Different strokes

For different folks, I guess. I read so much about the Galaxy's "cheap plasticky construction" but I'm very happy with my S3's construction precisely for the reasons that seem to be dismissed as of less worth than "luxury engineering" - its replaceable battery and expandable storage. Give me a plastic shell that comes apart to allow swapping out a battery and a microSD slot over a shiny metal unibody ANY DAY. I hope that Samsung keeps bucking the trend for a while longer, so that when I replace my S3, I can do so with a phone that still offers both a replaceable battery and expandable storage.

typo editing

I'm never going to qualify for a badge, as I don't comment enough to come close. I try to live by David Byrne's sage mantra, and so if I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Nevertheless, my cerebral palsy does cause me to make more typos than I'd like, and there are occasions when I wish I could edit them. I think it would be nice if a brief edit window was opened to commentards with a sufficiently high upvote percentage, say 95%. Anyone with such a ratio is highly unlikely to resort to trolling via edits, but would likely enjoy the granting of the privilege as recognition for the overall positive reaction to their contributions.

Oh and, yes, this is obviously a self-serving plea, but not quite THAT self-serving - my upvote ratio is not yet at 95%, so I'm not saying "give it to me, now!", just that such a target might be something for less loquacious commentards to enjoy aiming.

Can someone reduce my ignorance?

If I were a character from the HHGTTG series, I'd be know-nothing-bozo the non-wonder dog, so I hope someone will have pity and throw me a scrap of a clue on this one:

I thought sound waves travel faster in a denser medium than in a less dense one, but the illustration shows that wave accelerating from 350 m/s to 1150 m/s when it reaches the much thinner part of the atmosphere. Clearly I was asleep during the relevant lesson, so what am I missing here?

Ave Kindle, te morituri salutant

As a creaking, senescent 45-year old, I was horrified to learn that my preference for reading on my Kindle is just one more proof that Blinky's rider will soon be speaking to me in ALLCAPS. Either that, or a marketing division need another excuse to justify their existence. I read a lot on my Nexus 7,but only when my Kindle is charging or, more frequently, if the book is an epub that requires using Aldiko rather than Kindle. As others have pointed out, it is far more likely that the sales stagnation of e-readers is a reflection of the "if it ain't broke don't waste money upgrading it" axiom than of time scything the market.

To paraphrase Arthur Dent

"This is obviously some strange usage of the word 'Antipodean' that I was previously unaware of"

The OED offers "Of or pertaining to the opposite side of the world; esp. Australasian"

Collins suggest "from Australia or New Zealand"

M-W says "often used of Australia and New Zealand as contrasted to the western hemisphere"

But according to the authoritative final word on matters lexical, El Reg, it seems that "antipodean" is an exact synonym for "Australian". Period.

There have been some pretty significant stories of an El Reg nature (both with and without an IT angle) that happened on the non-penal side of the Tasman. A pity that no one would learn that from reading Vulture South's wrap of "antipodean" news.

Fewer distractions = more reading

I find that when I want to get on and read, my Kindle wins hands down, not just for the quality of the visual experience, but because it's only a book. When I read on my Nexus 7, I'm always getting distracted by notifications from Twitter, Facebook and GMail. The Kindle's singular focus is great for my lazy mind, obviating any need for self-discipline, and allowing me no choice but to keep reading.

Congrats to the badge-rs

Also the Reg for an impressive bit of social engineering. I try to post only when I think I have something to say, and so it's taken me not one but three years to get to one hundred posts, but I was sorely tempted to abandon my principles and try to score a bronze. I would stand and applaud El Reg for the genius of the idea, but I'm too busy fretting over the revelation of just how pathetically low my self-esteem is and how greedy I am for any sort of validation.

Will I be first?

To throw in the appropriate HHGTTG reference - "In Relativity, Matter tells Space how to curve, and Space tells

Matter how to move. The Heart of Gold told space to get knotted," since I don't have a whelk's chance in a supernova of understanding the science behind knotted light.

5-inch?

Even while I grapple with the "what's the point?" questions about the device as a whole, my real concern is the small size. My S3's screen is almost as big as the screen on this device, why go through all the hassle of an extra device and the battery drain on my cellphone from another connection, just for a tiny increase in screen size? Yes, it's e-ink and that's MUCH better for reading on, but I have a 6-inch e-ink device available to me, so I don't see what niche this new device is trying to fill.

Fourteen apps at $0.25NZD today, including Office Suite Pro, so not only did I grab it for my Nexus 7, but even bought it for my wife. If I tell her tghat I bought here an Office Suite for her Nexus 7, my generosity should earn brownie points. No need for her to know how close to free it was. :)

One upside

Dotcom is an oafish crook, of that I'm sure. I'm not defending the stupid DMCA style laws he's being accused of breaking, but I am convinced that he's as ethical as the investigation him was competent.Between a self-appointed Robin Hood camera hog and NZ spies and police looking like Clouseau on a bad day there has at least been one upside. While the government, having attached itself to the anal sphincter of Unca Sam, may be able to bully and coerce the police into doing as Hollywood/DC tells them, the judiciary has seized the opportunity to show that it truly is independent. In fact, the various judges involved almost seem to be enjoying the chance to do their job according to the letter of the law, as if embarrassing the political stooges behind this fiasco was just a delightful perk of doing their duty. Not many non-kiwis will get the reference, but at least our judges would definitely seem NOT to be on Planet Key.

Did I use iOS6 Maps to get me here?

And end up at Wired.com instead? The "everything Apple does is so much better than everybody else" tone of this alleged review was pure Cupertino spin of the sort I've come to expect from Wired, not El Reg. Has the author forgotten that the company whose boots he licks with this article is the same company that bars El Reg from its worship services?

"Not everyone wants such a palm-spraining phone" - a perfect example of how hard the author works to hew to the Cupertino Scriptures which state that every point of superiority of non-Apple devices is actually proof of the iPhones divinity, if viewed correctly. I have cerebral palsy but even my hemiparetically weakened right hand has no trouble at all holding my S3 - nothing "palm-spraining" about it.

I'm not the sort of psycho fandroid who thinks the iPhone is an evil piece of merde, but given the staggering reach of Apple propaganda in media, I came to El Reg confident that there would be some attempt at objectivity, some consideration of both the iPhone 5's strengths AND weaknesses. Instead, I got the standard iGospel - there are no weaknesses, only strengths not perceived correctly by the infidels.

The best just got better

I recently took advantage of a special offer to upgrade my Version 10 Preferred to the new V12 Premium, and I am very, very happy I did. DNS just keeps getting better and better. As the effects of my cerebral palsy continue to degrade my motor skills, the continued improvements in Dragon make it ever more valuable. The accuracy out of the box on the new version is amazing, although it still struggles with "two/to/too". To have it recognise both my Kiwi accent and learn all the Hindi and Panjabi words I use is very impressive. For anyone with issues that make typing difficult, I definitely think DNS Premium is worth the money. There is no reasonable comparison possible with the built-in speech recognition in Vista mentioned above, that's for sure, and Dragon's excellence means I have no inclination to see if Win 7's SR is any better than its predecessor's.

Choice is good

When I was looking at buying my first Nexus 7, I was disappointed that it didn't have 3G. Once I did buy it, and found how well it worked tethered to my phone, I realised that for me, 3G is unnecessary. I won't embarrass myself by revealing how much data plans cost up here in Aotearoa, but since I work from home and thus am mostly on WiFi, tethering my Nexus 7 lets me use more of the 1GB that I already pay through my olfactory orifice for. My wife finds the same - since she can't use it at work, she mostly uses her Nexus 7 at home too, and can tether when needed

That said, I am pleased that Google is expanding the range to cater for those who DO need 3G. I don't feel cheated or that I missed out by getting WiFi only, because it suits my needs, just like my WiFi only Kindle does. For those with different circumstances, 3G will no doubt add considerably to the appeal of the Nexus 7. Well done Google!

He's becoming a Ned Kelly/Robin Hood style folk hero in NZ it seems - our media hang around him like excited children, and he manipulates coverage so well. O f course it helps that the vast majority of the country see the case as an egregious example of local pols eagerly begging for the privilege of allowing NZ to be anally probed by aliens from the planet usgov