* Posts by squilookle

390 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Nov 2010

Page:

Lumia rebrand begins: Nokia's new UK web home is Microsoft.com

squilookle

Meh. I have a Lumia 920. It's OK, Windows Phone 8 is efficient as a phone and pleasant to use, but Nokia/MS and the carriers made a mess of the Cyan, 8.1 update. There were lots of customers waiting months and asking where the update was, and the answers given were vague and unhelpful 'coming soon','in the coming weeks', 'under testing'.

Also my screen flickers and my microphone is broken, tilt the phone the wrong way and the person on the other end can't hear you.

I won't be buying another one whatever branding they put on it. I'm going back to Android. I'll choose carefully to make sure I get updates. Android may be all over the place in terms of updates, but atleast you have a choice.

Phones 4u slips into administration after EE cuts ties with Brit mobe retailer

squilookle

I'm actually looking at a Nexus - debating whether to wait for the next one or jump in before the current one disappears. The Moto X would also be a contender.

I've heard of the iPhone. I know the resale values are good, but the initial price is steep and my last two Android phones have outlived the last two iPhones in our household. The most recent one, the battery is swelling and popping the screen out, and we could buy a Moto G and have change for the cost they want to repair it.

My point was that the isn't anywhere local where you can view these, buy them and get support, but there's a business for it. In the absence of carrier support and with cash in the bank, there *might* be a business in there somewhere. They might have to scale down for a while, but its better than dying off.

squilookle

"In line with our strategy to focus on growth in our direct channels"

So, they're openly saying its to take the business themselves. I've always wondered how places like Phones 4U survived and where the profits came from, but the whole thing seems anti-competetive (I don't know if it would class as that though because I guess you vould class them as parasitic rather than competitors in a way). I also think that if the customers want to go to Phones 4U then they should be able to. This move is only good for EE. Certainly not for the customers or for the staff at Phones 4U.

I know that Phones 4U had a pretty horrible reputation at one time but I bought my last phone from them (and so did my dad) and they had completely turned that around. The customer service was excellent.

The customer service at EE on the other hand is shocking. The stores and 'customer service' centres alike are useless.

If I could make a suggestion to Phones 4U it would be this. I've recently fallen out with EE over the length of time it took them to approve the Cyan update for my Lumia, and I know Android owners in the same boat. I'm in the market for a SIM free, unlocked phone that gets updates directly from the manufacturer. Many places on the web are touting the benefits of buying a device outright and getting a SIM only deal from the network - maybe use some of that cash they have in the bank to get such stock in, see if they can operate that kind of model. Like Clove, but where you can go in, try the handsets, compare the size and get advice from someone in person. I'd go there and, if they gave me the same service as they did the last time I was there, I'd go back afterwards too.

There must be a market for that and if not, I'm sure one could be cultivated.

I QUIT: Mozilla's anti-gay-marriage Brendan Eich leaps out of door

squilookle

"I won't support a company led by someone whose views I similarly detest."

Am I to understand from this that you do background checks on the views of the leadership of any company you deal with to ensure they are compatible with yours?

Or are you just jumping on the bandwagon while it's there?

The only area Mozilla have been found wanting, IMHO, is in caving in and releasing that ridiculous statement rather than supporting their outgoing CEO.

OkCupid falls out of love with 'anti-gay' Firefox, tells people to see other browsers

squilookle

For me, it's more to do with the fact that a boycott is supposed to be a tool to force something to change for the better. In this case, I don't believe there is anything to change. The focus is on something that happened six years ago and there is no evidence the chap at the centre of it is planning to use his position to deny anyone's rights. I see nothing to suggest the guy will do anything other than his job.

If there is nothing to change for the better, and the boycott is either punishment for holding (and acting on) different beliefs to those supporting the boycott, or a marketing stunt (for the chaps that started it, and now for okCupid). Either of these would be unnacceptable.

Note: I'm in favour of anyone being able to marry if they want to - but I'm also in favour of people being able to support any campaign they choose (think of all the things we have because we have that basic right to support any campaign we choose).

squilookle
Coat

Re: It's not just an "opinion"

"can you honestly think of a single instance where heterosexual people are having their human rights impinged by the LGBT community?"

Yes, a vocal section of the LGBT community are currently trying to impinge the rights of a man who once spent his own money on a cause he believed in (however misguided) to peacefully carry out a job he got 6 years later that is unrelated to the issue and should be divorced from politics.

Yes, people have a right to protest, but what this guy did was take part in a democratic process, however misguided the views might be. Rather than attacking one man and endangering his livelihood, the LGBT community should be taking part in the same democratic process to ensure the rights they now have are secure. I also worry that we are on a slippery slope where anyone of any political view could feel the sharp end of this kind of boycott for any reason.

If, during the course of his time as CEO at Mozilla he does anything to that affects the rights of Mozilla employees or users in anyway in his current role, have your boycott and I'll join you.

I'm not dismissing the issue of marriage as unimportant, but since he is not currently a threat to anyone's rights, this effort and energy could be used to solve so many other more pressing problems, as others here (and even okCupid "we all know there’s a lot more wrong with the world than misguided CEOs. So you might wonder why we’re asserting ourselves today.") have acknowledged we have..

Google builds crowdsourcing into new Maps code stack

squilookle
Stop

"Google was moving away from giving full maps to ones which just show the streets people need to find their chosen location. Non-essential data is taken out of the map to cut down on the clutter."

I'm all for progress, but this sounds like they are now trying to solve problems that don't exist. And in fact, I think they may create new ones. David D. Hagood gives one good example above, but more so, I like to see the other streets - I don't examine them closely while I'm driving but it makes me feel I have a better grip on my bearings and I do take some of it in.

Crowd sourcing for the routes people actually take sounds like a good idea but I would prefer that as a route option on the existing maps (e.g. fastest, eco, popular...)

Microsoft: All RIGHT, you can have your Start button back

squilookle
Windows

I genuinely like Windows 8. If I fire up the computer to play a bit of music, watch something on Netflix, speak to someone on Skype or check to see if that email I have been waiting for has arrived arrived (these tasks probably make up about 80% of the usage of my home computer) , it's more convenient and less fiddly than any old version of Windows or any Linux desktop I have used. If I need to get some real work done, the desktop is only one click away.

Nokia teases world+dog with snap of new 4G Lumia 928

squilookle
Thumb Up

After having used Android since 2009, I got a Lumia 920 in January and, apart from a few fall outs with it where apps like Spotify have been missing and then inferior to their Android equivalents when they have surfaced, I have generally found the experience of Windows phone 8 better* than Android. Everything is better integrated, there is no crapware installed by the phone maker or the network, and the phone does everything I need it to. I look forward to seeing what they bring out next (genuinely new models, not a repackaging of an old one, mind. I'm not going to be ready for another 2 years or so yet, either).

*In my opinion, for my needs, etc.

squilookle

Re: "Thinner and lighter"

Wireless charging is not a life changing feature, but it's nice. The biggest benefit is that, when I check the time on my phone in the night, I don't have to be wary of the cable trailing over the bedside table, I pick it off the charging plate, check the time and put it back. Also, my actual charging cable lives in my suitcase because I only ever use it when I travel, it's one less thing to remember. Again, not necessary, but nice.

The thickness of the 920 does not bother me, it fits in my pocket fine.

squilookle
WTF?

Re: I'll stick with my QWERTY thanks.

The thing I don't understand is why you are posting about your dislike of phones without physical keyboards here and now. You realize there have been so many phones with this set up released in the last 5 years, and this has become so accepted, that these comments are irrelevant to this article, don't you?

Next Xbox won't need always-on internet after all

squilookle
Childcatcher

Re: hmm

I see where you're coming from, buy buying secondhand games have taken 2 forms for me over different stages in life. When I was a kid, we would buy them with out own money from dodgy shops specializing in that kind of thing after school, or dodgy stalls in the market.

As an adult, second hand purchases have typically been old games you haven't seen for years and have to buy out of nostalgia.

Also, usually when I move house, I either take my last gen console and all it's games to a dodgy game shop, or as I'm planning to do this time, send them to music magpie.

It's a tradition. Of sorts.

squilookle
Thumb Up

I don't have loyalty to any console maker and usually change alliance (that is, buy a different console) every so often. I currently have an XBox 360 and I'm happy with it and I'll wait till both consoles are out before I choose one. A system where an internet connection is required all the time would be a dealbreaker for me - even though I rarely use my XBox 360 off line - but just out of principle because it's so pointless.

I think with the EA thing and the detail on the PS4 MS have realized it was a bad idea. They may try again in future. The software on the 360, to my memory, doesn't resemble the original software at all, so who knows where this console will be in 5-6 years, whatever it looks like when it gets released.

I hope they have dropped all this nonsense about not allowing second hand game purchases too - not that I buy second hand games because I haven't for years, but I don't like the idea of this being blocked for the interests of a few companies profits.

Atleast this put the new Xbox back in the running for my next console then. For now.

Windows Phone 8 must be Microsoft's priority one, two AND three

squilookle

Well, I did say on these forums that I thought the Lumia 920 was a nice phone but not widely available enough, and that I wouldn't be getting one for that reason.

Since then, I found that I can get one with 3G from t-mobile, and I had a play with one in the EE store the other day and decided that I am going to get one when my contract is up for renewal after all. If I was not already on t-mobile, this would not be the case. I don't want 4G - 'unlimited' data, price and battery life are more important to me than speed on a device where 3G has historically met my needs perfectly well.

I still think that the phone (and the HTC 8X for that matter) should be available, both on contract and sim free, in every shop and on every network that you can get an iPhone 5 or an S3, and that any exclusivity deal is a misstep that will reduce the chances of Nokia and WP8.

Also, Spotify need to get a WP8 app out quickly. I've looked on the forums and they seem to have lost/risk losing a small number of subscriptions because they have been giving canned, vague responses to queries about the app and it's ETA, but the market is now becoming more competitive for them too, and they need to do better if they want to stay on top in it.

The best e-readers for Christmas

squilookle

I'm currently using an HP TouchPad running Android for reading. It's a bit too hefty to take to work, but it's fine for around the house and was fine on the plane when I went on holiday last week.

I use it to watch NetFlix and play the odd game too, but I'm considering a Kindle for serious and more portable reading.

Lovefilm does a Wii after rival gets loaded on new Nintendo

squilookle
Meh

I haven't tried LoveFilm streaming (my brother tried it and he didn't like it) but I have Netflix and, while the content might not all be new (some of it is, I just finished watching the first half of Breaking Bad S5 on there and eagerly await the second half),

I think the amount and variety of content are absolutely excellent for the price.

I originally chose Netflix over Lovefilm for 3 reasons:

- Despite the fact I was very happy with the Lovefilm postal service and only left about a year or two before the streaming services came out because I had watched everything I really wanted to and was only adding things to my queue to keep the queue not empty, my mailbox was getting spammed by them asking me to go back to them, and that put me off.

- I preferred Netflix's one charge, access everything model, to the tiers on Lovefilm and the additional charges for newer content

- Netflix was available on more devices

So this move goes some way to addressing one of those concerns, albeit too late. Still, I wish them luck - competition is better for all of us.

Nintendo shrinks Wii for Crimbo

squilookle

@jdx

Its fine. Picture quality is ok, not hd but fine. There are no bells and whistles on the UI, but browsing with the Wii remote is great, intuitive and convenient.

squilookle
Thumb Down

My Wii currently lives in my bedroom and serves as a Netflix/iPlayer machine to the TV in there, although there are a few games I like to play every now and then.

Anyway, I was thinking this version of the console would be ideal for that kind of thing, until I read the bit about having no connectivity. Now I think it seems a bit crap. You should be able to pick up the original console fairly cheaply now too, I would imagine (I haven't checked though).

Oh well.

Nokia Lumia 820 WinPho 8 review

squilookle

Sorry Nokia

If I could have the camera and the screen (size and resolution) from the 920 with the removable battery, SD card slot and changeable covers (I like the bright colours, especially the yellow, but wouldn't feel comfortable with it all the time) from the 820, I might have been swayed.

As it happens, I did seriously consider the 920 when it was announced, but I felt the availability being restricted to certain networks and shops was a farce (although it looks like I could now get one on 3G from t-mobile if I wanted), but I have looked around and decided to stick with what I know (Android).

Incidentally the Android I'm looking at doesn't have SD card slot of removable battery either, but it's cheaper, so I'm going to buy it unlocked and won't be tied in for 2 years if it becomes a problem down the line.

squilookle
FAIL

@A/C 08:45

To be fair, the OP did not say Android is the best in that post. He didn't even say it was good.

He said Android has more market traction and is going to come out on top for that reason.

Amazon's secret UK sales figures revealed by Parliamentary probe

squilookle
Stop

I rarely stand up for big businesses - they irritate me in the way they treat people and the environment like crap in pursuit of profits, but at the end of the day, I believe that anyone, whether they are an individual or a corporation, would pay less tax if they had a legal option to do so.

If there is no evidence that these companies have broken the law, then I don't believe they should be getting shouted at and called 'immoral' and 'ridiculous' by our MP's (stones, glass houses and all that anyway).

I also feel that calling for people to boycott these companies over this tax issue is short sighted and irresponsible, as they bring money into the economy (suppliers, transport, shopfitters, etc) and the governments purse in other ways (Tax and NI on the pay of their staff, VAT).

Does this make what they are doing right? No, not at all. They should pay their tax. But rather than dragging them to committees, shouting at them and throwing tantrums, boycotting them and turning their branches into creches, we should be looking at making the law and the agencies that should be collecting these taxes more robust.

Gangnam Style beats Bieber Baby, becomes biggest timewaste EVER

squilookle
Thumb Up

I know I'm going to get downvoted but I'm not bothered. I think the song is very catchy and I thought the video was quite funny.

As I understand it from a brief Google search and a conversation with a guy at work, (Not in that order)(Not very scientific so I could be wrong), the whole thing is a pisstake of western culture - and I'm sure many of the commentards here agree that a lot of western culture is a good target for pisstake. Whether that's true or not, it's nothing to get worked up about - you have the choice to either enjoy it or ignore it.

Apple said to have let the name of the next OS X cat out of the bag

squilookle
Coat

I reckon they should call it OSX Danny John-Jules

Mines the tiger-print one with the Red Dwarf X DVD in the pocket.

squilookle
Pirate

Re: I'll switch to OSX

Yeah, but they'll probably sue Canonical for having used the word Ocelot in connection with 11.10

Long-suffering Virgin Media victims see no end to vid PURGATORY

squilookle
Thumb Down

I'm not the biggest fan of VM (In fact I can't stand them and I'm only with them because previous experience of other ISPs suggests the BT line to my house is made up of cotton wool), but I've been using Netflix with no issues.I haven't tried YouTube or iPlayer recently.

The point of this rant though, is that if I did experience these problems, and I'm sure others who are experiencing the problems are in the same boat, then I would have nowhere else to go, as the other ISPs can't supply a HD stream (or a low resolution stream for that matter) without lots of buffering at all.

So one of two things needs to happen. VM need to be treat like a monopoly in the areas where they effectively are and have their arm twisted to give the service their customers are paying for, or BT need to pull their finger out and finish this fibre optic roll out before the rest of the world discovers something twice as fast again, and we get left behind, again.

Lawyer sues Microsoft rather than slot an SD card into his Surface

squilookle

16GB is excessive for a tablet OS. I have a 32GB Touchpad running both Android and WebOS, with a stupid number of eBooks, some photos, and a couple of films on it, and it reports is has about 24GB available.

However, I would expect all but the most clueless of users (the type that would not know how much storage they have anyway, only that it's full) would understand that the OS lives in the advertised storage, so I don't think he has a leg to stand on, regardless.

Nintendo Wii U set to out-sell predecessor at launch

squilookle
Facepalm

Re: Gossip

That and the disc drive flashing blue when there were updates. It didn't really work well though. The parents used to call me and ask why their Wii was flashing, then I had to talk them through it.

squilookle
Meh

I don't know anyone that is even thinking about buying one of these.

That said, it has the Wii name and logo that many people know from the previous Wii they bought. Even if the current Wii is gathering dust, they might see that, remember the fun they had with the last one and buy one hoping to experience that again, so maybe that does stand it in better stead than the original (which had to build the 'Wii' brand up from scratch.

Personally, I don't want to see any console release fail, so I hope it does well, but I won't be buying one soon as I still haven't forgiven them for the control scheme of Skyward Sword (I'm missing a right hand and had difficulties with it), the lack of alternative controller options, or the poor response I got from their customer services dept when I asked them about it. If they release a *really* good Zelda game and the control scheme is sensible, I might cave in buy one further down the line.

Google, Amazon, Starbucks are 'immoral' and 'ridiculous' over UK tax

squilookle
Coffee/keyboard

"MPs didn't shrink from telling senior execs from Amazon, Starbucks and Google that they were "ridiculous", "unbelievable" and "immoral""

When GiffGaff falls over, is it even news any more?

squilookle
Holmes

The question here is, if you stop reporting every detail, is it going to make any big difference to the site? Are the resources and people that have been freed up from following GiffGaff going to bring us anything more interesting? If yes, then maybe you should stop following issues with GiffGaff.

If the answer is no and we are just looking at not annoying the people who don't care about GiffGaff, then carry on reporting every little detail you feel like reporting - anyone that doesn't want to read about it just shouldn't read about it. Just make the headlines clear so they're easy to avoid.

In fact, do you not monitor the clicks each article gets and focus on the popular stuff anyway? Should that not give you the answer?

Apple's 'inaccurate statements and FALSE INNUENDO'

squilookle
Linux

Re: Gnome

All of the open sources desktops have their strengths and weaknesses. KDE4 desktops do tend to look more like someone vomited widgets on them than "beautiful", which is a word I have seen used to describe KDE in the past. Some of the included applications are excellent, especially Amarok and K3B. I find simple things like syncing the calendar with Google calendar get a bit complicated. With the right configuration though, KDE can go like the proverbial brown stuff off a shovel, despite the accusations of bloat.

Gnome shell goes the other way. I think it looks nice, and for the short while I used it I got so used to throwing my mouse pointer to the top left for the dash that I started doing it on my Windows 7 PC at work. Downsides, performance of the window manager is terrible and the fact you can't turn the effects down to ease the issue is ridiculous. I understand that most of the basic feature require compositing so you can't just turn it off, but it's a shame they didn't create some better solution for this than fallback mode, which I tried for an hour and quickly abandoned it. I do like the fact I can enter my GMail username and password and have the calendar integrated automatically. If I were using a service not supported though, I can imagine that would be a pain.

I like Unity but it's not perfect, and I'm disappointed they removed the 2D version from 12.10.

I currently use XFCE. It's fairly lightweight, it sits somewhere between Gnome and KDE in terms of configuration options. I have Conky running on the desktop which I find far more useful, configurable, and better looking than KDE's widgets. You can search for applications using the Application finder. It's not as slick as the Unity or Gnome Shell dashes, but it is quicker.

I'll round that rant up by saying I'm happy we have the choice.

At last, a bionic arm that passes the Beer, Egg and Looks Cool tests

squilookle

As an amputee myself, I get just about every reaction going from people on the street and I understand where he's coming from, but think he has the right approach to it, i.e. not trying to hide it.

Personally, I'm not interested in this kind of technology for myself as I have spent too much time (I was born with mine) and effort learning to cope with it and I only really have problems with video games that require the use of the right shoulder buttons on my XBox controller (and don't give me the option to reconfigure the buttons). People tend to be surprised when they see me doing mundane stuff like carrying pints from the bar, typing, chopping onions. I don't mind surprise, but I can't stand it when people assume I need help and provide it without asking (asking is fine - it's polite and I have the option to politely refuse).

However, I know a lot of people will find the technology improves their lives, so I wish this guy and the developers of the arm the best of luck.

Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 handset review

squilookle
Thumb Down

It looks like a decent phone, WP8 looks like an interesting OS. I really think they've blown it though, unfortunately. The fact that I can't walk into any phone shop and get one, or go on the website of any operator and order one is the big issue.

I'm not clear if I can get one on contract without going on 4G, I looked briefly and couldn't see anything to indicate I could - although this is not definitive research - and this is/would be a deal breaker for me. I don't want 4G. I want a decent 3G connection with unlimited data. I'm not prepared to pay stupid amounts for a connection faster than I need and a data cap lower than I need. (Interestingly, the reviewer used an unlocked handset on 3 and reports good battery life: I wonder what the EE supplied 4G handsets are like with the battery).

So I'm getting the Nexus 4. True, I'm not going to be able to get it from where I normally would, and the lack of SD card slot on it is a failing (as it is on the Lumia 920). But it's an impressive bit of kit and it's cheap which brings us to the biggest problem for Nokia: the competition is strong. The iPhone 5, the S3 and the Note 2, the HTC windows phones and the Nexus 4 and countless others. We're spoilt for choice at the minute and can get most of them on almost any operator/plan we choose. This phone looks good, but not good enough to bring anyone but the most loyal Nokia/Windows Phone fan off of the network that they prefer, when those networks can provide such a wide range of equally good phones.

I would really like to see this succeed: more competition is better for us (the customers). Unless it becomes more widely available in the new year and gets some good marketing, I don't think it's going to.

BBC in secret trial to see if you care about thing you plainly don't

squilookle
Trollface

Noooo! I listened once a few months back and was told by the DJ that their show was so exciting I was going to pee myself 'just a little bit'.

They underestimated the strength of my bladder as I did not pee myself just a little but or at all, but that's quality radio, that is.

squilookle
Thumb Down

They can leave FM alone

I'm just not convinced that DAB is sufficiently better than FM to justify trashing all the FM radios that are about and in service. I'm all for progress, but only when it is going to make things better. The move to digital TV is better because we get more channels, better reception, the EPG, etc, but for radio, you just need it to work and for the signal to degrade nicely.

If they want to get rid of AM, that's fine by me. I used to play around with it as a kid when I got my first radio purely because i was fascinated to see what you could get (talk stations and some foreign ones) but I've never used it seriously.

Microsoft offers cut-price Win 8 PCs and fondletops to UK schools

squilookle
Windows

There needs to be a variety of different computers in schools, Microsoft, Apple and :Linux based, so that kids get a better understanding of computing and don't come out with the belief that computers == Microsoft.

You can't remove MS completely, the kids need to come out equipped for work and many WILL be working with MS software, but the balance is needed.

When I was in first school, we had BBC Micros and I remember drawing pictures by typing in what I wanted and hoping the picture came out okay. I remember drawing a boat and a space ship with this software, whatever it was.

When I was in Middle school, we had Acorns and we worked with spreadsheets and did bits of programming.

When I went to upper school, we had a few Acorns but it was mostly Windows, and by the time I was at 6th form, IT lessons were basically Microsoft Office lessons. I remember networking was skipped over briefly. Happy times though, we akll spent lessons playing the flight sim easter egg in Excel 97 when the teacher wasn't looking.

Ballmer: Windows Phone 8 'WILL ramp quickly', god dammit

squilookle
Stop

I thought about getting the Lumia 920, but then I saw it was exclusive to EE and that put me off. Then I saw the Nexus 4 and have decided to go with that instead.

They need to make these things readily and cheaply available to get them into people hands, and they need to realize that the competition is established and very strong.

Apple's poisonous Touch silently kills the GNOMEs of Linux Forest

squilookle

The main issue I have with Gnome 3 is performance. My computer runs it without going into fallback mode, but it's laggy. The fallback mode isn't the same experience and, for the admittedly short chance I gave it, felt like an after thought hastily thrown together.

I'd like to have more control over animations and effects (i.e. be able to turn them off). I understand compositing can't be turned off cause a lot of the basic concepts of the desktop require it, but other compositing window managers (Compiz, kwin and xfwm) run much better and smoother (although not always perfectly) than the gnome one on my hardware.

I really like being able to add my Google account and automatically have the calendar show up, I like being able to click a button on the website and have add ons automatically added.

It has potential, but it's just not the best option for me at the moment.

KDE 'annoys the hell of' Linus Torvalds

squilookle

KDE is great, and if you set it up correctly, surprisingly light weight and fast. My only issue with it is that getting things like calendars syncing with Google calendar and printers set up is harder/less automated than it is in Gnome based distributions, based on the small sample I have tried in the last year or so. Obviously this is good for people who want more control over their configuration, but I just didn't want to spend any time on it.

I'm currently using XFCE 4.10 but I have spent long periods using all the major DE's over the last 8 or 9 years - I try different ones regularly but tend to switch my main one every couple of years when the one I'm using does something I don't like, or another one introduces something I do like. .

UK iPad Mini FRENZY: Queues stretch SEVERAL FEET from till

squilookle
Devil

It does look a little bit gloomy there. Maybe they didn't want to go out in the cold and wet.

Perhaps Apple are on the way down and people don't get excited anymore, or maybe they have saturated the market with slightly different products that overlap in function?

Two of my friends have asked me if I knew anything about the iPad Mini in the last week or so. (Disclaimer: they already know I don't like Apple) I spared them the anti-Apple rant but just asked if they had seen/considered the Nexus 7 or one of the Kindle Fires. Both of them have looked into it and are edging toward the Kindle Fire. (Just to further prove I didn't try to influence them: I would have gone for the Nexus 7 myself).

That's not scientific and probably not even relevant, but it will be interesting to see how the figures stack up after a while.

Android games console jumps to Jelly Bean for penultimate test phase

squilookle

I assume that they're banking on developers creating games with this type of device in mind. The more people buy the thing, the more incentive there will be to do that, I would guess.

But otherwise, I have no idea how touchscreen oritented games would translate to this either.

If it takes off, it could be interesting though.

Can My ISP Delete my Incoming Mails?

squilookle

Re: Can My ISP Delete my Incoming Mails?

I don't know, but I'm guessing you had to agree to their terms before getting use of the service, and I'm wondering if they detail how emails marked as spam will be treated?

I know these agreements are often viewed as less solid than the provider would like to admit, but depending on whats in there, it could change the answer to your question about whether they can do it or not.

Hmm, I think I'll order an iPad Mini on Amazon ... Oh no I won't

squilookle

Re: Both products are a big fail.

I have an Android tablet (well, a firesale touchpad with Android installed) and I'm happy with it. I use it a few times a week to read books and play the odd game, and I've been known to watch films and TV shows on it when travelling and bored. I don't feel i wasted my money, partly because I didn't pay much in the first place but also because I get some good use out of it.

I expect the experience on most of the current crop of Android tablets, especially the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire would be similar but more polished, and I would be more than happy to pay the price of the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire if I were in the market for a new tablet.

Conclusion, I don't agree with you, but I'm certainly not saying your opinion is not valid.

Nokia primes Lumias for Windows Phone 8 push

squilookle
FAIL

Oh dear

The phone looks good, but restricting it to one network and one shop? Are people going to stray from their usual network/shop just for this phone when the competition is so strong?

I think they've blown it, but i wish them luck.

Freesat downs own website after Downton quickie

squilookle
Thumb Up

I have Freeview+ and Netflix and that combination gives me more content than I can watch. I tend to record everything I want to watch, so I think Red Dwarf X is the only thing i have watched at the time is was broadcast in the last year.

A lot of my family have sky in their houses and they all seem to enjoy it, so it's good to have the choice.

Android, heal thyself

squilookle
WTF?

Re: Latest Android may be secure

"It's difficult to seriously argue that phones that don't get updates are better than ones that do..."

@sabroni:

Who is trying to argue that phones that don't get updates are better than ones that do?

I am challenging the A/C's statement that phones that do not get the updates are "junk", on the grounds that, while they may be less secure, they still work and can often be upgraded using other, admittedly flawed, methods but it's quite clear from my post that I feel getting updates is preferable to not getting updates.

squilookle

Re: Latest Android may be secure

Don't get me wrong, the situation with updates in Android isn't good enough and there are too many phones that are not getting them.

However, not getting the updates does not make them junk. The OS does not have an expiry date built into it and continues to function long after newer releases come out. I'm using a phone with 2.3 on it and while eagerly await my upgrade in February (because I have a tablet running ICS and it's just better) the phone still does everything the box it came in said it would do.

So there are actually several options: you can accept you aren't going to get the latest release and use the phone until it dies you you are due an upgrade from your operator (I would argue that most users are fine with this) you can install a newer version yourself via Cyanogenmod or something similar, or you can research the phone you buy and buy one from a manufacturer/operator with a good track record of updates (or a Nexus).

So, the situation isn't ideal, but you have more options than you do with other OSes.

Windows 8: An awful lot of change for a single release

squilookle
Thumb Up

Re: Missing a version

Windows ME was great(ish). On the one hand, it irritated me to the point I finally decided to go and tried Suse Linux, which was a good thing.

On a serious note, I have very happy memories playing Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City (and other games from the same time) on my Windows ME PC at the time. It was also my first DVD player. I was a student and had no television, so that computer was everything - work machine and my only source on entertainment. I ended up dual booting it with Suse for work and ME for games.

I think I'm trying to say it was actually crap, but that I have happy memories using it.

Everything Everywhere prices up UK 4G

squilookle
Stop

I have no intention of getting a 4G contract when I upgrade in a couple of months - 3G is fast enough for the browsing I do on my phone right now and I'd rather not pay the costs of having 4G - both in terms of money and the hit on battery life.

As long as I can still get a decent contract from them without being forced into LTE, I'll be happy. If not, I'll move.

Page: