Posts by Dave 126
2725 posts • joined Wednesday 21st July 2010 13:57 GMT
Page:
Anna- Given that Apple gear has never been released under the Foxconn brand, how the hell can be Apple be said to be 'rebranding' it?
Confused
>the first in a series of four sci-fi shooters, for an Xbox 360 exclusive release in autumn 2013
Based on the overall sales of the first game... ...The bonus would be paid between 2010 and 2013 if the studio meets certain quality and budget milestones.
Err.... my assumption is that there are different bonuses here, and that the article was written in a state of excitement leading to some ambiguity. Either that or Activision have a time machine.
Posted in Will Nvidia 'n' pals pwn future gaming?
Re: Meh
Re point 2)
Seems a valid concern to me. However, many ISPs already exclude HD iPlayer from their fair usage policy - ie you can only download, say, 4 GB between 5pm and 9pm, but watch unlimited BBC video... whether this is comparable (do ISPs have their own buffers of popular VOD?) I don't know.
Posted in Will Nvidia 'n' pals pwn future gaming?
Re: How does Onlive figure into this?
Onlive is probably what was being referred to as '1st gen cloud', I would imagine.
Posted in Will Nvidia 'n' pals pwn future gaming?
Re: Console monkeys will be getting owned by their keyboard and mouse wielding PC gamer overlords
You jumped straight from Ker-Plunk to next-gen consoles? Wow! You've got some catching up to do... : D
But yeah, good point- all this does require good connections. However, that is the situation I'm in. I only play one game, Halo Reach, with a scratched disc (well done MS, remember to include rubber grommits in your optical drives next time!) that refuses to load the single-player campaign- as a result, it is only good for online multiplayer games.
Posted in Audi proposes PC-packing stunt bikes
Re: Secure
What was that William Gibson novel about bike couriers? Their pushbikes had a capacitor-based security system that electrocuted thieves...
But yeah, security is one of the main barriers to bicycle adoption. I've seen it written that in the States employers have to either provide a secure area for bikes or else allow you to carry them into the building. That would get more people on bikes than f%^£ing idiotic token-effort cycle lanes.
Posted in Audi proposes PC-packing stunt bikes
Audi have made mountain bikes before...
...as have Porsche. They are never great, and never chosen for competition AFIK.
However, bike companies have making some of their product ranges complex, expensive, proprietary and hard to maintain all by themselves. Sometimes it results in a better cheap product after several years. And in many ways it describes the history of mountain bikes, especially if you look at early suspension models - there were so many different (if often comprised) solutions it was crazy. Only the first-adopters paid for the evolutionary dead-ends, so the rest of us weren't put out.
In the early nineties, Mercdedes had a better approach- take somebody else's mountain bike (a Foes Fab Weasel with AMP forks) and make a nice case for it that goes on the boot of the cars you sell.
This Audi doesn't appeal, though. If you have to drape digital tech over it, a chorded-keyboard on the handlebars would be nice... where better to have good thoughts worth jotting down than on a pootle across the hills?
Re: Critical Path
Latency is already an issue with multiplayer First Person Shooters... I don't know enough to guess if a cloud-run multiplayer game would be better or worse overall, though.
Superkings.
That should do it.
Re: downvoted
Heck, if showing enthusiasm for a cheap-and-probably-cheerful gadget on a tech-site forum gets frowned upon, I don't know what's going on : D
I don't doubt that a fair few buyers will have have a play with it and then consign it to the drawer of yesterdays toys, but even if the pleasure is mostly in the anticipation it has got people thinking about what they might do with it. And that seems a good thing to me, even if most people don't use it make their own motion-tracking paintball turret gun.
Similarly, Tripath-based class D audio amplifiers... it's not so much that that people think they are the best amps in the world, but just that they sound good and only cost £20, so any shortcoming are more easily overlooked. And you get to make your own case for them too!
Re: Funny how a £16 Linux computer becomes £30.87 at RS...
I can't work out why 'It'sa Mea... Mario' has been downvoted. His comment was purely factual, save for his 'hoorah'. Really.
Maybe some Sega fans have survived in some isolated South American valley....
Posted in Txt-speak is a sign of humanity 4 U
Re: Qwerty
Genius! You could make a styles that lives as a sheet against the back of the phone, and rolls into a stylus when peeled off.
Posted in Hands on with the Motorola Razr Maxx
I'm a hypocrite
because I carry a small phone and a large compact camera (an LX-5) most places. Camera fits in jacket pocket fine, phone battery lasts days. I don't use phone as a PMP because I don't feel an overwhelming need to watch movies on the trot - I'm not a user of public transport - and when I want tunes to walk to the pub with I have a USB stick style MP3 player that normally lives plugged into my car stereo (Mass Storage Class). Fats Waller.
GPS? Don't use it that often, the UK ain't that big a place and our roadsigns are mostly good - but I have it if I need it. Failing that, most peoples cars are big enough to accommodate a road atlas- mine is. As to my location - all the clues can be found from road signs and position of the sun.
Internet access? Wiki is useful for settling pub arguments (the same rationale that led the Guinness Brewing Co to make a Book of Records), but really, not used so often as to justify £500 and bulging trousers.
Media playback? Shit, who do I know who doesn't have a PVR, PS3 or Media Thingy under their telly? Hell, even if I had a DVD at home I wanted to watch at my friends house, it's easier to just stream it from [ take your pick of dodgy sites ]. At least then we're not treated to "YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR WOULD YOU?!!" adverts.
Mobile gaming? Get something with joysticks FFS. Nintendo's Game and Watch for example. Or a Sega Gamegear. Or pick up a newspaper and do the crossword.
Social networking? See pub. Purpose of phone? To see what pub friends are in. In pub is friends, crossword, bar billiard table, exact location and, if you're a --------- a TV
-end drunken luddite rant
Posted in Txt-speak is a sign of humanity 4 U
Mice helped by software.
>' remember the ridiculous Logitech NuLOOQ, anyone?'
Logitech ceased supporting it and offered refunds or discounts against the 3D Connexion SpaceNavigator (no surprise, it's a Logitech company). The SpaceNavigator isn't designed to replace the mouse, but supplement it, and is very well supported in the 3D CAD sector.
Though to be honest, a normal mouse with a scroll wheel and a few extra buttons (to modify mouse movement from cursor-move to view-rotate) handles 3D navigation efficiently enough for me, but I'm sure that others find 3-axis pan, tilt and rotate dead handy.
Mice are good, but why are 'pie menus' so rare outside of CAD apps and games? After all, they are quick, accurate, easy to learn because the options are graphically represented, and easy to retain due to muscle memory. Also, they work as well for WIMPs as they do for touch-based UIs...
And on similar note, why do "Are you sure you want to.. ?" dialogue never appear anywhere near my cursor? Almost all software is guilty is this.
>'The search giant's forays outside its core market [search] haven’t gone so well'
Really? I thought Gmail was fairly popular.
Re: Oh, yeah?
Correct. He was once asked whether the next iPod after the iPod Photo would play video. His response: "Yeah sure, and it will also make toast"
Re: Big screens
For the Galaxy Note, Samsung could make the stylus and Bluetooth headset one unit. If all these bloomin smart phones have HDMI output, then having the stylus/headset function as a media remote would also be handy.
(Waiting for someone to make a phone-connected watch that doesn't look too pants... if only because it would help me locate my phone more easily).
Re: I hope it's no more than 4 inches
We all have different preferences, and would choose different compromises between screen size and ease of keeping it in a pocket. Heck, we have different tastes in trousers, have different size pockets and and differently sized hands. (mine is for a cheap 3.2" screened mobile that slips in pocket, but can give me basic internet if I really need it... my opinion is amenable to change, however)
Curious, though: If 4:3 (16:12) is your ideal ratio, why then do you prefer 16:9 over 16:10? It isn't Friday yet! ; D
Re: Were they french?
you beat me to it, B^$%*£^!
Can this be done at App level?
Can Android / iOS require a password for some apps to be run? Rather than filter at the ISP level, it seems easier to have a specific kiddie browser that only allows access to white-listed websites. (That's if it is your phone that they are playing with, of course. If it is a phone in the child's hands for extended periods of time, they would quickly circumvent that kind of lock...)
Re: The filters are very OTT
I don't know if this is a related issue to yours, but whilst I can read TheRegister on an Orange phone with Java Opera Mini, I can't usually read the forums... I'm now trying to remember if I was connected through WiFi on those rare occasions the phone has let me read the comments page.
Oh hell, I do hope they don't procreate...
Surely they have to brag about their security a bit? Like banks, they have to reassure their customers that they have taken some precautionary measures.
Shirly...
... any terrorists or warlords operating in these countries just ignore ITAR and use encryption when they chose to, regardless? If I were a murdering terrorlord, I wouldn't lose sleep about violating some distant ruling.
>Are we testing whether El Reg has the equivalent of a community ban?
Possibly. Either that or we're just trying to summon back Sarah Bee, much like a cargo-cult.
Posted in Is there life after ads for St Zuck?
It seems that Facebook is fundamentally opposed to the interests of the user... I just don't see what it is that they do to add value, other than provide a infrastructure. The cost of developing and maintaining said infrastructure is tiny compared to FB's supposed value, and if each FB user were to chip in a quid the developers of alternative system could be handsomely rewarded (per hour) and the remainder go to charity. It is only the users and the information that users have voluntarily given FB that gives it any financial value at all.
The idea that FB might make money out of telephony (when the user would want mobile network operators to act as 'dumb pipes' and Arthur C Clarke's dream of almost free -as in beer- worldwide communication to become reality) is almost offensive.
@AC > 'Facebook is full of self centred unimportant boring people'
WTF? Amongst my friends and acquaintances self-centred people are the minority, but any healthy (real-life) social group contains a variety of souls. Unimportant? If your real-life friends who are on FB are unimportant to you, then you have some hard thinking to do. Some people might use FB to post their pettiest thoughts, some just use it (as I do) as a messaging system.
I genuinely give all respect to my friends who don't have a FB account, but knocking the average person doesn't make you cool.
Posted in Sony outs 1080p skinny laptops
Re: Looks like....
Yeah, you woulda thought that the rise of the fondle slab would liberate laptops from being mere content consumption devices... Oh well.
Bloody good point... pubs replace glasses through replacement of breakages... but will continue to be buying their beer from brewers in traditional units that are relevant to the purpose. A nine gallon cask can be lifted by one reasonably built person, an eighteen requires two, but is easily to load onto the dray by yourself if you use a skid.
Re: Arrogant Tosser
I wonder who built his house, or installed his toilet. The elite?
>No, mate, you're just fooling yourself. You're just comfortable with imperial measurements because you've always used them, not because they have some kind of mystical "rightness".
No he's not. Most of the objects around us can be described in imperial units in just a couple of digits... take peoples height for example... 6'2". Two figures. Metric distance for objects around us usually result in more digits.
The reason? Imperial units were based on body parts. Imperial is a unit on a human scale, and is very good for mental estimates. You can then measure (when greater accuracy is required) and calculate (without faffing with bases) in millimeters (ISO) or meters (SI).
There is also the matter of prouct standardisation from the days when the UK and US were manufacturing powerhouses... take plumbing or bicycles, for example.
Re: bravo
Yep, I estimate distance in inches. I then measure and calculate in (milli)meters. Works for me.
I'll have a 60,000th of a brontosaurus* of your Best Bitter, please barman!
*rough estimate, should be same order of magnitude...
Re: Cars in.... Both...
Indeed, a lot of trades / substances have their units
Re: Finally !
Whereas in the UK its the other way around... remember Ali G asking an MP if children should 'deal in ounces and quarters?'
Re: The 'mercans seem to be doing OK with feet, inches and funny sizes gallons.
>So people really can't count in anything other than base 10?
Seems strange that multiples of inches are 12 to the foot, but fractions are 'thou' thousandths of an inch...
Re: metrically literate elite?
Homer Simpson, on declaring the virtues of Springfield
"...And we were the first town in the country to reject the metric system!"
Re: so....
Have a system image created daily*. Boot from recovery media, go make a cup of coffee and look out of the window for a quarter hour...
*have a virus scan run before the image creation, otherwise Windows Backup will refuse to create it: - but only after most of the way through the process.
Re: Whats new?
Aye, I remember a supposedly uninstalled copy of Norton that blocked access to Hotmail... Bloody thing came with the PC. Thank, HP!
Re: responsible?!
Its more responsible than having people walk away from the bar with a drink in each hand. Since it takes time for alcohol to be absorbed into your system, downing two drinks in quick succession is more likely to make people stupidly drunk than taking a ten minute break between bevvies.
Re: Sir
Semen Sans Heavy?
Let them run the advert. It doesn't look like it would attract women (and thus men) to the club, so it will prove to be its own penalty.
Still, nice to see that they have taken a more responsible approach to the traditional BOGOF drinks promotion... I would have thought that ASA could have given them credit for that.
Posted in Sony outs 1080p skinny laptops
If El Reg was in the habit of linking to the source material...
you would probably find a wealth of images from different angles. Sony do seem to release models with matte screens, though.
Re the touch pad being left of screen centre, I find my arm swivels at the elbow, neatly taking my right hand from the keyboard to the touch pad. Even information displayed on screen usually has bias to the left (look at The Register, for example; only adverts live on the right, Windows Explorer displays lists of files with the file name on the left, many applications have their toolbars on the left...)
It's the lack of a middle button that drives me towards a mouse, though.
Posted in Sony outs 1080p skinny laptops
Re: Screen resolution
Yep, though there are already Vaio Z models shipping with higher-res screens. And with LightPeak connected external docks with Radeon GPUs, too, if your wallet is feeling too heavy.
Posted in Sony outs 1080p skinny laptops
Photos?
Probably computer-generated renders. No need to check for finger-prints or dust, no need to hire a photographer for the day, no need to maintain spotless white backdrops, perfect reflections on the logo...
Product variations (keyboard, but more commonly case colours) are easily generated, too.
Alternatives:
Carot Blanca, with Bugs Bunny, Pepe le Pou, and Yosemitie Sam. On Youtube.
Camille - from Series 4 of Red Dwarf. You paid your license fee, didn't you?
Re: @annodomini2 Before anyone says "here comes big brother"...
>"Speed doesn't inherently kill"
>Do they teach basic physics in school these days?
They do teach basic physics. Force is proportional to acceleration... did you not see the word 'inherently' included in the sentance? On the motorway, the things around you tend to have a lower relative speed to yourself than when you're pootling through town at 30mph.
Being ignorant of physics is one thing, but to incorrectly chastise others for the ignorance you yourself exhibit... tch
Re: BRILLIANT IDEA WOZ
@Ben Holmes
Ah, mate. For several days nobody had responded to Big Dumb Guy 55... We'll try and make sure you get the memo next time.
Peace.
Most people who are using, eg pirated Photoshop, aren't in a position to pay the full cost of the software. I'm not suggesting that Adobe should be a charity, but pirated Photoshop represents lost sales for companies other than Adobe who make more realistically priced products.
To continue with the same example, it can't hurt Adobe that PS is the de facto industry standard, and that many users will have learnt on pirated copies before joining a legitimate company. If you are going to pirate then money is no object- you aren't going to illegally download a competing image image editor just because it represents better value for money. People learn on PS, companies will buy it, circle repeats. Again, it's Adobe's competitors that loose out when Photoshop is pirated.
Many small digital imaging firms are crying out for things to make tax-deductible. It is because the companies who buy the software don't feel the full price that such software is so expensive in the first place.
Most pirates are men under 35? I would have thought that most people seeking employment in areas requiring pricey software are men under 35. Those over 35 are earning more and have their tax affairs in better order.
Posted in HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook
Re: Intel Graphics == No use to me
Alas, the 'Ultrabook' spec dictates a minimum amount of battery life, inside a case of limited dimensions. Putting in discrete graphics wouldn't help the manufacturers meet this spec (though I imagine battery life quoted would be with the discrete graphics turned off).
It seems that Intel have succeeded in getting enough 'brand awareness' behind Ultrabook that manufacturers are willing to leave out nVidia (and high res displays) in order to get the badge.
Posted in HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook
I'm really like the external audio volume control. When listening to streaming audio / podcasts, I often have the lid closed.
Compare to my Dell, where the volume controls are included in a row of touch sensitive buttons above the keyboard... hard to identify in low light, they only illuminate once I've pressed them. Hardly useful.
