I feel dirty but....

I saw a Dell Win8 tablet used in anger the other day. It worked really well. Non-techy user were being given the choice of the Dell or an iPad. They threw out the iPads within 10min the Dells were so much more practical. Enterprise compatible, removable batteries, sd card slots, more OEM storage no MDM needed.

Maybe a kinetic smart-watch would be a better move in the future. It might not manage to provide all the power but it should keep it going longer.

Personally I wear a mechanical watch but that's coz I love the engineering of them, doubtful I'll be won over by a smart-watch.

Yoof of today are more likely to just sit the phone out on the desk wherever they are. I can't imagine they'll bother with one either unless [insert vacuous celebrity] promotes them.

Not sure I can see this becoming more than a geek toy unless it works its way into the mainstream like 3D tellys. Hardly anyone goes out to buy 3D tellys but they'll probably buy one with it just in case or because it has a better screen anyway.

Right now in schools pupils are not taught to use technology they are taught to be users of technology.

MPs, MSPs, unions, head teachers, and other higher level organisations are all in thrall of technology especially 'apps' and 'cloud' without the slightest understanding or any desire to understand how it works or what these companies do with the information they insist on being uploaded to these companies.

All they know is that they MUST be the one to shout loudest about using technology.

It's a race to the bottom.

You might want to seek out a copy of Andy Weir's 'The Martian' which was until recently available on Kindle for about 70p (since been bought by a publisher). He went into grim detail about the process of preparing a poo garden to grow emergency potatoes.

Touchpad near the screen.? No sorry that looks like an ergonomic nightmare.

On my desk I sit a good 60-70cm away from the screens. If they were touch screens I couldn't reach them without leaning forward quite a lot.

Ok the multi position on the screen on this R7 looks like it could be useful to flip into a tablet when the touch might actually be wanted, but it's too heavy to use like that.

I'd have rather had a detachable Bluetooth mouse and dock built in. This is an idea looking for a problem.

Dear Daddy

As my Father says, "You'll need to draw forward and make a second heap".

Boom

I had friends with firearms licenses.

Rat nest + can of butane + tracer ammo (yes you can buy that for a .22).

Big boom on farm.

Just hang around Tesco's hot deli bit for the mark downs. Pasty for 5p.

Ok it's nasty processed meat of dubious origin but hey it's 5p.

Flame for heartburn.

I for one...

welcome our small grasping overlords.

(sounds like a toddler so I'm right on two counts)

I saw one of the current models used in anger last week. The IT manager using it ,who is a pretty practical chap and hates most flat things (iPads/Androids), was genuinely impressed with the Dell offering. An even more network savvy version could kill off the demand for Apple toys in the business. If it's priced sensibly. A big IF that.

ICO is pushing for authority to impose custodial sentences.

It's not hard to use DVDs safely. It doesn't even cost money. Stick everything in a TrueCrypt container and burn that to DVD. Phone the intended recipient and give them the key.

User awareness is the big and hard step and those upstairs don't want to do it because it doesn't get them in the local papers or tick their bonus boxes.Security is sewage to them. Only important when it goes wrong, otherwise to be avoided.

Ooooh

I understood nothing of that yet my geek gland still feels overstimulated.

Get a degree in hard science and then get paid a pittance for highly skilled work on short term contracts only so mortgages are impossible to get. Get a PhD to get paid another couple of grand.

That was the case when I graduated nearly 15yr ago and I can only imagine things are even worse now. Science graduates were paid less than Tesco's checkout operators.

Who cares really? So we pay 80% tax on H2 rather than petrol. H2 going to be expensive anyway.

As far as the BBC is concerned it didn't cost anything, since it was other peoples money that was spent.

You'll find most public organisations are happy to throw wodges of cash around as long as it belongs to other people.

Proximity token. Hmmm if it works right I might be interested.

Vested interests say "plough on" I need my carbon taxes now!

PCs and laptops are white goods now. Unless you're a geek or a gamer you buy a basic one and replace it when it breaks. No one really cares about OSs, SSDs etc etc. When it stop playing funny cat videos that's when they'll care. Malware sells more new PCs than Windows 8; people will often buy a new pc to replace a buggy slow one rather than have it repaired.

Laptops particularly have become a bit more of a niche product now that tablets have taken off. Most people still like a desktop to write letters and print from but tablet will make a dent even there.

If I had £40k why would I spend it on something that looks like a Chinese copy of a Vauxhall Insignia?

Balaclava?

I remember the IRA having some pretty effective technology to prevent facial recognition in the 70s and 80s which was mostly knitted by their Grannies.

Amazon might be a behemoth but I've actually found their customer service to be bloody good. So not only are they cheaper than the high street but almost always better to deal with too.

That might also have something to do with the miserable yoofs employed by many shops but the culture starts at the top.

Paris because she always give good service.

I for one now welcome our deep ocean dwelling quantum powered bacterial overlords.

Go on do a smiley face, you know you want to!

Meh vacuum pump for engine oil will do the same thing for £30.

DIY surgery is the way to go!

Bah

Don't worry ecoloonies the UK Gov and the EU have ensured that through carbon taxes we'll all continue to pay over the odds for gas and the population can continue to shiver and starve in the name of Gaia.

The only way is down. Social networks are faddish and probably always will be.

Don't forget the Government

RIM makes the only device that is really considered secure by the US and Uk governments. There are guides to let you use iOS but they are provided under sufferance. Blackberry has the CESG and FIPS certs so will almost always have a place in governments. Unless it gets bought by the Chinese in which case it'll be dropped faster than an X-Factor winner's contract.

Oh no

Oh great more shiny toy excuses for execs.

'Cheaper' in Gov speak generally means 'Insanely expensive'. And at the moment the whole IL0-3 stuff is in flux while the Cabinet Office rejig it. 1-3 might become 'Tier 1' which might make it a bit of a bugger to people offering IL1-2 products.

Business case = shiny

For whatever reason educationalists and politicians still think that technology solves every educational issue.

A shite teacher with a classroom full of ipads will still be a shite teacher.

A good teacher with some pencils and paper will achieve more.

It's not a total fail, exposure to new technologies is a good thing but unfortunately the kids are being taught to be consumers not leaders.

Shock! Has someone realised that you don't need a £400 tablet to teach kids to read and write.

8% that better than Amazon UK is doing with their Black Friday 'sale'. Unless you count pumping the RRP to the max in the hours before.

Good

Public sector spots that the cloud is a bit of a swizz and the figures don't act up.

Offering a cloud service? Is it all in the EEA? If not then in general it's feck all use to the public sector who deal with massive amounts of data covered by the DPA.

Oh and don't forget to tell the CEO about the massive redundant pipe he'll need to install to access those services he has shifted to the cloud should the main one go tits up.

Encrypted USB sticks are all well and good, but where are you going with that sensitive data. Secure network to encrypted usb drive to....Home, Costas, the library, where?

Don't feckin think so, put it back. Just another thing that legitimises bad practice.