Re: Not surprising
Logically then Apple will shutter the Macs (servers gone) and release a 13" iOS tablet with Bluetooth keyboard.
Apple unlike Nokia, Google, Intel (ARM to Marvell), IBM or Sony has too much ego to actually sell off a division.
Posts by Mage
9268 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Nov 2007
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Sony set to axe 5,000 workers worldwide as it flings PC biz overboard
Jean Michel Jarre: Je voudrais un MUSIC TAX sur VOTRE MOBE
Microsoft's new CEO: The technology isn't his problem
Wednesday 5th February 2014 19:47 GMT 
Exchange, first usable spreadsheet, NT
NT is good. But based on OS/2 and VMS. Almost no innovation. MS should NEVER have produced Win95, NT was already at 2nd major revision. MS nearly killed NT3.51 and NT4.0 workstation with their pushing of Gamer orientated Win95 and Win98 to Business. NT suffered for over 6 years due to MS marketing & Development resources going into Win95, Win98 and Win ME. Not till 2001/2002 did they dig themselves out of that. It's BECAUSE of people developing Business apps badly for Win9x that the excellent OS/2 & VMS model of Admin & User accounts got "broken" on NT4, Win2K and WinXP.
Excel is good. But no more usable than Visicalc, Lotus123 or Supercalc, it was the first decent WIMP GUI based spreadsheet. Ironically on the Mac 1st as Windows wasn't good enough then.
Viscalc made Apple ][ a success in Business it was so good.
Supercalc and Wordrstar did the same for CP/M based PCs
and the IBM PC would have languished without Lotus 123 and Wordperfect on DOS.
Excel and Word made MS Windows into a success.
Exchange is plain evil. The computing world would be a happier place without it and its evil slave Outlook.
Wednesday 5th February 2014 19:32 GMT
Re: NeXTSTEP
Failed because the Storage device was too slow & inflexible & expensive (MO Disc is a nice idea but really an expensive R/W semi-archival medium) and the Product too expensive and hardly any applications to take advantage of the GUI.
Display Postscript probably too slow. Open GL is a better idea.
So the innovations?
Using MO instead of floppy or HDD. Bad Idea. MO complemented Floppy and HDD.
CD ROM already existed as a cheaper RO distribution medium. It was 4 years before Nextstep adopted CDROM!
A dock on the WIMP GUI. Hardly earth shattering. The GUI wasn't an innovation.
Display Postscript: Like MO disk a nice idea but not practical. Even today still a bad idea.
NeXTSTEP was an impractical Niche product. Only Steve's Charisma kept it alive so long.
Steve was into IMAGE, not genuine SW & HW innovation. He killed the Newton (which was then innovative) rather than bother to understand the potential and fix it. The Newton needed to be fixed not killed. But it wasn't his idea and it didn't seem cool.
Second-hand software broker: OK Microsoft – we made a mistake
Wednesday 5th February 2014 16:55 GMT 
Levis
There is a problem where Copyright law is consistently being used to stop "grey" reselling. A guy in Dublin BOUGHT clothes in USA and sold them in his shop in Dublin. The Manufacturer closed him down.
The UK used to have Retail Price Maintenance, Books and Drugs were the last to go. The Manufacturer should NOT be able to set the price anywhere other than his own sales and once someone has bought something they should be free to resell ANYWHERE as long as they pay the local duty and taxes.
Levi Jeans did the same. Copyright should not be used to bolster these restrictive trade practices.
People are NOT ripping off copies. They are buying and selling the real product. Of course Music, TV & Cinema rights holders are worse, especially US and Sport with their "divide" and restrictive practices to push up prices in Europe and in many cases deprive Australians entirely. The Media practices and the Manufacturer's Premium prices in UK & Ireland vs USA encourage piracy.
Chaps propose free global WiFi delivered FROM SPAAAACE
Monday 3rd February 2014 15:52 GMT
OH no
This is garbage on so many levels I can't be bothered explaining how these people are either stupid and naive or running a scam.
ESA and SES Astra had Casablanca
http://telecom.esa.int/telecom/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=514
Sat@Once will send its last package of free Internet contents next Wednesday February 14, 2007, after almost 5 full years of free operation for the Satellite Internet community (we started operations on 11 March 2002 with Casablanca version 1.2).
http://once.csp.it/
No-one continued with it. People wanted real interactive internet, not a Broadcast Cache.
(I used it and they even sent me a free dish).
Save Ofcom! Telcos and consumer groups call for end to legal disputes
Wednesday 5th February 2014 12:53 GMT
Re: A stitch in time
Partly true. But also there is a problem with the system.
I have sympathy with this even though I think Three arn't fit to do other that resell services from a competent wholesale operator (for ENTIRE UK Mobile Spectrum or even entire EU Mobile Spectrum) and I think Ofcom need abolished or reformed as the Country's Infrastructure, spectrum protection and Consumers are low on priority but raising money for Treasury and keeping major Mobile & Telco & Tat manufacturers happy is high on agenda.
iFrame attack injects code via PNGs
Life support's ABOUT to be switched off, but XP's suddenly COOL again
Wednesday 5th February 2014 11:19 GMT 
Windows XP to 7
A daft assumption. What is life of 7?
In reality are you more likely to get pwned with XP vs 7 if behind Firewall, using sensibly and stupid services off?
Aren't careless users WITH Anti Virus SW getting malware on 7 and 8.x?
It's the configuration and user is the issue.
There are other options than Win7 or even MS. Maybe some people are waiting for Win 9?
Turkish president mulls $4.5bn Apple fondleslab school deal
Twitter avoids IP face-off with Big Blue, will buy 900 IBM patents
Devs: We'll bury Candy Crush King under HEAPS of candy apps
Monday 3rd February 2014 09:56 GMT
Re: More than just a name?
Unless it's a made up word, then it's reasonable you can have the word. Like Motorola, picked because they making car radios and lots of music products ended in ola (victorola etc).
Or initials like RCA, HMV, JVC (who are/were Victor in Japan, but not allowed that especially in USA because of RCA Victor).
RCA and EMI both owned Trademark rights to "His Master's Voice though as it belonged to Victor Talking Machine who founded HMV (became EMI when it took over Columbia graphophone, who was founded by the same people as Columbia in US that became CBS).
So even when Trademarks start off sensibly unique it can get complicated as companies spin off foreign subsidiaries or merge. Or both.
The Beatles arguably then should not have been allowed Apple Corp. but only Apple-Core or Apple-Corp. However it gave them opportunity to sue Apple Computer TWICE (successfully) who deliberately choose Apple with bite out and Apple name to copy / fanbois Beatles. Apple now dropped Computer as the they don't rely on computer sales (C.f. Kentucky Fried Chicken now officially KFC).
ChewBacca point-of-sale keylogger SLURPS your CREDIT CARD data
Sunday 2nd February 2014 14:28 GMT 
We already have a solution for protecting PIN
Ha ha
The PIN isn't protected and it may be irrelevant.
1) The reader can be swapped.
2) It only asks Card if PIN is OK, so a fake card says "OK" to ANY PIN, or PIN of your choice.
3) I've only ever been asked for PIN in Retail (see point (2)) never online.
Yes, Google can afford to lose $9bn in Motorola sale. But did it really?
Saturday 1st February 2014 17:33 GMT
Re: Money well spent
Motor ola
They started as a retail consumer company. Chips, OEM, Infrastructure etc was all later. They have always been a retail product company with consumer products.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=738
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola#History
Car Radios from 1929 (Consumer Radio only began 1921/1922!)
Car & Home Radios
Transistorised Color TV
Cable TV Set boxes (analogue then Digital)
End user Modems
Analogue Mobile Phones (from their Commercial 2 way radio experience since 1937!)
Digital Mobile Phones.
El Reg BuzzFelch: 10 Electrical Connectors You CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!
Friday 31st January 2014 13:26 GMT
Re: How many people would know what BNC connectors are for today?
Yes. And while BNC is 50 Ohms the BBC as well as MUSA used the mysterious 75 Ohm BNC (or cheated). Cable TV trunk use the rarer 75 Ohm N-Connector (regular ones are 50),
BNC are also often used for SDI (?) etc, carrying MPEG data either as a single stream or in MPEG-2 Multiplexed format (not same spec as MPEG-2 Codec as it can have MPEG4 or indeed nearly any kind of data).
Then there is a 50 Ohm connector very like an F-connector (often used on on GSM / 3G client aerials) but with a pin rather than centre of coax.
SCSI Yes I have large collection of those. I'm not sure how many flavours of SCSI exist never mind the connectors which have oddly included DB25 also used for "Centronics" Parallel (bad IBM!) and RS232 Serial.
Friday 31st January 2014 13:14 GMT
Re: F-connectors and Phono AKA RCA
Both are American, Late 1940s early 1950 (F) and late 1930s (RCA coax).
Old UK TV connectors are "Belling Lee" (actually the original maker and not a real part name), of indeterminate RF impedance and designed for AM radio aerials in 1930s! The USA I think has used F-connectors for a long time for coax when not using 300 Ohm Ribbon.
A Phonograph uses cylinders and Gramophone uses disks. But USAians call a Gramophone a Phonograph, even though Gramophone was first called that in USA (Emile Berliner, Victor Talking Machine Co, who founded Japan's JVC and UK's HMV, Victor was taken over by RCA to become RCA Victor. This is why RCA, JVC (only in Japan as Victor) and HMV all have the "horn" and Nipper dog logo)
Abbreviated as P.U. (Pickup), Gram or Phono on the Radio. In the 1920s they first released Pickup adaptors for windup acoustic Gramophones, in 1930s standalone electric players for the Radio. Originally US used 2 x 1/8" wander plugs like UK did till 1960s. but in late 1930s or early 1940s RCA introduced the coax plug, which as it was most used in USA and for Gramophone plugged into a Radio, or for internal connections on a Radiogram.
Amazon reports rare profit and is punished by Wall Street
Friday 31st January 2014 12:27 GMT
Wide Margin?
earnings per share of $0.51 and net sales of $25.59bn for its fourth quarter of 2013 on Thursday, missing Wall Street estimates of $0.66 and $26.06bn by a wide margin.
Umm...
51 vs 66 = 72% or 28% margin
25.58 vs 26.06 = 98% or 2% margin
So guess are close to reality I would have said. Especially the Net Sales. What kind of strange mathematics does Wall St. use?
Yahoo! Mail! users! change! your! passwords! NOW!
We're on the same wavelength! TV stars cosy up to flog spare Hz
Radio boffins remember the future-ture-ture: From the Cold War to (White) SPAAAAACE
Tuesday 28th January 2014 11:55 GMT
Wireless and Radio.
see the Radio Museum
Unfortunately Regulators like Ofcom & Comreg, Set makers and even the Broadcasters (esp. ones like BBC & RTE with DAB) are trying to kill Radio.
Digital TV is a good idea and reasonably implemented. Inherently ANY digital Radio system is a poorer User Interface than AM or FM. User Power consumption, Mobile/Portable coverage issues etc. DAB isn't the real problem, though not enough transmitters, only suits National Broadcasters and needs twice as many Mux to have decent bitrate.
Altcoins will DESTROY the IT industry and spawn an infosec NIGHTMARE
Icahn slurps another $500m in Apple shares, demands buyback AGAIN
1.1 MILLION customers' credit card data was swiped in Neiman Marcus breach
Friday 24th January 2014 18:17 GMT 
Chip & PIN
Simply hides fraud and allows the bank to claim the user was at fault.
Also the STUPID bank POS doesn't ask Bank if PIN is correct, but asks card! You can make a fake card that simply replies "yes" for ANY PIN.
Also in Chip & PIN countries the criminals are installing fake readers (in one case actually IN a bank!). As the article points out the issue isn't really Chip & PIN but compromised POS systems, vulnerable Web servers (In Ireland & UK, credit card numbers and rear code pinched from a "reward loyalty card" system that should never have had ANY such information). and even Back Office systems (The Remaindered Stock Retailer).
Fraud is endemic and the Banks admit as little as possible. It's mostly due to incompetently designed systems. People Errors. Computer Error? No Rubbish outsourced systems. Management Errors!
A BBC-by-subscription 'would be richer', MPs told
Friday 24th January 2014 17:04 GMT
Collection cost and access
Read what Greg Dyke said about viewing cards when BBC planned to leave Solus Card scheme and go FTA.
HOW do you have Subscription model? No FTA tuners. But DTT & Sat boxes and TVs and PVRs with a COMPATIBLE card reader (CAM). The Card company takes a big wack, the more secure from piracy the system is the more costly.
Ofcom of course want to have only Cable and Satellite and prefer purely commercial entitiies. It would suit Ofcom.
Friday 24th January 2014 14:56 GMT
Stupidity
PSB isn't about money.
Sky makes most from Subscription TV, yet 92% of what Sky Subscribers watch is Free To Air.
Sky 1 and Sky Sport (all added) each had about 1.5% viewing each.
In reality most people wouldn't pay for an extra platforms. Surveys can be misleading. Sky & UPC (formerly Virgin) dominate pay TV. BBC would become the equivalent of Disney and Nickleodeon and content would deteriorate further to a lower common denominator.
Thanks for suggesting eBay should flog PayPal. It's not happening, CEO tells Carl Icahn
Chrome lets websites secretly record you?! Google says no, but...
Sweet work, fellas: Boffins build high-density battery powered by sugar
The future of storage: disk-based or just discombobulated?
Tuesday 21st January 2014 21:05 GMT
why not just use a vacuum?
The head "flies" using I think the Bernoulli effect. It's a very very small ground effect aircraft. You'll find that "aircraft" can't fly in a vacuum. It's more stable than any other method of having the head very close but never actually touching.
It puts the term "Head Crash" into perspective :)
Mystery 'doughnut' materializes in front of Mars rover: 'OH MY GOD! It wasn't there before!'
Crippling server 'leccy bill risks sinking OpenBSD Foundation
EU eyes UHF spectrum: What do you think, biz bods... broadband?
Friday 17th January 2014 14:48 GMT
Re: All about the money
The Digital Dividend existed. The Regulators might not have got as much as they would have liked, but they DID get lots for auctioning the spectrum 790 MHz to 862 MHz formerly used by Analogue TV.
That was the real Digital Dividend. The consumer was lucky to get anything extra (HD, some more channels and real widescreen).
Friday 17th January 2014 09:43 GMT
It not about the Consumer. But Big Business and Regulator Income.
IPTV, Satellite or Cable can't replace Terrestrial, no matter what Ofcom and Comreg believe. They are complementary.
IPTV and Cable are essentially Pay TV (Broadband to support real IPTV is a lot more expensive).
People are watching more Discs and Internet because TV content is currently a lot poorer than it used to be. This partly because of the dilution of Multichannel TV and impact of PayTV. On Pay TV about 92% of viewing time is still the main free channels.
The people behind this want BBC, ITV, C4, RTE etc crippled, they want Terrestrial and ideally all FTA TV killed and the Regulators want to sell Spectrum Licences. Any service based on LTE Broadcast or some other Broadcast from Mobile Operators will be more expensive to consumer and give worse coverage than current DVB-T.
I supported the original Digital Dividend idea in late 1990s and early 2000s. But It was a mistake. More efficient use of 872 to 2600 Mobile bands would give consumers better service than tacking on 790 to 862MHz Digital Dividend (The only real dividend was Regulator Licence auctions). It has crippled expansion of Terrestrial Digital TV. The plan was originated before HD or growth of pay TV.
Satellite is a much much cheaper broadcast platform for a Broadcaster, especially Pay TV. But Foreign controlled, vulnerable to a "Burp" from the Sun and twice as expensive per TV for viewer to install. Not easily transportable or portable.
Cable TV is Pay TV, Not easily transportable or portable and only Urban/Suburban.
IPTV is 1000s of times more expensive than Broadcast if it was a mass viewing technology with true HD and able to support multiple TV sets.
We will soon have PVRs that can record ALL free channels on a 2 week rolling basis. Makes a nonsense of the running costs and national capital expenditure for Universal IPTV for mainstream viewing and "catch up" TV.
Comreg (Irish Regulator) already stated their aim is abolish all Broadcast. I'd bet Ofcom has the same aim.
Pint-glass-flashing FISHNAPPERS strike at Firefox daddy Mozilla
Thursday 16th January 2014 16:26 GMT
Re: Taken for a Ride?
Carp are a traditional if rather lacking in flavour fare for hundreds if not thousands of years. Some supermarkets have them live in the tank (though I only saw this in Foreign places). But I wouldn't eat anything that up and died on its own. I'm not a Rook*.
(*UK Rooks found to be as clever with Tools as famous Caledonian Crows. Boffins surmise that normally they don't bother showing off such technological skills due to prevalence of Road Kill and other free nosh).
Boeing bent over for new probe as 787 batteries vent fluid, start to MELT
Thursday 16th January 2014 08:15 GMT
Alternatives exist
The NiMH solution would be similar volume and overall not much weight. Actually the battery boxes would not need to be as strong and heavy Stainless Steel, so the weight increase is small.
Lithium is used in Laptops due to battery being a high proportion of weight, not run time. Lithium used in phones etc due to ability to have rectangular form factor and small size where NiMH become less efficient. I think the Airbus uses NiMH.
Tales from an expert witness: Prior art and patent trolls
Wednesday 15th January 2014 14:07 GMT 
Possibily till recently the World's Strongest Industrial Nation.
Generally excellent, but this is plain wrong:
"The world’s strongest industrial nation, the United States, has probably reached that position because its constitution separates the state from churches."
I think by 19th Century the Church wasn't holding anyone back in Europe. During that period the USA ignored copyright (even today there are issues with US Book & Magazine distributions in UK & Ireland in retaliation and still a problem with Music Industry royalties on Radio in USA vs Rest of World) and ignored patents. Right in to 20th Century.
They only strengthened USPO and US Copyright in 20th Century to protect their own alleged IP.
Nothing to do with the bizarre Religion vs Government in USA (In God We Trust). C.f. France since the Revolution. Also Northern Germany became Protestant in Luther's time to avoid Church interference in State.
Rest of article more reasoned opinion, but that statement is false.
Also China is or may soon outstrip USA. But again it's nothing to do with separation of Church and State.
Microsoft to RIP THE SHEETS off Windows 9 aka 'Threshold' in April
Cicada 3301: The web's toughest and most creepy crypto-puzzle is BACK
'BILLION-YEAR DISK' to help FUTURE LIFEFORMS study us
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
