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About me

My posting summary

1 to 10 of 33

My comments

• "The phone is 11.5 millimeters thick... about as thick as a pencil"
  
  Show me a pencil that's over a centimetre thick and I'll show you a very very fat pencil. I don't understand why they have to say crap like this when it's just misleading and wrong: I guess the "do no evil" mantra doesn't include outright misrepresentation. By the way, 11.5 mm is just a bit short of HALF AN INCH for those of you unfamiliar with metric measurements. In reply to: "Live coverage of Google's Android phone announcement"

  January 5, 2010

  1 reply

• Every website that hosts personal profiles with pictures should be as diligent as this site: photos should reflect the user as they are now, not be some 10 month old photo. If anything I think the members should be required to post a new photo every month and there should be a zero-tolerance policy on people who aren't accurately represented by their picture.... and those people who got kicked off should stay kicked off because they have proven that they are the types to let themselves go: what good is it getting involved with someone who is good looking that will just start getting lazy and over eating as soon as they 'settle in' to a relationship? If anything, they're not ruthless enough letting the schlubs back in... or change their Website to "temporarilybeautifulpeople.com" or "peoplewhocansuckitinforaphoto.com" or "peoplewhoaresosuperficialwhywouldyouwanttoevenknowthem.com" In reply to: "Social network nixes users who 'let themselves go'"

  January 4, 2010

  1 reply

• iThink iGuide iStupid. iNstead iSuggest iSlab. In reply to: "Aha! It's the iGuide, not iSlate--maybe"

  December 31, 2009

  0 replies

• Harry Shearer wrote that because a large part of his income is from endorsements, and the only reason he has endorsements is because of a reputation for excellence, the sponsors should be suing his ass off to get their sponsorship fees back.
  
  The man hits a ball with a stick better than anyone else who hits a ball with a stick. Oh, wait, sorry, there are other men who hit a different type of ball with a different type of stick who are also excellent at hitting their favoured ball with the stick they are accustomed to hitting balls with.
  
  But I wager they could all be classified as OCD sufferers. Not heroes.
  
  Now, next time you see a firefighter or police officer or soldier, go up to them and shake their hand and thank them for being real heroes, who actually risk their lives for the welfare of others. I'm sure they don't hit balls with sticks as well as these men do, because they have spent their time saving lives and property instead. In reply to: "AT&T cuts Tiger Woods"

  December 31, 2009

  0 replies

• I think there are good points made in the article and in the comments that punch holes in the logic (and, I'll just say it outright, LIES) that Verizon (and all phone companies) use.
  
  So, Verizon purchases a phone at an unknown cost from Motorola, then slaps a $559 price on it. If they are willing to disclose what their cost per phone to Motorola is, I would have one more data point to work with, but I don't.
  
  The whole point of the subsidy is that the carrier gets a PREDICTABLE REVENUE stream from the subscriber. So, the subsidy is made up in the profits from the contract. To suggest that the subsidy + cost of providing cell service is not far less than the revenue generated is ludicrous. However the carrier shuffles the money around, saying that the subsidy isn't fully recovered by the end of the contract is doubletalk bordering on an outright lie. In reply to: "Is Verizon's new early-termination fee anti-consumer?"

  November 7, 2009

  0 replies

• I have a haunted Gigabit Ethernet port (note this is NOT wireless internet!): here's my setup: my main computer is a notebook, but I have a gaming desktop that is usually powered off... they share a nice LCD TV, front-channel speakers, keyboard, and mouse via a KVM switch. The gaming machine has rear channel speakers. If I do not turn off the rear channel speakers when the gaming machine is not on, through them I hear what I'd call 'normal' interference (a slight humming / buzzing). If I turn up the volume on those speakers, it's quite easily audible.
  
  Here's how my notebook gigabit port is haunted.... occasionally, the tone of that buzzing changes slightly: it changes to a definable "A flat" pitch... after about 2 seconds, it changes to an "A" pitch... as soon as I hear that "A flat", I know I will lose my network connection in seconds. When I'm on Skype, I will say to the other party "Oh, I'm going to lose my internet connection... I'll call you right back". It would be funny if it wasn't so irritating.
  
  I've contacted my computer (Dell) and ISP (TekSavvy) tech support (who have been very helpful, as far as this bizarre problem is concerned), removed all other devices from in between my router and my computer (by using a 50 foot ethernet cable to connect directly to the DSL modem) and can not diagnose what is causing this. Some days, it doesn't happen at all: I can work from home without interruption all day. Other days, I am being knocked off every 45 seconds.
  
  Since I work from home regularly, it is very disruptive to me... I even had an electrician come in to check my circuits. It is so inconsistent it is difficult to test possible solutions... but after ruling out my DSL modem and router, and the fact that I'm not just kicked off the Internet, but I'm kicked off my home network, somehow this "ghost" that causes the tell-tale sound on my rear channel speakers must somehow be affecting my Gigabit port... or... maybe... the Gigabit port is making the sound!!! Maybe what I'm hearing is the Gigabit port's A-Flat scream of terror, followed by it's A tone lapse into unconsciousness.
  
  Anyone got any theories as to what's going on? In reply to: "Send us your spookiest tech tales!"

  October 13, 2009

  2 replies

• I'd say any comments toward GWB that advocated his removal was because him and his administration (Rove, Chaney) were doing downright evil things to innocents around the world in their quest to make US Citizens "feel" safer, even while making the world a more dangeours place.
  
  Hate speech spewed toward Obama is ironically because he is a GOOD man trying to UNDO the damage and deficits of the previous administration, trying to make the world a better place... and these same selfish twits that supported the Bush administration's horrible policies (I don't care who dies so long as U.S.A. is safe and gets our oil) are the ones again acting selfishly (I don't care who dies in a gutter without health care so long as I am unaffected) are calling for violence against him.
  
  And of course most of them lack the intelligence to properly consider the consequences of their actions and have the religious zeal behind them that they will 'make the sacrifice' and be a martyr to their cause, taking down Obama as their "holy mission" or some such nonsense.
  
  Now, how then is anti-Bush commentary AT ALL like anti-Obama commentary? Anti-Bush commentary is "stop being evil" and anti-Obama commentary is "don't take my stuff". In reply to: "Facebook removes 'Should Obama be killed?' poll"

  September 28, 2009

  2 replies

• I act as advisor to friends on their HT purchases, and having to explain the difference between so-called "LED TV" and "LCD" is a hassle.
  
  Of course, you have to further differentiate between LED "sidelighting" from the more-sophisticated "local dimming" where the backlight is in 'regions' and dim if the region of the picture it is lighting is dark. The size of these regions is also a factor (how many individual pixels they affect).
  
  So, while they're trying to differentiate themselves, they're introducing generic terms that should probably be trademarks... I thing Samsung should call them something like "SammyLight LCDs" and then describe how SammyLight is sooo superior.
  
  Good on the UK for stopping this. Now, if only the US / Canada govt's would make the cell phone companies charge by the second, rather than stealing I mean rounding up to the nearest minute. In reply to: "Samsung LED TV ads called 'misleading' by U.K. authority"

  September 3, 2009

  0 replies

• Microsoft has spent over a decade INTEGRATING the browser into the OS to the point where they are getting fined for anti-competitive practises.... and a decade patching the security holes exposed by this tight integration. NOW they say that they shouldn't allow the browser to have such direct access to the operating system. Well, DUH. They should stick to the OS and let those with only arms-length access to the deep OS code be the vendor of choice for the Web browser. For me, Firefox is it, and I am deathly afraid of using IE for the very reason that it is so tightly integrated into the OS that it makes me very uneasy to use it. In reply to: "Microsoft's Gazelle browser takes a radical path"

  July 7, 2009

  1 reply

• I agree: I have the 3808CI and the "touchscreen" remote is no more complicated than any other multi-device remote I've ever used. I have issues with their GUI (as a user interface designer, I'd love to consult with them... for FREE if they'd allow me a free upgrade of my GUI!) but don't blame the remote for the GUI shortcomings. In reply to: "Tuning in to Denon's 2009 line of AV receivers"

  May 13, 2009

  0 replies