* Posts by JDX

6847 publicly visible posts • joined 28 May 2010

Foxconn mulls solar panels, sticking Apple where sun doesn't shine

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Cupertino idiot-tax operation

Maybe El Reg should commission a report into the phone choices of Fortune 500 CEOs, or entrepreneurs who have started up successful profitable companies, etc.

An average Joe spending £500 on a mobile phone is idiotic, regardless of brand.

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Re: If...

It's easy to just make these statements. The sad fact that is if you say it in an authoritative manner, some people will take what you say as established fact.

That goes for pro/anti arguments against green energy I should add, just as for pro/anti arguments about any emotive argument ("the bible actually says ..." being another prime example where people just say things demonstrably not true.

The people arguing a Range Rover is less harmful to the environment never seem to be people who actually care about the environment, and it's surely a bit of an anomaly how many of them own Range Rovers and could perhaps be motivated by self interest.

Does Gmail's tarted-up tab makeover bust anti-spam laws?

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Does anyone actually use these new tabs?

I saw them and thought "great another dumb feature" and immediately disabled it. Are they actually worthwhile?

Samsung Mega 6.3: Enter the PHONDLESLAB

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Re: VLP == Vain Losers Poserphone

If a 6" phone won't fit in your jacket pocket, your jacket is crap. Suit jackets are often traditionally used for carrying your diary, wallet, etc. Hell, may suit jackets I can (just) get my Kindle into.

There she blows! Mid-October release date for Windows 8.1 sighted

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Re: No early copies

Anyone who cares already has the preview though.

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WinRT

If they hadn't done a Pro version, maybe this would have had a chance. Hell, releasing Windows PHONE 8 for tablets might have had a better chance and would be a bit less confusing.

No distro diva drama here: Penguinista favourite Debian turns 20

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Re: It's a slippery slope down that rabbithole

And then when you eventually get to that point, you can actually do some work on your PC.

REVEALED: Simple 'open sesame' to unlock your HOME by radiowave

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Re: Not fair

And yet camouflage is still used even on armoured vehicles.

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Re: Who..?

Many businesses use such locks, this isn't just about homes.

As for why... the humble key was not originally chosen because it's the best possible way of securing a lock. It was chosen because at the time, it was the best solution afforded by modern technology. Assuming an old solution must be better than a new one is as bad as assuming a modern solution is better than a old one.

Magnets too slow for disk writes? Use lasers

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Re: LASER not laser

>>It really should be L.A.S.E.R. though

As long as you're going to do it that way when you speak as well (El. Eh. Ess. Ee. Ar)...

Torvalds frustrated at missing simultaneous release

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Re: Ironically

Typical Linuxtard. UI is not considered functionality.

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A Raspberry Pi is about 10X more powerful than the PCs Win3.11 used to run on. Perhaps troll-hunters might take on some trivial computer knowledge.

Mobe-slurping Wi-Fi SPY BINS banned from London's streets

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Forget the privacy implications

It would just be hilarious watching people getting freaked out when a bin shouts "Hi Dave, bored of your iPhone?"

Facebook's No 2 banks $91m after BIG shares sale

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She sold 5% of her holding. How is that news?

New blinged-up 'iPhone 5S' touted by Jobs FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE

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Re: fingerprint scanner?

Seems a bit pointless. Remembering a password/pin is something people are used to doing.

For business users I can see it has uses, even banking, but to get their support would involve a lot of work (I assume).

So it sounds like rather a gimmick to me.

100,000+ Earthlings star in 'reality TV contest' for ONE-WAY ticket to MARS

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Re: Reality show producers wet dream

>>Why would anyone even consider being sent to a barren planet.....

I don't know. Maybe you could ask one of the people who dedicated their lives to visiting the moon. Or those people who settled in the USA a few centuries back.

I think it's called having a pioneer spirit...

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>>Just make sure non of them are religious. Last thing we need to export to Mars is religious ignorance.

Or intolerant douchebags...

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@Pete 2

No you moron, they are people who are so keen to visit Mars that they are willing to be TV 'celebrities'.

Someone I live with is applying so I actually know a little about it - typical BB contestants would not get through as they all have to pass scrutiny as suitable for the trip before they can be voted for inclusion.

Google Glass: Would you pay a mere $299 to plop one on your brow?

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>>Most people who wear glasses would pay NOT to wear them.

Clearly they wouldn't, otherwise LASIK would be far more common. Any professional working person can afford laser treatment if they really want to... I did because I really was prepared to pay not to wear glasses, but most people are not.

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Re: @Don Jefe - Sounds Reasonable

Because obviously people on an IT forum are the ones we'd ask what constitutes fashion.

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Re: no way

How interesting. I'm sure some people baulked at the idea of carrying a phone with them all the time too.

The whole "it looks dorky" argument is really pretty dumb. In large metropolitan centres like London/New York/LA/Tokyo, people wear far weirder things every day. It looks dumb people walking around with masks on their faces but they still do it. Half the T-shirts with slogans on look dumb. Punk haircuts, tattoos on faces and most body piercings strike me as idiotic but people don't really care what I think.

Web ad giant (Google) pops Adwords into Maps for iOS and Android

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Giving a free trial of software to get people using it is hardly a new idea.

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Re: I remember when

I'm so,so tired of people trying to manipulate me into their tech eco-system or trying to monetize my every waking fucking move.

Diddums. They're not trying to manipulate you. They're of the opinion that if they put thousands of man-days into a project, they should be able to recoup that money.

It's terrible how you're being manipulated into using it for free while someone else foots the bill.

Facebook to get IN YOUR FACE with video ads

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Not TOO bothered

If it's once a day I guess that's OK although it will presumably suck for anyone who blocks cookies? I have ad-blocker on my main PC but on the iPad the existing ads are only moderately irritating.

More worrying is the data usage for mobile users, surely.

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Re: too lazy

It does seem a bit contrary to their normal focus but maybe it's a new area so they're starting as low-tech as possible?

'Hand of Thief' banking Trojan reaches for Linux – for only $2K

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Re: Problem with this idea...

Your typical Linux user is probably wise to this. But what about all the Linux users who like to boast about how they installed Linux for their mum/gran, and how they were able to use it despite being a computer ignoramus?

And what about businesses who decide they will make all the receptionists and so on use Linux to save on costs?

Such people are just as clueless whichever OS they run.

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I would suggest Linux probably has a smaller percentage of stupid users...

But by far the largest proportion of overly arrogant users

Bill Gates's barbed comments pop Google's broadband balloons

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Re: When you're dying ...

If I run a company and I have products to sell. If someone else makes a free alternative, giving my product away is not a sensible business practice. LibreOffice isn't paying the salaries of tens of thousands of people.

Webcam stripper strikes back at vicious 4Chan trolls after year of bullying

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You misunderstand the term trolling then. Unless you think it should be illegal for me to pretend to hold a view I don't, or to an express a view I do just to spark controversy.

Apple: Of course we stalk your EVERY move. iOS 7 has a new map to prove it

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Re: Excellent .....

At least the Linuxtards are very easy to avoid, as they generally hang out in their bedrooms.

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So you want a way to share information for cool and "useful" purposes but you don't want anyone to be able to access the shared data?

PEAK iPAD: Slab looking a bit peaky, needs big biz to take more tablets

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Apple's four nearest rivals ... all grew at least more than twice the market rate.

They had a space to grow into...

Chrome, Firefox blab your passwords in a just few clicks: Shrug, wary or kill?

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Never knew that

Now when I run into the common scenario that I can't remember my password but Chrome can on one of my PCs, I can actually get the darn thing back.

Tough luck, bumpkins! Blighty broadband speed gap misery worsens

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Re: Because we don't all simply get to choose where we live?

You're forgetting the demographic of this site. Children don't get to say where they live. But then they also don't contribute anything so the fact they can't torrent Breaking Bad as fast as they like isn't really getting my sympathy.

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what are you planning on shoving down a pipe bigger than 10Mbps

Perhaps downloading or even uploading files for work purposes?

Perhaps downloading (non-streamed) video purchases/rentals?

Perhaps you live in a house with your family or other people in a shared house... multiple video-streams will quickly suck up 10Mbps

Curiosity sings 'Happy Birthday' to itself on Martian anniversary

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I was hoping they'd have recorded the song being played on Mars and beamed that back rather than played the tune in the lab. There's enough atmosphere to hear sound, right?

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Re: How to fail a turing test

Except this is a year since it landed. How is that a birthday any more than me celebrating the day I emigrated to America my birthday? It's an anniversary not a birthday.

Upgraded 3D printed rifle shoots 14 times before breaking

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Nobody will ever be able to print a fully functional gun entirely from plastic

Ever is a long time. Machined gun barrels were once upon a time a distant dream...

They don't recognise us as HUMAN: Disability groups want CAPTCHAs killed

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SMS?

Several banks use this - send you a text message with a code you have to enter to confirm the operation. Similar to the email version really but presumably a little more secure? Although whether SMS is accessible to the disabled, I have no idea.

Microsoft cuts Surface Pro price by $100

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Re: Still too expensive

Surface ... isn't a contender against the established Android infrastructure.

The apps situation tells you all you need to know about this market.

Um, the Windows infrastructure is decades older and more mature than the Android one. There are an order of magnitude (if not two) more applications available for Windows 8 than for Android and iPad combined.

Actually - can you run VMWare on Surface Pro since it features a full W8 OS? Then you can also put Linux on it...

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Re: Firesale - best to wait

Windows8 on a touch device is 100X better than any Linux distro on a touch device...

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Re: offer says it expires on August 29th

Given the Pro is a fully featured x86 PC in a tablet form, it's not ever going to be sold that cheaply unless a newer version replaces it.

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Re: Let me know

I can't believe such a stupid comment gets so many upvotes.

Peter Capaldi named as 12th Doctor Who

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Re: the Doctor can take on any form imaginable...

Um, how do you know Galifreyans can be black? Having black skin is part of the human genetic diversity. The idea that would evolve on every world with humanoids is simply ludicrous. We haven't had an oriental doctor either, so what?

The doctor is Galifreyan not human. He doesn't change race.

Time to dismount the PC hobby horse. With James Bond you have at least a small argument, here it's just daft.

Big blue Avatar movie spawns THREE SEQUELS

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It's as big a cash-in as Star Wars V & VI... disgusting.

Roses are #f00, violets are #00f. This witty code is a boffinry breakthrough

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I like my relationships like I like my source code... open

Come on you silly computer, open-source programmers don't have girlfriends.

Win XP alive and kicking despite 2014 kill switch (Don't ask about Win 8)

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Technically small businesses don't count as Enterprise but it would be interesting if there were a way to break down the figures based on numbers of PCs per company/location somehow. Any medium/large company - any company big enough to have an actual IT team - WILL be aware of 2014.

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Re: By coincidence

MS can extend support, but at an extortionate rate for individual clients only.

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Re: Techies hitting the beach perhaps...

W8's supposed to be leaner than W7 so probably would be OK if you can get driver support.

Mystery object falls from sky, area sealed off by military: 'Weather balloon', say officials

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What is with the

weird line

breaks?