a mobile but had used PSIONs and other organisers for years. As soon as I heard they were making a device that (sot of) combined the two I was hooked. And I BELIEVE I'm correct in saying this was the first device to be marketed under the term "smartphone".

However, it was only a smartphone in the way the first iPhone was. You couldn't actually install native software on it. But the PDA stuff was well implemented and the Box came with a full copy of Lotus Notes for synching your data! It also came with a combined dock/charging cradle and a leather carry case with a belt clip!

However, its absolutely best feature was that the physical keypad wasn't electronic. Each button had a little nipple underneath it. When you pressed the button, the nipple touched the screen underneath which triggered the required action. It was genius. It also meant you could remove the keypad completely (the box had a little tool for doing this) and just use the virtual key-pad on the touchscreen - which I did for about five minutes before switching back.

Valve's Half-Life

Bassey

Absolute classic

It is the only game I have ever got to the end of and then played straight through again. Although 14 years ago now, I still recall being scared shitless as I crept down a corridor, with the lights flickering on and off, when the ceiling collapsed on top of me bringing aliens down all around, the lights went out and all I could see on the screen was barrel flare from the gunfire.

Nobody had EVER made a game like that before.

Asus doubles up phone-slate combo's specs with Padfone 2

Bassey

Re: interesting but...

"I don't recall ever seeing a non-smart Android phone. A) The software doesn't exist. B) Would you honestly want a non-smart phone with the battery life of a smartphone"

There is no reason why not. I've recently setup a couple of Android phones for elderly regulars in our pub. I stuck on a special launcher that just has six big buttons. Call - SMS - email - Contacts - Browser - Apps. Each of the first four launch specially adapted apps with large fonts and a keyboard than can be zoomed in and out. The browser launches the standard browser and the Apps takes you to a standard app drawer giving you access to everything.

The point is that there is already software to make Android work for the elderly/poor-of-sight. It would be a very simple matter to make a launcher that worked well for a candy-bar, with nice big icons and a number driven menu system. And with a smaller non-touch screen and more room for a battery the battery life would be greatly improved even with a tablet processor. In any case, power-profiles are also easily doable. Under-clock the CPU when in candy-bar mode, whack it back up when it gets docked into the toblerphone mode.

Bassey

Big screen Mistake

I'm not sure why they've gone for a massive screen on the phone - other than the fact that everyone else is doing it. Isn't the point of having a combined phone and tablet that you slot the phone into the tablet for when you need a large screen (playing games, watching films etc) but still have the convenience of a small, discreet smartphone to carry about with you?

They seem to have missed the ENTIRE point of the device in order to tick one of their marketing departments current must have check-boxes. It is such a shame because, if you could stick this in a 3.5" screened device with a 480x800 display you'd need a smaller slot on the pad leaving room for a bigger battery.

Samsung, not Nokia, fans' most favoured WinPho brand

Bassey

Oddness

"after asking 4300-odd North Americans"

Why did they only ask odd North Americans? Or was that the only variety they could find?

Sony suspends slate sales

Bassey

Re: HP

> At least with the desktop it sits in the computer room which is mostly an alcohol free work zone.

It Is?

Griffin StompBox iOS pedalboard review

Bassey

Live music

My wife and I recently took over the running of our local pub and, both having a keen interest in live music (I've performed in all sorts from Stage Musicals to Rock Bands over many years), we were keen to get regular bands and musicians in. Unfortunately an awful lot of people who market themselves as a "Live Act" actually turn up with a PA, a mic and an iPhone/iPad which they use to perform a glorified Karaoke session with. The iPhone and Simon Cowell seem to have a lot to answer for! I'm not sure whether people are being deliberately dishonest or just ignorant when they claim what they do is proper, live music.

On the plus side, there are also some REALLY talented kids out there that CAN play, sing and write their own stuff. It's just a pain in the arse trying to find the odd grain of wheat amongst a whole sea of chaff.

WTF is... VoLTE

Bassey

Re: You have to wonder...

"Or is it just me with my poor little dumb-phone that only allows me to do odd things like talk to people?"

Erm, yes. This is a Technology forum on a technology website.

Try www.twocansandapieceofstring.com

Apple iPhone 5 review

Bassey

What makes a smartphone?

Strange start to the article...

"Time was, smartphones did little that was actually smart. They had front-facing cameras and maybe a touchscreen, but operating systems geared more for a stylus than fingers. It wasn’t until the iPhone landed in 2007 that things changed."

Why does being able to use a finger, rather than a stylus, make a phone smart? You could argue that the first iPhone achieved many, many firsts, but being the first smartphone was not one of them. Indeed, I would argue it wasn't a smartphone at all (althought it was undoubtadly a very smart phone). And I'm still not sure the iPhone, or any of the other current crop of phones, can really do anything your average Windows Mobile device from 2003 couldn't do. It does it all better and faster but it is still a touchscreen phone with built-in data onto which you can install software.

Maybe my point (if I made one) is kind of irrelevant but it just seemed strange to claim that being able to use a finger, rather than a stylus, was the thing that made smartphones smart - rather than, say, making them easier, more convenient, making the screen brighter and more readable etc. etc. etc.

And yes, I still miss my old stylus. I have a capacitive one but it just isn't the same and it doesn't slot conveniently into the back of my phone like in days of yore.

Ten backpacks for tech-heads

Bassey

Pakuma Akara K1

I liked the sound of the K1 but clicking through to Amazon the reviews are abysmal. Most reviews seem to agree that it looks great, is practical, comfortable and will fall apart inside three months.

Might have to be the Swissgear for me then. Thanks Reg.

Acer Iconia Tab A700 32GB HD Android tablet review

Bassey

Re: Video

Keep in mind there is no SD and no HDMI on the Nexus. That might not bother you but it is worth considering. I'm leaning more towards a Kindle HD. Again, no SD but it has the USB port and HDMI and the 32GB is only £200 so I think I could cope. I just haven't seen what Amazon have done to Android yet!

Bassey

Re: Video

"What video formats can these things handle? Pretty much everything? What are the decent open source media players for Android?"

Yep, anything you wish. I use MX Player which has handled anything I have thrown at it. VLC is available too (I think it is still in beta) and my cheapo chinese tablet came with something called "Gallery 2180p" which has also handled every video format including a streaming video feed from TVCatchup designed for the iPad which I THINK appears as an iTunes video playlist.

I don't give format or bit rate a moment's thought any more. As long as you choose an Android tablet with MicroSD or USB support (preferably both) then storage space isn't an issue either. I picked up a 32GB card for just over a tenner a few weeks ago and there is usually a 16GB memory stick with a few films on it floating around in the bottom of my bag somewhere.

Intel to turn Ultrabooks, all-in-one desktops into giant tablets

Bassey

Interesting

I thouht most of this was pointless "solution searching for a problem" stuff but I do REALLY like the idea of your wireless keyboard and mouse charging themselves wirelessly from your AIO PC overnight. It doesn't happen very often (maybe every six months or so) but you can guarantee that when the batteries DO run out on your mouse and keyboard it will be at the least convenient time imaginable and, despite having had dozens of batteries lying around for months, you'll be damned if you can find any when you really need it.

Archos 101 XS 10.1in Android tablet review

Bassey

Re: Good typing and mousing experiences

Not built in but the M009s (from Amazon, via Wendy Lou, for about £50) has a port adaptor that provides three full-sized USB ports and an ethernet port and I have had keyboard and mouse working on that. However, it is also a resistive screen and is very slow. Mine gets used just as a Kindle now, having been usurped by a 1.2GHz/Capacitive jobby.

Motorola outs Jelly Bean friendly phones

Bassey

Re: Soon...

"Since the original (well reborn) Razr only just got the ICS update OTA in the UK last week, I recommend you don't hold your breath on that one..."

I would agree with you 100% on past record BUT they are (in the US, at least) including a promise of $100 cash back if they fail to deliver Jelly Bean by a certain date. I'm not a Motorola fan but that sounds like a bloody good way of acknowledging past errors and buying back confidence.

Build a bonkers home cinema

Bassey

Re: Crapping Hell!!!

I know it LOOKS like self-indulgent nonsense (and, frankly, what's wrong with that?) but keep in mind that today's high-end is tomorrow's main stream. Okay, I'm not saying any of this particular kit will ever become even remotely affordable but there are a few new technologies in there that I wasn't aware of but sound like the sort of thing many of us will be using in a few years.

Lets face it, hollywood is trying to convince us "The Cloud" (via UV) is the place where all our films will be stored - because they can control it. However, the tech companies are telling us 4K is the new black. But the two don't work together unless you have a whopping great fibre connection and a VERY low contention ratio. That media server, where the presence of a physical disc is used as your DRM license to allow access to a digital copy, seems like a brilliant solution to me.

Hollywood are happy as you are still buying media from them. Sony et al are happy because a server is capable of pumping out bits at a rate that will feed their new 4K systems so that everyone can go and buy a new telly - again.

Ghostbusters

Bassey

Disappointed

I was a huge fan of the film as a kid but remember being massively disappointed by the game (ZX Speccy 48k). It was hugely repetitive and not much fun. I probably only played it a handful of times before returning to Penetrator or Green Beret.

Nikon snaps first Android-based camera crown

Bassey

Re: Android 2.3?

" I came across an ATM that was stuck and was showing the desktop of the OS it is running"

"specialised devices can -and do- make use of an obsolete/old OS without any issues."

Ermmm, you kind of trampled all over your point with a poorly selected example there fella!

Ten Androids for under 100 quid

Bassey

Re: Spend a little more.

And I would agree with you 100% if it weren't for the lack of MicroSD card suppport in the U. That just kills it for me. How can you really use it as a smartphone with only around 6GB? Most of the uses that define a smartphone require large amounts of storage.