* Posts by stucs201

1293 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Feb 2010

Lenovo readies Yoga Ultrabook-cum-tablet for Blighty

stucs201

Deja-vu

Just needs to be able to spin things around to cover the keys in tablet mode and we're back to Microsoft's tablet-pc form factor.

Windows 3.1 rebooted: Microsoft's DOS destroyer turns 20

stucs201

Re: memmaker

I liked hand tuning config.sys and autoexec.bat. With enough tweaks you could get more than 640k base memory available if you didn't need graphics. If I remember correctly it was just a matter of creating an upper memory block in the video video address space, which since it started at 640k DOS was smart enough to recognise it could use. I may even still have a boot floppy configured that way somewhere.

Minecraft maker plots ultimate videogame for coders

stucs201

The real question is

Is 64k enough to implement minecraft in assembler? Obviously the world size will have to be limited a bit, but otherwise might it be doable?

iPhone fanbois enraged by Instagram's Android triumph

stucs201

Re: what's the big problem?

Problem is you've ended an IF block with NEXT. Wtf? NEXT ends a FOR loop...

NJ lab claims plasma fusion breakthrough

stucs201

Re: 20 years away!

I can't remember where (some TV program) but I once saw a fuller version of the 20 year theory. Its not 20 years from now. Its 20 years from when we start spending real money on the problem. The same program pointed out we currently spend more on novelty ringtones.

The journey time from London to New York is measured in hours, but only once you get on a plane. If you insist on swimming then its going to be longer.

Apple drops 'thermonuclear' patent bombshell

stucs201
Thumb Up

Patent number

Nicely done.

Vote now for the WORST movie EVER

stucs201

Italian Job

I was shocked to see that on the nearly list....

...but then I saw it was the version with BMWs not proper minis and agreed.

With this ring, I thee frag

stucs201

Not the first Valve assisted proposal

The Portal one was way more involved. A whole custom level with genuine new GLaDOS voice overs.

Size DOES matter: Nokia snubs Apple's royalty-free nano-SIM

stucs201
FAIL

So they're both crap?

So one isn't any smaller (needs a tray), and the other can't be made compatible (contacts wrong).

If only they'd have the sense to combine the best of both: Doesn't need a tray, but can go in a tray for compatibility. Or better still realise the sim is already small and there's a benefit (*) to them all being the same size and easily interchangable and just leave things alone.

(*) problem is the benefit is to the customer, not the manufacturer

stucs201
Facepalm

I predict...

...Nokia will win, but Applie will use their design in their next phone anyway. I'd love to be wrong, but suspect I'm not.

Report: Nokia, Apple battle over ultra-tiny nano-SIMs

stucs201
Headmaster

You still have a phone with a full size sim? Not seen one for years! A full-size sim is credit card sized... You're probably thinking mini-sim.

Toshiba outs monster 13in tablet spec

stucs201

Too big?

Around the same size as an A4 pad of paper? Seems a sensible size for viewing documents to me...

(weight may me more of an issue)

Braben sticks knife into secondhand games market

stucs201

Sorry Mr Braben

I sold my copy of the first PC version of Elite (the CGA version on 5.25" floppy) on ebay for more than it originally cost (not accounting for 20 years inflation). I was slightly surprised by £50, even if it was a relatively rare version.

Portal 2 prevails at Bafta game awards

stucs201
Go

This was a triumph....

...making a note here: huge sucess!

(well someone had to)

More evidence that neutrinos are NOT faster than light

stucs201
Joke

Just like a speeding driver...

...they've been caught breaking the speed limit once and now they're being careful for a bit. Perhaps they're running out of points on their license or can't afford the increased insurance premiums.

Charge of the Metro brigade: Did Microsoft execs plan to take a hit?

stucs201

I'm starting to wish they'd never ditched the 9x version of Windows

There might have been some hope they'd only stick Metro on 9x and leave NT alone.

Encyclopaedia Britannica nukes print edition, goes digital-only

stucs201

Re: "Full Payment Amount: £1,195.00"

Thats the 'cheap' version. If you want it leather bound it as near as makes no difference £2000.

stucs201

re: Internet Explorer as its rendering engine?

The version I had used Netscape (version 2 I think).

Death Star SUCKS PLASMA FROM SUN in NASA riddle vid

stucs201
Facepalm

Obviously not a refueling spaceship

Looks nothing like a Cobra Mk III.

(or any other snake derived ship)

Speedy 3D printer creates 285µm Formula-1 speedster

stucs201
Facepalm

Re: Does it tiny tiny chicanes ?

I thought about it, but decided against it. If you want to try and find a car that small when it flies off the track then be my guest...

stucs201
Joke

(click to enlarge)

Really? Wow! I'm very tempted to do that, but not quite sure what I'd actually do with a full size F1 car. I'm guessing you recommend not expanding tower bridge indoors?

Atari pings Pong Apple champion wannabes

stucs201
Joke

No coding required

Just one iPad per player and a ping-pong ball. An additional iPad to track the score is optional.

Also supports cross-platform play with android tablets. iPhone players may be at a disadvantage when playing against larger tablets.

Microsoft wants super-sensitive finger strokes

stucs201

Re: Meaningful problem?

100ms sounds short, but its a meaningful time to a fast typist, say 120wpm. Based on a standardised 5 character word thats 600 characters per minute, or 10 characters per second, i.e. 100 ms per character. That'd mean they weren't getting any feedback on whether a keypress registered until they'd normally already be typing the next one.

Now whether anyone can actually type that fast without a proper keyboard with moving parts is another matter. However part of the problem might be that what little feedback mechanism there is can't keep up.

Ten... in-car gadgets and accessories

stucs201

Re: A squishy stig?

Yes, various things you could have picked before the squishy stig. E.g.

- One of those torches that live in your lighter socket, and so won't be flat in an emergency.

- A wired iPod/mp3 solution. E.g. something from Connects2.

- A socket splitter so the other gadgets aren't fighting for the same socket.

- Does anyone do cable management systems for cars? Also useful with many plug-in gadgets.

In fact even a headrest mounted coat hook would have been better than a squishy stig.

'How often can you hack a govt without going to jail?'

stucs201

No acknowledgement of Bold Lego?

See title...

SUPERCOMPUTER vs your computer in bang-for-buck battle

stucs201

Cue four yorkshiremen...

A floppy disk drive? Luxury! Some of us dreamed of a disk drive while waiting for tape (ordinary audio cassettes), which then gave errors 80% of the way through loading on the system it was designed for. No doubt someone else will come along with tales of punched tape to continue this...

stucs201

Re: crysis

An i5 with a decent amount of memory, if it can't then its close. Most likely all it needs is a half decent graphics card.

Tim Cook's post-PC iPad domination dream crushed by reality

stucs201

Tim Cook should learn from his own last name

Tablets only replace PCs in the same way that a microwave replaces an oven, hob and grill. A tablet, like a microwave, is smaller and requires less ability to use, but far less capable. Some might be happy with just the more limited device, some will see the newer device as a useful addition to the traditional tools, others will want to avoid the new-fangled stuff as much as possible. At the extreme there will even be some who see the appeal of going back to the basics of an open fire or typewriter.

World's Raspberry Pi supply jammed in factory blunder

stucs201

Re: Pipped at the post

Well you're hardly short of upvotes at the moment, let someone else have their moment of glory.

(and have a thumbs up for pipped anyway)

SimCity to return after 10-year holiday

stucs201

Re: trains

Indeed. As an experiment I once created a small town (more of a hamlet really) where the only option was to use the train. The sims claimed there wasn't any way to get to work. This was SC4, the original was rather different where the answer to traffic problems was indeed to delete all roads, only have rail and just ignore the lack of road capacity messages.

Hands on with the Apple iPad 3

stucs201

Re: Laptop, auxilary monitor

Or a desktop monitor.

As for the aux display the feature all tablets lack and the one that will persuade me to buy one is HDMI *input*. Software solutions is fine for a computer, but I'd like to use it with any arbitary device with video output but only a tiny screen.

Lego space shuttle hits 114,000ft

stucs201
Coat

Re: Patrick Stewart

Thats to baldly go...

(Yes, coat time, but please not the red one!)

Laptops dominate UK spending in personal computing kit

stucs201

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

True the desktop has been threatened by the laptop for a while, but now the laptop is under fire from tablets I wonder if we're going to see recovery in desktop sales. Certainly a 10% growth in sales isn't inconsistent with that theory. A laptop has always been a compromise between power and portability. If for some (many?) people a tablet is sufficient for their portable requirements then why choose a compromise machine for when they need power? If they're now only needing more than a tablet for tasks where they'd have likely docked a laptop on a desk then forgetting about a laptop and returning to a cheaper and/or more powerfull desktop makes a lot of sense.

stucs201

Re: A few points and a question

Well it depends. A replacement laptop comes with a new keyboard, mouse substitue and monitor built in. A replacement desktop can use the ones you already have, making them effectively free. OK a first desktop or additional desktop has an overhead, but I suspect most are replacements.

Warp drives are PLANET KILLERS, Sydney Uni students find

stucs201

Re: Much simpler explanation

Well Hamiltons trains through wormholes in the commonwealth books was instant from one planet to another. Made a nice change for the few spaceships to be a novelty because they were mostly redundant, shame he de-emphasised the trains in favour of more standard SF hyperdrives in the second set of books.

The Silfen paths though, they definately went at the speed of plot.

Metro breakdown! Windows 8 UI is little gain for lots of pain

stucs201

Re: Microsoft are pretty confident your next laptop or pc will ship with Win8

In my case they're wrong. My next PC will arrive in a multitude of separate boxes containing my exact choice of components, which I'll then assemble and install whatever OS I feel like at the time. I'm pretty sure it won't be Windows 8.

Bone-bothering boffins build GIANT penguin from fossils

stucs201

Re: Re: Re: What?

I don't care if you call the 3m tall man "a giant" or "sir", but don't call me Shirley.

It's game over for pinball pioneer

stucs201

Re: high score

A much more pinball like score if converted to seconds though...

stucs201

I don't think there are any tables around here

Will have to settle for listening to The Who on full volume instead...

Syndicate

stucs201
Facepalm

Re: Sod the reboot

Already done...

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/08/03/antique_code_show_syndicate/

Apple files patent for 'polished meteorite' keyboard

stucs201
Facepalm

Since keyboard rows are offset, the levers won't get in each others' way

So what are they doing to make this work for the numeric section at the right where there isn't an offset?

Xeroxiraptor: Boffins to print 3D robot dinosaur

stucs201
Thumb Up

So essentially Jurassic Park meets Westworld?

Lets see about combining the plots of those:

One is a film about a theme park where the attractions get out of control and start killing people, based on a book by Michael Crichton. The other is a film about a theme park where the attractions get out of control and start killing people, based on a book by Michael Crichton.

Shouldn't be too hard...

Cameras roll on 'blockbuster' new Who series

stucs201

re: I just wonder why they don't paint the monsters/villain day-glo

Er, they did. Stupid new teletubby daleks :(

stucs201

Re: X in SPAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCEEEEEEEEE!

What about Pigs?

Oh, wait, Jim Henson beat them to that one.

Rovio launches Angry Birds into space

stucs201

You complete muppets

You missed the Piiiigs Iiiinnnn Spaaaaceee! Joke

Modern Warfare 3 shoots onto Steam for free

stucs201
Facepalm

I'm obviously getting out of touch with current games

I still think Mech Warrior when I see MW.

HELLISH LOVE INFERNO TO SWEEP LONDON

stucs201
WTF?

Underdone steak?

No such thing.