Slashdot Mirror


User: mrpacmanjel

mrpacmanjel's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
175
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 175

  1. The Difference is More Apparent Now on When 1 GB Is Really 0.9313 Gigabytes · · Score: 2

    True, the discrepancy is old news but as capacity increases the difference is becoming more noticeable.

    It would be so much better if "they" were persuaded to return to using the correct measurement.

  2. What goes around comes around on Microsoft Says Google Trying To Undermine Windows Phone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft, you have just experienced the concept known as "khama".

  3. Is it open source - Can I try it on my own phone? on Ubuntu Phone OS Unveiled · · Score: 2

    If the answer is "no" to both these questions then this whole concept is going to fail.

    I have an android phone - I can install chroot ubuntu but no GPU support means it's limited.

    If the source code is open source it means we can install it on existing devices or ideally run in parallel with ICS or Jellybean.

    If they only going to release the Ubuntu Phone OS with hardware (e.g. "..9 to 12 months time..") then this will go the same way as WebOS.

    They are going to build some kind of traction with the community first.

  4. Utter Nonsense? on Has Lego Sold Out? · · Score: 1

    Come on we remember the headline rule. It ends with a question mark and the answer is no.

    My son loves Lego. When he was very young he always wanted the Star Wars kits. He would build them and would learn to follow the instructions. Usually within a couple of weeks he would pull it all apart and then create something new - of course the instructions usually go missing as well. A few years later he now has big buckets of Lego (of almost every shape and size) and constantly surprises me what he can build from it all.

    It's a pity some of the kits are so expensive.

    The kits are a great way to get kids involved and because it's Lego the kits from other franchises fit too.

    The writers of the article are idiots for writing such drivel.

  5. Why is Slashdot to Hostile to Raspberry Pi? on Entries Open For First Ever 24-Hour Raspberry Pi Hackathon · · Score: 1

    Have I missed something?

    Why is this community so hostile to the Raspberry Pi?

    I know we are a cynical bunch here but anything Pi-related is usually slated here.

  6. Spam tastes great on Papa John's Sued For Unwanted Pizza-Related Texts · · Score: 2

    If they offered a spam topping on their pizza then I'll be interested.

    Little rectangular squares of ambrosia..mmmmm.....pizza....

    I used to get texts from Pizza Hut until I asked them to stop. However if Papa John ignored their own "stop" requests they shouldn't be surprised if they get fined (mind you $500 per text is a bit excessive).

  7. Re:2 Major Fails Missing on The Island of Lost Apple Products · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why are the Apple III and the Apple Lisa not on the list? Granted, the Lisa was somewhat the predecessor of the Mac, but it itself was still a failure.

    Generally it's a shit article - there are more interesting products they could have featured (as mentioned in other posts).

  8. Only If you Allow Them? on More Than 25% of Android Apps Know Too Much About You · · Score: 1

    I have an S3 and downloaded a few apps. Before installation you're told what permissions the app wants on your device.

    E.g. the Facebook app seems to want every permission it can get it's grubby hands on thus I've chosen not to install it.

    Unless app developers are using workarounds.

    Funnily enough it is no surprise that many of the "free" apps seem to want the most permissions.

  9. Touchpad + incompatible open webos = ICS Installed on HP Hires Ex-Nokia Exec, Spins Off WebOS, Reportedly Returning To Tablets · · Score: 1

    I bought a "fire sale" touchpad last year and I am impressed with the hardware.

    WebOS was a slick OS - swipe gestures are intuitive too.

    WebOS was then open-sourced - components were released in a timely manner and then the punchline - "Not compatible with existing devices!!!".

    I installed cyanogen ICS (Andoird 4) tenderloin and never looked back - the only hardware that doesn't work is the camera - no big deal.
    It even has accelerated GPU - I can quite happily play Minecraft PE.

    Current score:
    0 HP
    1 Cyanogen Developers

    On the strength of the ICS experience I now own a shiny new quad-core Samsung S3 - my Nokia N900 is now facing imminent retirement - again great hardware & OS (Maemo) but again, retarded company decisions killed the product!

  10. Firefox is bloated - Use Chromium on Mozilla Leaves Out Linux For Initial Web App Support · · Score: 2

    I sort of understand why Mozilla have done this - they're only talking about the "App marketplace" not development of the browser itself - they are trying to raise funds for Firefox development by selling apps. (I assume).

    That's how I understand it, then again I stopped using Firefox last year and switched to Chromium - the open-source version of Chrome - they are also forks of Chromium designed to remove all sorts of tracking code too.

    Most people I know have switched away from Firefox and are using Chrome or Chromium instead.

    The best thing about Chrome/Chromium is they are part of the "webkit family" which means wider support and consistent HTML5 adherence.

    Firefox is feeling a bit dated anyway - All I can say is "Good Luck with that" Mozilla!

  11. This will go down well...lulz on Introducing SlashBI · · Score: 4, Informative

    Slashdot is a different beast now.

    I've been following Slashdot since the 90s and it just seems to be evolving into another unfocused blog.

    I loved reading Slashdot everyday(mostly!) but it just is not the same anymore.

    As a geek I felt I belonged to a site like this and felt very comfortable here. It's also one of the very few sites where I can be arsed actually commenting on anything.

    But over the past few weeks the story submissions are becoming less relevant to me now and Slashdot has become a less interesting place to be.

    Not to mention this new "B.I. feature" contains a link to "choosing the right database for your business" - yeah telling a site full of IT geeks how to choose the right database is a "smart" thing to do (even from a "business" perspective) - how patronising!

  12. Re:Kickstart My Project, No Seriously on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Your post was definitely on-topic.

    However, mine is not.

    I think the moderators need to curb their crack pipe habits. A stoned monkey on mind-altering drugs trying to solve a rubiks cube can do considerably better. Slashdot is a shadow of its normal self.

    My post will no doubt be marked troll.

  13. Re:Sony used to be a respected company on Sony Taking Down PSP Titles In Response To Vita Hackers · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Interesting, why is my comment tagged as "Troll"?

  14. Let it go already! on Sony Taking Down PSP Titles In Response To Vita Hackers · · Score: 2

    Expensive mobile device and overzealous company policy..oh proprietary format too.

    The device flopped over Christmas here in the UK & retailers were desperately promoting special offers and discounts as soon as it was released.

    Sony & Nintendo have to learn the mobile gaming sector has got a lot more competitive and in most cases competitor's games are cheaper too.

    I'm afraid this business model is done.

    I thought "Honeybadger" was stoopid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

  15. Sony used to be a respected company on Sony Taking Down PSP Titles In Response To Vita Hackers · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wow! Back in the day (70s-80s) Sony made some cool stuff - I'm talking about Trinitron tvs, open-reel tape machines and awesome stereos. The quality was amazing. A popular "rule-of-thumb" was you can gauge the quality of a CRT-based telly was how heavy it was - Sony was always heaviest!!!! Until some competitors were caught adding lead(?) weights into the tv box!!

    Sony is a sad shadow of it's former self.

    Well done Sony you are on the road to utter irrelevance.

  16. Re:Not competitive on UK's Largest Specialist Video Games Retailer Enters Administration · · Score: 1

    This was my biggest problem with Game - used games were waaayyyy overpriced - they dropped their prices last week(?) and funnily enough the shelves seem to empty pretty quickly.

    I still think there is a market for a specialist games store. Maybe have a few consoles and allow gamers to try before buy, if possible legally download content onto media (if future consoles will still use it) and a decent online store will help too.

    The business failed due to bad management.

  17. Re:Help me on Google Introduces Programming Challenge In Advance Of GoogleIO · · Score: 1

    Maybe it would be easier if you replaced the 's' & 't' with 'c'?

  18. Re:Sick of pi - Retarded Comment on MIT App Inventor Back Online · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The parent comment is retarded. How is it moderated insightful?

    "I'm the target demographic for this product. "

    No your NOT! It's target is education and "third-world" countries

    "Yes, it's a cute piece of hardware, yes it's cheap. No, it's not revolutionary or game-changing."

    It has potential to be "game-changing" because IT education in the UK is a joke - technical ability is shunned in favour of teaching Microsoft products instead. The Pi project is an attempt to start a similar UK computer culture as seen in the 1980s.

    " We've had plenty of SBCs in the past that do pretty much what it can do."

    At the current price - no, not really a 700mhz cpu AND gpu with 256mb ram, 2xusb and ethernet for $25?

    "And the stupid thing is, I'm a robotics researcher and an electronics hobbiest to boot"

    No the stupid thing is, you're stupid for not checking your facts first.

    " I'm so sick of hearing about it I'm not going to buy one out of interest."
    It's a charity and publicity is important to attract donors, sponsors and other sources of income. Producing hardware is an expensive undertaking.

    As the saying goes "Ignorance is bliss" aka "twitchy slashdot commenter"

    I also slay your troll-like posting with the following quotes from the Raspberry Pi "about" page: (Obviously your troll-like eyes are too tired to read the "about" page)

    "..The idea behind a tiny and cheap computer for kids came in 2006, .."
    " became concerned about the year-on-year decline in the numbers and skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science in each academic year."
    "the 1990s where most of the kids applying were coming to interview as experienced hobbyist programmers, the landscape in the 2000s was very different;"
    " David has been tireless in raising press awareness and finding us sponsorship."
    "We’ve had enormous interest, support and help from the educational community, and we’ve been delighted and a little humbled by the number of enquiries from agencies and people far away from our original targets for the device."
    "The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK registered charity (Registration Number 1129409)"

  19. Re:I think Google does not understand open source on Android 4.0 Source Code Coming "Soon" · · Score: 1

    The last thing you need is the platform to fragment and then start catering for different versions of the software........oops too late!

  20. Since it's Google it's alright then! on Android 4.0 Source Code Coming "Soon" · · Score: 0, Troll

    So let me get this straight.

    Google say something like "honeycomb source wll be released 'at some point in the future'" while specific hardware manufacturers get access to the source code for their devices - interestingly "cheap"/smaller (e.g chinese) brands do not(?).

    Google now say "we won't bother releasing the source code for honeycomb".

    Google then say "we'll release the source code to ICS - but not yet" - specific hardware manufacturers get access to the source code. Everyone else has to wait.

    Google's definition stretches the idea of "Open source" to it's limits. It's very "orwellian" - "some people are more equal than others"

    I get the feeling that manufacturers are putting pressure on Google to protect their markets. You can't have "just anyone" producing android devices with the latest features.

    It must be just me but generally with open source software everyone gets access to the source code in its current state. If you want a working, "predictable" version then you download the "stable" branch.

    Google + android = open source fail.

    At least with Apple you generally know where you stand.........(what did I just say!??)

  21. Thanks For Everything on Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda Resigns From Slashdot · · Score: 1

    Just want to say thank-you for keepin an old burnt-out programmer entertained for the past 14 years.

    "All your base are belong to us!"

  22. Mono on Android/iOS costs $399 (each)?? on Xamarin's First Mono Release - Proof of Life! · · Score: 1

    I've been folowing the mono project for years and think it is a great open source project.

    However, if I want to write .net apps for Android I have to pay for the privilege?

    The SDK for Android is free and fully supported yet I'm expected to $399 for mono on android?

    I know the major benefit is supposed to be a "cross-platform" development environment but charging for the runtime seems a bit braindead to me!

    By all means charge for the other stuff (e.g. IDE integration, support and updates) that's fair but "locking away" the runtime is a bit cheeky and limiting adoption.

  23. Hate to Say This... on Microsoft Brands WebGL a 'Harmful' Technology · · Score: 5, Informative

    The security issue is a valid question.

    In one of the links in the summary it shows that the video memory can be read and get a snapshot of the user's desktop (in the example a confidential document is viewable) - exceptionally bad. Use an exploit like this with something else means their is potential for a severe security breach.

    Then again it's early stages and I'm sure the security issues will be resolved in time.

    It's an exciting techology especially with regard to streaming games over the internet.

    Who remembers VRML???

  24. Parent is best post so far on Should a Web Startup Go Straight To the Cloud? · · Score: 1

    That is the best advice someone can give you - makes an enormous amount of sense!

    ScuzzMonkey, you have my respect - wise words. :)

  25. Sounds Familiar on Glasses-Free 3D On iPad (Sorta) · · Score: 1

    Anything done on an Apple product is new and innovating....

    Actually....no.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
    (Mind you. You would look pretty stupid with a wiimote taped to the side of your head!)

    I imagine most devices with a front facing camera can do this.

    There is also this: http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/

    Curb you enthusiasm fanbois nothing to see move along.