iPod Gets The Royal Nod

frostilicus2 writes "Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England seems to have taken quite an interest in technology recently. She's now getting hip and funky with an Apple iPod." From the article: "If the thought of the Queen trolling through Apple's online jukebox, iTunes looking for 'hits' is a little too much for the frontal lobes, the Sun assures its readers that, like most things, she probably has a footman to do it for her."

Comments

ok?

[Osmosis_Garett]

How is this news? Where's the page 3 girl?

Re:ok?

[njcoder]

" How is this news?

Dude, didn't you see it said Apple in the story? Geez.

Re:ok?

[Anonymous Coward]

Lizzy does if for me!

Luv
John Howard (PM)
xxx

Re:ok?

[ProfaneBaby]

It involves promoting a company that isn't MS. Therefore, it belongs on the front page of /.

HTH.

Re:ok?

[Anonymous Coward]

How is this news?
It features an Apple iProduct, thus it is instantly news and is worthy of /.coverage and discussion.

And by "news" I mean Apple Slashvertisement, by "worthy of /. coverage" I mean another story for Apple fanboys to masturbate to, and by "discussion" I mean a bunch of circle jerk pieces about how "wonderful" Apple and their iProducts are.

Re:ok?

[KDR_11k]

Better than the gaming section where every third "article" is about MS's X360 console. Stuff like a story about how "they think it will be so popular they can't keep up with demand" that's so blatantly advertising even an astroturfer would be ashamed of writing that.

Re:ok?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you're sorry you bought that Nomad, huh?

Re:ok?

[Anonymous Coward]

Whilst your post is amusing, I think you missed the background regarding the Sun...

What I want to know is...

[Anonymous Coward]

does her royal highness run Linux off that thing?

I'm also just waiting for the day her "footman" gets busted for copyright infringement.

Oh God we are one step away from

[nihilistcanada]

I dub thee Sir Jobs. The Royal Reality Distortion Field will be something to truly fear.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[Darvin]

It would never be Sir Jobs.

Rather Sir Steven, or Sir Steven Jobs. But since he's not a member of the commonwealth, it would only ever be Steven Jobs KBE.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[hector_uk]

it'd be i dub thee sir jonathan ives he's the one that designed it, steve jobs just shouted at people to make it happen.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[Koiu Lpoi]

You know, like making fun of Daikatana, making fun of the Reality Distortion Field is something everyone here at Slashdot does but doesn't really understand.

It's like that damn Milkshake song. I've been talking to people, and I can not get a straight answer for what the 'milkshake' is - because nobody really knows for sure.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[Anonymous Coward]

it's shaking teh boobies. IIRC

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[adavies42]

If he became a British citizen at some point, he could convert it to a "real" knighthood. It's not common, but it does happen--a good example is the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[RichardX]

We laugh at Daikatana because it took approximately 400 years to develop, and was hyped the entire time as "It's gonna be the best game ever! So good it'll redefine the whole concept of what a 'game' is!"
And then, of course, it just turned out to be an utter load of pants.

The Reality Distorition Field thing, I have slightly less of a firm grasp on, but it seems to be related to the fact that any time Jobs is involved in.. well.. anything, really.. all logic, reason, and common sense shoot straight out of the window, and are replaced by blue-sky idealism, promises, wild claims, and hype - and yet, even normally rational people seem to swallow it down. Presumably due to some alternate-universe effect that surrounds him, hence the Reality Distortion Field. (someone correct me if wrong)

And as for Milkshake, I believe that's a slang term for, loosely speaking, what one woman has that others don't. Her "unique selling point", if you will - maybe large breasts, or nice skin, or great booty-shaking skills. It's whatever aspect of her "Brings all the boys to the yard", as the song says.

Re:Oh God we are one step away from

[Ohreally_factor]

Or Steven Jobs KTHNXBYE

I've always said...

[WFFS]

That there should be more Queen on iPods.

"I'm just a poor boy... nobody loves me..."

Re:I've always said...

[dangitman]

You got Queen in my iPod!

You got iPod in my Queen!

Re:I've always said...

[Anonymous Coward]

"he's just a poor boy from a poor family"

Re:I've always said...

[Tim Browse]

There's a joke in there somewhere about us having grown tired of all this vision, but I can't be bothered to find it :-)

Re:I've always said...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Spare him his life from this mon-strosi-ty...!" dun-de-de-de-dum-de-dee...

Does She Need It?

[Nqdiddles]

As the story suggests, she probably has a footman to do everything for her. So why should she need an ipod? When I'm queen I want the footman to carry the whole stereo around for me. Oh... hang on...

Re:Does She Need It?

[Minced]

"Mom, I want an i-Pod" "WHAT?!" "Come on mom...all the world leaders got one!" "Oh really now...*scornful*" "G.W and the Queen got one!" "I suppose if the USA and England went to war you would follow?" "Well o'course, if all the cool countries were doing it."

Re:Does She Need It?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, that conversation could be exactly what would be heard at John Howard's dinner table ;)

Re:Does She Need It?

[dangitman]

When I'm queen I want the footman to carry the whole stereo around for me.

She's probably too embarassed to have everyone hear Her Robbie Williams and Duran Duran collection out loud. Say, when is Her Highness' silhouette-dancing ad going to be released? Maybe she'll sell out to Sir Gates and appear at a conference screaming "Commoners, Commoners, Commoners!"

Re:Does She Need It?

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget POLAND!

Re:Does She Need It?

[Anonymous Coward]

"I suppose if the USA and England went to war you would follow?" "Well o'course, if all the cool countries were doing it."
Did Johnnie Howard's nagging pay off in the end?

Re:Does She Need It?

[ozmanjusri]

Did Johnnie Howard's nagging pay off in the end?

Yeah, I bought a nice new iPod and left it at Cheviot Bay for him.

Re:Does She Need It?

[miskate]

Unfortunately the eyebrow'd one is more into jogging than swimming...

Re:Does She Need It?

[lachlan76]

Let me guess...you're Australian?

(Not flamebait...I'm from Australia too)

Re:Does She Need It?

[Erik K. Veland]

Well, being locked up in the castle all the time you can't blame her for acting a bit weird lately.

Re:Does She Need It?

[Cougem]

Not only that, but I've been told on several occasions that the Queen is actually tone deaf and doesn't enjoy music. Anyone know if this is actually true? Several people told me during the jubilee, which must have been hell for her if this is the case.

Re:Does She Need It?

[Mithrandir]

Couldn't be - definitely a yank. He spelt "Mum" wrong.

Re:Does She Need It?

[mr_sas]

some of the brummies do the same though :/

Executive iPod

[uberjoe]

That kind of reminds me of this http://www.whitehouse.org/kids/ipod.asp/

Re:Executive iPod

[rekenner]

404

Re:Executive iPod

[Anonymous Coward]

If you can not work out what is wrong with that link, please leave /. now.

Re:Executive iPod

[Anonymous Coward]

It reminds you of a "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found" error? Strange associations you're making there...

Sex Pistols

[ari_j]

Can any of you guys hack the iTunes Music Store so every listed song is actually God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols, just for a day or two?

Re:Sex Pistols

[Alien Being]

I hope she's sitting on the throne when she discovers your bit of mischief, cuz she's gonna shit.

Re:Sex Pistols

[DarkHelmet]

Anarchy in the UK would work just as well, I think.

Re:Sex Pistols

[biglig2]

Well, thing is, it's 2005 now and while she is still the Queen, he's appearing on I'm a Celebrity get me out of here....

Re:Sex Pistols

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, your USDA Recommended Allowance of irony, all in one post.

special edition?

[moz25]

I wonder if she got a special edition like a gold-plated one?

Re:special edition?

[wootest]

She got a silver 6GB iPod mini.

Re:special edition?

[Insipid Trunculance]

I wonder if she got a special edition like a gold-plated one?

No ,but the flunkey did have the Cheek to ask for a Royal Discount.Dunno , if Apple gave it or not but somehow the idea of a Royal Warrant sounds incongruous.Imagine, having your iPod stamped with the Royal coat of Arms.

I wonder...

[Zimok]

I wonder what the queen listens to?

Re:I wonder...

[slarshdot]

smack my bitch up?

Re:I wonder...

[slashdot.org]

I wonder what the queen listens to?

Yeah, there aren't many things that I wonder about less...

Re:I wonder...

[dyefade]

Our local radio station are quite funny sometimes, they "went out onto the streets" to find out what people thought the Queen would play. Half said the national anthem, the rest didn't care or couldn't think of anything (they actually played samples of people going "errr, i dunno").

Seems they were as aware as everyone else: this isn't even news.

Re:I wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe to Queen?

Re:I wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd hazzard a guess at Queen and Prince....

Re:I wonder...

[Punboy]

More likely the prime minister... who of course, happens to be GW's little pawn. Checkmate in 5.

Little known fact...

[Adam Avangelist]

The queen also eats her I-Pods out of tupper-ware bowls.

paradox

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if the Queen listens to Queen on her iPod?

-Sj53

Re:paradox

[ZeroExistenZ]

I wonder if the Queen listens to Queen on her iPod?

I doubt she'll like to have Queen standing on her ipod while listening to the bandmembers talk.

Re:paradox

[Pop69]

If I remember rightly, the last time she wanted to listen to Queen she invited them round and got the guitarist guy to stand on the roof of Buckingham Palace and play God save the Queen.

Stylish or what ?

The Inquirer?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Inquirer? Since when has that had anything worth linking to?

Re:The Inquirer?

[benna]

Not THAT Inquirer, though admittedly I thought the same thing a while back.

onepod?

[job0]

shouldn't that be a onepod or maybe a wepod

Re:onepod?

[ThePromenader]

Yes, the Queen would have a "Royal We" Pod, not an "i"Pod.

Re:onepod?

[Anonymous Coward]

You may have understood the above in the above above, but it certainly wasn't clearly put. Modding -2. Bah.

I wonder...

[Minced]

is she taking advice from G.W?

What does the Queen listen to?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not surprisingly, the Queen listens to Queen. She's particularly fond of Bohemian Rhapsody.

pfft...

[pswayze]

It only costs me ten bucks and a bit of self-respect to get the royal nod in a back alley. And it's certainly pleasing to all of my lobes.

The Royal Web Site

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask Elizabeth II

Wow..

[skochak]

Talk about slow news...

I live in India, and it was in the newspapers today...

So am I now going to get news on Slashdot after I get it from mainstream media!!??

Re:Wow..

[Anonymous Coward]

It's never a slow news day. Nuggets like this you can blame on an irresponsible, corrupted, and incestuous media establishment.

Re:Wow..

[ooze]

Well, mainstream media has an army of professional headhunters wtaching the queen every second. But they don't have an army of Zealots watching every move of Steve's lips and anus.

So that's why we have less Royal rumors and non-stries here, but much much more Apple rumors and non-stories.

That being said, I have a Power Mac and an XServe. But that is the only and last Apple Hardware I will have. They announced last week, that they won't make good hardware anymore.

Re:Wow..

[dduck]

But that is the only and last Apple Hardware I will have. They announced last week, that they won't make good hardware anymore.

Isn't that a teeny bit hysterical? I mean: I know that the elder of us geeks were raised on the idea that the CPU was somehow the mystic soul of the computer (despite the fact that very differently souled computers were based on the same CPUs), but it's been a while since that was true, if it ever was.

As for the glory of the PPC: My Centrino-based, 512MB, 2 years old notebook performs on par with my G5 dual 1.8GHz with 2GB on CPU and memory intensive code that I wrote, despite desperate profiling (couldn't really believe that). Change could be good.

I mean: Jeezz! Is the beauty of the assembly language of the PPC really that important?

Re:Wow..

[Babbster]

Well, let's see. How much hardware change is really needed for "the big switch"...

1. Change CPU socket(s) on motherboards. 2. Change BIOS. 3. Plug in new CPU(s). 4. Install Mac OSX for x86.

I...am...stupefied!

Re:Wow..

[e r i k 0]

I find that really hard to believe that any uniprocessor machine - especially a laptop - could beat a dual processor machine with 4 times the RAM... do you have any benchmarks or things to prove what you say? I mean, the Centrino is a relatively high-performance architecture, but c'mon - beating a dualproc machine?

Re:Wow..

[dduck]

Brifly, the program infers rules for very simplified parts-of-speech tagging using the rule inference method popularized by Brill for this purpose. It does so by constructing every possible rule that can be found in a corpus of about 1.2 milion words, and then deciding which rules have the biggest positive effect iteratively.

I truly don't feel like doing an actual measurement of this, as it takes a LONG LONG time to run, but briefly we are talking about a single-threaded task, which negates the bonus of being dual-proc in wall-clock time. The speed was quite unscientifically measured by me starting the programs on each machine, and then checking in on them in the evening to see how far they had gotten on the calculations. The laptop was clearly ahead.

As to why this is, I already mentioned that there will be little or no benefit from being dual-CPU in this task (without a re-code that is). The G5 is clocked at 1.8GHz, and the laptop at (i think) 1.5 or 1.6. Finaly, the code is mainly integer operations, which the Intel chips tend to be better at clock-for-clock than the G5. In the final analysis, I guess it's not THAT surprising the laptop wins, given that the working set fits in memory. I would have expected that the faster memory bus of the G5 would have made a crucial difference tho, as the mem is really pounded by this task.

Re:Wow..

[ooze]

It's not just the Assembly.

It's knowing that nothing will have the chance to replace x86 architecture anytime soon (except Cell is really as awesome as the hype).

The steam engine made meachanical energy usable, affordable and abundant. The x86 made computing usable, affordable and abundant. But we just don't use steam engines anymore...since there are better things around.

It's like we never had switched to Otto and Diesel and electro motors, becasue they are not compatible with coal...

All the insane things you have to do and puti in silicon on the chip to make an x86 system run...just to be able to still run code that isn't really used anymore for 15-20 years (and if it's still used, then certainly not on a Pentium or anything beyond that).

Modern x86 CPUs may be faster than othwer modern CPUs. Modern Steam engines can be faster than modern Diesel engines too. You just have to invest insane amounts...and they will never be as efficient.

Re:Wow..

[dduck]

But... But... But... it doesn't DO anything for you better than an x86 at the same price?

If being a geek is all about function over styling and form, then an architectural feature - no matter how theoretically sound - that doesn't result in better performance now or soon is not "good": It's just bad engineering. And RISC has had plenty of time to show that it would result in better performance "soon".

Re:Wow..

[ooze]

They may not be faster, due to a lack of investment in that area. But they certainly perform better, Watt per Watt.

8 Watt Notebook Processor with enough punch for anything you do with notebooks (yes, even normal gaming)

20 Watt Desktop Processors with enough punch for anything you do on a Desktop?

40 Watt Workstation Processors, with enough punch to do anything you do on a Workstation?

Let me tell you, 20% - 40% of the power consumption is more noticable on your payroll than 10%-20% more performance are in any everyday computer work. A silent system is more important to usability than 10 more fps in UT2003. You can keep your water cooled monstrosities. Or your 6lb laptops with 2 hours battery life. A Powerbook can crunch more number with one charge than any Intel Notebrick.

Re:Wow..

[dduck]

As I write earlier in the thread, that is not the case for me.

Look: I love the Macs in the household, and am going all-Mac as soon as possible, but it's not because of the performance in any other area than the metric of useability (efficiency, sufficiency, affordability, joy of using), which happens to be the most important one for me at this point in my life. I am a (HCI, computer and computational linguistics, in no particular order) scientist, so pure speed is actually important to me at times, but I can live with a difference of less than 50% either way no problem. It doesn't matter if some calculation takes 1 day (or week) on one machine, and half again as much on another - it matters if it can be done in less than a month or not ;) If not, it's a /very/ hard problem (or a very badly coded program), and you want to try something else instead.

In short: YMMV, but for me the PPC-based macs are NOT performing better than comparable WinTel machines (at half the price, I might add) in terms of speed or calculations pr. watt or calculations pr. charge or - in fact - any other performance-oriented metric I have checked (casually, I'll admit). This is for MY workload, so for someone else (FP intensive?) it is very likely a different story.

...but that's not the metric I apply for buying a computer anymore.

When is she not around a stereo system?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not as if she's an avid jogger/mountain climber/x-treem surf type thing sort of person.

Re:When is she not around a stereo system?

[mishmash]

She spends a lot of time in old cars and carriages that probably don't have built in radios.

Re:When is she not around a stereo system?

[Bertie]

Not really - these days she gets around in a one-off custom-built Bentley knocked together for her a few years back. It's pretty plush, I'd be amazed if it doesn't have a radio.

service with a smile

[poor_boi]

I have my footman do it for me too.

Re:Executive iPod - Working Link

[NitsujTPU]

Here's a working link

iPod

[Anonymous Coward]

iPod is NOT hip. Infact it has become so common that you are considered just another boring trend follower if you have one.

Re:iPod

[poor_boi]

in iAmerica, boring trends follow YOU.

Awkward

[NilObject]

This would make for the most awkward iPod commercial, ever.

I mean, I'm listening to The White Stripe' "Seven Nation Army", and now I have this image of the Queen rocking out in some sort of a shuffle-type fashion in my head.

"Back and forth, through my mind!"

Re:Awkward

[NilObject]

The White Stripe

Which is kinda like The White Stripes without Meg.

I've got to start proofreading my posts...

Re:Awkward

[Guppy06]

"Seven Nation Army"

Appropriately enough, we could probably find seven nations where she's the commander in chief of the army...

Re:Awkward

[mj_1903]

and now I have this image of the Queen rocking out in some sort of a shuffle-type fashion in my head

Don't imagine it, live it.

Re:Awkward

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

It would be an improvement, though.

Re:Awkward

[Anonymous Coward]

From the queen of england to the hounds of hell :p

Re:Awkward

[killjoe]

Lots of people are making jokes but to me it's kind of profound. People speak of music as being universal and stories like this drive it home for me. Ok she is probably not listening to White Stripe but she is most certainly listening to Bach and maybe even some modern music from her youth. I even imagine she might listen to steely dan or joni mitchell.

Anyway the point is that she might very well be listening the same music as you are and that says something about the power of music to reach people of all ages, cultures, or strata in the society.

For our Police Force also....

[Boss, Pointy Haired]

They're going to do a special model combined with the police radio - the iPlod.

Re:For our Police Force also....

[dangitman]

Yeah, but Sting sucks.

Re:For our Police Force also....

[Anonymous Coward]

" They're going to do a special model combined with the police radio - the iPlod."

Is that anything like the one they designed for Bush and the other right wingers? The iPlot.

Re:For our Police Force also....

[imroy]

And the iNob - The last word in electronic accessories for tossers. You won't be able to take get your hand off it!

From Today today on Triple J :)

Opportunity for open source

[tezbobobo]

Man, if we could convince to install linux on it...

By Royal Appointment

[rollerbob]

Maybe Apple can now put the Royal Coat of Arms on their UK iPods, just like HP Sauce and Branston Pickle.

Re:By Royal Appointment

[6031769]

They're putting Branston Pickle on their iPods? Oh wait, you meant ...

Re: The Queens iPod

[Eh-Wire]

I understand the Queen has let it be known that she intends to purchase a matching air-guitar for her newly acquired iPod.

Royal iPod

[ndansmith]

First we have the U2 iPod. Now Apple can launch the HRH Queen Elizabeth II iPod. It will be royal blue. To cater to British sensibilities, the HRH QE2 iPod featuers and extra long queue.

Who is John Howard?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that the motel guy?

Re:Who is John Howard?

[KiwiSurfer]

John Howard is the Prime Minister of Australia. He was one of the first leaders to express support for George Bush's plan to invade Afganstian.

Re:Who is John Howard?

[benna]

and Iraq, which I think is really what the grand parent was refering to.

Re:Who is John Howard?

[ccmay]

John Howard is the Prime Minister of Australia. He was one of the first leaders to express support for George Bush's plan to invade Afganstian.

And rightfully so. Reasonable people can disagree about the wisdom and propriety of the Iraq adventure, but practically nobody with an ounce of sense objected to the Afghanistan operation. The Taliban, through their support of Al-Qaeda, made war upon us and richly deserved their fate.

-ccm

Re:Who is John Howard?

[Bertie]

And what a success it's been. Whole army divisions guided by surveillance equipment which could read the time off your watch from outer space has failed to find Immanuel Goldstein, I mean Osama bin Laden, and nobody actually seems interested in finding him either, presumably bebause if they do, they won't have a bogeyman any more. Meanwhile, farmers are producing bumper opium crops, and Kabul's full of Western "consultants" getting rich off money that's meant to be rebuilding the place. Outside their gated communities and Land Cruiser convoys, it's like the Wild West.

Well done, George.

Re:Who is John Howard?

[Bertie]

I can't imagine why anybody would want to bomb people as magnanimous, tolerant, learned and humble as yourself. I really can't.

Re:Who is John Howard?

[ccmay]

Yeah, whatever, go on living in your dream world.

The fact is that every moment of peace that you enjoy, every bite of good food and sip of good wine, every pleasant entertainment, every liberty of a humane and civilized land, was bought with the sweat and blood of men better than yourself. Men who killed and were killed by other men who wanted to take it all away from you. Men who were not particularly magnanimous, tolerant, learned or humble. You should go down on your knees in gratitude every time you think of them.

Thus it always was and thus it always will be.

-ccm

Re:Who is John Howard?

[RichardX]

and we have not been attacked on our soil in four years.

Yeah, because it was an almost daily occurance before the war...
Sounds like you'd be interested in my fantastic new Tiger Repelling Rock. It uses the latest in anti-tiger technology to keep you completely safe at all times*

*may not work in countries where there are tigers.

Re:Who is John Howard?

[Anonymous Coward]

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Osama.
Osama who?
Ah! You know US foreign policy, then?

Re:Who is John Howard?

[lga]

I like to think I have at least an ounce of sense and I couldn't disagree with you more. The USA attacked Afghanistan because it was humiliated and wanted to hurt someone. There was no reason to link the government of Afghanistan, evil and corrupt as it was, to the attacks on the US.

You have been blinded by the nonsense that your news networks and your "government" throw at you every day - is it any surprise that a large number of americans can't tell the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Sadam Hussein?

Clueless Old Lady in a Pillbox Hat Says...

[The Fifth Man]

Are you a guitarist too?

Re:Executive iPod - Working Link

[Anonymous Coward]

That's silly that the links for each songs are amazon links instead of iTMS links. Do they expect me to buy an entire album per song, or are they linking to amazon just to get referer benefits?

The Queen on iTunes?

[91degrees]

She pirates. She's a regular on warez sites and IRC.

HRH ER2:Y0 d00dz, 0n3 r00lz. n0 really. 1 roolz over all of 9R3ET 8R17ain

Re:The Queen on iTunes?

[mike518]

Dont worry, im sure the RIAA (Or the British version?) will bring that bastards lawless ass down.

Dont troll me! i love the queen... even if she is a lawless bastard :-)

Re:The Queen on iTunes?

[91degrees]

Ah, but the Queen is technically above the law. If they try to sue, then she can just declare herself immune from the law.

Normally such irresponsible behaviour would cause a constitutional crisis, and probably require imediate abdication or abolision of the monarchy, but if it was against the record industry, I think a lot of people would see her point.

Re:The Queen on iTunes?

[Anonymous Coward]

A bit of an interesting quirk in the legal system here though - I'm pretty sure that they would have to ask her permission to take her to court.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Prerogative has more details on that, as only wikipedia can.

Re:The Queen on iTunes?

[ThePromenader]

Ah. So if the Queen taps into bitTorrent, I suppose that downloading from her library wouldn't be illegal either.

The only problem there lies in the fact that the The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' "Farewell to the Greys" is not on most of our mp3 hit-lists...

FUCK TECHNOLOGY

[Anonymous Coward]

who gives a shit. jesus christ you people are fucking stupid

Proper address

[reformhead]

It's Her Majesty. Not Her Royal Majesty. She is the Sovereign and does not need the Royal tag added because she IS Royal. Yanks have some difficulty with this, no doubt, but that's the way it is.

I hate it when people get her forms of address wrong. Kinda like calling Mr. Bush The Honorable President.

Re:Proper address

[DiamondGeezer]

It's Mrs Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, not "Windsor", "Mountbatten", "Battenburg" to you, peasant.

Get it right and welcome to the 15th Century!

Re:Proper address

[debugdave]

yeah I totally hate it when they call the president the "honorable" president. Absolutely ridiculous.

Re:Proper address

[Anonymous Coward]

Yanks have some difficulty with this, no doubt, but that's the way it is.

We don't feel there's anything even remotely "majestic" about the royal family.

I hate it when people get her forms of address wrong. Kinda like calling Mr. Bush The Honorable President.

At least we try; I've never seen a common Brit put on such a show for a U.S. dignitary.

Re:Proper address

[Anonymous Coward]

"... U.S. dignitary"

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have found the winner of "Oxymoron of the Year 2005". Congratulations.

Re:Proper address

[FidelCatsro]

One thing that is far better about a republic system , you get to chose the moron.

Re:Proper address

[Curmudgeonlyoldbloke]

Nah - we get to INBREED the moron, so we can be absolutely sure that we get one every time!

Re:Proper address

[mollymoo]

Her name is Elizabeth, surnames are for commoners.

Re:Proper address

[FidelCatsro]

Yes but that way there is only one moron at a time , in America you get to decide between two difrent kinds of morons.

Re:Proper address

[Anonymous Coward]

America is still working on it. Just wait, during Jenny Bush's presidency, we'll invade Iraq, Afghanistan, AND France.

MP3s???

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean the Queen downloads MP3s?????

WOOOOOOW!
I'm guessing she has about 60 gig worth ;-)

Re:MP3s???

[Anonymous Coward]

Suck my balls

Re:So she finally stopped....

[Anonymous Coward]

trolling?

Amusing reply

[Conch]

I were thinking of posting an amusing reply but I will have my footman do it for me instead.

Re:Amusing reply

[Digital 3]

"We are not amused..."

Re:Amusing reply

[gstoddart]

I were thinking of posting an amusing reply but I will have my footman do it for me instead.

No no no no.

It's "we were thinking of posting an amusing reply but we will have our footman do it for us instead."

When one is singularly Royal, one refers to onesself in the plural third person.

Knave. :-P

She's got it...

[earthstar]

Any Guess as to what she listens on it ?

Britney? lol. :p

Re:She's got it...

[68kmac]

Any Guess as to what she listens on it ?

Abba ("Dancing Queen"), Sex Pistols ("God Save The Queen"), ...

Re:She's got it...

[BiggyP]

I honestly can't for the life of me think what the woman could possibly need an iPod for, does she need 20+GB worth of oldies that she can listen to on the move?

the other thing i can't work out is, how does something this ridiculous, apparantly reported by the sun, count as /. worthy news, it's nearly as bad as that "Linux is for Losers" crap!

Re:She's got it...

[Dougy]

she probably just listens to 'queen'

Re:She's got it...

[wootest]

I would suspect her sons to pre-load a little Prince for her as well.

Well, hey...

[inode_buddha]

That's ok in my book, footman or not. And no, I don't have an iPod.

Comic Book Guy

[Frodo Crockett]

Worst. Story. Ever.

Re:What's honorable about GW anyway?

[Timo_UK]

Now mod me down, cowboys

But does he have an iPod?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea, but does he have an iPod? If not, does he hate america?

TorrentSpy.com

[PeteDotNu]

TorrentSpy.com, by Royal Appointment to HRH The Majesty Elizabeth II of England.

Re:Executive iPod - Working Link

[Nasarius]

Amazon has song previews too, ya know.

Apples new ad compaign

[evil_marty]

just wait for the ads!

Re:Apples new ad compaign

[evil_marty]

I forgot to put the link to the image. silly me. the iQuuen

no.. really

[Anonymous Coward]

All im waiting for now, is an ipod with an union jack design :)... I'dd love to have it. Apparently you can have it printed on something called an "ipod tatoo sticker" which you then proceed to tape over your ipod.

Then again, i'dd settle for rose tyler in an union jack - go figure.

Re:"Her Royal Majesty"?

[Anonymous Coward]

I can confirm that this is not a troll.

England != Britain

[snap2grid]

It's the British Monarchy, not the English one, although I guess there are quite a few here who would be happy with a republic. Although having said that, Elizabeth I was Queen of England and not Scotland, so Elizabeth II of Britain is technically Elizabeth I of Scotland, so... that would just mean that the headline is actually cleverly localised for someone like me living in Scotland.

Makes sense!

Re:England != Britain

[Anonymous Coward]

Also wrong. She's the queen of the British Commonwealth, which includes not only Great Britain and Northern Ireland but also Canada, Australia and 13 other countries as well.

Re:England != Britain

[snap2grid]

Silly me for calling it the British Monarchy on the basis of the title of their official web site!

But you're technically correct - the best kind of correct!

Re:England != Britain

[mollymoo]

Being Queen of one place doesn't exclude being Queen of somewhere else at the same time, so neither of you are wrong. HM The Queen is officially styled as: "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Defender of the Faith, Head of the Commonwealth."

Re:England != Britain

[Anonymous Coward]

The headline is right, she is Queen Liz the 2nd of England.

I might argue with your point if it was in any way coherent.

Re:England != Britain

[Anonymous Coward]

And wrong again.

Her Majesty is _head_ of the Commonwealth, which is an association of states, not a realm. She's Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc., which are realms in the Commonwealth. There are also republics in the Commonwealth, such as India, in which she has no role beyond "head of the Commonwealth"

interesting.

[St. Arbirix]

I wonder if she pays royalties.

Saddam's approval seal!

[Maxhrk]

imagines Saddam on Adversitement that you see today on TV holding iPoD.

The Sun

[t_allardyce]

I think its probably about time to point out that The Sun is a brand of toilet paper with funny pictures and words printed on it to entertain while you take a dump. To quote it in with any seriousness outside the bathroom just isn't done.

Re:The Sun

[Tim Browse]

"You're Sun Readers, aren't you?"
"How did you know that?"
"You've sawn the wrong ends off your shotguns."

Re:The Sun

[adamjaskie]

Eh? Don't you saw off BOTH ends? I.e. the end of the barrel, AND the end of the stock, so as to make it more easily concealable?

Re:The Sun

[Anonymous Coward]

What's this from?

Re:The Sun

[Tim Browse]

What's this from?

Jasper Carrott's show (UK comedian) from way back. Mid 80s, I guess.

Top quality journalism here...

[Stormwatch]

The news say it is a 6 GB model (is the queen stingy?). But it also says: "The pocket-sized digital music players can hold up to 10,000 downloaded songs." No. Apple says the 20 GB iPod stores 5000 songs; a 6 GB iPod mini, 1500 songs. Something is wrong here - unless Her Majesty rips her CDs with lower quality settings!

Re:Top quality journalism here...

[Tim Browse]

The only thing wrong is expecting any kind of journalism from The Sun, let alone 'top quality' journalism.

This is the sort of paper that uses bold and italics in its editorials, just to make sure you get the point.

Enough said, I think.

Re:Top quality journalism here...

[Shano]

Since the 6GB model is the larger iPod Mini, I don't think it's a question of stinginess. But you're right about the song capacity. Most likely, the Sun hasn't done their research properly (or, knowing the Sun, at all).

Re:Top quality journalism here...

[Tibe]

Oh My! really?

Re:Top quality journalism here...

[dorward]

The only thing wrong is expecting any kind of journalism from The Sun, let alone 'top quality' journalism.

s/The Sun/Slashdot/

*cough*

Re:Top quality journalism here...

[soliptic]

Better the Sun than the Mail.

The Sun is knowingly, amusingly and mostly-harmlessly lowbrow. Sure, it prints a load of rubbish, but it knows that just as well as we do, and nobody takes it too seriously. The Mail is poisonous, self-important and comes damn near to inciting hate crime imho.

No. No, no, no. Get the titles right.

[Anonymous Coward]

HRH? Unless Her Majesty got demoted to Princess, that doesn't work. Try this: "HM the Queen".

fucking slashdot story submission!

[Anonymous Coward]

I posted this yesterday and it got rejected - jesus what a bunch of fucking retards.
Why doesn't OSDN hire monkeys to do the management at /.? The quality would be the same but the wages bill would be peanuts.

Incredible to imagine it, because of her age?

[haggar]

I guess the reason it's so hard to imagine Queen Elisabeth II browsing iTunes is her age. Because our civilization has this prejudice that old folks don't do youthy stuff.
I had a relative, 15 or 20 years ago (he is now deceased) who was an octagenarian (80+ years) and was enthusiastically programming on his ZX Spectrum
He developed a rather sophisticated geodesy program (he was a retired geodesist), which he even sold to a handful of companies. All this didn't look strange to me, as I was still a kid, void of preconceptions. It is only now, that I am grown up, that I see how extraordinary this was. It's the mentality of today's world that makes it sound so incredible. It's also the reason why many of us will have problems finding a job at 50+, in software or hardware development.

Re:Incredible to imagine it, because of her age?

[jd]

I've not quite seen anything quite that impressive, but I do know the sort of thing you mean. When it comes to technology - or music - people really are as young as they want to be, and as open as they want to be. The Queen is in the impressive position of not having to hold prejudices, because there is very little that could prove threatening to her way of life. As such, the Royal Family in general could (if they so chose) be a major force in educating the world about possibilities.

Re:Incredible to imagine it, because of her age?

[haggar]

That's a good point. She (or should I call her HM?) could do a lot to improve the image of old age, if she wanted to.

Personally, I would be really happy if she took a job as FPGA developer ;op

coming soon...

[whackaxe]

Queenie adopts bittorrent? i'd love to see Bram Cohen being knigted (or whatever its called) :D

here

[Anonymous Coward]

http://page3.co.uk/
More interesting anyway.

Bush's charicteristic shown through his music...

[telyio]

They say if you want to know a man, know his music(music from Bush's playlist): Concerning killing, war: * We Are the Champions - Queen * Killing an Arab - The Cure * War Pigs - Black Sabbath * The Winner Takes it All - ABBA * Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears * Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine * Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! - Megadeth * Dead Bodies Everywhere - Korn * Bombs Over Baghdad - Outkast * Reign in Blood - Slayer * Fuck Foreigners in There [sic.] Dirty Unwiped Asses - Toby Keith Concerning God/Jesus: * Jesus Hold My Hand - John Ashcroft * Macho Man (12" Version) - Village People * Hot for Teacher - Van Halen * Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode * Jesus Freak - DC Talk * Jesus Hold My Hand - John Ashcroft * Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode * Jesus Freak - DC Talk Concerning substances: * Take the Money and Run - Steve Miller Band * Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash * Tequila Sunrise - Eagles * Cocaine - Eric Clapton * Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw) - Jimmy Buffet Is Gay? :-P : * Macho Man (12" Version) - Village People Knows a lot of people's opinion of him: * The Nigga Ya Love To Hate - Ice Cube * Dazed and Confused - Led Zeppelin His opinion of us: * What a Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers Yep...We are very very screwed.

Wrong

[Martin Spamer]

The official title is Her Royal Highness in the third person or Your Royal Highness in the second person.

However being a republican I would address her as 'Yo Beth' just to see the reaction on the faces of all the sycophants.

Re:Wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

Putting your arm around her also works.

Regards
P. Keating

Re:Wrong

[hachete]

Your royal biatch is acceptable in some circles I believe as in: "Yo, royal biatch, get down NOW!"

Re:Wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

However being a republican I would address her as 'Yo Beth' just to see the reaction on the faces of all the sycophants.

I personally oppose the notion of a monarchy, but it amuses me greatly that you seem to think anyone would give a fuck about her being referred to as 'Yo Beth'.

Re:Wrong

[reformhead]

Highness is for Princes and Princesses. The Queen is Her Majesty or Your Majesty.

Re:"Her Royal Majesty"?

[Anonymous Coward]

I can confirm that this is not a troll.

You're wrong. I wrote it, and it was definitely a troll. All true, but a troll none the less.

New iPod Silhouette Commercial?

[TimTheFoolMan]

There has got to be some way to dress up a teenager in a heavy coat, appropriate hat, and teach them to do the "Queen Wave" while doing any number of acrobatic dance moves while a remix of "God Save the Queen" plays.

The mind boggles...

Tim

Re:New iPod Silhouette Commercial?

[pafrusurewa]

Here you go. That's the article about it in our local paper. It's where I read about it first.

Hey, Illiad!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, Illiad! We need a silhouette gag, pronto! Something with a crown.

2004: The Stupid Version covered this

[DocTee]

Cool Rule

Trooping of the Colour 1998
Trooping of the Colour 1999
Thatcher's Crying 1997
Two-Minutes' Silence 2002
Eddie Izzard: Live at the Labatt's Apollo

http://www.bbc.tv/bbcthree/tv/2004_stupid_version. shtml

Would the Queen do an Ipod ad?

[cjsm]

I wonder if Jobs could con her into doing an ad for him. That would be a coup. He could give her a choice of a hundred free songs off iTunes, or a free battery when hers goes dead.

Fascintating!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is awesome News for Nerds and Stuff that Matters.

Could Slashdot please keep me updated when Kim Jong Il purchases new underwear or Jean Chretien gets new golf clubs.

Thanks!

Re:Bush's charicteristic shown through his music..

[Al Dimond]

Although the site linked to above was a joke, I read somewhere that (for serious) George Bush has "My Sharona" on his iPod.

Supposedly some religious right folks weren't too happy about hearing that, because the song contains some kind of sexual references. If I were the religious right I'd be more worried that my bestest friend in government is losing brain cells listening to that stupid shit.

But..

[Fr4ncis]

.. does the Queen pay royalties on music?

Big Deal. Queen with an iPod

[ThatsNotFunny]

I work in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. I see queens with iPods every day!

HRH etched into the back?

[data1]

I wonder if she'll get the free engraving of HRH on the back of the iPod.... mmm Henrietta H Hippo.
Sorry my friends from across the pond but Homer simpson ruined her royal majesty's initials.

Crazy

[gilesjuk]

She should have chosen a player with a radio, I'm sure she likes listening to the wireless.

Re:Bush's charicteristic shown through his music..

[Anonymous Coward]

If I were the religious right I'd be more worried that my bestest friend in government is losing brain cells

No, no, no. Weren't you paying attention during this whole Terry Schiavo issue? To the Christian right, losing brain cells is a good thing.

About the Author, Nick Farrell

[Lord Byron II]

Nick Farrell is the one who wrote this piece of trash. Not that there's anything wrote with not liking SuSE, but:

"And don't bother trying to look at the installation read-me notes either. They are just advertisements for the idiots who designed the software"

"For a home user this list is crucial, because, as I found out later installing other programs is a complete and utter arse."

His speech is vitriolic and his analysis is shallow. I'd be more than happy to never see another one of his pieces on /. again.

I got this image of the Queen ...

[crovira]

on a pair of roller skates, listening to the Black Eyed Peas, doing the robot, snapping her waist and her fingers.

Man now THAT would be a killer ad.

Well, I'm a Canadian. We're allowed to get these, uh, ideas. If I was Australian, it'd practically be expected of me. :-)

More AYB

[SharpFang]

More AllYourBase movies.
(warning, some not really suitable for "wide audience")

http://fchan.hentaiplanet.net/flash/res/1298.html
Especially the Rhapsody is worth checking :)`

Yeah! I can just see the queen shaking

[crovira]

her ass to "sexy mother fucker" (Horns pleaze...)

When the Crown does it, it's not piracy. :)

[argent]

We assume she is not searching the royalty free or pirated stuff.

The Queen does not need to engage in Piracy, She could simply issue Letters of Marque authorizing a Privateer to undertake the mission on Her behalf.

Re:When the Crown does it, it's not piracy. :)

[arwel]

The Queen does not need to engage in Piracy, She could simply issue Letters of Marque authorizing a Privateer to undertake the mission on Her behalf.

[pedant]
No she couldn't - the UK subscribed to the Decaration of Paris back in 1856 when most European countries gave up the right to issue LoM.
[/pedant]

Re:When the Crown does it, it's not piracy. :)

[argent]

The UK subscribed to the Decaration of Paris back in 1856 when most European countries gave up the right to issue [Letters of Marque]

You got an online copy of that? I wanna see what it says about copyright violations and encryption technology.

Re:When the Crown does it, it's not piracy. :)

[arwel]

http://wikisource.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Paris :)

Re:When the Crown does it, it's not piracy. :)

[argent]

That certainly seems to argue for the legitimacy of Bittorrent, and I'm not sure that the DMCA is really in compliance with the letter of this treaty.

Ruler

[ryu1232]

Does this mean she is going to "Rule Differently" ?

thoughts...

[acroyear]

i wonder if her arm's going to get tired with that thing in that little tiny purse of hers. it probably weighs twice as much as it did before...

Oh God

[Anonymous Coward]

When I first saw the title, I thought it read:

"All Your Base Gets Royal Nod"

A royal insider...

[johansalk]

... told me she listens to Iron Mainden.

Think different?

[frostilicus2]

Apple's part of the establishment now.

Wrong again

[ccmay]

The official title is Her Royal Highness in the third person or Your Royal Highness in the second person.

Come now, I am a barbarous Yank and I know that is wrong. It's "Her Majesty"/"You Majesty". "Royal Highness" is for the other members of the royal family.

I have also seen "Her Britannic Majesty" but I don't know how that would be used. Maybe when she is chumming with the other useless royal sponges, like "His Hispanic Majesty" and "Her Belgic Majesty".

-ccm

Re:Wrong again

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. It's used when just "Her Majesty" isn't specific enough =)

-m

10000 Quatloos

[Greyfox]

10000 Quatloos for her play list!

When I visited her...

[epeus]

...she had the band of the Coldstream Guards playing a medley of show tunes and oldies.
There was something very surreal about sitting in Buckingham Palace in the presence of Her Majesty while a gaggle of beefy soldiers in red and gold uniforms play 'Let me take you by the hand and show you the streets of London' on brass instruments.

This reminds me of last month.

[imstanny]

When they were reporting on President G-Dub's new iPod and playlist. This is just absurd. IT's not news if an old person is using a cellphone, shut up. And wat the hell does that old hag listen to? Ms. Elton John?

Re:This reminds me of last month.

[Really Wannabe Geek]

> IT's not news if an old person is using a cellphone,

If you are in Korea, maybe not :) (oblig)

How about a royal warrant?

[davidyorke]

By appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II purveyors of portable music players

(Apple outsources manufacturing, btw.)

Re:No. No, no, no. Get the titles right.

[91degrees]

Dammit! I was IRCing with an imposter!

Re:Bush's charicteristic shown through his music..

[alangmead]

I think the article you are talking about his this one from the International Herald Tribune, White House Letter: 'Boomer rock' keeps Bush's heart in tune