* Posts by Robert

29 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Jun 2007

Google antitrust suit: Is there a case?

Robert
Thumb Down

hot air

Google sells advertising, not search results. Those are free, as are dozens of other services. Therefore, they are perfectly withing their rights to sell that advertising space to whomever they please. But people think they're too good to be true, and inevitably bash them every chance they get.

What "evil" has Google done? I don't see it.

Rail workers get shirty with see-through blouses

Robert
Happy

oh, wait

eh, can I take that back? nice.

Robert
Unhappy

aw come on

This article, on the other hand, leaves much to the imagination. um, photo? or it didn't happen?

Mobile phones to get universal charger

Robert
Thumb Down

green not

I'm always amazed at the ignorance of standards organizations. Releasing a new standard is not necessarily eco-friendly nor economical. Most people keep the same brand from phone to phone, so for example, my Nokia charger from 2001 will work in my new Nokia from 2008 (the same applies to Apple, who you're taking the opportunity to flame). That means I won't have to buy a spare, and I can reuse the old one, hence not trashing it. So congrats, GSMA, while you just made the AC/DC industry richer, we all have to throw away our old useless chargers. Really green.

Supremes defend American net smut (yet again)

Robert
Paris Hilton

'nuff

said.

Hilton 'sucks face' with MySpace CEO

Robert
Thumb Down

no pic?

you can't just write this shit and not post a picture. big. fucking. tease.

Brit ISPs censor Wikipedia over 'child porn' album cover

Robert
Stop

whoa, hold your horses

"Whether it removes the naked prepubescent or not, the Foundation will receive an uncensored Web 2.0 tongue lashing. Wikipedia isn't a user-generated utopia. It's a cultish self-contradiction that can't help but undermine its own ideals. ®"

what the? where did that come from?

Apple sued over Jesus Phone 'hairline cracks'

Robert
Coat

hey fucknuts

class action lawsuits are started by and for lawyers. they're the only ones who benefit. and while they're really useless and wasteful, you could argue they act as a certain quality control.

why do I come here?

LCD makers to pay $585m for price-fixing conspiracy

Robert
Gates Halo

Oil is a commodity. LCDs are not.

Paul Smith, the price of gas is set by the price of oil (projections based on oil production), which is traded publicly, and is pretty cut and dry. LCD panels are not, nor are most of their components. So that's the problem with "catching" oil companies. What you're actually complaining about is a legitimate gripe with the stock market, which is a sort of legal monopoly of sorts. And on that point I agree with you.

good Bill bc he knows what I'm talking about.

Android-based T-Mobile G1 pics leaked

Robert
Thumb Down

Did they forget to design it?

That looks horrible. It's like every WM phone out there.

Google cedes Belgium to Germany

Robert
Coat

slow news day

I mean, it's a fricking cartoon, kids.

Firefox record breaker sets the date

Robert
Go

Addons

If they really want to boost downloads, they should have been strongly encouraging Addon authors to update their stuff. Most people won't upgrade until their fav addons are compatible.

Microsoft urges Windows users to shun 'carpet bombing' Safari

Robert
Thumb Down

Bad little borg

I guess they had to recommend not using Safari since the only alternative was to recommend not using Windows, which, of course, would be the better choice. Actually, grats to Apple for exposing yet another Windows security hole.

Wanted: Americans to join Al Qaeda

Robert
Pirate

blah blah blah

blah blah. same old shit. how can we use todays fear to gain tomorrow's control? The US gov't has NO business controlling the spread of an ideology. That's for the people to decide. We're always on the edge of McCarthyism as long as the gov't is trying to protect itself from its own people.

How to destroy 60 hard drives an hour

Robert
Thumb Up

RE: Zeroes.

Thanks everybody. I almost understand now.

Robert
Stop

zeroes

can someone explain how writing zeroes doesn't erase data? I don't get it.

iPhone emulator firmware jailbroken

Robert
Thumb Up

hoo-rah

I love these guys. They're the future revolutionaries.

BTW, I think it might be time to have a Steve Jobs w/ horns icon. I look for it at times like this.

Sun dreams the impossible Java on Jesus Phone dream

Robert

you mean

iPod Touch

Apple keeps critical security fixes to itself

Robert
Thumb Down

Buried for innacurate.

Oh wait, this isn't Digg. With all the assinine reporting here lately, you could've fooled me.

Look, el Reg, just give up your complete overblown exaggeration of every minor Apple flaw. They aren't perfect, and they're fixing bugs. What are you really complaining about. Shit, you guys are a bunch of Fox News wannabees.

My update says it addresses security issues. so, wtf?

Comcast busted for bagging BitTorrents (again)

Robert

Cable vs DSL

Comcast and other Cable-based ISPs must manage traffic in order to keep bandwidth "evenly" distributed. Cable Broadband has shared bandwidth, in contrast to DSL's dedicated lines (for the most part), and therefore up/down rates are estimated based on traffic. So, I'd say they probably throttle all traffic. That's not to say they aren't paying particular attention to Torrents. I'm sure they do, mostly because that represents a huge percentage of traffic when its happening.

Robert
Flame

It's about the infrastructure

I've said often, and the same about Mobile Phone networks, that the infrastructure of ISPs should be made public, or only semi-private like the power companies in the US. These actions taken by ISPs are just the tip of the iceburg in trying to limit and profit off of providing a gateway to the already public (or govt/military) owned internet. This is like the Federal Government constructing the US Interstate Highway system, but then allowing private companies to construct on/off ramps with tolls, and profit while paying a pittance for renting the network. We should have equal access to a public infrastructure, and if tolls need be payed, they should also be made public. Enough of this crap. ISPs and Mobile providers are taking us for a ride, with no accountability, and huge payoffs.

iPhone unlocking for pleasure and profit

Robert

Bravo, Bravo

Keep it coming, and pshaw to those who complain that the next software update will kill it. You have no imagination.

The Revenge of the BlackBerry killers?

Robert

Treo?

While Moto and Nokia release a new and soon to be defective product monthly, and Blackberry continue their path to becoming dinosaurs, Palm has released 5 of the most flexible smartphones ever, at a rate that shows their stamina and usefulness. If you office-types must, Treos have your windows mobile covered, and for those of us who want true flexibility (along with the excitement of hacking/rehacking), the Palm platform will remain the open source flagship smartphone, even after its move to Linux. I've been using a 650 for 3 years now, and am always finding new applications and configurations to tweak it to perfection. Given a little time, like any device worth its soldering joints, you'll end up with a solid, customizable device that any business can afford (I paid $500, but they're practically free now).

Stop tinkering with your E-blah blah-i model crapphones and get serious.

(and btw, regarding the iPhone, which really can't be compared to, well, anything, if you can't type on it, you're just not very coordinated, that's all)

Google leaps into new Sprint portal

Robert

Pinpoint?

Daniel, those waiters are more likely to be Feds saying "hey, <email alias> we'd like to ask you about your recent activity on <your favorite website>".

iPhone v. Q – War in the backwoods of Mississippi

Robert

nuff said?

"You get POP and SMTP without needing Outlook 2007 to synchronize. And there's no auto-delete when the message is removed from the device but not the server queue. 'Nuff said."

Really? you use POP mail, and that's enough said? I disagree. How does it handle IMAP, and what of Lemonade compatibility? For most of us, email on a handheld is a pretty important issue, and to dismiss it in one sentence leaves me unsure.

UK firm preps iPhone unlocking software

Robert

Why would Apple care to sue?

Apple has their agreement with AT&T, but they don't make any more money off the iPhone after the sale. I don't think Apple will mind when someone cracks the iPhone, making it more appealing to people who will buy only when AT&T isn't involved, or at least non-contractually so.

Nav, the problem with a non-unlocked iPhone outside the US is that you will pay 10x the money to roam on O2 or Orange or Voda. Once unlocked, you can pop in any SIM and use the local network at local rates, and even get a prepaid US plan from tMobile. And the benefit to enabling the iPhone without the phone is using the wifi capabilities without a monthly plan. The iPhone is still the best pocket internet device out there, and that makes it worth the money even without a phone.

The best option in my mind is still failing the AT&T credit check and going prepaid with goPhone, except for those annoying balance messages (anyone crack that yet?).

How can you possibly test modern software fully?

Robert

version 0.1

Don't forget the invaluability of beta testing. All the matrices in the world can't take into account unique user configurations.

Net radio saved from certain death

Robert

F'd

totally f'd. the record companies seem to think people but cds because they have pretty covers. radio stations are the best resource for spreading the word so people will buy. this should be taken into account when the royalties fee is applied. if a station can't operate because royalties are too high, something is definitely wrong there.

I seem to remember that this increase was pushed by over the air broadcasters because they felt like competition with internet broadcasters was unfair, so we can't blame this completely on the RIAA.

TorrentSpy filters pirated videos

Robert

give it up

The millions of dollars a year companies lose to pirated copyrighted material is nothing compared to the money they'll have to spend on futile efforts to thwart it. They'll never stop sharing, and they'll never recoup the money lost trying to stop it. They should just give it up and live with it. Relatively few people share the stuff, and most of us (oops, I mean "them") wouldn't pay for their stupid crap otherwise. Take down torrentspy and another will pop up to take its place.