* Posts by JDX

6847 publicly visible posts • joined 28 May 2010

Google deletes Maps satellite photos of 14-year-old's unsolved murder

JDX Gold badge

Re: Similar case

Why are they not responsible for the content they display on their website, when they gathered the content themselves?

SuperStride Me: Reg man attempts to walk off GIANT CURRY

JDX Gold badge

2kg in 4 days?

That does not sound either realistic or healthy to me. 1lb a day?!

If this doesn't terrify you... Google's computers OUTWIT their humans

JDX Gold badge

Interesting but not surprising

This is exactly how neural networks work - you don't understand how they're doing what they do, you just train them to do it. Of course there are risks, you think you've trained it to recognise photos of cats but actually it has learned to recognise something else present in all the cat photos.

We go joyriding in the Google Maps-killer's ROBO-CAR

JDX Gold badge

HERE says it's only recording the GPS locations of open Wi-Fi hotspots

Why do they record them at all? Is it for use as fixed reference points?

Stephen Hawking: 'Boring' Higgs Boson discovery cost me $100

JDX Gold badge

In my experience Computer Science majors put the second most hours in

Very much doubt that's true. Not where I went anyway - the only people who seemed to have full schedules were Chemistry and Engineering!

JDX Gold badge

Re: I did 1,000 hours work at University

You're assuming he went to all his lectures.

It's on record that he found the degree material dull and hence didn't do very well - only in his interview did they realise he was doing badly because the work was so far beneath him.

SuperStride Me: Reg hack spends week working at 'treadmill desk'

JDX Gold badge

Walking VS Standing

I can't really see that a walking desk offers a great deal more than a standing desk, at the cost of increased bulk, lack of flexibility, and... cost. Simply standing up counters the problems of being sat on your arse all day.

I think it stretches the envelope of mainstream use a little too far. The thing with decent standing desks is they can be used as normal desks depending on user preference.

Check out The Register's Google+ page

JDX Gold badge

FaceBook?

Is G+ following on from a FB page that's so old it doesn't get a mention, or is El Reg making the novel step of using G+ instead of FB?

Bitcoin mining rig firm claims $3m revenue in just FOUR DAYS

JDX Gold badge

Huh?

I'm confused how this all works. What hashes are you solving and why does this make you money? Is it in some way illicit or is "printing your own money" the way BitCoin works?

I always thought they were just an electronic currency that could be transferred between owners, all this talk of mining is bewildering and just sounds like something out of a MMO...

AIR TIME! Our expert cosies up with the new top-end iPad

JDX Gold badge

Re: no point

The Air is a LOT more powerful than an iPad3 when you consider the iPad 4 was a big step up and the Air is a considerable step up from the 4.

Plus you can get it with more memory which could be a factor. Otherwise you're pretty much right, although being able to sell your old device is a big factor.

JDX Gold badge

Older models

So if iPad2 is being sold as the budget model, does that mean iPad3/4 simply aren't on sale any more?

I'd hoped iPad Retina (3/4) would take the £329 slot and iPad2 would sink even cheaper, or simply be discontinued. iPad2 is still a decent tablet since iOS7 supports it, I'm very happy with mine. Like the reviewer, iPad Air/5 is the first one to really make me consider upgrading.

Microsoft bags another glamorous Office 365 customer

JDX Gold badge

"single price discount retailer"

Is that Reg sarcasm or for real... I genuinely could believe either these days.

Nookie becomes, um, a virtual reality for Oculus Rift gadget gamers

JDX Gold badge

which allows the male users to have virtual sex

I initially thought this meant with each other!

Microsoft fears XP could cause Indian BANKOCALYPSE

JDX Gold badge

MS ARE offering extended support

But for enterprises only, and it's pricey. For banks though, that seems a viable option.

JDX Gold badge

Re: XP 2.0?

XP 2.0... like W7 then?

Android in FOUR out of 5 new smartphones. How d'ya like dem Apples?

JDX Gold badge

Easy fix for Apple

Packaging their kit in a slightly bigger handset is not really a technological problem, if the market shows this form factor is desirable they can trot one out easily. Even with literally no new features, the 5S would be a big competitor in that market.

Google makes Gmail EVEN NOISIER, or should that be nosier?

JDX Gold badge

Re: Sharing optional

It's sad that to many people. Google is the most 'evil' thing they're aware of in the world. And it's not even like we can assume most of these idiots are Americans.

But hey, people being murdered for their beliefs is far away... having to use your real name is much closer. And I'm probably being silly to suggest having to provide your personal information is perhaps a rung or two down the ladder of evil.

Since we're being cool and trendy I'd better jump on the hashtag bandwagon too (what a moronic habit that is while we're on the subject).

#MiddleClassInternetWarriors

JDX Gold badge

If Google can earn more money by releasing a more useful product, good for them. Even if those two facts are happy accident rather than cause and effect.

'F-CK YOU GOOGLE+' ukelele missy scoops BIG WAD of $$ - for Google

JDX Gold badge

"For forcing us to use the social network no one wants to use" you mean?

It's quite possible this kind of tactic will get people using Google+, it's an entirely legitimate way to build critical mass on the platform. FaceBook remains king of social by inertia and crowd effects only.

JDX Gold badge

A single sign-on which *requires* you to provide your full name

Back in the good old days, telling someone your name was considered rather normal.

Internet Explorer 11 for Win7 bods: Soz, no HTML5 fun for you

JDX Gold badge

Re: Basically, another bloody version

Though I was mistaken above, IE10 is different in Metro and Desktop mode already so it's already 2 versions (at least).

JDX Gold badge

@Kristian

Ah, I didn't realise they had decided to build Flash into the browser in that way - thanks for correcting. In that case we're left with the API possibility.

JDX Gold badge

HTML5-DRM isn't a killer feature until everyone stops supporting Flash/Silverlight and relies on HTML5. I can't see that happening very soon so to most users this isn't a reason to dump IE - only when lack of HTML5-DRM is an issue will they do that.

JDX Gold badge

@Tom 38

You seem to have forgotten how to read, or at least chose not to before responding to what I wrote.

JDX Gold badge

The only reason I can think of for this (other than bullying) is that all W7 PCs are assumed to have Flash, whereas Flash isn't allowed in IE in metro-mode on W8 (plugins are only allowed in the desktop version of IE in W8).

Star Wars VII set for Xmas release. Ho, ho, ho... not THIS Christmas

JDX Gold badge

Re: Oh noes...

IV, V and VI were nothing special. Time - same message to those still campaigning for FireFly S2 - to get over it.

Google 'fesses up: Yup, we're KILLING OFF IE9 support for Gmail, Apps

JDX Gold badge

Re: So when they say dropping support..

Presumably it just means they cease any formal testing on IE9. It might work on IE9 - it probably will - but they don't care if it doesn't.

I mean, gmail works on the experimental browser in my Kindle e-reader and they sure as heck don't test it on that browser!

JDX Gold badge

Microsoft: Just so you know, we'll be ceasing support for this OS in 7 years.

Google: Oh didn't you notice? We stopped supporting your OS last week.

JDX Gold badge

Re: "You WILL use CHROME!!"

Ah yes, Robin Hood wasn't a criminal because he stole from nasty people.

Oooh! My NAUGHTY SKIRT keeps riding up! Hello, INTERNET EXPLORER

JDX Gold badge

Re: Inori is close, but not quite...

Are you Japanese? Do you know how marketing and advertising work in Japanese culture?

McDonalds ponders in-store 3D printing for Happy Meal toys

JDX Gold badge

Re: Nothing but a story

Yeah, 3D printing has reached the end of the road, it's not going to get faster and cheaper in the next 5-10 years at all.

JDX Gold badge

Re: I agree with Sir Wiggum

So Star Trek was pointing to McDonalds then? This would be a great idea... printing burgers from vat-grown meat without a surly teenager spitting in them.

Fury as OS X Mavericks users FORCED to sync contact books with iCloud

JDX Gold badge

Re: Are there any non-evil computer companies left?

Well since proprietary/closed-source software and walled gardens aren't inherently evil, your question makes no sense.

JDX Gold badge

Re: Nanny knows best

Perhaps you should look up the meaning of the word shill. The whole point of Apple users is they support Apple without Apple NEEDING shills.

Facebook gives THUMBS DOWN to its OWN design makeover

JDX Gold badge

Unless you're a web-developer, there's no reason you'd know how this stuff typically works. Most FB users aren't web developers so your statement makes no sense, it's just nerd snobbery.

JDX Gold badge

Localisation

Is it a good idea to use text-buttons when most FaceBook users don't speak English as their first language? Or does FB offer localised versions of their buttons?

Google's Nexus 5: Best smartphone bang for your buck. There, we said it

JDX Gold badge

"90% of what's needed"

Did you mean "90% of what's on offer in gimmick-filled phones" or "90% of what's needed". Because if it doesn't do 100% of what I need it's of little use!

'Last EVER REAL Nokia' phone heads for Verizon, leaky pic-spurt reveals

JDX Gold badge

Don't these giant corporate sales generally take ages to actually go through... e.g. the news reports "MS has bought Skype" but it has to go through regulatory procedures and so on. Has MS already bought Nokia... if not do we know when it will be finalised?

iPad 4 is so OVER: 5 times as many fanbois now using iPad Air - survey

JDX Gold badge

Re: I suppose...

>>Let's hope they are ready for the three-times-the-cost investment they'll have to make so they can edit Powerpoint documents...

Um, the value of work done in 5 hours could easily pay for the difference in cost in a single flight, certainly a return trip. I work freelance and if I can work on a long flight or train ride, that's several hundred pounds earned as well as making the time go by faster.

'It's a joke!' ... Bill Gates slams Mark Zuckerberg's web-for-the-poor dream

JDX Gold badge

What's the point of surviving malaria if you can't benefit from technology

Well all the developed countries got to that position without the internet, so I'll wager if we cure malaria et al, it is possible to then provide education even without GoogleBalloons.

iPad Air peels off in racy pics for wide-eyed geeks, reveals 'worst battery ever

JDX Gold badge

Re: The point is

Fixit were able to take it apart, that means any number of people running little kiosks and shops can do the same. The fixit guys aren't magicians... and they presumably only tried on one unit. Someone running a business of replacing your battery will do this hundreds of times and get VERY good at it.

JDX Gold badge

Re: Is there anybody who approves of this?

The question is not "is making it hard to repair a bad thing" but "do the gains of making it this hard to repair outweigh the problems".

It's not my specialist subject, but could they make the thing as light, slim and resilient using more accessible fastenings (i.e. screws and stuff)?

Mars defends: HUMANS to SEND UFO to Red Planet by 2016

JDX Gold badge

re:Can I be the first to vote Piers Morgan on

No because the 'nauts have to be smart and capable enough to deal with the mission... the plan is those selected will undergo numerous years of intensive training in everything from medicine to gardening.

Google's new Glass: Now with audio connection INSIDE the SKULL

JDX Gold badge

Re: There are so many ...

I don't know, but we were saying the same of smartphones and then touch-screen phones, and now we all have them.

JDX Gold badge

Style is subjective. Even in the same time and same city, widely disparate things are seen as stylish by different groups.

I don't see them being stupid looking as many want to claim... to me they look exactly like what we've been seeing in SciFi for decades. To many, bringing SciFi into the real world is cool.

In a few years nobody will look twice.

FREEZE, GLASSHOLE! California cops bust Google Glass driver

JDX Gold badge

Re: hah hah hah

Hipsters care what they look like...

Gasp! Twitter displays pictures in main feed as IPO looms

JDX Gold badge

Re: request to el reg

Yeah, and the colour red. Having to read it on a computer screen is rather a strain too, couldn't you make the site black & white and arrange to sent printed copies around, perhaps on a weekly basis?

JDX Gold badge

Picture size

If there are restrictions so you can't post massive images, I don't see this being a bad new feature. Having to click on links is annoying and shortened URLs are never trustworthy.

It'll make a twitter version of 4chan much more possible too :)

Reg mobile correspondent Bill Ray hangs up his Vulture hat

JDX Gold badge

Re: The title is too long.

It is a nice idea in theory, I remember reading "A Christmas Carol" and seeing which sections others had highlighted. But I wouldn't normally stop reading to add notes unless I was reading for study rather than pleasure.

Naughty Flash Player BURIED ALIVE in OS X Mavericks Safari sandbox

JDX Gold badge

Re: Interesting idea. When a user program crashes don't let it crash *others*

>>That's pretty much a ground up principle for mainframes and I thought most *nixes.

Then please explain why Linux webservers can become inaccessible, even via SSH, if something goes wrong with an application.