Re: Simple
It was fine, you just had to watch out for the print getting on your polyester trews.
Posts by jason 7
3181 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Jun 2009
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MONSTROUS iPhone sales are CANNIBALIZING iPads, gabbles Apple CEO
Tuesday 28th April 2015 09:20 GMT
Re: Simple
How many people buy the iPhone outright compared to being able to spend £35 a month for two+ years?
There is a difference.
I don't know many that shell out £600 (whatever it is) for them. It's just a constant payment scheme.
Not much different to paying £1 a week for the catalogue sofa back in the 1970's.
Tuesday 28th April 2015 09:16 GMT
@Dave126 - yes but while those £999 circa 1994 boxes had their faults that's how most of us got started and we are grateful to them.
Why?
Well at the time the Apple boxes were very beige and boxy too (in fact I'd say lumpy) but cost £2999. Plus they were almost dead in the water...
http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_year/macs-released-in-1994.html
We didn't have to worry about bra and knickers not matching as the concept didn't exist then. Ask the wife, it's one of those life's hurdles.
The Apple Watch: Throbbing strap-on with a knurled knob
Monday 27th April 2015 19:11 GMT
Apparently the Stainless Steel case version...
...scratches like crazy.
I've had stainless steel watches that went years without a single scratch.
The aluminium case sports version is tougher. Seems the Sports version is the best combination of case and screen materials. Well let's rephrase that, it's the best of a bad bunch.
Avengers: Age of Ultron – blisteringly big banter, brawls and brio
DRM is NOT THE LAW, I AM THE LAW, says JUDGE DREDD
Friday 24th April 2015 10:10 GMT
Started reading it from Prog 13...
...when I was 6 (read the ultra gory Action comic before that, thanks Dad) but stopped around 1981. Then my brother started getting it again around 1985 and has every copy since plus all the spin offs and collections.
Yes, you guessed right. he doesn't have a girlfriend.
Disk drive shipment numbers set to spin down
Friday 24th April 2015 11:14 GMT
I take it those 2.5" HDDs are enterprise SAS drives? That could be why they have lasted a bit better as they are built and tested to higher standards.
As I mentioned earlier I think that tolerances have been lowered over the past few years for most tiers of HDD. Warranties have also reduced...a coincidence?
Another factor is that 15 years ago a lot of us were always needing more storage so we were buying constantly. Now? Not so much - with 4TB+ being readily available. Again another case of sales down due to the tech being big or fast enough. So reduce the reliability to help build churn. Only works if they all do it though but in my experience that possibly seems to be the case.
Friday 24th April 2015 10:22 GMT
Re: Don't forget the third reason...
I have to say the quality of HDDs has plummeted over the past 3-4 years.
When I started up in business 6 years ago it was quite rare to find a HDD with serious issues that wasn't at least 5 years old.
Now I see many 6 month to a year old HDDs with bad sectors and faults on them already. I have a stack that's built up over the past 2 years that's nearly two feet high and I'm just a one man band.
I reckon when the floods happened a few years ago the HDD companies lowered their quality controls/standards so they could ship more drives and didn't bother putting them back up after it settled down.
As for SSDs. I've bought around 30 so far in 3 years and had one fail.
Microsoft: Profit DECIMATED because you people aren't buying PCs
Friday 24th April 2015 10:03 GMT
I had a customer wanting a new laptop a few weeks ago.
He demanded in no uncertain terms he didn't want 8 as it "was useless and impossible to use!"
So he heard.
So what did I do. I gave him a Windows 8.1 laptop with Classic Start installed.
Didn't tell him.
He loves it. I still don't think he's twigged yet.
Friday 24th April 2015 10:00 GMT
Actually I talk with a lot of IT mates and most of us would love to move over to a MS phone as the hardware is good and the OS works fine. However, the lack of decent native Google support puts most of us off.
We all agree the idea of having a red/blue/yellow/green phone and great camera tech really appeals for some reason.
Windows 10 Device Guard: Microsoft's effort to keep malware off PCs
Thursday 23rd April 2015 10:24 GMT
Bingo! That's what I was going to ask. Is it switched on by default? I guess not.
MS has loads of security built into Windows but they always leave it switched off by default.
I'm amazed they haven't bothered to build EMET into Windows 10 yet.
I think MS are terrified to becoming branded security Nazis by the press if they happen to switch on security that could blow out some old guys bit of shareware from 2002.
Damned if they do...
Go for a spin on Record Store Day: Lifting the lid on vinyl, CD and tape
Wednesday 22nd April 2015 13:21 GMT
Re: Can't be bothered will all that s*it anymore.
Yeah used to love wandering around all the mega and independent record/CD shops back in the 90's during my lunchtime. But about 10 years ago it just got too depressing with so many closed down or the selection dwindling to pure top 40 pop.
The fact my local HMV decided to turn itself into a ersatz Apple Store for some reason was the final straw.
Sunday 19th April 2015 10:16 GMT
Re: Can't be bothered will all that s*it anymore.
1. I mainly listen to classic rock and new rock/blues which Spotify gives in droves. Hunting out unlistened stuff I don't have on CD. I stopped buying CDs around 10 years ago so my collection isn't 'my life'.
2. I live in 2015/The first world so Not Spots..not often. Plus I mainly listen at home. I don't listen on the move.
3. I enjoy the music now, not the hardware.
4. I'm not a music snob it seems.
Revealed: The AMAZING technology behind Apple's $1299 Retina MacBooks – a lot of glue
Thursday 16th April 2015 23:03 GMT
And what do you say to the folks that can't afford to spend £1200 on a laptop? Do we say "Sorry the world of internet and social media isn't for you!"?
I can afford such a device...but I still wouldn't spend that to look at the web, send email, buy stuff on Amazon, telling uninterested fake people about how 'amazing' but actually very dull our lives are and type up the odd invoice. Which in all honesty is pretty much what 95% of people do.
Is it really worth me spending £1200+ to do that? I don't think so.
Laptops whether Apple or not, are commodity items. Use em and abuse them. Thank god cheaper forms of computing exist other than Apple. Life would have been tough had we only had Macs to choose from all those years ago.
Thursday 16th April 2015 11:14 GMT
Re: Objection!
Also what folks tend to forget is that inside that £1200 Macbook....
Is exactly the same RAM/CPU/HDD/GPU etc. etc. as in the £500 Toshiba.
All made by Foxconn (not the last word in quality) or other OEMs.
Apple kit doesn't have magic hardware in it. Never has. They just have nice cases and better than usual screens.
I see 6+ year old Macs I see plenty 6+ year old Windows laptops.
Due to market share/numbers sold I bet there are more working 8 year old Windows laptops out there than 8 year old Macbooks.
Perspective.
Thursday 16th April 2015 09:00 GMT
Re: The hacker spirit...
One of the things Apple fans always harp on about is second hand resale value.
Well would anyone here buy a 3-4 year old one of these? I may if I could put a new battery in it it but...
To be honest it's not going to help those precious resale values. Not that that affects Apple...
Thursday 16th April 2015 08:54 GMT
Re: Objection!
Indeed, Apple gear reliability is no better or worse than any other firms.
A friend of mine used to run a Apple repair company and he had people queued round the block with failed Apple kit. No shortage of fails there. However, he had to give up about 18 months ago.
Why? Well due to the main gist of this article. It was either impossible for him to fix or taking five times longer than me (on standard PC kit) to replace something simple like a hard drive.
Even though I state on my website I don't deal with Apple gear (not worth it and Apple customers actually often expect you to fix their gear for free for some reason) I still get plenty calls asking me to fix Macbooks etc.
Apple gear isn't magic.
Chrome version 42 will pour your Java coffee down the drain: Plugin blocked by default
Wednesday 15th April 2015 11:36 GMT
Re: grrr
Sounds like someone didn't attend the training or read the handout.
We rolled out a webmail system to a company a few months ago. We tested all the functionality they required and then some. Created handouts that explained the stuff they would need.
Then had the boss on the phone a few days later saying "Eric (the resident IT knowitall big mouth who actually doesn't...) says it doesn't do this, do that etc. etc. ! We can't use this! Eric says we need to go to Outllook/Exchange..."
Me - "All in the hand outs! Take a look! You have read them I take it?" (like hell)
Boss - "Oh I hadn't...oh yes says here it can! Oh I see..haha yes! Okay well....I'll let Eric know."
Woeful groans over Game of Thrones' spill on piracy sites
Kia Soul EV: Nifty Korean 'leccy hatchback has heart and Seoul
Nokia may tell struggling HERE Maps division to get lost – report
Operation Redstone: Microsoft preps double Windows update in 2016
Wednesday 8th April 2015 22:47 GMT
Re: OS revisions start coming every 18 months
Hey I agree with you. I don't really care for new OS revisions this quick as corporates tend to move to a new OS about every 6-7 years. I don't get why MS is suddenly doing a lot of work that their biggest customers won't give two hoots about. Technically about 4 out of every 5 OS will get missed.
The only thing I can think of is that they can test out a lot of new functionality domestically and get it tweaked just right before the corporates make their choice of the next big corporate OS. Just keep a rolling production line of OS refinement rather than huge specific OS build projects.
If one tanks...doesn't matter, a new one will be out in 8 months...
For me the OS is done, has been for the past 10 years and most things since have just been different styles of garnish.
But if it's going to be the way that a new OS appears every year then I'd rather pay little and often.
Wednesday 8th April 2015 14:44 GMT
Re: Subscription model?
Subscription software doesn't necessarily need a internet connection to work. Usually the license/registration system just checks when it can to see if the subscription is coming up.
I think folks get confused between 'cloud' services and 'subscription software'.
I have Office 365 on subscription and I use that disconnected for long periods if I'm out and about.
Not as bad as you might think. I've yet to have any issues with the few bits of software I use that use this model.
Wednesday 8th April 2015 09:24 GMT
Re: Subscription model?
I have to say if the Windows OS revisions start coming every 18 months than I would prefer to switch to a subscription. Say four machines for a decent sum and I'll be happy.
Buying individual is fine if you are only upgrading every 5-6 years but when it gets quicker than that I just want that all taken care of so I don't have to deliberate.
I could work with say £120 a year for five licenses. Same as Office365. Works for small business too as everyone then sits on the same software.
Other than that like you, you look out for the pre-release offers and buy it in cheap . I got the Pro upgrades for £20 a go (bought 4) and was until recently buying Windows 8 Pro retail upgrades for £40 each instead of the usual £140.00.
If they dont go subs the only worry I have is that they bring out a 10.1 version which is a royal pain when most machines recovery partitions have 10 on them....just adds more time and effort.
Popular crypto app uses single-byte XOR and nowt else, hacker says
Tuesday 7th April 2015 16:57 GMT
Re: At the end of the day...
And even someone clueless about tech can think, "hey, there's an encryption app, must be something juicy on here. Maybe I can ask a friendly geek to crack it".
Oh yes in some daring Mission Impossible style switcheroo so the target doesn't notice. Or a race against time to crack the code and get the data before they come back asking where their phone is!
Really? Really?? Come off it.
HP Stream x360: Flippable and stylish Chromebook killer
Tuesday 7th April 2015 11:53 GMT
Re: Honest Question ...
I also use the built in Disk Cleaner to root out some more, turn down the System restore If you need it) to around 1% and switch off hibernation. That can free up another 3-4GB usually.
Had a laptop brought in to me that had 64GB of System restore points! It was set to 50% for some reason.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
