Job is a liar!

I have never thrown away any cell phone I have bought and that includes a 8-year old Mitsubishi cell (which perfectly fits WITHIN my four fat fingers) and an even smaller Panasonic which is completely covered when in my hand and, proving Jobs is a liar, they work perfectly WITHOUT signal reception signal level dropping. Ichecked them just before writing this.

Given today's snatch your phone and run social environment, Jobs proposition that hand phones be treated as some British hold a cup of afternoon tea is TOTALLY impracticable. And risky.

The answer for fools who bought Jobs latest iCrap is for Apple software writers to change the software so that increasing signals are IMMEDIATELY displayed but decreasing signal levels are only displayed after 5 or 10 seconds so no users know what is going on.

This is why they are called IDIOT LIGHTS.

Just in time!

This series hit the wires at just the right time! Thanks Register for these articles.

I receive container loads of used computers rolled over from Canadian companies originally donated to children's organisations, whose member children seemingly disparage 3-year old machines, rather than have them become landfill.

The government here (VietNam) is a Linux/Open Systems proponent and they have been developing school software for all ages K through 18. All we lack is sufficient hardware.

Recently, the police have been checking software licences, which has necessitated running two OS - Linux for police inspections on one and *hot) Windows for working! Now we can really start switching to Linux.

My only complaint is the word 'tomorrow' is 48 hours between sections!

Hardly 'stolen' or 'knocked off'

How can anyone steal or knock off a design months ahead of Apples iCrap? The OS is different, the PCB is different, the functionality is different. In reality Apple copied these products that have been around since 2010 JAN.

Last week I received 2 tablets from Zenzhen and they were different to each other. Both had Chinese characters in their names (one also had RK2808 in the name).

I spent the weekend in Zenzhen and picked up 5 more tablets, all different in design and feature although there is commonality in components and some of the software. None had Android v2+ and therefore I would recommend those people not in SE Asia buy from a supplier within your country so you can get warranty service but ONLY after they load V2+.

Chinese products can be crappy from a reliability perspective. For myself it is simply crossing the border. That said the units I bought had mature PCB designs with zero mods, added components or jumpers. Software can be loaded through mini-USB connectors and external screens can be run from some tablets.

Even though Apple hit the market months after these units, it failed to add the many neat features these early bloomers had working 5 months early than Jobs did. You can actually use some of these tablets as a game controller playing on an external monitor. The Apple tablet is a missed opportunity - unless you want to sell annual 'upgrades' as has happened with the crippled IpHONE.

Manuals tend to be written in Chinglish, with poor illustrations. Three units have soft manuals loaded and further copies on the InterNet. Even schematics are shown. However, the unit operations are intuitive and my son has figured out the operation in under an hour.

More wasted money

If people are stupid enough to deploy insecure WiFi they should expect no privacy. Google did nothing more than war-drive.

Hell, I look for secure WiFi when I travel as the operators blissfully assume their links are secure and consequently don't look for freeloaders.

Another dumb government

This is surprising given the reputation of the SA government leadership and their reputation.

Smart InterNet users know what and how to do circumvent filters, obviously the SA government doesn't.

Britannia rules the waves - NOT

How pathetic it is that the UK has to rely on the French for armaments.

Next they will subcontract the ship-building to Korea.

I want a telephone, not another camera

Puhlease, let cameras take pictures and cell phones make calls.

I know of know of no camera that can make calls. There must be a reason.

Tie up with Facebook and screw your web users

I live in VietNam and frequently visit China - two countries that have blocked, wisely IMHO, Facebook - and as a result web sites that use FB as a login (one is The Daily Beast) are no longer accessible for comments.

Yahoo should be careful as in VietNam it is No. 1 in e-mail here.

Besides FB privacy is so dubious I am extremely careful who gets my core e-mail addresses relying on single use email addresses in case some idiot tries to 'share' FB with me.

Zap your bin and zap the chip.

My brother, who resides in the UK, zapped his bins and the chips apparently no longer function. Search Google for instructions.

Courts out of touch with reality

Ridiculous rulings such as this one show the courts up for their ignorance of the InterNet. UK law doesn't govern my use of the InterNet outside the UK and besides most rulings are circumvented by the US Constitutional provisions.

I live in a 'controlled' InterNet environment where users are prevented, thankfully, from signing into Facebook and a few other web sites.

None of these precautions work, even from behind the great Firewall of China. Whilst Mr Justice Kitchin might wallow in the glory of his ruling, it is hollow and meaningless and demonstrates how futile the courts are when faced with proxies and VPN technology.

Jobs should be apoplectic with aPad and RK2808

Jobs, of Apple, purportedly has a short fuse (temper) and the availability of these competitive devices should make him sit up and think about the crippled iCrap products.

A colleague, recently back from China, returned with one each of aPad and RK2808. We opened them up and there was one added component and one added jumper wire which demonstrates a mature product. The motherboard was fibre rather than an economy material.

I have a custom e-interface on my motorcycle, run on a under-the -seat Notebook computer and I have managed to transfer some of the functions on to the RK2808 tablet which offers a far superior display to my home grown LED display.

Since the screen might be hit by the deluges of rain we have in VietNam, the only question is whether the touch screen is too sensitive or not. Splash-proofing the device will be easy with the use of a custom stainless steel and a tube of silicon glue.

Forget Apple - get the REAL thing. RK2808!

How about NIPple LESS?

In Japan they sell the reverse of these - the NIPLESS - which conceals the nipples so women can better conform to Japanese culture!

Google Checkout is Trrustworthy!

I have never used or trusted PayPal - besides their commission is way too high for what they offer.

Google at least handles transfers honestly, the only thing is you don't know what tracking they are using!

I love my Mitsubishi more and more

The most comfortable telephone I have is a 6-year old Mitsubishi (made in France) that fits my hand like a glove, only makes calls and some basic WAP features.

It can't be tracked, can't be hacked and when I switch it - it stays off.

Really, really handy - peace and quiet

I have one of these jammers hidden in my motorscooter - I use it to stop idiots who drive motorbkies/scooters whilst texting or talking (both illegal here in VietNam).

The other one, housed in a realistic cell phone case, I use elsewhere such as on public transport WHERE PEOPLE SHOUT. Or in restaurants. Really handy and good for about 50-100 metres.

Bloody politically korrect sheep.

Since Sourceforge uses servers all over the world they should therefore follow the host countries rules - not some jerk from an uptight government.

In any event, most Sourceforge users are technically savvy and know how to use proxy URL's.

I am in China as I write but if the moderators check they will find my reported URL is somewhere in Canada, likely Montreal or Toronto.

Still waiting to have one?

I imagine that Judge Beatrice Bolton is a confirmed follower of the missionary method.

Even her name puts her in a class of prune-like entities.

Bloody British law - screwed up.

I prefer Miele

Kitchenaid/Whirlpool's web site lives up to the standard set by their products, IMHO. Miele, whilst expensive, does a superb job, last for years and their web site is as clean as their products output.

Whose property is it anyway?

Poor old Ladbrokes getting into the law business?

Labrokes is free to publish everything it has about me - nothing to hide.

P.S. I claim any property rights in any data supplied by me. I never made any assignment to them.

Why should the government make a profit?

Why is the government overcharging for this data? Does this make guilty of pimping the data.

How about doing a Freedom Information Application on your police record and using this?

I love cards!

I love cards, the fake ones.

I have a fake ID card, drivers licence, etc from three countries. I even have a citizenship card from China - all bought on the backstreets and all, except the CN I.D. card, accepted happily.

In one country I had to get a picture health card so I wore a wig and a mustache and they made a very handsome card. Has no effect as even without a Jagger hairdo and a mustache it is still accepted without question!

Just waiting for the UK to request my fingerprints. Did you know it is extremely difficult to take prints when people get old or if they are coated with Vasoline for a day (under latex gloves). The man with no prints!

Bloody Labour government. A pox on them and Blunkett.

Is there an Ozzie porno update?

I had a copy of the original porno/banned hotlist and very useful it was, too.

I use it regularly to test government Fire Walls such as the one in China and Singapore - the one in Cambodia does have any problems with any of the URL's nor does Thailand.

What a pity, Postcodes are free in Canada.

Why doesn't someone start a web site so everyone can donate their Postcodes. Maybe a few enterprising types can purloin commercial lists of Postcodes and donate them to the common good.

One thing, make sure the domain name ends in something other than .UK so it is out of the reach of Randy Mandy whose long-term job prospects don't look too good. :)

MS can stuff it's "Customer Experience"

My company is more than satisfied with our copy (only $1) of Word 2003.

We were given a copy of 2007 and found it to be so confusing most users through it out in favour of 2003 which remains more than sufficient for our purposes.

Besides, just how many people know all the commands for Word?

I still have a copy of Wordstar (DOS and Windows versions) and to my mind it was more than adequate except that Corel has forgotten that it bought out the company.

Sales are falling, so lets sue!

Funny how so many companies when they are failing resort to the courts to rebuild their fortunes.

Software shouldn't be patentable ... it's out of date so quickly, anyway.

George Hotz is ...

today's Bluebox user, the people who blew away the mystery of long distance calling.

He should be congratulated on his technical prowess and in demonstrating to dummies like Apple and Sony that nothing is infallible.

Telephone companies should be utilities.

Like electricity, water and gas companies, telephone companies should keep their hands off the last link.

The CARTERPHONE decision is what made the telco business change and blossom. The telco's run good networks, usually better than private networks, so they should keep on doing what they do best and leave the handset business free for entrepreneurs who understand the public's fickle tastes to market handsets.

Is there a map for the new AT&T future?

Israeli weapons seem to be modelled after ...

so many of secret Nazi superweapons of the 1940s. It's as if they are tied at the hip.

Similarly, many of the Israeli practices against the Palestinians are alike to those used during the Second World War and given their history you would have thought that mistreatment by Hitler would have tempered their anti-Palestine actions.

Unfortunately it appears the lesson of seventy years ago have been forgotten.

Why not use their wives/girlfriends names?

Another stupid rule imposed with no aforethought.

The idiot who dreamed this one up should become a Labour MP - he has the brains.

P.S. Did you know Manchester United is the official football team of VietNam - I have a set of glasses that says so. I also have a packet of Google toilet paper - wonderful country! (VietNam, that is)

Visiting China?

You should know that the thousands of cameras littering BeiJing have facial recognition software behind them.

And if a smartly dressed youthful male (usually) asks for your visa or Resident Card in impeccable English and swipes it on his handheld radio terminal you have met the security police. Full visa information will be displayed.

For Chinese residents the implications can be worse as their full data can be displayed - in small chunks - including whether they have permission to live in the city. The info also includes bank account and credit card info, telephone and e-mail info as well as much more.

A friends brother, in ChengDu, SiChuan, showed me his 'wonderful' new toy - only thing was it only works, at present, in the larger Chinese cities.

How come Blair and Brown didn't order up their toys for Plod?

The solution is cheapr and simple

(1) Vote Conservative and let them kill off OFCOM;

(2) Ignore the frequency change (by far the best option);

(3) Use Bluetooth mic links ($9 a pair of units in HongKong with a range of 10 feet);

(4) Use WiFi mic links (Multi-channel receiver and a single mic - $37 range is WiFi).

Of course the last two options are legally licence free.

Another Labour boondoggle!

A Canadian friend of mine who uses Amsterdam instead of expensive and crowded Heathrow was asked for his info by Eurostar and he simply told them he was English from Buckinghamshire and he was allowed to board without further ado.

So much for tight English border control Silly buggers.

What about cycling?

I ride a bicycle, seated, so what is the benefits - if any?

The BPI - technical humourists

Living in VietNam I enjoy the benefits of a 'Mandy' free environment where Bittorrent rules and copy software compilations on DVDs sell for a $1.50.

Annually BPI comes out with its 'guesstimates' of hot software used in the Indochina region based upon pure fantasy. If the government of VietNam doesn't know how many computers are in existence in the country, how does BPI know?

The police, along with some government techies from Ha Noi, make a lot of noise and search offices, without warrants, for computers loaded with hot software. . Fortunately we have a totally corrupt police force and for $16 they will warn people of impending inspections.

We have now gathered a collection of very, very realistic disks - complete with hot licence stickers (sold in China) - so when our green-uniformed Plod arrive we proudly show them our licences and after a coffee they disappear.

Little wonder Linux is being blessed by governments hereabouts and schools have standardised on open/freeware programs.

But as sure as hell, the BPI will out and about spreading their lies and idiots like Mad Mandy will be taken in yet again.

Mandelson is FAILURE epitomised!

Mandelson is, personally, a failure, whose immediate career path will hopefully come to an abrupt end.

He doesn't know much about his job as can be discerned by reading his proclamations.

America automates everything

American industry (they still have one unlike Britain) tries like crazy to convert the home owner/D-I-Y enthusiast into a domesticated trades person.

In the past few years they have introduced some quite lethal nailing devices.

I was in a Buffalo, New York handyman superstore and located the nailgun I had but not the strips of nails.

On inquiring of a helper I was told that staples, nails, etc that fit power tools are kept with the bullets (for guns) as an employer had been struck by a projectile from a power tool that was being 'checked out' by a prospective buyer.

You want a hammer? We have a power hammer you might like!

E-government at work.

Britain takes the lead again, back to paper.

P.S. Canadian Courts are fully automated, maybe the U.K. should buy a copy - same law style (unlike the Continent).

Even Plod has computer terminals only they take LONGER to complete arrest documentation than was the case with hand-filled forms.

When my ATM fails it shows ...

the Windows Blue Screen!

Windows is everywhere and still as useless in machines as it is on your home computer.

Malaysia: Another China in disguise

The recently retired Mad Hatter proclaimed that Malaysia would be the regional technological leader including the use of the InterNet.

Now, his handpicked picked protege, cut from similar cloth, has decided that they can't stand criticism thrown at it by Malaysians using overseas servers.

The next door dictatorship, Singapore, screens all domestic users. They, too, have their critics: < http://www.temasekreview.com/ >, and < http://www.talkingcock.com/ > (a Singaporean expression).

Long live LEE, Kwan-Yew - who showed how you can be a dictator and be accepted by the West.

Children have rights adults don't enjoy?

How come children enjoy rights that adults don't?

Although I have been in the Army will ones 'assets' in public view, these latest technologies are a step too far.

I am a frequent traveller, although I now avoid U.K. airports and use Continental ones instead, and it seems that other jurisdictions whose airports I travel through have a good reputation without strip X-rays.

When was the last Israeli incident? (They don't use these scanners and yet are terrorists number 1 target).