* Posts by PaulR79

699 publicly visible posts • joined 21 Aug 2009

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Online tat bazaar eBay coughs to YET ANOTHER outage

PaulR79
Meh

Working for me

Unfortunately eBay working still doesn't make this seller respond to my concerns that they've grabbed the money and still not supplied what I paid for almost a week later despite listing it as "Express Delivery". I'm sure they will try to use this as an excuse if they do eventually respond though...

Cor blimey: Virgin Media pipes 152Mb fibre to 100,000 East Londoners

PaulR79

Re: Q from the US

@Steven Raith

"to the extent that my BT client, when getting ISOs etc, often reports as 10MB/sec transfer rate - that is, I'm not having any problems saturating the true bandwidth of the line. You just don't get that on consumer xDSL or cable"

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3672242208

Virgin Media 100Mbps connection and I'd count this as a slower period. It's very region dependent though with some older cable areas not as good as others. I've never had a problem with speed though and regularly get what is advertised although the upload has yet to be upgraded to 10Mb so it's hovering around 6Mb still.

PROOF the Apple iPhone 6 rumor mill hype-gasm has reached its logical conclusion

PaulR79

Colours?

Will the notification light be similar to early Android where it could flash in a vast array of colours for different notifications or will it be the single, dual or tri-colour that most manufacturers seem to use now? This is the one thing that has really bothered me about nearly all Android manufacturers. The ability to customise and pick a notification colour allowed me glance at my phone and immediately know what was waiting. Are multi-colour LEDs that expensive? I'm counting 10+ as multi-colour here.

Banning handheld phone use by drivers had NO effect on accident rate - study

PaulR79

Ban driving

The only way to stop all accidents with vehicles is to ban driving completely. Yes it will take a lot longer for everything and prices will likely fly through the roof but won't somebody think of the children? Except pedos who do that too much already.

Whoah! How many Google Play apps want to read your texts?

PaulR79

Best option

I've thought about this a lot because it always bothers me why some apps request permissions they do and unless you can figure it out your choices are accept and use it or refuse to install. Android started making developers include changelogs with each update and while that's been abused by some with poor logs such as "bug fixes and performance improvements" there are those that use it properly.

What I'd propose is similar to requiring changelogs. For every permission required the app has to state clearly why they need them. For camera apps to use camera is obvious but a torch app needing network access isn't so obvious until you see that it's ad supported. Then there are the really broad permissions like Facebore ask for that I'd never be ok with allowing.

Japanese artist cuffed for disseminating 3D ladyparts files

PaulR79

Oh Japan..

A place where they have female newscasters riding a guy done seriously but this is not allowed?

Report: UK.gov wants to legislate on comms data BEFORE next election

PaulR79

Communications data

"Communications data is now used in more than 90 per cent of serious and organised crime investigations and is vital in bringing serious criminals to justice and protecting the most vulnerable among us."

I dare say that 100% of serious and organised crime uses the power of speech. BAN ALL SPEECH AND TEACHING OF IT! Actually perhaps it's better to allow it and just keep a record of all that speak either verbally or through sign language and any other means that exists or have not been thought of yet.

Virgin Media struck dumb by NATIONWIDE DNS outage

PaulR79

Service status updates

Why do companies in the communication business have such an inability to update a basic service status page? I can appreciate they won't change it if one or two people ring up with issues but when they know there is an issue it should be changed almost instantly.

As mentioned in the article it's infuriating to spend ages on hold to be told there are no problems in the area or worse, to find out there is a problem in the area. If one simple page could be updated it would save a lot of people wasting time on hold.

Facebook: Yes, we made you SAD on PURPOSE... for your own good

PaulR79

In the past = ok

"Facebook's spokesman then pointed us towards Kramer's "apologetic response" and was keen to note that the study had been "conducted more than 2.5 years ago"."

Oh it was in the past? Well forget about it then, no harm done! *facepalm*

S is for SMACKDOWN: Samsung takes Galaxy Tab slab war fruit-side

PaulR79

Pricing

"The new Galaxies are not far, far away – they will be on sale next month in the US starting at $399 and $499 respectively. The vendor has not yet released UK dates or pricing. ®"

Exclusive information! They'll be released later than next month and cost £399 and £499 respectively. Isn't that common knowledge?

USA! USA! ... Aw, screw it. Motorola to close Texas smartphone plant

PaulR79

Moto Maker still US only(?)

I'm pretty sure that Moto Maker is still US only. I haven't seen any option to buy it with custom covers in the UK despite it supposedly coming to Europe.

Skype to become 'Star Trek' style real-time translator, says Redmond

PaulR79

Cockney Rhyming Slang available?

I wonder if there would be one where you talk to it normally and it comes out like a market stall owner speaking in CRS. I also wonder what it'll make of a Birrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmingham or Liverpool accent. Almost every voice software I've used for the past 10 years has required me to train myself how to speak so the computer understands rather than the other way around and I don't have that strong an accent.

Microsoft Cortana EULA contains the Greatest Disclaimer of ALL TIME

PaulR79

EULA

In general I tend to boil EULAs down to a simple sentence.

"Do you want to use <product>? Click Agree if you do, or Cancel."

There are a lot more specifics to it I know but ultimately that's what it comes down to in the end. Obviously if it's something important I'd try to skim it for glaring "You owe us your first born" points but that's my general way of dealing with EULAs.

Apple wheels out sueball cannon, again

PaulR79

Retrial!

I'd love a retrial where they get awarded even less in damages or the patents are thrown out due to prior art. That would really give Apple reason to stop and think before whining so much.

Look, pal, it’s YOUR password so it’s YOUR fault that it's gone AWOL

PaulR79

Re: Website policy stupidity

@Nick Ryan The thing with set questions like those is that you are in charge of what you put for an answer. Memorable place? Potato. Memorable date? Pluto. I've similarly ignored answering truthfully to standard questions for a while to throw off anyone that might be capable of guessing the answer to security questions.

Facebook wants to LISTEN IN on the songs and vids playing in YOUR living room

PaulR79

Turned off by default to start

How long before a future update turns this on by default until someone notices and we have another big, "Sorry it was a bug / mistake / believe us please and we won't do it again" story? I'm betting on about two months.

JJ Abrams and Star Wars: I've got a bad feeling about this

PaulR79

Movies last too long

The clear thing to notice here is that trailers and snippets sell a lot of his work. The answer to this is obvious to me. Limit him to movies of 5 - 10 minutes and it should be alright.

Motorola Moto E: Brill budget blower with one bothersome blunder

PaulR79

Fantastic value for money

The lack of front facing camera wouldn't bother me in the least. I distinctly remember being very happy that the T-Mobile G1 had no front facing camera and I don't use them anyway so it is no deal breaker to me. I'm sure I'll be in the minority but there are a lot of people that hate them being there and wouldn't mind a phone without them.

Twitter muffles loudmouth users with mute option

PaulR79

Astounding!

Twitter, having cut almost all third-party apps off with a stupid limit, are finally implementing some of the features that make them popular. Up next will be the ability to switch to a dark theme! I can't wait for them to catch up to three years ago.

‘Scapegoated’ BBC tech boss calls foul, kicks off unfair sacking tribunal

PaulR79

Something does not quite add up

The project is said to have wasted £125m and they're saying this guy alone is responsible for £94m of that (coming back to that) so who is being blamed for the other £31m or does that not matter? I mean, £31m is clearly nothing when they're paying someone so much and letting him supposedly blow £94m but who was responsible for losing the rest and how have they been punished?

Back to the other point. If this one person alone is somehow responsible for £94m of wasted money then who put him in that position and why was he not made to give regular reports? Of course I don't believe one person is responsible for this just as much as I don't believe he's worth his annual salary but if we have to play that game then make it as awkward as possible for the BBC to hide their lies. What a laughing stock the BBC has become. Impartial news is not something I look to the BBC for and haven't for quite a while now.

Yaarrgh! LOOK OUT! UK set to be BURIED under MOUNTAIN of TABLETS

PaulR79

Samsung flooding the channel

They release new versions of their tablets each year and almost nothing changes. How do they hope to sell anything when the 2012 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has practically identical specs to the 2013 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 ? Hell, the 2012 tablet can be updated to a newer version officially than the 2013 model making it seem like they're moving backwards.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5422&idPhone2=4543

A comparison of the two to back up what I said above. The main differences I noted are slightly faster CPU, infrared port and the ability to use a larger SD card. The price they charge for them as well is ludicrious when the Nexus 7s (original and 2013 model) are better.

You'll hate Google's experimental Chrome UI, but so will phishers

PaulR79

Never click links for banks etc in emails

I have received some emails from my bank that are legitimate and then I've also received a lot of phishing emails claiming to be my bank. I treat them both the same and check all URLs by hovering over with the mouse. If, after that, I'm still uncertain I'll manually enter the website address in my browser. If there isn't anything relating to the email when I login then I'd assume it's a phishing email and forward it to the bank's phishing email address.

Australian government apps access smartmobe cams but 'don't film you'

PaulR79

Android app permissions

I like knowing what an app is requesting access to but what would be a lot more useful is if, along with update notes, each app had to list why they require all the permissions they ask for as well. It would go a long way to assuage the fears of those that aren't sure why a free calculator app needs internet access (ads most likely).

Firefox, is that you? Version 29 looks rather like a certain shiny rival

PaulR79
Thumb Up

Re: Navigation buttons locked to address bar

Martin... I think I love you.

PaulR79

Navigation buttons locked to address bar

I hate this. I've always used a specific layout where the navigation (back, forward, stop, refresh) are on the left side in that order then another icon or two for some addons before the address bar. This new version has the back button glued to the address bar and the stop / refresh button is now embedded in the address bar at the far right. It's small things like this that annoy me because someone has decided how everyone else must use it from now on.

Since this is El Reg I'm going to ask if anyone can tell me a way, short of rolling back a version, to bring back the old layout? IE gives you the option of moving the Stop / Refresh button to the beginning of the address bar yet a browser built on customisation is lacking this option. It isn't ideal but it's a hell of a lot better than no option at all.

Stephen Elop: I was RIGHT to BURN the PLATFORMS

PaulR79

Re: Regret? Pah!

You can install a non-final version that will likely leave you missing handset features that aren't part of MS code. I happen to have a handset with such features so I can't use it.

PaulR79

Regret? Pah!

Why would he regret it? He got a massive fee for doing what he did and then got to go back to Microsoft after a few years.

I've said it a few times and I'll say it again. WP8 has potential but with Microsoft's glacial development pace it doesn't stand a chance. It can have Instagram, Skype, Twitter, BBM and any other apps but as long as it has stupid niggling issues it will never go anywhere. Niggling issues like a below par keyboard, one volume level for all sounds and a pretty limited notification system.

Yes I know these three in particular will be addressed by WP8.1 but how long after WP8's release will that arrive? They already had a trial run with WP7 and didn't learn. If you ignore WP7 it's still over 18 months before the first real chance of improvements and the chance of some WP8 launch phones being updated is slim to none. That leaves you potentially with people burned by WP7 and then WP8 with no upgrade paths. Do you think they'll return for a third shafting when a WP9 is likely to be incompatible with older devices?

That's right, MICROSOFT is an ANDROID vendor after Nokia gobble

PaulR79

Microsoft going to sue themselves?

I assume Microsoft are going to sue themselves for violating patents used by Linux until a settlement can be arranged. If not then surely they can be taken to rights for anti-competitive behaviour by suing only competing Linux-based phone manufacturers.

Microsoft Research adds interactivity to Windows 8 Live Tiles

PaulR79

Amazing!

It's like they've created some sort of incredible interactive area on the screen, a sort of widget. I really don't know how they come up with these amazing ideas for expanding on basic icons. Truly we're living in a golden age!

They removed the gadgets / widgets from Windows 7 just to reintroduce them in a much more cumbersome way? Going backwards while moving forwards. That's the Microsoft way!

Audio fans, prepare yourself for the Second Coming ... of Blu-ray

PaulR79

Pricing

"what about £17 for a new release? Knock off a fiver and you might be getting close."

Charge about a fiver and you're closer to what most would reasonably consider paying.

EE dismisses DATA-BURNING glitch with Orange Mail app

PaulR79

Re: I love this standard response...

I came to post the same essentially. How can there be no reported issues if this guy is reporting an issue? Those forum posts seem to show the same culprit as in this case, the sevenmail address is there too. Perhaps if the gentleman in question is alerted to this information he will have more to bang EE over the head with.

As for EE, I'm currently a T-Mobile customer but my contract is up. Will I renew? My answer rhymes with "snow". Their network is awful. I don't live in a massive city (Sunderland) but I still struggle to get a reliable connection at times. I had to look carefully when I noticed that my phone was using "E" for data, as in Edge, in the city centre.

Google teases more modular smartphone details in run-up to dev meet-up

PaulR79

Re: I want my LEGO phone

If you watch the video when the guy's talking about 3D printing the back parts you can see a white LEGO design on one of the pieces along with a skull design.

Samsung unveils fourth-generation Galaxy Tabs

PaulR79

Re: Bland rehash

If it was my tablet or even a family friend's tablet I'd have it updated in no time but this is someone who is new to tablets and Android that I'm helping where I do voluntary work so that isn't an option. As for your insinuation that it would take a great deal of effort to update with unofficial updates I'd have to disagree strongly. Custom ROMs may not be for all but they are far easier to install than you make out.

PaulR79

Bland rehash

Why do they bother with these tiny annual releases? I know why (money) but they offer so little over the previous years model and the year prior to that ad infinitum. I know someone with a Galaxy Tab 7 - 3 and it's stuck on Android 4.1 but only came out last year. The specs for it are underwhelming at best and it just feels like Samsung are the landfill Android manufacturer that I keep hearing about.

Wasn't there supposed to be an update to the pretty decent Nexus 10? The new Nexus 7 was great but not for me and I'd rather not spend money on the Nexus 10 given its age now.

Back off, Siri! Microsoft debuts Halo beauty Cortana

PaulR79

"Cortana .. powered by Bing"

I had such high hopes for it but they were dashed by the latter half of that statement.

In relation to the update though I am hopeful that the keyboard is vastly improved. It's the one major hurdle that I just could not ignore on WinPho8.

Three daddy Hutch has no interest in O2

PaulR79

Re: Can I take issue with the notion that Three are "well run"?

This is the primary reason that I have not jumped ship to 3 sooner. Anyone I know and everything I read says if you get signal then it's great and prices are reasonable but if you ever need to contact customer support you're ducked (sic).

EE...K: Why can't I uninstall carrier's sticky 'Free Games' app?

PaulR79

Re: Again..

iOS..... Stocks? Newsstand? Can you remove those? Until recently you couldn't even hide the latter in a folder. Can you remove their awful Maps? It's easy to point out flaws in something you dislike but you should take a closer look at your preference as well. Each platform has limits and restrictions. The price you pay for getting a subsidised* handset is potentially being stuck with their crap. If you're savvy enough to install a custom ROM they may appeal to you.

*I use the term 'subsidised' loosely because unless you're paying £35+ a month they want pretty much full price for the phone. For sake of argument I'm only talking about when you go through the networks direct and not when you use a network reseller.

Reg tries out Google's Chromecast: Yep, we even tested smut sites

PaulR79
Coat

"In the interests of research I discovered that ImageFap wouldn’t show anything, YouPorn was quite happy to relay video from a Google Cast tab and xHamster slideshows would also play out nicely. You’ll have to do battle with pop-ups though."

Battling with pop-ups while browsing porn? Not a problem >_>

MH370 airliner MYSTERY: The El Reg Pub/Dinner-party Guide

PaulR79

Re: Question

By not having them in an area you can easily get to while in the air. I'm not talking about smashing the equipment or anything like that I'm asking about why the ability to turn the thing off exists while it's in the air.

PaulR79

Question

If the transponders are vital to keeping track of the plane then why can they be disabled by *anyone* in flight? I can understand being disabled while on the ground for maintenance but is there some reason I'm not aware of (highly likely) they can be disabled while airborne?

WTF is … the multiverse?

PaulR79

Re: Multiverse? So 1990's, THIS universe is someone's simulation

If this is a simulation then I must ask why I'm tormented more than the other simulations in areas of life? Please, oh great simulation runner, bless me with a few million £ so that I may be accepted as living in this world.

WhatsApp founder: Privacy WON'T vanish under Facebook

PaulR79

Re: HAHAHAHA!

"the god known as Zuckerberg"

You spelled "dog" incorrectly.

Takeaway order spewer Just Eat plans to raise £100m in IPO

PaulR79

Useless service

I tried, and failed, a dozen times over a month period to get my card information to store so I didn't have to keep paying at the door. Not once did it work and their help was not very helpful at all. I gave up trying and that is my experience with them to date. I don't understand how it was such a big mess and wouldn't work at all.

Blurred lines: Android e-ink mobe claims TWO-WEEK battery life

PaulR79

e-ink advances

Where are they? I remember reading a while ago about colour e-ink and higher refresh rates that might help increase battery life. Since then I've seen nothing and it's still the same black and white displays everywhere with AMOLED, LCD etc being used mostly. Has it all been forgotten about or am I missing it?

Tim Cook and Israeli PM commune with the GHOST of Steve Jobs

PaulR79

Re: quote of the... uh...

"Wow, that's brainless. Real 'Miss World' stuff. Does it go on to say that he loves kids and animals and would like to help people all over the world?"

Yes it does. Right after that an off the record bit adds, "so they can buy my fruit machines."

No sex please, we're Twit-ish. Vine bans non-educational nudity

PaulR79

6 seconds

That seems to be about the right length of time for the interesting bits in your average porn flick.

PaulR79
Headmaster

Cue* unless you intended to suggest there is a queue of people but that's also bad grammar.

Apple to grieving sons: NO, you cannot have access to your dead mum's iPad

PaulR79

Nice one Apple...

I'm sure that timely reminder that the security is used to find lost devices etc has nothing to do with the negative press this will get them. A copy of the death certificate AND the will isn't enough? What do they want, to be present at her grave as they dig her up with Apple's own doctor?

Icahn and I will: Carl's war on eBay goes NUCLEAR over Skype

PaulR79

New Shareholder Clause

You may not buy shares if you are a respresentative of, for, or are Carl Icahn.

The only time I've ever heard of this guy is when he's sticking his nose in and causing a fuss. If he gets so uptight perhaps he shouldn't invest his money at all.

MWC: The good, the bad ... and the Galaxy S5

PaulR79

Well that's a big surprise, isn't it? A company trying to sell something by telling you what people like. I truly hope the author did actually say, "That's bollocks." I can almost picture the shock at someone telling him the truth instead of cooing and nodding.

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