Posts by JDX

Wonder why Netflix doesn't have this

As a trendy tech company I am a little surprised Netflix hasn't added 'social' functionality so you can have 'friends' on their system - recommend shows to each other, see your mates' reviews and comments, etc. Adding communal viewing would then be a natural evolution. Integrating their own chat, or Twitter, even VOIP (like multiplayer gaming but for TV).

I am not saying I WANT these features because I fear it would be a mess of "Jeff just watched Tiger King" but it does seem like something a lot of younger users would use!

I've no idea if it's particularly useful

But what a fun, cool project. That must've been a great feeling the first time it all worked end-to-end.

How does a decentralised solution avoid the backround-running restrictions?

I didn't understand how/why everyone else's apps' lack of a central server means the restrictions on backround-running ID sending isn't the same problem.

Can anyone who knows about this stuff give more information?

I assume they'll be selling a rather nice stand to rest it on when not in use, for $999.99

I wouldn't have guessed you COULD fly a 'copter in the thin atmosphere of MArs, even with reduced gravity. Is it as marginal as I imagine or not that big a deal?

Maybe the newer rover can be built to perform a pit-stop on the old one.

I don't buy that their hub will help much but the discs are just a Mesh Wifi setup. With enough discs I don't see how the claim isn't reasonable (we have 3 in a 3-storey sprawling Victorian house with all internal walls made of brick and it works everywhere, though disc #4 would be better).

Now there are issues with the discs - sometimes one will stop working properly - but that's a separate issue.

Errata:

What is IR35?

IR35 is a tax reform that was unveiled in 1999 by the UK tax authorities. The latest regulation change will force medium and large businesses in the UK to set the tax status of their contractors and freelancers. Previously this was set by the contractors themselves.

Contractors found to be within the scope of the legislation – ie, inside IR35 – will have to pay the same tax and national insurance contributions as full-time employees, despite not receiving benefits such as holiday or sick pay, pension, or parental leave.

El Reg, this is factually incorrect. They will NOT pay the same tax as employees but without the same rights. They will pay more. Under IR35, you pay the company NI and the employee NI. i.e. you pay what employees do on their income, but you also pay the NI contributions companies make when paying employees.

This is quite an ommission.

20 years!

No way, that's the scary thing here. I still think of C# as new...

I don't really get why a dual-screen device needs a special OS, when Windows supports multiple screens and has done for a long time. I get there is a special 'dead zone' in this device but surely that could be supported in regular W10 rather than require a special OS.

Anyone more expert on this able to explain?

the "EU failed to take the same precautions" as the US

The scary thing is people in the US will believe that, rather than that the USA has probably been the worst-prepared civilised nation.

Makes it worse

HMRC have shown they are more than happy to enforce rules retrospectively. So this only plays into their hands. If you are caught by the new rules you WANT to know so you can do something about it, not find out later you are going to be penalised for this year after all.

I imagine humans could be tricked too

Put a fake speed sign up (easy to steal real one) saying a road is 40 instead of 20, or is NSL instead of 30.

One assumes Teslas will slow down below the perceived limit if the road is too bendy? Or not?

Foldable phones inevitably come with compromises.

Seems like so far the compromises FAR outweigh the benefits. And I actually like the concept... maybe in 5 years?

El Reg not at all bitter about Jeff's wealth then...

Also isn't it weird the richest man in the world, possibly the richest man there's ever been, is called Jeff?

Sorry if it was mentioned but is SmallBASIC a .NET language? Or a standalone toy?

Iit turned out that Delphi programmers either did not want .NET or preferred to switch to C#

It gets its flack but especially compared to what else was around at the time, C#/.Net/VS really is a wonderful development platform and it is pretty amazing it was able to supplant Delphi.

Wasn't C# masterminded by one of the top Delphi people, or based on PASCAL, or something?