McPhee
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Posts posted by McPhee
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The real version of Batman:Still hacked off that it ain't coming til November. Publishers have utterly screwed up the release dates this year for me. Battlefield 3, Skyrim, MW3, Batman and Assassin's Creed all within a little over 2 weeks. I'm tempted to get this on 360 because no way do I have time to play all of those at once, and it's pretty difficult to choose between Batman and Skyrim!...
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I'm more interested in Motorola's Droid RAZR to be honest. That handset looks insanely good!
Still, not a bad update. Tempted to sell my iPad and try out ICS on a tablet now.
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I'm nearly convinced that because of the c**k up at GAME, i won't get this on Friday. Seriously, since they've updated the site things have gone wrong. No-one is running the Twitter or Facebook pages, and i've had no reply via the contact page on-site.Service ain't what it used to be, and i was looking forward to release-day Arkham as well. Shame.
That's why I don't pre-order online unless it's a really good deal (BF3 + 3 pairs of DKNY boxers for £30 kind of good). The supermarkets are usually competitive on price even if nobody else is.
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It's a shame they pushed the PC release back though. Comes out the same day as Skyrim.
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Um...
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The Vodafone eForums are loltastic at the momentThe Vodafone eForum is always loltastic. It's full of Vodafone apologists telling customers that problems are their own fault and have nothing to do with precious Lord Vodafone, the saviour of all. Must be a nightmare working in the online team these days, having to tip-toe around those plebs who are doing nothing but damage to the Vodafone brand.
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Have you had a play with the new design Nanos? They're actually quite awesome, especially for running. I didn't like the design at first either, but I have to admit, if I still used an mp3 player I would pick one up.
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There's some OK stuff. The split keyboard, Reeder, Reminders, the new notification system. iCloud seems like it will be pretty good too if you have multiple Apple devices (I don't, so it's of little use). Oh, and they finally fixed market auto-correcting to Market.
Overall though it's the usual story with an Apple update. Performance sucks on older devices. There's so much keystroke lag on the iPad 1 now. Actually, just about everything lags, screen rotation, app switching, tab switching. I'm always quite amazed how a few small tweaks to iOS can wreak havvok on performance. It's beginning to make me quite cynical towards Apple devices. I've recently upgraded my Windows Phone to Mango. Performance improved. They added multitasking and a whole host of other features and managed to optimise the already smooth OS. When Apple did that, performance on my iPhone 3G went through the floor. Now the same thing has happened on the iPad despite the tweaks being relatively small. I'm beginning to wonder if they do this on purpose, or if they just don't see the point in optimising new versions of the OS for older hardware. Either way, I'll probably downgrade.
I'm going to be watching the ICS news with interest. It might be time to jump ship.
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November is going to seem so far away come next Tuesday (especially given I'm actually away when the PC version hits the shelves). Still gonna wait for the PC release though. I picked up the PC release of Asylum a while after I completed it on Xbox (it was something like £3 in a Windows Live sale) and it was stunning! Didn't really tax the system either, which was impressive.
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I've had iOS5 on my iPad for a couple of days now. It's poop.
Actually, that's not really fair. iOS5 is nice, but the 1st gen iPad seems to have a bit of a RAM issue with it. I just lost a few-hundred word post on the Vodafone forums because I opened settings then switched back to the browser. The page reloaded. No other programs open. This has been happening a lot, the browser can't handle as many pages as it could in iOS4. Multitasking? Forget it. Pages reload as soon as you re-enter the browser. Not good.
EDIT: Actually, it seems to keep the pages as long as you don't switch out of the browser. I just had all 9 tabs running fine. The system slows right down though, takes a good few seconds to switch from one tab to another.
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A couple of Ebuyer Value Homeplugs for £25, problem solved. OnLive has enough potential lag problems without them encouraging WiFi.
Wish I could try this out. Not got a fast enough connection though sadly.
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I'm actually tempted to pick one of these up. Three are doing the iPhone 4S 16GB on The One Plan for £35/month, 24 month contract (student discount bringing that down to £32/month). The phone costs £99, but there's £109 Quidco cashback available. The One Plan allows tethering, so I could cancel my mobile BB and sell my MiFi. Basically I've worked out that I could save £10/month by cancelling my Vodafone contract and jumping over to Three. It might cost me £245 to cancel it, but taking in to account the monthly saving along with the money I'd get for the Mifi and my current phone, and I think I'm covered.
If I don't like the 4S then I could always sell it on for at least £400 anyways.
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Not interested in the Nexus Prime then? Should see it along with Ice Cream Sandwich in under a fortnight.Maybe. I've just not got a lot of enthusiasm for Android, ICS would have to be quite a drastic improvement before I'd want to go near another Android phone.
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Must admit I'm more interested in the price drop to the iPhone4, purely because I can't afford a 4S. If the 8GB model is nice and cheap I'll be on it soon(ish).Sorry to disappoint. It's £429.
It's increasingly looking like I'll be grabbing the obscenely large HTC Titan for my next handset. Not seen anything to tempt me away yet.
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EDIT: Wouldn't bother with high vis jackets if a light does the job. I don't use a light when I use my bike. If a driver can perform an emergency stop on the presumption a child/whatever has just crossed their path, I assume they can accomodate for seeing a bike (at least) five metres away.Lights are actually a legal requirement for night riding. If you don't have them the Police can issue you a £30 fixed penalty notice. Not using them is a bit of a dumbshit thing to do really, they make you more visible to other road users. Personally wouldn't want to rely on a high-vis and reflectors, it's not worth the risk.
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Puncture repair kit. Wilkinsons are pretty good for those, cheaper than any bike shop I've seen and their kits work (I can vouch for that, my front has 3 patches already
)There's a commuting section on the Bike Radar forums which also has some pretty good links to commuting guides.
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Nice menus. Other than that... "Your connection to EA online was lost"
FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Not again. I had enough of this shite with Bad Company 2! Why can't EA just use the same systems as everyone else?
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Is there a brake level on each handlebar? If not then you're probably going to take flying lessons then die a tragic death with your melon splattered over the pavement.
Presumably there is. I can't see a reputable retailer selling a bike with only a front brake (even though the bike in that pic you posted has no rear brake).
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You know a suspiciously large amount about bike theft. :p
Took me a while to find it, but this is where I got most of the info from:
This one is rather alarming:
The Neistat Brothers aren't the only ones to pull this off either. It seems nobody really gives a hoot if you're robbing a bike. Most probably assume that you own it and lost the key or something.
TBH though, it's not hard to find out how to steal stuff. There's even a guide to making a bump key on Lifehacker (a bump key opens almost any yale lock, so about 60% of British homes
). The more you know about stealing the easier it is to stop people robbing you. -
5 mile commute each way for me. Downhill all the way in which is awesome! Due to rush-hour traffic I'm usually the fasted thing on the road! Cycle home - not so awesome. I'm riding a Specialized Rockhopper purchased through Cyclescheme http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/
Don't skimp on the lock and buy some decent lights would be my advice. Oh, and always lock your bike near others. If there's easier targets available then thieves are unlikely to try stealing your ride. I use this and these, bought off eBay for £45. Probably got lucky there. A mini D-Lock is a difficult thing to break. Cable locks can be broken with bolt cutters, chains can be cut with saws, full size D-Locks can be easily broken using a mini bottle-jack. A mini D lock is too small to squeeze a bottle jack between the lock and the bike frame, bolt cutters won't get through it and a manual saw will take ages. They're pretty much only vulnerable to noisy power tools like circular saws (which are usually only used by professional bike thieves. If they want your bike there's not a lot you can do about it. Not worth their risk for models under £1k though usually).
Oh, and this is probably obvious but it's surprising how many times people don't do it. Lock your frame (not the wheel) to a solid, immovable object. The number of times I see wheels (with quick release bolts) locked to bike stands or bikes locked to bins (put the bin in the van along with the bike) or short poles (lift the bike over the top) is just silly. It's just asking for people to take them.
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Anyway, I got my early access beta code. Don't think I can use it at the moment though. My XBL account got suspended because Microsoft screwed up how you have to take cards off of your account and tried to take money out of an inactive account. And as I don't think you can play over XBL with a silver account, I'll have to wait a little bit before I can join in, annoyingly.Maybe give the code away then? The beta goes public on Thursday so the 'early access' is literally just 2 days.
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It will likely be a mess the first two weeks like any BF game.I'd forgotten about this.
DICE games are always bloody awful for the first few weeks. Even BC2, which was in beta for a good while before release, was an utter mess at launch. I remember struggling to get online games, getting disconnected regularly, having PunkBuster throw fits at me every 5 minutes and all sorts of other shenanigans. I wonder if that's why they do single player now? Providing an ample distraction while they fix the online game? -
At this price point LED is all hype. It's a backlighting technology for LCD panels, replacing CCFL. Compared to CCFL it's cheaper, smaller and uses less power. The advantage of buying an 'LED TV' vs an LCD is that you get a thinner, more power-efficient TV. At this price range it won't affect picture quality as you'll be getting edge-lighting, not a full LED backlight. Edge lighting performs similarly to CCFL lighting (it's the same principal) but has the power, size and cost advantages associated with LED backlight tech.
LED vs Plasma is the same old LCD vs Plasma debate that's been going on for years. Big quote time:
About Plasma TVs : when to choose a Plasma television, and why. Plus we bust some myths about Plasma TVs. An aricle from the experts at AVForums.Since tube (CRT) technology has been superseded by flat screen TVs, there are really only two TV technologies available right now, and these are Plasma and LCD. They are two competing technologies, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Note that LED TVs are LCD TVs with LED back or edge lighting.
Both Plasma and LCD technologies manage to produce high quality images when correctly manufactured and set up within the home.
- Plasma is a self-emitting technology meaning it creates its own light, very much like the old CRT TVs. This helps the technology produce realistic blacks in the picture.
- LCD technology uses a backlight which is usually a strip of lights (LED lights in 'LED TVs') to the side or back of the screen. Because this light shines through the LCD panel (which opens pixels to allow light through) it is more difficult for LCDs to produce a deep black on screen at the same time as showing shadow detail. This approach also means that the amount of light shown across the LCD screen is not uniform and can show pools (or cones) of light spill on screen.
- Plasma on the other hand, being self-illuminating, can achieve far more consistent light uniformity.
Because of the image strong points, Plasma TVs have found a large fan base with movie enthusiasts for displaying pictures that are accurate and natural.
When to choose a Plasma TV?
- Choose Plasma when picture quality is paramount. Plasmas in almost all cases are able to produce images that have rich deep blacks with good shadow detail, excellent motion resolution and accurate colours - so are often the first choice for the discerning viewer.
- Choose Plasma when you want a screen larger than 40 inches. Plasma does not come in sizes smaller than this, so in those cases where you want a smaller screen your only choice at this time is LCD. Plasma is available in sizes up to 152 inches, with the most popular sizes being 42 and 50 inches.
- If you have a room where you can control the lighting, or amount of light that comes into the room then Plasma technology is for you. Because of how the technology works it is much better suited than LCD to watching movies in dimmed conditions. An LCD in the same conditions is likely to have lighter blacks and worse screen uniformity because it uses a backlight. Since Plasmas are made from glass (two sheets of glass bonded together with a vacuum containing gas), they may not work as well as LCD in bright conditions. This has been an issue in the past with light hitting a Plasma screen and washing the image out. Most new Plasma models are fitted with a filter that rejects ambient light and stops the image from being washed out. However, Plasma is not as bright as LCD and in some cases where you want a screen in a bright room such as a conservatory or very open room, you may find that LCD will give you a more consistent picture. It has to be noted that a TV in such a room will never give you the best possible image quality and will be a compromise. The amount of light in the room where you use your TV will influence how good the picture is.
- Choose Plasma when you need a wide viewing angle. When you have people sitting further off to the side of the TV, Plasma is preferable since its picture does not degrade. An LCD TV's picture, on the other hand, looks worse the further to the side of the TV (or 'off axis') you sit.
- Choose Plasma where you are going to watch a lot of sports or fast moving images. Amongst Plasma's strengths is motion resolution where images do not smear or blur as soon as the action on screen speeds up. This also means that, unlike LCD, technically Plasma does not need motion interpolation systems to help produce natural motion. Typical Plasma models will resolve up to 1080 lines of information compared to an average of 300-400 lines on an LCD or LED LCD TV. (Note there are some exceptions to this with certain individual models).
The vast majority of Plasma screens also have low input lag which means that those who like to play video games on their TVs will benefit in most cases with Plasma over LCD.
Common misconceptions about Plasma 're-gassing', lifespan, screen burn and more.
- Plasmas do use gas, but it never escapes and they never require 're-gassing'. Anyone telling you that Plasmas need re-gassing is spreading an urban myth. This is still a favourite tactic with many sales staff and is completely wrong.
- Both Plasmas and LCDs have a good lifespan. Some manufacturers quote lifespans of 100,000 hours, which at 8 hours per day is 34 years. In other words you will probably replace your TV before it gets close to half its lifespan.
- Screen burn is another term used by sales staff who may try to push a customer towards LCD (or LED) instead of Plasma. Screen burn is more or less a thing of the past and will only ever happen if the Plasma TV is abused, i.e. used in dynamic mode with contrast up full and left on a TV channel with bright logos for a few days. Most modern Plasma screens can stand up to hours of gaming or news channel viewing if done so with appropriate picture settings and for normal periods of time.
- Image retention is usually mistaken for screen burn but is a natural by-product of Plasma technology and is not permanent. It is usually seen if the TV is used for a few hours of gaming or news channel viewing where there are static images on screen. After changing from gaming or the news channel, there are graphics or text boxes still seen as a faint 'ghost' over the picture. Image retention usually disappears within a few minutes. The severity of the problem does vary from manufacturer to manufacturer with the effect disappearing from most modern screens within a few minutes. The vast majority of people never notice image retention.
- Plasma TVs do not produce a softer image than LCD TVs. Both will show HD images with the same clarity. Any differences come down to other factors like added sharpness by the video processing of the TV.
- Although several TV manufacturers like Sony, Hitachi, Philips and Toshiba have abandoned Plasma technology, others like Panasonic, Samsung and LG continue to develop it. Plasma is by no means a dying technology. Many users and professionals still regard Plasma as the technology for critical viewing.
- Plasma TVs are not particularly power hungry if they are set up correctly. They do generally use more power than LCDs, but because the technology is self-illuminating it means that power function is never close to the maximum rated output for any length of time, whereas LCD stays at the same level when switched on (as the backlight is usually constant). Correct calibration can reduce power consumption by up to 50% in some cases (THX research, 2009).
Plasma TV prices
Plasma has often been seen as a premium technology because it is available in screen sizes over 40 inches and not in smaller sizes. It is also more expensive to produce and manufacture and has to be built in large numbers. However, as production techniques from manufacturers like Panasonic have improved, this has allowed Plasma to be more affordable to the mass market. With the introduction of LED Backlit LCD TVs which command a price premium for being slim, Plasma has become even more cost effective in performance and price terms. A quality Plasma screen these days costs the same or even less than a competing LED LCD model.
Black levels on Plasma TVs
Black levels are considered by many to be a strong point of any TV. In all cases this must also mean that shadow detail (details just above absolute black) must also be seen. To obtain a black that doesn't look grey on screen, some TVs such as LCDs and some low end Plasmas can show blacks that appear black, but which cover over the shadow detail (an effect referred to as clipping). Some LCD and LED LCDs also add in a technique called global dimming where the backlight is switched off or dimmed down to try and create black. Global dimming affects the whole screen. Plasma, because it is self-illuminating, can in most cases (when set up correctly) achieve a black level which looks natural and shows the correct amount of shadow detail. It also means that mixed scenes (an image with very dark areas along with some bright areas) look more natural on a Plasma screen than on an LCD.
Better motion on Plasma TVs
Plasma technology handles motion very well and it is a plus point of the technology as it was designed for showing moving images. There is usually no need to add motion processing to Plasma screens like there is for LCD models. It is true that some recent LCD and LCD LED TVs have improved their motion response with fast moving images, but in this area Plasma is usually still better.
Best settings for your Plasma TV
Copying settings from owners of a similar Plasma TV is a futile exercise as each screen (even the same model) varies considerably. So one set of settings that may work for one owner, will loo
k completely different to another. However there have been recent improvements to the picture presets these days, with some that aim to try and get as close as possible to the industry standards. The industry standards are the settings that film makers and TV producers use when making their programs and movies for home viewing. This means that white and all the colours match the movies you watch on your TV. THX certified Plasma TVs have at least one preset in the picture menus which set the colour gamut and white colour as correct as possible so you can watch all your TV and film material on your TV with (close to) correct colours and white point. All you have to do is make sure the brightness and contrast settings are set for your room using the test patterns found on some DVDs and Blu-rays. THX picture mode is not just for using with THX certified DVDs as suggested in some manufacturers' manuals. It is designed to be used with everything you watch on TV.
Some Plasmas also have a picture wizard feature that will walk users through a basic calibration on the TV.
To get the best from your TV we would always recommend a professional calibration. This is especially true if you have gone for one of the more expensive screens and you want to get the very best out of your investment.
In conclusion
If you want a natural image with accurate colour, good black levels and excellent motion resolution, and your viewing conditions are appropriate, go for Plasma.
As always, there is no such thing as a perfect TV and what will suit you is determined by your viewing environment, budget and the type of material you want to view on your TV. We would always recommend that you do some research and demo the models you think will suit your needs before you spend your hard earned money.
That's at the top of the AVForums Plasma forum, housed in a shoutbox type thing. It's editorial content, not user created content. It was written by their reviewer.
Overall, the Panasonic TX-P50VT30 is the best performing 50-inch HDTV we’ve reviewed so far this year in any dimension. There is no comparable flat-screen television that gives the same rich blacks, excellent screen uniformity, freedom from input lag, and lack of 3D crosstalk.That's the conclusion from HDTV Test's review of Panasonic's flagship TV this year. It's a Plasma. They call it the best on the market right now. Panasonic's Plasma TVs regularly pick up Highly Recommended from this site (and many others that actually test TVs properly). Not bad for apparently outdated tech...
I can't comment on the specific models you're looking at because I've not been paying enough attention recently to know how specific models compare. From what I did see while I was digging up this post, that price on the Panny Plasma is a ridiculously good bargain, the model down (U30B) is usually around that much! If you think Plasma is right for you, based on the information in that AVF quote, then it's probably the set to buy.
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There's been too many conflicting rumours this year for an accurate guess on what the handset will be like. The best guess is that Apple are releasing 2 different iPhones, or iPhone rumours are getting muddled up with iPod Touch rumours. It will be announced before the end of the month though and released early in October.
The Android Thread
in General Chit Chat
Posted · Edited by McPhee
http://www.comparemobiledeals.com/
http://www.comparemobiledeals.com/mobile-phones/Samsung/Galaxy-S2?&tab=Pay-Monthly&page=1&sortby=Cheapest
600 Minutes
500 Texts
Internet (no idea how much though, prob at least 500MB)
£30.64/month
Free GSII
18-month contract
£95 cashback through the retailer
£60.60 cashback through Topcashback
Total: £395.92
That seems to be the best deal. If you want 12 months instead this deal is still the cheapest, just cancel in month 11 (you give 30 days notice) and they'll ask you for £153.20 as a final payment (plus month 12's bill), which would make the total £365.28 for the year. You could recoup the early termination fee by selling the Galaxy, you won't need it assuming the reason for cancelling was to get a new phone!
While I dislike the Galaxy (it looks rather dull, just a slab of plastic with a big screen that's too bright and oversaturates colour) it is kinda hard to see the iPhone 4S, Nokia N9/N950 or HTC Titan as good value when there's such a powerful phone going this cheap. It's quite disgraceful really.