* Posts by schnide

70 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Feb 2011

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Android is a mess and needs sprucing up, admits chief

schnide
FAIL

"Android today is like Microsoft's Windows 3.1 was twenty years ago. Nobody loves it."

What is this crap? Plenty of people love it, and I'm one of them. Android is fantastic, and gives me far more usability and functionality than Apple and iOS could ever dream of.

The Big Debate: OK gloomsters, how can the music biz be FIXED?

schnide

Re: If you think art isn't work

Yes but no-one's pirating the pianist's or violinist's works are they? They put the effort in, they're presumably being rewarded for it. You may have a point somewhere but you have to compare like for like.

schnide
Megaphone

I disagree with virtually everything..

..that Orlowski said. These views are about how you reign the internet back in and make it conform to old models. The beauty of the internet is that it very much takes the greed-driven power of money out of things. It frees us from archaic business models such as that of the old record industry, which was happy to sell us overpriced CDs to feed its mansions and drug habits, and now complains when it can't do that anymore. Well you priced it too high, and people bit back.

Before you label me as some kind of communist or anarchist, no. That's not what I'm saying. I've pirated my fair share of music but I now subscribe to Spotify and buy digital albums - those appropriately priced - that I like. No, this doesn't and won't generate anywhere near the levels of cash that were going around before but that's the point. The music industry was bloated and its downfall was inevitable. Now, the internet democratises music and I hear bands and artists who I never would have before. If they receive enough support, from real music fans instead of who the labels decide to throw the most money at and force down our throats, then those people will earn a living from their art.

The views of this panel are outdated and the internet will do everything in its power to prove it.

Her Majesty's Secret Service opens a Q-Branch apprentice scheme

schnide

Re: Sometimes though

I'm not saying they always do, but in those fields I think they're pretty good indicators. I wouldn't say that two grade Cs at A-level (speaking as someone who got BBBC.. if you also include the virtually meaningless General Studies one) is a high enough bar for determining the people who are going to keep us safe from those who want to kill us in terrifically nasty ways.

schnide

"The young hopefuls need three A-levels, two at C or above in a science, maths or engineering subject to be considered."

Wow, are the barriers to entry that high? At least two Cs or above? Clearly they're attracting the best of the best here.

Windows 8: Never mind Office, it's for GAMING

schnide

"..and subsequently set the standard for interactive gaming with Kinect."

Complete tripe.

Error found in climate modelling: Too many droughts predicted

schnide

That I can't accurately predict what day I'm going to die on doesn't mean I'm not going to die.

Cockfighting Reg hack cursed with cancer

schnide
FAIL

To be fair..

..you are a bit of bell-end for promoting cock fighting in the previous article.

You basically seem like the Jeremy Clarkson of the IT world. And just to be clear, that really isn't a compliment.

O2's titsup network struggles to find its feet

schnide
FAIL

I think this may be PR speak..

..because I'm on O2 and was fine up until recently, and now mine's just died too without explanation!

Apple adds gay and lesbian icons to iOS 6 messaging

schnide
Facepalm

Re: They will need different lesbian graphics for the uk tho'

Because of course, not only can you instantly tell every gay woman just by looking, but all us heterosexual couples look like David Beckham and Giselle as well.

schnide
Facepalm

Re: My only question for the idiots against gay marriage is ...

"I have deep affection for my dogs, they live with me and have done for longer than most marriages last, there is mutual affection and support. Why can this not be a marriage? It isn't a marriage because it doesn't fall under the definition of the word "marriage". I have two dogs - I'm not polygamous."

Because one of your dogs is not able to enter into a mutual consensual agreement where you will devote the rest of your life to them above all others, including your other dog. I genuinely hope but doubt that helps you.

Carmageddon

schnide

I'm pretty sure..

..that these screenshots are from a variety of the Carmageddon games, and not all from the first one which in my opinion was easily and always the best. As another has already said, the first one had a goofy, care-free charm that valued senseless violence, stunt racing and exploration all equally. I really hope the new game being made captures this, although it may be that the first Carmageddon was so special because it really was the first -both in the series, and to do what it did so well in the new age of 3D gaming.

Small pile of cash, dying platform: 2011 is bad news for Nokia

schnide
Holmes

Nokia:

"In certain markets, there has been an acceleration of the anticipated trend towards lower-priced smartphones with specifications that are different from Symbian’s traditional strengths."

English:

"People are buying other phones, that are cheaper and better."

Vodafone manages to fight off £3bn tax bill, claws back cash paid

schnide
Megaphone

I think we were all trying to hit the 'Wow, what an amazing contribution to the world you made today when all those other options were available to you!' button - but just clicked 'Downvote' by mistake.

Dagenham council: Only language our tenants understand is SMS

schnide

The headline is a little misleading compared to the actual content of the article, non?

Potential ALIEN LIFE habitats FOUND ON MOONS

schnide

That's no moon.

Amazon’s shares slashed as profits drop 73%

schnide
Angel

I think that Amazon..

..have the best chance of anyone in taking on the iPad. I would guess that most people you see on the tube with an iPad don't want one because Apple are a technology company, or because it's especially amazing tech, but because it's supposedly cool. Apple have somehow managed to convince everyone they're not a technology company at all, which is why Samsung, Dell etc. will never be able to go for that cool factor - the latter's tablets are seen as a nerdy attempt at chasing the zeitgest and thus doomed to fail from the outset. Amazon aren't (primarily) a technology company, and have a surprisingly cool, laid-back image for what's essentially a giant catalogue store, which I'd say is partly why Kindle has also done well.

I think Kindle Fire could well be the perfect balance between the Kindle and the iPad. Time will tell.

Veggies tricked into dating meat-gobbling escorts

schnide

"I know of.."

Love it.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray disc set

schnide
Thumb Up

Here's a thought.

If it doesn't matter who shot first, there was no need for Lucas to change it. TA-DA!

British warming to NUKES after Fukushima meltdown

schnide

Er.

"So it may be back to the drawing board for Greens, who seem to have lost their Kryptonite: the ability to steer people towards policy goals by scaring them witless."

Because that's only the Greens that do that isn't it? Typical anti-Green bias. Let's keep consuming the planet people. It'll last forever. Or at least longer than we will, so that's alright isn't it?

Hey Commentards! [This title is optional]

schnide

I like not having to put a title if we don't want to..

..but I still think separate pages just to upvote and downvote a page is ridiculous, and discourages me from voting more than I do.

Great work on the changes you made though Reg, keep 'em coming :)

'Poems are the original text messages,' says Laureate

schnide
Headmaster

I would imagine..

..she means reading creative and expressive works less, rather than including:

"Carol Ann has gone to the shops!!!"

"Carol Ann likes El Reg"

"Carol Ann is drinking Sherry"

"OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE the new A A Gill book is well gud!"

..and other endless Facebook status updates. In which case she might well have a bit of a point.

Sorry - I know this isn't jumping on the bandwagon of slagging off the national female poet in residence.

Four months' porridge for 20-minute Facebook riot page

schnide
Meh

As Armando Iannucci rightly said..

..so they've arrested a few more people surrounding the NOTW. I expect them to send them through the courts double quick with a heavy sentence to set an example..

..or, maybe not?

schnide

Public for long enough..

..to warrant *four months* in jail?!

Snap said to show iPhone 5s being stacked by bunnies

schnide
Unhappy

Or maybe it's..

..a sad indictment of humanity that people, me included even though I plan to never own an Apple product, even care?

Scotland Yard Four cleared - on phone-hacking

schnide
Facepalm

What..

..an absolute pisstake. This is an embarrassment to all decent beat cops everywhere, especially in the wake of the riots.

NotW 'targeted' phone of Sarah Payne's mum

schnide
Megaphone

Unlike most of the stories in the NOTW..

..the phone hacking saga does not exist for your entertainment, but is actually real news. This goes to the very top - the Prime Minister, and the police. If it's moved on for the sake of something more exciting to you, it will be swept under the carpet, and nothing will change.

Not that it's an easy process as it is - anecdotally, I know far too many people who say "oh isn't it terrible they hacked a dead girl's phone? Still, it was right of the NOTW to close" while holding today's copy of The Sun, without a trace of irony or self-awareness.

Sorry, time travelers, you’re still just fiction

schnide
Pint

Allow me to sum it all up for you by now

You're just talking out of your arse at this point mate. Feel free to keep on saying the word 'strawman' though, I think everyone was really impressed!

schnide

Ohhhhh, so it's a joke..

..so do you tell black jokes about fried chicken? They're just jokes, right? Got any good Bernard Manning DVDs? You don't know whether anyone was offended by negative comments against the Chinese on here, and given how widely El Reg is read, it's more than possible.

But often the "it's just a joke" defence is wheeled out by people who can't or don't want to confront their own ignorant views.

schnide

I think it's pretty safe to say..

..that no-one was claiming it's a group of Yorkshiremen knocking out Harry Potter compilations DVD, Louis Ditton handbags and dodgy scientific research. I'm pretty sure whatever blanket assumptions were being made it's on the basis of the producers being Chinese as well as being in China - but please correct me if I'm wrong.

schnide
FAIL

Er, I think they did..

..with the second commentor taking it further - the latter of who I think I was replying to anyway.

And to answer your question.. absolutely nothing.

schnide

That's not my understanding.

My understanding is that racialism is making a distinction between people based on race, whereas racism is doing so with negative connotations.

Either way, it doesn't really matter because the point remains that some people (not all - it is so convenient to generalise, after all) are still following the formula that because this research was Chinese, it must be of lower worth, because fake products come out of China, therefore everything that comes out of China is fake. Which is clearly wrong.

schnide

It's pretty racist to suggest..

..that because fake products come out of China, anything that comes out of China will be fake. Tarring everyone with the same negative brush because they belong to the same race as a minority who may share a trait. That's pretty much racism right there.

Survey scams exploit Winehouse's death, Oslo massacre

schnide

Hmm, well..

Capable of making her change course..? Ultimately, I think it was down to her. No-one forced her to become a crack addict, and it's not like she didn't have people around her who tried to get her clean (although I'm sure she had at least as much opposition in the other direction).

LulzSec says it will partner with media on Murdoch emails

schnide

Because if they did and don't release it..

..then that would somewhat contradict their various statements about how they don't fear the authorities AND are just doing it for teh lulz.

I think either way, it's a real shame that they couldn't have been more responsible with the powers at their disposal, but maybe that's just default by the very nature of their existence. I just hope that if they do have something on NI, then they DO finally learn some responsibility with that, and it only helps bring those responsible for wrongdoing - whoever or wherever they may be - to justice.

GOLDENBALLSUP! Beckham website defaced

schnide
FAIL

Then you shouldn't be attacking her..

..for what she is on the outside. You twat.

schnide

Congratulations..

..to everyone who's so far managed a riff on "Victoria's ugly!"

Hilarious, mature, inventive and really brave too.

/sarcasm

MS to launch R2-D2 Xbox 360 and Kinect

schnide

I was surprised by this preview..

..because everything else I've read says that the game in its current state is horrible - unresponsive and unimaginative. Even the E3 preview showed the player had touched the floor and completed another move after the character had begun to respond to the jump that was physically made.

ANONYMOUS: Behind the mask, inside the Hivemind

schnide
Meh

Perhaps there's some deep, deep irony..

..rather than idiocy in your comment that I'm just not smart enough for.

schnide

No, because..

..there's a difference between 'belonging to' and 'hiding behind'.

schnide

Right..

..so basically, it's a big umbrella for people to hide behind.

Anti-censorship Radiohead tap into online Chinese market

schnide
Megaphone

As a Radiohead fan..

..I sincerely hope that the truth is in Bernard M. Orwell's assessment, and not Graham 30's.

Ballmer leaves investors speechless in Seattle

schnide

"There's a reason..

why we'll do almost $70bn in revenue this year and we'll make over $20, whatever, $26, $27bn in profits," he added.

Yes there is, but I'm too polite to say what it is.

Way to act professional Steve. I bet this has really endured to you the audience at the time and the world who'll read about it afterwards.

Actor Simon Pegg warns over banking Trojan Twitter hack

schnide
Flame

Almost right

Except there haven't been any more decent Star Wars films lately for Pegg to rip off and ride the coat tails of unoriginality on, hence all the derivative movies.

Firing back at LulzSec

schnide

Please note..

"The attack comes a day after the arrest of an accused LulzSec member, and accusations that this week's breach of UK census data was by LulzSec, a claim the group denied."

BOTH of these things probably aren't true.

Facebook growth slows in stalkerbase heartlands

schnide
Angel

I took myself off it two months ago..

..and I feel like I've got part of my life back. Not that I spent hours on it, but it felt like there was part of me that had to maintain an online presence. Now, most of me is back firmly in the real world and I'm far happier that way.

'Great Reversal' as world's forests stage a comeback

schnide
Facepalm

Hi

It actually makes me feel a little bit dirty writing out a full and easy rational response to why you refuse to understand any arguments in the real world and prefer just calling people names, so let me respond in kind by saying you're an idiot.

Beeb's iPlayer dismisses radio show as 'b011ckxs'

schnide
Mushroom

Just to confirm for those in doubt..

..no, it isn't. I'm sure you're joking, but I think the one man who had more stones than anyone to protest against the Iraq War deserves a little more respect than to be compared to a wino.

Biodegradable products are often worse for the planet

schnide
Mushroom

The key part for me is..

"..biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly WHEN DISPOSED IN LANDFILLS."

Well then let's not dispose of them in landfills and stop this ridiculous idea that persisting with what we've got already is the best way? If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got. And we haven't got it that good right now.

El Reg, you rock, but please stop with the endless eco-bashing.

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