Posts by Jess

Since the phone knows your location....

Why doesn't it remember the location of networks and only try and connect when it is in the correct area?

All it would then leak is whether you have been there before.

Noscripts, if you *actually* need java

Noscripts also stops plugins, so using this should provide a good level of protection.

Security risks will usually come from java apps running slyly in the background, rather than (reputable) apps you actually want to use.

Limiting its execution to where you know you want it used is a sensible precaution.

I like the look of it.

As long as it doesn't share the Q5's poor text selection. (Cursor keys would solve that). And lack of phonetic non latin keyboard layouts.

Love my Q5, but.

It has some very annoying omissions compared to the 9700 it replaced. Had I known about them beforehand, it may have lost BB a sale. (Because I wouldn't have know how good the rest of the system was.)

However it has some really nice features, too. Music sounds excellent, for example.

However, I don't think it will win over BB7 users that well because it doesn't use the same BB infrastructure, so if you are a corporate, you have to upgrade it and it doesn't run the same apps.

They should make all new high end phones dual boot.

I've had Amazon Appstore on my Q5 for ages.

Since a few days after Android support arrived.

Just a case of a search, download, allow it and it works.

Of course it does mean that there is something subject to the Patriot act on the phone. (But then simply having Skype or an American mail service or chat installed would do the NSA almost as well).

It would be nice for it to be official, and presumably Amazon would be allowed as a second trusted source, without opening up the phone completely.

It would be even nicer if Amazon had a service to auto convert apps to BlackBerry format, so they would work on the Playbook, but that's probably far too much to hope for.

parallel evolution

Since no modern amphibians have wedding tackle*, either;

1] this must be parallel evolution

2] reptiles didn't evolve from amphibians, but legs came about by parallel evolution

or

3] the ancestors of current amphibians evolved away the wedding tackle.

* (sorry Miss Piggy)

Simple solution - dual boot.

All they need to do is make the high end devices either dual boot, or easy to swap system. Perhaps the OS on an extra microSD, (it would be nice if there was a software interface on board, similar to how a BIOS worked in DOS, etc.)

They could sell the device with a full android ROM (as in paying Royalties to MS, Google etc.) and a free Tizen ROM. Cheaper devices could come with a Tizen ROM and perhaps an Android lite ROM (without the bits that cost).

If Tizen is any good, it would catch on, if not, it wouldn't.

So it is only the controller that is missing?

So why don't they allow the unit to ship in a pre-release form using a standard controller?

Can't they all just make their customisations into an app that is loaded onto vanilla android?

Then there would be no issues, and anyone who didn't like it could uninstall.

Was word perfect 32 bit?

I seem to recall that at least one of the major competitors to MS Office was 16 bit.

(Was it Lotus or WPOffice or both?)

16 bit programs generally turned Windows 95 from a nice OS to a hideous pile of cack. (Office 4.3 didn't seem to for some strange reason.) And the program I'm thinking of was no exception.

DOS programs however, generally worked really well under 95. WP 5.1 generally was great on it.

A cunning plan.

Make a device so expensive that Microsoft's fans won't buy it, make a loss selling it so the only people who buy it are Microsoft haters, who want to cost Microsoft money.

The idea is they like it so much that they are converted.

How could it fail?

Nokia won't be changing its strategy

That could refer to the ongoing strategy of dropping operating systems and replacing them with ones incompatible with both hardware and software. Which is why I will never spend more than a throw-away amount of money on a Nokia phone ever again.

(How many is it so far, 4 operating systems killed?)

Why is it such a big deal to make a specific tizen phone?

Tizen, Android, Ubuntu, Firefox, Sailfish etc are all Linux based, why is there an issue? They should all run the same drivers. (Or at lease very similar ones)

100W?

That would be 20 Amps at 5 Volts.

Impressive with such a thin cable.

That sort of cable would make wiring ovens easy.

BB10 is nice.

It will be even better when the remaining important features finally make it over from BB7.

(Cyrillic phonetic keyboard layout for example, no good being able to switch to Russian, if you have no idea where the letters are.)

I really like the system, but it really annoys me, the things that it can't do that even BB OS 4 could.

(Like timed power on/off, and delete original message, in replies.)

It is a really good media player, and web browsing is pretty good. The Q5 was certainly worth the £185 I paid for it unlocked new from Amazon, and I'm very glad I couldn't bring myself to buy an Android.

It really would make sense if BB could replace all the high end BB7 phones with dual boot BB10/BB7 devices.

VK dropped support for Jabber about 9 months ago

Since then my total use probably adds up to about the same as a couple of typical days before this braindead move.

I noticed jabber stopped working for me on FB a few days ago, I had assumed it was because I'd disallowed app integration on websites, (a bit odd I thought), but perhaps they just turned it off.

I think my facebook use has been halved.

I expect that the portfolio contains a couple of rock solid patents that would be tricky to work around, a few more that are solid but easy to work around if needed, and several hundred weak patents that wouldn't stand up to any serious scrutiny.

No-one is going to make a fuss about the weak ones when they are in a bundle with the strong ones, that is sold for a reasonable price and to anyone.

Re: I really can't see the point of this.

Because if they release a new faster Pi, it will be a simple upgrade for any kit based on it. (Assuming they don't do anything stupid.)

I suspect this is brinkmanship.

What dropping support actually means is that Patch Tuesday (13th?) May 2014, will not support XP, so until that date, (unless there is a hideously bad vulnerability discovered) there is no difference from before.

This is an extra month to play with, (providing you are willing to take the small risk of serious vulnerability.)

My expectation is that when MS don't backtrack, then they will roll it out over the next few months, but they are hoping for a U turn, so they don't have to.

Re: But BB10 is still catching up with BB7 features.

Yes. That is the main thing I dislike about the Q5. Other than that it is a great phone.

Where OS 4 - 6 (never tried 7) are better.

1. Far better autocorrect.

2. Phonetic Russian keyboard.

These two are very strange omissions, because surely they are simply data structures that could be re-used from the old OS.

3. Plain text setting for email accounts.

4. Delete quoted text from reply to email.

5. Timed on/off.

6. Alarm works if phone is off

7. Volume control acts as a cursor (OS 4) or there is a proper cursor.

At least when the version of WP becomes obsolete, hopefully you will be able to keep the device current with a cyanogen mod.

Simpler solution for audio

I have just got a bluetooth adapter for my hifi (digital out, to high end kit) and I am really pleasantly surprised by the quality. I was expecting it to merely be a convenience, however I am now seeing it as a serious source. (flacs playing on a Q5, maybe the qnx core is really makes it low jitter)

... rely on you having auto-update turned on in the first place?

But if you don't do updates, then dropping support would make no difference anyway.

"That's probably because you need to sideload an app like Snap first"

Have I missed something?

My Q5 loads android apps quite happily, (and some of then even work properly), I've never sideloaded and app like snap.

I just downloaded the amazon store app with the browser and everything was fine.

The android stuff is a bit glitchy and clunky compared to the native stuff, but not unusably so.

I had to replace my BB9700.

I needed a phone below £200 unlocked. (I was given about £160 insurance payout).

Nokia - no chance, ever, I loved my N8 (apart from text input, hence my having a BB too.) To abandon such a good phone before it was properly finished. Grrr. (Didn't even need WP to put me off, which would do the job too.)

I needed either a keyboard, or a huge screen.

All the likely candidates were too expensive, but the Asus Fonepad was in budget, so I seriously considered it (the processor was what put me off), but then I found a Q5 for £185 unlocked on Amazon, so I took a gamble.

I am happy with the phone, it looks great (best looking BB yet, much nicer than the Q10) a decent keyboard, no BIS, (used to be of benefit due to the price, but now with standard access as cheap, the limitations are a show stopper). Works well with Bria for VOIP (and Skype too). Nice media replay facilities (flac for example). I have just installed Amazon App store, which works. (not as smooth as the Native system, but not annoyingly sluggish). It even has a torch function built in to the UI.

There are a few niggles. cursor keys would be nice. The email editor is not as good as on BB6, nor is the keyboard layout support. Hopefully these will be fixed in future versions.

My suggestion would be to try and find a cheap BB10 device (Q10s look a bargain, for those who don't mind lack of keyboards), and give it a try.

(And I got a second hand playbook for £50, which works well with it, had they bothered to put BB10 on them, I think they would have been worth closer to the price they tried to sell them for.).

And by implication the death of S40

So another non US controlled phone operating system bites the dust.

Be amusing if Jolla rush out a version of Sailfish for them. (Assuming there is any of the internal design remaining from the past.)

An N8 version would be nice.

That windows tablet is a fully fledged PC in your hand.

But surely when you are running fully windows programs, unless you have a keyboard and mouse, they will be horrible to use. (Having tried citrix on a playbook).

(Or possibly a big screen plugged into it, and use the tablet in place of the keyboard).

As a tablet it will be a second rate device. (Bigger heavier, possibly poorer battery life. And as yet a poorer selection of apps.)

I can't see it being a better option than an android/ipad/playbook and keeping the old laptop or desktop for occasional legacy windows program.

Will all the poor WP7 users be left out?