* Posts by Richard 20

41 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Jun 2009

Apple pulls Civil War games in Confederate flag takedown

Richard 20

Ok, but where does this leave the Wolfenstein series?

KRAKOOM! iPad Air explose in fireball, terrified fanbois flee Apple store

Richard 20
WTF?

Good one…

"Weighs a bit less". Really? if the author of this piece lost proportionally the same [bit of] weight I suspect the last rites would be called for…

Bletchley Park vows to upload secret World War II code-cracking archives

Richard 20
Stop

Ahem…

"Bletchley Park, the British wartime code-breaking center". Perhaps the author is American, but my understanding is that 'The Register' is still a British organ. TIA.

Fury as OS X Mavericks users FORCED to sync contact books with iCloud

Richard 20
FAIL

Try to keep up…

"The change – confirmed by El Reg" - nothing to be proud of El Reg given that the new OS has been out for several weeks and all users who synced via iTunes have been aware of this bug/feature since then.

Whoops! Apple drops kimono, flashes 'FREE' GarageBand for iOS7

Richard 20
Stop

Am I missing something?

I thought Apple's premium apps going free for qualifying phones was mentioned at last month's Keynote where the new phones were announced…

Official crackdown on Apple fanboi 'shanty town' ahead of London iPhone launch

Richard 20
FAIL

Crown Estate…

"The Crown Estate, an arm of the British government, owns various important bits of UK real estate including the seabed round the British isles"

Ahem… I think the Republic of Ireland would have something to say concerning the seabed around their coastline. #Geography101

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster remembered 10 years on

Richard 20
WTF?

Degrees F…

Are you quite serious?

The iPHONE 5 UNDERMINES western DEMOCRACY: 5 reasons why

Richard 20
Thumb Up

Quality Trolling Lewis…

That is all.

Google sneaks in back door, slips YouTube onto iPhone 5

Richard 20
FAIL

Not quite true…

Come on Reg; lazy, inaccurate reporting - the following is simply not true:

"There's no alternative to YouTube, iTunes is hardly comparable, so iPhone users will have to download Google's client or just find something better to do than watch cats falling on pianos."

The very fine YouTube WebApp available using iOS Safari has been the goto tool for watching YouTube videos for quite a while, given Apple's lack of interest in their official app.

Glad to help, R.

iPad 2, iPhone 4S finally jail-broken

Richard 20
Thumb Down

Tut… El Reg… what took you so long??

This was announced at least 2 days ago.

Tut, tut.

Man builds smartphone dock into arm

Richard 20
WTF?

When I saw headline I assumed said man was Kevin Warwick

Surprised to see it was not the case…

iOS update woes prompt gnashing of teeth for Apple fans

Richard 20
Megaphone

Smooth as silk (though slow)

No problems here, first time, no worries. Only trending on Twitter because of retweets #selfpertuatingfallacy.

iPhone 4S pay-monthly tariffs compared

Richard 20
Facepalm

Craptastic table

Nice one Reg. That table has to be the most useless one I've seen for a while; you have compared tariffs at the low and high ends without consideration of the packages that PEOPLE ACTUALLY USE.

To quote another dunderhead: 'Good Grief'.

Ten reasons why you shouldn't buy an iPhone 5

Richard 20
Happy

Really?

Some nice trolling!

(bet you'll have one before year's end).

Sony BDP-S380 Blu-ray player with IPTV

Richard 20
Facepalm

Yawn

Are people really still buying BluRay players?

#WannabuyaBetaMax?

iPhone users richer, brainier, more tasteful than Android-ers

Richard 20
Go

Age

iPhone users are more affluent (as the phone is pricier) therefore tend to be older. All else follows from these self-evident facts.

(unless you're a phone-geek you would't purchase an Android device if you could afford an iPhone).

Mole maintains iPad 3, iPhone 5 out this year

Richard 20
WTF?

16:9?

Oh no. Not that; I think the peeps at Apple are too clever to implement such a daft idea. Perhaps the device isn't perfect, but the aspect-ratio is!

iPhone customers lay into Apple after iOS 4.0.1 update fails to install

Richard 20
Alert

No issues here…

Updated fine. Has anyone tried updating an N95 - now there's a world of hurt!

Steve Jobs unveils iPhone 4

Richard 20
Go

El reg @ WWDC 2011

I wonder whether next year The Register could take the seat recently vacated by Gizmodo?

Apple said to order 24 million iPhone 4Gs

Richard 20
Happy

@Webster

"Red China" - where have you been living mate?

Somewhere in the 1960s is my guess.

Google extends Chrome for Fanbois

Richard 20
Unhappy

Not for everyone

Sadly this much needed update won't be automatic for everyone as it only applies to the 'English' version. I, and several other Blighty users I'd have thought, use the 'English UK' localisation which isn't covered as yet. There's no mention of when 'proper' English will be included, which is a shame as I would very much enjoy the new features.

I suppose I could move on to the 'English' version but I am afraid of being exposed to those subtle Americanisms - as you can see I have lived a very sheltered life…

Virgin Media network goes titsup in Brum

Richard 20
FAIL

London problems too

I have been very satisfied with VM cable for several years but in the last 2 months or so, the service has been very unreliable, going down for several hours every few days. What has happened to this formerly bullet-proof service? Btw, I'm in Camden, London.

Macs not all that for reliability

Richard 20
WTF?

Surely title should include HP, not Apple

Ok, as every reader here knows you, are not invited to Apple's various shindigs. Why can't you just get over it instead of employing petulant headlines as seen above.

Would a simple graph of the data have been so hard to append?

Palm Pre smartphone

Richard 20
Megaphone

Synergy

It is interesting that the author is such a fan of the Synergy system. The Pre looks a great product and perhaps a genuine competitor to the iPhone. However, rather than a selling-point I find Synergy to be a genuine deal-breaker. Can I be the only phone user who actually wants to compartmentalise their contacts? I simply don't want my Facebook 'friends', some of whom are, frankly, not true friends to be rolled into my contacts list. The same goes, to some extent, for IM, Skype etc.

I am impressed by the multitasking which doesn't appear to drain the battery excessively, but I am of the belief that Apple may include this in future iPhones which will sport faster processors and improved battery technology.

Clearly there are issues with hardware design and build quality, but these bugs will be ironed-out in due course.

For now I think I'll stick with my iPhone.

Hacker springs latest iPhone OS from Jobsian jail

Richard 20
Happy

@Scott M

I'd be the first to admit that this is a small matter and I don't want to engage in a flame-war but there is NO version of PwnageTool for Windows. Not talking about Quickpwn, Redsn0w, or Microsoft Word, for that matter.

Quoted from the Dev Team Blog 13/10/09 11:15 BST:

"There is no Windows version of PwnageTool it is a Mac OS X tool only, we are not developing a Windows version of PwnageTool".

QED (fwiw).

Richard 20
Dead Vulture

Usual El Reg polemic

Interesting that the author points-out that at present Blackra1n does not run under Mac OS. However, when the Pwnage tool is mentioned he neglects any mention of the fact that it is Mac only.

Just sayin…

Street View applies extra blur to Swiss

Richard 20
Thumb Up

Great Sub-heading…

Given the utter dross El Reg normally serves-up in this department I thought you should be congratulated on this occasion.

Smoking iMac caught on camera

Richard 20
FAIL

Clearly faked…

Probably a joss-stick rammed up an air-inlet.

Apple blogger legally unlocks iPhone

Richard 20
Thumb Down

Not legal "loophole"

Simply the law… and it's not new.

Apple iTablet snaps emerge

Richard 20
Alert

Probably a fake, but…

Two things which I find quite compelling are the momentum given to the Notes app when it's moved and the keyboard appearing when it is activated. These are both features that seem very Apple-like.

Otoh, I worry that the screen "gives" like a laptop one rather than the solid glassy surface of the iPhone or iPod touch.

British boffin named first ever 'doctor of texting'

Richard 20
FAIL

Wht a ld of bllcks

I hv a gnuin PhD & ths stry mks my bld boil. Giv ths prsn a GCSE & hve dun wth it.

BT's giant new faster broadband boxes blocked

Richard 20
Megaphone

Other ugly boxes

I don't get it. If these people are Luddite enough to block the cabinets in their area then why don't they organise a campaign against those other ugly boxes on four wheels which are habitually parked at the kerbside.

Personally I'm against the nasty Euro-boxes blocking my view of some perfectly formed telco cabinets usually decked-out in a rather snazzy battleship-grey.

ECB Cricket 1.0

Richard 20
Pint

ESPN>ECB

Oooh no, contrary to what is stated above; the ESPN/CricInfo Mobilcast app pre-dates the ECB effort but quite a while.

That is all.

Users claim iPhone 3.0 GPS mis-map mishaps

Richard 20
Troll

@ Mr Burns

Exxxxcccelent… Thanks for making my point so eloquently. Much appreciated.

Richard 20
Happy

The Monty doth protest too much, methinks…

Apple-envy is so becoming. Nuff said.

iPhone v Pre - the celebrity smartphone deathmatch

Richard 20
Thumb Up

Thanks Rik

Great article Rik. A comparative review of genuine utility and even-handedness. So much better than the usual Register review-fare. Please take note El Reg.

Owners say iPhone 3GS is a scorcher

Richard 20
Troll

Lawyers, start your engines

My Nokia N95 used to get extremely hot when several services were working simultaneously. It's not a big deal. Sounds to me as if some people out there are looking to manipulate a lawsuit (class action or otherwise) out of the slow release of a little thermal energy.

Eclipse worms into Apple Cocoa, iPhone

Richard 20
Headmaster

@Skelband

You're absolutely correct; it's a nasty American affectation and ought to be nipped in the bud.

Apple iPhone 3GS

Richard 20
Unhappy

You cannot be serious!

As it is Wimbledon time, I feel the above title to be indicated. Fine, it is true that optical zoom would be a welcome feature, but it is still quite an unusual one in smart-phones. For the author to opine that he'd like to see digital zoom included as a feature is quite ridiculous, especially arising from someone whom I assume has an interest in tech. Such a zoom can be achieved in post, or even within the Photos App itself if you like. I can hardly believe he would prefer this redundant and pretty useless feature at the expense of the magnetometer which is of genuine utility if use Maps often - if I were not in contract I would upgrade from the 3G to 3G S for this alone (and perhaps the overall speed boost).

Mobile internet? It ain't just for the iPhone

Richard 20
Dead Vulture

Is that it?

Given 'The figures only cover networks that have deployed Novarra's software', then this is an absolute non-story, n'est pas?

RIP Personal Computer World

Richard 20
Unhappy

Good Old Days

Great article from a real legend of the computing press. Thanks Guy (I used to meet you on a successful MUD (remember Simon Dally?), I think your handle was 'linenoise'? or maybe not?). And thanks also to the Reg for giving him space to reminisce.

For some reason the PCW cover I recall from the old days above any was a stylised image of Mr Spock (with raised eyebrow of course) in front a new machine known as the Elan Enterprise (gedit?) if memory serves. A splendid cover IMO.

And while I'm happily displaying my age, does anyone recall the name of that computer which outwardly appeared similar to the Spectrum, although internally it was capable of running Forth (yes, Forth), rather than the ubiquitous BASIC.

Thanks Guy and thanks PCW for some good times; I'm so sorry that I threw-out my extensive collection many years ago.