Posts by Smiles 23 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Feb 2013
Technically, if the kid lied and said he was the account holder and supplied valid details, isn't he stealing from his parents and wouldn't the dispute be between them rather than involving Google?
I agree with them writing off the debt, but surely that's TECHNICALLY the situation?
My Nexus 4 didn't get Marshmallow, but it was still getting security updates and software patches when I retired it this summer. That's 3.5 years and I was very happy with the performance. I retired it as the battery was getting a bit tired and the phone itself had started to look a bit worse for wear, but for an electrical device that I carried everywhere with me and was almost always on I think it did very well. I'm now on a 5x and very happy with it.
The question is, for the price of these devices (admittedly not as cheap as nexus used to be, but still pretty cheap), how long are Google expected to keep providing the latest software? A number of people have raised the point of them wanting to push us to buy the latest model, but isn't that understandable? They keep the security stuff up to date on nexus devices, but after 3 years I don't expect the latest features to just be added anymore, I accept it.
It still beats Apple, my old iPod Touch won't even run apps like Facebook anymore, because I don't have a camera (?) which is a very clear example of forcing people onto a new model. At least old android devices still work.
Obviously I condemn the attacks, and any form of violence. I also believe in freedom of speech as a basic human right but try to reconcile that with using it responsibly and avoiding causing offence where I can. Not because I have to, but because I want to.
In the wake of the attacks I totally support CH publishing the image it did. Even if they had decided they didn't want to because they thought of something better, they had to. It's a statement about not being censored by a minority of crazy people (terrorists, not Muslims).
However, I'm also in support of other media outlets deciding not to replicate the image. Not because they were scared of repurcussions (which let's face it is most of them if not all), but because while it's important to stand up to the extreme and violent it's also worth keeping in mind the huge numbers of non-violent Muslims who find the publication of this image incredibly offensive.
The world would be a much happier place if we could all stop doing things we know will upset somebody unless there's a good reason to do it. And more importantly if we could respond to the things which upset us by calmly explaining the reasons why it caused offense and discussing the possible alternatives for the future.
Part of me doesn't even care about the spec, I've wanted a Nexus 6 Android since it first became apparent how the devices were being named.
I'm totally sold on the Nexus line regardless of the name though, I'm still using my N4 which I bought just after the first stock shortage and for me it's still better than any of the competition, runs everything I want and with no noticable lag or issues. Granted, after 2 years the battery needs a charge at least once a day if not twice, but I've generally carried a USB cable for years anyway. The fact that the vanilla version of Android as it was intended (i.e. not filled with bloatware) is pushed out to my old phone within days of release means that it essentially stays slightly ahead of most alternatives with no additional cost to me, fine there are some gimmicks in the latest Samsung but there's nothing I want to do with it that it won't let me. I don't think switching from an HTC or Samsung equivalent would change anyone's world massively, but I certainly wouldn't want to go back to one. There's a reason that most (n.b. Most, not all) people who have bought a Nexus device stick with them and rave about them. They're good. They work as intended and that's mostly down to the fact they are the built for the software that's on them with no external additions. This is one of the things Apple fans appreciate about the iPhone, while I personally don't get on with iOS it cannot be denied that it all works very smoothly and that's because the hardware and software has all been specced and built by the same people.
I'll undoubtedly give in and get an N6 at some point, I'm a geek and the name alone is irresistable, but I'll do it when my phone needs replacing due to wear and tear which so far looks to be some way off.
Apologies if this has already been said, no real interest in trawling through all of the comments so far, but:
I use iTunes due to having an old iPod and being too lazy to investigate alternatives, I have in the past (don't shoot me) enjoyed the occasional track from them so opened it up to give it a listen and see if there was anything worth keeping. With my setup it hadn't downloaded at all, I had to go into the list of purchased items and select to download it before it synced, without investigating at all I'm wondering if most iTunes users have their account set to sync everything without confirmation?
Still haven't bothered to listen to it though, but was it really worth all this fuss? They gave something away for free, if you don't want it just delete it. I can't help but wonder if the same level of fuss would have been made if the artist in question was a bit more popular.
My understanding of copyright is that simply judging ownership based on the person who pressed the shutter is not accepted, for example what happens if I ask a stranger to take a picture of me with my camera? Does he/she own the image?
On the whole I agree with the idea of sharing information, but there is a big difference between sharing and taking. Sharing is when the owner (and let's face it, images, songs, programs etc DO have owners) decides to let people use it. Sadly a lot of the crowd shouting about freedom of information are arguing in order to justify the volume of films/music they download, and while I'm very much against the business model used by the relevant industries, it's still theft. I do it as much as anyone else, but I don't try to pretend I'm some kind of hero for doing it.
This has been an ongoing issue for a number of people, since most new properties are built with foil covered insulation in the walls, a lot of new builds (especially flats) have very poor mobile signal. I used to use a blackberry purely because UMA meant I could make voice calls, SMS and data via wifi when I was at home. SignalBoost was an app which basically did the same job, although not nearly as smoothly.
Then Orange stopped offering the app on newer handsets, and BB seemed to drop UMA completely but that coincided with the BT SmartTalk app which lets me use my landline minutes through wifi on my mobile.
Strangely, none of these other services prohibited international calls, in fact I often make "free local calls" to the UK from other countries (although you do have to remember the free evening period is UK time not local, oops!) so I can't help thinking this restriction is a money-spinner.
It would be great if manufacturers/networks could get us back to a point where all services on a mobile worked via wifi again, including SMS. It used to work, why have we gone backwards?
This is exactly why I don't use the subscription services, the hardware they provide simply isn't up to scratch.
I paid about £300 for one of the earliest dual-tuner PVR boxes available on Freeview which finally gave up the ghost last year. I'd been shopping around for over a year at that point trying to find something with even half as good a UI and was unsuccessful, but the least impressive in my opinion were Sky/BT. The Sky hardware itself is perfectly good, but the UI is horrific, especially the EPG which gives very little choice in view. I'm now using a Humax box which, while lacking in the premium channels some of the subscription services provide, WORKS.
Sadly all of these services have the trump card of "If you want these channels you need to use our hardware" combined with a need to provide it at little or no cost. You will always end up with a lesser product than one which has only it's functions to sell itself.
As options like Chromecast etc get more providers building dedicated apps the idea of the set top box may (hopefully) become redundant allowing providers to concentrate on content.
They worked absolutely fine. It was a cheap system in a hotel chain for the hourly paid staff, all hourly paid staff used it and for obvious reasons salaried staff did not, and I would guess that over the course of approx 3 years my print failed to scan first twice, three times at most. Each time it beeped and I scanned my finger again, which worked. Lost me around 2 seconds.
The simple fact is that when you actually look at what data is stored and how it can be abused, there is very little reason to object to it.
"Nine out of 10 tech bloggers are biased against Apple, Limbaugh predicted"
...
"Limbaugh added that the bloggers are probably Democrats"
So by his own prediction, based on a sample group of his choosing, Limbaugh suggests that 90% of voters are Democrats, which in a democratic society means that they must be right.
It's terrible mathematics I know, but still a better use of statistics than anything I've ever heard him say.
I'm being lazy and not reading all the comments to see if anyone else got here first, if so my apologies:
Let's assume technology HAS reached this point, and we can successfully scan at the relevant level of detail, plus recreate the tissues in exactly the same structure, can we actually rebuild the brain right down to the electrical impulses that control memory and be confident that the thought processes within will not change? Might I be transported an atheist and arrive thinking "Actually maybe this whole Intelligent Design thing sounds pretty convincing..."?
Would we actually know a change like that had taken place?
A lot of people are talking about compression, would you want your data compressed in such a way?
Lastly, would anyone actually want to do this? Let's remember that you never actually "go" anywhere, this is the equivalent of a fax machine that shreds the original as part of the scanning process. A teleporter, by definition, kills you.
Now, if it worked 100% perfectly that's not much of an issue, and while it's not ideal an accident where the message is lost/corrupted means you cease to be that's part of the risk too.
But what happens if for some reason it fails to vapourise the original? Suddenly there are two of you, so do you put one to death? How do you pick one? Do you split their assets? What if you have a family, do you share the wife and kids?
In my hypothetical space travelling future, I'll stick with the nice safe method of propelling myself through the heavens with a nuclear weapon.
Ok, I'm all for fair competition and giving the little guy a chance, but competition should be based on everyone having a fair chance, not penalising someone for being good at something.
When Google maps first appeared, I had been using Streetmap for ages, and was a big fan. Google maps worked better. If it hadn't, I'd still be using Streetmap.
Streetmap surely have no right to sue Google because their product wasn't as good? If I opened a restaurant and a year or so later someone else opened a better one down the road that pinched my customers, I wouldn't be able to sue them, I'd have to up my game, and quickly, before my customers left never to return.
Streetmap had a good product. Someone else released a better one. They didn't move quickly enough to salvage the situation, and they lost the business. End of story.
The lack of understanding is every bit as common in the UK, although obviously not so much on a tech site such as el reg.
I just bought a Nexus 4 (£279), cancelled my previous contract and got a T Mobile sim only contract for £16 p/m, unlimited calls, texts and data.
Almost everyone who asked what I was paying for the new phone were convinced that their 24 month contract with 100-200 minutes and 500mb data for £41 p/m was better because "the iphone 4 only cost £100".
I guess the biggest barrier to people is paying upfront rather than paying it gradually, at least the new model is transparent!
Possibly been covered already, but I'm lazy and skimmed the comments.
3 years ago I was given an iPod touch, and despite it confirming to me that I did not want an iPhone, I had to admit I loved it. I effectively retired my phone/laptop from online use when I was at home, and for emails/new/checking lottery results etc it was really handy.
During that time I have gradually seen the apps I used (some free, some paid) drop off, as developers stopped supporting older versions of iOS, and Apple refused to allow my device to upgrade, apparently because I don't have a camera and some apps use it (?).
Some of these are understandable, some not so much. The National Lottery app no longer works, why? All it does is download a few numbers and display them. Simple games like Mahjong download an update and then refuse to run, with no option to roll back.
I see no reason to upgrade my MP3 player because Apple think 3 years is a sufficient lifespan, my old iPod third gen is still running fine, and that's 10 years old.
That to me is enough to ensure I never buy another Apple product. Ever.
It may interest those touting Orange/EE's UMA options to know that Orange are withdrawing the service, they now only have one new handset which includes it and have no plans to add it to anything else.
I have been happily using UMA on a BB and Signal Boost on a Galaxy S2 for ages now, due to getting no signal from any networks in my home, my partner's home, or my office, and I am now effectively stuck with my old handsets.
The popular theory online is that operators worldwide have realised that they miss out on pricey roaming costs when customers use UMA abroad, but personally I just think they couldn't be bothered anymore.
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