At what point did we decide news cannot be entertaining?

Subject: Dirtiest PC ever

There I was expecting it full of p0rn - what a let down!.

Tanya

Subject: Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name

Hello,

Just writing in to say I wish Apple would name their new teenie-bopper gadget the "Apple Phone." Their other new product, Apple TV, has such a simple and to-the-point name, why not do the same for the phone?

I can't help but sneer at the commercials on TV that showcase a new phone with a silly name, often spelled in the text messaging short-hand. The important thing here is brand recognition. I know what a Razr, or Rokr, or Slvr is. I have no idea who makes them though. However if I were to say "Apple Phone" there's no doubt about who makes it.

Ly.

Subject: Sony TV Suck!

I had a Sony big Screen and traded it in for the far superior Panasonic Plasma FULL HD 58” Plasma. Now talk about a sweet TV! But I will openly admit I have a PS3 & a Wii hooked up to it, anyone want a Wii? Piece of crap hardware!

Mat

Subject: Of Voles and Men

To whom it may concern,

All these morons writing in complaining about your British slang or your (occasional) improper spelling and such just crack me up. It makes my day each time I read another letter on the subject. Unlike some people without a keen sense of humor or wit are fustrated that they "cannot understand what you are saying" because you use slang that's uncommon to us westerners. Or wonder why you call Microsoft "vole." Frankly I get a big kick out of it and have a blast reading your site. It just goes to show you that some people have too much time on their hands and need to get a life.

From your witty sarcasm and remarks to hearing about the newest tech makes the other hardware sites are a bore. Keep up the good work.

The G

Subject: Is this the dirtiest PC ever?

I can certainly give that one a run for its money. The images here:

http://www.geocities.com/wtpodunck/dustypc.html

were taken of a PC in the woodworking plant in Indiana, USA, where I do computer support.

I later had another one, of which I unfortunately did not get pictures, running a panel-cutting machine. It had so much sawdust in it that only the very tips of the cooling vanes over the CPU were visible. The sawdust was tightly packed into those vanes - it took a direct blast from an air hose to get the stuff out. There was easily a gallon bucket (4 litres, if you prefer) of sawdust inside that PC's case. Needless to say, it ran rather better afterward.

Michael Williams

PS. You have permission to use those pictures on the link above, and the link itself.

Subject: not that dirty pc

First of all, this is JUST DIRT.

The user was not a heavy smoker. You can tell because ther would be thick oily cobwebs with the soil hanging on it. Also, I did not see one cockroach.

Host

Subject: Maybe it is a PowerPC derivative!

One of the reasons Apple is shy on reporting the chip that lies inside its iPhone, is maybe the fact that it could be a CPU or better SoC that is based around PowerPC tech. Bashing PowerPC not long ago and then using it in its brand new toy, is not really smart marketing is it?

On the other hand, if Apple has so much s/w IP on PPC and using a cut-down version of OS X to run on the iPhone, then it would be a smart idea to use PPC-based SoCs as the basis to its new product. Faster development time, available development machines and tools for free and it goes on. Now this would be a smart engineering and economics decision wouldn't it be?

Andreas Brokalakis

Subject: Nokia disses Apple's iPhone

Methinks Nokia doth complain too much. Which means they're very, very worried.

Their 9500 Communicator isn't capable of 3G either, and I've owned one, so they should be more careful with the hypocrisy.

Their Nokia N70 (which I own at the present) does have 3G, but it's so slow at doing anything more complicated than making a phone call that it might as well be using GPRS. The Communicator was also slower than molasses, which wiped out most of its WiFi connectivity's potential.

I've also owned a SonyEricsson P800 and P900, so I've had plenty of experience trying to find a decent PDA/phone combo. The iPhone introduces a genuinely useful 'soft' user interface which, as Jobs rightly pointed out, rewrites the book on product design for the market. The iPhone finally makes a truly useful "Swiss Army Knife" pocketable computer feasible.

(Incidentally, remember the rumoured Tablet form-factor Macintosh? Well, you're looking at it. I'm surprised nobody's picked up on that. After all, Jobs even stressed that the iPhone runs OS X.)

Finally: why the hell would I want to pay money to download 3Mb+ MP3s, videos and the like over 3G when I've got WiFi? 3G is good, but it's not _that_ good.

Regards,

Sean Timarco Baggaley

Subject: iPhone CPU

I believe Marvell has bought Intel's ARM business, so it may well just be an ARM part after all. There are a goodly number of low-power embedded PowerPC parts out there too, which would avoid the need to port to a new architecture.

Steff

Subject: Ouch!

At what point did we decide that news cannot be entertaining? Even if you call it infotainment, learning and giggling still takes place. I have enjoyed the Inquirer's skeptical view of the tech industry for some time now. I was glued to it during the HP scandal and always enjoy seeing a poke at MS. I also delight in learning new slang words. We only have 4-letter words here in the US, their use is discouraged in our media. Keep up the good work. Fake news is better that no news.

chris

Subject: Is this the dirtiest PC ever?

In my two year stint as a field service engineer in Scotland I saw PCs every week that can top that. A large chain of plumb merchants had shocking machines, just glad they were mostly pre-pentium - no fans to worry about. I only ever opened these beasts up when a call was logged for a faulty floppy disk drive.

I was constantly in fear that it wouldn't just be dust but some form of megahertz eating insect or rodent that would jump out in these machines, shame I never got a picture.

Steev Douglas
Former Field Service engineer - now working from a comfy office

Subject: Daniel Terdiman

So Daniel Terdiman needs is for a few more sites to write about him, just like you have... :-)

Good luck Daniel Terdiman.

(Do you think that will get enough "Daniel Terdiman" attention from google bot?).

Then again, I doubt The Inq is allowed to carry any weight in wikiland these days, what with the whole scandal of you inventing the everywhere girl, oh and not forgetting faking the moon landing photos.

Steve

Subject: The Company Behind The Koopa Release

We have been helping plan Koopa's release for a while and would like to congratulate them on getting into the Top 40.

We would just like to clarify though, Although Koopa are an unsigned band, not just any band can sell records online and get into the charts.

Unless you are a PPL and Catco member you can not upload the data that goes to the Official Charts Company. This is where Ditto Music come in. Ditto release and distribute unsigned bands, getting them in shops, online and (in the case of Koopa) in the charts.

This was the reason we started working with artists in the first place as unsigned artists had no way of getting into shops/online and into the charts.

We are pleased that with the help of Koopa we have now made this happen.

Good luck to the lads for Sunday. This will be a new beginning for independent music and set some records along the way.

matt
www.dittomusic.com

Subject: Is this the dirtiest PC ever?

I do repair work for home depot PCs and you should see how dirty these PCs are. I found paint, dead rats, coins and other unidentified objects.

R Marvin

Subject: Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name

I think Cisco pulled a fast one years ago when they used this name knowing full well Apple would want it one day or they were trying to get some Apple pluses with using the i in front.

Any way you look at it Apple has been using i in front of many of their produces for years and if I was a judge I would side with Apple.

Have a great day,
Glenn

Subject: Is this the dirtiest PC ever?

I don't have a PC that looks dirtier or even have any pictures, but we recieved a PC repair from a plant that dries raw sewage and converts it into fuel pellets.

This machine was covered in a fine brown 'dust' with a smell to match. Surprisingly, it was left alone for a few weeks before anyone could bear to go near it!

D Sandford