* Posts by NellyD

39 publicly visible posts • joined 9 Jul 2009

Beware the Friday afternoon 'Could you just..?' from the muppet who wants to come between you and your beer

NellyD

I helped someone once.

And we're still together 14 years later. No cash changed hands but I did get a couple of kids thrown into the bargain.

It's September 2018, and Windows VMs can pwn their host servers by launching an evil app

NellyD
Coat

Re: "see i told you so"

> Only enable images on web sites where you really, really need to see images.

B..b...b...but those types of site are the ones most likely to try and, if you'll pardon the pun, rear end my browser.

Mystery crapper comes a cropper

NellyD
Joke

Not often you see...

...skid marks on a running track.

Shut the front door: Jewson 'fesses up to data breach

NellyD

WannaCry

I was in my local Jewsons on the day WannaCry was kicking off. Curiously, all their computer systems were powered down and it was a case of pens & paper at the ready. I'm sure there was no link between the two and it was purely coincidental. 1% sure.

Blade Runner sequel might actually be good. Harrison Ford is in it

NellyD

Re: -1 Geek Point

Ya! Der Kapitän der Millennium Falcon!! And best mates with Chewybacon.

Yes, yes, Steve Jobs. Look what I'VE done for you lately – Tim Cook

NellyD

You really don't want...

"will anyone really remember the big bucks Tim Cook era? We doubt it."

...that invite to the next Apple gig.

Special iPhone trousers will ease Apple into the fashion world

NellyD

Otherwise known as the "aHole".

King's stocks are candy-crushed as its top toy suffers splurge slump

NellyD

One word

Good

/bunch of t0ssers

How Bodyform's farting 'CEO' became a viral sensation

NellyD

Wrong hole Neil! Or maybe not. Do let us know how they work out for you old chap.

Fans rap Apple's 'crap' Map app

NellyD
Facepalm

Apple Shops?

Do they show up in their correct locations?

How one bad algorithm cost traders $440m

NellyD

Re: Ah, Mr Leeson...

Why, yes! I have Mr Apotheker.

BT broadband packs up again - second big outage in a fortnight

NellyD

Re: Hubs?

Good. Now pop in to the nearest PC world, ask them for a hub and then try getting it to connect to the internet.

In the 10+ years we had our BT connection it's always been Cisco kit they've supplied. Had they ever phoned us up and said to "reboot our hub" we'd have ditched them a damn site sooner than we did.

*Burns pedant hat*

NellyD

Re: Hubs?

You saw the pedant icon and know what a proper hub is?

NellyD
Headmaster

Hubs?

"...we are advising customers to reboot their hubs...". Leave your firewalls well alone and just power cycle your hubs? That'll work!

Rifle-waving Yank's premature detonation ruins city's big bang

NellyD
Devil

Now that's a Boomstick

It was a twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find it in the sporting goods department. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.

Sysadmins: Your best tale of woe wins a PRIZE

NellyD

MD: I want a netbook.

Me: They're awfully slow.

MD: I want a netbook!

Me: It'll drive you nuts waiting for things to load.

MD: I need a netbook, order me one!!

*orders netbook*

MD: I can't use this. It's too slow!

Me: *awaits demands for an ipad that doesn't run what the MD needs to do their job*

FolderSync

NellyD
Happy

It works!

I've been using this for a very happy 6 months or so now after faffing around with various other syncing apps that wouldn't give reliable results: file date comparison problems or just failing to run mainly. Here's some of the stuff I do with it... or rather it does it for me without making my brain or fingers have to do anything:

1) Syncs photos as I take them (only when on wifi) to my home server via FTP (it then ups them to SkyDrive).

2) Music (legally!) downloaded at home or on device can be synced on demand, listened to on device, tagged or deleted and synced back to the mothership using a 2-way sync over FTP.

3) Game saves get synced to Dropbox (every-other-night Titanium Backup backups do too) automatically. So, should the device get lost, swapped out for something else or I kill it by some other means, the game saves can be restored and I don't have to replay them all again to get back to where I was.

I could go on and on and on some more. The dev is also active and updates come along about once a month. I may sound like a salesman after reading that back... but I'm just a very happy user.

Tomorrow's smartphone tech today

NellyD

Re: @NellyD

Nokia's plan for developing nations wasn't / isn't using WinPho... try (grab a bucket) S40. Even the cheapest of cheap droids and fruity phones can't be that cheap unlocked (£50). Besides, there's more to their master plan than merely flogging cheap handsets e.g. there's cunning compression in play to help cut down on bandwidth improving both speed, bandwidth overhead and data costs. Let's see a 3GS play nice out of the box and not attempt to guzzle as much data as it can while nobody is looking. There's even an article on some 2 bit blog about them: http://www.reghardware.com/2011/10/26/nokia_keeps_symbian_shining_with_budget_blowers/

NellyD

Re: Cheap Nokias - is this how they hope to compete?

"If Nokia hopes to compete with Apple and Android in terms of Average Selling Price (ASP) it's not going to do it with cheap Windows Phones!"

If they did, they would... but they're not. Nokia have already said (see the Lumia launch keynote) they're looking at global developing markets.

I care not-a-jot for Nokia but said keynote did make a lot of sense i.e. look at markets where apple can't hope to compete. There's just a few people in India and Africa for example who can't afford the Apple "shiny shiny" tax but can stretch to the Nokia "it's rubbish but it'll do since it's cheap" one instead. Meh.

Sony 'fesses to Whitney Houston price hike 'error'

NellyD
Mushroom

Which are you?

The pursuit of profit off the back of a human beings death isn't sinful? Unless you're a taxidermist, mortician or a total merchant banker of course.

O2 leaks 3G users' mobile numbers to every website visited

NellyD
Facepalm

Not so sure

I tried that and it worked... some times. After forcing a reconnect my number started showing up again though. Reverting to defaults produced exact same results i.e. some times I'd report my number and, after reconnecting to O2, others times not.

So I'd keep an eye on whether going the above works consistently for you - just because it was working doesn't mean your phones not had to reconnect behind the scenes (e.g. loss of signal) and O2 are giving world+dog your mobile number once again.

NellyD
Stop

O2 Server Specific

Disconnecting and reconnecting to O2 (e.g. by toggling flight mode) until Lewis' page stops showing your effing number works in the mean time. That is until O2 fix this clusterf*ck.

SEVENTY-FIVE wirelessly charged devices will demo at CES

NellyD

Proprioception (thanks for the new word!) is all well and good but there's inevitably the moment where you're mm away from slipping the little connector into the device, the hole guiding finger moves and the whole world goes to b*ggery. Had I never experienced inductive charging I wouldn't get so irrelevantly annoyed.

It's simply a lot easier (drunk or sober) to just lay your device down and it start charging. So much so I ended up with 7 Touchstone chargers (5 phone and 2 Touchpad ones) scattered around the home and work. I was happy to pay for the convenience once I'd tried just one of them. It's something webOS users of old will, as I'm clearly demonstrating, bang on and on and on about at great length.

NellyD

Palm did it then HP killed it

I've had a Palm Pre, Pre2, Pre3 and TouchPad all with wireless charging built in. TFA saying, "it solves a problem which really doesn't exist" doesn't fly with me. It solves one of the most troublesome problems known to mankind: plugging in a microUSB charger in the dark

Having used it for a few years it was one of those features you very quickly learned to take for granted and miss it like b*ggery when you don't have it (I'm now using a Galaxy Nexus). Gone are the days of getting in to bed and just laying my phone on a charger. Now it's bend down, find the wire and curse (quietly so as not to wake the little un) as you try and get the thing into the effing device.

Chief rabbi: Steve Jobs' Apple lust spreads misery, despair

NellyD
WTF?

Exactly how were 3G and MMS a "pig to use" way back when? Preconfigured settings and tapping the "insert picture" button in an SMS app is too much for Apple customers by your "logic". I'm all for insulting iPhone users... but that really is taking things too far.

But yes, good design is indeed crucial and to be applauded. So long as you hold it the right way.

HP Pre 3 webOS smartphone

NellyD

Never gonna give you up

^They haven't given upon it. Yet. Typically, when giving up on something, you wouldn't look to hire more people, only then to fire them. Mind you... HP doesn't exactly do anything in a sensible nor predictable manner. How much for that bridge???

NellyD

What an improvement...

...over the TouchPad "review". I only read through this the once but I don't recall it repeatedly comparing the Pre3 to an iPhone. Anyroad, I digress (and whitter).

A couple of points on the review:

1) HP hasn't (allegedly) given up on webOS. Rather it's the hardware side of things they've dropped like a hot shit sandwich. They are continuing development and support the OS. That's what they're saying ATM anyway. OS updates are due soon and they're advertising for more webOS developers so they may not even be fibbing.

2) You don't install Skype from the app catalog. When you add in your Skype account (craftily hidden in the "Accounts" app) that's you done. Skype contacts sync down and get merged in with your existing ones and you can phone or message them through the normal phone and messaging apps. No need for a separate Skype app. Which is nice.

HP TouchPad 32GB WebOS tablet

NellyD
WTF?

@AC

Eh, there's already ways to easily fix performance issues out now. You don't have to wait for HP and you can do it with their blessing in about 5 minutes. Homebrew on webOS really is that safe and simple. Even a Nokia user could do it!

NellyD

Ubuntudoyou?

webOSInternals got Unbuntu 11.04 running on the TouchPad and, IIRC, the teeny tiny Veer as well. that do you ;) webOS runs on Linux kernel anyways. You can get in about it by typing in the developer mode code found running free anywhere on The Google.

NellyD

Re: It's not the hardware

You mentioned Skype twice actually. The integration is worthy of more than just the name being dropped IMHO. I didn't count the number of times Flash was mentioned though. Reports have it as working very well (for a pad).

So the Touchstone being an optional extra relegates the feature it to a separate review? The same can surely then be said of iPad 2 accessories as well? No, it doesn't (I looked). In particular, the Touchstone tech is a built in feature to the OS and most certainly is a main feature providing location aware wireless docking / charging.

The TouchPad operates as a bluetooth headset for taking calls. By the wonder that Bluetooth almost is, it should pair with anything that supports the profile. Taking and replying to text messages is a webOS only feature. This particular black magic is a big differentiator over the rivals for me as a user... and lots of others ta boot.

I'm not buying one either BTW. Not until HP sort out assorted other things and prove they'll support the Pre 2 with more than 2 tiny updates. I had an iPAQ once. Once!

NellyD
Facepalm

It's not the hardware

It's the OS (excessive logging and non GPU accelerated CSS transitions mainly) causing the lagginess. This should be fixed for the great unwashed with an OTA update due any day now. Homebrewers can bring the thing pretty much up-to-speed already (legally and with the blessing of HP!).

As a review... there's a lot lacking. Why only compare features to those on an ipad when the TouchPad has lots more yet to offer e.g. Touchstone wireless charging, Skype built in, touch to share, using the pad to take calls and text messages from your phone... If you're going to review something at least include mentions of the main features.

Palm Pre 2 WebOS 2.0 smartphone

NellyD

Turds

I agree wholeheartedly. The Pre2 with webOS2 pushes way in front. I'd also point out that, in my book, 200000 turds are not better than 4500 diamonds.

And moving on to the review... page 3 makes it sound like unified email inbox, Exchange push mail and a flash for the camera are new. Eh, no.

Dell Streak causes user fury

NellyD
FAIL

Oh yes it is!

Read my first sentence.

HTC (never mind individual carriers) are legendary for supporting their newest handset-of-the-week now aren't they. Just because your carrier blew away tradition and actually released an update for one particular handset does not, by a very long shot, make Android anything other than the fragmented mess it's been for a long time already.

NellyD
FAIL

Bring on the PalmPad (or whatever)

Why is it only Palm and webOS that've managed to join up the dots and deliver regular OS updates (to all devices and not the latest handset blasted out the door) that:

a) Come OTA straight to the device.

b) Don't require a bloated POS desktop program to install.

c) Keeps all your stuff intact.

d) Be easy enough to apply that anyone can do it?

Android is the new WinMo... only with much worse 3rd party developers.

Apple iPhone 4

NellyD
Megaphone

Multi-tasking schmulti-tasking

Why, oh why, oh why, whenever people talk about iphone multi-tasking, do they compare it to that of Android? Despite some minor flaws, webOS clearly sets the bar for multi-tasking by which all other phones should be judged. When anyone says they "don't really need multi-tasking" they more as likely haven't ever used a good implementation of it a la webOS. That's that off my chest!

Apple details iPad's 'breakthrough' mobile contract

NellyD
WTF?

99$ Bargain

So you pay $99 just to have them send you out a new unit when the battery goes? I'm in the wrong business! I hear Apple are getting set to launch a companion service that's bound to appeal to the same target market - $25 to tie your shoe laces (that's $25 per shoe, obviously).

Brits take iTablet moniker for 12in iPad rival

NellyD
Stop

It's got a webcam!

Seems like some frothers round here discount the benefit of a webcam on the grounds you can only use it to take the odd low-res snap. These technical wonders / blunders can in fact be used for things other than taking photos you know. There's this little known program called Skype that use these things to take moving pictures... of your face! Imagine that.

While I agree Windows isn't the fluid experience of Apple iWhatevers, they're actually still quite easy to use with the touch enhancements. But hey, if you've never used one don't let that stop you making uneducated comments! Oh, and there is multitouch support in 7 for those that have missed this little factoid. As a cost cutting exercise I bet this thing doesn't have the screen hardware to use it though.

'No more CCTV', cries top CCTV cop

NellyD
Stop

Wot Jim 70 said...

...and when the cameras do come, nobody will be able to make out Jack because they're wobbling so much from the wind bouncing them all over the shop. Money well spent.

Ofcom coughs 3G coverage maps

NellyD
Stop

It's grim up north (unless you're on O2)

"Orange is in the middle, but wins the competition for the most northerly 3G with apparent coverage somewhere around Fresgoe, though we didn't manage to confirm that with Orange."

And don't bother trying to confirm that either. It's O2 FTW - they are the only operator pumping 3G goodness in Shetland... and you can't get any more northerly than that!