Posts by Ivan Headache

There was nowt wrong with the

Hockey Puck mouse if you used it properly. I still use one daily. It just depends on the position of your fingers.

Someone mentioned earlier that the wrist should stay on the mat and the mouse moved with the fingertips - well I agree. I find that my thumb and little finger flick the puck almost anywhere, left, right and forwards, my third finger flips it back to the heal of my hand and the other two fingers are always able to click because of the relatively large click area. I can mouse the entire 23 inch screen without moving my hand. My only complaint is the grot getting into the rollers.

The mouse that followed - the horrible grey acrylic oval - did not suite me at all. the extra length meant that its flickability was severely hampered as it filled most of the space under my hand and therefore its movement was too restricted.

The Mighty Mouse improves with the scroll ball (yes I use one too) however, using it (the ball) causes me such wrist pain.

I wanted to look at the Magic today but somehow the Lovely Ivana managed to steer me away from the Apple Store.

It's working fine for me

with Safari (on my Mac).

Not a new idea.

The Denny D1 and D2 sidewall hovercraft first used this idea in 1963 (or thereabouts). Unfortunately it came to nought as the company went into liquidation shortly afterwards.

They're still snapping London

One of their Astras followed me round ASDA in Colindale last weekend.

@Fanbois unite!

The f is there just to show that we can make typos - because Windows users claim we can't do anything.

FYI, I'm a Mac user,

@AC: 22:26

You make some pretty broad authoritative sounding claims.

Just a couple of points.

What was iTunes like when Apple bought it?

Is it still the same?

Has any R&D by Apple gone into it?

"More importantly, good on them if they do. USB was meant to be an open spec that is interchangable between devices, not locked down for specific devices as Apple is doing"

You seem to under the impression that it's not a connectivity tool. It is open and interchangeable between devices. The Pre still connects to the host computer as it should - it just doesn't connect to iTunes - much like Powerpoint not connecting to my Nikon camera while it's plugged in.

@Francis Fish

You must be blind Threading has been there for ages.

@I'd rather have one of these...

So would I - but look at the price.

WiFi off the bus

We tried an experiemt a little while back on the M40.

We were shadowing an Oxford Tube (@ about 70) on the straight bit near Beaconsfield. It ha

d all this blurb on the back about comfort , etc and WiFi. So I thought why not give it a go. Got the iPod out, logged in to the bus and surfed all the way to Ickenham.

@If they marketet it they must deliver it.

I don't know as I haven't got an iPhone, but does MMS work in other countries? if so then as far as I can see the case against Apple is pointless.

@ Eddie Johnson

"Do you know anyone who HASN'T had their entire iPod collection vaporized by an iTunes install suddenly deciding its not authorized?"

Well yes actually. There's me, my wife, my 2 daughters & lots of their friends plus 40 or 50 clients that I support that use iPods or iPhones.

It's a bit pointless generalising on these boards because there is always someone who can contradict a generalisation. I guess from your experience that you haven't seen any macs other than mac classics since you claim that most have very small screens. You'll be claiming that 9 inches on a dell is bigger than 13 on a mac next. And cramped keyboards ? Pull the other one.

@windywoo

"And when they did decide to have a go at the market they did it in their usual style of obsessive control over the whole system, screwing over developers and customers alike."

I'm not at all sure what you mean by "Screwing over developers and customer alike"

Point 1. If by 'screwing developers' you mean the commission they take on sales - well I for one would willingly pay 30%. That's a fantastic commission. My photo agency takes 55% on sales - and that's fairly common.

Point 2. How is the customer being screwed? As a 'customer' I haven't felt that I've been screwed at all - unless the app doesn't do what it says on the tin - but it's the developer not Apple that writes on the tin.

Tallies -

with my post at the end of the "tablet spooks" thread.

(paraphrased) There is currently on one 'consumer' portable from apple - this an unusual state of affairs for Apple.

I was guessing that there would be 2 versions of the iWhatever prices at the consumer end in order to restore the 3 consumer 3 pro status quo.

@ Heh

Seems a bit odd to me that you range against the iPhone being only available on one network.

What's the difference then with all the other phones that are exclusive to specific networks? (or have you not noticed?)

Just a thought

Has anyone noticed that (at the moment) there is only 1 'consumer' Mac laptop (as opposed to the 'Pro' models?

This is a highly unusual state of affairs for Apple. What's the betting that the new whatever it is will come in 2 consumer versions (at the same end of the price scale) in order to restore the usual 3 consumer 3 pro line-up?

@ tiggertaebo

"Do you seriously expect that it should be the norm to expect a dropped MP3 player to catch fire?"

But they don't! I've dropped mine many times.

@By I didn't do IT

I'm quite intrigued by your post - particularly the bit about upgrades.

This happened yesterday.

I took delivery of a new mac mini which is going run Apple Server software.

I removed the original HD and fitted a larger one. I took the server software dvd but found that I couldn't start the mac up with it. Removed the DVD and put in an ordinary Leopard install DVD (retail) - I have to format the drive before I can start work. Once again the mac will not start up.

For the first time ever, the only way I could get that mac to start was to use the DVD that came in the box with it. So I get the HD fomatted, remove the DVD and insert the server DVD. It still refuses to start. Next I go back to the retail DVD and still it won't start. I have to use the supplied dvd to start the mac and install the OS that is on it.

After that the server software installs without an issue.

This is the first time in many years I have not been able to take a new HD stick it in a mac and format it and install from a retail DVD so perhaps things are changing and these retail CDs are actually upgrades after all. (Unless the Mac Mini is a different beast altogether!)

@pedestrianised

"I'm sorry, is a bike/trike considered a pedestrian these days??"

Considering the way those rickshaw riders in the west-end behave, then they must be!

They're all working on TV shows

by the look of it.

@AC 21:04

You seem to think that the article is about texting for some strange reason. Read it again and take note that it's about application sales. Application sales have nothing to do with AT&T or O2.

Then read this from August 2008 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/16/apple_appstore_software_sales/

and then this from December 2008

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/26/ifart/

The amount of money being talked about is not chicken feed. There was another Reg story about three app developers who were earning 5 figure sums (but I can't find it.)

I just wish I was smart enough.

Must be just me

I've read about this crashing lark since Safari 4 came out of beta but... so far it hasn't happened here.

I'm a bit miffed about the removal of the progress bar and its stupid replacement paddle wheel but it's otherwise very solid - even with a dozen or so windows open (currently there are 13 open and CPU usage is 5% - 10% depending on which window is frontmost).

Instead of Leccy tech

It's Chukky Tech

what about Ts & Cs?

I seem to recall that every time apple make an alteration to anything on the ITMS they make you go through a new T&C rigmarole.

I haven't read them (of course) but I would have thought that she probably signed away her right when she accepted the new T&C after the price change.

Might be wrong though.

What's this productive flight testing stuff?

Dues that mean that there's unproductive testing?

@Elsie

I think you are missing the point.

London Weather

"Type "London weather", for example, and you get a summary of weather in London now and for the next five days."

Odd that the first hit on Google is exactly that.

Obviously bing searches google.

Cinemania

many moons ago I was hired as a demonstrator for Cinemania (also for a similar music based CDrom. I really liked it. It was well made, very well presented and as Matt Holdsworth says, had excellent critical reviews of the thousands of filums and actors included.

The version I demoed (V2 I think) was the last physical version as part of my spiel was to punt the subscription based update service. This was the same for the music CDrom too.

I would imagine that the take up of that subscription service was close to nil. (Why do companies think that punters want subscription services when us punters really want physical things we can cherish (and then stick in the back of a drawer)?)

With regard to Encarta, I'll be miffed if that goes as it's got some of my photos in it and it's one of the few links I get if I google my other name.

@Brian

"So how would buying photoshop for the mac not add to the cost ???"

Well as it's a Journalism course I doubt that journalists would need the power of photoshop. And, for what most news snappers need, the tools in the current version of iPhoto are more than adequate.

On the subject of Teachers' pay, the lovely Ivana is a K-12 teacher working at the 12 end. She brings home about £32K ($48K ish) and is permanently knackered.

Defragging & 90 days

Just to point out that I haven't defragged a single mac since 10.2 became mainstream (and I look aftyer quite a lot of them).

And 90 days support? With the Apple store you have free support as long as you need.

The word here is Technique

Yes it has been done before, that's obvious. But the article states that Apple has applied for a technique for doing it - not the concept itself.

Trademark2 ?

"FRAM is specifically trademarked by Ramtron International."

Except in Iceland presumably, where it's a football team......

and in the UK presumably where it's a filter manufacturer.....

isn't this

a bit like a smart board - only laid out flat?

Front page of today's Independent too

That is if any one reads it.

A fool and his money etc

The comments posted earlier by the 2 ACs are to be expected on a techy site like this. However, did either of you hear the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 today? I doubt it.

It would appear that a more than significant number of 'marks' in this scam (and others) are not techy people, do not have computers - and more importantly, are generally over 70.

The spokesman from SOCA explained that there is far more going on with this scam than just fleecing people of 20 quid. This was born out by a number of callers who relayed their experiences after finding that their elderly widowed mothers or fathers had fallen victim and that they were paying out thousand of pounds a year.

until I heard these stories today I was of the same opinion. Now I'm not.

Listen again on iPlayer - it's an eye opener.

Can't wait

for the pictures.

So what has he actually stolen?

Seven pieces of intangible ephemera, and they want to sting him $150,000 for each.

So what's the penalty for going into a record shop and lifting a CD? (or even 7 CDs). Probably a $50 dollar fine and a couple of hours cleaning the streets.