Posts by Spoddyhalfwit
122 posts • joined Friday 16th September 2011 16:00 GMT
Re: Good looking on Radio
You missed out Alan Partridge! Once voted the second sexiest radio presenter in the whole of Norwich.
What was Eadon's blog running when it got hacked?
Surely not windows?
Re: Not really fixing any of the problems
@nigel 11
"Linux solved that problem ages ago. When you log in you select the UI you prefer from a list of those installed on your system. If your UI of preference isn't on the list and you have admin access to your machine, you download and install the one you want. "
In fairness that is the case with windows 8... I didnt like Metro... One classic start menu download later and a little tinkering and I had a fully working desktop with a start menu.
My mum and dad both have Doro phones, which they like.
Unfortunately I still can't get ever get through to them because they always have their phones turned off... Only turning them on when they want to make a call. They just cant grasp that you can leave the phone on for hours or indeed days in case someone wants to ring you. So they need to have no Off button on this phone.
Wasnt Al Capone eventually jailed for tax evasion?
Isn't it conceivable that like Al Capone this guy has indulged in much criminality but this defacement is the only one at present where they have enough evidence for a conviction? Other charges may or may not follow as evidence is developed.
Posted in Bing uncloaks Klingon translator
Re: And how many people will use that?
You're forgetting the millions of those on the Klingon home world who have it as their first language.
Re: Not what I was waiting for
The 920 doesn't have xenon flash... I think that was only on the new 928.
Personally I've got quite into the wireless charging of the 920... Seems a backwards step to remove that.
Does look beautiful though!
Saudi is a pretty brutal dictatorship, as is the UAE.
But you won't find obama or Cameron talking about that, because they are OUR brutal dictators.
Cameron and Obama are currently helping the Saudis impose their particular brand of "freedom" on Syria... One has to feel sorry for the Syrians... It's out of the frying pan and into the fire, and they won't have us to condemn on their behalf when it's the Saudis bugging the communications and beating the living daylights out of them.
Does Amazon get to listen to all my calls?
They'll have to fight it out with Rupert Murdoch's boys.
The problem is that the US can only regulate transactions that happen in the US.
And with bitcoin, the whole point is that the transactions are virtual, and anonymous. If users choose to make it this way, its not possible to know who is exchanging currency and where they are located.
So the Feds can legislate all they like, its not going to have much effect.
Bitcoin is being driven by the failure of state currencies - the issuers of fiat paper can never resist the temptation to finance their overspending by printing ever more currency, until its worthless. They are the biggest factor driving bitcoin.
@Eadon
"I'd say that open source is better for non-geeks. If you let non-geeks loose on the internet with an Windows box, then they will get hosed within 20 minutes. Linux systems do not have that problem"
Oh but they do.
Linux is complicated, especially for the not so tech savvy.
For example I've seen Linux boxes get compromised because someone was having permissions issues with a website so did CHMOD 777 and opened it all up.
Is Linux inherently less secure? No, certainly not. The problem is users. On the desktop Linux is much less likely to get compromised because
1) most users are tech savvy
2) there are many fewer users, less fruitful to write malware to attack them.
But on servers its a different story, Linux ones are more likely to get hacked. Again its not because Linux isn't secure - its the old story of
1) clueless user actions
2) old software that hasn't been updated.
Use this in the pub and it can be only a matter of time until we see the first "google glassing".
@grahamdawson
"When I was a kid my dad owned a chip shop, until he lost his business to a combination of recession and a bypass killing half his trade"
That sounds like it must have been the most dangerous stretch of road in the world.
Posted in Rackspace fluffs .NET cloud support
@eadon
"windows PHB's"
Why the greengrocers' apostrophe?
EPIC EADON PUNCTUATION FAIL
Posted in Linux kernel 3.9 lands
Re: @1Rafayal
"Maybe some enterprising group will start handing out distros at the tube, train stations etc. That would get people thinking"
I think most people with the skills to use those would probably be aware of Linux already.
I tried Red Hat years ago and was surprised at how easy it was to install - since then I've installed Mint and Ubuntu and both were easy to install.
I think the big reason most people don't use Linux on the desktop is because they are largely happy with Windows. They like the fact that they are running the de facto standard, because as others have posted it means they have no problem using the programs they want to use. Its the same reason Windows Phone is going to struggle to gain market share - its not to do with the quality of the product (which has received good reviews), ultimately most people will stick with what they know unless they have a very pressing reason to change.
I thought Windows 8 might provide that reason, but looks like MS might be fixing the problems with that in a future release.
Posted in Linux kernel 3.9 lands
@harmony
My comment wasn't negative. Linux is great I'm glad it's there.
Eadon logic dictates that market share is all when it comes to windows phone. Applies different logic to desktop.
Facts are that Linux isn't breaking through on the desktop, and to me that is partly because of people like eadon.
Now when I pick up when kerb crawling in my hummer I'll know to leave the engine running.
Posted in Linux kernel 3.9 lands
@eadon "The Linux Desktop is cool, named after a god and mankind desperately wants to go there."
Let me fix that for you...
1.17% of mankind who use a desktop desperately wants to go there.
Posted in Review: Nokia Lumia 720
Re: Isn't it odd...
@Eadon
"The reality is that the Market (when it has a choice) loves Apple, loves Android, likes Blackberry and... it loathes phones with Windows 7 or Windows 8 on them."
And on the desktop/laptop the market apparently loves Windows. Which doesn't automatically mean Windows is great, or does it?
I've had a Lumia 920 for a month or so now. I have some gripes but on the whole its a great phone - looks great, easy to use, fast and responsive, stable (no crashes yet). In fact my biggest gripe is the lack of some major apps on it (eg iPlayer). But that isn't really a criticism of the OS itself is it? The same criticism could be levelled at your beloved Linux on the desktop (and again would be unfair).
Posted in Review: Nokia Lumia 720
Re: Crippled by the DORKY Windows 8 HORROR
@Eadon
"And the market happens to agree with me"
Does the market agree with you about Linux vs Windows?
No doubt Eadon will have his own take on it.
Lumia handsets seem to be shifting fairly well. The question is can they keep up the momentum and continue to ramp up sales.
something positive?
On trips to Boston it will be observed that recreation for a substantial number of the local residents includes attending bars that have overt support for people who planted bombs in British streets and pubs.
I'd like to think that if anything positive were to come from these bombings it would be that it might cause such behaviour to be frowned upon in Boston, but I doubt it.
Re: Eadon's late
He's probably still at his telnet port 80 prompt, constructing his post.
Re: Not paying for patents
Robert Long1
"This is a classic example of how these mediaeval instruments work to stifle innovation - companies that are small simply can't fight the court cases while the big established companies just write a cheque rather than challenge the ludicrous claims (Microsoft invented something? Don't make me laugh)."
I was under the impression that Google was a sizeable company with money in the bank. It could afford to fight these claims, but it hasn't. You can't blame Microsoft for that.
Posted in Amazon cloud gobbles Microsoft data
Re: Azure announcement - they managed to get it back online
Curious that the man who saw his parents murdered by Microsoft would cheer Amazon's support of what is no doubt an excellent and therefore widely adopted Microsoft technology
I guess all the comments here illustrate why so few PC manufacturers want to touch Linux.
Those pointing their fingers at some black helicopter mind control conspiracy headed by Darth Ballmer need to look a bit closer to home. I doubt with all this flack and vitriol posted here that Dell will be planning another such product anytime soon.
Re: Every so often a market develops around something improbable
"Where is the intrinsic value in Bitcoin? There is none."
There isn't much intrinsic value in a small square of paper.
Wipe your ar5e with it, or spend it (if its a 100 dollar bill).
Its worth what other people will pay for it. So long as enough people consider Bitcoin a useful form of currency to trade, then it has value. It offers a number of advantages that nothing else does at present
- relative finite, like gold (and unlike pounds or dollars, which as we've seen central banks can print at will eroding your savings with inflation)
- anonymous, like cash
- easy to transfer through the internet (like paypal etc, but with out the requirement to have an account, or the risk of chargebacks, account closure, US sanctions etc)
I suspect therefore it will survive and prosper. Its boomed and crashed before but the concept and system is sound. The dotcom crash didn't spell the end of the internet or dotcom companies in general. Bitcoin's price rise has been as absurd as the dotcom share valuations, but to write it off based on that would be like writing off the internet in 2000.
@AC "I, however, felt she did far more good for this country than bad."
Let me guess - you're in America?
Re: Hmm...
Controlling 50% of the bitcoin network processing power would require pretty phenomenal resources... It's actually rather a clever concept to create a digital currency with no single issuing authority, and rely on the network processing in this way. The big problem with bit coins is the fluctuating price at present. Perhaps as the value of the total issued bitcoins grows, it may stabilise, but with speculators rushing in, I'm not so sure.
Some rather dubious logic from the usual suspect here.
Windows phone assumed to be bad due to low sales figures compared to android. But windows installs dwarf Linux on desktop so new logic applied.
I have a lumia 920 and I really quite like it, though the concept of it being people-based is largely marketing bollocks... My experience is still based around apps... On the rare occasions I use Facebook I use a dedicated third party app.
+1 on the start menu.
There is no way I'm switching our two PCs and 3 laptops to Windows 8. Sort it out Ballmer else we're off to see what Mark Shuttlecock can do.
I lived in Pavonia Newport for a year and spent most of my drinking time in Hoboken... Cheaper beer and real people rather than the wannabes in NYC. And I had a 20 minute commute to work on the PATH train. Loved the place.
Posted in Windows Phone 8 support to end in 2014
I expect to get swathes of downvotes from the fanboys but here goes.
The fact is that Windows Mobile was crap and bombed. But Windows Phone is actually rather good. Its innovative too, it hasn't just tried to provide a cheap Apple knock off.
Note: I'm not saying Android or iPhone is rubbish, so don't start a tantrum.
I've resisted having a smart phone for years (though had iPod Touch and iPad2), but liked the Lumia enough to take the plunge. I'm not disappointed with it. Few things they need to add, like VPN support in particular.
Microsoft aren't going to bin it, certainly not yet. They might not be shifting as many as Apple or Android (and perhaps never will) but they are shifting way more than they did with their older phone software.
As a developer I'd much rather them switch to a model of regular upgrades and cutting support for old versions than have the situation we do with XP where we're still having to ensure compatibility in our software for IE6&7. And despite the reg article, it looks pretty much like this is what is happening, with other sites already reporting on WP8.5 development.
Why do people get so uptight about their favoured OS that they want others to be denied choice? I really don't get it, its all a bit primary school, which reminds me - down vote away.
Re: @Eadon
Eadon,
You aren't in favour of freedom. Many people choose windows. More than any other desktop OS. Don't you care about their freedom?
I think the posts here some up what is wrong with linux... "use this version of gnome", "use KDE", "use Crunchbang"
For techies that's fine but the average bloke in the street just wants to have something that works out of the box and is the same as what a sufficient number of others are running.
As these posts show, everyone is pulling in different directions... Until everyone moves together Linux won't break through the desk top. Windows 7 was great but windows 8 provided a golden opportunity with thousands of frustrated users... So they load up Ubuntu and find that has gone nuts too.
Re: If crap stops radiation in its tracks
There was me thinking you'd not manage to work a Microsoft rant in there. Apologies.
Re: I see a flaw
Eadon,
I believe you were downvoted for the shocking lack of any attempt to tie the Mars mission to a rant about Microsoft. Have another go.
Re: EU lost the plot
Google dominates search and is using the search home page to plug their browser. I don't see the difference... Monopoly is bad, and google certainly have that in search.
The EU rules don't make sense. If they are concerned about windows monopoly they should have links to Linux and apple, not chrome and firefox.
Similarly the google home page should point out that you can also search at Bing, Yahoo, etc.
Re: do for building what Linux did for software
I want my house with windows, but then Eadon will turn up ranting.
I think you are wrong... I know many people who have specifically purchased an android or win phone. Personally Ive always resisted having a smart phone, making do with an old Motorola flip... And an iPad I won at a business function. But WP8 has inspired me to take the plunge for a smart phone. I think the OS does matter even to average users... People are much more tech savvy and choosy than we might imagine.
Was it a windows server?
I think we need to know, so we can decide whether to throw our comments at the software, or the admins?
Re: The Boys from Shanghai..?
Must be Eadon's day off. I'll fill in for him...
EPIC WINDOWS FAIL
Um...
People died in 911 too but we've bandied that around to scare the beejeebies out of people for ten years, it was even used as a good marketing line to launch an attack on an innocent country we weren't at war with. So why not appropriate pearl harbor for marketing spin... Seems everything is fair game these days.
Re: This doesn't kill "the cloud" for me
Yeah, and let's face it, Eadon's posts say "virgin" all over them
Posted in Microsoft brings Azure back online
Re: 20 goto 10 - MS GOTO FAIL
It's a certificate issue... Nothing to do with windows or linux
"The church, of course, denies that it is a cult,"
Define cult?
Catholic church and Islam and most major religions probably qualify unless you define cult based on relatively low membership.
If people like these scum don't pay their tax how on earth are the government going to be able to afford bombs to drop on starving people on the other side of the planet, or all that money to give to the bankers so they don't miss their bonuses.
What do they think the government is going to do? Just print money until the pound collapses???
Oh wait...?
I'm another who is a big fan of messenger. For text chat it is so much better than skype.
We've gone across to using googletalk at work instead now. Not as good as MS, but does the job.
