Posts by Dave 126

Re: So what the author is suggesting is...

Actually, a variant would word well in the countryside. City dwellers have the option of buses, light rail and taxis- or facilities are close enough to just walk or cycle to. Here in a smaller town, public transport is very poor.

The proposed system would allow young people (even those with driving licenses currently face crippling insurance premiums) to travel to the cinema in the next town, for example. (Only this morning, the local paper tells of a coroner's finding that two young men died in a car crash due to the driver speeding so as beat an 11 PM curfew imposed by his insurance company and enforced by a TomTom-manufactured GPS logger. )

In the UK, there have been trial schemes of a service akin to a bus/taxi hybrid... one rings up to with a request to travel from A to B, and you are contacted later with the time at which you can expect a minibus to turn up. The idea is to lump together people to make efficiencies in a time when local bus routes are being cut back. It was aimed at an older demographic, and before adoption of the smartphone (a GPS-equipped device can only aid services like this, if its users have the inclination and ability to use one).

In France, people who never gained a driving licence in the first place (usually the old) may drive a specific model of low powered car, limited to around 30 Mph. Sometimes they are bought by people who have lost their licence due to drink-driving. Also in France, I see that young people are allowed to take passengers on their mopeds.

Re: You are the Product.... Just accept it

People say good things about Nokia's offline maps. Anyone here care to recommend a good offline Android map app?

Re: B0rked

I don't know what the hell this 'Latitude' of which you speak is. Offline maps disappearing? Grr. I use it in places like Devon (poor signal) or France (too expensive to use data)- on home territory I don't need any maps. Apparently, the Google engineers weren't happy about it it either, and so it maps can still be cached by typing 'okay maps' into the search box. (I haven't upgraded or tested this myself).

I tried to set my old man up on Open Maps on his tablet, but he was mistrustful after a vector error placed a lake over a road and town in Italy.

Re: Not new though

That's not prior art with respect to this patent.

Mr Hollinger's patent is for HOW the thing works: "the processing unit instructing the camera to capture an image in response to an electrical signal generated by the at least one position sensor and the at least one orientation sensor. " - http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8477184.PN.&OS=PN/8477184&RS=PN/8477184

i.e, the frame rate of the camera isn't fixed, but is triggered by by position and orientation sensors.

If you read through the patent, you will see a summary of prior related art and how his device differs.

Re: Yes, but how good are they as phones?

>flies walked on the monitor and browsed the internet.

Are you sure it wasn't a mouse getting amorous with a mouse?

Re: Note II ... 2 days battery life ??

>Something's wrong with your phone then.

Or his location, with respect to phone signal.

If you have WiFi in your hospital room, try turning off 'data' - it might be trying to pull down a 3G signal at the expense of its battery.

Re: sir henry

Along with "If I had all the money I'd spent on drink, I would spend it all on drink!"

Re: Yes, but how good are they as phones?

If it doesn't, there is a good chance someone at XDA will port it!

Hehe, I remember trying to buy a train ticket at a small station, under threat of a heavy fine should I board the train without one. Alas, the touch-screen ticket vending machine interpreted rain drops as my intention to travel from Truro to Gloucester by way of Edinburgh with a family of six, so I just swore at it. Sometimes a resistive screen is better -or, heaven forbid, just being able to buy your ticket from the train conductor like a civilised company.

Re: Camera

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-zoom-1160410/review

'Interesting' being the operative word, like Sir Humphrey saying "What a Novel idea"! : D

Re: Yes, but how good are they as phones?

>one problem with the xperia z is that the touchscreen randomly activates underwater, so I got a few still photos >captured along with the video.

Try this, if it gets rolled out for the Xperia Z:

http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/07/02/sony-intros-touch-block-feature-to-prevent-unintentional-touches/

Re: staff unfailingly polite, helpful and eager

Quite a few members of the public (or at least those who drink in the pub most evenings) have long referred (half-jokingly) to those of us who can use or fix a computer as 'whizzes', 'gurus' or 'geniuses', so I've always seen Apple's adoption of 'Genius Bar' as sharing a nod with their intended users.

It seems to work for that segment - look at the Consumer Association's ('Which?') retailer of the year award, compiled from questionnaires completed by their subscribers. Whether it works for us is irrelevant.

Re: Yes, but how good are they as phones?

A touch too subtle, Mr Hicks...

Re: Yes, but how good are they as phones?

There is also the Xperia ZR, which is more waterproof than the Z (apparently can film video underwater) and appears to have a more rubbery back than the Z (so hopefully minimising wet handed fumbles onto rocks). It' slightly smaller at 4.5".

Unfortunately, it doesn't yet seem to be available in the UK, only some European countries.

Re: One-handed operation is key to Many buyers' needs

I get on well with my Xperia P, which is about 4" diagonal across the screen. However, whilst the battery is better than it was when The Reg reviewed it (due to stamina modes in the ICS and then JB updates- fair play Sony) it's not brilliant.

I get the impression that many Android apps and browsers were developed for 4.5"+ phones - I can read everything, but it's nearly at the limits of my eyesight.

EDIT: It works very as a phone, too. Calls are nice and clear.

Re: I'm still unclear who the target audience is

Just search the interwebs for comparisons of the previous Belle Pureview against things like the Lumix LX-5 before commenting... or, as the article suggests, the Reg write-up. The Pureview fits in jeans pocket; the Lumix does not.

There are more WinPho 8 phones in my local pub than the comments section of the Register would suggest. I haven't used one, but the users (be them converts from Nokia candybar dumb phones, older Android phones or 'feature phones') really don't seem bothered.

There was a symmetrical Logitech mouse with five buttons: L, R, Middle (on the scroll wheel), plus Browser Forward and Back (reconfigurable, though). The trouble was that the Browser buttons were mounted one on each side of the mouse, where you might want to grip the mouse to pick it up.

Re: I have a 7 button mouse...

I've never been a fan of Apple mice - fortunately, I don't often have to use them! And that iMac 'hockey puck'... what were they thinking?

My favourite is a Logitech MX Revolution Darkfield - though I wouldn't have paid the full RRP for it. I mean, the ability to use it on glass is nice and all, but hardly essential to me. However, the button placement and 'hyperscroll' wheel are lovely.

I was a bit naffed off by the poor selection of mice in PC World, recently. Out of the two dozen models on show, all bar a few were generic two-button + scroll wheel models, and overpriced at that.

Mac Right Button

>Which is weird 'cos if you plugged in a 3 button MS mouse you could use the other buttons just like you can on a PC (or you could, it's a few years since I tried).

The right hand mouse button on a Mac is the same as using the left-hand button + Alt (I think, or is it Ctrl? I can't remember) so support fopr extra-buttoned rodents is easy to implement. Other keys in that area also modify the behaviour of the scroll-wheel (scroll up/down > Scroll left/right, > zoom in/out)

Re: Paying a lot for that light weight

No worries! You can also get an MHL-HDMI adaptor for less than a tenner.

Not only that, but I believe the Tablet Z also has native support for Sony's PS3 DualShock controllers.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2310604

Re: Paying a lot for that light weight

It connects to TVs by means of MHL through the microUSB port, which is actually a better solution than microHDMI because the TV supplies power to the tablet at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_High-Definition_Link

Re: Almost had me!

I would have though the low battery life is less of an issue for a sofa-bound tablet than it is for an out-and-about tablet.

Re: using it in the bath ... probably wouldn’t figure in my usage regime

Waterproofing is handy for those who use their tablet in the kitchen to view recipes (or use the multiple count-down timers).

>And wasn't the orginal MSG released on the MSX?

Mono Sodium Glutamate? Don't worry, we know you meant MGS! :) Metal Gear, and Metal Gear II: Solid Snake were on MSX-2, Metal Gear Solid was on Playstation.