Posts by jay_bea
15 posts • joined Monday 10th August 2009 12:18 GMT
Fingerprints
I was concerned about fingerprints on my Touch, but in practice I have not noticed them on the matt screen and they certainly don't affect reading. This is from someone who hates fingerprints and other marks on screens.
I am hoping that the capacitive touch display will stop the accidental page turns and presses I get with the IR sensors on the Touch if something other than a finger comes into contact with it. Although the buttons on the non-touch models avoid this particular problem, I find the touch interface ideal for publications which require more interaction with the content (such as The Guardian), and find the non-touch Kindles frustrating now.
Re: The sorry state of ISP competition.
I went from Direct Connection (Dircon) to Pipex years ago, and left Pipex for Andrews and Arnold (AAISP) who are like Dircon and Pipex used to be - but better. There is still a vibrant small ISP market out there, where you pay a bit more in return for excellent service and support.
When I read about the merger plans (Dircon to Netscalibur and Pipex to TalkTalk), I start looking for a new ISP.
Posted in TV Guide UK
Re: Filter
You can select the channels that it shows, but it does not display the channel numbers.
Great app for quickly checking what's on and setting reminders, although I am still waiting patiently for Digiguide to make an Android version, as Digiguide for Windows is the king of TV Guides.
Posted in Go Contacts EX
Just testing it now..
and it runs on my Venerable HTC Hero running CM7 based Elelinux. I had tried a couple of dialers but none, until Go Contacts, had the thing I missed from Sense - matching on numbers and names from the dialpad. So, dialing 742 will bring up numbers starting 742 and contacts starting Ric ("Richard", for example). Brilliant.
Re: Services.
"Can you imagine if those providers 'throttled' your power?"
I am sure that they would do that in a shot if they could and it will probably be possible with Smart Meters.
Posted in Amazon intros $199 movie Kindle
3G
I tether my Kindle to my phone and use its 3G connection if I am away from home. Works well and means that I can get a cheaper Kindle
Posted in Amazon intros $199 movie Kindle
How much???
I see from the Amazon.co.uk website that the cheapest Kindle, the one that goes for $79 in the US, sells for £89 in the UK. I know the exchange rate is not great, but I did not think it was that bad! Will it be £250 for the Fire then? Not so attractive, after all.
Posted in Amazon revamps E Ink Kindle line
I'm quite excited too
but I wonder how long it will take them to appear in the UK. There was quite a lag with the original Kindle wasn't there?
At $199 (or whatever that turns into in £s), the Fire would be quite a good option for children. I wonder whether Amazon will do any content filtering as part of the back-end processing of web pages to exclude malicious or adult sites?
Killing competitors
I can't see it being in Apple's interest to have Android competitors wiped out - everyone has gained from the massive growth in interest in smartphones stimulated by Apple and Android. What Apple are probably more interested in, like Microsoft, is license fees for using its patented technology, if the patents stick. This not only brings them additional income, but also raises the cost of Android compared with Apple ones.
As ezman notes, the skirmishes with the individual manufacturers are part of a wider battle between Google with Android as its "mobile advertising platform" and everyone else who wants a cut of Google's ad revenues. Perhaps Google's silence is because it knows that one way or another Android is going to start costing it in license fees to MS, Oracle and Apple.
Pressure Selling?
A few houses near us have sprouted PV Panels recently, often on east facing roofs. East facing placement is not ideal but better than one nearby house which has a bank of 5 panels fixed vertically onto a south-facing wall, in the shadow of the house next door. I suspect that the sun might go out before the end of the payback period on that one.
Posted in Windows Home Server 2011 signed off
If you want small...
then what about a Plug Computer - http://blog.amahi.org/2010/08/11/amahi-for-the-marvell-plug-computer-released-get-yours-free/. Even if you don't want a PC that small, Amahi running on a normal server can do all you want. Mine is a DLNA server, a central backup location, file server and I run Asterisk on it to provide an intelligent home phone system.
Do they have an effect?
I wonder how much of an effect ANPR cameras have on crime? Are they like CCTV cameras which actually have a very limited impact on crime detection? I had the misfortune to see a bit of Police! Camera! Action! last night, most of which seemed to be shameless propaganda in favour of CCTV and how they help solve lots of crimes. If ANPR does actually help reduce the number of untaxed vehicles and uninsured drivers then good. If not they end up being a waste of money.
As for speed cameras, I have never understood why being caught breaking the speed limit by a camera is unfair. If the speed limit for an area is unrealistic should not the focus be on increasing the limit, rather than taking away the cameras. It seems to me that having discretionary laws (on speed limits or anything else) is the start of a slippery slope.
Posted in Tablets to eclipse e-book readers
Re: dunno about that
Having used a Kindle for a few weeks now, I can't see it being replaced by a tablet, although I might get a tablet as well at some point. It is a pleasure to use a device where the first thought is not where the power socket it and is easy on the eyes.
I think that there are limits to convergence. I can see Tablets replacing Netbooks, as many of the functions are similar. I won't be replacing my Thinkpad with a tablet as I want a big screen and keyboard for writing reports and working on spreadsheets when travelling. This means that the household will end up with PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, MP3 players and Kindles. A common power supply for them all would be good though!
Amahi
I am running Amahi Home Server, which is a Fedora-based home server. Works well, comes with a range of additional applications, includes LVM / Greyhole pre-configured, and is free.
Posted in HTC Hero Android smartphone
Great phone (after Treo 650)
Personally, I find the phone (Orange Contract) fast and responsive, particularly after a Treo. Battery life is a little short (a day of intensive usage or 1.5-2 days otherwise) but not terrible and I have ordered a spare battery for periods when I may be away from a charger for a day or more. And it comes with a full complement of features and does not appear to have any removed. There are no restrictions about installing signed (from the Android Market) or unsigned applications (from websites).
I find the on-screen keyboard surprisingly good - better than the hardware version on my Treo - although this is partly due to an effective predictive text / autocorrect function which deals with most of the errors I make.
