Nexus 7 - Price Gouging

Just noticed Tesco Ireland have upped the price of the 16Gb (yes, the 16Gb) Nexus 7 to Euro 279 per unit.

The recommended retail price of the 32Gb is 249- and its at 239 (but out of stock) in Dixons/Currys/PC World.

The 16Gb has a recommended retail price of Euro 199.

Total price gouging by Tesco..... wonder will Google take them to task?

Still no reduction in Tesco and other retailers........

Wonder will Google be shamed into extending the refund to retail customers too?

Price- eek!

$1700? For a 13"'er? I don't care that it looks like the bees knees- the guys in Cupertino mustn't have read the news lately- there is a recession on! Wifi only and no optical drive- so, you've to lug a dongle and a drive with you too? Thought we were past that. And the $1700 model is only the 128Gb SSD version?

You know- this announcement has probably made my mind up for me. Galaxy S3- here I come..........

Interesting

I'm not a devotee of any platform in particular- my last SIM free phones having been Symbian, WP6.5, iOS and finally ICS. I've still my first communicator in its box on a shelf at home- something to show the kids when they grow up.

As a student 15+ years ago- I really started getting into techie phones- the good old Nokia Game which I won some very nice prizes in, tweaked my interest, and was probably instrumental in decidedly pointing my future career in a different direction. Those little Nokia mobiles- they were innocent times!

Personally I couldn't make the jump from WP 6.5 to WP7- as the GUI just did my head in ( a bad experience with a Zune probably coloured my expectations). I nearly cried when I dropped my Ericsson P800 and had to choose a replacement as it wasn't manufactured any longer.

iOS- Lets put it this way- the phone didn't last a day without me jail breaking it- and after I discovered I'd have to buy an expensive array of adaptors to plug it into my PC and audio system, my first impressions of the iPhone soured. I was using a G4 Titanium at the time- and thought I was so suave having a matching phone. Luckily this was before I had to do any repairs on the G4- and had to send off for a special screw driver to open the damn thing.

ICS- as supplied on my htc One X- is also not without its failings. Why the hell is the default mode when you plug it into your computer 'Engineering Mode' so you can't just plug it in and drag and drop as a mass class storage device? Also- just what is the story with apps refusing to terminate when you close them- necessitating a reboot every day or two? Never had that with iOS. The big ray of light on the horizon- is of course alerts- even before Apple shot themselves in the foot with their crappy mapping software- the alerts in Android were just spectacular compared to their iOS comparisons. The ability to run my own apps, natively, and the abundance of free developer tools- well, its easier to sell it to me than it once was.......

Personally- I'd happily buy a Lumia (900 preferably) as a backup- purely on the basis of its camera and mapping utility. My Zune experience aside- I'm neither a devotee or a protagonist of any particular platform- I'm more interested in the hardware, and more pertinently the raw horsepower, than I am the OS it ships with- hence my HTC One X (I could have waited for the S3- but I actually preferred the specs of the One X).

Lets not be snobs about the operating system- and instead look at the hardware and how it compares to other hardware at a similar price point. I'm not going to pay a premium for a badge, I really don't give a crap, and I'm not going to pay a premium for a particular environment- though the idea of walled gardens, propreietory connections or weird configuration changes when making simple connections with other devices- doesn't bode well.

In the 800 and 900- we have first and foremost a phone, a remarkable camera, and a decent mapping system. The OS is the downside- but the hardware goodness more than makes up for that- and we're now at price points where they're pretty much giving the damn things away. As a backup phone- I can't see any good reason not to get one..........?

Hows this for a bargain?

I picked up two DAB radio alarm clocks in the clearance aisle of my local Tesco this evening- they're Tesco's own brand cheap and cheerful models, all the way from China.

Tesco Model DAB123 (a Toblerone'esque shaped charcoal grey blob with a single speaker) came in at 5 Euro. Yes- thats the equivalent of 4 quid sterling, give or take. Sound is fine- its not stereo- but perfectly acceptable for an alarm clock radio- which is what this is, after all.

Its slightly bigger brother- model CR112DABV- stretches to stereo speakers, a pleasant easily legible backlit LED, and controls that are actually easy to use. The sound is pleasant from this one- though the enclosed headphones are shite of the highest order, and should be binned. This one weighed in at 7 Euro- about sterling £5.50 give or take.

Both are alarm clock radios- both FM/DAB receivers- and one (the CR112DABV) actually looks and sounds good.

I don't understand why people don't shop around- there's two DAB radios- albeit alarm clock radios- with a combined price tag of about a tenner........?????

Big Ben Comparison?

You do realise Big Ben is the bell- and not the tower?

Weird weather here.......

We don't normally get storms as bad as this in Dublin- the lightening and torrential rain of the last 2 days has been startling at times........ Entire areas of the city were knocked off the grid some areas several times- which in this day and age is very unusual. I'm not altogether surprised that some high prominence systems fell over- you can build as much redundancy as you like into systems, but you will always encounter scenarios that you just don't plan for.........

Another dead spot......

I'd like to nominate my home as another venue for anyone who doesn't like to be bothered by cellphones. Its the ultimate signal deadspot- no tv or radio signals here either. I have to run my wireless network @ 80dBi to get coverage throughout the house- the whole area just seems to soak up signals (thankfully satellite and cable aren't affected). So- anyone looking for a cup of coffee in peace, give me a yell........

Even less on Alibris

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?keyword=The+Making+of+a+Fly%3A+The+Genetics+of+Animal+Design&mtype=B&hs.x=16&hs.y=10&hs=Submit#search-anchor

Warning- additional language packs

I suffered from a different error to the ones (above), namely a dreaded 'out of memory' error. Apparently (after some research) its well known to Microsoft- and the 'work-around' is to uninstall any additional language packs you may have installed. Not only is this troublesome- but the cryptic manner in which you have to find a solution, is annoying as hell......

I also had the hanging on update 124,556 of 300,000 (odd) updates on startup, and a myriad of other issues- that necessitated a fresh install......

Microsoft should be ashamed to have let this out the door- if we did similar with our software, we'd have our business users baying for our blood.......

Processor :(

The only downside to this- is the 600Mhz Arm 11 processor.

Hell- I've got a faster processor in my smart phone, and I've had it for a while.

If this is to succeed, it needs the likes of one of the new Snapdragons etc.

At least it supports multitasking as is- but I'd hazard a guess that the processor is the big downside to this.......

You can now get dualcore Arm 11 1.2Ghz chips- thats what would make this a rocket.

Thrilled

I'm thrilled at the verdict.

I'm a UPC customer (largely because they are the only supplier of 30Mb connections in my neighbourhood). I don't pirate music- largely because I have any CDs I am interested in listening to- and I have zero interest in most of the output of the past 15 years- but I don't see why I should be held in thrall to the music industry....... Well done UPC for fighting against the unfair demands of the big 4- the other ISPs who rolled over were spineless in comparison.......

Next step- bring Irish law into line with European law.......

e-Pad?

Ebay have a myriad of similar products- with far better screens and processors (the 1.06GHz Arm 11 seems to be making an appearance). Do a search for Android+tablet+10

Then again- you risk getting whacked with customs and duty.......

?

The Dutch?

Thats the puzzling part- why on earth did he imagine the Dutch would have one iota of interest in the information?

Crappy Video Drivers?

Traditionally ATI had superior hardware to nVidia (alongside a slew of also rans), but crap drivers for their cards. I've fond memories of ATI and Nvidia being caught out in turn optimising drivers specifically for various testing scenarios that bore no semblence to real world usage. My own pet hate was how some OEM manufacturers couldn't use the default ATI drivers- but needed their own modified versions- and if you ever needed to reinstall, it was a nightmare.......

Personally- I'd have more faith in the ATI brand than I would in the AMD brand- I've loved overclocking ever since the K6-2-500 days- but have some quite horrific memories of burnt out components. I have burnt out a few graphics cards in my time too- but normally a reboot into LKGC and resetting clock speeds- sorts a graphics issue (unless you've borked the card).

I'm not sure that I'd be too happy with the fully integrated chips they are now proposing- anyone who loves performance- will run a mile......?

S.

Proxies and torrent sites

This is the best news torrent sites and proxy server hosts could hope for....... Surely its time someone called 'time' on Skys abuse of its dominant market position? Certainly the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have been churning out some very decent content- but Skys action can only be described as an abuse of a dominant market position.

Someone really needs to say enough is enough for the sake of ordinary travellers

Why am I not surprised?

AirFrance recently 'securely destroyed' my luggage- because I had a round tin of shortbread in my checked-in bag, that could have been a bomb. For good measure- they gathered up the destroyed remains (complete with plenty of securely destroyed biscuit crumbs), packaged it up in a clear plastic bag with security seals, and put it back in the hold- without ever letting me know (the first I knew was when it came out on the baggage conveyor at the other end- along with all other luggage).

Someone seriously needs to say enough is enough- all this heavy handed treatment in the name of 'security' really is a load of bollocks. Next time I'm going to take the train.......

Sanity......

Sanity in a world gone insane.

Hopefully this might may people think twice before setting lawyers on fans- and perhaps similar rulings might be replicated in other EU jurisdictions.

Ye gods!

I'd pay her to keep away from me......

Why anyone would want a picture of her (shudder.......)

What?????

This has to be the most hair brained idea I've ever heard- its not like the staff for this call centre aren't in prison for very good reasons already......

If my bank join this scheme- thats it for me- I'm off to a competitor......

Other issues introduced too

I've noticed other issues on some machines I've updated- including previously stable machines dropping wireless connections, and any previous installed clients for managing connections (such as the MSI manager) being disabled in favour of allowing Windows manage connections. I've had to reinstall drivers and apps on 3 different systems thus far. I'm far from happy.......

Personally I'd be happy if they just fixed the XPeria X1.

Personally I'd be happy if they just fixed the XPeria X1.

How long is it going to take them to roll out a patch from WM 6.1 to 6.5?

I like Sony Ericsson, their hardware is remarkable- their software and their implementations of it are sadly deficient though.........

And its been reversed.....

Have a look at the website now- the byline has gone.......

From my experiences at Curry's with a defective laptop- it certainly is the last place I'd willingly go in future.........

The obvious interim solution.......

The obvious interim solutions is to buy wifi capable handsets and use VOIP when on your home network......

I can VOIP anywhere in the world via my mobile from home- for less than the best local rate package my mobile phone service supplier can offer me.......

Why the hell should I pay EUR100 for a femtocell, and then pay to use it too, twice????? I mean- its a unique business model- if you allow me to give you money, I'll pay someone else to enable me to give you money.........

Jurisdiction?

Why is Norway worried about reader's history etc being warehoused in the US rather than the EU.....? Last time I checked Norways wasn't a member of the EU........?

I spy a whole new use for this.......

Whats to stop you flogging these femtocells to expats- who will programme them as UK or Irish femtocells- and proceed to use their UK/Irish mobiles in Portugal/Spain/Cyprus (where-ever) to make calls home using a local UK/Irish tariff?

How easy is it to upgrade?

How easy is it to upgrade- a few words about ease of changing the wireless card and how easy it is to remove the cooling fan and upgrade the processor, would be nice. If you plonked a T9800 and an Intel 5300 wireless card in this- it would go like a bullet. Admittedly- thats another £200- but it would be well worth it.........?

Geographically confused

So- the naughty Santa got sent home- not the geographically confused penguins?

XP? Win 2000 or NT4 more like.....

Microsoft is kidding itself if it thinks its going to persuade enterprise users to shell out for yet more licences- particularly in the current economic climate.

I work in a large public organisation- we're still running Windows 2000 across over 90% of our desktops (several thousand), and are beginning to 'trial' Win XP....... When you're using all sorts of development environments- and need to make sure you don't break either your apps, or your development tools- you are sort of stuck. Locking down to a stable environment- even if its 10 years old, is not a bad idea. Win XP is pretty zippy on modern hardware :)

S.

Pricey!!!

Why would I pay their ridiculous price- when I can pick up a Revo for half as much?

Wrong price bracket

The fact that they're plumming for the U3500 processor (5 watts under full tilt), means this is aimed at those who need battery power- yet, it doesn't compare favourably (other than with its enhanced graphics) with the likes of the £600 Acer 5810T (almost identical or even better specs).

The Asus UX50V is a nice machine- its just about £400 too expensive, or should have the U9400 in lieu of the U3500 (and even then, I'd want another lump shaved off the price).

Me- I bought the Acer 5810T, and got a U9400 engineering sample for £70 on ebay. The only laptop out there with similar specs is a Sony @ £2600, versus my £670 upgrade.

Then again- who upgrades laptops?

Temporary mechanism?

Its not a temporary mechanism. The reason for the vast numbers of pre-orders for Windows 7 Ultimate- is purely to get hold of XP mode (assuming that the purchasers have also checked out their processors support VTx- and that its not hobbled in the BIOS like some manufacturers seem to routinely do).

I've placed a number of Pre-orders for W7U, and will be using XP mode from day one. I've no plans to purchase new apps down the road- as long as my current library of apps work- I've paid good money for licences, I've no intention of going out and replacing the whole lot (yet again). I'm far from unique.

At the moment I dual boot most machines with XP and Vista (and even triple boot a few with Ubuntu)- W7U is a far tidier solution- and is not a temporary solution in my eyes.

You shouldn't need an MCP/MCSE to run your home computer.

Anyone tried one yet?

Nice one!

I think I'll be sticking with my x9100 for a while longer though :-)

Wonder are there ESs out in the wild that us poor folk might be able to get our hands on yet?

Power!!! :-)

S.

Family pack only for certain markets?

If they really only allow certain markets a family licence- it will be give Ubuntu such a boost. People have put up with Vista crap for far too long- Windows 7 is simply what Vista *should* have been. Now we have a bewildering variety of Windows 7- with a bewildering variety of licence proposals for end users. Even Mac OS has only 3 options (and two of them are server varients). It really is a case of divide and conquer...... I got my pre-orders in, hope everyone else did too!

Very interesting

As a dual tuner PVR with DVB-T, its definitely of interest. The remote is actually attractive- I nearly got tossed out of a Sony shop at the weekend when I went around counting the number of buttons on their latest remote (46)....... Why companies imagine their remote controls have to resemble a prop from the original 60s series of Star trek is beyond me!!!

Its a bit rough and ready- a little bit of software tweaking would go a long way.

If I didn't already have the Western Digital Media Player- I'd be saving my hard earned cash for one of these- unfortunately the price tag is a bit too rich for my blood as is.......

So 3 year old twins orphaned?

Surely the title should read- 3 year old twins orphaned- and the story read as to a lesson on why its not a good idea to actively try to conceive in later life. Personally I think the mother was selfish in the extreme to have kids at that age- and I feel incredibly sorry for the poor kids.

Wheres my coffee?

And what are we going to do when we don't get our caffeine fix first thing in the morning, as our PCs boot?

In all fairness- having played around with Asus' and Acers latest Linux ROM boots- while its impressive that it gets you into a limited working environment so quickly- its simply too limited. I don't know anyone who would willingly limit themselves to the proposed apps- its simply unworkable.......

Now- wheres that coffee?

Eircom customers vent their anger?

Hackers? More likely disgruntled customers pissed off at their appalling service managed to find some way of venting their anger at Eircom for once.

The Eircom statement on the affair is a laugh. "No customer records were exposed"- it was a DDOS attack guys- why would anyone imagine data was exposed?

Unfortunately its yet another manifestation of the ineptitude of Eircom and their broadband services. I left years ago- thank god there are alternates.......