* Posts by Hardcastle the ancient

274 publicly visible posts • joined 17 May 2011

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde: Fun, but not for all

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Pug Ugly

Yes, the current Alfas are appalling to look at, and not much fun to drive. Interior is foul too.

Intel teams up with rap chap 50 Cent on heartbeat headphones

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: I married one

I think I married her sister.

The Register editorial job ad

Hardcastle the ancient

Hmm.

You want me, but you can't afford me.

NSA man: 'Tell me about your Turkish connections'

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Two pub remarks

"America is the first country to have gone from barbarism to decadence without the usual intervening period of civilization." -- Oscar Wilde

What's it like using the LG G smartwatch and Android Wear? Let us tell YOU

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: I don't have a smartphone...

Only if you go round with a sim-equipped laptop switched on in your backpack. Since that's unlikely on at least two fronts, then no

USB charger is prime suspect in death of Australian woman

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: No exposed metal bit

The presence of 0.1mm of plastic does not constitute a perfect insulator. Ignoring dielectric effects, the material may very well break down at a few tens of volts, the voids between parts may be contaminated by moisture, and many plastics are loaded with carbon, either to make them nice and black, or to make them anti.static.

It's a Doddle: Amazon inks train station parcel deal with Network Rail

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: no revenue

a downvote? I can't fathom why. Here, have an upvote!

Firefighters deliver trapped student from GIANT GERMAN LADYPARTS

Hardcastle the ancient

That's very informative

I havn't "known" any German Ladies, but it appears that I would have a lot to re-learn if I did.

KA-BOOOM! Boffins blow up mountain to make way for telescope

Hardcastle the ancient

did they need to?

Was this absolutely essential? or just an unmissable opportunity to blow shit up?

Gartner deploys new converged-systems quadragon rankings

Hardcastle the ancient

throw rocks

I am sick and tired of finger-in-the-air futurology, especially by Gartner.

Why do journalists not go back to thier previous pronouncements and call them out on them?

Top 10 tech essentials for the festival season

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Kids today!

What is this "change of clothes" and "toothbrush" of which ye speak, strange person?

Amazon's not-actually-3D Fire: Bezos' cash register in YOUR pocket

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: I suspect Hudl Phone will beat it to the market, in the UK

Not heard much about the Hudl. Did they make a 2nd batch?

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Good stuff

Presumably the single downvote was from a tax-evading shit?

THREE'S A CLOUD! Microsoft veep says only Azure, Amazon, Google can do hyper space

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Exacloud

Didn't Fred Hoyle write a novel about that?

Former Azzurri project manager who stole £1.3m ordered to pay back £146k

Hardcastle the ancient

"or face 6 years' porridge"

Or? Or? Do criminals get to chose their punishment now?

TV scraper Aereo pulled off air in six US states after tellyco court injunction victory

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Crucial difference

> Why don't we say "mouses" or "hice"?

you can if you want. I just tried it.

Nokia may consider merging with Juniper: report

Hardcastle the ancient

Juniper

As a victim user of Juniper products much loved by $MEGACORP, I would advise Nokia to get back to the Welly Boot and Tree Felling businesses.

Office Online rises from ashes of 'confusing' Office Web Apps

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: LibreOffice

>LibreOffice doesn't have a web-based version equivalent to Office Online.

No. True. But There is always https://www.rollapp.com/launch/lowriter - etc - they are actually pretty good.

Microsoft slaps fresh paint on code-free Windows Phone dev tool

Hardcastle the ancient

Basic

All those thousands of brits programming in their bedrooms on BBC basic, the availability of Icon, Perl, Python etc on any platform, and now? Glossy pamphletware. shrug. ignore.

Come on lads, make a nice sandbox that people can programme in using some modern interpretted language and let us have some fun!

Private pain: Dell layoff bloodbath to hit over 15,000 staffers – insiders

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Hmmm.

You are lucky. The great unwashed are treated like supplicants at the throne, to be kicked or thrown to the pit of serpents as whim dictates.

Analyst says Brit rail broadband plan is TRAIN CRAZY

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Don't want it

Why would anyone downvote this? does someone think you are lying when you say you don't want it?

Last friday I was on the train from Edinburgh south, talking to a bloke who used to be a KGB colonel, who now exports flowers from Russia. The week before we had an impromptu bridge tournament between 4 tables. (I lost).

Big blue Avatar movie spawns THREE SEQUELS

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Jar sodding Jar sodding Binks?

.die.die.die.die ?

New Ubuntu for phones due 'by end of May' – usable this time

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

me!

I want one!

Thongs of praise: Slip on Japan's skimpy mobe knickers

Hardcastle the ancient
Coat

I see what they did

It adds a whole new dimension to 'talking out of yer arse'

Global nappy hawker trials TweetPee moist-baby monitor

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

Re: Yes, that will work well.

Nah. Don't wait, start now. You know you want to.

Notebook sales to surge, says notebook seller

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Tell you what, Ray

6A - Bidirectional video, so I can use the screen as a monitor on summat else. It's all defined on the connectors. Do it.

Review: HP Spectre XT TouchSmart

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Screen res

this one is x1080, but as someone said up there^ 1080 is not enough when we have tablets at far better resolutions. And x1080 is a kick in the nuts at 1200 quid.

Yes, for the last few years we have been treated like mugs by the makers who have been using cheap TV screens in expensive computers. Expensive for someone, anywa. I've not bought one.

I'm very tempted by some of the chrombook/nexus hardware, and am thinking of putting Linux on them if that works.

Meanwhile how about an Android dongler for yer tv? I discovered this morning that by using a FWSE for "hdmi android adaptor tv" there are dozens of 60 or 70 quid things out there that will turn yer TV into a giant tablet-like thingy, needing only a wireless mouse.

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

Re: Linux again

I think all reviewers, not just here but magazines as well should always do this.

BRITISH BIGFOOT ON LOOSE in Tunbridge Wells

Hardcastle the ancient
Boffin

Oh?

Is it just another 'Spring Heeled Jack' phenonemon? Mass delusion, good story for the pub, bit of excitement sort of thing?

Why shouldn't people believe it? They are preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse.

I think it has escaped from a bizzare secret government genetic laboratory somewhere in the woods.

Microsoft-Motorola patent row: Google wants $4 BEELLION a year

Hardcastle the ancient

Godwin? are you sure?

I thought Stalin cancelled Hitler, leaving a null result?

Hardcastle the ancient

subtle

re-used posting makes clever link to other story. Snide.

Apple's profits fetish could spell its DOOM

Hardcastle the ancient

I'd buy most of those.

I like the mirror idea a lot.

But the rfid dust idea, with time-to-die, is genius. We have been hearing a lot lately about how useless passwords are. The idea to just be your identity just by being there is terrific.

Cash-strapped Comet sheds ANOTHER 735 staff

Hardcastle the ancient
FAIL

Re: Down side

Why has some idiot downvoted an expression uf sympathy with the victims?

UK digital terrestrial TV turns 14 today

Hardcastle the ancient

Yes, I had a phillips integrated digital telly, which had no epg 'cos onDigital hadn't written, or at least, air-loaded it. When the reciever chased me for return of the box and I told him to naff off, they wrote back asking for the subsidy they had paid Philips. I tore up the letter and sent it back in halves. They never replied again.

New Microsoft Windows chief 'shocked' by Sinofsky defenestration

Hardcastle the ancient

Can I just say

as a life-long advocate of jobs for women in engineering, I am delighted to see her take a position of such responsibility. Regardless of what I think about the company. Good for her!

Sony KD-84X9005 84in ultra-HD TV review

Hardcastle the ancient
FAIL

Re: Will it ever be cheap?

Ignoring any subscription, 25,000 royal portraits is something like 950 average price tickets to the RSC in stratford, or 1250 ringside seats at Giffords Circus, 431 of the poshest seats at the Edinburgh Tattoo, 500 return flights to Budapest. or 135 nights in the Lukimbi Safari Lodge in the Krueger national park. Or 4 Triumph Bonneville Steve McQueen Special edition. There are many more interesting things to spend your money on than 'casualty' or 'the X factor'.

Adding more pixels won't make 'Dallas' into 'Henry V'. Especially as the chance of anyone offering those pixels is slim.

Won't be many of these in Tesco.

Android, heal thyself

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Down

@AC 9:42 "impossible to make an operating system secure by design"

>impossible to make an operating system secure by design

Oh really? what other technique would you suggest? magic? bribery? barbed wire? wishful thinking?

Dyson alleges spy stole 'leccy motor secrets for Bosch

Hardcastle the ancient
Happy

Re: Henry

Best Vac. I've ever bought.

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: I can't say

Kirby: 1930s design, 1940s build quality, 1960s pressure marketing

4G: Bad coverage, crap battery life - but at least it's really expensive

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Non-metroplitan

Aye. It would be nice to get any signal at all when I visit customers on the Fens.

America mounts attempt to top the Register's world record spaceflight

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Down

Half hearted

Have they got a vaguely suggestive name? A lego figure in the pilot's seat?

Not really trying.

Lenovo IdeaPad U410 14in Ultrabook review

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

Re: Novatech

and they will sell it to you without an OS!

Samsung ships two smartphones for every one Apple sells

Hardcastle the ancient

For certain values of "1"

Gaping network port with easy-to-guess password? You ARE the 79%

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Get attacks at SSH all the time...

I don't have any ports open normally.

I have a server script that polls an email account, and I can email a few special passcodes to that, one of which tells it to open a non-standard port for ssh for half an hour. The passcode is date-sensitive, and the whole package pgp encoded before emailing. It emails me on a wholly separate system before opening the port.

Other messages to that email account tell it to start recording TV shows. 20 years back it had a minature printer, and could leave mini-telex messages for Hardcastle the skirtwearer, before we started using text messages.

New Mac mini: Business in the front, party at the back

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

Ergonomics Vs Appearance

I'd quite like a front mounted USB, as having to grovel round the back, or having an extension cable, rather spoils the neat visual effect.

But I reckon I'm going to get one of these for Hardcastle the student.

Microsoft has no plans for a second Windows 7 Service Pack

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Wankers

I am now running Mint Debian rolling updated, and have tried several desktops. I am still fond of Enlightenment. Hardcaste the skirtwearer perferes LXFE, so it all works for us.

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: I let them know.

Me too

European Space Agency to launch exoplanet-spotter

Hardcastle the ancient
Thumb Up

Grin

Word seach - like it!

The hoarder's dilemma, or 'Why can't I throw anything away?'

Hardcastle the ancient
Coat

I win

I still have a telex to RS232 adaptor

Fujitsu beams URLs to mobes through your TV

Hardcastle the ancient

Re: Or maybe not bother at all.

Ah. You might have me there. I didn't bother about what device it was.

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