The in app purchases are insanely priced

Seriously, as an example, the My Little Pony game from Gameloft came out on iPhone/Android with eye-wateringly high prices for in app currency, ($99 for enough gems/coins to finish HALF the game) and fans worked out that it would take ~28 YEARS of playing every single day to complete without paying money. To just complete the main quest (the bare minimum) in less time it costs ~$40. The *buy more stuff* page pops up almost constantly, and it becomes hard NOT to open the store to do anything.

Parents should check what games they let their children play, most if not all games on iPhone/Android have some sort of in app purchase available and there are far too many companies out there looking to rip off customers by taking lots of money from unsuspecting parents accounts.

MICRO transactions are one thing, but anything over £10 for imaginary currency/items is just taking everyone for a ride.

Still using IE?

If you are still using internet explorer 6 then you deserve to get hacked!

It was worth going

I won! :)

Big thanks to everyone who organised the event and took part in it, was an amazing experience working with such fun technology and interesting ideas.

Why does programming have to be in 'IT' lessons?

As someone who has recently graduated with a degree in computer science from a top uk university for the subject, and having had these 'IT' (or Microsoft Office) lessons, where I literally spent 8 years of high school and sixth form doing nothing but be taught how to use microsoft office. (oh and we had to use dreamweaver for the web-design module in AS ICT *cringes with pain*) I entered uni with no real experience of programming other than what I had been teaching myself for a couple of years.

I think we are still looking at this all wrong, I think programming, should be a part not only of IT lessons, but of maths lessons too, and in primary schools, along with addition, multiplication and fractions, children should learn about if then else statements, and a simple programming language like python to do simple tasks.

Thank you for this El Reg :)

I've registered a place and am now booking train tickets to get there. I've been looking for something like this to go to for a while (next thing I had on my events list was a gamejam in January) and now I can't wait to go.

Mines the one with a pi in one pocket and pie in the other :P

Don't like windows 8? Tough, you can't run anything else.

I think that Microsoft are doing this because they know how bad windows 8 is, and that a lot of people aren't going to like it, so are preventing people 'jumping ship' onto linux. I know that for a lot of people, vista was the big tipping point that made them try other things, such as ubuntu, and I know many of them that haven't looked back since.

Does the music 'industry' even exist anymore?

Before the internet, the only music people could buy and listen to was what the big studios published. People had no real choice, and bought what was available, making the studio's a lot of money. As technology has improved more musicians and artists who otherwise might have never got contracts with the major labels, have been able to record from their basements and bedrooms and publish online. Suddenly there was an explosion of new unheard music and artists, and people started listening to them.

Yes, people also became able to 'pirate' media, but I think the main reason the big studios have been 'losing' money, isn't so much that people are 'stealing' their music, but that less people actually want or need the music they put out there.

I myself don't pirate, I listen to independent artists, and pay them directly either through donations/pay what you want websites, or on occasion itunes or similar. I think that the problem with the music industry is that it has become obsolete.

Anyone else fearing the rise of the microtransaction computer?

Windows and Firefox are both jumping on the 'store' bandwagon, and I'm getting more than a little worried.

I don't like the direction things in IT seem to be going with 'apps' replacing 'proper' software, and companies charging you micro-payments for them. (and then again to unlock features inside them) I'm half expecting to see in windows 9 only being able to install software that has been bought from the windoze store and approved by microsoft, who then take a hefty slice of the profits. All this on top of the cost of a machine, and in windows case, the operating system as well. Oh and if it will probably be covered in ads as well if Xbox Live is anything to go by!

I'm rather hoping that things don't continue along this dangerous direction, or it could spell the end for smaller developers and free software.

Windows

Masters of double speak. Sounds just like another bunch of marketing hype over something that is probably destined to fail. The end of microsoft can't come soon enough for me!

Anyone else

Think this is a conspiracy by those wanting copper wire replaced by fibre optic...

Bullies and Trolls are not the same thing

I've had enough of people* thinking that trolls and bullies mean the same thing. They do not. Trolling is for teh lulz, doing something for fun, a digital prankster if you will. Bullying is doing something to hurt someone else. Put it this way, if the general population would find your actions funny - its trolling. If they would find it upsetting or offensive then it is bullying.

*read the media and non-internet users.

A good idea...

However it seems to be horribly overpriced for something that is limited to only 12 numbers, and has no other features. Perhaps at a lower price they could have mass market appeal for those looking for a disposable mobile, but I don't think there's much of a market for it currently.

BREAKING NEWS! Ice is melting in the summer!

Apparently the well documented fact that ice melts in warm weather that comes during the summer calls for headlines to be written and articles scaremongering 'global warming' <- or should that be 'climate change' these days?

Doctor Who?

^^horible pun

I think this is the least excited I've ever been about a new season of Doctor who. The trailer just wasn't all that interesting, and really, Daleks again? I'm getting completely fed up with the inability to be creative with enemies and just reusing the same ones over and over. /rant

New season of MLP: FiM on the other hand...