* Posts by Giles Jones

2536 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Dec 2006

Watch bandit IDed by own mobe snap

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Bez

Looks a bit more like Bez to me than Lurch.

Given he's from Manchester there may be some common DNA.

Hands on with Sony's NEX DSLR-quality compact camera

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Crackers

Usually you're supposed to hold the camera, but if the camera is this small you'll have to hold the lens as the camera mount might snap.

Apple Mac Mini 2010

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Blu-ray

Optical media is so yesterday.

Check out things like XBMC, Plex and Boxee. Who wants to be shuffling lots of discs around these days?

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Same old boring criticism

It's memory and disk can be upgraded.

Are you oblivious to the fact that only 18% of computers sold are "upgradeable" these days. Only desktop machines can be upgraded with slot in cards and faster CPUs and these sell half as many as laptops. The rest of the market is tablets and netbooks (also not upgradeable).

In fact, these days an upgrade is largely a motherboard and CPU replacement anyway, so why bother? You're only keeping the case and discs.

Microsoft unveils – wait for it – another mobile OS

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They're rebadged it you fool

"I'm not driving a Mini Metro"

"No Alan, it's called a Rover 100 now"

Sounds like WinCE has been rebadged.

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Erm

You think?

I think they're the Ronseal of the IT world (does what it says on the tin). Their branding is just writing out what it does.

Windows Mobile

Windows Server

Internet Explorer

There's a few exceptions of course XBox, Zune etc.

iPhone 4 preorder system exposes private user data

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Second failure

Firstly AT&T exposed emails of iPad users and now this.

I wonder why Apple stick with these clowns? I guess they give Apple a big cut of monthly rental charges, money that should really be spent improving their network.

Orange outs iPhone 4 pricing

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Not happy

I'm not happy with any of the deals.

I want a tariff with something like 60-100 minutes, unlimited texts and data. 600 or so minutes is overkill, I don't make many calls.

I actually found a 3 SIM only tariff for £5 a month that just gives you data, I'd sooner pay for what i use rather than what I don't use. I can't seem to find this tariff now, it must have been a limited offer.

Apple's US online store buckles under iPhone 4 preorders

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HDMI

At least it has HDMI with multichannel audio this time. I have a Mac Mini as my media centre and having a HDMI box with optical input to output HDMI+audio to the TV is a bit of a faff. Especially with a USB TV tuner hanging down also.

New wave of superphones poised to challenge iPhone 4

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It's all about support

Let's face it, which other handset maker would support their handset for near three years? the original iPhone has only just been omitted from the latest iOS version. So two major updates and many intermediate releases. I myself have installed 10 software updates since buying my iPhone 3G.

Sure, you can buy a handset with more hardware features than the new iPhone, but don't expect more than a couple of software updates to fix bugs or add new features. There's simply no money in it for the handset maker to spend lots of time doing so.

I could bear having a handset for 18-24 months without new features being added and bug fixes being done. This is why I couldn't ever have an Android phone on contract. I would end up installing DIY ROMs (and suffering the instability).

Google geek slammed over XP exploit

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XP

Personally I don't see why Microsoft is maintaining a 8, nearly 9 year old OS. The sooner they cut off support the sooner people move on to better things.

Adobe euthanizes Flash 10.1 for 64-bit Linux

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Indeed

I switched to OSX from 64-bit Linux years ago. It's stupid how 6 years ago they were having problems with 64-bit Flash on Linux and they still can't get it right.

I'd love to know what it's like to work for Adobe. I suspect it's half as productive as Microsoft there and Microsoft aren't exactly efficient.

Apple lifts iPhone code ban (for chosen few)

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Why do end users care?

Honestly, why would end users care about this? the only people whining are lazy developers!

When you look at the quantity of software on the Mac it is generally better than Windows, less annoyances and more thought has been put into it.

Windows has quantity, but not quality. I think I'd sooner have quality on the iPhone.

iPad's brain not so unique

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So?

Most people licence core designs from ARM.

All that is unique about the A4 chip is that Apple can include all the things they need, so there's no wastage on the chip and no need for lots of external chips and buses.

Superslim iPhone 4 enough to fend off Android?

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Megapixel myth

Stop believing the megapixel myth.

I have 12MP on my SLR with a 35mm sensor there is no chance in hell that a 12MP camera phone can match my SLR. I would imagine the photos out of my SLR at ISO1600 are better than those of the 12MP camera phone in any conditions.

Apple is lagging behind in megapixels, but they're making a stand against lousy quality cameras. The backlight sensor is cutting edge.

Have a look at the awful cameras HTC include in their phones.

Apple lifted 'make web go away' button from open source

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Eh?

If OSX is just something like Linux dressed up then why does it perform so much better than Linux?

OSX is a Unix based OS. However the GUI frameworks and system libraries are mostly Apple's own.

You seriously need to look at the history of the OSX, it is derived from Nextstep which was Steve Job's company that was set up when he left Apple years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextstep

Much of the OSX code technology was taken from Nextstep, display postscript, use of Objective C.

If you'd done any ObjectiveC on Mac OS using Cocoa (unlikely) then you'd know that many of the datatypes (like strings) start with NS, eg. NSString. The NS = Nextstep.

Apple adds 'make the web go away' button to Safari 5

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Useful

Especially useful for people with sight problems who use screen readers.

Now if the iPhone Safari can do this it would be handy.

Steve Jobs unveils iPhone 4

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So what?

It's funny, because people buy 1080p TVs and then sit so far away as to render the benefits pointless.

People buy bluray which has 24-bit audio (16-bit is considered good enough for consumers) yet many of the people listening will have hearing damage from going to nightclubs and gigs.

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Video calling

Video calls cost more than 3G calls. Who wants to 3G video call with it's low resolution? I don't know the specs for video calling (I can't find them) but I would imagine it is 320x240 to 640x480 at best.

Since this system is sent over the data connection it would be a little unfair of Jobs to allow that without letting the networks prepare for it.

As for the question about "can you make calls to other phones", not yet, but Apple will publish it as a standard and then anyone can use it. Which is a damn sight more than Microsoft ever did (MSN Messenger webcam standard has never been released, it had to be reverse engineered).

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Looks like a winner

While 720p HD is pretty common now, the fact you can edit it on the phone, add transitions and then upload it somewhere is pretty impressive.

Those who might moan about the video calls working only on Wifi might actually think about why this is. Firstly this isn't your usual 3G video calling, that was designed when screens were quite low resolution and video compression wasn't hardware assisted. Apple have come up with a much better quality video call system, they're making it a standard and it will be available for others to implement.

Secondly, Wifi is more available than the reception required for 3G video calls. You can do it at home or at a hotspot. I for one haven't a chance in hell of ever using 3G video calling where I am, yet I have a nice fast cable connection to the internet.

Jobs woos devs with iPhone OS iOS 4

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Jailbreakers

Jailbreakers like to say it's so they have the freedom to do what they like with their phone, but it seems like they want the freedom to pirate all the apps.

One developer said his game could tell the difference between a jailbroken or non jailbroken phone, something like 73% of scores submitted to his online scorecard were from pirate copies. None of these went on to buy the app either, so try before you buy is a joke.

Can Windows Phone 7 gain momentum with all eyes on Apple?

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Protest vote

Most people buying a Windows Phone 7 phones or Android phones are just protesting against the way Apple do things. It's not because they find the hardware and software attractive or well designed.

HTC still can't made a nice looking phone, from what I've read their design team are more experienced in designing snowboards than mobile phones.

"One & Co., a 20-person San Francisco design studio HTC acquired in 2008. One & Co. designers still work on other products like snowboards to keep their ideas fresh."

Moto claims Android cameraphone first

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Flash?

The only times a decent photographer uses flash is:

1. Outdoor as a fill in flash (reduced power flash to reduce shadows).

2. In a studio, proper flash guns with umbrellas.

3. With a diffuser with the flash bounced off the ceiling when very desperate to get a photo.

All other uses typically give you a pretty poor result.

Paparazzi use flash, but they're not photographers, they don't care for quality or art, it's all about getting a photo of someone regardless.

Stand in front of a car headlight on full beam to see what flash style lighting does for you, then contrast that will outside in the sun.

Steve Jobs – Apple's not business, it's personal

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So what?

Microsoft didnt pay dividends until recently. Microsoft pays hardly any tax in the EU and US:

http://techrights.org/2010/05/17/ireland-tax-oligarch/

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Why?

If it wasn't for his high standards the device wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful.

If only other companies had people at the top who expect something exceptional from their staff.

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Stole?

Apple licenced Xerox Parcs software.

It was Microsoft that stole it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mac_OS

"The original Macintosh system software was partially based on the Lisa OS, previously released by Apple for the Lisa computer in 1983 and, as part of an agreement allowing Xerox to buy shares in Apple at a favorable rate, it also used concepts from the Xerox PARC Xerox Alto, which Steve Jobs and several other Macintosh team members had previewed."

Tesla Motors: Elon Musk's divorce won't sink us

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Range

Not to mention not much power use when stationary, which is a lot of the time for many people.

Of course the problem is lights, radio and air con all add to the power drain.

Electric motors are amazingly powerful, they can snap a driveshaft if the power isn't phased in gradually.

Microsoft's Ballmer and Ozzie tag-team on mediocrity

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Funny

Funny how Ballmer said people can't afford 5 devices yet their tablet strategy is just that. Lots of smaller specialised tablets instead of one big one that does everything.

Ballmer says Windows will shame iPad

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Ballmer

He was at Harvard University with Gates. Jobs for old friends and all that.

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What are you on about?

It's one of the worst kept secrets that iPhone OS 4.0 will have multitasking.

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Just ignore Ballmer

He just sounds off about Apple and says it won't catch on. He said it about the iPhone.

It's funny how Microsoft are on about making even more restricted products than the general purpose iPad.

Intel delays USB 3.0 chipset until 2012

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Firewire 800 is even better

Obviously native eSATA is better, but for everything other than hard disks FW800 rocks!

Nokia rides you hard for power

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Dynamo hub

If you have a dynamo hub then there is no rub or resistance. I don't see why this wouldn't work?

Google misses German regulator Street Car Wi-Fi data grab deadline

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Google for forced to reveal this

The data was discovered after a German government request to see the data or source code was lodged with Google. Google didn't own up to it, they were forced to reveal it.

iPeds, iRobots, and the Chinese iPad clone machine

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Design

At least if you are after an Android tablet you can get one that looks nice, instead of the usual drab plastic rubbish most brands seem to pump out.

John Lewis JL22LCD HD

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Rebadged.

"No Alan, It's called a Rover Metro now"

"They've rebadged it you fool"

I would imagine it's a cheapo set rebadged with a nice big mark up. Those who know quality will return it, those who don't will make them a lot of profit.

How to... read comics on the iPad

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Eh?

He mentioned you can using the iWork suite which comes with the iPad.

It was completely redesigned for a touch user interface by Apple. If you use Word on a tablet PC then it will be awful to use since the head of the Office team at Microsoft refused to redesign the user interface for touchscreens as he "doesn't like them".

Needless to say if you want a touch screen device with a decent office suite the iPad is the best, the battery life is good and it will switch on instantly.

Have a read:

http://www.macworld.com/article/145941/2010/01/iwork_ipad.html

Three In-Car Wi-Fi

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Three

Three's coverage is better than some networks. Have a look at the tests done by the Register. 3 came out top.

O2 were throttling bandwidth to 128k.

Regent Street blocked by iPad fanboi swarm

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Hmmm

I think if you showed someone an iPad back in 1982/3 and asked which they preferred, a speccy or an iPad I think the iPad would win. Many households had one TV and you wouldn't be able to use the speccy all the time. Others had a portable, often black and white.

So if you showed someone back then a device with email, the web, 3D games, movies and music you can download (back in 1982/1983 it was all tape and vinyl, CD took much longer to become affordable) I think they would be astounded.

While you could program a spectrum, most people played games on them.

Any device is about the software, a Windows PC can't do much without installing some software. Same with the iPad. The pre-installed software does the basics, email, web, photo management etc..

Microsoft Tag emerges from beta

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Colour

Colour is just too expensive for many people to bother with. There's a reason barcodes were black and white, there's a reason why other tags are black and white, it's cheap to print on a mono laser or inkjet.

Fedora 13 – Linux for Applephobes

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A bad knock off

I can tolerate the less than perfect Mac OS desktop thanks to the dock and nice things like Expose. But I hate Gnome!

So much dev time is wasted in Linux land, writing open source and proprietary drivers (NVidia are paranoid about fully open source drivers, thinking competitors will steal its technology).

Sam Mendes to helm new Jesus Phone ads

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Who says it's for video calls?

It might actually be for webcam style chat as well?

Video calls were the big gimmick for 3G, I've yet to make one in the three years I've had a 3G phone. You can only make one with really good coverage.

Windows Phone chief and Xbox brain exit Microsoft

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Why do they bother?

Honestly, they should spend all their time making a better OS and applications. They make all their money from Windows and Office still, so why go into other markets and make no money?

New iPhone to land in US on 7 June

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Multitouch

Given only recent versions of Android have added multitouch I think Apple were ahead. Or do you think pressing little + and - buttons in a brower to zoom is advanced?

It's not all about features, if I wanted a phone with loads of features I would have stuck with Windows Mobile or some Symbian rubbish. But what use is features with a god awful UI?

The thing that grates me about Android is knowing the apps are basically coded in Java. The class format is different and it's their own JVM. But it's still Java, garbage collected, compiler/interpreter language. It's no match for Objective C which compiles to native ARM code.

Taxpayers may ship 736 iPads to Brussels

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Where's the story?

Government agency buys computer hardware, so what?

I've often thought that if the devices supplied to employees were nice looking and good to use that they wouldn't get left in Taxis so much. I'm sure that's how some employees try to get an upgrade for their dull plasticy laptops.

Mind you my theory fails since Apple lost a pre-production iPhone 4.

Arcam Solo Mini combo hi-fi

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Quality

Why would anyone bother with sound quality if they're playing compressed lossy files?

It seems pretty stupid that you get more advanced audio on bluray now than CD.

16-Bit 44.1Khz was just something possible in the early 80s. Why are we still constrained by such low standards?

24-bit 96Khz should be standard across the board now.

iPads may be outselling Macs two to one

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Marketshare

Maybe the market share of home users is rising, but businesses won't buy Apple computers, they prefer dull, cheap Dell and HP boxes.

Not to mention that if you had Apple corporate laptops a lot of them would go missing when people leave the company.

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Apps

There are more developers of software the iPhone and iPad than the Mac. It's all about software, not the OS. An OS is just there to manage the data and run the apps.

Linux gets jiggy with more filesystems in 2.6.34 kernel release

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Jack of all trades, master of none

Linux is a jack of all trades, it can be used in phones, set top boxes, TVs, computers and therefore there will be loads of stuff in the kernel to support all these different devices.

I think the days of being able to roll your own sensible kernel are starting to end, there's just too many options!

iPad to become inflight fatcat fun-slab

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*sigh*

Just because you lack the imagination to own one.

There are some very useful apps. It's a great device for reviewing photos after a photo shoot, it's also a great device for music composition on the move.