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simonbirtwistle

Listed below are comments made by simonbirtwistle between Wednesday, 7th May 2008 and Sunday, 27th July 2008.

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Stephen Fry, Apple and the BBC 10:48am on 27 Jul 2008 For me, the HTC Diamond is a better phone. Not because it 'just is' but because it is better for my needs. I did use an iPhone for a while and while I was impressed it's not my sort of device - and it was even worse before it had 3G and an app store, which were real deal breakers.

I like Apple, they improve the UI and look of a device, which everyone else copies. That's a good thing - even if the technology behind their devices isn't always top notch and you occasionally have to pay a little extra.

If I'm honest, Steven Fry's opinions don't interest me. If I'm comparing two phones I'll read 10 reviews of each, filter through the bias and compare the specs. That's as good a way to choose a phone as any.

And, as I said above, [b]for me[/b] there are better phones than the iPhone - but I'll never convince half the population on earth of that. Fortunately, I don't care.
BPI v ISPs - who's won on music piracy? 06:40am on 24 Jul 2008 There are plenty of ways to avoid being detected - programs like PeerGuardian, which prevents government/BPI computers connecting to you and discovering you are downloading music.

And, of course, anyone can encrypt their P2P transmissions.

If these letters go to anyone sharing over P2P then I will be particularly annoyed to get a letter because I downloaded the most recent version of linux a few times.

If they are supposed to be targeted to only copyrighted materials, there are so many ways to avoid detection (which, no doubt, will get added into P2P applications quickly).

It will simply become a money sink for the BPI to keep up with the more innovative file sharing industry. They'd be better changing their business model to embrace P2P in some way. Record companies have already said money in the future will be from live performances - so why keep threatening P2P users?
South Africa hold whip hand 7:22pm on 19 Jul 2008 I cannot understand why the selectors have picked what is arguably the worst England side for years. We have a tail starting with Ambrose (who is no better than a no 8), and Vaughan is out of form. Coupled with England's traditionally unreliable batting we signed our own death warrant before the game even started.

Our bowling attack is also poor. While I am a big fan of Broad, he is not taking wickets at the moment. Flintoff hasn't played test cricket for years, Pattinson has only played 11 first class games! Are we expecting Anderson to take all the wickets?

We are effectively playing with 7 players - Vaughan, Pattinson, Broad and Ambrose are contributing nothing in this game.

All the more worrying is the fact this was totally predictable, yet the selectors seemed to pursue it anyway.
England claim remarkable win 5:48pm on 26 May 2008 To come back on this topic, I have to say that I like Broad and think he has potential, but there's not enough there with the ball at the moment to justify a place over, for example, Flintoff in a 4 man attack. I also haven't seen consistency from Anderson, so I think it's time Hoggard came back (when fit). Simon Jones has been working wonders on the county scene, but at the end of the day it comes down to Sidebottom or Hoggard, and I wouldn't like to drop either of them.

I was saying in 2005 we should have a 4 man attack. On the assumption Flintoff returns to form with the bat (which may never happen of course), we could potentially bat down to number 8, which would be a strong batting lineup if everyone performs, and a good backup if the usual collapse happens.
England claim remarkable win 4:35pm on 26 May 2008 I think, had New Zealand made the lead over 300, we would be sitting here now looking at a very different result. It was the sub 300 target that made England believe they could do it, and for once they delivered. However, they seem mentally frail, and Vaughan, Cook and Strauss apart everyone seems to lack form.

If we want to perform against South Africa, we will need a much stronger middle order performance later this year.
Kiwis put England in a spin 8:25pm on 24 May 2008 England are too easily put off - they spend so much time focusing on how New Zealand are getting on that they forget about their own game.

Following New Zealand's high total they immediately slipped into a negative mindset which resulted in the light roller, the night watchman and they seem to be playing for a draw on the second day!

We were devoid of ideas and class when working for wickets. I'm tempted to blame the captaincy, but I don't think MV is culpable here from the TMS commentary. I honestly don't know what the problem is - maybe it's just that we're missing a Flintoff to take the game by the horns and force something to happen.
Bright future predicted for Apple 4:22pm on 22 May 2008 To quote:
I often hear the claim that Macs cost more, so here's a challenge for you: go and find an
equivalent spec pc that costs 15% less than a mac.

I suppose it depends what you want - I buy my computers and equipment based on technical specs - i.e the amount of RAM, the CPU, screen size and so on. I got a better deal on my dell laptop 18 months ago than I could get with any of Apple's products today for an equivalent spec. By all conventional wisdom they should be cheaper.

You can't compare like for like with Apple, because they make the best looking and easiest to use devices on the market, but for me boiling down to the hardware essentials, Apple is beaten on price a lot of the time. You can't put a price on usability and looks though, some people will believe it's worth it.

Apple does a lot of good stuff - the iPod touch is brilliant (though in a market that will eventually disappear). The iPhone I am not a fan of, I can get more for my money from elsewhere without being locked into O2.
Bright future predicted for Apple 12:39pm on 22 May 2008 I am surprised to see no mention on the iPhone (which I'm not a fan of) and the iPod (which I am). As time goes on, more and more of our 'integrated digital experience' will depend on mobile devices which can sync with a basestation in the home. I want to have a mobile/PDA no larger than the size of the average phone which when I walk through my front door uses WiFi to background sync with my desktop/laptop/whatever, updating my appointments, emails, latest downloaded music, films etc and all without my interference.

I can then go to work the next day listening to my music on my phone or watching the latest iPlayer episode of the Apprentice all without pushing a button on my computer or my phone at night. If Apple achieves that, they might change me from an iPod user and Mac avoider to someone who buys Apple products all the time.

At the moment, all I see Apple providing me with is devices that look cool and have a good UI at the expense of device interoprability (I have a windows mobile phone) and inflated shop prices. Buying an Apple product typically involves a 15% markup on an equivalent product from someone else.
England must win with conviction 6:50pm on 14 May 2008 Aggers, you say swapping Vaughan and Strauss breaks the left/right hand partnership to open the innings. However, you neglect to consider the likelihood (or otherwise) of Vaughan sticking around long enough for that to be a problem. My prediction is for the LH/RH combination to be quickly reestablished, at the expense of 1 wicket every innings.

Vaughan is a wonderful captain, but it has been many years since I saw him perform consistently as a batsman. I now believe it is his captaincy rather than his qualities as a player keeping him in the side, and the captain should be picked from the best 11 players, of which Vaughan may now not be one. We're so obsessed with the wicket keeper contributing with the bat - why is the same standard not applied to the captain.

Saying all this, I do recognize that recently his average has improved, though the stat of 1 hundred in 22 innings is telling.
Microhoo: Is it the chase that counts? 6:05pm on 07 May 2008 It seems to me that the comment above doesn't understand the purpose of a blog. I think the article fairly well summarises the whole saga - it's a different style to most BBC blogs (which are analytical), but that's the point. Blogs are a personal thing and different authors appeal to different audiences.

As for Microsoft and Yahoo, I'm not a fan of either of their online offerings - I do feel though that Microsoft has more chance of getting it right with 'Live' than Yahoo, who lost me about 10 years ago and keep driving me further away.

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