Posts by jason 7
1150 posts • joined Thursday 11th June 2009 11:27 GMT
Unfortunately, it will mostly be for nothing.
Because when Joe Average walks into PC World, he'll buy the Intel powered laptop.
After all he's heard of Intel (jingle), 'they make all the processors don't they? Never heard of AMD, they can't be any good can they?'
I still do not understand why AMD continually fail to market and advertise their wares when the average Joe is who they are largely targeting these days. They have next to zero brand awareness. Brand is what it's all about these days.
I would love to see an interview with the AMD Marketing team...well that's if they even exist.
Re: re:screen res
A lot of Windows 7 Starter windows wouldn't fit in the 600 depth screen either.
Not a good experience.
Re: OK. What's wrong with XP?
Erm I agree with you. I don't use Macs much at all (I had a 512K Mac in the late 80's) and this week I had to install some software on a customers new 13" Macbook. Apparently she "didn't have a clue how to do it!" Well not having a DVD drive and her buying the DVD version didn't help her much.
Have to say not the most fluid or intuitive 30 minutes or so I've had with a computing device.
The Macbook just kind of sat there as much to say "okay what you gonna do?"
I got there in the end but it did seem I had to ask her for her password every 20 seconds (she wouldn't tell me).
Yes lovely hardware but I think Mac fans might be living on past glories if they think OSX is still the slickest/easiest OS around. It all felt a bit old fashioned to me.
I'm sure with a serious overhaul it could get back up there.
Re: More than half?
I think it was the choice of dark purple for all the Metro shots that did it.
Just not a colour many people would go for.
Re: Trivial
Epic Fail for another reason.
I agree that the effort required to negate all the rage about Windows 8 is trivial and takes all of about 4 minutes to rectify. Yet it seems so many supposedly IT guru types just don't seem to get it.
"Oh you shouldn't have to modify an OS to use it! FAIL!"
Right so all you guys just install your OS and leave it at that? You don't do any tweaking or install any third party software at all? I really don't think so.
If the damn thing was incompatible with 90% of hardware and software, molested your mother or was BSOD'ing all the time I could understand the rage. But just a few minor UI tweaks to make it all better?
Never in the history of computing has something so pointless been argued over by so many that shouldn't find it an issue in the first place.
Re: More than half?
@cyborg
"All I know is that when I bought my parents a laptop for Christmas that they knew enough about Windows 8 to mention that they would prefer not to have it."
I have heard the same thing from some of my customers when I offer to put Windows 8 on a new build for them.
I ask them simply "why?".
The answer is always "Er well I dunno, I just heard it's not very good?" Hmmm okay.
I then explain the changes and they are happy to go ahead. Haven't had any issues yet.
Re: So regulator...
So you haven't set your Default Apps to the Desktop versions then?
Here you go -
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/3381610/how-change-default-programs-in-windows-8/
Re: BBC article revelations... XBox is not about games!
@JEDIDIAH
"That's a kind of "you use our stuff only" kind of assumption. It ignores anything else you're doing and the ability of your equipment to handle all of it. Not to mention the space."
???
Sorry, can you run that past me again?
If you really really need to play old games then keeping the original console is not a hardship. Plus it will be far better than any kludged software "PowerPC to x86 conversion process for selected titles only" solution anyway.
Re: XBox One vs PS4
And what will happen is the developers will all code to the slowest machine for the cross-platform titles.
Its only on the dwindling exclusives that the extra power might help.
So having a vastly more powerful machine is a waste of time.
The thing is if Sony's is more powerful, then can they sell it cheaper than MS? Probably not with their financials right now.
Re: BBC article revelations... XBox is not about games!
Why do I need backwards compatibility when I already have a 360 or a PS3 which gives 100% performance on those titles?
Is it too much hardship to run two boxes for a while or relegate one to the spare room?
I mean if its that important you find a way surely? Maybe take the VCR to the Heart Foundation instead?
The day of the Games console is over.
Basically what the 'suits' were getting at is that we are now in the age of the 'Entertainment Console'.
Re: No second-hand games
Erm I think I still have 45GB free on my five year old 60GB drive.
Why do I need much when I have a NAS for my media that I can stream to the Xbox?
I not usually in a hurry to play games so waiting a bit for them to load isn't an issue.
Re: So Eadon...
Hmmm no response, that's a shame.
Maybe he's shy or actually works in PC World?
So Eadon...
...as someone suggested a few days ago, when are you going to let the folks at The Register come visit your workplace to see the Linux Nirvana that you must have created?
I'm sure many of us here would love to see how you have managed to cultivate the perfect open source infrastructure and also to hear from the staff how they get on with it all etc.
It truly would be invaluable to all of us here to see it as well.
Then we could truly hail you as the genius you think you are. I think you owe it to the wonders of open source to do it.
Register...can you make this dream interview happen?
I'm sure others here will agree? If you want this then vote this post up!
Re: Balmer is safe because...
The box-shifters are struggling because they got lazy and greedy. Their products are just crap, it's not the OS that's at fault here.
They haven't brought anything new or dynamic to the table. The Likes of HP/Fujitsu/Acer/Asus etc. have just decided that 99% of their products will be boring, bottom of the barrel standard, 1366x768 TN screen, loaded up with penny per unit bloat and crudware.
They are the ones holding PC development back, not Microsoft.
I really hope MS increases its hardware ranges. Then I can buy a MS laptop or PC with just Windows installed on it with all the right drivers. You know...just how Apple does it.
Most of us know that if you just do a clean install of Windows it works just fine. MS does a good job on the whole.
It's the moribund box-shifting partners that are doing their own damage. They need to quit blaming MS and get their own houses in order.
I am prepared to pay bit more for something better.
Just a shame that....
......outside the ever decreasing PC enthusiast market, Nvidia has next to zero brand recognition compared to Sony/Nintendo.
Lot of cheaper better supported hand-held out there to keep the kids occupied on long journeys.
It's a tough sell.
Re: MS needs to stress
I know and this is supposed to be a tech literate group too.
I do wonder sometimes however.
Re: Legacy Apps?
Let's all salute application developers that haven't yet got to grips with enabling proper font/graphics scaling in their applications.
Hello Adobe!
Re: Legacy Apps?
Yes one device can run full Adobe Creative Suite and the other....Instagram.
I'm still disappointed...
...that it takes two and a half hours to do the 100 miles between Norwich and London.
Should be an hour and a half tops.
The lengths folks will go to...
...to get their Mk1 iPod fixed!
Well that's disappointing to hear!
Nothing else to say really.
Posted in Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
Re: What Don't People Get?
Yes I laughed at them when I first saw them. But then around xmas time I got interested (well its was xmas gadget treat time) and bought the 11" Samsung Chromebook.
I have to say my opinion is now totally different. They are a fantastic device. I hardly use my tablet now, it is the Chromebook I reach for now instead. The speed and ease of a tablet but with a decent keyboard.
Until you spend a day or so with one please reserve judgement. You may be surprised.
A handy tool to add to your tech armoury plus it wont break the bank.
Posted in Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
Re: 1366 x 768 screen ?????
the 1366 screen works okay with Chromebooks (certainly the 11" ones) and as I tell folks.."it is only £200!"
However I do feel that any laptop type device should be issued with 1400/1600x900 screen as a minimum by now.
Re: What took them so long?
Indeed with the tablets and the new Win8 phones I was expecting a 50% discount at least to help build up customers and ecosystem. You know when you have next to no market share in a dominated market you really have to give consumers a very good reason to consider your offering.
When I saw what they were asking I immediately looked elsewhere.
Re: Yep, I agree
I came from a Palm Pre2 (great clean UI/OS) to the Nexus 4 and to be honest I found it an easy migration.
Standard Android Jelly Bean works really smoothly and doesn't really need anything core added to it.
I have no complaints with the Nexus Android experience.
However, I did upgrade my other half's Galaxy Note to Jellybean this week. Holy crap! I could hardly tell it was the same OS. So much junk added in, it looked and felt awful. Stuff duplicating perfectly good existing functionality (as per the article) and all sorts of other crap. Took me quite a while to calm it all down and organise it.
To be honest it reminds me of the issue Microsoft has had with Windows over the years.
A clean retail/OEM install of Windows works great with little fuss or issue. Just the OS and the applications you need. But the Dell/Lenovo/Acer/Asus/Fujitsu/Samsung branded versions full of bloat, pesterware and crapware just ruins it all for the customer.
Really folks, less IS more!
Re: I'd probably buy it....
Yes whilst I'm an 'adult' I really liked the thought of owning a bright red or yellow phone.
Sometimes one just has to give in to the inner child.
Its just the SIM free price that puts me off.
Posted in Review: Samsung Galaxy S4
Re: I've had mine since Friday
Yes its all down to how you use your phone.
With my Nexus 4, if I use it purely for calls and texts then I can squeeze 4 days out of it. If I add in email and internet that goes to just over 2 days.
If however you use it like a Nintendo DS then surprise surprise you get just a few hours of screen time.
So buy a DS.
Re: @Pete 2
@Jason_H
Sorry chap, I see where you are coming from but the politicians don't work for us. None of the western politicians work for the 'normal citizens'.
They all work for the big global corporations. Have done for decades. That's why no matter who you vote for Tory/Labour/Socialist/Right wing etc. the basic corporate agenda carries on unaffected.
It's all been manipulated that way. You don't think those big political donors only donate to one party do you?
All this Europe/immigration stuff only keeps getting dredged up because it works as a good smokescreen to keep covering up that none of the corporates/banks have yet to be taken to task for the crisis they helped make.
Re: Shouldn't the UK Gov start upping it's game then?
Well I'm sure they would love to but then all those lucrative corporate non-exec directorships/consultancy roles for when they leave office will just evaporate.
It's not the Govt that's in control here remember.
Well you know what they say....
...paying tax is for little people.
Any new machines I set up.....
....I switch off Docx by default.
Re: MS Office 365 Security / Legal / FAIL
"Actually, yes you can do all of those things (or equivalent, as in the case of Sharepoint server) using Linux, and at lower cost and more securely. "
Yes but how exactly? C'mon we want specifics not general banal statements.
The world of Enterprise IT needs a little more than "Yep it can be done!"
Re: "Microsoft honcho pleads with media: 'Stop picking on us!'"
I have too.
Whilst Linux works fine and dandy, OSX on the other hand feels very very old.
I've always felt that Apple would love to dump OSX and run everything on iOS.
OSX feels very unloved and well...clunky.
Re: Well its a proof of concept.
Plus do you think the folks using these for crime will have actually paid for that printer and plastic?
Re: Well its a proof of concept.
Burnable CDs cost £20 a go at one time.
Well its a proof of concept.
Now I can imagine we'll see many revised versions over the coming months that refine the basic design using easily sourced metal parts and before you know it you have a reasonably accurate and quite lethal 80% 3D printed weapon.
Perfectly good for a cheap and easy hit or liquor store hold-up. Plus so cheap no one would be too worried about disposing of it properly to screw up forensics/evidence.
Folk's don't tend to like trashing Glocks/Colts etc. after the deed.
Close but I'd say Adobe.
Re: SSDs, I believe, have now overtaken memory as the single most cost-effective upgrade
I upgraded an old 2006 spec 4GB Tecra M7 with a 120GB 5400rpm HDD in it.
It worked okay as stock but wasn't all that responsive. I then swapped the HDD for a 64GB Samsung 830 SSD and it was a huge difference. Yes boot times improved drastically but also the responsiveness of applications, switching and other tasks became a lot smoother. The machine behaved comparable to most modern spec laptops. This was still only working over SATA 1 spec too!
Its all in the near instant access times, not so much the raw MBps.
Installing a SSD is a huge boon for older dual core laptops and PCs.
Re: Skipping a version
A lot of people didn't/don't work that way with CS or Adobe products.
If you paid in full for CS2 you wouldn't think of moving till at least CS4 or some major issue hit home like 64bit compatibility etc. Since CS2/3 Photoshop hasn't really had any major must have features other than UI refreshes. It's like MS Office, you can get by in most cases with any version from the past 8 years (further with Office).
My other half went from CS2 to CS5. The only thing she upgraded inbetween was Dreamweaver (CS4 with no updates and flakey 64bit support, thanks for that Adobe).
She bought Photoshop CS6 only recently due to Adobe's cutting back on the number of versions you can skip to just two before you lose upgrade rights.
Though it may have been a waste of money....
She is looking for long term alternatives now though. But Gimp isn't one of them.
Please not again!!!!!!
Hasn't this been done enough before?
Re: eh?
You might want to get some better IT staff or kit then.
Again a case of so called Pro's showing up their lack of experience or know how.
Yes seems a lot of so called seasoned 'IT Professionals' can't actually fight their way out of a paperbag.
"Wahhhh I'm stuck in Metro! I can't get out!!! Wahhh where is the Desktop??? I can't find the Control panel!"
Makes you wonder how they get dressed in the morning. I take a new Windows 8 install for a customer, 5 minutes of tweaking, 10 minutes of quick instruction on how it works and they are set.
No crying or raging. Just grateful happy customer. Not one of them has sh*t their pants over it and demanded I take it off.
I guess MS are caving into the Tards and changing it back.
Re: Windows 8: reliable, fast, feature-rich, horrible to use
Erm just set the default apps to the desktop ones via the Control Panel.
Takes about 60 seconds. I guess you are new to computers?
Re: Rip-off UK pricing
Adobe have said in the past that the reason the UK and non US English versions are more expensive is "due to language support".
Yes I am not kidding.
So do you get proper support now?
Rather than talking to the 'snotty condescending arrogant bitch' in Essex that we get to speak to every time?
Re: Not exactly in defence, but...
But just make sure you keep lapping up the largely cosmetic and not really necessary upgrades or they will financially ream you good!
"Oh you are a registered user of Version 4 but you say you didn't get the email from us* about the new version 6.5 that now means you can't upgrade now and have to buy the whole new suite even though you paid for full Version 4 only two years ago and 6.5 hasn't really any new features as such?"
Lovely people to do business with.
* They never actually sent an email
Ahhh I wondered why Flash had gone!
Now I know. It took almost as long to Install Flash on a new build yesterday from Adobe as it did to install the dozen or so applications I pulled in from Ninite.
The best thing the web could do is to ban the sneaky inclusion of software that isn't specifically requested with a single install/download.
On another note my other half had to (kinda) buy the latest version of Photoshop CS6 (whatever) or lose 'the right to upgrade' and have to pay quadruple later if so.
Her comment when it arrived in the post yesterday (after a big sigh) was "I remember a time when I used to look forward to my new Adobe software arriving but now I feel like I'm paying money for rape!"
Re: Probabliy better understood as...
How exactly? The powers that be have reconstituted all the western political parties into 90% identical groups. There is a small amount of difference to make it look like there is choice but the basic underlying agenda is to allow their controlling status quo to carry on unhindered.
There is no legal democratic way to change anything now. Whomever you vote for, the 1%'s government always always gets in.
If you decide to fight for change then you are simply a 'terrorist'.
Re: woah!!!!!
Interesting how that works out when the Chromebooks have been Amazon No.1 sellers for quite a few months.
Plus at the moment I'd really say Chromebooks are still in extended Beta. The big push it yet to come.
Everyone I've shown mine too (Windows/Mac and Li...well actually no Linux fans as I don't know any in person) have all loved it and several have bought one.
I do find it ironic that Linux may yet get its day on the desktop via being the underlying core of ChromeOS. But it's just not in the way that the Linux crowd would have wanted.
