Re: If you encrypt it seven times ...

THis is true. It's similar to how you can keep ZIPping the same file and it will eventually reach a single byte in size.

Re: Couples.

Could cause some confusion when applying for a job and the company checks up on them. "So do you want to bring your boyfriend to the Xmas party?"

Re: Divorce

Maybe it only does it for certain relationship types?

FB doesn't let you list past relationships does it, it would be fun if you could see a list of past girlfriends/boyfriends/divorces.

Re: What if . . .

Mormons don't have multiple spouses, certainly not legally. That was rather a long time ago.

Romney certainly only has one wife; to suggest otherwise is simply ignorant AND stupid because polygamy is illegal in the USA and nobody would get to run for president without their party running very thorough background checks due to the uproar if something like this was found.

Re: Repeat after me ...

To turn off seeing data which is already available, and simply presented in a different format? Who cares. If you don't want that data on FB, don't tell them about your relationship. But sine the entire point of a social network is to build connections, you've probably missed the point and shouldn't use the service.

If you don't use the service, then your commentary on what FB should or shouldn't do is fairly pointless. It'd be like someone who can't drive talking about what's wrong with the new Ferrari.

What exactly is wrong with a page aggregating data relevant to two connections in a social network? This seems like a perfectly sensible use of their graph to me... if you find it cheesy don't look at the page, but I'm sure lots will like it.

Re: Touch

I'm surprised we're not seeing laptops start to come with touchscreens as standard. Not to replace mouse+keyboard, but to supplement it.

re:Certainly for XP it is well known that the OS needs re-installing every 18 months or so

Oh dear. Just because people say something it doesn't mean it's true.

Re: Microsoft still making money off Android?

They don't have to run MS' browser to use MS' search engine. Both MS and Google try to negotiate the default search engine on other peoples' browsers.

Re: Consoles are losing their lustre for me

>>Back to the PC for archaic and un-involving Keyboard/Mouse gaming, or for touch screen gaming with Windows 8?

Or buy a gamepad/joystick/steering wheel. With W8, having a PC in the living room used for playing games might finally become less silly.

Re: No must buys here

Motion controllers were a silly gimmick once too. Then Wii made them mainstream.

Maybe the same will happen with touch, there's no fundamental reason it can't be a decent input device.

Re: Gossip

I never understood that, it was like in I Robot :)

Re: Gossip

Surely they can very easily refresh the hardware to fix that... Sony do it every few months on PS3 it feels like.

The Wii remains a brilliant little console in my view, regardless how it is so wimpy in terms of hardware.

Re: @asdf (again)

mono is open-source, it doesn't matter what MS do to silverlight.

Re: oops

asdf maybe stick to topics you know something about in future; game development clearly isn't one of them. Big fancy 3D titles have been written in managed languages for years.

I guess you're either a coding dinosaur or you read an article on "Java is slow because it's not compiled" in the 90's once.

http://unity3d.com/gallery/

I find battery makes a difference. Sure, my iPad is wonderful compared to a laptop - I can watch Netflix on it for ages - but you still have to keep an eye on the battery and remember to charge it.

When you're talking weeks between charges, I find it changes the way you treat the device... you leave it in your bag rather than thinking to take it out and recharge, etc.

Mine lives by the bath.

Re: So...

It's not a debate whether a dedicated e-reader makes sense alongside tablets because Amazon continue to sell truck-loads of them. You can say you don't want both but the sales figures show this is a non-story.

Didn't they find it pretty much exactly where they thought it would be, and we simply had to wait for the LHC to test that?

Re: "Mystery stuff is now 73 per cent of EVERYTHING"!!!!!!

Unless the Americans can save us with an implausible plot, soon dark matter will take over THE WHOLE UNIVERSE.

It's still a better plot than The Core.

Re: Back to the topic

e-readers aren't meant for browsing. That they do it at all is a bonus only.

Re: Shameless Amazon advert?

It is free, it's a bonus gift for Prime subscribers.

Re: At least yours worked

Good story. Maybe you could self-publish it.

Re: Isn't there a CTP on its way soon?

I suppose MS simply don't consider C as worth focusing on. Since most C development is done on Linux, it doesn't seem too stupid a decision - they have limited resources and would rather focus on C# and (yay!) C++.

@adsf

This happens quite a lot. Any problems would be in the quality of the mono implementation, just as the JVM implementation can be bad on a given platform.

.NET is a cross-platform solution just as soon as the open-source community choose to make it so.

Re: Maybe, but ...

I can't remember the last time I used a CD/DVD but while WiFi is ubiquitous now, it's not always very good. Where I work, they have WiFi but it's a bit spotty so everyone uses ethernet whenever possible. I'm sure this is not unusual.

Also - have El Reg stopped giving scores now?

Re: lolosoft

It sets the tone for the rest of his comment nicely though,

Re: what happened with .NET ?

>>Am I alone

You mean like how you can run .NET code on Linux through Mono, or Mac through Silverlight?

Re: Q preps the Aston

I was sure, now I'm not. I thought it absorbed the active sonar, transmitted it on the other side and then sent the echo back as if it wasn't blocking the signal. Otherwise from above, wouldn't blocking the signal be pretty obvious... "why doesn't the ocean have a bottom on that submarine-sized areas?"

Re: Privacy fun.

AC that's your own stupid fault.

You know you can just sign up another Skype account though, right?

For you to think your use case of Skype is the general case is equally ignorant. When you're dealing with people overseas, they often use Skype as a regular phone to call you. Many don't use the IM part of Skype at all.

But anyway surely this new version of Skype still lets you set your status to 'appear offline' meaning we both get what we want - you can let people think you're away, I can use it as a phone.

Re: Q preps the Aston

Indeed. Although it wasn't particularly convincing, the idea is technically sound. It is exactly what was used in Hunt for Red October as well, although for sonar rather than light.

Of course the internet is the real world. To many it is the most real part OF the world.

Re: Or the more likely scenario is...

Damn those poor people wanting medical care.

Nearly as bad as posting your worthless opinion on The Register really.

Re: Red Bull is vile anyway.

It's medicine, tasting horrible is the point!

Re: Nice thought but unlikely

On that basis no large project would ever happen.

Re: Ice?

>>Ice in any drink is a modern abomination. Certainly for Whiskey, Whisky, beer or Wine.

You're very ignorant. Many whiskies are supposed to be diluted because they're sold at cask strength (50-60%). The single malt you buy at 40% has deliberately been diluted already. So enough of this nonsense that adding water is wrong. If anything, it gives you a whole new avenue of snobbery - which water should you use?!

Re: Damn, where to start

And there I was thinking it was about drinking something you liked the taste of, rather than bowing to some pretentious idiot's snobbery on 'right and wrong'.

It's booze. Not holy sacrament.

Re: Look everyone

Makes a nice change from banging on about phones.

Re: Meanwhile back in the real world

Or you could have used a replica.

The problem with pointing a gun at someone is you have to be prepared to use it.

Re: This is a good start Valve - I'll be putting in 3 sign ups.

I'm not sure what any of that has to do with me, or which of my comments you might be referring to? All I can guess is that because you personally know several people using Linux you think that makes it popular. Hmm, no. If I go into Starbucks I'd conclude Mac is the dominant laptop seller. That's not true either.

And can there be anything more pathetic than a man who evangelises an OS because he truly believes in his very soul that he's saving people from MS?