* Posts by MJI

6857 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Mar 2009

Windows 8 fails to revive world CPU biz

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Re: good enough

The children use a 10 or so year old PC - runs OK, Pentium 4 just raised to 2.8GHz from 2.4GHz for under £3 for another CPU (I thought the 2.4 was failing but it was eventually RAM not liking overclocking)

Not THAT much slower than the quad core home PC

Home Sec: Let us have Snoop Charter or PEOPLE WILL DIE

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Re: Here you go then:

when asked if they would be willing to step into the noose, there are people would essentially, "Abso-f***in-luely, damnit!"

Reminds me. I had an argument from a vehement anti motorist about speed limits.

I mentioned drifting over, he thought fines ect, I though does it matter.

So I asked him, do you want to be missed by the driver in low 30s looking where he is going, but just drifted over? or do you want to be hit by the car doing 29 because he was too busy speedo watching?

Yes he said to be hit.

BTW the worst analogy ever is accidentally drifting over a speed limit is as bad as accidentally drifting a knife into a person stomach!

I was gob smacked - that was more safety nazis.

Sorry to go slightly off topic.

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Facepalm

Waste of money

System would be a waste of money and isn't she of the wrong party?

Remember that a key part of conservatism is leaving us alone to get on with our lives, don't forget!

Children increasingly named after Apple products

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Had a nose around

Amelia top but no Rory, does this mean DW fans have more daughters?

Definately a few F1 fans with Lewis and Jenson.

Kyle above Reece was funny, I was going to joke about Terminator fans until I saw a nearly surname there.

Bobby WTF!

Lola, have they heard the song?

As to TV fans I have found Isaac, Dexter, Blake.

A lot of us must have children found half of the Tweenies, no Fizz or Milo

Far Cry 3 game review

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All standalone

And in FC2 you chose your character, I chose the oldest one.

FC2 was repetative but engrossing

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I liked Farcry 2

Bought it for £10 at Tescos

Kept me going through the PSN hack

I actually enjoyed it, a stealth game, but I could not get away from carrying a sniper rifle.

I will buy it in the next couple of months, but just bought GoW3 for £5

MIDI: 30 years old... almost

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Used to have it on a sound card

Until daughter fried it by unplugging the monitor

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Re: "unfriendly" European hi-fi gear?

Phono are better quality though!

Ten technology FAILS

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Re: Hmmmmm

I recently archived a load of old recordings to hard disk.

Played back on the machine they were recorded on in the 1980s, via DV to convert to digital, then firewire.

A lot of recordings held up brilliantly, especially the ones on Pro-X L500s, some of them ended up on a professional DVD of a preserved railway, and my recordings were a lot better than the others they had from that period (I still remember his portable Vhs on a small trolley, I could carry my SLF1).

MJI Silver badge

Re: Hmmmmm

V2000 was better for trick play, but not outright picture quality, remember they all were helical scan systems and VHs had the smallest drum.

Beta 74.5mm

V2000 65mm

Vhs 62mm

Beta used the highest frequencies of the 3 for both colour and luminance.

Super formats, SVhs tried to be better but still used Vhs colour resolution so quite often looked like a water colour. For normal use the lower resolution but higher colour resolution meant that a Super Beta recording (300 line) was nicer to watch than SVhs (400 line). PAL never got ED Beta (500 line).

Please note these tests were carried out with a Panasonic SVhs and a Sony SuperBeta, decent tapes, decent TV via Scart.

Oh and for serial copying Beta holds out much better, no need for image enhancers either, you often saw the small print not suitable for Beta on them. Vhs->Vhs is a bit worse than Beta->Beta->Beta. Beta->SBeta->Vhs was better than Vhs->Vhs.

Copying - why?

Well it started on a SL-F1 copied to a SL-HF950, then to either a VTCM40 or a Panasonic I cannot remember the model of but cost my dad a lot.

Video Compact Cassette - the only format worse than Vhs

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Re: Hmmmmm

Beta HiFi sound was indistinguishable from Vhs HiFi despite the 20% faster writing speed, but Beta mono was worse.

It only needed 1 decent sync pulse to work as it was designed to deal with bad signals.

Yes I did copy a few rental DVDs to SuperBetaHiF in anamorphic mode, best looking home video tapes I have seen until DV.

Also copied 2 films I had to get exchanges on, until I got the replacements back.

MJI Silver badge

Why Video CD was successfull

It was in the far east until DVD got cheaper

Players were dirt cheap, tapes got fungus growing on them in hot humid climes.

DVD cost a lot more, VCD so cheap poor people can buy it in the far east.

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Beta vs Vhs

Most common tapes L750 and E180

L750 is a smaller sized cassette and records 3 hours 15 minutes, E180 3 hours.

Quality top end Sony deck beats all others, SL-HF950 was brilliant in super mode.

BTW the tape length of an L750 is 750 feet

Beta was just better!

Harley allows Apple to use 'Lightning' brand on 'playthings'

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Re: Prior Use

Pretty sure a certain rocket ship of an interceptor known to scare U2s will be completely unbothered.

Gangnam Style beats Bieber Baby, becomes biggest timewaste EVER

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Korean GP

Saw them doing it on that, had David, Jake & Eddie doing the dance.

Microsoft applies for patent for 'Google Goggles'-type AR specs

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I want

Glasses which block out very bright headlamps / those silly day time fog lamps ect so I can see the road better.

Don't touch Sony, Panasonic's junk, says credit agency

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Re: Nothing to worry about really

I think the big 4 Japanese bike makers will survive!

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Re: Strategy

My Sony games console streams happily from my Intel quad core, ASUS boarded Samsung HDDed PC with MS XP on it.

My Pioneer DVD player, Humax PVR, BT PVR work well with my Sony TV.

Actually I do know of one incompatability with Sony stuff with regards to Sanyo.

VCR tracking, if you play back in the other deck you have to adjust the tracking, Sanyo and Sony were just that little bit different.

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Re: Sony & Panasonic

Well I have worn out 2 Sony TVs with heavy and long term use. Had a Panasonic VCR die (my only Vhs deck so no loss - yet the similar age and used more Sanyo still works today., as does my 30 year old Sony portable - was 3 when purchased). But both are generally well engineered brands which are in a similar market place.

I prefered Sony stuff years ago due to the Trinitron tube and better quality VCRs.

Panasonics Guideplus EPG scared me off their flat panel TVs.

Both brands of Panasonic (them and JVC) made good video carmeras but the portable VCRs were not so hot. I would have loved one of those cameras. The most popular accessory was the 14 pin K lead, the JVC GXN70 (I think) camera was much nicer than the Sony HVC4000P, but the Sony portable SLF1UB wiped the floor with anything from Panasonic (NV180) or JVC (a little VHS-C thing). I have done the head to head BTW and my old SL-F1 was better.

Later on the best all in one from Panasonic was a video 8 they OEMed for another company.

However the Sony camera was not bad in low light and had good colours. Managed better than an early 1st gen CCD all in one jobbie I saw in action a long time ago, the owner went on about his LUX and was shocked mine kept colour a lot longer (as was I)

As to products Sony were in a lot more markets then, they were one of the few companies to do mid and top range stuff, their ES kit was nice.

If either goes under it will be a sadder place as both companies still make good products worth buying.

Ten PlayStation 3 games you may have missed

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A mix

I am still working through my 2011 backlog.

I expect more young people with access to PS3s will know of Stephen Fry as the voice of LBP rather than Harry Potter audios.

One big advantage of LBPK and PSASBR over the Nintendo offerings are the characters, Sackboy is a brilliant little mascot, and for fighting games, well who would not want to try Kratos.

I am not a figting game fan but the chance to pit Drake vs Cole Ratchet & Clank vs Jak & Daxster, or Kratos vs Sackboy well who would not fall for that.

BTW I am fed up of Move hate, Table Tennis was excellent in Sports Champions and of course it works better than DS3 in Killzone 3.

German city dumping OpenOffice for Microsoft

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Re: Is there a decent wordprocessor

No I am pretty good, been a professional for over 25 years.

TBH I would be happy just using Wordstar! Office 2000 was fine, just find ribbon interfaces totally counter intuitive, change for changes sake, not for improvement.

I sticking with a file edit menu, pushbuttons with clear labels and righ click menus. Our large SOP system is easier to teach than a sodding word processor!

MJI Silver badge

Re: Work to do - unlike you!

Yes if I am going to spend time learning something, it is going to be something usefull.

I am a senior programmer and writing documents is not that important, but needs to be done. I do not want to have to fight the SP, I just want to use it.

It took me 3 years to get properly up to speed in windows programming to the stage I was as comfortable as I was in DOS environments.

So which is the least important of the below. My current list

C++

JSON

More SQL

XML

look at .NET

Try out Linux

Ribbon menus

Yes the effing stupid word menus, I have enough on my plate than to spend days learning a package I only use occasionally. Probably stick to using HTML in Notepad for pretty documents.

Lets think learn ribbon sodding menus or an interesting and exciting operating system?

MJI Silver badge

Re: Is there a decent wordprocessor

Wordmenus - still slower than an older version

MJI Silver badge

Is there a decent wordprocessor

Using Orifice 2000 at home - works OK

Use a ribbon infected POS at work as I have W7 - nightmare.

Is there a modern version of Winword 2000?

DO NOT TELL ME TO LEARN RIBBON!

I have MUCH more important things to do, like working.

Nickers nab Assassin's Creed cache in Benelux blag

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Re: Downloads cost more

No it is quite simply that if yout new game was the same price on line as in the shop, people will buy online, and the shops will consider not selling your console.

So basically Game and co, have told the online shops not to undercut them.

Except Steam and PCs.

My main issue though is disc space, £10 extra for the game - then 20 to 50GB for the game - only got a 320GB drive.

MJI Silver badge

Downloads cost more

To avoid upsetting the retailers.

Certain people rejoice! AC/DC finally available on iTunes

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Re: Meh...

Actually it is a red car!

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Seen them twice, 1 good, 1 OK

I prefer Brian Johnson vocals as well. Back in Black is my favourite of theres

Second time I saw them they were blown off stage by their support act.

1st rule of rock.

NEVER have Van Halen as a support act, especially when playing a mix of their first album and 1984.

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FAIL

Re: Compressed Rock music

haha I've been downvoted by a philistine.

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My favourite live LP

Gary Moore Rocking every night live in japan

£8 import LP in the 1980s

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Compressed Rock music

I do not like it, does not compress well at all

Nintendo Wii U set to out-sell predecessor at launch

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Re: Consoles are losing their lustre for me

Who cares who came first

Good motion controls work well, bad ones do not.

Just happens for FPS Sony are best, dancing MS, Wii seems to be good for general ones, but Move is better for sports as well.

We have Wiii and PS3 Move is DEFINATELY better

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Re: Shooting game gun

Found that there are top 100s using it as well, I am about 2000 but just use Move

Power to the people - if you can find a spare socket

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BR was great

Made alot of use of them in 70s & 80s, also a bit in 90s.

Comfortable definately.

Fast HST - is a record holder.

Reliable - yes

Affordable, sometimes.

The best thing about privatisation is allowing any locomotive which is capable allowed on the mainline. When the best passenger Diesel locomotives (as opposed to HST power cars) live on preserved railways and were not allowed to do what they did best was wrong.

Virgin started it by hiring our best locomotive class for cross country trains as they needed 100mph, there are unconfirmed reports of the same machine doing well over 110.

South Wales commuter trains decided on the next locomotive down, but got told off for twisting the rules and showing up modern equipment.

The best is of course the Deltics and the next best the 50s.

4 coach commuter trains work well with 2700bhp

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Sockets

Got 4 for my desk but I keep pulling the PC power cable out with my chair.

Home 4 sockets 2 with multiway adaptors in the living room. You need 10 by a TV I think.

Mast head amp, TV, 3 x PVR, 3 x Console, Scart switch, ethernet hub, turntable, receiver, MD, DVD, that is 14 and I moved the VCR to the dining room by the PC

How can the BBC be saved from itself without destroying it?

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No BBC then no need for a TV

Except to play games, BDs and DVDs.

3/4 of my viewing is BBC, rest is Information TV, Dave, C4, ITV1.

Get my HD from Freesat and Dave from Freeview

ITV is basically Downton Abbey and was Primeval

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 game review

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What are my firends playing?

Most popular

Netflix

Borderlands 2

Killzone 3

Latest COD

Uncharted 3

Sony surges past 70 million PlayStation 3 sales

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Re: This backfired

The fatter girl has bigger breasts!

Nothing wrong with a larger lady

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Re: Hmmm

You have to do the Uncharted method, opening of UC2

Then you will have some friends on PSN

Freeview to be nudged down to clear 5G bands in 2018

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Why this losing of TV

We are already suffering from crap bitrates.

Can we just have 8 muxes at high bit rate please?

No Dave on Freesat so Freeview is needed

Black Ops 2 takes HALF A BEELLION DOLLARS in just ONE DAY

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Am I unique?

In liking shooters but never playing a COD MW/BLOPs game

UK digital terrestrial TV turns 14 today

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Re: @Better 1s and 0s

More of them are getting through hence a better picture.

Rather than being noise

Humans becoming steadily STUPIDER, says brainiac boffin

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Re: All it takes...

Guns no problem, I know where to get some from, (they are licenced and legal, I just know where they are?)

As to stupid people, there are some near me and yes - brainless - would die out soon enough, fighting in the middle of the road should qualify.

MJI Silver badge

Re: Trying to help

My daughter won a bursary to a private school and also she is addicted to science shows on TV

She will be studying at least 2 sciences and maths at A level.

One boy wants to go into IT the other has no idea yet, unless he can get paid for playing Minecraft.

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They did

How else would they watch the BDs of 300?

Humax HDR-1000S Freesat+ recorder with FreeTime

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Re: Boot time and menu speed

That is power saving, the LNB needs to be warmed up

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Re: Looks like a scanner

The links are on my home PC, but basically consist of modded firmware which allows non Freesat channels such as all the RTLs to be added to the Freesat EPG.

Requires 2xDISEQC and 2xdual LNBs

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Looks like a scanner

I prefer rectangular boxes for this type of kit.

I still need to mod the firmware of my HDR for F1

Word wonks insist GIFs are really JIFs

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Re: What is this GIF of which you speak?

PNG is not Ping, Ping is the IP testing routine we all use