| Prev | --- January --- | Next | ||||||
| 31 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | ||
| 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | ||
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 01 | 02 | 03 | ||
Why daily blogging if you only get enough stuff scraped together for a day-blog by collecting a whole month?
:|
Weather - -
It's been grey and overcast all day. With mist hanging about all morning. No dense mist though, rather a dry grey whispy mist as if it was just the remains of the gunpowder smoke from last nights fireworks. (1°C -- 6°C)
Self - -
I spent most of the day shifting paper. Archiving last years paperwork.
- -
I also installed the regular stuff on a new notebook. My first encounter of Vista.
And I am not impressed. By either.
The notebook is new but not top of the line. But it hasn't got to be, it's main purpose is letting my sister in law surf and chat and play some slow games. It's an Acer Aspire 7520G (402G16Mi), pretty good quality for the money. The best part is that it comes with 2GB of RAM and two 160GB disks. And having a 17"wide-screen means it has a reasonable keyboard as well. I don't like any notebook keyboard but this is usable. Quite unusable is the track pad but that is the case with all track pads I have used to date. Maybe I am just clumsy but half the time I put my finger on the pad in order to move the cursor it registers as a click. www.acer.be/public/ (search for Aspire 7520)
I know just installing and testing on a notebook is not enough to get an idea about an operating system. And maybe I am biased against MS to much to make a reliable report. But as far as I can see Vista isn't much more than Win2K with some interface tweaks. And extra brakes on. I know AMD's Turion is not the pinnacle of performance but it's running at 2GHz and has two cores. And it's backed by 2GB of RAM. Yet the bow feels slower than my desktop (2.1GH Celeron with 256MB ) running Win2K. Most annoying -speed wise- is opening or closing windows or dialogs. When you close the window doesn't disappear but slowly fades out and new windows don't pop up bust slowly fade in.
Another problem, made worse by the f... freaking touch pad, is that when you hover over an item it becomes selected and in some cases it auto activates.
Vista is clearly not for me.- -
As an extra I am folding my daynotes back into some reasonable style sheets.
But pfeww, this is gone take some work.
- -
Dinner is plain. A simple roast with mushroom sauce with pepper.
Or was that pepper sauce with mushrooms?
:|
Weather - -
After a couple of misty clouded days we get a clear night. And a ton of ice on my car. And it freezes all day. (-3°C -- -0°C)
Self - -
Yet another reason to be suspicious about MS IE.
At work I don't have a good editor for my HTML files. OK Notepad is very useful and not at all bad as a plain editor. it works good enough and doesn't get in the way. But it's not ideal so for bigger edits I send stuff home.
At work we user Lotus Notes for our mail (and other stuff) and that is arsy.. It tries to render the attachment it gets. So in stead of the attached HTML page it shows the content and there is nothing to copy or save. So I post it on my site and get it from there.
Right?
Right indeed. Except when saving from MSIE it saves not the HTML it receives but the HTML it regenerates from the input. And that is seriously different. For example by using my style sheet a new paragraph ( <p> ) doesn't leave an empty line like the default does. When I want an empty line -not always- I insert one (<p> <br />  </p> ). MSIE shows the extra spacing but it strips the empty-line coding from the HTML. I also don't use indentation for large blocks, I think it's useful for small highly structured stuff but with blocks that span more than one screen full on the editor it hinders me. In stead of indenting I insert blank lines. MSIE strips my blank lines and adds indentation. It does more screwing up on the original coding but my pages are rather clean static HTML so there isn't much it can do wrong.
Just an other example of MS adapting stuff to fit it's own agenda.
Weather - -
It's cold but not freezing. But the wind is playing so with the wind-chill included it is.
And it was dry till just after the noon, then we got some drizzle. Under cooled drizzle so it turns to ice wherever it touches down. Lo Ve Ly (0°C -- 4°C)
News - -
And MS service pack kills your older files. Who is surprised? Anyone heard about open standards?
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/xp_service_pack/ )
- -
Big brother patent.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/03/microsoft_hopes_to_patent_big_brother/ )
- -
Small disks are dying out it seems. No one ever expected them to last, they were a good measure while flash memory was expensive and low capacity. Now that Flash comes in Giga Byte sizes at reasonable prices the 1 inch drives don't have a future left. The 1.8inch disks is another story as they still provide a good capacity advantage. They are likely to be superseded by Flash memory as well but not this year yet I suppose.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/hitachi_fujitsu_spurn_tiny_drives/ )
- -
When IBM buys other companies it are usually well known big companies, usually international ones. Now it starts buying smaller fish.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/ibm_acquires_xiv/ )
- -
So they found the origin of colon-cancer. Now when are they going to sue..
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/colon_cancer_mutation/ )
- -
No batteries allowed on planes. with the rate new restriction come up people will be flying naked and without any baggage whatsoever.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/02/us_new_battery_rules/ )
- -
I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one.
A bigger screen is welcome of course but I hope they keep a smaller screen as well. A 7" screen is to small for real work but it fits in an oversized coat-pocket and an average camera-bag thing. With an 8+ inch screen it's more usable but also to big to 'just throw it in'.
A bigger screen means a bigger overall box. Ideal would be that they fill that up with a bigger battery and put a sizable harddisk in, like an iPod sized disk. Of course that would put a drain on the battery but by keeping the OS and most apps in Flash would mean the disk can be mounted and unmounted at will so it only draws power when saving or loading some files. The alternative is using an external disk, which would be just as good except of course its another part to lug around and forget and loose.
I just hope it doesn't follow the notebook evolution trail with ever bigger screens. The most common notebooks these days have 17" wide-screens. The wide-screen aspect makes them unsuitable as desktop replacements, the only advantage of the widescreen I see is for playing movies. While working on normal documents of sources extra height is more useful than extra width. Even "wide" websites tend to use the width to place add banners to the sides of the articles. The extra size is also making them unsuited for on-the-move usage. 17" is about the largest that will fit on a normal plain or train chair-table, forget popping out the DVD if your neighbour on that side is using his table.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/02/asus_preps_2nd_eee_pc/ )
Weather - -
There is more wet stuff but it isn't freezing anymore so there aren't problems. (2°C -- 7°C)
News - -
Cyber protests. It's not really cyber-war that is heading up, more a general cyber rebellion.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/changing_face_of_ddos/ )
- -
What are the rules for patents to be granted? Most likely depends on what the clerk had for breakfast.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/03/microsoft_patents_wish_list/ )
- -
there is a healthy growth in LCD business. Now they just have to pump up the resolution of the produced screens.
( http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/01/03/lcd_monitor_shortage_prediction/ )
- -
Milking a name/brand.
( -- )
Weather - -
It hasn't rained yesterday nor tonight and yet the roads are wet. With large puddles as it it did rain. And it's to warm for a real winter. (3°C -- 7°C)
News - -
Oh dear. Maybe old files will still be usable. But in true MS way the are not going to do it by fixing their bad code but by bypassing security. It's better to open the back-door than to fix the lock on the front door.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/05/ms_office_sp3_woes/ )
- -
Cray-1. Wouldn't do for a personal computer these days.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/05/tob_cray1/ )
- -
I don't like the design of the Samsung UMPC. But it shows the right direction for the EeePC. 7.5 hour on battery is the way to go. Not perfect yet but getting closer. And it has a real disk. (Of course it comes at a price. )
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/07/ces_samsung_premium_umpc/ )
- -
The battle between HD and BlueRay continues. The only real reason why we don't have a quick settlement as we had with the VCR battle I see is that Porn these days isn't sold on disk or tape anymore. It's almost exclusively distributed on-line. (Curious that the RIAA hasn't been protesting about that, isn,'t it?)
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/05/warner_bros_blu_ray_exclusive/ )
- -
Hell officially is freezing over. Even Sony won't be using DRM anymore.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/sony_bmg_drm/ )
- -
The fare-well waving to the Snoopies and RedBarrons has started.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/flyboy_equals_drone_boy/ )
- -
And then the earth was flat again.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/pope_telescopes/ )
- -
Preloaded Linux typically wasn't cheaper than preloaded Windows. Well, Shuttle seems to break the trend.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/06/shuttle-release-sub-200-linux )
- -
More preloaded and other Linux boxes.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/04/linux-gos-released-monday )
( http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3820763454.html )
- -
With VIA pulling out of the Intel chipset market competition is down. The only players -with influence - remaining are nVidia and Intel now. Yes ATI-AMD still plays around but no one expects them to play a role in the market.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/04/via-merge-cpu-chipset-divisions )
Weather - -
Bha. It started raining yesterday around noon and it hasn't stopped. Not continuous heavy showers though we had a few short ones, but a constant and varying drizzle. And the wind has picked up seriously. It's only the temperatures that have forgotten what winter is. (5°C -- 8°C)
News - -
The new copyright proposal floating around sounds reasonable. And with DRM slowly going away it opens the door for a return to fair use.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/08/copyright_reform )
- -
Watch-phones or wrist-phones. I wonder what all the secrecy is about. They are coming and they are going to be a success.
I have a watch with build-in MP3 player and that is in my opinion much more practical than a loose MP3 player thay to got to stick in a pocket. The only crapy thing about it is the earbuds and wire which are typical cheap stuff.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/09/ces_lg_watchphone/ )
- -
XBox with BlueRay. That sounds like funeral bells for the HD format. It's not a fact yet but I suppose that when MS says they might do it that just means they tried it and it worked.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/09/ces_xbox_could_back_blu_ray/ )
- -
Fast Apples and the reasonable prices. As long as you stay in the underpowered base config. Upgrading just costs a bit more. Back to standard Apple price structures.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/08/apple_eight_core_xserve_macpro/ )
- -
An MP3-taser. Noticing that last year 5 people were killed (belgium alone) just for their MP3 player this may not be a mere marketing gimmick.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/08/taser_c2_mp3/ )
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/08/leopardskin_c2/
- -
Britain is not dropping nuclear power. Giving a good signal. Of course environmentalist are against, they prefer greenhouse-gas belching powergeneration.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/08/brown_nuclear_power_plans_details/ )
- -
500GB in 2.5inch. A bit pricy and fat for standard notebooks so it will probably be a while before we do get 1Tb notebooks. But it looks like a real winner for small size classy desktops and blade-servers.
( http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/03/hitachis-5k500-e5k500-hit-the-mythical-500gb-mark-for-laptops/#comments )
- -
AMD isn't phased by it's four-core problems. But is going with an eight-core chip a good idea? I don't think so.
But then again AMD is looking into the right direction as well.
I don't think more than four cores on a chip is a good idea if you are using standard multi purpose cores. They are good at running standard PC applications so for desktop use that's OK. but for servers just adding cores doesn't cut it. More useful is the other tack AMD is taking. Integrating the graphics and CPU cores on the same die. Making an eight core chip with, say five CPU cores two graphics cores and an other type of accelerator sounds more interesting than just lumping eight CPU cores on a die.
Yes, I know SUN lumps even more cores on a die but that are not the same general purpose desktop cores.
( http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204803063 )
- -
How can you make a wheel-chair geeky and special? Tracks?
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/08/ces_tank_chair_baby/ )
Weather - -
The rain stopped early in the evening but it's all just as wet in the morning. the only advantage of all the water is that although the night is cloudless it doesn't freeze. (2°C -- 9°C)
News - -
XBox live isn't secure. Of course it isn't. No gaming or community account is guaranteed secure. And most users know that, when using a computer they should be careful with what they post and do online. But using a console they often drop their guard. Cause hey hackers and viruses and trojans and stuff is a computer thing, not a console thing.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/09/xbox_live_account_takeovers/ )
- -
Itanium dying? Well according to IBM it is. but then IBM is likely to keep repeating that. Now I agree that Itanium doesn't look like a flourishing business and that it's chances of long term survival are not very big. But this is Intel. They have deep pockets so they can sit out some slow time. They also have enough engineers and resources to redesign the whole chip. And the relative lack of success is that they don't have a huge installed base to cope with. It wouldn't surprise me they come up with a new and super competitive chip in a couple of years. Pulling a CoreDuo stunt on the EPIC instruction set. Of course IBM will still be right, the Itanium will be dead, but it won't be the end of Intel in the top part of the market.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/10/ibm_itanium_five_years/ )
- -
Need extra storage for you Mac (or PC for that matter)? Nexsan has a good offer. And relatively cheap at that.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/10/nexsan_satabeast/ )
- -
USB-3 coming up. Looks just perfect to plug your USB-1 mouse in :)
It actually is very welcome. One of the most common USB attachment these days are external disks. And in articles you often see performance comparisons even though they are silly cause with the current generation they are all limited by the USB speed. If you think USB-2 is fast enough then you haven't worked with an external SATA disk. USB isn't perfect, especially sad is that it's a master-slave system, not a peer systemùm like FireWire. But the great advantage of USB is that you can find it anywhere. and with the fast version up I guess the back of a computer will look different in coming years. Just two interfaces remaining, USB and RJ45.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/09/ces_usb_3_revealed/ )
- -
Temptation.
Comes in small packages.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/09/ces_lg_silverthorne_umpc/ )
- -
Vista holes. One plugged.
But the same hole appears in older versions of Windows. Makes you wonder what MS means when it says Vista is radically different and super secure. Looks more like an XP copy with some extra paint and spoilers.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/08/microsoft_january_patch_release/ )
Wurk - -
Overload!
It's just 9:25 and I already got more calls solved that on an average day. I don't think I will last the day like this.
Overload!
There was a slow patch in the afternoon. But at 16:30 hell broke loose again.
Weather - -
It is again not raining and completely drenched. And way to warm. (5°C -- 10°C)
News - -
IBM puts the headlights on on Power-7. Maybe. Not that optical connections are necessary faster than electrical ones. But you have far less problems with RF interference.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/10/power7_optical_ibm/ )
- -
Shooting at Java. But they do have a point. Java is a good language to work with but not the best for teaching.
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/10/academics_slam_java/ )
- -
Sony is dropping the 20 and 60GB PS3 models but keeping the 40GB one. I suppose they will bring out a bugger disk version later, 120 or 160GB something, cause frankly I expect the 20GB is dropped because nobody makes them anymore. So they have to buy 40GB disks and disable one plater.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/10/sony_dumps_ps3_japan/ )
- -
The OLPC is probably to underpowered for MS. One Laptop Per Child ....
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/10/microsoft-denies-dual-booting )
- -
Asus with the EeePc has shown the way so now others follow. While I like the hardware I see a problem here. Just like most portables it's made to fit a set weight, which means limited battery capacity.
Oh, and it doesn't run Linux.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/10/mini-notebook-breaks-cover )
- -
Yes, I love small boxes. Yes I want those. Both.
But I don't need them. I actually have to many computers already. So I won't buy them.
But the temptation is there.
( http://www.geekstuff4u.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=264 )
( http://www.geekstuff4u.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=498 )
Wurk - -
It's good to have an average day once in a while.
Colleague on the phone with a user : "So you can't repeat the option? ... OK, double-click with your keyboard on the header ...." Heu? We have super-keyboards than can do a double-click? Wow.
Weather - -
Global warming? Bha, global washing, it's raining again. But a good spitting of sun in the afternoon. And more rain in the evening. (5°C -- 10°C)
News - -
Pranks can be dangerous.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/us_iran_navy_speedboat_row_filipino_monkey/ )
- -
Sun is spreading more mist than clearance here. Data-centers and utility computing go together and yet clash? They want to sell more components yet dump their data centers? I get they want to get rich without selling stuff..
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/12/sun_no_data_centers_2015/ )
- -
When Intel sells modular systems it starts to compete with it's clients.. But it also shows the way forward for a whole lot of smaller clients.
( http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/intel_modular_server_platform/ )
- -
Next order in the cyber-cafe : "One coffee for me, a mint thee for my friend and a double Whisky for my computer."
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/11/ces_toshiba_fuel_cell_umpc/ )
- -
IBM is trying to make a profit by selling software. Duh. Not everything IBM does is open-source so this shouldn't be a surprise.
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/11/ibm_project_zero_commercial/ )
- -
DRM is almost out of music. next up is film.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/amazon_sony_music_drm_now_dead/ )
- -
DRM is going away. And the RIAA is following suit?
It's ironic that the members are upset at the fees they have to pay. Understandable, seeing that they haven't been getting a return.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/riaa_ifpi_merger_touted/ )
Wurk - -
It's good to have an average day once in a while.
Colleague on the phone with a user : "So you can't repeat the option? ... OK, double-click with your keyboard on the header ...." Heu? We have super-keyboards than can do a double-click? Wow.
- -
Toshiba is using the Cell processor but not making a big show out of it.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/11/ces_toshiba_shows_cell/ )
- -
Some good news from space. No, not a big money guzling new launch. Just a project arriving at an important checkpoint without major mishap.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/messenger_mercury/ )
Weather - -
It's dry again in the morning. But it won't stay that way. (5°C -- 10°C)
News - -
Office is dropping VBA. First on the MAC later on Windows. About time. While announced quite some time ago it only now becomes clear they are serious about it. Quit Bill, quit Basic.
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/14/office_mac_08_vba/ )
- -
Routers can be taken over ... and it is independent of the OS or browser ... and not a bug in Flash or another product ... curious. One doesn't often see problems like this. And it makes clear that however secure en bolted down your computer and OS are there are still holes to be found.
( http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/01/15/home_router_insecurity/ )
- -
ha, yes. "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." But if there are enough buyers the price of flash drives may start to drop faster.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/14/emc_adds_ssds_symmetrix/ )
- -
Low power Power chips. Interesting stuff that remains under the radar. But is shows that IBM made a right choice licencing out it's Power architecture.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/14/pasemi_takes_nec/ )
- -
Blowing smoke or refueling the galaxy? If it could be tapped it would surely boos the hydrogen economy. In a good 40 million years time.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/14/smiths_cloud/ )
- -
Now if you could just put an alternative warhead on those office-missiles ...
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/14/usb_missile_launcher_gets_webcam/ )
- -
Darwin rules.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/14/darwin_awards_2007/ )
Weather - -
The storm did come as predicted, just half a day to late. Probably held up in a cloud-traffic jam. (5°C -- 10°C)
News - -
Thin is in. Except, the price isn't thin.
I would love it. Performance isn't stellar but for on-the-move computing it's reasonable and the size and weight are just perfect for that. But the price is what you would expect to pay for a top performance notebook.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/15/macbook_air/ )
- -
Small mistake, big results. Well, for 99.9% of the customers there won't be a problem, just a giggle afterward. Of course People already in financial problems won't appreciate it.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/15/dreamhost_bills_customers_years_worth_of_trouble/ )
- -
Hmm, film-rental coming a bit late. Maybe to late for the iTV box. And I suppose many people won't like the 'rental' principle about it.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/15/macworld_expo_apple_tv_revamp/ )
^_^ - -
Lowie:I hope, miss, that my visit does not displeases you.
Alice: Not at all. The uncomfort caused by your coming is fully compensated by the pleasure of your leaving
( -- )
Wurk - -
How bad can it be?
It's 07:15, you come into wurk, start your thin-client, start the coffee machine. By the time you can log in on the AS400 the coffee is ready so you arrive at your keyboard with a cup of hot black coffee.
Then the phone rings.
And at 09:20 you finally get time to sip the now cold coffee.
Weather - -
It's still variable, with the odd clouds and rain but it's also a bit cooler so we get stuck in autumn mists. (0°C -- 8°C)
News - -
some Sunshine on MySQL. And with a reasonable chance they will replay the Open Office trick and split it in a 100% free MySQL and a revenue generating MySunSql thing with better support.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/16/sun_mysql_open_source/ )
- -
Intel beats AMD. Nah, no news. AMD beats Intel. Hmm, no news. Just shows thou got to watch what you measure and count. Benchmarks and testing is much the same as statistics.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/16/nnanda_benchmark_amd_and_intel_quad_cores/ )
- -
Who was laughing so hard when Airbus struggled with delays?
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/16/dreamliner_delay/ )
- -
Black, blacker blackest.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/16/darkest_material/ )
- -
Dell promoting Macs? Well, sort of. It surely is good promotion for Apple. And Dell for that matter, giving the appearance of providing neutral, impartial and thus better advice.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/16/dell_mac_good_option/ )
- -
Less Air, more PC. yep I would grab an EeePC any day. It is to limited to be the only PC you own but the Air is not much better in that respect. The EeePc is not practical as a business portable, but the Air is just at or under the lower limit to be a usable business tool, yes you can run a presentation off it if it's not to demanding (and when you realise the audience isn't watching the presentation but the computer). The EeePc is ultra portable both in weight and size it even fits the classical minuscule woman handbag. While the Air is thin it is no smaller than the average 13" subnotebook.
In so many respects the Apple is almost good. To many compromises are half met. The EeePC compromises just as well but they went for the radical solutions.
And of course with the Apple's price there is no discussion.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/16/eee_vs_air/ )
News - -
Antimater generators. The indication is that black holes generate anti matter. But it remains ify as long as no method of making is found out or a way to get antimatter out of the gravity pit.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/15/antimatter_black_hole_collapsar_neutron_star_unexpected/ )
Weather - -
It's raining as if raining was just invented. (0°C -- 8°C)
News - -
I would prefer the EeePC but the XO laptop looks interesting to. Though there are a couple of less interesting aspects. It certainly is something I might try out (if it becomes available here)
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/review_xo_laptop_hands_on/ )
- -
Kicking back where it hurts. Now if all the people who have been falsely accused by the RIAA sue them they are are going green. And not Eco-green.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/17/tanya_andersen_riaa_attorneys_fees/ )
- -
Next up in the education track for surgeons will be a "games" course.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/wii_increases_surgeons_performance/ )
- -
Lotus Notes on an iPhone is an interesting beast. It would make the iPhone an acceptable business tool. Cause who, outside of big business is using Notes?
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/17/lotus_iphone/ )
Self - -
I know I am crazy.
I have hardly enough time to post here and to keep up with my Livejournal. So I go on and sign up at Blogger. And on Insane Journal. And on Gaia.
I just counted, I am on 11 blogging/journaling sites.
*sigh*
Weather - -
Yes, the raining season continues. And it's hot. (11°C -- 12°C)
News - -
How long will the BBC remain the best broadcasting service in the world?
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/18/bbc_top_slicing/ )
- -
Well, well, well. A comparison between the Comodore 64SX and the Apple Air.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/20/tob_commodore_sx_64/ )
self - -
I don't understand it.
OK, this print problem isn't the only think I don't understand. But still ....
I had a redundant system setup. Two identical computers and two identical printers. (Strange I know, but that is another story.) Both HP Deskjet840C printers connected via parrallel cable to local-build Celeron systems (AsRock motherboard) and worked nicely.
About half a year ago the attic system broke down, something wrong -smelly- on the motherboard.
That's where redundant systems are helpfull. I pulled the attic harddisk out, plugged it in in the office system and I was playing again. Except for the printer.
Well, maybe it worked but I don't print often so I only noticed about a month later. But printing isn't an issue so I didn't do anything about it.
Some time later I set-up and installed the standard programs on a new computer for my brother (yet another story). I connected the printer and printed some stuff. Without problem. Reconnected to my pc. No print.
So I uninstall and reinstall. And reload drivers, and ... All to no avail. The computer reacts as if the printer is connected and ready but printjobs just wait in the queue till I turn off the computer hours later.
I bring down another computer that used to work with the other printer (the advantage of having more than two computers) and it doesn't work with that either.
Well that took several months, I never did anything special to test the printer, just when I had an extra computer handy in the office I tried. But yesterday I wanted to print something and I had some time to try things. Like removing the parrallel cable and use an USB one. ....
And now it prints again.
So it is the printer cable. Well not really, I take the cable to the attic, use it between the second printer and another computer ... and it works.
I could try switching more but hey, it now works and time is up so ... hands off.
I still suspect the cable. Probably works if it is wiggled just right. Or the parrallel port on the computer ...
Well it works, so I better try to fix things that don't and there are plenty of of those.
Weather - -
Lots of wind again. The wind is weird though. It isn't a steady wind or even a bit variable. It is generally windstill for hours then it picks up to 20m/s. and an hour later its windstill again. then an hour later it picks up again. And rain, of course, but also sunshine at times. (08°C -- 12°C)
News - -
The only benefit of this case seems to keep the public (=press) eye on Microsoft. And to keep lawyers in business. I think MS would do well to try to settle instead of struggling like an eel in oil.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/21/microsoft_seeks_dismissal_wordperfect_lawsuit/ )
- -
RIAA down. But just temporal. Good for some sniggering.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/21/riaa_hacktivism/ )
- -
Virtual Virtualisation, by Microsoft. Just trumpeting around another lost market and then painting over the hole with some aquiured products.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/21/calista_virtualization_microsoft/ )
- -
The beast is out? Well at least some testers can get the fourcore AMDs. And a beast it is. Not slow and ambling but definitely not a speed demon.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/21/review_amd_phenom_9500/print.html )
Weather - -
Weird. It's the middle of winter, yet it's warm enough to go out and watch the moon without bothering to pick up a coat. (10°C -- 11°C)
Wurk - -
I am in at 07:10 but it's almost 09:00 before I even get to the kitchen to start the coffee machine.
Too bussy to post.
Weather - -
OK, we're back to overcast star less nights. and grey days (10°C -- 11°C)
News - -
No software tracing allowed in Apples. They want to keep the worms happy..
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/22/sun_apple_dtrace/ )
- -
MPAA dances the RIAA dance. Just an error so ignore the results of the study. Oh, but don't pull the laws based on this faulty data. Cause we pulled another figure from our hats.
Now if there were films worth pirating ....
( )
- -
IBM paying overtime work? what is overtime-work?
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/23/ibm_techies_get_pay_cut_overtime/ )
- -
Allowing Vista, even the basic version, to run virtual. Shows they will do anything to get sales figures up.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/22/microsoft_virtualisation_vista/ )
- -
Thank goodness the don't opensource OS2. Well they shot OS2 so many times a good move for it would not sit well in history books.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/22/os2_history/ )
- -
Bittorent causing problems on COMMCAST. And the EFF fights angainst the non-torrent customers. It's a strange world
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/23/benett_eff_neutrality_response/ )
- -
EeePC with extra memory for Windows. XP of course
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/23/eee_pc_japan_launch/ )
- -
There is a new HTML version on the block. No doubt compatible with Notepad for editing. And requiring a good look and new learning (and unlearning).. One problem I notice is that with each version it becomes less simple and more tedious for hand-coding
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/22/html_five_preview/ )
Self - -
I had a deja-vu near miss.
Same place. Same situation.
Same crossing. Again an oncoming truck moving and trying to cross over turning to his left. Again I am approaching at a good 100KmH.
But this time the truck stopped halfway on the road and I had room to make an avoiding move. So I did pass.
I have had more near misses like this before. But never in so similar a situation as the head on strike.
Weather - -
Yay! it freezes again! (0°C -- 11°C)
Wurk - -
We got an unexpected roll-over problem. On Special-Works the id is a six digit number. And we hit 999999.
Nothing actually went wrong. Just a short-lived panic attack that was easy to handle. Still we got to solve it eventually cause in about 90.000 we have a real problem.
News - -
Saying you've got a shitty internet connection may means something entirely different. Friends may envy that shitty connection.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/24/h20_sewer_rollout/ )
- -
Nice to see a patent troll being blocked. But it doesn't solve the patent problem. Someone should look back at patents. They were intended to protect and encourage research and innovation. Now they are tools to protect and encourage profit.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/24/ftc_stomps_patent_troll_pricing/ )
- -
Lenovo is moving up a step. At first sight it looks like IBM making a step in getting out of the small-server market. But I doubt they will get out of it. Not soon anyway. I think it's more a strategy against Dell and HP. Those two will have to struggle against the solid IBM brand as they do now but they will be attacked at the bottom with "unbranded-but-IBM" gear.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/24/ibm_lenovo_servers_x86/ )
- -
Terabyte. We better get used to the term as disks are getting there.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/24/wd-ups-density )
- -
VIA seldom hits the news these days. Let's hope the new chip can grab some more headlines. The chip certainly looks just right for small and fanless devices and capable enough to run real applications. No, it isn't going to beat Intel or AMD servers but for a home-server it would be ideal
I know I am a dreamer but I imagine a rack full of servers running full tilt in near silence, only the disks whirring. Yes I hate fan noise.
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/24/via-releases-brand-core )
- -
A wooden horse is fun. So would be a wooden bike. But you cannot buy that anywhere. So what about making it yourself?
( www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/2/3/article1.htm )
Weather - -
OK, Who did it? ... Someone turned on the heating again. (8°C -- 12°C)
News - -
Preparing for battle. On the net. Probably with a first strike inside the US.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/27/bush_nsa_internal/ )
- -
HP puts a new 'diskless' workstation on the plate. Nicely small and fast.. And almost silent. Almost? Yep you only hear your wallet weep.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/26/hp_adds_ssd_to_dc7800/ )
- -
Standards are perfect. That's why MS uses it's own set of them. And they agree standards must be used by everyone. So everyone should use their standards. And their method of getting past and around standards.
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/25/ie8_version_switch/ )
- -
Italic is out. I haven't got a clue why this change is needed, except for the sake of change maybe. Or sponsored by automated HTML generators and editors. It's just another move making HTML slower to type. I use italics not to emphasise parts of a text, in most cases I do it to visually mark quotations. Apparent I am doing it wrong.
( http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/01/25/html_5_em/ )
- -
Another cute portable going head-on with the Mac Air .... it's main thumping card is user-upgradability.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/25/ibm_5155_up_for_sale/ )
Weather - -
Still to warm. And all overcast. (6°C -- 13°C)
Wurk - -
Auch. I think I am over-worked.
A user sends me a screen-print (immage pasted in a Word document) and I try to scroll down the screen in immage so see info he did not grab in the screenprint. And it takes four tries before I actualy realise it's an immage, not a real data screen.
- -
( -- )
News - -
The biggest data-center in the world. Well if you need more than 200 man to watch the disks and fanns spin it must be big indeed.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/29/malaysia_google_datacenter/ )
- -
VM ware scores 50% growth. And everybody is disapointed. I suppose analists should come out of their virtual world.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/29/vmware_q4/ )
- -
A bit more security on PayPal is welcome. If it works.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/28/paypal_buys_fraud_firm/ )
- -
For just 105M€ that seems to be a cheap buy-in. And getting Linux on Nokia phones is interesting. But Trolltech does more than phones and portables, it's best known for its's QT development tools. So I wouldn't be surprised Nokia will bring out new portable (and non-portable) devices in the near future.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/28/nokia_buys_trolltech/ )
- -
This might be a good games setup ... 8 CPU cores, 4 GPU cores, 24GB emmory, ... just perfect for a fast game of solitaire ....
( http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/29/first-amd-dual-gpus-asus )
- -
Wiretrapping a phone is not working on VOIP so the governements are looking at alternative ways to bug their subjects.
( http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080128-bavarian-government-caught-looking-for-skype-backdoor.html )
Your Birthdate: January 31 You're a pretty traditional person. If it's lasted, it's probably good.
You seek stability - both in your career and your romantic relationship.
In return, you're very loyal and predictable. Which is usually a good thing.
Without a partner, you feel lost. Being with someone is very important to you.
Your strength: Your dependability
Your weakness: You hate being alone
Your power color: Midnight blue
Your power symbol: Shell
Your power month: April
Weather - -
Some mist and almost rain stuff in the air. And the temperature is finaly going down a bit, maybe the heatwave is over. (4°C -- 13°C)
Wurk - -
Is it a bug?
If the user changes the picklist when the order is approved, new commands are sent to the warehouse pickers. If the order is approved but set for delayed picking (ex next day) this causes problems. (Changing the picklist is possible 1. to modify the order before approval or 2. to catch problems/damaged-goods during picking. )
According to the warehouse manager that is a bug. According to IT (=me) that is not a bug.
It is a bit like locking your car with the keys inside. Or pulling the keys out while driving. It's something a user shouldn't do. It is something manufacturers can prevent, but I can't remember anyone calling it a construction or design fault in cars.
But with software different standards apply. Any error the user makes is caused by The System.
- -
( -- )
News - -
sweeter than Scarlett Johansson dipped in chocolate. Strange way to compare a Virtual machine setup. But then the PowerVM from IBM is strange. And along with the VM a whole set of new P systems will roll out the door. And -lucky- easier to get than Scarlett.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/30/ibm_powervm/ )
- -
Beating the EeePC? Well, can be done. Easily. Enter Maxdata. Just add a harddisk and you leave the EeePC in the dust. Yes, it's less shock and vibration resistant and it's slower but 20x the capacity is apealing. And a touch-sensitive screen is another ace. The EeePC has a better screen, but less capable graphics, and it's keyboard is much better and it has a better battery making it the better road warior. Add to that the better perfromnce from the Intel chip and the choice is clear. While the included VOIP set with the Mxdata is interesting it not very usefull, you're better of using a bluetuth headset.
With the EeePC limits and running Linux it is not targetted at typical PC users. Not as a PC that is, more as an extra, on the side portable tool. The Maxdata is much more a full PC in a small package. But as a real PC it falls short. Ant it doesn't help that the price is about double that of the EeePC and close to the low end of the regular notebook market.
In the end the only advantages Maxdata has over the EeePC is the disk and touch screen.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/29/review_maxdata_sbook/print.html )
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/29/review_maxdata_sbook/print.html )
Weather - -
Yay, Winter is back. Almost. At least there was ice on my car in the morning. (4°C -- 13°C)
Wurk - -
I just had a terrible work accident tuning me completely incapable of working.
Papercut on my right middle finger. Yeah, try to type without it.
- -
( -- )
News - -
Selling four all-in-one datacenters. Not bad by Sun. OK, they probably sold some more. The idea is good but it was never going to a big market so I don't think the sales are bad.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/29/sun_four_blackbox/ )
- -
Domain tasting may end this way. But I hope ICANN can do something against domain hoarding. I have had a couple of friends that had domains but could not keep paying for them. And when trying to take over the domains got grabbed by other organisations that don't do anything with them. Well they offer to sell the domain for a considerable sum.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/30/icann_to_stamp_out_domain_tasting/ )
- -
The advantage of wireless networks is that you can't accidentally cut the cable.
( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/30/india_mideast_lose_internet/ )
- -
Eee does not stand for small. Yes the EeePC is small but there are more Eee devices comming.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/30/asus_announces_eee_tv/ )
- -
Big disk PS3 would be interesting. And while Sony denies their comming I still suspect they will arrive. The price difference between a 120 and a 80GB disk are negligable. And if the size trend goes on the 80GB one may become more expensive then the bigger sizes. I suspect the change will come when the contract for the current zizes runs out.
( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/30/sony_denies_ps3_storage_rumours/ )
