Posts by qwarty

Re: Schools can do better

I disagree. Consider a comprehensive secondary with 2000 pupils and staff. Various devices in the school for educational and admin functions. Thousands more home PCs used by students and thousands more personal phones and portable PCs and tablets in use by members of the school (and parents). Making all this gear work together in a way that supports learning in a pleasing way is very different to the usual SME business situation where separation of home and personal interests and assets from the business dimension is crucial.

An education IT specialist could bring a lot to that party. Sure the wiring and basic hardware may be commodity but the natures of schools and SME businesses are very different.

If RM aren't addressing that wider context with their education offerings then they are missing an opportunity. Doesn't make the notion of education IT specialist pointless.

Re: Windows just has a bunch of overhead

Guessing and betting is all very well but this measurement on Anandtech is interesting, mainly because if its not a benchmark artefact and relates to real usage (which on the face of things it seems to) this implies there's an opportunity to get substantial improvements in common usage scenarios of Windows on x86 hardware, either via software or better hardware or both. Intel must have something they could say on this.

I'm always sceptical about benchmarks until I know they are representative of real world usage. Twenty years ago I discovered a driver from a leading graphics card vendor tricking common benchmarks at the time into the illusion it had twice the pixel fill rate that it actually delivered. I'm not suggesting anything underhand is going on in this instance, just that it is often easy to favour benchmark type scenarios by accident or design.

Re: Surface Pro 2

@Spearchucker Jones

No. Surface RT actually has very low resolution cameras like the new Surface Pro 2.

I already pointed out the new Surface 2 has 3.5/5 MP, making it much better than the 'Pro' model for imaging applications but not so useful when software is written for x86. Makes no sense to me but if I've missed something, feel free to explain the inexplicable.

For comparison, the Nexus 7 (2013) has 1.2/5MP and last years iPad 4 (2012) has 1.3/5 MP.

40-50 minutes

I set the 8.1 update installing on 3 systems simultaneously (4 year old core i7 and haswell desktops plus a three year old laptop with fairly slow hard drive. No SSD.). Downloading over domestic internet connection. The haswell finished first at 40 minutes and the laptop last after 50 minutes. Guess I must have been lucky hearing these stories of it taking over 2 hours.

I dual boot the 4 year old using Windows 7 half the time so conscious of the Windows 8 performance benefits - nice to see 8.1 improves matters even further.

Re: Still not enough

Speak for yourself ITF. Most of us have personal preferences or ideas for what constitutes an ideal desktop environment. I don't miss the old start menu or classic application menus everywhere. but don't claim to be a spokesperson for other PC users to promote my preferences.

yeah little tight though 20nm NVidia GPU parts and Intel 14nm should open up power envelope options by this time next year.

Re: Anyone find this kinda creepy?

Steve, why do you feel that a 4 lens camera is in some way creepy compared with a one lens device? Where does that leave the eye of a dragonfly with its tens of thousands of lenses?

JDX you are assuming developers won't make the (often minor) mods necessary to make Windows desktop applications work well on an 8" multitouch screen. I for one have several apps that would work well on this kind of device but have enough complications (e.g. 3rd part libraries) porting to WinRT that I simply don't have the incentive to invest the time while RT-only accounts for such a tiny part of the market.

The new Atoms from Intel fit just fine.

Re: One wonders

Clarification. Sure Microsoft could have done a better job yet 32 bit Windows application binaries going back to last century happily coexist on 64 bit Windows 7 and 8. Theres no particular OS X advantage here.

Re: A modest proposal

What ARM model are you proposing to compete with the Core i7-4610Y clocked at 1.7GHz?

Re: Niche but cool

2.4kg and 18" is portable enough for me, fits into a shoulder bag so handy enough when away from base so long as carrying a smaller tablet too. No reason not to get prices down to close to AIO levels in which case an easy purchase for me, shame no manufacturer has the confidence yet to launch something non-niche.

Re: 4G is nice..

According to the Google tech specs the new model does have 5Ghz.

Re: Too pricey in Europe

Arithmetic. How many time do we have to say the UK prices quoted include (high) sales tax but the US prices don't. The price is actually about 10% higher in UK. We can blame Microsoft or Sony for many things but hardly the 20% of our cash claimed by our government.

Re: So...

Most of that 25Gb will not be required to be downloaded before playing the game, the vast bulk will be media assets related to where you are in the game which can be downloaded if and when they are needed. No reason I can't design a game with 250Gb assets but only a few megabytes to be installed before it can boot.

In principle what Microsoft are doing makes a lot of sense and for some people (not all) represents a step forward in the console model of gaming. The devil is in the detail, much of which we don't know yet.

Personally, I'm looking forward to being able to visit a friends house and address the kinect "Good morning Hal" to hear "Good morning Dave, what can I do for you today".

A resizable HDMI input stream sounds like a neat feature, especially if there is a protocol so Tivo, Sky etc. can be updated to make for better integration. I like the idea that I can mix/match games, apps and TV services from my Nexus 7 or voice (iff the speech support is improved over 360).

Wonder if we will be able to input a feed from 360, PS3 or PS4 consoles "Xbox play TS4" ?

Why the negativity? Will be cool if implemented well.

Re: Lens

Not to disagree with the value of good lenses Martin but its all a more complex topic than you suggest. Time to focus, depth of field, length of exposure all go into making a good shot. Zoom speed. Continuous shots/second. DSLR video.

If you have time to adjust settings, good conditions and a simple goal such as shooting a posed portrait shot, a DSLR is an excellent tool. Likewise standard landscapes. Less so e.g. in sports photography or casual snapping.

Furthermore by embedding the camera in a fully programmable device like a phone, we are no longer tied to imaging and interface the camera manufacturer decided on, we can write our own software or buy apps. Wish I could do that with my DSLR.

High resolution sensors and fast image acquisition change the rules of the game and open up interesting opportunities in processing the raw data stream even though end of the day we are happy with a 6MP image. For instance, in some situations, an effective way to avoid the need to mechanically zoom a lens. Key point is new camera technology is not just about shrinking the traditional optics and sensor to ape traditional cameras.

I think Nokia are being clear that they are using the technology to improve camera flexibility, not selling the idea of shooting 41MP images like the old silly ad-hype for cameras.

Opinions differ but to my mind a real computer is a computing device on which you can build and run programs on that device. Otherwise its a gadget. So yes, its not sophistry to state Pro is a real computer and iPad is not. Just saying for the benefit of downvoters.

Re: Inevitable

Odd this anthropomorphism business still runs on thousands of years after ancient gods were invented. Lots of people were doing things with PCs before Microsoft won that 1980s race. Likewise smartphones before Apple, Tablets etc. Crediting Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or even their companies with these concepts rather than noting their commercial success in exploiting the ideas is about as daft as it gets.

As you point out Sil, its primary driver is computing power/watt.

Re: Sporking hell

Metro isn't just about touch so two versions would be a recipe for FAIL. An option to go to directly desktop or corporate start setup at logon would make sense, arrogant they removed this option. Having said that, I would choose to logon to Metro start screen, as I suspect would many people outside locked down corporate systems.

Re: Words have a meaning .. don't mess with them!

Actually I like the two distinct types of application coexisting on one device and the fact I can use (or develop) a Metro app to work well on tablet, detachable, desktop, whatever. What I strongly dislike is the ludicrous notion that a full/split screen metro application space somehow replaces a windowed desktop in general on PC technology. Messaging from Microsoft is extremely muddy on this issue and this as much as the trivia like the start menu business that makes for much criticism I suspect.

Possibly the most fundamental mistake the Windows group at Microsoft made was releasing the whole Metro system without testing the whole concept on non-trivial apps. If Microsoft Office had been shown to work well much criticism on the more radical changes would have been deflected but instead they launched with trivial apps in the store and I've yet to see anything to catch my imagination over 6 months later. Although had they not made this beginners error Metro would be rather different as I don't believe what we have at the moment is capable of delivering an acceptable mode of use for Office. I'm curious as to whether 'Blue' has learned from this mistake or its going to take another year to undo the damage.

As you say, its hard to imagine what it is about windows in Windows that apparently escapes the current marketing and design crew at Microsoft.

Personally I'd like to see hybrid WinRT apps that can operate in multitasking windows on desktop AND the full/split screen space but not holding out much hope this will happen this year.

Re: MS Ignores All Past UI Research

There wasn't the hardware or software 30 years ago to do relevant ergonomic testing for desktop modes of use for multitouch we are looking at nowadays so hardly relevant.

I remember some of those early touch systems in kiosk applications and of course the idea of using them to replace keyboard and the newfangled mouse was laughable at the time, no need for extensive research.

Re: "[WP8] is well liked by its users."

Less fud and more facts. What enrages you? Share some of your 'long list'.

Re: Facebook / Instagram etc.

You are being hopelessly naïve. An image may start on facebook but go through any number of copies, (maybe with modifications, metadata changes) to other places before the copyright thief 'discovers' it to claim as their own work.

Re: Next "innovation" in Macs

Maybe but couldn't replace the current Mac lines for some time, and its a big jump from A6X to a SoC to compete with Baytrail and even then the cost savings aren't enormous on an MBA type BOM.

One of my side-bet predictions is an ARM+x86 iOS/OSX hybrid multitouch detachable where the (retina) screen as tablet has passive cooling and you have choice of battery + higher powered CPU etc. in keyboard section. Seems a very obvious step though doubtless would be announced as revolutionary and innovative. Should be doable at MBA-MBP pricing with 2014 tech.

Re: The obvious solution

Exactly casaloco. Its a crooked industry and I can't think of a single honest reason why OFCOM resists making premium rate calls an opt-in for all telecom services.

Re: Atom, saviour of Intel.

Intel screwed up with the Atom in recent years, that's the reality. Bay Trail due second half of the year goes a long way in catching up with x64, more DRAM, quad core and much improved graphics. But its a product that should have been available in 2012 and that's the underlying reason for many of the current issues discussed here including the death of the netbook and poor PC sales. When Intel get to realize its better to keep their fabs busy on lower margin parts is something we'll discover in time, in the x86 v ARM competition theres little room for $100+ parts.

Its a matter of semantics whether the new detachable/convertible formats are the new netbooks. IMO of current hardware the Surface devices give the best idea of what is to come, whether as Windows or Linux derived machines. Apart from screen aspect ratio. Seems so obvious to me that 16:10 is all it takes to make portrait mode useable - simply incredible how these dreaded 16:9 device keep being wheeled out.

A lot of media encoding/processing doesn't need to be done real-time, or at least doesn't needn't be processed at highest quality levels in real-time. Real time - what you are referring to isn't really a technical problem in practice with modern hardware, these issues you allude to were more of a factor several years ago when people were trying to push slower PC CPU/GPU beyond some intrinsic limits. Still a problem on most current ARM and Atom devices but nobody seriously expects to run the more demanding stuff here until upcoming performance bumps are available.

Yes, apparently Gartner predicts every man, woman, and child on the planet will own at least one mobile phone by 2017 and we'll be replacing them with new models on average once every three years. These analysts need to look up the term 'reality check'.