Posts by Desidero

Re: ASSANGE: 'I'm fond of the truth but only when it's the truth I approve of."

Is it really hard to figure out that personal privacy and government transparency are 2 sides of the same coin?

Of course Assange likes privacy, for himself and Wikileaks - neither of them are governments, and aside from any question of breaking laws, neither is in the public interest.

Nevertheless, privacy of soldiers or government contractors to kill civilians isn't the right to privacy covered in the Constitution, nor is the privacy for heads-of-state to siphon off billions to offshore bank accounts.

Re: Content you create but don't own

No warning? Rupert Murdoch told me he personally hacked your phone to leave you an iCal update.

Re: disagree

Really, turn off the nitrous, it's making you dizzy.

I'll include the link once again to see if you can click and read:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/19/microsoft-shakes-off-pc-slump-as-office-and-servers-sales-swell/

In short, Office 365 and Office 2013 appear to be doing just fine.

Bing is now the 2nd largest search engine even though still losing money

Azure is gaining traction, especially with the addition of LInux services.

Re: SQL Server, I'm sure it ticks you off that Honda became a success because of its price - laughed all the way to the bank.

Sharepoint may be a "joke" in your eyes, but it's heavily used.

I hardly think the only reason for Windows 7 success was Office.

And oops, I left out Xbox, which at one point beat the 2 competitors 18 months in a row.

Your Microsoft hatred certainly has the better of you.

Maybe you want to tear your shirt and lament the lack of Linux success on the desktop....

Re: Hmm...

Think about it? This is the internetz - we just have to respond viscerally. Grrrrr, meow-ow-ow.... woof & a hee-haw to you.

Re: Sanctions, nuclear enrichment, background to story

I condemn the act of stealing, but likely a good chunk of computers showing up in Iran are just used, just as there's a fairly big market for legal used German cars in East Europe along with stolen ones. And it's easier to track stolen cars than computers.

Since we haven't a clue where these people bought the computer, all the assumptions that they simply had to have known it was stolen is simply shite.

And yes, there may be new Macs sold, and it may be that as sanctions tighten and the currency devalues, most people can't or won't afford a new machine. (I didn't find exact figures on RadanMac, but when they quote "installed 4000 machines myself" from the owner over 15 years, doesn't sound like business is that big.

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"In recent months, Afghah said, Apple Iran has seen sales decline because of tough new sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies against Iran's financial sector. The new measures have caused Iran's currency, the rial, to plummet and made international payments from Iranian banks much more complex.

The company relies on a steady stream of creative individuals - including musicians, film editors and photographers - to keep its business going.

...

The focus of the sanctions has been on Iran's banks and oil industry, Iranian individuals and companies that Western capitals believe are assisting what they suspect is Tehran's drive towards a nuclear weapons capability.

But U.S. consumer products and computer equipment are another matter. Although they are banned, enterprising Iranian merchants continue to source them through underground trade routes in the Middle East and beyond.

...

Once considered rare and sought-after, iPhones and iPads are now de rigueur in Iran among those who can afford them. The epicenter of the trade is Tehran's largest technology mall, the bustling Capital Computer Complex, where more than 350 traders supply products for Iran's increasingly tech-savvy population.

One of RadanMac's competitors is a smaller firm called Apple Iran. Its website is a nearly exact replica of Apple's own, except for the Persian language and a disclaimer: "This website is not in anyway affiliated with Apple Inc." Apple has been attempting to shut it down, according to a person familiar with the matter."

Re: it's simple

@obnoxiousGIt - my reply was intended for Dave Dowell further up - I would never stoop so low as to interfere with your obnoxious Gitliness. In this case, it's less a Fail Beer than a Fallen Beer, which fortunately for this one can still get up. But unlike speed of light, there is no natural limit for Fail Beers, much less "1 too many" - 1 + infinity is still infinity.

Re: Prefer soemthing like the Volt

There are competing technologies in this industry, and we still don't know what will win (one of the contenders like pure electric, a combination hybrid, something we haven't thought about....)

Battery weight will come down, charge speed will go up, availability of grid chargers will improve.

For the moment, if you park on the street, you're probably SOL. Maybe in 2 years or 5 years....

Many people mostly drive less than 100km during the week, but the occasional business drive, weekend trip to visit the folks or the beach, day when you just happened to have a ton of errands or an emergency... all makes many consumers nervous. That nervousness needs to be addressed.

The charge doesn't need to be full. A top-up may do in many cases - stop off at the station and have a 20 minute cup of coffee while you get another 20km?

"The ZOE can also be fast charged to 80 percent of its capacity in just 30 minutes using public Rapid-Charger 43 kilowatt power sources." Okay, I take that as over 50% capacity in 20 minutes, so say 40 miles/65 km. Not ideal, but for many, a kludge that makes the pain & panic go away.

But these are temporary issues - the industry will build towards common solutions over 5-10 years, both in terms of tech, vehicle, infrastructure (recharging stationary or in motion? )

We'll see - so far, looks like a step forward.

Spawn of statement just because the avatar looks like a bright red electric car.

Re: Google should have....

Street view? Without the smudgy pixelated naughty bits?

(the penguin, because all we're asking for is "open source" so we can do some bits twiddling & twaddling)

Re: @ACs

I'm sure you would have done well on jury for Goldman Sachs in the Dragon Soft trial.

"Diligence? We just meant we were diligently speeding up the deal to collect our check."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/24/goldman-sachs-not-blame-disastrous-dragon-systems-sale-boston-jury-finds/MaPB7A775HV2NYeU5Is6wJ/story.html

Re: Just a thought

I've watched as government agencies try to dictate system development and fall flat on their face - commitment to Sun workstation, low bitrate ATM to the desktop, other superlative choices. After millions spent, they threw it all out and want to regular PCs, switched ethernet and other stuff the rest of the world was doing.

At what point does customised software become cheaper? with the government, likely never. (NASA perhaps being an exception.... sometimes)

Re: prior art

They could use an iPad 1 week a month for that iSnatch or iTwat, a natural accessory (maybe Apple can patent the string?). But from what I hear, Tim Cook wouldn't be interested anyway.

Apple has patented counting "1..2..5" thereby puttying the Holy Grail in infringement. The priest has appealed to God, but Jobs took God's iPad away, so there's a bit of disgruntlement in heaven, a Mutiny if you listen to Nick Cave. How will we spin our way past this one?

Re: Possible email exchange....

Makes me think of an upcoming "Tweets from Hillary".

Re: Simply becuase

Not to mention that for generations, promo pictures had groups of "professionals"" standing around a screen and point at something / anything. A touchscreen would invite a real-world response to their ahem pointless activity.

Re: Err... WOW??? Lotus Notes

Beautiful, if we can all team together to solve Microsoft's prior art problems, I'm sure Steve Ballmer will pay us something trivial. Free Beer (screw the speech) for the Reg gang?

Re: "will tax their future investment gains no matter where they live"

Not to mention every corporation that funds Congress is leaving money overseas to avoid taxes, waiting for that amnesty that Congress does every few years.

The hypocrisy and the vindictiveness is grating.

Re: Teletubbies

Insert: dome is populated by Doby McGill and the Little People, who sing munchkin-like songs while welcoming him.

It turns out the mini-hoover is just a micro-cosm of a macro-hoover he's been living in all his life. He's reunited with his true parents, who've been dodging The Suck and hairballs all through their tortured existence. Fighting with Arnold Schwarzenegger perseverance, he and his cohort Ilsa (a latter-day Heidi) fight their way through the bag to eventually turn off the power switch, freeing the little people, only to watch them wiped out one by one Hunger Games-style by the cat, who's been listening to the freak midgets singing for well on a year with no recourse. Movie credits roll as satiated kitty lies on back with bulging belly and purrs. Until suddenly a hand punches through stomach Carrie-/Alien-like and waves, while an ad flickers across the scene forebodingly, "Part II: Coming to a Theater Near You"