Posts by Paw Bokenfohr
170 posts • joined Monday 11th May 2009 13:49 GMT
Re: Yes
"Of course talking on the phone isn't as rich an experience as talking face to face."
We have a mix of desk phones along with LifeSize ClearSea as a desktop video client with LifeSize video systems in meeting rooms. Works great - you can email for some things, call for others, and if you really want a proper conversation where you get full attention from someone, you use video.
But you don't need the phone to be smart at all really.
Because of course Google's not big brother.
Re: "Thinner and lighter"
"iPhone 5 however <...> only to find it's the wrong way round"
You mean on the *reversible* Lightning connector which doesn't have a "wrong" way round? Unless you count the wrong end of the cable and she's trying to connect the USB end to the phone.
Mine's fine.
I got a K800 and it's fine. The backlight comes on when you type and goes off a few seconds after. It also comes on when your hand is over the keyboard (proximity sensor) so the light comes on before you start typing.
The letters are quite clearly visible in daylight without the backlight on though. They look like a light silver colour on black; there are no visibility issues there.
The backlight is white.
Re: The Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball is OK
+1 on that. I've been using mine for years and love it.
I've just recently bought the K800 wireless illuminated keyboard and that's brilliant too. Uses the same receiver as the trackball as well, so no need for 2 USB ports to be used up.
Re: quality control?
"If Apple didn't keep an eye on the production and truly let 8 million rejects made, they deserve to eat most of the cost."
...but why? That would be like me being to blame for buying 10 Blackberrys to distribute to people at work, and one of them being faulty. I have a right to the expectation that what I buy will be as promised, just as Apple did here from the business that it buys the phones from and if not, to have them replaced with ones that are right.
I'm sure that there is a set acceptable failure rate in the contract, and Foxconn have obviously exceeded that, if this story is accurate, since it's all based on rumour.
Re: Hmmm...
Agreed, but:
1. Not every sensible / dull person can afford to buy the handset outright. Whether that should mean that they shouldn't be getting it or not is another debate.
2. Sometimes it works out better for you to have everything rolled in to one monthly amount, for example, if you run your own company mobile, and claim back the cost each month - less accounts department anguish.
Re: The welsh lobby
@hplash: "A BBC programme that wasn't London-centric. That must have been a shock, alright."
Indeed. It's always amused me that even shows such as the BBC News show which is about the worldwide perspective on things happening in the UK is called "Dateline London" and not something like "World View" or "Global Correspondents Report" or something; they have to get London in to the title despite it being really nothing to do with London.
And yes, I know that the international dateline runs through London.
Really?
"Apple did not wish to comment"
Does that mean that you actually got a response of "no comment" from them, or, that they just didn't respond at all (as normal)?
Because "no comment" would surely be infinitely more comment than you usually get??
Re: Luddites
"expectation that because you paid £40 in 2007 you should get eternal server access for your money is ludicrous"
Nobody is suggesting that, as you well know, you're just attacking a straw man.
The issue is one of choice, as always.
For you, you prefer online, multiplayer games - MMORPGs, FPSs, and so on, and those games as you say have a limited shelf life. For you, perhaps, a monthly subscription with access to all games currently running on the servers would be a good deal - never buying a game at all, but having access to all while the publisher believes that they are worth hosting, and never having to have a disc which you hate so much.
Others may have no interest in the online components of games, may prefer their kids didn't connect online, they have poor (or expensive) network connectivity, or play games for which an online component is of no extra value. For these people, buying a physical copy of the game, and being able to use it as is makes more sense, and there should be no reason why they shouldn't have that option.
CoD, Halo, Far Cry, and Borderlands players are not the only people in the world who matter.
Re: Bad retention department?
Similar experiences here when I tried to leave. Took a lot of wrangling and hassle, and eventually I told them that I was just going to cancel the direct debit and instruct my bank that I have not authorised a new DD. They then tried to use the "well, we won't give you your PAC code then" type argument and fortunately, I was just using the SIM in my tablet and didn't care about the number so could tell them that. Eventually, after 4 calls, and 2 managers, and around 70 minutes of my time, they agreed to cancel.
And then they didn't... Repeat saga.
Complete pain in the arse. I'll avoid them in the future because of that experience even if I move and their signal is better. I know all mobile phone companies are bad at customer service (though I don't know why) but 3 were worse than the rest, in my experience.
Re: why would you need retentions, no need to leave.
"if you've used it's vastly superior network for data (which is all I care about) you'd have zero reason to call retentions - they retain customers like me by providing really really good 3G service"
YMMV. Mine certainly did, and ended up leaving 3 for GiffGaff (who use/basically are O2) and I get much better throughput and reliability now. Only used for data (the SIMs in an iPad). 3's retentions department were awful. But like I say, it's horses for courses as always with mobile providers - what works well for one person is useless to another.
Posted in Review: HTC One
Re: No microSD AGAIN
Surely a "Full HD" screen means HD video, which means a lot of data. Between apps, music, photos and a few video files of between 1-4GB a pop, 32GB or 64GB actually doesn't go as far as you'd think. Unless you want to be changing the videos on it every couple of days, and you know what it is you fancy watching before you fancy it, then the option of a bit of extra memory would be good.
Posted in Review: Sony Xperia Z
Re: Icon says it all
Completely agree on the Xenon flash - it would certainly raise up any phone on my possible purchases list if it had a decent sensor and a proper flash.
There's also no reason why it couldn't cope well with redeye etc - there's no reason for it to be mounted next to the sensor - smartphones are all 10cm+ long, so the flash could be mounted at the opposite end to the sensor.
I don't like the idea of a separate flash unit though - the whole point behind having good cameras on smartphones is to enable you to capture those moments when you weren't expecting something; when you don't have your proper camera with you for example. At those times you probably don't want to be bumbling through your pocket, switching on your FlashPod (TM), waiting for it to link to your phone by BlueTooth, firing up the third party camera app that uses it, before finally being ready to capture that moment that passed 30 seconds before.
Re: West Consipracy
You were late. Better start watching your back...
Re: +1
"There is a difference."
I think that that might be a problem that may be brewing for Android in the future, actually. That "Android" is to some people synonymous with the phone: In his example, it's "an Android phone" rather than it's "an Huawei phone" and so the bad experience equates to "my Android phone was rubbish" -> "I won't get another Android phone" rather than "that Huawei phone struggled running Android, I should get a more powerful and better designed one from a higher end manufacturer next time".
Re: FAIL felt as far as Oregon
Never had an issue with either First Direct or Smile.
But I would recommend First Direct, because Smile (and the Co-Op) require you to use a two-factor authentication system with your debit card to be able to do any transactions through your online banking. Not convenient if you're not at home, or the battery's flat, or you're in a hurry. Actually not convenient at all.
First Direct try to get you to install Trusteer Rapport ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EimZQgt7WPg )......... But, it's optional, so, not as heinous as the card reader from Smile.
"blood flowing through"
Perhaps it "watches" for the flow of blood through the veins - "near-infrared rays that are absorbed by deoxidised haemoglobin present in blood flowing through the patient's palm veins".
Perhaps the "flow" part is a part of the process of building the image used for verification, and without blood flow, it's not verifiable?
Contactless
The point about these ones are that you don't touch it. Was mentioned in the article.
Re: Easily confused...
"deliberately vague on The Register's part since repeating such information in any detail may itself constitute libel"
Then, The Register should either grow a backbone, or not bother posting anything at all, or simply link to a complete article from a news source that will post a full account.
Re: Effect ≠ cause.
@P.Lee, "Most of the people I hear about who support gay marriage seem very closed-minded on the issue"
Yup, it's called "making a decision" or "having an opinion". You could say a similar thing for most of the people who are against equal marriage. Or about most of the people who want tax cuts. Or about most of the people who enjoy football.
Or most anything where you have to state a preference one way or another.
Few of us have absolutely no opinion about whether or not we should all have equal rights and responsibilities under the law, and I think equally few of us can be persuaded from one stance to another *over a short period of time* such as during a 15 second TV interview, or even over a few weeks of debate.
Changing "closed-minds" as you put them, takes a long time, whether you're trying to change them towards or away from intolerance.
The one in Bracknell...
...is really quite good. The staff, especially one or two individuals, are really helpful - you know, actually offering to help without being asked, I know it's unusual these days - without being pushy and leaving you to browse if that's all you want.
I go regularly, but unfortunately, rarely buy anything because they (a) stock mostly pre-owned games, and I prefer to buy new and (b) don't carry any of the music that I enjoy. Do buy the odd BluRay, though.
I think that there is a place for a good mass market retailer still. I prefer to buy CD over digital download, and BluRay over digital download - I don't like the encumbrance of DRM that often comes with downloads and it's easy to get physical media in to digital format for phones, tablets, media streamers etc (thank you "ExactAudioCopy" and "AnyDVD HD"/"Handbrake") and for a small amount extra over mail order (which includes multi-day delays if you want free shipping) it can be worth it.
@Dan 55
"the Mac Pro's not going to be around for much longer anyway"
Possibly, or possibly they're already working on the replacement for it, for release sometime in the latter part of this year, and so have decided that there's no point reworking the current Mac Pro believing that anyone that really wants one will get one in the next few weeks, or from existing stocks, or import one.
Possibility that they will be able to bring up the release (or announcement) of the replacement too of course.
Re: "the perfect complement to the Surface Windows RT."
@JDX: "I actually kind of want one, though damned if I know exactly why."
Because you, like many of us on here (myself included) are like Dug the dog from Up! when he sees a squirrel, only for us, the squirrel is new-to-market tech. In some ways it kind of doesn't matter if we actually have a use for it or if it's actually very good or better than other solutions. It's new, and shiny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrAIGLkSMls
Re: 2 years ? I'd have moved
@MachDiamond: I think that what JimmyPage probably meant was not that he should get a gun, but that he should probably expect that some time in the future, someone armed with a gun, and angry because they believe that their (stolen) mobile is in his house might come round and demand it back, with menaces.
Re: Not sure I understand this...
Yes, you understand correctly. Assuming the mobile phones are of the "right" network and are pre-registered for the Femto.
Re: Not going to be much use really
Agreed. My partner had (has, actually, though of no use now as doesn't have a Sony phone any more) one of the original Sony MBW-100 and misses the "see who's calling" or "see who's messaged me" or "see battery level" type functions which are great to be able to take a quick look at your watch to see without needing to take the phone out for, which is more useful than you might think when it's built in to something you wear every day anyway.
Assuming they do it right (that is - battery that lasts 10-14 days with normal use - you don't want to have to charge your phone every two days, no 3G, crisp display, configurable) and keep it relatively affordable (people who have an iPhone are arguably willing to spend a bit more obviously) then I think it'll be a hit.
We're rapidly entering a phase where the mobile OS providers try to lock us in even harder (eg: the very nice Nokia MD-50W speaker which while bluetooth works best with Nokia phones, and I'm guessing the google glasses won't work with WinPho8 or iOS) beyond just the apps not being cross-compatible, and this seems like a workable and sensible device for Apple to be releasing, and should have a bigger market appeal than the google glasses too.
Posted in The best e-readers for Christmas
Re: .
"Which seems fair."
Perhaps, but equally pointless...!
Posted in Ten four-bay NAS boxes
Agreed. They should at least have reviewed both, and it's also odd...
...that they mentioned the on-the-fly expansion capabilities of the Synology, but didn't mention that the Netgear box has that same functionality, and indeed, Netgear were the first to offer it and have done for years and years since the acquisition of Infrant who created the ReadyNAS line in the first place.
Re: Another Crap Headline
I don't actually believe that's entirely accurate.
The 1845 Joint Resolution for annexing Texas doesn't include a right to secede. It does include a right for Texas to divide itself in to 5 individual states in the Union, if it wants to.
$21m...
...or about 4 hours of Apple's profit (using guesstimated figures I found on the always reliable internet).
Not insignificant, but not going to trouble them I suspect.
Posted in O2 roaming rates to rise by up to 140%
Re: Is that to call home
If you travel to Canada, Fido (a division of Rogers) do a PAYG SIM which you can drop CA$100 on to and get a year of validity on the number and the credit. Useful if you go there regularly. It's hard to top up while outside of Canada though - their web site doesn't accept non-Canadian credit cards so you have to go through a third party web site to get the credit. Hell of a lot cheaper than roaming of course.
Posted in Apple updates iOS 6, Safari
Re: Well..
@ HipposRule
"Why the flip are you using a map app to drive near your home - are you that dumb?"
Why even bother with this post? Just to be nasty?
There two blindingly obvious reasons to use the maps app when driving near your home:
1. To test it so that you can see whether it's likely to work how you want it to work when you are in places that you do not know so well.
2. Because it has traffic awareness, which you do not have, and so may well find you a quicker route home / to wherever you're going.
Also, there's always the possibility that the OP has just moved to the area and doesn't know the roads so well. In fact, if you live in a big town or city it can take a long time to get to know all the little ways around, especially if like most of us you spend most of your time driving to and from work and shops rather than just out driving down side streets for fun.
Do you know...
...I'd actually like Apple to withdraw from the UK market in protest. Literally take their toys and go home.
I do use some iDevices, and obviously consider future ones (though I skipped the iPhone 5 and iPad 4 / mini) but I also like popcorn and so would love to see the fallout of that action. It'd be interesting to see whether the government would take some action to retain Apple here; the judgement does seem to be excessive compared to previous examples of similar failed litigations.
Re: fanbois get burned
30 month contract?!?
I have a hard limit at 18 months and prefer 12. If I can't afford the phone I want on an 18 month contract at a monthly price I want to pay, I don't get the phone. 30 months is an insane amount of time to sign up to a phone contract for. Surely you must be in the US?
Re: 3 for good data? Really?
GiffGaff's unlimited data on a smartphone (no tethering) is £10 at the moment, about to go up to £12 a month. This includes 250 minutes and unlimited texts. If you're price sensitive, and don't mind online-only customer service, it's the deal to go for; I have several family members on it and they've had no problems so far (been about a year I guess).
I've been on 3 and it was a nightmare; poor signal where I needed it, and the customer service was shockingly bad (though I haven't had good customer service from a mobile provider for many years).
But your mileage will vary - this is the thing about mobile phone coverage. It all depends on the signal you have on the network you're on in the places that *you* need it. And that varies with everyone. So it's a moot point and not even worth discussing really. There is no one best provider for everyone.
But this piece was about 4G vs 3G.
I can't understand the need for 4G on a smartphone (assuming you're not tethering). 3G at anything from 1 Mbps to 15 Mbps surely has to be enough to surf the web, facebook and tweet, listen to internet radio, and upload the odd picture you've taken etc?
For home broadband, yes, totally get it, but the backhaul matters even more than the downlink there, and who actually believes that they will be investing in that as quickly (or at all)?
Re: Never buy a Kindle, then.
Hmm, you mention Apple, but the thing is, Apple have never done this (to my knowledge). Amazon have, and now more than once. You have to wonder how many other times they've done this to other people who haven't gotten to the point of complaining to a blogger etc.
I don't fully trust any of these companies (I'm thinking Amazon, Apple, Google etc) but for me, Amazon are the ones that have so far proven themselves to be the least trustworthy through their real-world actions.
Re: What happens if...
Thanks for the thoughts, all.
Of course, can use VoIP on WiFi at these places (usually, and that's what I do at the moment) but with inbound and outbound texts and bundled minutes, was just a thought.
What happens if...
...you have a femtocell from one of these companies, and you go on holiday to somewhere you get broadband (hotel, office, friends, family, whatever) and try to use it there? Is the system "stupid" enough to let you get calls and texts in and out using it?
Re: Big questions..
Will it comes with the shit maps?
- yes, but they will get better, and you can always use one of the many alternates available in the mean time or long term if you like (just like with the iPad and iPhone).
Will it come with the connector that makes you buy everything again?
- it will have Lightning, yes, but whether you have to buy things again depends on what you have and what you want of course.
Will it come with the shitty camera with purple spots?
- no.
Will it come with green-screen mode that takes a while to warm up?
- no.
Will it come locked to iTunes and nasty DRM?
- no, and no (just as iPad and iPhone aren't and haven't been since iOS5).
Will it need it own mini-apps?
- no.
Will it be the cheaper than the almost certainly superior Nexus7?
- no.
All questions that need answering.....
- there you go, happy to oblige.
Are you *sure* it was the first....?
...because I got an Odeon voucher in Passbook the other day:
http://promo.odeon.co.uk/film30
...looks like you can still claim it too, and you can print it if you don't have Passbook.
Re: One clear answer
Yes, but, it'll be 2018 rather than 2015, and "WinX"
Re: @proto-robbie
@ imanidiot:
"Ummmmm, HVDC for long distance transmissions??? There is a reason Westinghouse/Tesla WON the AC v. DC battle you know! And one of those reasons is the inability to transport DC over any significant distances. 3 Phase AC links have much lower transport losses (Or why would EVERY single long distance link already in use be AC?)"
While it was certainly true in Teslas time that DC was unsuitable for long distance transmission, and AC was better, it's just not true now.
A simple search for power transmission will give you lots of information, and if you're interested in specific examples, you can search for "Pacific DC Intertie" which should get you info on one example which is over 800 miles long.
Using DC now with modern technology is better than AC which introduces all sorts of issues when tying disparate grids together.
Posted in Happy birthday, Compact Disc
Re: Is there any truth
It's possible that some could get disc rot, but on the whole no. My first CD (Sisters of Mercy, for my sins) still plays 100%, as does every other CD I own. You could possibly be thinking of "laser rot" which affected some, improperly made, LaserDiscs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot%23Laser_rot - this was much more common than it is with CDs.
Re: What the fu..
"Personally I think this is age discrimination. It means that 2 people doing exactly the same job but different age get paid different rates."
Well, no. What it means is that a bad employer can get away with paying someone who's 19 less than the legal minimum would have been for someone who is over 21, but, most employers don't pay the bare minimum wage.
I do agree though that it's shocking that someone can get paid £200 for a full week's work (for me, a "full week" on my employment contract is 40 hours, though, I work a lot more than that).
Re: HD Voice isn't new to anyone else, just Apple.
Perhaps what's new is that Apple are managing to "persuade" carriers to implement it. I too remember Orange announcing it back when, but don't recall anyone else, which makes it of limited use.
@ Ross K
"I'm not seeing any stories about HTC, Samsung or Nokia using sweatshop labour"
This very article contains the line "said the Samsung, Nokia and Apple kit maker" after a quote from Foxconn. I think it would be disingenuous to suggest that the workers on the Apple line get worse treatment than the workers on the Samsung or Nokia lines, at least without evidence to that effect. And we all know, from recent Samsung revelations, that they do not have clean hands.
By my standards, the workers at Foxconn have a bad time of it. But, I don't pretend to know whether, for those individuals, it's better than the alternative - I can't judge their lives in that way, not having lived them. Perhaps to them, their degree is worth doing the internship.
Many of us in the west have to work during their degree studies to be able to pay their way - I would not have received my degree if I hadn't - I would not have had the money to be able to pay for food and accommodation - so really, that was as enforced as these internships. I could have chosen not to work, and not got a degree too.... and then gone to work; after all, it's not like the alternative is to sit at home your whole life and do sod all and get paid for it.
Remember many countries also have a concept of national service to the Armed Forces, or alternative community service, and while it's not the same thing precisely, it's still something you have to do, and is socially acceptable in the country where it's practised, but would seem outrageous to the "youth of today" in the UK, I can imagine.
Re: somewhere someone is missing the point....
Agreed - I don't remember the press screaming about this, or anyone really noticing at all. I certainly didn't, but then of course I would have had FF installed as my default browser before SP1 was added to my system, rather than buying a PC with W7SP1 pre-installed and setting it up from there.
Genius Playlists
Just seems like a logical extension of Genius Playlists really, rather than a copy of Pandora or anything like that specifically. At least, I'm sure that is what Apple will say when asked.
Re: Coveted item
Cue slew of up and downvotes depending on whether people are "Fanbois", "Fandroids", or iHaters etc etc
