* Posts by Haku

1902 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Apr 2007

WowWee demos FemiSapien robotrix

Haku
Thumb Down

Re: Anyone else think ...

I totally agree, nothing I've seen from WowWee has ever made me think "cool toy, gotta get me one of those". I once had a play with the original Robosapien and it was just as I had thought, a complete waste of plastic & electronics.

Sony really should bring back the Aibo, create a new generation one and show the rest of the robot toy world how it should still be done.

The art of software murder

Haku

Re: MediaPlayer any?

MediaPlayer after verson 6.4 became a steaming pile of bloated crap IMHO, why does every company decide they want the interface to look like it was designed for a Fisher-Price computer? I love the simplicity (and usability) of the GUI that pre-WindowsXP came with as default.

I use Media Player Classic all the time now, doesn't need installing which means you can carry it (single exe) on a USB stick/drive, even plays DVDs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Player_Classic

Russian railways in robot repairman revue

Haku

Keepon

The best dancing robot I've seen this year is Keepon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPdP1jBfxzo

Unfortunately it doesn't have any taste in music and will dance to anything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlEGDR_zBfk

Asus Eee PC as 'hard to get your hands on as a Wii'

Haku
Alien

900mhz....not

Regarding the comments on why they underclocked the processor to 630mhz I don't believe it's because they're trying to extend the battery life, using setfsb on this Eee it crashes if it's pushed faster than 750mhz, to the point where the power supply (PSU & battery) has to be removed before it'll then properly reboot. There has been talk about the ram speed and BIOS affecting the clocking of speeds above the standard 630mhz but this one's still on 0401 BIOS and haven't upgraded the memory because of that damned warranty sticker (which isn't going to be put on US/Canada units in the future)

As for running Vista, I'm in full agreement with Nick, this Eee is running an unmodified (nothing removed) XP without fuss and I have just over 2GB spare on the internal SSD. I can't see why anyone in their right mind would want to put Vista on these things.

Fasthosts customers still frozen out of websites

Haku

Fuckedhosts

or Farcehosts is what I shall be calling them from now on depending on what context they're being referred to.

I got my password for my main domain but after logging in to their Crap Panel and changing the FTP password so I can get round to updating it (locked out of it for almost 2 weeks now) I find that changing the password and entering the new password into my FTP program doesn't work, even tried with MSDOS' FTP program which I use quite a bit.

Nada, nowt, zilch, diddly squat, sod all.

The newly entered FTP password doesn't work, even when I tried changing it several times. Emailed them on two different subjects 3 days ago and got two identical boilerplate "we're ever so sorry" replies with no acknowledgement or resolution to my problems with them. Way to go Fuckedhosts!

Haku
Flame

Farcehosts

Yesterday I received the password to one of two Farcehosts accounts I have, luckily it's the one I want to cancel before it's re-billed at the end of the month, but logging into thier (particularly pants) control panel

- after typing out the password several times because I thought capitol "i" was a lower case "L" and their 'scrambled letter' anti-bot password is not much better either because how can you tell the difference between x and X? or o and O?

anyway after I eventually successfully logged in I spent a further 15 minutes trying to navigate the damn interface trying to find the cancel account option, which doesn't seem to be there, they don't want me to leave? which means I'm probably going to have to waste even more fricken time (and also money) on the phone to these prats

Fark attempts to trademark NSFW

Haku

what the fark?

Surely the owner of nsfw.com would have something to say about this ?

Eee PC: better with Windows?

Haku

Didn't like Xandros, but will try it again one day

I installed XP on this Eee I'm typing on right now for a couple of reasons, I did try to get to grips with the Xandros OS but found the software it came with a little 'kludgy' (apart from Firefox) - I won't use even half the apps it came with and those that I did use I didn't like. At one point the stupid OS refused to let me access any UMS devices (flash, HD and CD/DVD), saying I didn't have permission so I had to do a restore-to-factory-default on the machine to get things working again.

The audio playing tool was a bit pants, sure it handled mp3/ogg & streaming radio which are the ones I use most but I like Winamp, it's small (doesn't need nearly the entire screen to operate), simple & powerful and I'm not talking about the latest version but an older version from a few years ago (don't need video playback on it).

The video playing tool had a couple of useful features but generally video playback was not smooth, there was noticable 'tearing' where halfway through displaying a frame on the screen it would start displaying the next frame. I can't stand Media Player 9 & later on Windows which is why I use Media Player Classic with ffdshow because the combination of the two mean a straightforward interface of a program that can play almost any audio/video file (bar mkv & ogg video but I don't use those) including being a DVD player so no having to fart around with bloatware such as WinDVD or PowerDVD just to watch a film. XP on the Eee provides smoother video playback in my experience.

Windows is an environment I'm familiar with, yes I know that sounds bad and I will at some point restore this Eee back to it's Xandros OS to have another bash at getting 'into it', but for now I'm sticking with XP because I don't want to have to re-learn how to use various linux based audio/video/image editing programs when I already know how to use the Windows programs I have, that will work fine on the Eee.

As for the extra built-in hardware, the wireless card works, the ethernet works, the SD reader works, the touchpad works & the webcam all work fine. Saying things like "Just think of the wireless ethernet card you probably won't be able to use anymore." is precicely the kind of FUD I'd expect from linux fanboys.

Newly-homeless kids get free iPod

Haku
Jobs Horns

@Daniel

I have an iPod nano 4gb, I've played more solitaire on it than music! the lock-in to iTunes just makes it a pain in the arse to use, you can't simply drag'n'drop files onto the player with a plain file browser (or even CLI) and have the unit happily read them, unlike my two iRiver H140's which you can, and I do, regularly for the past 3+ years.

Secret mailing list rocks Wikipedia

Haku

External linkage

Apart from the info that Wikipedia contains, wether there's false information or not, one of the strongest points is one which the editors appear to delight in removing, the external links to sites that often contain better & more detailed info on the subject in question.

It's like the admins are trying to stop people believing in the internet "nah nah nah nah, you don't want to go searching with Google, we've got all the info you'll ever need right here! We Are Your Internet"

Sellers price up 8GB Eee PC

Haku

Higher res screen, please!

Got my Eee a few days ago (sadly the woman in that promo photo isn't included) and it's a nice unit to use because of the small size and weight, except most webpages are designed with 1024 pixel width screens in mind so you have to get used to sideways scrolling a lot, and some apps aren't designed to fit into 480 pixel height screens so you lose the "OK" etc. buttons beyond the bottom of the screen on popup windows - mostly happens with WinXP etc. but even happens on the included Xandros OS.

So Asus, please can we have a higher resolution screen on the next version, even if it's a 7". Oh and a 1.8" drive bay too, flash memory drive is a great addition but for the £84 price difference between the 4gb and 8gb Eee's, you could buy a 60gb double platter 1.8" drive with change to spare.

Fasthosts customers blindsided by emergency password reset

Haku

feh

Well I hope they're quick at posting out the new passwords and that Royal Mail don't take their usual several-days-to-deliver-1st-class-mail farce, not too bothered about not accessing my main Fasthost website as Pipex have still kept my old webspace open despite being kicked off back in March, but I have a 2nd account with Fasthosts I need to cancel before the end of Dec or they're gonna charge me.

So bloody hurry up Fasthosts & Royal Mail

Wrappers offers padded add-on to keep your Eee PC cosy

Haku

Accessory storage?

So where do you store the PSU and any other cables/mice/SD cards/portable harddrives & slimline CD/DVD Rom drives you might have for the unit?

Currys/Dixons sell a nice 'Swordfish DV1280' carry case that fits the Eee with it's included pouch, with pockets for accessories for about £15, though my local store didn't have any but that doesn't matter because I'm still waiting for my fricken Eee delivery from nexus13.co.uk (pre-ordered it 5 weeks ago, ebuyer users got theirs over 2 weeks ago!)

Met Police to pilot Tasers

Haku

Why bother?

I can't see why they're bothering when someone out there is most likely planning on making electronic necklaces like those used in The Running Man, Wedlock, Battle Royale etc. etc. that can give you a disabling electric shock (or blow our heads off) if we do something wrong.

Kindle ain't no e-book reader

Haku

From the publishing houses of Ursa Minor?

All it needs now are the words 'DON'T PANIC' in large friendly letters on the cover.

Yes! It's the USB retro-style vacuum cleaner

Haku

Spaceballs

"It's Megamaid sir, she's gone from suck to blow!"

Whilst the range of novelty USB gadgets ever increases, the overall average usefulness of them never does. What next Reg, reviews on USB lavalamps? USB plasma balls? USB ties? USB radio controlled cars? actually yeah do that one! http://tinyurl.com/2zhyhe

Drink rats' milk, suggests battling Heather Mills

Haku

@Tim Brown

Heather Mills cannot possibly have mad cow disease because it's an infectious disease of the brain.

Asus Eee PC 4G sub-sub-notebook

Haku

Mini PCI-e socket missing on newer models

Some of the newer 701 Eee models don't have the mini PCI-e socket soldered onto the mainboard, which I'd take as putting a stop to any rumours of a 3G mini PCI-e card for the 701, or even SSD memory expansion.

B3ta served DMCA notice for Photoshop Prince challenge

Haku

Taking the piss

If one short-arsed, ego-bruised American can weild the power to stop people taking the piss out him IN OTHER COUNTRIES, where will this madness stop?

Radio & tv shows have been taking the piss out of politicians, pop-stars, celebrities and the general public for decades, so why can't we?

I haven't received any takedown notices yet, so... http://www.b3ta.com/board/7782828

Russians offer Terry Pratchett-style droid luggage

Haku

Red Dwarf

In episode 4 of series 2, "Stasis Leak", Lister & the Cat are at one point in a hotel lobby, an autonomous suitcase comes up to cat and asks if he's seen a man about 5"10' with mousey hair cause he's lost him.

The person voicing the suitcase is coincedentally called Tony Hawks.

Ukrainian eBay scam turns Down Syndrome man into cash machine

Haku

Rule #1 of using eBay

Never buy or sell what you can't afford to lose if the transaction go tits up.

I've been using eBay for almost 8 years and had a lot of fun buying and selling stuff, in over 1000 transactions I've been scammed 2 or 3 times, but for amounts not over £30, on one occasion I was more pissed that I didn't get the item than lose the money. The early days were nice, contact with your buyer/seller was more friendly but since they introduced the no visable email addresses almost anywhere and contact through their own internal system, it all feels rather cold.

You can buy dozens of things and not have to type anything in except the bid amount and your eBay & PayPal passwords, it all feels like a big shop now so no wonder people are getting even more pissed about being scammed with no recourse, blaming eBay for their losses.

Paris Hilton exits missionary position to save Universe

Haku

Well, here goes...

Partier Paris Picks Posers, Chump Changes Charity

iPhone rubber fingers not a hoax, inventor insists

Haku
Coat

Not just iPhone users

Programmers should get these for safe hex.

Newegg serves up Asus Eee PC to US buyers

Haku

RE: Useless...

No the whole point of the Eee wasn't that it was supposed to be cheap but that it's significantly smaller in size than an average laptop, sure you can get a laptop for the same price which has double the processor speed, 15" widescreen and an 80gb drive but it's not as portable because it's bigger, heavier, and more fragile.

As for the OLPC, while I admire the initiative, I wouldn't be seen dead owning a laptop that looks like it was bought from Mothercare and has a VTech or Fisher-Price badge.

Asus prices up Eee PC sub-sub-notebook for US

Haku

RE: Who can find the lowest price?

I ordered my 701 from http://www.nexus13.co.uk (home of AsusLaptops.com), just in case anyone's still reading this. Oh and don't forget to check out http://www.eeeuser.com if you're getting one or thinking about getting one.

Haku

US / UK price variants not so bad

It's nice to see a new electronics device which is to be sold in the US and UK having comparative prices, $400 in the US and around £220 in the UK, if it followed the trends of countless other consumables we'd be having to pay £300+ for an Eee in the UK (or the US crowd would only have to spend around $300).

I pre-ordered my 4GB Eee for £239 inc.postage and on the same day I could've bought a new 15" widescreen 1.6ghz 80gb hd laptop for £249 which trounces all over the Eee specs but for a couple of things; physical size and weight, where the Eee shines - I wouldn't want to carry a fullsize laptop in my panniers!

Asus to offer Eee PCs pre-loaded with Windows

Haku

Modding

I'm really looking forward to seeing people mod the heck out of these systems, I bet someone will try installing a flash drive inside the unit, 4GB isn't very much as a base 'harddrive', especially if Windows comes into play.

North American cities go green under LED street lights

Haku

"Intelligent lights" ?

The move is a good one but as someone else posted, why not turn them off? or how about this, a sensing network that only turns them on when someone is nearby?

Asus launches tiny PC

Haku

I likey

I've been recently mulling over the idea of getting a portable computer, a laptop is physically too big, a smartphone/pda is limited in functionality, a UMPC appears to be ideal.

This Asus UMPC looks very nice for the price, but only no harddrive is a bit disappointing when they could've increased the size very slightly to accomodate a 1.8" single platter. BTW the screen res is 800x480.

The nicest looking UMPC I've seen, both looks and specs, is the Fujitsu LifeBook FMV-U8240, but where can I buy one?

Canadian prof develops drunk-driving sim

Haku

Better at drunk driving?

Just like normal driving games where when the players get good (we're talking Gran Turismo level, not Atari Pole Position!), some of them start believing that because of the time they spent playing driving games, it's made them a better real life driver.

What if kids start playing this drunk-driving sim and get good at being able to avoid crashing (provided the game isn't rigged to make you always crash one way or another), will they start believing that they'll still be in full control of a real life car when drunk?

Australian court rings to the sound of satisfaction

Haku

nawty ringtones

My mate has this (probably NSFW) wav as his ringtone, the reactions from people when he's out in public and his mobile rings is often priceless:

http://www.ridhughz.demon.co.uk/wav/daddy.wav

So, what's the first rule of Reg Club?

Haku

Rule one.

Always always use the "Preview Comment" button, it really helps yuo avoid pesky typos.

Best Buy adds disclaimer to 'secret website'

Haku

Jessops & price matching

A couple of years ago I wanted a DV camcorder so spent a bit of time online researching what was available for my price range and at what prices, found the particular one I wanted online for less than £380 yet Jesspos had it for £500 and stipulated they would price match.

So I went into my nearest store armed with printouts of other bricks'n'mortar companies webpages selling the same camcorder for cheaper, could I get them to price mach the less than £380? nope, the best they would do was £430. Hardly a price match.

Nowadays I rarely find myself buying electronic (and other) equipment from bricks'n'mortar stores because prices are too high, difficult to get to the stores when they're up to 15 miles away and no car, and they probably haven't got what you wanted anyway so you just wasted an hour or two.

Long live online shopping.

Get a passport, enjoy casual sex with foreigners

Haku

Crazy People

You can't tell me the people behind those adverts have never watched the Dudley Moore film "Crazy People", where there's a billboard ad with the slogan "COME IN THE BAHAMAS"

Cowon strikes at Archos with Wi-Fi media player

Haku

Yeah, but...

can the new Cowon units playback video smoother than their A2?

When I was shopping around for a PMP back at the very end of 2005 I initially bought a Cowon A2 because it looked very nice, it could play a variety of video formats without the need for conversion and had a big battery. However I sent it back after a week because unless you're playing a video file that runs at ~30fps it's has noticable uneven speed (much like watching a region 1 DVD on a tv because of the telecine effect). The majority of ~30fps material out there is the behind the scenes extras on region 1 DVDs and some US tv shows, everything else is ~24fps from either region 1 film DVDs or US tv shows (as most are all shot at 24fps now) and 25fps UK DVDs/tv shows.

The unit I got instead was an Archos AV500 and the video playback on it is very smooth in comparison to the A2 at every framerate I threw at it (even at 120fps), because it uses a technique developed for traditional CRTs - interlacing, which is virtually unnoticable on the AV500's screen. I still use it a lot to this day to watch content on it's own screen or hook it up to a tv, and the video recording capability is far superior to that of the A2's.

Just a shame Archos have 'neutered' all their units from the AV500 and onwards by locking them so you can't upgrade the harddrive yourself, the unit complains if you stick another drive in and refuses to use it.

Li-Ion battery design 'flawed'

Haku

RE: Err...

"Didn't they just describe Lithium-ion Polymer (LiPo) batteries?"

There are two distinct types of rechargable lithium batteries, Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) and Lithium-Polymer (LiPo). LiPo batteries are generally more resiliant to misuse, I have a 12Ah 26v LiPo battery on my electric bike and during one of the test phases the company went through to make sure it's relatively safe (on top of the protection circuitry) was to drive a nail right through each of the 7 'cells', the battery didn't melt or burst into flames but continued to output power.

However I wouldn't want to drive a nail through a Li-Ion battery, high ampage or not...

Peterborough bloke warned over 'offensive' t-shirt

Haku

Inciting violence

If you wear this tshirt and it doesn't incite violence then you're obviously not at an airport:

http://www.freewebs.com/ttshirt/

Trevor Baylis cranks multimedia up a notch

Haku

Re: Remeber 20yeears ago.

"PS: Stereo makes no difference in less than a meter apart from each other."

Actually it does, before I got my Archos AV500 I tried out a Cowon A2, the Archos AV500 has a single speaker and is pretty naff for listening to music/films but the Cowon A2 has stereo speakers and it makes a whole lot of difference when compared to the AV500. Turn on the A2's surround and the effect is fairly good, if watching a film where a car drives from one side of the screen to the other the sound travels with it more ot less, but with the AV500 the sound just gets louder and quieter with nothing to indicate which direction the sound is going.

The small Creative TravelSound speakers also have a surround switch which can greatly enhance the sound from films.

Beeb exterminates Tomorrow's World rumours

Haku

Mythbusters

As a big fan of Mythbusters I have to say I prefer the original ~45min American version of the shows rather than the 30min UKified version, I know they repeat themselves endlessly throughout the epsiodes, showing you clips of what's to come after the commercial break but I think that's part of the charm of the show. I love the ingenuity and creativity the hosts put into their busting, and you can't deny blowing things up with the help of the FBI isn't fun.

I did enjoy Jeremy Clarkson's one-series show he did, having guests on and doing various fun things like the spaghetti jar potato canon & the device to enable scuba divers to have a ciggie underwater.

Broadband claims mislead on speed

Haku

Re: Not this again

"which bit of 'upto' do people not understand?"

If you bought a fast car that was advertised it could get up to 160mph and in tests you found it could only achieve 90mph you'd be a bit peeved, especially if another owner of the same mode/make could reach 140mph with the same tests.

Advertising is generally about trying to fool the public into spending money, but really if you bought a broadband connection that was advertised as up to 8meg you'd have an expectation of being able to get at least half that speed, but if you only got 1meg then complaints would I think be quite valid.

The services advertised as "up to X meg" should perhaps also have a "minimum X meg" somewhere in the advertising and contract conditions so you know you won't get an atrocious connection speed.

Worm eats music on infected PCs

Haku

.ogg .flac .wma .aac etc. immune?

The notes about the worm say that it only affects .mp3 files, so does that mean .ogg .flac .wma .aac etc. are immune from deletion?

Plods to get helmet cams

Haku

Quality of recording?

If they're continuing to use Archos devices for their helmet cams then the quality of the recording isn't that good in reality; Archos devices only record at a maximum resolution of 640x480 25fps non-interlaced, meaning when they plug in the Archos helmet camera (with Sony Super HAD 420 line 1/4" CCD hardware inside) they're losing over half the quality the camera is capable of.

The Archos units takes the 720x576 interlaced PAL resolution input, discards half of the fields making it 720x288 and then scales it to 640x480, couple that with bitrates of the mpeg4 recording only reaching a maximum of 2500kbps and the quality is then dropped further.

I can't deny it's a good idea in theory, but really they should equip them with better recording devices that are capable of full interlaced PAL resolution at a bitrate encroaching that of your average DVD.

Oracle sends bloke cardboard laptop

Haku

Operating System

I'm guessing this lapop runs on TreeOS, but I woodn't want to branch out on that idea. I'll leaf you with this thought, is this what happened to the $10 paper mobile?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/01/19/10_paper_mobile_phone/

iPhone hack project aims to open up device

Haku

Re: Erm. What about the SIM card

I think the title of "SIM locked away inside mobile phone" crown goes to the ZTE F866 3G mobile, they epoxy'd the damn thing into the phone to prevent people buying en-masse and flogging them abroad with new SIM cards..

Apple iPhone

Haku

Philips Pronto

Apple maybe should've taken a leaf out of Philips' book in regards to touchscreen devices, they added more hard buttons to their latter Pronto remotes after listening to their users. I like my Pronto and am very glad of the hard buttons for the simple reason you don't have to look at the device to know which button you're pressing.

YouTube hits iPhone

Haku

Image quality

The problem with YouTube (and most sites, except MetaCafe which gives you software so you CAN download higher quality video) is that the video quality is somewhat atrocious when you're used to cable/satellite/dvd/hd resolution.

I can see it now:

Apple TV owner with 50" plasma to friend: "If you stand right back and squint your eyes you can make the blocky image blur enough so you can see the *generic 'funny' crash clip you've probably seen before*"

Apple mobile owner to friend: "If you look close enough you can just about make out the *generic 'funny' crash clip you've probably seen before*"

FBI logs its millionth zombie address

Haku

re: I say detect and delete

It's a good idea in theory but to enable such an event the ISP would have to amend their T&C's to allow them to block internet access on 'zombie' machines where the owners have been alerted but nothing done after 30 days, plus if you were to block their internet access off, how would they be able to get latest anti-virus fingerprints and/or Windows service pack updates if re-installing from scratch?

But perhaps the zombie machine owners should be inconvenienced in some way for having to clean out their machines, because after all it's most likely their machine has inconvenienced many other people through spam etc.

Fancy an earful? Click here for tech support

Haku

Maddox

If I owned a company where I couldn't care less about the customers I would hire Maddox to write all helpdesk reply emails. Rufus could learn a thing or two from Maddox.

Japanese offered USB bum-cooling cushion

Haku

More USB cooling

The USB bum cooler will go excellently with this:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/usb-air-conditioned-shirt-181614.php

(even if the combination would make you look like the Michelin Man / Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, who's sitting on a black whoopee cushion)

So what's in a URL? The Reg URL?

Haku

I vote .co.uk

I just noticed following a link from slashdot that it's .com which feels a little weird and I've /always/ used .co.uk, I like it that it's .co.uk because even though it covers world events it covers more UK stuff.

Please keep it .co.uk, it's part of it's image and changing it to .com just makes it feel somehow just another generic .com news site. Just make the .com redirect to .co.uk