Invisible cars?

There are a lot of people who drive grey or silver cars on the motorway in poor light or in misty conditions and refuse to turn on their headlights on... Not completely invisible, but pretty damned close!

Re: It is our duty to donate :-)

Ah, I always wondered what the 'limp and floppy' mode of my joystick was for! No sniggering at the back, it's a Gravis Analogue.

Re: @dz-015 - Multiplayer game based on Elite?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0x10c

From the creator if Minecraft, it is claimed that this as yet unreleased game 0x10c was inspired by Elite. 0x10c is the game in which the player's ship is controlled by a fully-functioning virtualised 16 bit CPU that they can program- this I find especially interesting after reading some of the comments below about Elite's Docking Computer being a bit slow. The game is set to feature combat, trading, engineering and mining, amongst other things.

I'm not saying that it is Elite, but only that it seems based on the same spirit, and may have the potential to compete for some of the same players.

Disclosure: I haven't played Elite, I tried to play Frontier but couldn't get it working on my 286. Can't remember why.

Re: Gak!

Out of curiosity, at the time you completed Halo CE on the PC, what was your favourite PC FPS? Personally, I'd played most of the games in this slideshow before Halo came out, and I liked Halo for the 'heavy' feeling of the protaganist (but appreciate some prefer faster movement), the balanced choice of weapons, instant access to grenades, being able to melee without switching weapon, being able to play with mates on the same machine, the vehicles, the plot, only being able to carry two weapons and not having to scroll through a list, and regenerating health- cos limping around on 11% health waiting to die, a la Doom, is no fun at all.

I have no doubt that each of these elements had been done before, but in Halo they were put together well. But as you say, tastes are subjective.

Re: Rise of the triad!!1!

Did I read somewhere that they're re-making Rise of The Triad? I only played the demo of the original, but it had some ridiculous cheat codes... SHROOMS!

Re: re:Probably for its deformable terrain

>deformable terrain

Something I was given the impression Halo 2 would deliver, but didn't. I would like to see deformable terrain in a FPS, but I can only imagine it would be hard to calculate and co-ordinate for a multiplayer session. If anyone knows for sure the reason, please let us know!

Re: is that wolfenstein 3D?

Possibly from one of the later non-shareware episodes. Likewise, the screenshot from Doom shows the final boss from the final episode, which wasn't shareware.

Re: glowing review ignoring reality

>Nothing to lose?

>There isn’t an Apple store near where I work so I’ll have to go at the weekend.

Point taken, time is precious. That said, near where I live several shops sell both iPads and their Android equivalents. Your argument could be turned on its head: Should your good lady wife already have it in her head to drag you into John Lewis to look at shoes, you might find yourself with ten minutes to spend prodding things in the electronics department. Also, how does she expect you to buy her a Christmas present if you're not allowed into town by yourself? nudge nudge wink wink

Should you choose to buy your tablet over the internet, we in the UK are covered by the Distance Selling regulations- you can try it, and return it if you don't like it.

Re: @Philippe / Captain

I do have sympathy for those with gift cards... but we've been here before with other retailers, and I've never seen the advantage of giving someone a gift card for any specific store and thus narrowing their choice.

That said, I can't see Amazon (or John Lewis if bricks and mortar is your style) going tits-up in a hurry.

Re: 5th Nov@Lee Dowling

As Winston Churchill once said "I apologise in advance for this long speech; I didn't have time to write a short one"

Or...

Just give them to the kids and see what they make of them... My money would be on a massive LAN party using OS and games of dubious legitimacy, but who knows.

Re: Clutter

My suggestion for a clutter competition was picked up?! Heck, I missed that! Right, got camera...

Re: Why don't they just stop playing around..

I'd guess that people who use NoScript are more likely to be already aware of the court's ruling than the population at large.

Thumbs up for recommending NoScript, though.

Re: glowing review ignoring reality

>glowing review ignoring reality

The last paragraph of the review was endorsing reality, real hands-on reality; to paraphrase: 'Go to shop and have a play with a demo unit before making your own mind up'. It seems to me that the potential tablet buyer has nothing to lose by taking that advice. And how knows, maybe the trip out of the house will take you near a branch of Comet having a closing down sale...

Re: Even better with enhanced graphics...

I'm just trying to remember how many floppy disks X-Wing came on... lots of fun!

Re: Smuggling will get easier.

>Then you add the fact that 'fully equipped' cinemas now film everyone entering and throughout the showing

Urgh! That doesn't bode well for the teenage rite of snogging in the back row... it sounds a little voyeuristic!

Re: Jason Hindle Couple of $$$?

I really hate seeing the word 'only' when used in cinema food kiosks and service station cafeterias, amongst other places... "A bacon roll and cup of tea ONLY £6.99!"

"F&^4 OFF!"

Re: No need for the average consumer

>Same idiots that insist on valves sounding "better", I warrant.

Only those 'valve fans' are a self-selecting group, the test audience for 48fps cinema (self-correction, I had said 60fps in my previous post... but 48fps is more sensible as it is easier to downsample to 24fps) were film reviewers. Most of their feedback was negative, but it might not have been a fair test because a, the post-production and colour grading was not finished, and b, Jackson notes that it takes a while to for a viewer to 'settle in' to 48fps and the test footage was only ten minutes long.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/hobbit-48-fps-reaction/

Valves aren't inherently 'fuzzy', they can sound very clean and 'fast'. They do prefer to be left on, though. 30 seconds warm up before an evening's listening is acceptable for some, but I for one would probably go for the convenience of a solid-state solution if given a choice.

Similarly, vinyl: I have some albums on both vinyl and CD.. the low end on the vinyl can sound much more 'tangible'. However, music is commercially available at 24bit 96kHz+ (compared to CD's 16bit 44.1 kHz) and the equipment to play it back is not that much compared to a lot of hi-fi kit. A fair few sound cards, DACs and AV receivers already can.

Re: A Positive Review?

>Surely the end is nigh.

Not only that, but MS have gone back, rewritten and polished the OS, rather than try and introduce new 'features' and ways of working. Finally they've got the right idea. Cats and dogs living together etc.

Re: You folks don't get it

Anything that keeps teenagers out of the cinema is a good thing for the rest of us movie-goers!

Joking aside, I'd be surprised if the average age of cinema audiences hasn't fallen, since older people with a job now have a large TV, Blu-Ray and a respectable sound system at home, if they wish. There will be no kids rustling crisp packets, they can pause the film for toilet breaks, and have a cigarette if they so choose.

That said, some films really do benefit from going to the cinema amongst our fellow humans. There's a point in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance which could be either taken as horrific or blackly comic- our audience went with the latter. It helped that it was an independent cinema that didn't make you feel exploited and cheap as soon as you walked in the door. It serves good beer at reasonable prices, rather than crap sweets at an extortionate prices.

Re: Horizontal from vertical

>Just marketing trickery?

Not as much as that 'HD Ready' bollocks. At least 4K is roughly 4 x the resolution of 1080p.

Re: No need for the average consumer

Well, they're beginning to film movies at higher frame rates. Curiously, test screenings of footage from The Hobbit at 60 fps were given mixed reviews... apparently, without the flicker it didn't look very 'cinema-like'.

Re: What...

The iPad doesn't have any spark plugs! But seriously, its covered by at least a two year guarantee as a condition of being sold in the EU, and the only 'repairs' that can realistically be made to this class of device are swapping out dead components for new ones... you'd have to be very skilful to repair an issue on the main PCB, and good luck getting hold of a spare CPU.

I'd be interested in seeing how many of these things do fail between years 2 and 4 of use, just so an even handed cost / benefit analysis can be made of allowing the enthusiastic repairman have a go.

Or..

>So part of Apple's R&D budget is weeding out spies?

Whilst at the same time giving new engineers practice on something that isn't crucial, yet might just yield some data that is useful in the future. Not every avenue that people research is expected to be immediately useful- that's why its called research.

Re: tenuous, headline-driven, bad logic...?

>Where does it say that the % spend on R&D has to rise in line with profits every year?

It doesn't. It's easier to ramp up production - and thus profits - than it is to suddenly spend more on R&D.

'Design' as 'form engineering' takes man-hours and resources to research and develop, just as a new car or microprocessor does.

Re: Bad idea

@AC, even if it did work for you (and you're right, having variety of input options can only reduce the risk of RSI) it would have to work for the majority of users for Apple to consider it. Otherwise it would add cost and confusion for many, for the benefit of just a minority of users.

Personally, I'm surprised not to have seen integration between the iPad and iMac, so the the tablet can be used to control iMac software- 'creativity' applications such as Photoshop would benefit from it, if only to move toolbars off the main workspace. Without being an expert, I would assume that it would be easier for Apple to pull this off, as they have full control of the hardware and OS. It would give the iPad a USP over rival products.

Still, why does this analyst think he knows the answers? To suggest that a pricey, limited supply Retina Panel be fitted to all Macs is just daft. It will come to the whole range when they are cheaper and and available in greater volumes.

It got Apple rated first place amongst retailers in Which? magazine's survey of its users. That sort of image is worth holding on to.

Other highly regarded retailers in this survey were John Lewis and Richer Sounds.

Re: Drag & Drop

>I'm genuinely interested to find out why people like drag & drop

Because it works across a range of OSs (depending on device connection mode) and I'm used to it. I appreciate that there are some advantages to using a music library if all the ID3 tags are in good order, but I'm not interested in knowing how many times I've played an individual track. Just dragging whole albums (folders) across at once has always served me well.

My new Android phone doesn't support MSC ( MSC = 'looks like a memory stick') so it my mate's Mac requires Sony software to talk to it. Copying a film (a boot leg Pink Floyd concert) takes ages.

I know that I haven't made the strongest case for drag 'n' drop, I just don't require the clever tricks that MTP 'media device mode' allows.

Re: Fix the real issue

>Fix the real issue

>educate the users

Some users can't be arsed to invest the time. They would rather pay a premium and not have to worry about it. I guess it depends on how much they value their time verses their money- this varies wildly depending upon how much they earn.

There is room for both outlooks- instigate a walled garden, but allow users to leave it if they know what they are doing and take responsibility for their actions.

An easy step for Google to implement:

Allow searches of apps to be filtered by permissions.

Re: Abacus.

There was a programme on Radio 4 this week about Japanese arithmetic competitions, and the culture around maths in general (favourite sums displayed outside Shinto temples, for example). Quite eye-opening, and staggering the feats these people can do in their heads.

On the subject of BBC output, there was an hour long programme about Tutte and Flowers on BBC 4 (TV) on Sunday evening. Both are still available on iPlayer. Flowers, who built Colossus, attended an 'Introduction to IT' course when he was 87 and received a certificate to say he could perform simple tasks on a PC.

Oh heck, OT, whilst I'm plugging radio and TV shows, this programme is about how Rupert Murdoch set up a company to reverse engineer his pay-TV competitor's systems, making piracy rife: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/pirating-pay-tv/4339420

Re: Ok, very nice but...

Exactly. I'm just glad that these units are priced beyond the reach of most kids. Scary stuff.

Re: i want one

Laser-powered vehicle launch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtH-SxqdtaA (launch is at 1 mintue 50 seconds).

It reaches a height of 233 feet. The point is that the power source / fuel stays on the ground.

Re: £238?

The price we've seen in the article is the suggested price, and you're comparing to what something else 'can be had for'.

The real retail price of many products is usually lower, and often gets lower still during its time on the market, than its suggested at launch. As always, people will compare the speed, features, warranty etc against the price as and when they're ready to buy one.

Re: I hope they enjoy it while they can

> I can't help feeling that the laptop makers will start building their x86 laptops with a detachable screen and ARM chippery.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by x86 laptops using ARM chips, unless you mean as a secondary system, i.e, boot into a low power ARM environment for checking emails or browsing, or boot into full fat x86 Windows for when you're nearer a power socket.

I agree with what I think is your general point- this distinction between what we now call laptops and what we now call tablets will become ever fuzzier.

Re: Lord Brunel Resurrection!

>Lord Brunel Resurrection!

A reanimated Isambard Kingdom Brunel! Right, that's my Halloween outfit sorted. I was going to go as Jimmy Saville, but at least I can recycle the cigar!

>Good dictation on tablets is the future, it's better than virtual keypads.l

In some circumstances. I tend to use more for searches such as "cinema listings Cardiff" rather than "coque au vin recipe", sort of second-guessing what it will find easier to understand. My accent is fairly close to received pronunciation, so I can imagine dictation only getting for me, but it might not for everybody.

Hmm... has anyone got around to proposing a phone case incorporating a chorded keyboard on Kickstarter yet? That would seem to be a good mobile typing solution. Hell, fairly easy to prototype, too...

Re: There's two sides to every story.

>We've heard Tim Cock's. Now let's hear Forstall's.

Whilst he's looking for a new job, he won't want to be seen slagging off his former employer, even if he does have cause.

Re: No, it isn't..

I'm not sure you can judge all his work by one lemon squeezer.. Though Starck is towards the 'form' end of the spectrum - the commission that made his name was interior furnishings for the French presidential palace- the bags he design for Samsonite were excellent. I especially like the shoulder straps that were on seat-belt style spools, so wouldn't catch on door handles when the bag was carried by its handle.

I wasn't keen on those mice he designed for MS, though. His Lacie HDD enclosures are alright, if you like that soft of thing.

Re: Does that mean decent Marine Nav software exists for OS X ???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(yacht):

"However, [the yacht] Hyperion is famous primarily for her owner, silicon valley entrepreneur Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics and Netscape, who built the yacht with the aim of replacing all conventional ship board electronics with an array of integrated, touch screen computers.

At the time of launch, all systems aboard the yacht including engines and sailing systems, environmental systems, lighting, HVAC and entertainment were controlled by a network of 30 customized Silicon Graphics computers and 22 LCD touch screens at various locations throughout the yacht."

I do appreciate that OSX isn't IRIX, but if one billionaire can get UNIX-like navigation software together, there is no reason why another shouldn't.

Re: God that thing is ugly

I'm no naval engineer, but I'm confident the people who built it know better than some commentards whether it is 'fit for purpose'. Their previous clients include Roman Abromovich, Paul Allen, a Brunei prince, the Ford family and many more, some having made repeat orders over the decades.

I don't know how someone can think for a moment that by just looking at a photo they know better than the people who make these things for a living, and have made the calculations and performed the tests.

By all means comment on its appearance, but to knock other professionals about whose trade you know little is just discourteous and makes you look a bit daft.

Re: No, it isn't..

What it might have looked like if Starck had had free reign:

http://www.1designperday.com/2009/08/08/3-creative-yachts-designs-by-starck-more/

I can only assume that Starck had responsibility for some of the interior fittings and decor, though not on the bridge judging from the photos. Maybe photos of his contribution haven't been released to smack him on the wrist for disclosing his involvement earlier in the year?

Re: Yuks

You do get different alloys of aluminium. Bicycle frames are usually 6xxx or 7xxx series alloy, boats usually use 5xxx series, and tensile strength reductions in 10-year sea-water corrosion tests of 1.62mm thick bare sheet specimens are only 2 to 5%.

I haven't read it, but thank you for drawing it my attention. Prior to your post, the earliest story I knew of along these lines was Arthur C Clarke's Dial F for Frankenstein (1964) in which the worldwide telephone exchange network becomes so complicated that it develops conciousness, published eighteen years after A Logic Named Joe. Cheers!

The theme of emergent intelligence is revisited by Alfred Bester in a 1975 novel The Computer Connection, a.k.a Extro (its okay, but do read Bester's The Stars My Destination first, it's absolutely superb). Many of my generation are perhaps more familiar with William Gibson's Neuromancer or the Japanese animation The Ghost in the Shell.

Isaac Asimov of course explored ideas around asking computers questions in a series of stories about computer called Multivac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multivac) from 1955 onwards, including The Last Question (1956). He didn't, IIRC, mention prostitutes... that's more of a Brian Aldiss thing.

Re: Warning, warning

In a week in which we have nothing but James Bond gadget articles, you want to encourage The Reg to cover Mission Impossible gear?

Re: Where's the Nokia slab?

Purpley-blue? I couldn't see it. I must get my monitor calibrated!

d'oh! I've just remembered I use a program called F.Lux to alter my screen's white balance according to the time of day. It's good, and lessens Chromes 'white flash of eye death' between web pages, but obviously does nothing for colour accuracy- though it can be toggled.

Nice touch on the belt and braces colour descriptions though!