Posts by Dave 126

Re: The Law is an Ass

Oh Homer! Note the way that Frumious Bandersnatch replied to you courteously, and expanded upon what Godwin's Law means - he did not call you a Nazi, a crypto fascist, an idiot - not indeed did he make any ad hominem attack on you.

What really stifles meaningful debate is when people start comparing each others to Nazis and the whole conversation breaks down. It was that sort of argument that Godwin was seeking highlight way back when.

Re: Godwin not applicable here

On Sunday night John Oliver said that Trump's reluctance to condemn them was a 'reverse Godwin's Law' - in that the last person to mention Nazis in the debate loses by default.

Re: So why are they on Kickstarter?

> Because people are gullible, companies have no risk and Kickstarter makes money.

What's the issue? The person who puts money down is less likely to lose out if the company has successfully brought products to market before are only waiting for enough (demonstrated!) market demand before tooling up for production.

Heck, you only have to read these forums to be aware of products that people *say* they want... Psion-style keyboards on phones, for example. It's only waiting for people to put their money where their mouths are.

Re: What they currently use on the ISS:

That's a very interesting link you've posted, thank you. However, I didn't spot any mention of the Thinkpads being modified, bar for a different power supply on on model. They were, especially the earlier ones, subjected to a little of testing.

So it's much the same as the UK then, even if differently worded. If it's legal to use a knife in a legitimate sporting activity such as fishing, then it must be legal to carry the knife to the site of the activity - though a policeman will see that you're playing the game by keeping it in a bag and not readily accessible in a pocket.

Basically, a backpacker with a modest Victorinox in their kit will be fine in Spain. A 'Crocodile Dundee' will be hard to justify.

> Don't come to Spain then. Penknives -or any other sort of knife carried in public- are now illegal.

Can you supply a link about this? I can't find any mention of it online (admittedly only looking in English). One assumes that carrying a knife in a city centre is a no no (unless it's buried in one's rucksack), but carrying a sensibly-sized knife on a camping or fishing trip would be fine.

Re: Most used function

That's just [redacted]... he shouts about everything. I don't know if it's related to his work for Microsoft, or for the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury.

Re: Wrong end up

I would start with a traditional analogue hand watch, and, if I were Apple, use some of those micro perforating lasers (that they use on their keyboards) to create near invisible (when not lit) LEDs on the face. I used to have a Sony phone that used a single RGB LED module to communicate lots of useful things (battery and charge status, plus different colours for different types of notification. Strangely, my Nexus 5 has a similar module but Google don't put it to its best use…)

Tissot, too, have shown for years how different types of information (time, temperature, direction, altitude) can be displayed using a conventional analogue watch face.

I don't dislike Pebble (their industrial design is too modest and honest to actively dislike), but I'd prefer something that didn't look so 'tech'.

I don't think Apple consider the watch a success - they consider it a place-holder, a foot in the door. Battery life is just too big a compromise at the moment, but as silicon becomes more efficient (as it always has done so far), and if some breakthrough in battery tech is developed... they'll be there. I remember that GSM mobile phones were around for almost a decade before they were adopted by the masses - the price and form factor had to shrink.

Still, the traditional watch world thinks Apple did a fucking superb job on the strap attachment mechanism.

You've given an honest use-case, and by the sounds of it have identified differences twixt the concept and the implementation.

It also sounds like the watch you tried fell between two stools. Either go simple - analogue face with simple notifications and long battery life - or go big and activity specific, like a bulky Garmin or Casio. They have GPS (and probably altimeter, barometer etc) are suitable for cycling and trekking. They are a bit big to be worn everyday though.

The first 'wearable' I saw and had described to me was over twenty years ago, by a mountain biker in his forties. It was a strap around the chest heart rate monitor - made by Polaris?. Being a teenager, the concept of 'training' was odd to me - my mates and I just went for rides all the time. He did explain something about the difference in resting and active heart rates being a quantifiable measure of one's fitness - but I was seventeen and thus fit by default: my smoking would take another decade to really impact upon my stamina.

On the technology front, the old boy did have some lovely forks fitted to his bike, made by AMP - they weren't telescopic, they were parallogram in design, and carbon fibre too. Fitted to a titanium frame. Nice.

Re: Never understood the point

> but it sure is nice to be able to start the water with the back of your grimy or raw-meat-handling hands

I saw a great thing in France. A tap is operated by a rod at knee height. Push the rod in any direction and water flows. No need to touch anything with with dirty hands. Simple, the epitome of good design.

> looking at a watch for something like the time etc. is stupid when you could just look at the phone

Seriously? Do a time and motion study on it and get back to us.

Looking at a watch is a quick and easy operation that doesn't involve fumbling in your pocket and possibly dislodging plastic fivers, dropping your phone or having it snatched off you by some acid-wielding twat on a moped.

> I concur — Apple need to support Android with the Watch

I suspect that the function of sales volumes and margin are not worth it for Apple. A Venn diagram of people interested in the Watch has big overlap with those who already have an iPhone. Chasing the remaining small areas will only cause them more work for less reward, and send out the wrong message.

Re: Wot!

The Reg tends to be snarky about Apple on news articles and rumours. When actually reviewing Apple kit they are even-handed.

Re: £658 for a smart watch?

£658 is the price of the cheapest iPhone *plus* the price of the cheapest full size Apple Watch.

Re: Most used function

If I walked around town singing that I'd look like a nutter. Or, if in Stroud, be mistaken for a native.

Re: Most used function

I used to have a small 38mm watch - best feature was the rotating bezel, perfect for setting a time to check the oven or returning to carpark before the ticket runs out.

Re: Wrong end up

I would go more modest, if I were Apple: make something simple and discreet that usefully extends the function of the iPhone. KISS. So, page my phone, control media, mute ringtone... A full colour display is not needed to display a notification alert, or even give walking navigation directions.

I use my watch to tell the time. But yeah, it does look nice in an understated way.

But if you have your alarm clock, dashboard clock, office click or computer desktop with clock in front of your eyes most hours of the day, I can appreciate why you don't need a watch.

Fumbling in a pocket to dig out a phone to tell the time is step backwards, though.

Re: Method?

> Search Register forums for "kinda" and multiple uses of commas, separating individual words. All caps, but light use. Possible jokes, and similar timestamps.

Again, that describes many of *my* posts, but the above AC wasn't me.

(Sometimes I *x* when I can't be arsed to x)

Re: "he shall ever ever know it"

Many of my posts contain examples of points 1 to 6, as above. I'm not the above AC though!

Re: I see a market here

> The problem is that in doing so it will make it unreadable so no one would be interested in what you are going to say anyway.

Yep, that'd be a problem for activists and political figures, less so for criminals.

E.g: "if you shoot T. Hancock of 23 Railway Cuttings East Cheam I will deposit 3 BTC in your wallet".

Shit, if the hitman had a webform (like Amazon) instead of an email address, the would less scope still for idiosyncratic language.

Re: Writing style seems unlikely to personally identify you

> Out of the whole internet....no way.

In reality, other clues - such as your posts' time stamps as regards your likely timezone - could be used to rapidly shrink down the areas of t'web to be examined.

Re: translate Youtube comments into passable English on the fly

> The sheer processing grunt needed for such an operation does not exist and probably won't for another 1000 years

It depends upon what the input is. Sometimes we use language to describe something fairly objective, such as how to assemble a desk. Sometimes we might use seek to use language so formally, so free of ambiguity, that computers could follow our instructions. Or people with whom we have a business contract.

And at another point of the spectrum, we have poetry and jokes.

> could such technology be packaged as a browser plug-in, enabling the viewer to translate Youtube comments into passable English on the fly?

Doubtful. I think comments like "ur so gay you faggot" already tell us more than enough about the young cretin who wrote it.

Re: "by the size of his Micro Channel Adapter"

You can download a direct port of Dune II for Android for nowt... It lends itself well to tablets!

Re: Well it does solve the cable issue

More than half the surface area of the machine is exposed to air, which is comparable to a standard laptop.

The machine is lifted away from the user's back by the rucksack's padding. Personally I get on well with rucksacks with a suspended mesh against my back, but grooved padding is another tried and true approach to rucksack design. Curiously, stomping up a mountain carrying a dozen kilos can make you a bit warm too, so it's far from a new design consideration.