* Posts by thesykes

556 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Feb 2010

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Android smartphone

thesykes
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Small screen? If you want a big screen, buy an Arc S, simple... it's called having a choice, something some manufacturers will never give you.

thesykes
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Size isn't a problem...

The slim dimensions of the phone are one of the reasons I went for it, I don't want a huge slab of gadgetry in my pocket.

You also didn't mention the headphones, which are a very nice pair, far superior to any I've seen bundled with phones. Maybe you didn't get the offer?

The standard keyboard isn't great, but, took 5 minutes to install Swype, so not a problem at all.

The only really irritating thing about the phone is that all the software that SE have dumped on there is installed in the system area, making it impossible to uninstall without rooting the phone... which you can't do with sim locked phones! This means you're stuck with useless trial versions of software you don't want or need.

If anyone can tell me how to root it, that would be most welcome! And no, the instructions on the SE site don't work.

Gulf of California terrorized by ONE-EYED MUTANT SHARK!

thesykes

it's obviously...

a Vindaloovian shark...

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S Android smartphone

thesykes

maybe...

Arc S £340

SGSII £530

(El Reg review prices)

would have something to do with it?

So far I haven't managed to slow my 1Ghz SE phone, so, can't imagine why you think this 1.4Ghz version would be so much of a slouch?

Belkin Conserve

thesykes

Some interesting comments...

So many reasons not to get one of these, some of them work for the individuals who mention them. Just for balance though, there are reasons that none of those would work for me, and possibly for others.

* Timer switches are useless when people work shifts.

* A new distribution board, and accompanying re-wiring would cost more than £30

* TV-sensing on/off is useless for when you want to listen to music and the TV isn't needed

* 3-gang cheaper options from B&Q become more expensive when you have to buy 2

* Individually controlled switches may be more flexible, also more confusing for kids

* Not all electrical sockets are easiy accessible, nor is the Belkin itself, being behind the TV

As for how long till I get my money back? Don't care, I bought it for the convenience of being able to turn stuff off and I needed a trailing socket. For this reason the question of carbon offsetting is irellevant, as I doubt the footprint of this socket is much different to any other non-remote controlled one.

If your own personal solution works for you, great, but don't dismiss this solution, as not eveyone's requirements are the same. It works perfectly for my needs.

thesykes
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Had one for a while

Certainly makes it easier turn everything off. The location of the sockets makes it very awkward to reach them, as they are tucked behind large cabinets (can't move those due space constraints thanks to the size of the TV).

Whilst it may use a tiny amount of power, I'd guess it's far less than that used by a PS3, Wii, DVD recorder and big TV all in standby.

Also, as it allows some gadgets to stay turned on, I can have the Sky box on standby, ready to records films at 3am and also ready to be turned on from the comfort of the bed, something you can't do if it's switched off at the socket downstairs.

Viz Profanisaurus

thesykes
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Still got mine...

It's tucked away from the kids.. still remember getting it, around half a dozen of us all in WH Smiths, then proceded to take it in turns to shout out various entries... closely followed a few seconds later by laughter as we read the definitions, much to the bemusement of the rest of the office.

May just have to invest in this version now.....

CyanogenMod 7.1 brings 24 Android phones into fold

thesykes
Unhappy

great....

Shame O2 have kindly locked the bootloader on my Xperia... cheers

iPhone 4S pay-monthly tariffs compared

thesykes

yep...

just got a new SE Xperia (not an Arc, don't want something that big!), and checked out what iPhone prices were like... same tariff gets you an iPhone.... 3Gs.... so, that's the same calls, texts, internet usage, and an old phone.

'iPhone 4 to be free' when new iPhones ship

thesykes
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So, what you're saying is, the only reason people don't buy an iPhone is cost? Sorry, but, that is utter crap. If that were the case, then nobody would be buying Galaxy SII's, Xperia Arcs or any other Android, Blackberry or Windows phone that costs the same as iPhones. Your theory falls down spectacularly, as people do buy them.

Maybe you haven't considered that some people will never buy an iPhone, not for idealogical commitments, but, simply because they think that iOS looks dated, the iPhone 4 looks like it was designed using Excel autoshapes and they want to do things with phones that Apple simply will not allow.

ThumbsUp Black Diamond glow-globe iPhone dock

thesykes
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why?

£70 for a usb connector and a lump of plastic? I'd have expected something like that in Poundland.

Drinking alcohol wards off asthma

thesykes
Pint

That reminds me...

I must call and get some more medicine tonight, as I drank the last dose in the fridge, last night.

Thanks, El Reg, for helping me take care of my health.

Blighty's Android fans get British English voice control

thesykes

useless as ever...

Tried to navigate to my brothers house (OK, I do know the way, it was a test!), and it eventually recognised me saying his name, then completely ignored his entry in my contacts and did a company search on the net and offered some useless suggestions.

So, tried to phone my son, recognised his name immediately, and then offered a building company in Bishop's Stortford (I'm in Yorkshire, thanks), a family sevice centre in New Zealand (not one word in the offered text matched either name) and some stranger in Cambridge... Massachusetts...

Android banking trojan intercepts security texts

thesykes
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LBE

Cheers, giving it a whirl now. Quite an eye-opener to see what permissions some apps are requesting... a few minutes clicking deny felt strangely satisfying.

Dole-office civil servants allowed Twitter but no Facebook

thesykes

but...

for some workers at the DWP surely access to FB could be useful? Presumably the fraud investigators could find it useful in checking up on suspected cheats? Some people are dumb enough to allow unrestricted access to their info, and any posts about how bad work is, how they enjoyed running a marathon etc. could be used to haul them up in front of a judge?

Galaxy Tab remains illegal in Germany

thesykes

last paragraph re the Japanese court case...

thesykes
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errr

it's black, rectangular and has rounded corners. it's also a different aspect ratio, designed to be held in a different orientation and does not have a big button on the front of it.

of course that same description can be equally applied to tablets from asus, htc, acer, hp, blackberry.....which I think covers Android, Web OS, Blackberry and Windows.

Which could explain why Apple "accidentally" distorted the Galaxy images to make it appear the same size, showed it in portrait and not it's native landscape view and with the app drawer open and not with it's desktop showing.

thesykes

Why?

The SII is a phone, not a tablet, are you saying the SII is a rip-off of the iPad?

thesykes
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The SII?

Have Apple seen the SII? From the comparisons I've seen of it next to an iPhone 4, there's no way anyone could say it's a copy.

Is the problem that the yet-to-be-announced-but-in-production iPhone 5 doesn't stack up favourably against it and they need to get it banned? Maybe not, but, makes you wonder why they'd go after a product that clearly isn't a copy of the iPhone.

Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA after new Apple moves

thesykes

not quite...

It wouldn't be anti-competitive. Maybe breaking a contract somewhere, but, for future products there's no law that says Samsung must supply Apple with components. There's no law that says Samsung have to even bid to be an Apple supplier.

Let's face it, there are only a small number of manufacturers in the world who can produce touch screens to the spec laid down by Apple. Samsung are one of them. If they stop supplying, then the market gets smaller, if LG decided to forget to bid, are there that many suppliers who can step up and produce the required quantity to the required consistency of quality? If not, Apple could well have to wait a while before producing the next iPad, whilst a new supplier builds a plant, and then perfects the manufacturing process. That may or may not hurt Samsung leng--term, but, I'd guess the iPad screens are only a small part of the vast array of electrical components they make, and seeing the company that put through numerous court cases squirm as they explain to the rabid fanbois that they will have to wait a year or two for the next shiny, would probably be worth every penny in lost profits.

thesykes

but...

isn't that exactly what Apple are suing for? Because the Tab's are rectangular with rounded corners? ie. their basic form?

Sharp shows off 8K4K hi-res prototype telly

thesykes
WTF?

how many speakers?

22.2 surround sound? damn, have to brick up the windows and doors, need the walls for all those speakers!

Samsung outs MacBook Pro lookalike laptop

thesykes

re: Touch pad

presumably so that the the touch pad is in the middle of the keyboard, which is to the left of the casing due to the numberk eypad on the right, much like a full sized keyboard layout.

If the trackpad were in the middle of the casing, chances are you'd hit it repeatedly with your right hand whilst typing.

Apple ejects FT app from iTunes

thesykes
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@ac 12:08

I would suggest that the Apple Developer fee of $99 payable each year would cover those costs quite nicely. So, whilst the app may be given away for free, it is the developer who pays the cost, whilst Apple take the annual fee for keeping the infrastructure ticking over.

I've no idea how many active developer accounts there are, but, I'd guess all those $99 fees do add up to quite a nice chunk of cash.

And, as for diddly squat, well yes I'd agree. Apple provide the means to download the app, at that point their involvement ends. The app dowloads content provided by the provider, over the network paid for by the user. Apple does nothing, but, wants 30% for the privelege.

The only surprise is how many developers have handed over the cash instead of simply creating a mobile web site that can be used by any phone, regardless of what OS it is running.

Stephen on Steve: The most important man on Earth

thesykes
WTF?

what drugs?

He must be on drugs, copious amounts of them.

Paintball round pops Bulgarian airbag

thesykes
Happy

hmmmmm

Excuse me madam, would you mind whipping your top off so I can ogle... I mean, check if you need any extra padding?

Nice idea.

Apple wins (another) Samsung Android injunction in EU

thesykes
WTF?

EU ban?

I find it strange that any court within one EU member state can order a ban throughout all member states, but, I'm no legal expert, so maybe they can.

I'd be more surprised the any court anywhere in the EU could tell Switzerland what to do.

Samsung says Apple lifted iPad from Kubrick's 2001

thesykes
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ummmm they are...

take a look at a better quality version of the picture...

http://community.digitalmediaacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2001-iPad.jpeg

New Apple move against Galaxy Tab on Euro front

thesykes
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remove your blinkers

go take a look at the pictures of the HP tablet that a couple of others have mentioned. Take a good look at it. If you can say that the iPad does not bear any resemblance to the HP, then I call you a liar.

The iPad is as similar to the HP as the Tab is to an iPad.

You can claim that the iPad is thinner, well, what the hell do you expect? It was created over 5 years ago, technology advances, devices get thinner.

thesykes
Facepalm

Re: near enough

I'll give you credit, despite numerous examples, on this thread as well as several others, of tablet computers that look near identical to the iPad, all of which predate the iPad, some by over a decade, you're sticking to your guns.

Good on ya. You hang in there sunshine, you're a credit to your cause.

Dedicated to the Apple viewpoint. Deluded, but dedicated.

thesykes
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Design? What design?

A rectangle with rounded corners? You mean, like every flat screen LCD, LED and plasma screen made over the last how many years?

How exactly did Apple "design" a rectangle?

Man builds gadget to silence annoying TV pundits

thesykes
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Yes please

Gimme gimme!

Better ATM skimming through thermal imaging

thesykes

I have the perfect solution

Have a wife and three kids, then you'll permanently have a bank account with no money in it to steal.

Sorted.

Sony prices up PlayStation telly for UK

thesykes
Meh

24 inch?

Sounds a good idea in theory, two people playing the same game, without being able to see what the other person is doing, also allowing full screen view rather than split-screen.

But, 24 inches? Seems a little small to me, unless it's intended for a bedroom.

Giant iPhone 4 brings Mac OS X to the table

thesykes
Unhappy

So, who's gonna sue first?

Apple or Sony?

Apple changed shape of Galaxy Tab in court filing

thesykes
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Innovation?

The lawsuit relates to look and feel.

So, by your comment in relation to the article, innovation means designing something that is rectangular, flat, has a screen in the middle and has rounded corners.

That's innovation?

Innovation has come from the companies who make the screens, the processors, the memory chips, the wireless capabilities etc. Designing a rectangular box is not innovation.

Three prunes prices of smartphone contracts

thesykes
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Re: Flext

Cheers... £30 a month is more than I'd pay... don't make that many calls to be honest, but I'll take a look to see what they are offering

thesykes

What would be useful...

...is if 3, or any other telco for that matter, allowed you to mould the included minutes/texts/data to your own needs.

If I could use sliding controls on a configurator screen, to adjust the quantities, and the cost adjusted accordingly (similar to altering excess values on car insurance comparison sites). Then I could reduce the useless 5000 texts to sometihing like, oh, I dunno, 2, and ramp up the data.

That'd suit me.

Maybe one of them does that and some enlightened soul could point me in that direction?

Grassroots Brit project plans .app top-level domain bid

thesykes

I admire your optimism!

Misplaced though it is... hoping that the CEO's of these money-grabbing, self-centered, arrogant companies would use some common sense and let the little guy win....no, much rather spend a small fortune to own the tld, then charge everone else a small fortune to register a domain to protect their image rights.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo bow to Apple sales edict

thesykes

if I was doing the replies...

They'd go along the lines of "Sorry, Apple told us to remove the link, to the detriment of our users, including yourself. However, if you purchased a Kindle Device, or, alternatively, used an app for Android or Windows smartphones, the ability to buy direct from your phone is available"

I may not bother Apple but, it'd make me feel better.

Historypin

thesykes
WTF?

Not on market for me either...

Tried searching for it on the market and it didn't show. Folllowed the link to the market from the article, it's there and it is compatible with my phone! Clicked install and the install process kicked off immediately, installed no problems and a quick try of it shows it appears to work.

Apple snuffs iPhone privacy complaint with Korean peanuts

thesykes

ahhh.. I see

must just be individuals who get hauled up then, if you're big enough, the law doesn't apply?

thesykes

not turn up, but do pay up

Whilst it is common for large companies not to bother turning up for court, I would've thought they do pay up when they lose.

Obviously in Korea they do things different, and just took the cash, but, over here I would've thought a summons to the directors for contempt of court would be a more likely outcome?

W3C moves to snuff Apple web patents

thesykes

that explains it then

the real reason Jobs hates Flash and wants HTML5... for money.

Moto cold shoulders upgrade-hungry Xoom users

thesykes
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fortunately...

I will never buy a Moto phone.. ever...

My first mobile phone was a motorola, and it was terrible. It's the only phone I have ever used that required you to write the number a text message came from, just so you could scroll through your contacts (on the phone) and find who it came from. That's right... it couldn't show you the name of the sender from your phonebook.

OK... things have changed, technology-wise, but any company who could produce something so stupid will never get my money again.

As for poor customer-service...never contacted moto, but, Samsung are pretty hopeless too... Aaaghh.. Samsung... pc sync... calendars... birthdays... bad memories... bab, bad memories

Dinner Spinner

thesykes
Headmaster

no, no, no

"in’t pot".. what's that supposed to be? surely you mean "in t'pot"?

As for pronuncation, it would be closer to "int pot" and not "in tpot", with a softer t in int than in pot, otherwise you'd get a harsh pause between the two words, rather than a fluid transition. This is a common failing of Southerners attempting a Northern accent, with terrible results.

Apple patent: 'Pour' your data from iPhone to iPad

thesykes
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An improvement?

Maybe I am getting hold of the wrong end of the stick, but...

How is it an improvement in usability if, whilst transferring a large file between two devices, both those devices become unusable during the transfer? If one person has to stand and hold their iThing in the air, whilst the other is laid on the desk... how can either be used for anything else?

Can't think of the last time I used a PC and it was unusable for other tasks whilst the file transfer chugged away in the background.

This would be as useful as a phone that can't do anything during an install from the Appstore/Market/Wherever.

As for flicking... how would that cope with a file flicked across an office with 5 devices all set to recieve and all within a naroww field? Would it be as accurate as attempting to throw a frisby to your kid, only for it to land on the shed, in the pond or over the fence?

Also, how would the two devices know where they are in relation to each other? I'm no genius on such matters, but, I've not heard of any technology that can scan a room and identify the exact location of other phones. Perhaps someone can elnighten me on that one? Surely you'd need to use triangulation to pinpoint the location (GPS isn't accurate enough and doesn't work indoors reliably) ? If so, doesn't the proximity of the sensors affect their accuracy? On a phone there's only so much distance you can put between sensors, unless this comes with a couple of attennae you strap to your hands and wave in the air?

So, assuming the location cannot be accurately identified, the "flick" is no more than dragging your finger off the screen in any direction and the phone pairing with another and transferring it. May as well just have a context menu pop up on dragging a file, offering the choice to bluetooth, email or sms it!

Apple App Store passes 15bn download mark

thesykes

hard to find?

Not sure why you think it's hard to find... maybe it's just being choosy.

I have a non-fruit device and just (sadly) counted up the number of apps in my downloaded list. Ignoring the odd one that is in there but isn't really a downloaded app (TTS, voice search) I have 105 apps. That doesn't include the numerous ones downloaded, run and deleted in 5 minutes, of which there are many.

So,75 isn't really that many.

Apple orders millions of iPhone 5s for September release

thesykes
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same old rubbish spouted...

Go to a shop, buy an Android phone. Give Google no details. Turn phone on (no PC required) and use. Simple.

Want to download apps? OK, sign up for a Gmail account. Provide Google with a name (could be yours, but, who says it does?). No address, no date of birth, no credit card details, no telephone number.

Activate the Market with the new anonymous Gmail account. Download apps.

Now... what details exactly can Google sell?

So far I have had zero spam emails, zero spam sms, zero spam phone calls. If they are selling my info, the people they are selling to are probably the most incompetent marketeers on the planet.

Apple will 'own games industry'

thesykes
FAIL

Tablet gaming

has too many drawbacks to serious gamers. Covering half the screen with your hands whilst flinging one bird at stationary pigs is fine, but, when it comes to intense first person shooters, you need to see every square inch of your screen. Those corners covered by your hands contain important info, such as ammo, health, maybe a radar screen. Cover those up and you're dead. Look at how many buttons are on PS3, Xbox and Wii controllers, even then, sometimes you need more. Can you really place all those onto a tablet screen? What would you have left, the equivalent of a 6" screen?

Add to that playing on a 10 inch screen with tinny speakers doesn't match a 42" or 50" OLED with 5.1 surround sound.

Mulitplayer on the same screen? Wii-style games such as bowling or tennis? No.

And stop perpetuating this myth that internet speeds are increasing to a point where downloading a few gig of games is no problem... in the real world we are lucky to get 2 megabits on a good day with the wind blowing in the right direction.

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