but as many have stated, the launch of the iPhone was, all things considered, hardly the PR dream that Vodafone may have anticipated regardless of their "exciting" iPhone plans.

The new (much more palatable) casual rate for prepay data coming 28th July is going to…

That's about the time I'd expect/hope to see Vodafone rethink current data limits.

*laughs hysterically*
Like Telecom rethought their overage charges when people went to the media about getting umpteen-thousand-dollar ISP bills? Or Vodafone rethought their roaming charges after people went to the media about their umpteen-thousand-dollar roaming bills from…

But isn't this also a problem with conflicts with device filters installed by other third-party apps — and with the way Windows allows third-party apps to hose parts of the system?

so it seems but the guy in the HP service centre seemed to think this was usually associated with…

Driving past the university down Symonds Street yesterday was interesting — the boys were seeing no end of Wi-Fi networks coming up on the phone.

Yeah, this place radiates so much that one half expects long-term inmates to produce mutant kids. Most of the networks are protected, though, usually by…

I'd more interested in whether someone not "tech savvy" gets close to it. The clueful, such as RB, will be painfully aware of their data usage, mentally cataloguing every byte in order to avoid paying $100/GB in overage.

I'm very much looking at the 3G capacity as "only when strictly…

Agree with all the above, Russell. However, it'd be nice if we could get outgoing email to work. It's not happening – either via Wi-Fi or 3G. This despite the network settings being identical to our macs at home. Grump.

Er, yeah, I need to nut out why my GMail's…

Would personally be fascinated to know whether someone (tech savvy) like yourself gets close to that 250MB level over the month.

I'd more interested in whether someone not "tech savvy" gets close to it. The clueful, such as RB, will be painfully aware of their data usage, mentally cataloguing every…

There's at least one MMS app at the 1.0 stage

But not if you have a virgin phone. It only works with jailbroken iPhones, surprise, surprise.

That an MMS app can be written doesn't surprise me. Anything can be done if you're a sufficiently competent coder. But there's still the…

Have seen screenshots of the usage setting which splits…

Is the SDK of the iPhone sufficently open to allow a third-party to write an MMS implementation? (Windows Mobile is!)

It is. There's at least one MMS app at the 1.0 stage, a video capture app for the camera on the way, etc.

Also (to answer Simon's point further up),…

Eventually I took the laptop into the HP centre here and a young guy sighed..said it was extraordinarily common, and ran a batch file on the PC which fixed it. He wrote it himself as Apple have only been promising a fix for a year or three.

QuickTime on the…

Thanks for the report, Simon. I still don't know if the 80 is affected (though I can't see why it wouldn't be). Might have to, sadly, pass on the Classic for now.

But what really got on my wick last week was Quicktime's nuking of my CD drive. I mentioned…

I get the feeling that MMS doesn't work out the same across all devices / networks – is that accurate?

Im still not anti the iPhone however, when I can…

I'm looking at the MMS spec. I thought it used TCP/IP to the server, but I might be wrong in that

It works through WAP, if this Wikipedia page is correct. WAP runs at layer four, rather than layer three as I'd originally thought. It's roughly analogous to UDP, and…

If it's implemented below IP level, then it would need a device driver change, I…

That's promising, if those problems have been dealt with. Specifically, I was talking mainly about the sound problems related to the supposedly inferior D/A converter in the Classic (does this not apply to the 80 Gb?),

Sadly, no as that Apple thread indicates, Apple haven't sorted out the sound issues…

Silly me, roger, thinking that the iJobs is building for the consumer. You're right, it's a phone designed around ensuring that Apple gets the most money, by way of its cut…

Is the SDK of the iPhone sufficently open to allow a third-party to write an MMS implementation? (Windows Mobile is!)

WM SDK actually allows you to write the full protocol handler, and install it into the communications stack? MMS isn't just the messages, it's the way they're sent. Roughly corresponds…

The mobile telcos' subsidy model is based around likely consumer spend, so a phone that has access to spendy…

On the MMS thing, it is very strange.

It's strange if you think the person paying for the jesusPhone is the customer, rather than the phone company. No MMS? Well, users can just use their $250/mo bandwidth to upload the photo to iMac and then all their friends can use…

It's just that you have such a distinct way of writing, especially compared to must other PA System regulars

That could be because I'm very rapidly approaching the point where I'll have been using the 'net for half my life. 1/3 was passed two or three years ago, and 1/2…

How many of those for OSX were for applications like quicktime and safari?

A quick count showed three that weren't listed as affecting "Mac OS X". One for Apple Mail, one for iChat, one for iCal.

And that's not exactly a good measure since FreeBSD releases for vulnerabilities in bind,…

And mock all you like, but not everyone speaks in a monotone.

Oh dear. I wasn't mocking, I swear! It's just that you have such a distinct way of writing, especially compared to must other PA System regulars – you write lots and you use bold to highlight select words,…

Robyn, I saw your wink, even if he didn't.

Thanks, Jackie! I'm glad you noticed!

As a rough indicator, last year and this FreeBSD has been subject to a total of 15 security announcements. OS X is up to 33 for the same period. They've clearly deviated pretty far from the underlying system.

How many of those for OSX were for applications like quicktime and…

What is MMS and why is so important?

AKA pxt. Multimedia Messaging System. Even phones that can't send them can receive them, with the exception of the iPhone. I don't think there's been a GSM phone made with a colour screen in the last five years that doesn't do MMS,…

Its primary purpose is making and receiving calls, and sending and receiving short messages. On any other phone, that'd include MMS.

What is MMS and why is so important?

Or perhaps I could rephrase that question Matthew-Poole-style:

Could someone tell me what MMS is? I have heard of it but…

while 20% of people would willingly take to public transport, 80% would not give up their car until someone prised their cold, dead fingers from the steering wheel.

I'll quite happily take public transport. I do, in fact, though at the moment it's because I'm recovering from a dislocated shoulder…

80% would not give up their car until someone prised their cold, dead fingers from the steering wheel

At $10 a litre I guess they'll be cold and dead, having starved to death. Because few will be able to afford $500 tanks of petrol as well as food.

but Safari on the iPhone is way ahead of any other mobile web browser I've seen.

Nokia N8x0.

The core is, kinda. Darwin is based on FreeBSD, but it's not actually FreeBSD. It's Darwin. The base of developers is quite a bit smaller.

Apple haven't exactly been updating Darwin, either, and have done some nasty stuff with various technologies they have bought in from the open source world.

An mpeg player would be best since most of my extensive music collection is on my PC drive, specifically on my WMP. Help, please?

If it's protected WMA files, forget about an iPod. If they're standard WMA files and you can convert them to MP3s then an iPod can play…

Apple is based on an open source unix system. No system is ever secure, but Apple's base system is out in the open

The core is, kinda. Darwin is based on FreeBSD, but it's not actually FreeBSD. It's Darwin. The base of developers is quite a bit smaller.
And the…

I don't own an ipod or anything like it, and I would like to know which would be the best one to have, really. An mpeg player would be best since most of my extensive music collection is on my PC drive, specifically on my WMP. Help, please?

I have…

It's translated from Italian, but the chart speaks for itself. It shows the total two-year cost of an 8GB iPhone on the lowest plan in all the launch markets.

Lowest-plan data caps range from – cough – 5MB with Telstra in Australia to unlimited in a couple of…

A pox on iTunes. A pox I say! ;)

Well, if it helps, I still think the iTunes Music Store is sucky.

But what if you need, say, 40+ Gb, and won't touch a "Classic" because of it's serious flaws? Are there any other reasonable options?

I have an 80GB Classic and have never had a problem with it. I think the early problems with the 6th gen iPods (mostly with the…

No other player will come with software that works as easily and seamlessly as iTunes does.

A pox on iTunes. A pox I say! ;)

Jackie, you should probably just get an iPod Nano, like Russell says. They're cute. Ignore we ornery doubting Thomases. (And my newish iPod Classic is…

OTOH, I don't own an ipod or anything like it, and I would like to know which would be the best one to have, really. An mpeg player would be best since most of my extensive music collection is on my PC drive, specifically on my WMP. Help, please?

What…

Included Unlimited Wi-Fi and Web Bolt Ons for iPhone Customers only
The Unlimited Wi-Fi and Web Bolt On is included at no extra cost for customers connecting or upgrading to any iPhone tariff until further notice. O2 reserves…

I don't own an ipod or anything like it, and I would like to know which would be the best one to have

have you tried your friend's ipods/mp3 players, to see what you like? the only thing i'd recommend is if you're going running with it, make sure it…

And by the bye, on Apple viruses: every week, among those I receive on Windows-based systems, Apple and…

I…

Other than that, it's. A. Phone! Its primary purpose is making and receiving calls, and sending and receiving short messages. On any other phone, that'd include MMS.

Yep, indeed and for most folks that is all it will be..a very pricey one at that.

When I can edit a PDF…

Perhaps, just perhaps, if we spent our hundreds of millions developing and deploying an electric vehicle infrastructure built on the existing roading infrastructure then for commuters the outcomes might be quicker to achieve, and better for everyone.

I think the point the chap was heading towards on Media 7 was…

Nothing's immune to a dedicated examination of its flaws. Mac OS X has plenty of holes allowing remote privilege escalation, which is all it takes for a virus to do its thang. Throw some criminal money and minds at it, and bad things happen

Apple is based on an open…

Mac viruses, Wooo! Wooo! the bogeyman will get you! the bogeyman will get you! Yawn.

Still if it serves as a comfort blanket for you.

Nice, rational argument there Peter. I didn't say there were here now, I said they'll happen. When the Mac had a small-and-vanishing market share in…

Apple has never been strong on the number of features per se, rather being strong on implementing the right features properly, especially with respect to the UI.

That Apple does something in their UI a particular way doesn't make it the "right" way. The whole maximise/minimise/close group being top-left, instead…

I did try a Blackberry. I hated the fucking thing

Same. Sucked like a hoover. Had to enter a 9 character password every time it had been keylocked, or idle over 5 minutes. I noticed on El Reg a bunch of sysadmin idiots talking about how this had to be…

Rally around Clive!

I say. This man should be leading the Green party. Holding articles from Brian Fallow and Rod Oram in his hands. Or doing some serious campaigning with them.

as someone who has used public transport, and lived with people who have made a conscious choice…

Last Mac virus I saw was NVir on an old G3 box running OS9. Only possible symptom was it ran a bit…

I'm going to disagree, almost everyone i know who has an iphone used to own a…

Someone explain this,

Why would Apple decide to add the positively obscure censors rating of RP16 to the parental controls drop down for (as yet unattainable) New Zealand movies between itunes 7.6 and 7.7?

Why,…

The iPhone is beautiful, and beautifully made. And the applications — I downloaded NetNewsWire and it's fantastic. And there are dozens — soon hundreds, then thousands — more to come. Another gravy train is leaving the station and once again I'm not on board...

Good review in NBR too,…

I've ever owned I have given away on replacement, given away to someone who makes good use of it, sometimes for years.

Me too. They were inadequate for my do-the-latest-thing-now requirements, but they still worked.

I still kind of regret selling my LC 575 to Chris Bourke, for him to…

What has really driven my use of the mobile net is Google's mobile applications. They've…

I've already said I don't follow the Cult of the iJobs, so the Apple mystique gains no brownie points from me

It helps when you argue against the other person, not Artie MacStrawman.

Apple has never been strong on the number of features per se, rather being strong on implementing…

OK, my bad. I'm much more familiar with Lamborghini's line-up than Ferrari's. A V8 or a V12, then. Happy?

Very :)

Ooh, going to have to be a total bore & pedant and point out you'd never hear a V10 burbling away in a Ferrari unless you're in an old F1 car.

OK, my bad. I'm much more familiar with Lamborghini's line-up than Ferrari's. A V8 or a V12, then. Happy?

You're playing feature check-lists, and that's why you're misunderstanding the appeal of Apple products. The ideal is not to do everything, it's to do the right thing.

Of course I'm playing feature check-lists. I've already said I don't follow the Cult of the iJobs, so the Apple mystique gains no…

OS X isn't Windows, and it's not Unix.

Yes it is Unix. In the Utilities folder you will find an application called Terminal.

I'm a Linux Systems Administrator, so I'm quite familiar with Terminal. Thanks. What I meant by "It's not Unix" (yes, I know about the Open Group certification,…

As someone who's been using mobile data for 5 years or so now, I just can't get over how little the average cost has changed.

How much did Vodafone pay for Spectrum in the 3G auction? I'm hazy on the specifics but I suspect shitloads.

And they were anticipating selling…

and a V10 or V12 burbling away

Ooh, going to have to be a total bore & pedant and point out you'd never hear a V10 burbling away in a Ferrari unless you're in an old F1 car.

Web standards like Flash?

Flash isn't a web standard. I think that MobileSafari or whatever it is called is actually quite good on standards, but I could be wrong.

You're playing feature check-lists, and that's why you're misunderstanding the appeal of Apple products. The ideal is not to do everything,…

I have an eight year old…

I'm still paying the exact same amount for 1gb of data as I was paying two years ago, whereas my fixed line data costs/allowance have…

On the luxury good thing, the Cartier is functionally equivalent to a Swatch. A Ferrari is functionally equivalent (more or less) to an $80k Subaru.

But they're priced like luxury goods, and compete with luxury goods. The iPhone isn't. It's priced like a business-oriented smart phone, and cannot compete with…

The problem with ETS (as structured) is that someone can make money with ceasing to shit in our backyard and take that money as part of an investment in an offshore shithole. We essentially pay them to make more shit in a faraway place and pretend…

OS X isn't Windows, and it's not Unix.

Yes it is Unix. In the Utilities folder you will find an application called Terminal.

Plus, once viruses for Macs start coming out in a big way that TCO will shoot up.

I've been waiting for viruses for Macs to start coming…

FM radio in an mp3 player? What would be the point?

You'd have to ask every other MP3 player maker, I guess, coz Apple's the anomaly. I use the radio in my Creative Zen every so often.

When you're complaining about the cost of the iPhone please compare it to…

18 month contract with unlimited data

I would like to know just how "unlimited" that data actually is. Vodafone NZ used to have a data plan that was "unlimited", but the small print said that usage in excess of 1GB/month would be considered abuse of the network. That plan doesn't…

FM radio in an mp3 player? What would be the point?

for listening to the radio while i walk to/from work. it's weird, but that's what i use my phone for the most (other than making calls!)

of course, if you had plenty of data allowance, you could listen to…

On the luxury good thing, the Cartier is functionally equivalent to a Swatch. A Ferrari is functionally equivalent (more or…

Of course if you don't want the configuration they offer you might have a different perspective.

baaaaa

I think you mean iBaaaaaa ;)

18 month contract with unlimited data

I would like to know just how "unlimited" that data actually is. Vodafone NZ used to have a data plan that was "unlimited", but the small print said that usage in excess of 1GB/month would be considered…

When you're complaining about the cost of the iPhone please compare it to the cost of Blackberrys and high-range Nokia's because its not that much more expensive, and I would argue has more features – crappy camera or not.…

Actually, I believe the total cost of ownership of an Apple computer is less than the equivalent performing Windows based machine. If I weren't at work i'd do some research to back that up.

Arguable. Certainly for Jo(e) Average home user it's very murky. For corporates with a dedicated IT…

Fuck you Vodafone.

I just don't get the fawning adulation over the iJobs

ha ha. i'm a sceptic too. apple make beautiful products, but i'm wary of the hype. where's the FM radio? that's the second most useful thing on my nokia phone

baaaaa

the data aspect is the key to the phone. Without push email, google map/GPS, and safari the things just a pretty phone/touch.

This.
And so few people seem to get it – I've heard a few people now say "well of course it's expensive: it's got full web browsing, Google…

I guess what Apple/VF are doing is no different to what Cartier, Hermes and Ferrari do with their products. A Cartier watch probably costs low four figures to put together, and they sell it for $20k.

But the iPhone 3G costs less than USD200 to make. It has a shit camera.…

Im thinking once I get my iPhone that i'll just get a cheap you choose then…

A product that uses more of a limited resource (oil, minerals, bandwidth, skilled labour) should have…

If you're interested come on down on your single speed machine.

If I understand Angus correctly, he's talking about relocating production to countries that reject the Kyoto protocol.

No these countries fully accept the Kyoto protocol, but fall outside of Annex I or II and have no restrictions on emission. Basically the worlds poorer countries.

The European Union is talking about…

These things are Veblen goods demand increases as a function of price.

correct me if I'm wrong, but if you cut down the pine trees before they rot, all that atmospheric carbon is turned into timber. Which doesn't get released back into the atmosphere, unless you've got a leaky home and your house rots.

Sure. But because no-one has a damn clue…

Petrol to hit $10 a litre within a decade – report

I have no interest in purchasing the iPhone (16GB of storage? Feh! Plus my annoyance with iTunes is well-documented), but I just clicked over to Vodafone to look at these controversial pricing plans. My initial reaction is: are they fucking kidding? DUDE.

No more than that Apple Australia guy who…

We need to move away from weather board homes and use whole logs as Mark mentioned above.

that's not quite what i meant... modern timber framing is less wasteful than the ol' log cabin

The market can't solve everything or in my opinion anything.

that's a bit pessimistic. witness what…

The only QMS…

The European Union is talking about placing a carbon tarriff on goods from such countries.

Trading is also easy. It's like fish. Fish quota is really a license to catch a percentage of the fish in the water---if the Minister finds more fish or less fish in the ocean, your quota goes up or down. If you take a break from fishing, you can…

1) All trees rot. Old growth forests have cycles of death and renewal. Making a sequestration distinction because trees in one type of forest might be harvested and those in…

Both of these devices have been amazing so I've sworn I'd never go back to…

Great app for browsing/uploading photos to Flickr from your iPhone.

It's that change that takes up the carbon (over a period). The time between takeup and release of carbon is very complicated. Yes, use for housing timbers sequestrates the carbon post-harvest,…

Still, maybe if someone lets me play with…

correct me if I'm wrong, but if you cut down the pine trees before they rot, all that atmospheric carbon is turned into timber. Which doesn't get released back into the atmosphere, unless you've got a leaky home and your house rots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFGtsG_EgA