* Posts by Arctic fox

2770 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Nov 2009

Intel gets Atoms out ahead of CES

Arctic fox

"20 per cent reduction in power and 10 hours of use"?

I realize that I am probably missing something here but how are they getting 10 hrs use with only a 20% reduction in power (consumption?) contra 1st gen atoms?

Microsoft mum on leaked Phone OS plans

Arctic fox
Headmaster

To: Dana W: Actually the lack of logic ought to be fairly obvious.

This leak (if genuine - another point which should be taken into account) suggests that Windows Phone will not support high res screens, amongst other needed improvements, until almost 2013. This if anything is bloody embarrassing for Redmond and certainly does not support the accusation of officially sanctioned astroturfing in this particular instance. If this was leaked by someone within MS it rather suggests internal conflict and someone unhappy with the pace of development of the Apollo upgrade. When assessing an alleged leak from a major conglomerate like MS one should always take into account the likelihood that internal turf wars may be at least *part* of the equation or indeed the possibility that it is FUD generated by an outside player.

LCD cartel case claims seven more scalps

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

RE: "Well, the report certainly trys to spin it that way"

You have a point - we'll just have to see how it *actually" plays out.

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Er, well actually on this occasion...........

"The bulk of the latest payment is made up in payments to “indirect” purchasers – that is, customers of finished products like TVs and computers using the screens, rather than the OEMs that were the cartel’s direct customers."

...........I think that the report does make it clear that the end-point customers *will* be compensated - as they should be given that they have almost certainly lost more (collectively) than the OEMs did.

Chinese confirm Beidou satnav system is operational

Arctic fox
Headmaster

"The EU has been lagging behind on this front, mainly down to..............

.......................squabbling over funding methods and cost overruns."

It also has to be mentioned that, initially at least, the US did a lot of heavy lobbying against Galileo in an effort to get the project dropped. They were not happy with Europe having a nav system independent of the US and gps.

Japanese boffins crack arse-based ID recognizer

Arctic fox
Joke

"The system is 98 per cent accurate" In the case of the remaining 2% the system.....

..........cannot tell your arse from your elbow.

Apple land-grabs fuel cells for mobiles

Arctic fox
Happy

To "Voland's right hand". I agree with you.

You said:

"The USPO's default position should that the patent is *not* granted unless the *applicant* can show that it is _WORKING_. No working prototype - no patent"

I said, about 3 - 4 postings earlier:

"Working prototype where we are talking hardware patent application or no patent granted."

AF.

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

Shift the burden of proof perhaps, in addition to tightening the law?

In other words tighten up on what can be patented *and* shift the burden of proof onto the applicant. The USPO's default position should that the patent is *not* granted unless the *applicant* can show that it is novel. The current situation where the patent office is drowning in a flood of micky mouse applications where *they* have to show due cause to reject the patent is the source of all the shite we are seeing today.

Arctic fox
Flame

This demonstrates the problem perfectly.

"As far as El Reg can tell, Cupertino hasn’t actually built a fuel-cell-powered-cellphone, so we presume its two patent applications merely indicate directions in its research."

You are in a position to patent a device in your imagination. No, this is preposterous and should not be granted. Working prototype where we are talking hardware patent application or no patent granted. This has nothing to do with innovation, this is quite simply yet another land grab by a patent troll seeking to poison the market to their own advantage.

No winner in Android v iPhone 2011 marathon

Arctic fox

RE: "Totally agree"

In the short to medium what you say is IMHO indisputable. A touch more difficult to call long term, though I suspect the need for locally installed native apps will never entirely disappear.

Lumia sales fail to set world alight

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Phoenix50: Too much like common sense..........

...............those it applies to will not listen to a word - unfortunately.

Arctic fox

@Twilkins: I really think old chap that you should have read my post more carefully.

I said:

"Ignoring all the feature phones and all the smartphones *significantly* under £400 we arrive at the following top ten."

I made it quite clear that I had done that in order to get a comparison between phones in the *upper price segment* which is where the Lumia 800 is - albeit at the lower end of that segment. Comparing like with like in the financial sense you understand. That was the point of my list with regard to those phones for which punters are willing to plonk roughly £400 or more on the table for their newest shiny.

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

RE: "crikey. Razr coming up fast there"

It is isn't it? Mind you I am not exactly surprised it does appear to be very fine kit and has attracted some very favourable reviews on a number of serious web-sites including, natch, Reghardware. The one that does surprise me a bit given the problems that RIM has had lately is their highest end offering at number 4. I'm not dissing the phone you understand it is just that they have been in some fairly heavy weather in recent times and that does not exactly help when trying to sell a device in that price segment! As far as the Lumia goes this list would seem to suggest that it is doing all right albeit not near well enough yet to give Nokia any reason to feel that they are yet out of the woods.

Arctic fox
Headmaster

The information currently available does seem rather conflicting.

On the one hand we have major carriers claiming that the Lumia 800 is doing well (not just in the UK but in Holland, France and Germany) and on the other we have this survey which says the opposite. I took a look just now at Amazon in their sim free mobile phone category and chose to sort under bestsellers. Ignoring all the feature phones and all the smartphones *significantly* under £400 we arrive at the following top ten. I do not get the impression that the Lumia is doing quite as badly as this survey would suggest although it is clearly not "setting the world alight". Other than that this little list does appear to confirm that Sammy has a great deal to smile about!

1. Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 16 GB (Black)

2. Galaxy Nexus 16GB

3. Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 16 GB (White)

4. BlackBerry Bold 9900

5. Apple iPhone 4S 16GB Black

6. HTC Sensation XE

7. APPLE iPhone 4 16 GB

8. Nokia Lumia 800 (Black)

9. Motorola RAZR

10.Apple iPhone 4 16GB Black Factory Unlocked

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestsellers-Electronics-Mobile-Phones-Smartphones/zgbs/electronics/356496011/ref=zg_bs_nav_ce_3_1340509031#3

NASA finds first Earth-sized planets outside the solar system

Arctic fox
Unhappy

RE: "Plus, if we could ship all the religious nutters into opposite corners...............

................ of earth 2.0 we might get some peace and quiet for a while."

It would be heavenly wouldn't it? However, they would make that extra effort to travel, regardless of how long it took, to bang on your door on Sunday morning. Just when your listening to your main man Lionel singing "Easy Sunday morning" you open the door to hear "we've come to give you a message from Glod (thank you Terry)" - they just don't get the message themselves do they?

Deutsche Telekom: 'FCC, DoJ didn't give AT&T deal a chance'

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

@Chad H. Ah yes, the good old "cut your nose of to spite your face approach".

"They should have followed Qantas's union negotiation example.......And just threatened to shut it down if not agreed."

Oh I see, as simple as that hmm? You are comparing a dispute between a company and a trades union with a dispute with the government of (still) one of the most powerful nation states on earth? The US authorities would, not unnaturally have assumed they were bluffing and said "go ahead" and if they were bluffing their bluff would have been called. Of course if they had not been bluffing and had actually tried to go ahead and do that (with the consequent *massive* financial losses) I predict that the shareholder rebellion would have cost the entire board their jobs. Though in reality of course it would not have gotten that far because DK would have ended up with *both* the US *and* the German governments on their arses and would have had to back down from *that* position so quick you would have been able to measure their doppler shift.

IBM: 'Your PC will read your mind by 2016'

Arctic fox
Terminator

I'm afraid that I can't let you........

..............think that Dave.

Shareholders rage over Imation's incredible 88% plunge

Arctic fox
Flame

It is a regular horror story. However we know what is likely to happen...........

.............they'll still get their golden goodbyes, there will be absolutely no question of sacking them without compensation (which is what would happen in equivalent circumstances to us mere mortals) and they will probably be employed by another company in the future. The "Managerati" look after their own - because they all know that it might/will be their turn at some time in the future.

Sony creates paper battery

Arctic fox
Devil

@Efros. Forced to listen to their drinks cartons playing the same tune.......

............again and again and again and again.

Apple wins skirmish in HTC-Google patent war

Arctic fox
Megaphone

I am a little puzzled.

"Apple will likely assert that the patched versions still violate claims 1 and 8 of US Patent No. 5,946,647,"

Aren't you rather assuming that HTC and Google are incapable of coming up with a fix that avoids Apple's patent? Or are you assuming that whatever the fix is Apple will sue whether or not the fix in reality still breaches their patent? The ITC *has* rejected the rest of Cupertino's claims from its original suit, dated March 2010 (a total of nine alleged breaches not upheld by the commission) and it seems to me that as long as the fix is competent there is a reasonable likelihood that HTC will win through. If they do it will be a lot harder for Apple to sue the other OEMs over the same patents.

Shoppers love fondling iPads to fill out sex health survey

Arctic fox
Joke

RE: "Ewww". I am looking foward with great anticipation to El Reg.......

............reporting the release of the iClap 3 - the news would go viral immediately.

The Best of El Reg 2011 now on Kindle

Arctic fox

Weeell, I think that is a touch over the top.

The moment I saw "Kindle" in the headline I clicked to read the article operating on the assumption that the book was scarcely going to be part of the Gutenberg project. I think that most would have assumed that it was "pay per view"? I would argue that it is far more of a real world problem where a newspaper or a special interest site promo something without revealing their financial involvement.

AF.

IT'S OFFICIAL: AT&T, T-Mobile deal is dead

Arctic fox
Headmaster

@dognolegs. Completion of contract old chap?

AT&T reached an agreement with Deutsche Telekom and signed on the dotted line. Part of such agreements is a fee to be paid by the one party if the other party "fails to complete". For reasons for which DT cannot be held liable AT&T has withdrawn from their agreement thus making them liable for the $4bn fee, the size of which was stipulated as part of the original agreement. AT&T on this occasion is just having to pay up for their own misjudgement in betting that they would succeed in scamming something close to recreating the old Bell monopoly past the competition authorities in the US. They fucked up and they are having to pay for it.

NASA detects 'heartbeat' of pint-sized star-sucker

Arctic fox
Joke

I can't see the............

...............attraction myself.

Asus Zenbook UX31E

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

I suppose I should not bite but I will.

Compared to the MBA it has:

.

1. Higher res and larger screen

2. Better cpu

3. All the connectivity options (industry standard) you can shake a stick at.

4. Same price as the MBA

It does not look anything like the MBA and there major differences (for the better IMO) with regard to specs. We expect a higher standard of troll here at El Reg, please try harder next time

Google's Siri-a-like to be named 'Majel' after Trek actress

Arctic fox
WTF?

@Peter Gathercole: An interesting aside?

Pardon? We read in the article as well:

"The name Majel comes from Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the actress best known as the voice of the Federation Computer from Star Trek."

Best known as?

For those of us who remember when Star Trek was first broadcast by the BBC in (if memory serves) '68 Majel Barret is *always* Nurse Chapel first and foremost. That she contributed much more afterwards is something we of course honour her for. Majel Barett was a great lady - let us not rob her of the kudos for one of the roles in the classic series that are remembered by many of us with *great* affection.

Jedi light-sabre beats Taser in Oregon parking-lot fracas

Arctic fox
Terminator

Firing on all thrusters.......

...........he is not.

Apple mulls new chip boffinry HQ in Israel

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Law of unintended consequences. In the same fashion that suing Samsung.........

.............all over known space has contributed to raising Samsung's brand profile it is possible that this acquisition might also have unintended consequences.

"Apple might like its very own chips and flash at some point, thereby removing all Samsung stuff from its products."

This will likely result in Samsung investing even harder in mob/tab production and sales in order to shift their own "stuff" in addition to selling it to other OEMs.

iPhone users get iJustHadAShag bedpost-notch boast app

Arctic fox
Trollface

May I be permitted to correct this report a touch?

"iOS users who fondle more than a slab now *and then* have an app to help them report the fact"

Feds propose 50-state ban on mobile use while driving

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Khaptain A most apposite question.

The answer for the US was about 30,000 or so total gun related deaths in 2010 of which a little over 50% were suicides. Thus approximately 12,000 or so due to deliberate action or accident. If we exclude self-harm it still means that about 4 times as many people die as result of a gun being discharged by another party than as a result of "distracted driving". It is instructive that politicians rush to legislate in the latter area (and others like it) but will not touch anything which can be characterised by the NRA as anti-gun legislation with the thin end of a very long bargepole. As far as guns are concerned they are flag waving libertarians, anything else (except of course BigCorp's sacred right to make as much money as possible unimpeded) and suddenly the joys of social authoritarianism overwhelm them.

Arctic fox
Flame

RE: "This is precisely why.."

That is indeed precisely why. When one reads..........

"driver of the pickup truck had sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes before the accident, and that the final message was received right before the pickup ran into the truck-tractor."

...........it is almost necessary to read it a couple more times to get ones head round how lethally stupid the driver was. If we do not want the state to "take responsibility for" (=control) even more of our everyday actions then we better bloody well take responsibility ourselves. That kind of idiocy simply gives the lobbyists and the politicians more to work with. It makes it even harder to fight off the desire of some politicos to wave their legislative dicks around when so called adults behave the way that lad did.

Higgs boson hunters have god particle in their sights

Arctic fox
Happy

@Destroy All Monsters Or maybe..........

..............Cosmic Sense.

Asus Tegra 3, Android 4 tablet priced up for Brits

Arctic fox
Headmaster

RE:"Rip off Britain"

"Why does Britain have to pay £551 for the 32GB version + keyboard when in the states they pay around £400 ($499 + $149). "

If you take a look at that, about two thirds of it is British VAT with the "rip-off" being about fifty quid or so. I do not defend *that* mark-up but it is not quite so bad as its seems.

Windows Phones message hub hit by killer SMS

Arctic fox
Trollface

RE: "You are Barry Shitpeas and ICMFP."

Don't bother, he'll never pay up.

Bristol boffins bring qubit computing a tiny step closer

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

I am dead impressed.

I'm not sure how to estimate the number of orders of magnitude they have succeeded in shrinking this equipment's physical size by but it must be huge (so to speak). Just for laughs imagine Sammy marketing a 7 inch tab (Galaxy SXII. Marketing slogan: "Your quantum pocket".) based on this kind of tech in about 2030 (always assuming that Cupertino has stopped suing them by then of course -:P).

2011's Best... Smartphones

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

Nice selection.

Something for everybody here and I can't myself really quarrel with the selection. Must say that the Razor is indeed a beauty. What in fact strikes me about this is the choice of genuinely good quality phones at a fair range of price points. Doesn't matter which os you prefer there is some decent kit available, be interesting to see what 2012 brings us.

Eyes on stalks: ancient predator a real monster

Arctic fox
Happy

RE: "I see as movie in the works"

"Claws" perhaps? Or maybe "Resident Crustacean"?

Arctic fox
Happy

No, no. I'm going Chinese.

All I need is a 2 cubic metre capacity deep-fryer, 1.5 cubic metres of soya oil, 200 litres of batter and possibly 50 litres or so of sweet n' sour sauce. Oh, and about 250 kg of fried rice - anyone got a *really* big wok I can borrow?

Google's Schmidt strikes Carrier IQ off Xmas card list

Arctic fox
Headmaster

@AdamWill Entirely true, that is indeed the constitutional position in the US. However,.......

.............we await of course with bated breath to see whether the President will stand by his Secretary of State's avowed principles and veto that piece of shameless lobby-fodder legislation if it actually passes both houses.

Is Bill Gates mulling a return to Microsoft throne?

Arctic fox
Windows

"a prominent chief executive"?

That seems a rather strange formulation. Unless it is, allegedly, Ballmer gossiping about his own forthcoming defenestration it suggests that the person concerned belongs to another company than MS. Such a matter, if true, would be very hush-hush and known only to a very small inner circle, how would the senior officer of another company have heard about this? Unless of course it is the CEO of a major investor in MS who has been "sounded out" about such a move. The only thing that causes me to think that it *might* be true is that BG may have "rested" long enough to feel bored away from the "imperial throne" and such a move would, at this time, be unlikely to harm the company's share price. However, I have to say that the story smells of kite-flying by someone rather than the real deal.

2011's Best... Premium Tablets

Arctic fox
Trollface

@Tony Smith. I take your point.

However I don't think that giving Mr BS (and he is a master of it) any more publicity serves any constructive purpose.

Steve Jobs' last design: New Apple HQ pics

Arctic fox
Windows

RE: "The first commandment:" No open Windows?

I think you'll find that Bill would agree with that!

China pad peddler wins iPad name from Apple

Arctic fox
Happy

I'm sorry, this post is somewhat incoherent but...............

.............it is *so* difficult to write anything sensible when you are crying with laughter. What was that dear old Clive Dunn in his persona as Corporal Jones used to say? "They don't like it up'em Capt Mainwaring sir"!

US military pays SETI to check Kepler-22b for aliens

Arctic fox
Trollface

@Michael H.F. Wilkinson. All they will have to do is.............

...............fake some "evidence" that the aliens have WMDs and they will be able to milk the US defence budget for years to come. Should be good for a few trillion dollars in support. Err, now I come to think of it, didn't somebody do something like that a few years back?

Samsung Galaxy Note

Arctic fox
Trollface

Re: Bolloxs

Do please clean up after yourself when you leave old chap - we don't want a nasty smell lingering about the place, do we?

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

Sammy has a very interesting approach to market analysis.

They plant a flagpole in every conceivable form-factor niche, run the flags up and see who salutes. It is at any rate a refreshing change from the pre-production "focus group" approach. Oh and yes, that is a damn fine phone. It does not answer my personal user case but that is irrelevant - lovely piece of kit.

Microsoft's futurologists virtualise the poor

Arctic fox
Flame

This is simply the kind of sanitised vision that most examples of "BigCorp" like to punt out.

Not just Microsoft. A future where "we" (because none of "us" are going to be losers are we?) are all "middle class" and the underclass is held at arms length and out of sight. In fact you can see plenty of signs of the development of this trend all around us - especially in the larger cities, in the UK, Europe in general and in the US. The whole issue is a damn sight bigger than MS and far more important. It deserves a more thoughtful discussion than knee-jerk comments about Redmond - they are *part* of the problem because they are part of the system. Maybe we should be addressing *that* issue, the system?

Take this survey: Win an iPad 2

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Mystic Megabyte: Damn!

You got there first. -:)

Toads predict earthquakes: Official

Arctic fox

I don't think that "Wind in the Willows" was quite that...............

...............type of book old chap. -:)

Man's phone burns, toasts trouser region

Arctic fox
Joke

Perhaps Sammy should rename it..............

................the Nova SII.