* Posts by Steve Evans

2772 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Apr 2007

If your telco or mobe provider hikes 'fixed' contract fees you can now ESCAPE - Ofcom

Steve Evans

Easy to bail...

It's been pretty easy to bail out of contracts recently, especially ones with T-Mob/Orange. They've been tidying up their cells, and reducing overlap.

This has resulted in some areas losing coverage completely. Which is exactly what happened to my brother. Suddenly no signal at home.

After he heard of a neighbour getting released he thought he'd have a go. It took a couple of phone calls (first 2 agents wouldn't release him mid-contract), the third agent was a bit more sensible as they were failing to provide the service he'd signed up for, and had been using happily for several months, and let him go... 12 months into a 24 month contract. He kept the phone. No fee (their breach after all).

UK smut filter may have sent game patch to sin-bin

Steve Evans

Re: Somehow I don't think so.....

Or Cocking, West Sussex GU29

Lady Hole Lane, Ashbourne, Derbyshire

etc etc...

Steve Evans

Re: Well that's my holiday ruined!

You joke, but this happened a few years back. I think it was AOL who introduced a similarly badly thought through, and implemented, nanny-net that wiped Scunny from the map.

Nice to know that all the lessons have been learnt so well eh?

Large Hadron Collider competition: VOTE NOW to choose the WINNER

Steve Evans

Re: Heroes 4

I'm Steve

(Just about resists saying "and so's my wife")

App to manage Android app permissions

Steve Evans

Re: Anyone see a price anywhere?

"EDIT: Back to App Ops for me. It may well keep me from upgrading to KitKat on my Moto G."

If you don't mind rooting, you can run app ops on standard KitKat.

BlackBerry sues American Idol host's company for 'blatant' patent infringement

Steve Evans

What would be really annoying for anyone who bought into the new BB cool-aid would be if this keyboard introduced the rather useful shortcuts which BB forgot to keep in their latest implementation.

Haswell micro: Intel’s Next Unit of Computing desktop PC

Steve Evans

Re: Far too expensive

For a little silent media consumption box to chuck behind the TV and turn your "thick" TV into a "smart" one, it's way too expensive.

There are plenty of little linux based boxes which can provide a webkit browser and stream your music and movie collection from a network share for far far less.

Sure they don't have the CPU grunt of this Intel box, but then again it's not needed for this kind of use.

I doubt it's required to run a thin client either.

So it can run windows... I guess that's a more unique selling point, but is that really a requirement for the end use I can see this being put to? It just leaves me wondering exactly what the intended end use of this thing really is?

BlackBerry ends write-off of a year with $4.4bn write-down

Steve Evans

Re: On the positive side...

If BBM on android is an example of their current work, they're truly doomed.

First it hung when I first tried to sign in, because I'd set up my account on the PC only 30 seconds before, and that was too fast for it. No message though, just a white screen.

Then once I did get in ten minutes later, I added two real BB users to my BBM contacts and sent a few messages back and forth... and then discovered a problem... There is no log out. No exit... You can never escape... well you can, you have to terminate the app with extreme prejudice.

Logged in later to check I hadn't missed an obvious "allow logout" option, and was surprised to see I had a contact request to join a chat... from myself!

How odd I thought... And hit accept (out of curiosity more than anything else)... This appears to be the hidden logout function, as the app exploded.

Settings/Apps/Uninstall.

And this was the app they released after the aborted release cock-up and month long wait... I don't even want to think how flaky the first attempt must have been.

RIP BB, if we're honest you've been rotting for quite a while now, and the smell is starting to annoy.

$1,000 BOUNTY offered for FINGERPRINTS of a GLOBAL SPY CHIEF

Steve Evans

I should just send in 5 random shot glasses with fingerprints on them and claim £5k.

It's not like they'll be able to verify the prints is it!

Google tells EFF: Android 4.3's privacy tool was a MISTAKE, we've yanked it

Steve Evans

Re: Some creepy apps out there

And with that, the Facebook app is removed.

Not only is there more functionality from m.facebook.com, but a web page cannot trawl my phone with excessive permission.

Oz couple get jiggy in pharmacy in 'banned' condom ad

Steve Evans

Probably your standard complaint pattern...

Mary Whitehouse style person witnesses ad and is offended and writes to world plus dog to complain.

World plus dog read complaint and write to complain, having never actually seen it.

We'll predict your EVERY MOVE! Facebook's new AI brain talks to El Reg

Steve Evans

Oh yeah?

Did you predict I was going to be offended by the permissions grab of the Android app update and hold out until forced to update?

Only to then block half the permissions with App Ops?

And then discover that the one new feature I really wanted (edit) doesn't actually work properly?

And then to go back to using m.facebook.com (which is *STILL* more functional than the app).

Oh, and I prefer G+ these days anyway.

Google embiggens its fat vid pipe Chromecast with TEN new supported apps

Steve Evans

UK?

Be nice if it supported being sold in 10 new countries.

Last time I looked the UK price via Amazon was almost £50, which is NOT $35!

Come on Google, sort it out.

If you want an IT job you'll need more than a degree, say top techies

Steve Evans

Re: A time machine helps, too.

I dunno, some of us old timers still have a few tricks up out sleeves.

I remember a few years back we had a new graduate start at the office. He was a good programmer, but was always using the latest and greatest technology. For example he'd define classes when a record set would have been fine.

One day I heard him cursing, and asked what was wrong. He'd been generating some automatically for something or other, and had typo'ed the file extension, and was manually plodding his way through them on windows, renaming them.

I popped open a command prompt, type a quick rename command and then closed the command prompt.

He looked at me like I'd just performed some kind of witchcraft!

I honestly don't know what they teach them these days, but it doesn't seem to include basic command line stuff.

Needless to say, I was seen as some kind of geek god after that! lol!

Which was nice.

Brit inventors' GRAVITY POWERED LIGHT ships out after just 1 year

Steve Evans

Very little I would guess except for the energy storage and recharge method.

Once the energy is "stored" either in a coiled spring or a weight high off the ground, its release will be governed by a few gears and a governor wheel (basically a gear with big fins on it). Couple this regulated rotational speed to a dynamo and you have power until the stored energy runs out.

To my mind it's not exactly innovative, in fact it's verging on the Apple level of obvious, but hey, if nobody else has built one, good luck to them.

I'm sure they'd be able to get dozens of patents from the US patent office.

Assange flick The Fifth Estate branded 'WORST FILM OF THE YEAR'

Steve Evans

Impressive...

Within only a few seconds of mention the Guardian, the typo hits...

Moto G: Google's KitKat bruiser could knock out, bury Landfill Android

Steve Evans

Re: Here is my proper review

it read like an analysis of Gingerbread!

HP’s ENORMO-SLAB: The Slate 21 MONSTER tablet

Steve Evans

Re: great idea

I hate to tell you this hammarbtyp, but there will be a M$ tax in there.

It's got a SD card slot, which means a FAT file system, which means M$ licencing...

Sorry!

PANIC OVER DROOPING house prices hits MEMBER-shaped estate

Steve Evans

Re: Obviously nothing to do with

Or that it's in the Wirral?!

Dear-ly beloved: Apple’s costly iPad Mini with Retina Display

Steve Evans

@A/C 12:12 - you're so bwave!

Okay troll, I'll bite.

The original N7 out specced the original iPad (which appeared after it).

Shall we compare the 2013 models?

iPad 7.9-inch retina display 2048x1536 324ppi.

Nexus 7 7-inch IPS LCD display 1920x1200 323ppi

Did you have a point to make? Because I can't see it here. The long side is almost identical, and the short side is only smaller on the Nexus because it's 16:9 instead of 4:3... A size which means it slips into the back pocket of my jeans, or the inside pocket of my jacket.

Want GPS so you can tether your tablet and use if as a large satnav or use other location based services?

Nexus 7, no problem, GPS is a standard feature across the range.

iPad, no. You need the 3G enabled model (£££$$$)

I would guess you've never even touched a 2013 Nexus 7, it's beautifully made, and doesn't want to slide out of your hand like the iPad (for those times when it's not comfortably tucked into your jacket pocket).

As to why people continue to buy iPads? Easy... It's either:

1) Investment in iOS apps

2) Lack of knowledge of the alternatives

3) Baaaaaaa

I'll stick with my 2013 N7 (costing £10 less than the 16gig fruity alternative) thank you very much.

Your kids' chances of becoming programmers? ZERO

Steve Evans

@Toastan Buttar was Re: Z80 vs 6502?

Blimee, you really have developed no ability to banter in all these years? You really must have been a hoot at the local computer club in the 80s.

And you call me a prick.

Grow up.

Steve Evans

Z80 vs 6502?

Well the 6502 wins of course... My Beeb still works... How's your dead-flesh keyboard toy? :-p

Curiously enough I recently corrected an implementation of Bresenham’s algorithm, it was on an ATmega chip, which has comparable storage and grunt to the 80's home computers, although the monochrome 128x80 pixel LCD panel is slightly below the resolution of the Spectrum.

You THINK you're watching your LG smart TV - but IT's WATCHING YOU, baby

Steve Evans

Oh dear...

It looks like the days of vaguely trusting companies is now at an end...

My home network shall be changing from a black list configuration to white list.

Although a proxy which modifies any messages from the TV to those domains to include nothing but profanities is very tempting...

Oh, and LG, I was just about to purchase one of your smart TVs... guess what, I won't be now, the Rasp Pi will be taking care of all the smart stuff from now on.

Google's Nexus 5: Best smartphone bang for your buck. There, we said it

Steve Evans

Re: Brightness schmightness

I saw that, and the following sentence which stated you could turn it up higher..

I then translated the original El Reg paragraph into "The default brightness is lower than Samsung".

And then replied to my own translation with "and so what?"

Steve Evans

Eight megapixels isn't as good as some of the competition...

Oh please, the megapixel number is pure willy waving, but with even less to back it up.

Over a certain threshold (about 5Mpixel in my books), there simply is nothing to be gained by going higher on a phone camera. Lets face it, you're not producing an A0 billboard picture. I'd be amazed if the pictures you take ever get any further than facebook/G+.

In fact less pixels can be good for low light images. If the sensor is a constant size, the photosites will be bigger. Meaning they will catch more of those elusive low light photons, making them easier to detect without having to resort to amplification and its associated noise.

To put things into perspective, a 1080 HD TV image is only 2Mpixel - Oh dear, have I just done an "apple retina" job on you? Can you now not see your monitor? Does the entire desktop look like Mine Craft all of a sudden?

So please, don't judge cameras on megapixel alone, there are so many more things it depends on. If not then I challenge you to produce a better photo with an xyz Zillion pixel phone camera of your choice, and I'll use a far lower pixel count device I have in the draw.

It's made by Nikon.

Inventor whips lenscap off 3D-printed pinhole camera

Steve Evans

I took a Nikon DSLR, threw away the lens, drilled a hole in the body cap, covered that with foil, and stuck a pin through it.

Works great!

Who needs AF, although the metering is somewhat upset by the experience...

Has anyone seen where my nifty 50 went?

Steve Wozniak: 'I wish to God that Apple and Google were partners'

Steve Evans

Re: Blackness

I saw the interview at the weekend, and from what I remember, he didn't blame either side, he was very diplomatic and non pot like.

El Reg is just trolling you.

Steve Evans

I like Woz

I saw the interview over the weekend. He speaks sense.

He's an engineer and an end user, he just wants things to "just work" (is that the sound of 101 trademark lawyers sharpening their pencils?). He doesn't want all the office politics getting in the way of making cool things.

Which is the way it should be.

The patent system (especially the US implementation of it) is fatally flawed. The Chinese, with their complete disregard for trademarks and copyright, are starting to look like they've got the right idea, they can copy all the features they want, and their courts just throw any claims against Chinese companies. Rather like the US system, but without even the slightest pretence at looking impartial!

Sure the US will ban anything they make from being offloaded at port, and the EU will do what it's told by the US, but the Chinese won't care. They'll have the best phones, and the biggest market. China.

iPad 4 is so OVER: 5 times as many fanbois now using iPad Air - survey

Steve Evans

Re: Shock Horror...

Without knowing the actual numbers involved, this could all fall down within statistical error.

In fact given that both the figures quoted are <1%, I think you'd be very brave to try to deduce trends and patterns of these tiny figures.

Mr Anonymous has perhaps extracted the only meaningful information this provides.

Google RIPS aside curtain, exposes Nexus 5 phone, KitKat Android 4.4 coupling

Steve Evans

@corestore

Exactly!

I've got an old HTC Desire Z/G2, which they abandoned on Gingerbread with all their Sense cruft...

I've actually got it running a vanilla Jellybean 4.2 rom at the moment, and it's smoother than it ever was with the HTC roms!

Steve Evans

Re: Nice

4.4 will be out on the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 within the next few weeks.

You can't blame Google for the shortcomings of the other phone manufacturers if they don't get their act together. The source is freely available.

As for some of the older Nexus models, it appears a lot of the problem comes from the chipset manufacturers, some of which have actually stopped making mobile chipsets altogether (Ti), and had supplied the previous firmware in binary blobs, which aren't compatible with the newer kernel.

HTC phone STOPS BULLET, saves Florida gas station clerk's life

Steve Evans

Damn lucky on two fronts...

1) The phone stopped the bullet.

2) Lucky the battery (look how deformed it is) didn't catch fire!

Want to go to billionaire Sun kingpin's beach? Hope you're a strong swimmer

Steve Evans

Re: nice business oportunity

Yup, perfect opportunity for the loudest water taxi service you can think of, running every 15 minutes.

I believe Sir Christopher Cockerell came up with just the machine for this...

Or maybe Top Gear's spin on it might be even better...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beoTcF2CsvE

Everything's going to be all white: Google Nexus 5 mobe expected Friday

Steve Evans

You say that, but I did actually see a 5S on the tube on Sunday... It was gold!

It looked pretty horrible TBH!

Just HALF of 10m iPhone, Android BlackBerry BBM app downloads activated

Steve Evans

Re: How does this make them money?

Shhhhh! Keep quiet!

The whole tech industry relies on you not mentioning the king is naked!

Met Police vid: HIDE your mobes. Pavement BIKER cutpurses on the loose

Steve Evans

Hmmm...

After finally finding the correct youtube link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvTIbN9awI , all those videos tell me is how terrible the quality of CCTV is.

You can't even read the registration plate letters which are 3 inches tall!

D-Link hole-prober finds 'backdoor' in Chinese wireless routers

Steve Evans

Re: Mfg don't seem to get it. The search for vulnerabilities *will* take place.

"The word will get round if you kit is s**t."

Unfortunately it'll only get round tech circles.

The cheap kit will still be available, and bought by the most vulnerable (shoppers at PC world).

The more tech savvy would have rendered themselves immediately immune by turning off WPS as a matter of course.

Mac fans: You don't need Windows to get ripped off in tech support scams

Steve Evans

@ukgnome

47 minutes, I salute you sir...

A couple of techie friends and I have a running competition, and you've just come out of nowhere an gone into the lead.

I partially blame myself for this as I don't seem to get any calls any more... Possibly down to TPS registration, but more likely due to how I ended my 32 minute call... With manic laughter and abuse.

Pity really... Since then I set up the world's most borked virtual XP machine ready for them to remotely access (this was the stage we had reached in my 32 minute call), but they never call :-(

'Safest car ever made' Tesla Model S EV crashes and burns. Car 'performed as designed'

Steve Evans

Re: I don't think it's fair...

Good grief don't let the Americans loose with the warning labels.

They're already reminded of the bleedin' obvious with the old "objects in the rear view mirror..." printing.

Can you imagine if they label every hazard?

Every door opening "Danger, do not shut fingers in door".

Every window "Do not lick glass when cold"

Every air vent "Do not stick fingers in air vents"

Rear seats could be woven with "Do not look at these whilst you are driving" in the cloth.

Then again, maybe all children should be labelled "These may distract you from driving. Remember to always gag and immobilise".

500 MEELLION PCs still run Windows XP. How did we get here?

Steve Evans

XP?

I had to take the moggy to see the vet the other day... Whilst she was having her temperature checked in a most undignified way, I looked the other way...

Toward the LCD screen on the desk... Hmmm, looks old... Closer look at start menu icon...

Windows 98 at best (could have been 95).

XP is still a dream to some!

EU move to standardise phone chargers is bad news for Apple

Steve Evans

@Frank Bough

They are trying to sort out their finances...

What better way than to line up one of the most profitable companies in the world for failure to comply?!

Google: Thanks for the billions in revenue, UK. Here are your taxes, that's ... £11m

Steve Evans

It's not evasion, it's avoidance.

The latter is completely legal, and lets face it, what we would all do given half the chance.

All they've done is followed the rules HM Gov set out. They've just got a good accountant. You wouldn't seriously expect them to ignore the good accountant and get a shit one that makes them pay more than they legally have to would you?

I'm sure there is some far more criminal tax dodging going on by members of the house.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it ... Win Phone 8? No, it's APPLE'S iOS 7

Steve Evans

Apple maps still lol...

Just performed my standard test on the just updated office iPad...

Maps still terrible.

If you don't believe me, go and find Reigate, Surrey, UK.

Think you have? Nope, that's Redhill...

One year to go: Can Scotland really declare gov IT independence?

Steve Evans

"lack overseas islands to house forward surveillance stations"...

They could always try to set up an empire in Panama...

Again...

Official crackdown on Apple fanboi 'shanty town' ahead of London iPhone launch

Steve Evans

Re: 23 year old estate agent

He's probably holding up some house sale... But at least those concerned now know where to find him, which is a step of from searching all the local golf courses.

LOHAN slowly strips lens caps off hi-def imaging arsenal

Steve Evans

Re: Not considered a drying rig ?

Is there an option to have a remote power source for the GoPro 3? So you could keep those batteries nice and warm (or at least not frozen) with the rest of the electronics?

NASA's nuclear Mars tank REBELS against human control

Steve Evans

Re: next update

It would be nice if Mr Thumbs down actually expanded on his displeasure and explained how they do track said rover without a GPS system, network of cell towers, road signs... Or does the robot arm also contain a sextant?

But it's only wafer thin: Skinniest keyboard EVER is designed by Camby biz

Steve Evans

Re: Rolling diameter

The lack of feel would be my major gripe.

Just try the Microsoft tablet folio keyboard on their tablet to see just how horrible a flat, dead keyboard can be!

Rolling diameter would be useful to know, plus its ability to withstand swatting flies.

Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile business

Steve Evans

Re: Oh, great!

1 - Stephen Elop will return to Microsoft to....

Like he ever left!

Somewhere, I'm sure I made a post predicting this exact outcome, I may have even made a date prediction, I'll have to check to see if I can become a high paid business analyst.