* Posts by jon 13

17 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jun 2009

The future of Not Reality is a strap-on that talks to my smarting ring

jon 13
Megaphone

"That’s like buying an electricity generator that runs off the mains.

Well Power Stations do get electricity bills, I had to "threaten" to cut one off if they didn't settle their arrears way back in the good-god-how-many-years-ago. So I understand your analogy but present this tediously anecdotal point to undermine it.

What should the Red Arrows' new aircraft be?

jon 13

It has to be one of the planes I built as an Airfix kit as a kid otherwise they mean nothing to me.

Therefore it's either Me 109 or a Wellington

A drone of one's own: Reg buyers' guide for UAV fanciers

jon 13

Re: For kids - gyro stabilised small quadcopters

For children / Winter flying the Nano QX is small and light enough to fly indoors and it comes with prop guards that will mostly protect the wallpaper from a beginner pilot.

New iPhone sells out, millions in hands of lucky fans, Cook cock a hoop ...

jon 13
Paris Hilton

Paris calling

Yeah, well nobody cares about Cubase anyway, it's Commodore all the way and it's all about the games. You are such ST-sissies if you think Atari is going to win.

Murdoch machinations mean Microsoft must rename SkyDrive

jon 13

I believe "News of the World" would be a good name to replace SkyDrivel, that's assuming Lord Justice Leveson won't let you use his name ...

Google Glass will SELF-DESTRUCT if flogged on eBay

jon 13

Only google is big, rich, evil, stupid and self-absorbed enough to think anyone believes it can enforce such a blunt idea.

Register reader Ray revs radio-controlled Raspberry Pi race rover

jon 13
Happy

Get with it Grandad! Swap that old-fashioned NiCD/NiMH stick and brushed motor for a LiPo and brushless - you'll get far less emf electrical interference as the BL doesn't spark across the commutator.

‘Anonymous’ hacks Oz Uni’s email to protest bulk iPad buy

jon 13
Trollface

Perhaps the University decided to invest in a closed and locked down ios system after experimenting with a free open and wild email system from Microsoft?

Pixar open sources production animation code, patents

jon 13
Facepalm

He's dead already, let him lie

Everyone has jumped in with their favourite Jobs bashing hominem and missed the glaring error in the article, Pixar didn't start as a software company they started as a _hardware_ company. That's why Lucas let them go. He didn't want the hassle of hardware support and maintenance so let them buy themselves out - with friendly cross-licensing for the "frame-buffer" George originally started the group for. PRman was only successful after the hardware (Pixar Image Computer) failed to sell.

HP elbows Apple off global PC throne

jon 13
Holmes

Re: Le Sigh

It bothers me because Acer, Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba are also 'Foxconn rebranders' but you single out Apple for the slur; perhaps it's you who should be asking why lazily inaccurate journalese is okay on TheReg rather than us questioning our own presupposed love of Apple's corporate cock.

"Jesus Phone" is a funny description of the hype surrounding it, fondleslab is also a typically sharp observation - but the Foxconn/Hon Hai stories are mostly racist bullshit. The name has become synonymous with child labour and prison-like working conditions and the merits and faults in that claim are a long and economically/culturally complex - the company is a personification of a lot of the western fears and prejudices about China. Associating their reputation exclusively with Apple and giving all the other brands a free pass to continue negotiating rock bottom labour costs while turning a blind eye to the actual human cost is both an insult to the seriousness of the problems and lazy journalism from a self-professed biased reporter keen to blame the assumed biases of others rather than confront his own ignorance.

LOHAN's fantastical flying truss cleared for lift-off

jon 13

Drag-chute/tail to give a bit of tension to the balloon string then a picavet suspension to hold the truss as level as possible. It works for kite photography so apart from neither end being attached to the ground it might be a viable self-levelling arrangement. No motors needed just a few pulleys and string.

Judge orders search giants: Delist Chanel rip-off merchants

jon 13
Joke

chanel register must be bricking it right now, always thought that part of the site was dodgy

F1 2011

jon 13
Trollface

Construction site

How accurate is the India track ?

Toshiba: Europeans to get specs-less 3D TV by year's end

jon 13
FAIL

nice pics

Is that the best picture they could use to advertise their TV ? I like the "fake transparent laptop/tv/ipad/etc." picture meme that's been ongoing since at least 1999 but when the enhanced image on the tv destroys all the highlight and shadow information is this really a great way to sell the picture quality? Or is it contrast at all costs ?

RUSTOCK TAKEDOWN: How the world's worst botnet was KO'd

jon 13
Paris Hilton

botherder

Anyone else read bot-herder as bother-der ? No ? Just me then ?

Boffins demand: Cull bogus A-Levels, hire brainier teachers

jon 13

Proper Universities

I left school in 88 just before the Polytechnics were renamed as Universities, General Studies definitely wasn't counted back then. I doubt it ever was.

When I was doing my A-levels I found that between maths and chemistry 90% of the physics syllabus had already been covered so I counted it as a bonus. I'm surprised this wheeze was not more widely recognised.

The Economist had a great article about why teaching is so undervalued in the UK - or rather why it is so bad compared to places like Korea who pay little more than the UK but have excellent teaching because there is a culture that respects teachers. When my parents became teachers there was a little prestige attached to the job and the pay was comparable to police. They watched 40 years worth of declining pay (compared to police) declining respect (if you can't do, teach) and declining job motivation as every single government wanted to introduce its own reforms.

Apple's big week: the good, the bad, the ugly

jon 13
Jobs Halo

Oh too ...

They should sack off O2 as well, worst network by far. For people who are thinking of buying an iPhone now, wayyy past the initial launch, mystery and neophilism things like what the service is like matter more. They should butter up Vodaphone again, who are at least reliable.