Posts by Stumpy Pepys

easyMobile

I remember easyMobile and Orange having a barney over the colour orange. Can't remember how that one was resolved.

I have a Chromebox and a Chromebook and they're my primary devices. They're certainly the fastest computers I own. My Windows desktop is relegated to a cubby hole; and I use it remotely using Chrome Remote Desktop.

Chrome OS is certainly good enough for most normal folk (i.e. non Reg readers), unless they have specific hardware requirements. They're also really easy to use.

My mother regularly asked for help with her Windows laptop; since she got a Chromebook, I haven't heard a peep from her.

Alternative cough medicine

I won't repeat what everyone has already said about placebos and untested medicine. The thing is, though, there isn't really any evidence that the active ingredients of conventional cough medicine—such as dextromorphan—are effective either. The whole cough-medicine industry is essentially built on products that don't work.

Say what you like about morphine, but it will stop you coughing. :-)

(To add to the debate, I was once prescribed dihydrocodeine for a back injury and can confirm the constipation was shocking. Marvellous stuff though.)

It's a convincing finding

When McDonalds first opened, a Coke was 7oz / 200 ml; now you can buy many multiples of that in a single cup.

Thing is, do governments have the balls to stand up to the global food industry? I'm reminded of when the mayor of New York tried to limit portions of soda and ended up in court. (The food and drink industry won.)

I see this as …

… an alternative to a tablet, not a small laptop. I mean the iPad has a fair bezel around it as well.

The advantage it has over a tablet is that Chrome OS is more conducive to doing real work than Android is, plus it has a keyboard.

The HP Stream is nice enough, but it's slow; if you want a web-browsing machine, you're better off with a Chromebook.

I'm still upset

about a Facebook page redesign in 2013.

To cut manufacturers some slack

Android, although perfectly usable, didn't have a particularly nice UI until version 4.

Things like HTC Sense were actually an improvement; I remember rooting my old HTC Desire and installing stock 2.3 on it, only to realize how fugly it was. I then stuck another Sense ROM on it.

However, Android 5 is rather nice in my opinion and manufacturer customizations now degrade the experience, allied to the security issues.

I've wondered for years why the BBC never did this; the value in their archives must be very large.

By the way, I did binge-watch Blake's 7 when I was sick earlier this year.

Not scientific, but …

In affluent Munich, where I live, iPhones are pretty ubiquitous, but I've only ever seen two people wearing an Apple Watch.

To be honest, I just don't see people wearing smartwatches period. I only know one person who owns one (a Pebble Steel).

So long as

I can get the BBC Marvin (not the Hollywood one), I'll be happy.

Buying a Moto G

was the point at which I realised smartphones had become fully commoditized.

(I'm still a bit jealous of the iPhone fingerprint reader, mind.)

Seeing as Facebook Home died on its arse, why does Yahoo! think this will succeed?

I'm very happy with mine--for me, it's worth it for YouTube, Plex and Pocketcasts alone. It'll be dead handy when it gets added to Google Drive and you can cast a slide presentation.

You're right though--it works much better when you use cast-enabled apps, compared to casting from Chrome tabs on a PC. Although the latter works acceptably for me.

My wordpress.org sites all update themselves these days. Or does this depend on your version and your host?

I thought the efficacy of tinfoil hats had already been demonstrated by those students at MIT?

Column width

You're forgetting one issue with body text on a web page — column width.

My typographically inclined colleagues recommend a maximum of 60 characters or 12 words per column. Anything wider actually slows down the reader. Obviously the web designer shouldn't be applying fixed font sizes and these values will differ between devices, but very wide columns of text isn't something I'm looking for.

Display

Had a go on one of these over Christmas -- it's a nice form factor, it's fast and has good battery life. The only reason I didn't buy one is that I was underwhelmed by the display (I had the same issue with the Asus T100, which also has an unremarkable screen).

Think I'll wait for the new Samsung to be released (or the new Dell if it's any good).

I speak reasonable German

But I can't find this story in any German news source (even Bild Zeitung, which would be incapable of not putting this on the front page).

I smell eine Ratte.

Btw, Deadly Weapons is really worth tracking down--quite unlike any film you've ever seen (apart from other films by Doris Wishman--a real one-off).

Kutcher

Admittedly, he does look like young Jobs, but I've never seen any evidence of Kutcher being able to act. I'd have cast Mark Strong.

Ballmer? Bob Hoskins. Wozniak? Ricky Tomlinson.

As someone afflicted with a northern English accent

I've never had much of a problem with Google Voice, which works far better than I ever expected.

I wish I could say the same for the voice recognition on Windows 7.

Ubik

A film adaptation that seems to be permanently in development.