Posts by Zog_but_not_the_first

Canopy, the Atos cloud brand...

I'm going to get you in my tent, tent tent, tent, tent...

No you're not.

Aren't T&Cs a two-way street?

"Uber will claim the right to collect personal contact information and detailed location data of American consumers, even when they are not using the service"

So why can't I vary the contract by, say, a text message to Uber* to allow me to visit the Uber managers who think this is a good idea for discussions with my mailed fist?

* Reading the text automatically signifies acceptance of the contract variation.

Ecobee3: If you want a smart thermostat, this is likely the one for you

To quote the Spartans, "If".

I thought I'd clinked a link to...

HowToBasic - YouTube

"Dad dancing for beginners".

The real stink

Excellent article Tim. I always like to go back to the basic numbers when I'm faced with bald statements of the kind you analyse here.

I believe the real stink from our society is the way it values (or doesn't) children.

Excellent real-life review

By that I mean it reads as though you have actually spent some time driving the car. When I was casting around for a fun car to stave off a mid life crisis I quickly realised how lazy some car reviewers are, often parroting "facts" about car faults and issues that simply aren't true. It became easy to spot and sieve them out as they couldn't even be bothered to modify the wording - just cut 'n paste journalism.

Does that mean?

The producer is a "cash cow".

Coat and running shoes, obviously.

Drone uniform?

Will they supply the uniform (striped jumper, eye mask, bag marked "swag")?

Let's...

... wind back the microfocus a tad. These events occured a long time ago, submerged in an ocean of time. Trying to draw comparisons along the lines of "was 2010 or 2011" the wettest/hottest/most gaseous year ever seem a bit pointless.

You see...

Writing your passwords down on a piece of paper and hiding that under the cat's litter tray is the most secure way.

Er,

What is porn?

It's a...

... great weekend for space boffinery.

Not the solution for me

Like all of these kinds of product, they're interesting but quickly lead to the conclusion that at least two dongles and associated paraphernalia are required as supplements to, say, a Freeview enabled TV. The simple integrated pick and mix eludes me, unless you count a top-wack package from Virgin or Sky.

Pedant point: Can writers generally stop referring to "the cloud" which is a meaningless, ill (un-!) defined concept. If you mean "stored on Google's servers", or "stored on Amazon's servers", please say so.

Oh yes!

"Personally, I would derive much more satisfaction if Facebook introduced a “Fuck off and die” button, or a “Stick your pissy little competition up your arse” button on these business homepages."

Big thumbs up for this idea.

Jesus!

That's Pluto. PLUTO! An unimaginably distant planet (yes, planet) that I will see images of in my lifetime (I hope); the same lifetime in which our species left earth for the first time. Only two generations after we first took to the air.

Am I the only one who is totally blown away by this staggering achievement?

Blimey!

Are National Panasonic and Heathkit still making stuff?

Peripheral observation

When I saw the phrase "Economics 101" I had to chuckle. I bought a textbook with a title something like that a while ago to increase my understanding of this important subject.

Somewhere on the second or third page it said, "the market drives competition between the suppliers of goods or services and thus the price down to the cost of production of those goods or services".*

So I threw it in the bin.

* I suppose this is true if you're an Uber taxi driver or a care worker on minimum wage, but not for any of the "big fish".

Fell for it!

But a veritable Riverdance of trolling. Applause.

Sniff, sniff...

Is that my brain I smell cooking?

Duh!

It was payment for their Guinness account.

However...

Whenever I get to the end of an explanation of economic activity like this (and for the record, I like, and find Tim's most useful) I hear a "Ta da!" in my head as if I've been watching a magic trick.

Clever, complex, utterly convincing and yet I know there wasn't a rabbit in the hat, dove in the wine bottle etc.

But this trick changes lives.

Endnote: I'd love a Tim article on privatisation. Has it worked. And for whom?

This is just typical of what I've come to expect from El Reg

Refusal to take a press release at face value, snarky comments and good questions.

Keep it up.

Just as well...

Some us have BTI* survival skills.

* Before the Internet.

Will it be like my phone?

And have several apps running in the background for no apparent reason or utility (to me).

Retro appeal?

Are 90s body styles back in fashion?