Posts by Chris 3
482 posts • joined Friday 10th July 2009 16:44 GMT
Re: Yeah, but ...
For what values of "Useful"? iPads are certainly useful for content consumption and small scale content creation. So for Web, E-mail, book reading they are excellent and they are extremely handy for doing edits to documents. I probably wouldn't use them for primary document creation, but at a push you can.
The fact that my *builder* and his team use them to share design and project plans via Dropbox would suggest that its not just fanboys who find them useful.
Posted in Movie review: Star Trek Into Darkness
Re: Over forties
I'm about to hit my 50s and I thought the Reboot worked excellently. There were a few times where Pine's Kirk directly channelled Shatner's in terms of mannerisms etc. Same with Bones and Spock. Not slavish impersonations, but referencing the core of the performances.
I thought the use of time-travel to switch timelines was a fun conceit to make the reboot universe the-same-but-different.
The best bit was watching all the old trekkers harrumphing about how the new film had forgotten the spirit of the original. Yes it was action-tastic. Yes it was fun. But yes, it was certainly Trek.
Re: More Suggestion than Paul McKenna
As an Apple user, I think that's an entirely fair point. However the discrepancy between the results for the MacBook Pro and the Retina model, suggests that there is more going on here, than simple user selection bias.
Also, I always thought that the Thinkpads tended to be the box of choice for the tech-savvy, so I'm surprised to see it down there.
The acid test
Bill,
Would you be happy to pop up your credit card details on here - card holder's name, number and expiry date? It would certainly act as a powerful demonstration as to how there isn't a problem here.
Posted in Review: Nokia Lumia 520
You're missing the fact that...
... they sell. There's a big market for cheap n cheerful.
Re: Now i hate apple....
Looks to me as if that quote has been mangled by Wired, or there is something missing:
“If a user turns Siri off, both identifiers are deleted immediately along with any associated data. " doesn't make sense in context because only one identifier is ever mentioned in the article.
My guess is that the spokesdroid originally said: “If a user turns Siri off, both identifiers and data are deleted immediately along with any associated data. "
I also guess that he meant that any data associated with the ID is deleted, because - as you point out - you can't delete data no longer associated with it.
I have to say that if the data truly *is* dissociated from the ID after 6 months, but kept for 2 years to improve the service, it seems harmless and reasonable.
Yes, came here to say just this. I looked a the headline figures and thought "blimey that growth rate looks pretty healthy". The downgrade is due to struggling Windows 8, tablet and phone strategy however. so I suppose Goldman's point is that this is the high water mark.
I guess the CFO is looking at the current sales figures, and going >gulp<
Re: And the Windows Phone version
Oh god, all the comments on the BBC blogs are from the people with WinPho who want support.
The latter
Downloading was a late addition after streaming on the mobile platforms.
Re: Reality
> THEY will need to fit smart sockets in every part of the home,
... unless they just provide adaptors that you place into the socket used by the washing machine/fridge.
Re: @JetSetJim Alternative
I think the idea is that the data is also used to feed a swanky digital display that you can pop in your house somewhere - so you instantaneously see the load when you pop a kettle on, or start the tumble drier. It's a fairly well tested theory that if people become aware of their power consumption they tend to reduce it.
Re: Hmm,
I bet you have unmetered water and leave your taps running all day too - just to show 'em.
Why on earth is *this* bloke writing an article?
He's a CTO. I want to hear what one of MSs Office Managers has to say on the subject.
Basically they want you paying attention during take off and landing
Not playing angry birds while safety announcements are being made or during the most dangerous parts of the flight
Bloody tax pays alliance.
Never at a loss for a cheap soundbite.
So the question in my mind is - at the time that the system was originally commissioned (2005) did the systems these other forces use already exist in a workable form. If so, yes Surrey deserves a drubbing. If they didn't exist and if Surrey got reasonable use from its inhouse system (years in development, but how many years? Have they been using it since 2007 and spending on improvements since then?) I have sympathy for them.
Would an FOI request get you that report?
Posted in DropBox adds single sign-on
Key management?
So when Dropbox first launched, they explained that they would hold all the encryption keys protecting your data to make the service simple. This also gives them the ability to see your data, or course. I'm sure they said they would look into giving users the ability to set up their own keys.
That would be my prerequisite for using Dropbox with company confidential files.
... And no, I don't want to have to bother encrypting files before uploading them.
Until about a year ago...
I was happily running Office v.X which must have been over 10 years old. It was absolutely fine, apart from the inability to digest docx files. Only upgraded to 2011 because my firm had a deal for buying for home use for minimal cost.
Using an unsupported option should hold few fears.
"We've reniced the dedupe process"
complicated stuff.
Re: Are we really talking about putting the network gubbins in a bulb...
Probably needs as much processing power as the average novelty birthday card that plays a tune.
I have an iPad which I love...
... however I'm very concerned by the large number of posts that seem to pop up on iPad forums which effectively say "Hi, I'm a teacher and our school has purchased a lot of iPads. Has anyone got any suggestions for good educational software we can run on them?".
And when I say 'concerned' I mean angry.
Just a couple of things to add to Dominic's article.
Apparently there is a version of Scratch under development for the iPad, I'd also recommend looking up Codea, which is a very nice fully featured dev environment based on Lua which lets you write apps that run on your iPad.
Finally for old skool guys like me, there's a really very nice Basic interpreter called "Basic!" that sells for a couple of quid and is really nice to play with.
Poor old Stephen...
.... You'd think he'd been on the Internet long enough to know that the first rule is "Don't feed the trolls", or "Don't feed the person after page impressions"... as the case may be.
Re: @cornz 1 (was: Sheeple are sheeple.)
OK, I'll bite. What OS/firmware *is* your phone running?
Re: Coming to a wallet near you...
I agree. I avoid using Paypal, because, they're pretty shady in my opinion, I certainly wouldn't want to have a Paypal credit card.
Re: As daft as the test on Myth Busters
> I do use a hands free kit in the car, and you know what, just the same as when I have a passenger I can say "Give me a sec" and ignore the call completely.
I'm really not sure it is *quite* the same. Yesterday, I was waiting to turn right down a sidestreet and a car in a queue was overlapping the box junction, so I couldn't complete the turn. I was facing him, looking straight into his face asking him to back up a couple of feet. He was completely oblivious on the hands free talking in animated fashion. After about 30 seconds I ended up tooting him, and which point he startled back into the real world and backed up.
People on hands free do *not* seem to behave the same way as people with a passenger in the car, perhaps because passengers have at least some awareness of what's going on and tend to shut up without being asked, or when the driver suddenly stops talking realises why and again curtails the conversation.
You're a natural exception, I'm sure but hands free seems possitively dangerous in many situations for a large percentage of drivers.
Updates also for Lion, and ... surprisingly, Snow Leopard
Nice to see Cupertino giving some love to users who are still on 10.6.x - I honestly thought our days of updates were done.
Re: Is this a bit strange
Well, except that Apple has never been shown to be using an effective monopoly on desktop operating systems to kill off competing Web browser companies, by pressuring computer manufacturers not to ship alternative browsers.
Other than that, it's completely analogous.
Bits of MyVirginMedia are tits-up too - can't add new e-mail boxes
Everything seems a bit flaky at the moment. I have been unable to access my Manage Profile page at My Virgin Media for at least a month and a half. Log in and select it and you get a 'Oops, something's broken ... try again later' message.
Not only can't I add new e-mail boxes, I can't change passwords - not good if you think a password may have been compromised.
First call to VM resulted in second line support saying it will take a week to fix.
This how mow changed to 'yes, we know there's a problem, we have frankly no idea when it will be fixed, it will need the rollout of the new VM portal'.
The insulting thing is the *********s can't even be bothered to update the error page, so there are presumably people "trying again later" and trying in a week repeatedly.
I've tried to suggest both by phone and e-mail that they change the error page to make it more accurate/informative "It's broken, we know, don't call us... no we don't know when it will be fixed", but for some reason they won't.
"Nokia wasn't grumbling"
That's twice you stressed that in the article Andrew. They must have been really, REALLY keen for you to convey the message to Redmond that they aren't rocking the boat.
Re: "sound one and will be done very successfully by somebody else one day"
Oooh - wonder if my login still works - I had a free account.
Re: Not again
I suppose it's possible that they want to observe the behaviour of the network equipment while you carry out action X - for remote troubleshooting. So it doesn't matter that you have already done X, they want to observe the network while you do X.
Confusing Story
> BSkyB will switch its broadband service to network-level filtering later this year in a clear move away from allowing subscribers to control what content they want their families to access online in their own homes.
Is this some kind of mandatory service, or is this something that households will be able to opt in to. If the latter, I don't see that this is a massive problem and indeed is quite handy for folks with kids who have access to iPods, fondleslabs or DSs
I'd like to see any indication that these are 'thought' about 'food'...
Rather that. say visual cortex neurons firing in response to a dot moving horizontally on a light background, for example.
Do the patterns fail to appear when, for example a verical line is moved across the visual field? One that doesn't look anything like a paramecium?
I'll wait to see the peer-reviewed paper. Until then, the headline looks rather sensationalist.
Re: Uhm, no?
Well, to be fair; last year I was running a fairly substantial outsourced Web project. The designs were a few days late and it was only by checking the design director's Twitter feed that I found he had resigned. I was not best pleased with the company.
Re: Mac sales decline is the problem
Fair point; but on the other hand you haven't been actually able to buy a bloody iMac for most of the quarter, so I'm not surprised sales were dodgy.
Re: Microsoft's conceited arrogance...
Well, to be fair, they have included the non-Metro trad interface for people who would like it.
However to also be fair; my experience trying to help a couple of non-techy folk who have recently had to replace their laptops is that they are completely completely baffled by Windows 8 and hate it. I ended up having to install a Start menu add on for them.
I mean whose smart idea was it to hide Settings etc. under a completely undiscoverable hot-corner?
Posted in Google pulls 'racist' Make Me Asian app
Re: BEWARE
The wishy washy white bearded liberal tree hugging sandal wearing brigade will now make a complaint to the race equality organisations to complain about your comments.
Speaking as, one of the above mentioned: No. I know it's tempting to raise the 'political correctness gone mad banner, but I think you'll find that many of the wishy washy white bearded liberal tree hugging sandal wearing brigade will look at this case and say "in questionable taste? Perhaps. Racist? Not really".
But don't let me get in the way of your persecution complex. Of course, you'll probably argue that I'm "no true liberal".
Disclosure: I don't actually have a beard.
Re: Surface Pro will also fail
I suppose I'll just note that Apple used a lot of open source material when building Mac OX . The underlying OS (Darwin) is constructed from a Mach kernel with BSD userland software on top. It is only on top of that Apple has placed its Cocoa frameworks.
The combination has worked very well.
And North Korea will look to China, and say...
... seems to work OK for them.
Posted in Review: Lego Lord of the Rings game
Re: re: Does Tom Bombadil finally show up?
Actually, when I first read the books as a kid, I found him an interesting and very scary element of the plot. This guy turns up who *appears* to be a good-un, but I kept expecting him to snatch the ring and turn out to be Mr Evil as they wined and dined them and sent them to be bed with the advice that they shouldn't be bothered by any nightly noises.
Indeed
Perhaps they should add. It to the ever-lengthening biography at the end.
Re: Why block facebook?
Get this man to write an article.
YHBT YHL HAND
Yes - this sentence confused me:
Outlook 2013 won’t let you import or export data to or from .doc or .xls files...
What? Could someone explain exactly what functionality is being cut?
I'm shocked, SHOCKED
Actually, I'm not.
You say that " awash with cash - and raises far more money each year than it needs to keep operating." but then completely fail to stand that up. Yes, sure if the Foundation did no R&D and didn't try to improve the platform then they would be "awash". As it is - they have healthy reserves, but hardly awash:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2012-2013_Annual_Plan_Questions_and_Answers#How_did_2011-12_play_out_from_a_financial_perspective.3F
> The architect of the current, highly aggressive funding drive is Sue Gardner.
"Highly aggressive? Really? Better than last years' with Wales' fizzog staring at me.
> Described by one insider as "very savvy politically and excessively diplomatic"
Ooooh How awful. You should see I, as an "insider" describe some of the people I work with.
The article makes an awful lot of the fact that Wikipedian editors are unpaid. And then lambasts the organisation for having the temerity for paying photographers to get pictures of politicians and popstars. The amounts do see large, but from the look of it, it would appear that the Foundation is buying some photographic kit and is budgeting for staff to attend 30 festivals. I might not think that's the greatest idea, but I can't say it worries me hugely.
> Wikimedia Foundation UK, admitted to racking up a bill of £1,335 for business cards, calling it "a failure to make the most effective procurement choices"
Indeed - it says in the minutes that this was a screw-up and asks for details about how proceeders and polices have changed.
> Few politicians or media figures now dare criticise Wikipedia.
Would that be because it is widely regarded as an extraordinarily useful free resource?
> But the organisation does seem to be presenting an incomplete picture.
Except that you found all the damming facts in their published minutes and strategic plans.
In summary: The only thing that gives me qualms here is the spending on photographic equipment and festival attendance. Not my cup of tea or area of interest, but I can see how it might be useful to have updated creative commons pictures of popstars to keep the site useful for da yoof.
Most of the increased spending seems to be on R&D; the visual editor project is running late, but I'm not that surprised.
I'll probably donate this year.
Disclosure: I'm not associated with the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia in any way though my kids and I use it a lot. I have over the years tweaked perhaps 4 or 5 wikipedia articles - which I guess makes me a wikifiddler.
So when you say: "All this has been met with dismay by the hard-working enthusiasts who do all the hard work of keeping the project afloat - and who still don't get paid." - Ummm, no - not really.
Paris - because that shot will need updating soon.
Re: If a thing is free, YOU are the product being sold
And yet,you continue to read The Register.
Re: If i upload something that i don't own
Indeed. Where's my model release form?
Trojan, not virus
nuff said.
Mach+BSD+Cocoa Frameworks
And yes - if you install an application on OS X while you have admin privs and type your admin credentials when the installer asks you to - it can pop code wherever it likes on your box.
I'd certainly quite like the government encourage the ISPS to offer some form of opt-in filtering for those who want it. When my kids started playing with portable devices, I thought 'hmmm let's see what VirginMedia has to offer in terms of a bit of filtering'. Answer; not a sausage other that some software that runs on Windows boxes.
The only suggestion was to point the portable device DNS at OpenDNS; which is reasonable but a bit beyond some parents, I suspect.
I was rather surprised how rubbish Virgin was in this regard.
