* Posts by Arctic fox

2770 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Nov 2009

Dubya: I introduced PRISM and I think it's pretty swell

Arctic fox
Headmaster

I am delighted that "Dubya" has claimed his share of the "credit" for this............

................as a result we may be spared a certain type of member of our little congregation from the other side of the pond logging on to tell us "what can we expect with that quasi-communist Obama in the White House."

Win 8 user? Thought that was a CAPTCHA? R is for ruh roh

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Re: " Windows is a fundamentally broken design and it will *never* be secure."

Nor will any other OS you care to name or imagine - that is in the nature of the problem. Simply howling your distaste for Redmond will not change the fact that what one person can create another can circumvent - no system, whatever it might be is intrinsically secure. Anyone claiming otherwise is a snake oil salesman and should be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.

AT&T patents P2P content tracking system

Arctic fox
Trollface

Re:"That was very slow for a copyright cartel shill to post"..........It is possible that......

...............he actually means it and posts that sort of thing for free. Though I have to say that I find that possibility rather worrying!

Windows 8.1: So it's, er, half-speed ahead for Microsoft's Plan A

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Re "Troll icon.....in remembrance."

Good grief! They really modded his arse. I have to say that it really takes stamina to piss off Vulture Central to that degree - heaven help us all. I would be guilty of a considerable degree of hypocrisy if I attempted to pretend that he will be much missed although the sight of his entire "oeuvre" being replaced by "this post has been deleted by a moderator" was, to say the least of it, eerie.

Arctic fox
Trollface

I look forward enormously to the restrained, thoughtful and cerebral debate we can expect.....

on this thread.

Windows 8.1: Here at last, but is it good enough?

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

Re: "Why would 'Professionals' want to deal with such an amateurish OS"

Precisely because they are professionals and it is part of their job to be familiar even with operating systems they personally do not like - end of.

Arctic fox
Trollface

I see that some at least of the....

....."Cognoscenti" are indicating that they cannot even be bothered to take a look at 8.1 - are we actually talking IT professionals here? "I don't like it so I can't be fucking arsed". Oh yeah, really professional - totally impressive.

Arctic fox
Windows

Re: First experiences

On that score I would entirely agree - although I would have to point out that the OEMs have a certain responsibility there, hmm?

Stock dips as fanbois complain of dodgy Wi-Fi on MacBook Air

Arctic fox
Happy

Re: Re:I think you're confusing customer relations with media relations here.............

No problem - I've gotten my wires crossed in that fashion a few times myself!

:)

AF.

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Re:I think you're confusing customer relations with media relations here.............

No, Squander Two I wasn't - I was quite specifically thinking and writing about Apple's relationship with its customers and how it manages that relationship. Other than that reservation, I entirely agree with the rest of your post. :)

Arctic fox
Headmaster

I have always found "BigCorp's" paranoia when dealing with customer complaints very.......

..............strange and Apple Corp are no exception, indeed it can be argued that they are amongst the worst with this kind of attitude.

"The Register has not been able to verify the existence of this note, as Apple's UK tentacle is being tight-lipped about the situation, but the wording suggests the fruity firm is taking the problem seriously."

You have a problem: Identify, assess, reassure and rectify. Customer relations 101. They do have a problem - that much is clear. Why is it that a company which has a very considerable reputation for their marketing skills does not seem to see that admitting immediately that the problem exists and reassuring customers that they are "on the case" would earn them far more kudos than their usual behaviour which appears to be an attempt to "out-Kremlin" the Kremlin when it comes to being unwilling to communicate?

Ask Trevor Pott ANYTHING about Office 365

Arctic fox
Headmaster

I see that Mr Eadon joined this thread and then deleted himself.

I am delighted to see that even he has an embarrassment threshold.

Cuba bound? Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@bigtimehustler: I have to say that I agree with every word you have posted.

"Personally if the US classes itself as a world leader, perhaps it should afford the worlds citizens the same protections it offers its own. Until then I offer my full support to people like Snowden."

If they want us to accept their "leadership" then they have to accept we have a say whether they like it or not.

Asus FonePad: You may feel a bit of a spanner

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Whitter Re:"You sir are a Gentleman!"

Indeed he is, clearly one of the old school. My observation of the kind of behaviour that he shuns is that where certain brain dead planks types engage in it it is usually the size of the mouth rather than the phone that is the issue!

Ex-CIA techie Edward Snowden: I am the NSA PRISM deepthroat

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Land of the Free?

It is highly ironic that so many years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR that US governments are now subjecting their own citizens to the kind of intrusive surveillance that was common practice in the old Soviet Union - and are using pretty much the same justifications for it as the Soviet Communist Party used in its time.

Mutton to see here: Chinese dealer offers fondleslabs for sheep

Arctic fox
Happy

@I aint't Spartacus "Then you can say they're going cheep"

It would be the only circumstance when you could say that about an iFondle device!

Leaks point to new mystery Macs 'with Jony Ive's fingerprints on'

Arctic fox
Headmaster

@Dan 55 "Judging by the first two posts above mine, Microsoft's community..............

..........managers are already at their desks.

Well old chap, I have to say that those of who have managed to develop a bit of maturity understand that not everyone who disagrees with us is a villain or a shill. Suggest you try harder.

Microsoft caves to Google, pulls YouTube app from WinPhone Store

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Re: "MS won this stoush fair and square" It does appear to be the case time at any rate.....

........even though certain members here will refuse to acknowledge that. The clue lies in the fact that MS and Google issued a joint statement. Mountain View realised that they had pushed the issue too far. That does not mean, of course, that they have "caved in to" Redmond, just that they realised that they would have to negotiate rather than take the mickey. Whatever comes out in the wash will be, hopefully, something that both sides can live with. That is after all the point with negotiations, hmm?

Arctic fox
Trollface

2AC 25th May 01.55 Re: "GOOGLE EVIL EMPIRE FAIL!" My congratulations on a truly.......

.........superb Eadon imitation, it was so lifelike that I can only describe it as frightening.

US Senator introduces 'Patent Abuse Reduction Act'

Arctic fox
Happy

@Mephistro: I take your point Mephistro.

I can entirely understand that some hardware patent scenarios would not be properly covered by my (rather ill-tempered :)) definition. As far as your point with regard to software patents is concerned I agree and am of the view that it should be a very time-limited form of copyright protection.

Arctic fox
Headmaster

I read this paragraph carefully and wonder about one thing............

"“This bill would require plaintiffs to disclose the substance of their claim and reveal their identities when they file their lawsuit; allow defendants to hale into court interested parties; bring fairness to the discovery process; and shift responsibility for the cost of litigation to the losing party. These reforms will deter patent litigation abusers without prejudicing the rights of responsible intellectual property holders.”"

.................why the fuck have these basic common sense precautions not been part of patent law all the time? It is truly astonishing that only now are measures such as this being debated - let alone have any certainty of passing. Oh, and while he is at it he could add a condition for the granting of hardware patents - no working prototype to support the application, no frakking patent.

Surface Pro to hit Blighty priced 25% up on top-o-the-range iPad

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

Re: Surface Pro to hit Blighty priced the same as MacBook Air

I entirely agree with your "headline fix". The comparison with an iPad is a spectacularly idiotic piece of click-bait. They are simply not the same type of equipment at all.*

*I am not having a pop at the iPad - just pointing out that it is a wholly inappropriate comparison.

It's official: Nokia's Verizon Lumia 928 is here

Arctic fox
Facepalm

I see that Eadon got on first, oh well.......

......that's another thread down the khazi.

Nokia teases world+dog with snap of new 4G Lumia 928

Arctic fox
Happy

Oh dear me Reg, you are a bunch of michevious little tykes aren't you?

Those of us with more than two neurones firing at the same time are aware that the Finns will not be launching a new flagship before the summer (to include both their hardware update with regard to their camera and "Blue" from you-know-who).

Peak Apple: Yet ANOTHER supplier reports drop in demand

Arctic fox
Headmaster

This is not surprising. As many commentards here have pointed out............

.............when Cupertino faced serious competition in the high end of the mobile market, life would get more difficult for them. I do not understand why this attracts such amazed headlines - its markets-101. More competition, life gets harder. Does this mean that Apple are suddenly going to stop earning serious money? No, of course not. They have simply begun to lose their market dominance - an entirely natural progression. A development which even the most die-hard iFanboi ought to welcome for reasons that ought to be too obvious to have to explain.

Fanbois vs fandroids: Punters display 'tribal loyalty'

Arctic fox
Happy

@Barry Shitpeas Re:"to stay with Apple because of the content lock-in...."

The smart-phone market is of course still young and saturation has not been achieved even in the US or Europe. It will be interesting to see to what extent and for how much longer that the content lock-in trap will be accepted by the average punter. There is a tendency amongst the "meeja" to assume that this will be the eternal condition in the small devices market. However, if we take (for the sake of debate and to have some type of date) 2007 as the launch of the modern mass-market in smartphones (when you-know-who launched you-know-what) then that market is in fact not even seven years old yet. What we could call perhaps "smart phone culture" (in the sociological sense) is still in its infancy - we simply do not know what the average punter will sit still for in, say, 5 years time and nor do the analists*.

*Spelling mistake not accidental!

iPhone 5 totters at the top as Samsung thrusts up UK mobe chart

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

Re: Impartial Opinion "Impartial Opinion?" Since when have a series of opinionated........

........assertions been any kind of "impartial opinion"? I think that it is you who need the services of the dictionary old chap.

Arctic fox
Trollface

If I could be bothered to take part in this argument.........

..............I would point out that on a thread like this a certain gentleman's postings vary in inverse proportion in intensity and number according to how scared he is that it might, just possibly. be good news for Nokia (or Redmond for that matter). On the basis of his contributions to this thread my statistical analysis says that the Finns are doing gangbusters.

PS. Yes, I am being a trifle satirical.

Microsoft off the hook for billions in Motorola Mobility payout

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Re: Can someone grow a pair

Well, funnily enough Samsung had no problem going to the mattresses against Cupertino (and are still engaged in that struggle - a struggle in which I wholeheartedly support them). However, Samsung one of the most cash-rich and powerful companies in the entire industry reached a negotiated agreement with Redmond. I am in no way arguing that that indicates that Redmond's cause is necessarily just but I do have to ask you why you think that a company like Samsung (who was willing to take on the most cash-rich company in the world) would "roll over and play dead" for Microsoft, hmm? Any explanation for that? Other than the impression one gets around here that many of the commentariat believe that the "fat chair-throwing mad bastard" known as "Demon-Lord Ballmer" is indeed in league with The Old One.

Major Dell investor cashes in ALL of its 24.5 million shares

Arctic fox

Very interesting. The other bidders appear to have outsmarted themselves.............

"This transformation into an enterprise player was supposed to take place away from the glare of Wall St, and part of the reason why the man Michael and VC pal SilverLake Partners bid $24bn for Dell the company.

That offer was branded "woefully inadequate" by Southeastern Asset Management, leading to rival bids being tabled by Blackstone and Icahn Enterprises."

..............by assuming (at the outset) that Dell and Siverlake's bid was an attempt to get the company on the cheap.

Weak iPad, iPhone demand hits LG Display in the wallet

Arctic fox
Headmaster

The markets are reacting to the medium term trend............

............... - that being the fact that Cupertino now face a degree of effective competition in the mobile sector on a scale that we simply were not seeing as recently as eighteen months or so ago. The stripy shirted sharks have realised that the days when Apple had little effective competition in the high end mob and tab market are definitively over and so are the gravity defying capital gains on Apple stock. Does this mean that Apple are going to fail to make serious money? No of course not but the aforementioned "stripies" loved the situation where Apple had little competition at the high end just as they loved the situation with Microsoft stock in the late nineties. It is one of life's little ironies that a group of people who politically speaking sing of the joys of the free-market much prefer to invest in a company which has a little competition as possible when that will make money for them and their clients.

Nokia: OK, Q1 has been weak, but there's 'underlying' profit

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Thomas 4 Thank you for that image..............

......."As for Eadon, everyone knows he has his own unique keyboard that he uses for posting on here. It comprises of two very large keys - one saying "Microsoft", the other saying "Fail" and he repeatedly slams his face onto it before clicking the "Submit" button."

It gave me the best laugh I have had for while. The thought of you know who delivering his postings by head-butting his keyboard is absolutely irresistible. It may even be true LOL!

Ten Windows tablets

Arctic fox
Happy

@I ain't Spartacus RE:"......just because of the 2 things I sometimes want in a tablet."

I agree - indeed that is why I am waiting until the "Haswell" chippery comes out. Precisely because I want a proper os and the combination of processing/graphics power and battery life that those devices should give (plus a stylus) (unless of course Intel are totally bullshitting).

Arctic fox
Unhappy

Re: " ...........in order to wind him up." You do not need to unfortunately..........

...........he will turn up without any invitation and wind everybody else up.

Will Google's rivals swallow the 'labelling remedy' pill?

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

Re: "Can we all stop pretending.........it's Microsoft and their industry pals........"

Which part of the following did you have reading difficulties with?

"Google will have a green light to offer "manipulated" search results and "to discriminate against competitors" if its preferred competition remedy is accepted by the EU, at least according to 39 national consumer bodies in Europe."*

The fact that Redmond is complaining (bloody cheeky thought that is) does not automatically invalidate the complaint or, by implication, make the above-mentioned national bodies either MS stooges or their "industry pals".

*My added emphasis.

Facebook Home gets SMACKDOWN from irate users

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

"Re: It's a great way to instantly identify assholes though." Well Bob, it is not often that.......

...........we agree but on this occasion I have to say thumbs up. A very compact description of the sociological criteria for instantly identifying someone that one would instantly wish to avoid.

Arctic fox

Re: "Roll out usual down-with-Facebook comments". Well old chap I am an old fashioned....

........sort of guy and people I care about get e-mails, phone-calls and even something so impossibly old hat as a (yes I know, you can scarcely believe what you are reading here) hand written letter. In fact I even go as far as taking the radical step of actually spending time in their company (steady on now, you will scarcely believe this) face to face - I'll bet you are positively aghast to hear that, something so not this century.

Anons torn over naming 'n' shaming of 17yo's gang-rape suspects

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

Ah, no. On this occasion I do not question the postion of the activists involved.

The entire thrust of their statement was a demand that the police actually do their job. Your pompous posting was about as ill judged as it possibly could be.

Judge scolds Apple, Motorola for using court as 'business strategy'

Arctic fox
Flame

".....lawsuits as a business strategy...."

It is refreshing to hear a Judge sum up the problem in a nutshell. It is precisely because we have the industry following these tactics as well as the patent trolls (who after all do not have any alternative strategy) that patent law and enforcement has been brought into serious disrepute. The fact of the matter is that most, perhaps all, of the major powers in the industry behave like patent trolls whenever they feel it suits them - that is the problem we have to tackle. When companies which are genuine producers also behave in this fashion then the situation becomes intolerable.

Half of US smartphone owners have no idea which mobe to buy next

Arctic fox
Headmaster

It is certainly true that this does not give either Nokia or RIM anything to celebrate.

However, I would point out that Nokia has had very little success in the US market for a fair number of years (well before they hooked up with Redmond) whereas RIM were "the Man" in the US market (particularly enterprise) not so long ago. For them these figures make for very depressing reading indeed.

Microsoft Xbox exec quits after ENRAGING the INTERWEBS

Arctic fox
Unhappy

Personally speaking I am not at all sure about this "always on" society regardless of who.......

.........is administering it. I think that I am inclined to find a deep cave somewhere and hide in it!

German court says nein to Apple's slide-to-unlock patent

Arctic fox
Mushroom

Splendid. It looks as if the "powers that be" have finally begun to take notice. Oh, and no......

........I am not just talking about Cupertino. It is becoming increasingly clear that "The Man" in both the States and in the EU has finally begun to wake up with regard to the way that "BigCorp" (not just the "Patent Trolls") are taking the piss out of patent law. Splendid, shame it took the high profile nature (media-wise) of Apple's fairly shameless judicial carpet-bombing of their rivals (notably you-know-who) to make them wake up. Despite the fact that I do not have very much time for the fruity company I would be the last to pretend that they are the only guilty parties. It is not just the classic patent troll who is at work here - it is the entire fucking industry who is playing this particular tune and it is about time our authorities took notice.

Microsoft to slap 9 patches on Windows junkies on Tuesday

Arctic fox
Windows

@Andy Prough "We need to take him under our wings and teach him............

............. how to properly handle a computer system."

Indeed. However, though I have considerable respect for your kindly intentions I fear that you would be taking on a labour of Sisyphus. Every time you had just got that boulder to the top of the mountain.....etc....etc.

Gates and Allen reshoot historic 1981 Microsoft photo

Arctic fox
Happy

@Chris Miller RE:"Actually, it looks like they've tried to sweep his fringe forward........

........................to imitate the 1981 'styling'". Well they certainly couldn't wait for Paul Allen to regrow that beard!

Major blow for Apple: 'Bounce back' patent bounced back by USPTO

Arctic fox
Happy

"'Bounce back' patent bounced back by USPTO"

“Bliss it was in this* dawn to be alive

But to be young was very heaven.”

.

*With apologies and respect to the memory of William Wordsworth for a very slight paraphrasing of "The Prelude".

Tim Cook eats necessary crow, apologizes to China

Arctic fox
Trollface

RE:"does anyone think he would have made a grovelling apology?" We will never know....

..........but faced with losing a market of over a billion people he might, just possibly, have developed a degree of arse-kissing capacity humility that we otherwise would not associate with that gentleman.

Sprint, Softbank to swear off Huawei kit as condition of merger

Arctic fox
Flame

@AC 29th March 01.17 Re:"The sheer levels of protectionism....." Indeed. Several members..

...........started to point out this phenomenon about a year or so ago (no dig at you implied in that remark) and it was clear from some of the responses from our compadres here at El Reg from the other side of the pond that they felt we were just indulging in "anti-Americanism". Events since have in fact proven the point. It is now clear that certain industrial and political "forces" in the US are using both security and, perhaps, patent law to bring in protectionism by the back door. It is fairly shameless. "I will agree/insist upon free and open competition as long as I win" - that is now their policy.

BIGGEST DDoS in history FAILS to slash interweb arteries

Arctic fox

Well it may not be as bad as first feared but the "pipe" between where I live............

............and the US is currently as slow as treacle. Quite what is really going on currently is not entirely clear.

EMC, Carbonite fight off patent pursuer

Arctic fox
WTF?

"Cisco revealed that it spends $US50 million annually fighting off.............."

One company has to have that kind of anti-troll spend? JHC! If we needed any further proof of the pernicious effects of the NPE-parasites, the amount that Cisco alone has to spend annually to defend itself against these kinds of attacks would be it.

The gaming habits of Reg readers revealed

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Gordon 10 Re:"does my 2 yo really need to see my one shot sniper kill?"

Indeed that is a bit of a problem when it comes to sharing one's experience with the sprogs - the ubiquity of tech in the average home makes establishing the outer borders/limits in relation to younger children something of a challenge.