Posts by Andrew Lobban
39 posts • joined Friday 11th June 2010 10:23 GMT
Re: They didn't give their kids the password...that's the whole point of the law suit
Quite right, although just in case you weren't aware, you can disable in-app purchases completely in the IOS settings menu now, as well as require the password immediately every time(rather than the 15 minute default), think it was added with iOS6.
Re: The in app purchases are insanely priced
Couldn't agree more. Many of the kids games are clearly designed to exploit the 15 minute window after a parent has entered the password and handed the device back to their child. Constant friendly looking popups that kids press with no appreciation of the consequences.
I've pointed out to quite a few of my friends with children that they should switch of 'in app purchases' in the iOS settings to avoid any surprises.
To be fair to Apple in the UK, one of said friends (before i got to her!) got stung for £69.99 by smurfs village. One e-mail to Apple support and the money was instantly refunded along with a nice email about how to adjust the settings. Doubt you would get that a second time though, responsibility is definitely yours at that point i assume.
iWatch
Perhaps the iWatch that we have been hearing about could simplify the process. Digging around in my pocket to get my phone out is not much less hassle than getting my wallet out. A watch, nicely synced to the phone that never leaves my pocket is much easier to swipe, almost no effort at all in fact. Would be one good use for such an 'extension device' like this rumored watch.
Video
Still available at
http://www.androidauthority.com/chromebook-pixel-video-154370/
@ Bill the Sys Admin
I've often thought that Apple would have already done this as well.
For example, if i receive a facetime call, whether the caller has called, in my case, 1 of 4 possible email addresses or my mobile number, i can answer that call on my mobile, my laptop or my ipad. It works flawlessly. If that was also the case with normal voice calls, what a brilliant service that would be. Google voice, as you say works on that principle but as i live in the UK I've never tried it.
Presumably the network operators would never allow this as Apple (or whoever) would suddenly control video calling (Facetime), texting (iMessage) and normal voice calls. Effectively all you would need from the network operators is a data allowance and they wouldn't like that.
Where is Orange in the mobile provider list? I know they are now officially EE, but that wasn't the case for most of 2012 and not many will have 4G contracts yet so cant vote for the EE 4G option. As a result i had to skip this as orange are the standout provider in my area.
So they drop status as a premium reseller and lose some big clients as a result, this effected profits. Who'd have thought it eh! Bugger all to do with Apple as no doubt the clients are purchasing from a different supplier now. Headline got me in though...
Re: I agree gmail sucks now.
Have posted this before but thought you may find it useful.
Like you, I don't like the images in the gmail interface either, there is a solution though. Go to settings and about half way down there is a 'button labels' option, set it to 'text' and everything is much clearer :)
Posted in Review: Apple Mac Mini 2012
Re: Quality?
The update from Apple to fix the HDMI issue was released today. Just fire up the Mac App Store and download.
Whilst the best part of half a biliion dollars over 5 years is indeed chickenfeed to a company like Apple, most of the executive team will be not far behind. I wonder what the total wage bill for the VP and above staff is on a yearly basis.
Apple are not exactly alone here either, every major company, tech or otherwise offer similar extreme pay and bonuses at the executive level. I can understand the creation of extreme wealth when selling a company or floating one that is owned by a small number of people. But to pay a salary that is effective tens of millions a year is surely not justified.
As a 'normal' person who works damn hard for what would be considered a slightly above average salary here in the UK, its difficult to understand what could possibly merit such extreme salaries. I guess it's one of those things thats got out of hand over a long time. I doubt very much that company boards want to give away such enormous amounts of company profit, but if they don't pay it then someone else will pinch your CEO and all their knowledge, vicious circle thats got completely out of hand??
The ad has been shown on TV as well, I've seen it a few times. Not once did i think i should rush to my car and drive like an idiot.
Seriously 2 complaints is all it takes for a totally innocuous advert to be banned. What the hell has happened to us, I mean seriously..... words fail me.
Re: Pricing
If you buy the 64GB version in the UK, you are paying £180 or ~$288 for 48 GB of RAM, £50 between the 16, 32 and 64 GB versions is more than enough difference considering the very small additional component cost. Surely this pricing model can't last.
Posted in Apple iPad Mini 8in tablet review
Re: The screen
Technology moves forward, always has, always will.
You are of course Inferring that Apple deliberately leave out features so they can add them in the next revision, of course you a right, no disagreement on that.
I'm not convinced its the case here though. If Apple wish to sustain battery life at current levels, there is simply not enough room in the iPad mini's case to achieve that, they would need to find a way to fit in the battery that currently lives in the full size iPad. Of course Apple may accept a drop in battery life for the extra sales a retina mini would no doubt bring.
Posted in Apple iPad Mini 8in tablet review
The screen
It seemed obvious that this was the resolution Apple would choose for this sized device. The device is too small to support the battery power required by Apples retina display so battery life would have been horrible, it would have also added to the cost. As there are many 100's of thousands of apps that support 1024 x 768 screens it was inevitable that they would choose this resolution, rather than introduce a new, not compatible one.
Having played with the device in the local Apple store, the screen, while not as nice as a retina one on the full size ipad, is lovely, perfectly useable and you'll soon forget about the lower res, if you even cared in the first place.
Device specifications, while important, do not matter to the general public and these days, have little or no bearing on the user experience. I do wish it was £50 cheaper though, it really would be a no brainer then, as I've posted before though, with the iPod touch pricing as it is, the iPad mini was never going to be under £250.
Hardly surprising that although still increasing their subscriber base, they are doing so by smaller amounts each quarter. With over 10 million subscribers and approximately 26 million households in the UK, they can't be far off a dish on 50% of properties. With just about everyone who wants sky, already having it, its the ARPU thats important and the continued push for broadband take-up that are the key factors for continued company health.
Re: What are those things?
Yes, those 6 black enclosures hold the battery. High res screens need a lot of power, this 13" retina battery has an extra 10.5 watt-hours (74 instead of 63.5) compared to the non-retina 13".
Posted in Apple unsheathes MacBook 13-incher
Re: price comparisons
Yes, you have to add the tax which is different in each state. If you take that US price and convert it straight to £'s, at todays exchange rate it gives a cost of £1375.95 but you have to add the VAT at 20% which then gives £1651.14. So on that particular example it would appear that in the UK we get shafted for an extra £200+. Of course import taxes are different in each country as well as distribution costs, and in general, almost all products carry a premium over US prices. Quite depressing really although many European countries are even worse off than in that regard than the UK. I'd be surprised if there was any substantial difference in actual profits per sale to Apple on a country basis, the prices reflect charges in that particular climate.
Pricing
Given the new iPod Touch starts at £249 in the UK and the iPad at £399 its difficult to see how an iPad mini would slot into the existing line-up and still be a competitive choice. Assuming it does exist then I cant see how it could sell for any less than £300 as a starting price, which frankly is too expensive to make sense. Maybe the iPod touch is on its way out at it'll be priced as an alternative to that. Hard to see it fitting in though.
Re: Lewis @Tom13
I happen to agree with virtually all of the points that Lewis makes in his climate articles, be he presents those articles in such a poor way that he just opens himself up for abuse and the valid points are lost/written off as a result.
Lewis
Articles like this are extremely interesting and this one was also well written, with none of your usual deliberately inflammatory remarks. Apply the same knowledgable and methodical approach to your other articles and your readership will most definitely rise as will your credibility, especially with your climate and nuclear articles. More of this please :)
Re: What's New?
I depends where you live. I am in a relatively small (3-4000 pop) village. I know the postie well and he often signs the delivery for me and leaves the parcel somewhere safe with a note through the door to tell me he's done that. He does the same for everyone I know and i suspect everyone that he delivers too. Now in my mind, thats a great service. Although I fully accept that this is not possible in large citys and probably totally against the rules.
Posted in Apple MacBook Air 13in review
@steve78
There are many great features about mac laptops that I love but you are spot on with the trackpad comment. That is obviously your main means of interacting with the device and every single non Apple trackpad I have personally tried hasn't even come close to the muti touch pads used on macs. Worth the premium alone in my opinion.
Sigh
I'm all for amusing articles about phones from all makers, but what a load of shite this one was. Whether you are an apple fan or not surely all agree that this was worse than a non story.
I know that anything with iPhone in the title is click bait and filling said article with deliberately provocative tripe will get the comments rolling in and hopefully someone might click on an ad or two, but for fuck sake please stop this crap. The Register used to be witty, critical and an often unmissable lunch hour read. Now, and especially in the last few months, it's worse than your average gossip mag. I need a new source of intelligent, critical and witty IT news...
Posted in Fans rap Apple's 'crap' Map app
Shockingly bad.
I've been using the betas (for development) for a few months and the map app has been utterly terrible since it was first available. I assumed it wasn't finished and would be updated properly before general release. Oh how wrong i was, it doesn't even qualify as a second rate replacement for google's map app, satellite resolution is crap everywhere around me and the locations are simply inaccurate. Its actually unbelievable that it has been deemed worthy of release. As others have said, download google earth until the problem is solved, hopefully soon.
Re: Disappointing
I still use a Nikon D40 SLR with a 'measly 6MP sensor. I have a number of lenses for different situations. I can guarantee you that any images I produce will easily be considerably better than any camera phone currently on the market. MP does not equal quality.
5%
To be fair, if Apple have 5% of the LTE patents then i'd hardly class that as hoarding. What percentage do Nokia have, Samsung, Google, Microsoft etc.
Also, how the hell can there be 6000 patents on LTE?! Surely that should be a standard and not patentable at all??
@Paul
I don't like the images either, there is a solution though. Go to settings and about half way down there is a 'button labels' option, set it to 'text' and everything is much clearer :)
Re: This has to stop.
This does indeed have to stop, however make no mistake, each company is a bad as the other. Whether you are an Apple fan, a Google/Hardware partner fan or simply a technology fan, these bans on hardware and software features are bad for the consumer.
Its the system that needs changed though, as any company in their right mind will use the system to protect their own bottom line and customer base. How to fix the system? Thats the million dollar question.
Re: wow, I've got one!
the charger that comes with the new iPad is 10 watts, 5.1 volts and 2.1 amps. Anything less will obviously charge the device more slowly, especially if in use at the same time. I dont know whether more volts/amps allows the device to take charge faster. As for charging times, it's simple maths and there are millions of posts about it all over the web.
Re: wow, I've got one!
I agree that the charging on the new iPad is a pain in the ass. However its a hell of a powerful machine and I think users have to psychologically get over charging portable devices with a USB or other low power socket (i.e. car cigarette sockets).
You wouldn't try to charge a high end laptop from a USB port and with the new iPad thats precisely what you are trying to do if you take that approach.
Posted in HD glitch for Apple TV punters
Re: ...that would seriously inconvenience a Sky subscriber. Can you?
I had hoped to do this with Netflix, I was very excited about the prospect of ditching sky. However (and everyones viewing is different) for me Netflix is nowhere near a replacement for subscription tv. No current tv series, no current movies, no sport. Great if you are happy with lesser and slightly older moveis and great if you don't want to watch the current series of anything and aren't interested in sport.....
Netflix has a long way to go, I personally hope they get there because while running the trial I have been very impressed with the quality of the streams and the service in general, unfortunately, as they say, content is king.
Posted in iOnRoad Augmented Driving
Words fail me!
This is not a good idea, this is the polar opposite of a good idea. Anything, and i do mean anything that gives reason to look away from the windscreen is a terrible idea. The concept of a hud to project speed and other small amounts of data onto the windscreen serves the very purpose of preventing you from having to glance down. This is not integrated enough, neat enough or useful enough to be anything more than a distraction.
Sorry officer i hit the back of your car, because my phone failed to warn me quickly enough that i was too close...
Icon because it kind of looks like the front of a car, a car that id dangerous because the driver is watching a video of whats going on ahead rather than simply looking out the much larger and clearer windscreen!
bleed?
I ain't got time to bleed!
Posted in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Its tedious for sure, but that's why we have a 'mute' option.
Posted in Googlenet runs on '900,000 servers'
Remember
Data centres use power for things other than servers. Cooling/lighting/security systems etc
The game is a joke
I was waiting for patch 1.06 to see if it fixed the problems. It hasn't, the main issue is terrible lag and fps issues. Unplayable.
Posted in Adobe reignites Flash on iOS
sigh at the title
Don't be a moron. To say flash is used in annoying ways much of the time is one thing, to say developers who work with flash are unskilled simply shows you off as the bandwagon jumping (anon) idiot that you are.
Posted in Dell Streak causes user fury
No!
Maybe, just maybe, most people have actual lives to be getting on with. If I spent time reading in detail as you describe about all my devices I'd have no time to do anything else. Expecting things to just work is exactly how it should be! Why the hell would I want to delve into the inner workings of a bloody phone, I want to use it to get things done/enjoy it! Raise you're expectations a bit a maybe companies will stop release broken products/software.
Posted in Adobe debuts What Jobs Hates™ v10.1
Yes the DLM is crap..
and often doesn't work at all. You can get the standalone installers halfway down the page at
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/191/tn_19166.html
