* Posts by FredBloggsY

112 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jul 2013

Page:

Climate change made sea levels fall in 2010 and 2011

FredBloggsY

Re: What a load of B****cks

"This article just goes to prove that the more "scientists" know about the weather, the more it proves they know NOTHING."

Or, it might substantiate the notion that the article selects (a minority of ) "scientists" rather than (the majority of) scientists to cite?

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: Yes, but....

"Yes, but....

You forgot to mention the oceans rose by ~ 25mm the following year."

"forgot"?

Really?

Bradley Manning* sentenced to 35 years in prison

FredBloggsY

Re: Good

"Bradley Manning was a disturbed young man who thought that he was doing the right thing."

... by exposing acts of disturbed older men who, possibly (possibly not) thought (or, in some cases, claim to think) they were doing the right thing?

FredBloggsY

Re: Military Intelligence

"He displayed erratic behaviour"

Not the only one in recent years, some *much* more senior.

FredBloggsY

Re: AC aware of world beyond their borders

"with so many varied locations from prairies through forest-clad mountains to deserts and tropical beaches, that travel abroad really is largely unnecessary"

Says it all, really.

FredBloggsY

Re: No....

"Surely you're not suggesting that leaking classified documents should not be punished."

Perhaps (s)he was suggesting that publishing classified documents that expose shame should not be punished?

FredBloggsY

Re: No....

"Manning's job for his country was to protect that sensitive information from being disclosed, which he really failed at."

Manning's job for humanity was to protect the most important principles that apply to, and benefit, all of humanity, which he, to some extent, might have contributed towards.

FredBloggsY

Re: @AC 14:48

"As for the sentence, he deserved something"

So, it appears, did many other people of higher rank, most of whom will probably never be at risk of getting "something".

FredBloggsY

Re: No....

"What would have the preferred punishment have been? Surely you're not suggesting that leaking classified documents should not be punished."

It depends upon why they were "classified", why they were leaked.

FredBloggsY

Re: No....

"Being fair, 35 years (33 after the reduction) from 90 is actually not to bad. He will get out of prison in his life time this way!"

90 was too bad in the first place.

Too, too bad.

He deserved commendations for exposing immorality and corruption, nit any number of "years".

FredBloggsY

Snowden; others; society; humanity

Never used this term before, but the "USSA"(*) has gone seriously off-track. It looks more and more like the "Commie Bastards" (which was always a dubious term) that it has slagged off since the 50s McCarthy witch hunts.

There have always been good things, some very good things, about the USA. But the revelations about the way it's been heading - controllers vs. citizens, its own and everybody else's - has brought as much shame upon the nation as slavery, apartheid and torture ever did.

Which president talked about the Military-Industrial complex(?)?

And "capitalism" has come to mean screwing over the ordinary, decent, citizens that have always been around, in favour of the corporate greed and gun-slinger mentality that has always lurked in a minority, but a very powerful minority, of minds.

And the UK? Is it very different?

Once, I think, it was (as was the USA, I think, but perhaps I was too young to understand what goes wrong, then).

I have continually increasing admiration for the authors of "1984" and "Brave New World": authors who saw how absolute power corrupts absolutely (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.html), how the scent of power, however well-intentioned, can become a drug.

They had the insight and foresight to see and understand the dangers that threaten the vast majority of (basically) honest, decent people when the unfortunate (mis)understandings of the few are in the ascendency.

Ultimately, though, history shows that good and bad powers rise, and fall. So, perhaps, there is hope for our descendants.

(*) I believe that the "U(S)SA"'s inhabitants, and those of all other nations, are fundamentally well-intentioned, and less than perfect. Humans are not bad, though they do bad things, sometimes; and good things, sometimes.

Ubuntu devs to get 15-min code review, full SDK love – Canonical

FredBloggsY

"Apps" - WTF?

"I hate 'apps'.

Stop using the term 'apps'. I am sick of this ridiculous phrase to describe full blown desktop software."

Agreed! Upvoted.

"Apps" is Applespeak, babyspeak, for "Applications". (*)

Just because Apple doesn't have enough grammatical nouse in its whole organisation to know when to use an adverb ("differently") and when to use an adjective ("different") doesn't mean the whole English language (English, /not/ "American English", Microsoft and other ignorati apologists) should be bastardised.

If the pinnacle of Apple's advertising is to shout its ignorance worlwide, so be it. I have no objections whatsoever. It's the Apple Corporation that looks stupid.

(*) I would have no objections to calling "Apple", "App". Even "Appy" (rhymes with nappy (diaper in some parts of the world); or "Appy-Clappy"). If they want to squirt baby-talk it would seem reasonable to use it on them.

FredBloggsY

"Apps" - WTF?

"I hate 'apps'.

Stop using the term 'apps'. I am sick of this ridiculous phrase to describe full blown desktop software."

Agreed! Upvoted.

"Apps" is Applespeak, babyspeak, for "Applications". (*)

Just because Apple doesn't have enough grammatical nouse in its whole organisation to know when to use an adverb ("differently") and when to use an adjective ("different") doesn't mean the whole English language (/not/ "American English", Microsoft and other ignorati apologists) should be bastardised.

(*) I would have no objections to calling "Apple", "App". Even "Appy" (rhymes with nappy (diaper in some parts of the world)). If they want to squirt baby-talk it would seem appropriate to use it on them, perhaps?

iWatch rumours grow as Apple hires Nike fitness guru Jay Blahnik

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: The new Newton

"Let's wait until the fat lady sings..."

What an apt metaphor for annual Apple Announcement day.

FredBloggsY
Meh

'Can we come up with something better than "idiot tax"?'

I'm sure we can.

The point is, can Apple?

FredBloggsY
Meh

"I don't give a rats ass about it."

What about a rat's arse?

Do you give one of those?

Apple sucking triple the phone switchers as Samsung – report

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: Strange.

>Nah, that's just el reg.

>Go here slightly better article.

>http://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/19/20-of-apple-iphone-customers-switched-from-android-7-of-samsung-buyers-switched-from-ios/

Looks like exactly the same graphs / percentages.

Without exactly the same underlying numbers.

With exactly the same innumerate misunderstanding of how to combine percentages meaningfully (for which you need to use the underlying numbers).

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: It's probably just that

"some people have better things to do with their time than to waste it on customizing their fucking phone."

Presumably, such people don't waste time on customizing their fucking phone?

Some 'phones are more customisable than others.

Some people like to customise more than others.

Not sure what point you're trying to make.

FredBloggsY
Meh

"Apple processors, which are custom design ARM chips"

Chips: ARM designs and licenses. Apple pays to use and tweaks (as allowed by licence).

OS X / iOS: others design, create and license (Unix variant) for free use. Apple uses and tweaks (as allowed by licence).

Apple deserve the kudos for their tweaks, but are somewhat disingenuous in allowing the ignorati (*) amongst their followers to believe that they created it all.

Apple's contribution is more like the spray job on a custom car. It might be very good, except no one believes the person doing it also did the engineering. Apple, of course, do have some significant input to the engineering, too, but others had already done much / most of the work.

(*) Original poster excepted, of course.

FredBloggsY
Paris Hilton

"oh and making it out of cheap plastic"

There are many types of plastic.  Not all are cheap.  Many are superior to more  traditional materials in all sort of situations.

E.g.  Consider the iPhone.

"A recent survey" found that 25% of iPhones have cracked / broken screens.  (Can't be bothered to look up the reference, but it's broadly in line with my own observations).

That does not seem to indicate a good design decision in choice of materials - "form over function", as they say.

"Fortunately", the manufacturer has successfully cultivated a particular type of Pavlovian audience, from which it profits by trading on similar insecurities and fantasies to those exploited by other fashion industries.

E.g.

Manufacturer: "Aluminium, glass."

Audience: drool.

Manufacturer: "Shiny, 'i'."

Audience: drool.

Manufacturer: "Special, magic, huge mark-up (*)"

Audience: drool, donate.

(*) "mark-up" is usually expressed by using images of wealth, exclusivity, being "special", which simultaneously trigger the Pavlovian response and suppress critical faculties.

Paris, looking insecure and shedding a tear as she wonders whether she's exploited by fashion industries.

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: @stuartnz Funnily enough I was just about to ask the same question, ie are we talking....

"Evolutionists believe storing information can be achieved mindlessly by randomizing everything."

What, exactly, are you trying to convey in this sentence?

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: Insufficient data?

'Re: Insufficient data?

@T.F.M. Reader

... The source for this was originally from a Fortune magazine article and actually says:

"Among buyers who switched brands, Apple took three times as many from Samsung (33%) as Samsung took from Apple (11%)"

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/08/19/apple-samsung-survey-cirp/'

Yes, and the journalist who wrote that article made the same basic mistakes (unknowingly or deliberately) by comparing percentages when they need to compare actual numbers and /then/ recalculate percentages, if desired.

Journalism and numeracy often do not dwell in the same person.

Innumerate readers then fall into the same trap, believing that because they've seen percentages and graphs of percentages they have actually understood the underlying numbers. (Which they haven't, because (i) they weren't provided and (ii) the reader doesn't understand what percentages mean very well).

Green German gov battles to keep fossil powerplants running

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: Where Germany goes

"their only way out is to raise further subsidies to support thermal power"

There are *massive* subsidies for the nuclear industry, the biggest elephant-in-the-room of which is the long-term disposal problem, the costs of which:

- grow

- are nearly always omitted from cost-effectiveness calculations

- are rolled forward, head-in-sand, in the apparent expectation that one day a magic spell will sort it out and nobody will have to pay a penny.

Fanbois taught to use Apple's new killer app: Microsoft Windows

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Wow

The bean-counters' tool of choice - not surprising so many companies have financial troubles.

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Wow

Re: Wow

"I am an accountant. I have a MacBook with Windows XP running in Parallels so I can run all my Sage stuff on it. I chose it because when I compared Macs with the equivalent spec PC, the price was actually pretty competitive. I also have my Adobe stuff on it, not in the Windows VM, for playing around with photos."

I still think you really chose it because you're an accountant who believes you've made a cool choice (which not everyone does).

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Wow

>"Made for Windows 8" stickers that remove the finish of the case

Interesting that there are some people who attach significant importance to the presence of a sticker which they view as "removing the finish" of a case.

You learn something every day, as they say.

>bloatware pre-installed etc.

Yep.  PCs, Macs, even Linux come with "bloatware", aka programs I don't want.  I usually find that removing them solves the problem, if I'm that bothered, which I'm usually not.

Apple big-screen TV rumor zombie RISES FROM THE DEAD

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Given a choice

"you might be right, but everyone said exactly that about the iPhone"

And it's proving to be the case, as certain smartphones continue to grow numbers and market share and others continue to shrink.

NSA coughs to 1000s of unlawful acts of snooping on US soil since 2008

FredBloggsY
Headmaster

Re: Fetch me my Troll hat!

"Land of the Free, my ass!"

"Ass", my arse.

Apple erects measures to stop app-happy kids splurging parents' dosh

FredBloggsY
Meh

"The tablet/phone is just a platform for the game."

... made by a company with a huge vested interested in getting punters to punt as much as possible?

Maybe more than "just" a platform, since most of the profits come from what's done with it.

How much will Apple cough for ebook conspiracy? Trial starts May 2014

FredBloggsY

Half-time score

Lawyers 1 - Apple 0

Possessed baby monitor shouts obscenities at Texas tot

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

"A Texas father ripped out the baby video monitor

...

forcibly disconnected the device."

Or, as we usually say, unplugged it.

Peak Apple: Samsung hits DOUBLE the market share of iPhones

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: This "Apple" company you speak of...

"Re: This "Apple" company you speak of...

Yep. The same. The largest corporation in the world by market capitalization."

Is that the same one that's pretty big on marketing bulls**t, too?

Samsung Mega 6.3: Enter the PHONDLESLAB

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

Re: VLP == Vain Losers Poserphone

"Hear hear! When my vision went, it went FAST too... Didn't even make it to 45, *sigh*. My SGSII was suddenly not working for me at all at any distance, along with a host of other problems... Still no reading glasses, yet. :)"

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

FredBloggsY
Holmes

Re: suit jacket.

"Isn't 6 inches a bit small for dangly bits?"

Guess that depends on the specific bits you have in mind.

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: VLP == Vain Losers Poserphone

"Tablets... can be put away and used when WE want. A phone needs to be accessible."

You think these are mutually exclusive categories?

I hail from a time when the person chooses when to use the 'phone, not the 'phone choosing when to be used. Legend has it there are still an enlightened few who have retained that ability.

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

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Lack of Office...

"Spot on analysis as usual, because obviously the lack of Office has really hindered sales of the iPad until now haven't they!!!"

You might a well have said, with similar sarcasm / irony:

"the lack of Office has really hindered sales of the XBox / Playstation"

They all sell just fine without Office, of ciurse, but onky the iPad has misplaced pretentions as more than a toy / entertainment device. Toys are just fine without Office, but are a little inconvenient to have to use for actual work, in spite of what acolytes might wish to believe.

FredBloggsY
Meh

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

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

They had a space to grow into..."

And they've been growin.

And Apple has a place to shrink into. And they've been shrinking.

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Left Hand & Right Hand of El Reg?

"As for a lack of MS Office being a problem then if the Android version is anything to go by, the Fanboi's are not missing very much."

Agreed.

People are slowly learning that whilst a flat slab of glass is fine for watching stuff and poking around the web a bit it's actually pretty cr** when coffee break is over and it's time to do some work.

Slabs have their place, a big place, but they are not competition for most of the actual work that computers are used for. (They could have been a bit better than they are if basic computer facilities, such as a usable file system and the ability to interact with industry standard h/w and s/w hadn't been stripped out or locked away. But then the users wouldn't have been shut into the media supply garden, from where most of the money is harvested).

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Left Hand & Right Hand of El Reg?

"stating that Samsung shipments of screens for the iPad rose to 4,1million in the quarter.

Surely if sales were going through the floor this would not be true."

I think the article was suggesting that Apple have moved more of their screen sourcing from LG back to Samsung. And, presumably some could be in preparation for another iIncarnation yet to arise?

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Good god I'm no maths genius..

"Good god I'm no maths genius..

But if your percentage of a pie goes down , because that pie got bigger, its hardly time to close down the business."

Hmmm... I think it says the sales volumes went down (by some percentage) and the total market went up (by some other percentage).

That combination would mean that, as well as actual sales volume declining, market share (percentage of pie) declined even more. That's what happens when you live by hyping innovation and then don't actually make any for a few years (while others do).

Fashion could play a part, too. What was once the hip-phone has become the grandmothers' and chavs' device of choice. That's how fashion works: when it becomes mainstream it's no longer cool.

So, sharpen your fashion and "innovation" swords, flay about for a while, then get ready to feel their edge as the Wind of Uncool wafts in your direction.

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Good god I'm no maths genius..

"Plus everyone is holding out for 'the new one' that is likely to be released any time soon - unless you were desperate you are hardly going to buy an iPhone 5 or iPad today when a new one may be announced in a matter of weeks now."

But people were holding out for 'the new one' for the last few releases. Only, when it arrived it wasn't significantly 'new'. It was more like tweaked 'old'.

Eventually, even the slow-of-comprehending realise they're being taken for suckers and realise they can 'think different(ly)'.

FredBloggsY
Holmes

Re: Again...

Seems a reasonable description. The huge Apple markups could be viewed, in a way, as being like a tax and people who pay it, voluntarily, could be viewed as idiots for doing so.

And, really, "Cupertino-based idiot-tax operation" is much more descriptive of their business than, well, than 'Apple'.

Canonical: Last change to Ubuntu Edge phone price – we promise

FredBloggsY
Thumb Up

Some day... who knows?

I haven't got my own smartphone or tablet. So far there's no way I'd cough up a sum that would buy a decent laptop or desktop for a device that matches the power of a decent laptop or desktop from just a few years ago and receive in return a seriously substandard computer.

For all the tablets and smartphones to date have their potential crippled in so many ways by the Apple and Android companies that they are only the feintest shadows of what the hardware inside is capable of. And why? So the vendors can keep pretty much complete control of the device and how it's used.

One day, some small devices will be delivered in a way that leaves the user with significant control over the OS and what runs on it. Just like I've been able to choose between umpteen flavours of Windows, Solaris, Linux etc. to suit my needs, aspirations or vendor-paranoia on a 'proper' computer, so, when I can do the same on small devices, will I feel that some have been let out of their straightjackets and allowed to grow up to be proper little computers themselves. When that happens I'll happily pay decent money for a half-decent device that is good for much more serious use than web surfing, media consumption, games and social stuff.

I don't hold out huge hope that this will be the device that opens those doors, but, I keep my fingers crossed and, regardless, it will be a huge step in the right direction and may herald the dawn of acknowledging that the little computers inside smartphones and tablets are just that: computers.

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

FredBloggsY
Facepalm

So Chrome's approach is that if someone's got to your desktop you might as well hand them your bank account and other passwords, too, because they're worth it?

I love some of Google boy's phrases:

- I appreciate how this appears to a novice

- and while you're certainly well intentioned, what you're proposing is that that we make users less safe than they are today

- providing them a false sense of security and encouraging dangerous behaviour

... he just failed to realise to whom they apply.

Android approaches 80% smartphone share as Apple's iPhone grows old

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: @ratfox (was: "As usual, Linux phones managed to scrape a percentage point of market share")

"No, it isn't. It's BSD based."

which, as the openBSD web site puts it, is an open source derivative of UNIX.

So OS X is a derivative of an open source derivative of UNIX, so not really surprising OS X quacks have a UNIX-like ring about them.

FredBloggsY
Headmaster

Re: "As usual, Linux phones managed to scrape a percentage point of market share"

"Illustrates how well the Android camp has managed to hide the fact that Android is really Linux inside. Of course the UI is entirely different from what the desktop Linux distributions use, but the same is also true of all other Linux-based mobile phones."

Yes.

Apple also manages pretty well to hide the fact that iOS is really Lin... OK, a slightly different flavour of Unix inside. Well, actually, iOS is just the sugar coating on the top.

As the Bard famously wrote in his Elizabethan review of iPhone 0.1:

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, though I find an actual rose to be of more practical use.

'Look, give us Snowden' - this Friday's top US-Russia talks revealed

FredBloggsY
Meh

Re: Look, just give us Snowden

"Snowden has effectively attacked his own government"

Defended his fellow citizens and country?

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