Winckel

"Nokia UK just posted the graph above on FB along with the caption “Good things come to those who wait”, hinting for people to hold off the iPhone 5 and “wait” for the super amazing Lumia 920 (if only we knew when it was coming). Notice that this graph doesn’t take any cheap shots at the iPhone 5, nor is it calling it an inferior device, in fact it almost shows a sort of “respect” to their competitors; a tone that is almost definitely lost on Samsung and HTC. My only complaint about the chart is the inclusion of the “JBL PlayUp  & Monsters” under accessories; unless they’re being offered as a bundle with the phone they DO NOT belong there, since Apple rules the kingdom of 3rd party accessories. All in all I like that Nokia’s social marketing is addressing the fact that other devices exist out there, and are proving why their devices are better, rather than pretending that they’re the only ones who make phones." - Winckel

they forgot volume and weight :-) - Winckel

they forgot the number of available apps in their markets too. - Smeerch

The chart is still referring to the 30-pin connector, that's not accurate. - Stephan Planken

"One would expect that a significant number of people would quickly adopt Apple’s iOS 6. After all, it’s a free update, and it packs a bunch of useful features. However, new data from Chitika shows a massive adoption in just the first 24 hours that the software was available. The firm said that, within the first day, iOS 6 peaked at more than 15 percent of Web traffic to its mobile ad network, and has remained at that level. That doesn’t mean that 15 percent of devices are using the new operating system, since presumably those upgrading on the first day are heavy users more likely to access the Web on a daily basis. Still, it’s a staggering achievement. By comparison, Chitika notes that the latest version of Android — Jelly Bean — achieved just a 1.5 percent adoption in its first two months. Android, of course, uses a different distribution method, with Google making a version available to device makers who then test and customize the operating system, which must be then tested again by cellular carriers before being allowed on the network. Past versions of iOS also gained ground fast, but not as fast as iOS 6. With iOS 5, which itself was a record-breaking launch, it took nearly three days from its release date on October 12th to reach the 15 percent threshold." - Winckel

Carriers probably don't care about the OS once they sold the customer their device. In that respect iOS definitely has the advantage. - Stephan Planken

#ios6 - Winckel

Q: Is this Apple’s Mapgate? A: Yes. Q: It is? A: Most certainly is. Apple released a product which in its very first day didn’t have the coverage of Google Maps, which took about eight years to get here: Q: You’re exaggerating. Google Maps has the best user experience of any company in this business, does it not? A: Yes it does, if you walk on water, like Google does from Alicante to Valencia in Spain: Q: C’mon that must be old data. A: Well, the map says it’s current: Q: Maybe Google just didn’t get to it yet. Google Maps is in beta anyhow. A: Yes, it must be: Q: This is confusing. A: No it’s not. It simply means Google Maps can and likely will get better. Just like Apple Maps. Q: But Google Maps has been around for the better part of a decade. A: Yes, mapping is hard. Q: Then why did Apple kick Google Maps off the iOS platform? Wouldn’t Apple have been better off offering Google Maps even while it was building its own map app? Shouldn’t Apple have waited? A: Waited for what? For Google to strengthen its chokehold on a key iOS service? Apple has recognized the significance of mobile mapping and acquired several mapping companies, IP assets and talent in the last few years. Mapping is indeed one of the hardest of mobile services, involving physical terrestrial and aerial surveying, data acquisition, correction, tile making and layer upon layer of contextual info married to underlying data, all optimized to serve often under trying network conditions. Unfortunately, like dialect recognition or speech synthesis (think Siri), mapping is one of those technologies that can’t be fully incubated in a lab for a few years and unleashed on several hundred million users in more than a 100 countries in a “mature” state. Thousands of reports from individuals around the world, for example, have helped Google correct countless mapping failures over the last half decade. Without this public exposure and help in the field, a mobile mapping solution like Apple’s stands no chance. Q: So why not keep using a more established solution like Google’s? A: Clearly, no one outside Mountain View and Cupertino can say who’s forced the parties to come to this state of affairs. Did Google, for example, want to extract onerous concessions from Apple involving more advertising leeway, user data collection, clickstream tracking and so on? Thanks to the largest fine in FTC’s history Google had to pay (don’t laugh!), we already know how desperate Google is for users’ data and how cavalier it is with their privacy. Maybe Apple didn’t like Google’s terms, maybe it was the other way around, perhaps both parties agreed it was best to have two separate apps available…we don’t know. After well-known episodes with Microsoft, Adobe and others, what we do know is that Apple has a justifiable fear of key third parties dictating terms and hindering its rate of innovation. It’s thus understandable why Apple would want to wrest control of its independence from its chief rival on its most important product line. Q: Does Apple have nothing but contempt for its users? A: Yes, Apple’s evil. When Apple barred Flash from iOS, Flash was the best and only way to play .swf files. Apple’s video alternative, H.264, wasn’t nearly as widely used. Thus Apple’s solution was “inferior” and appeared to be against its own users’ interests. Sheer corporate greed! Trillion words have been written about just how misguided Apple was in denying its users the glory of Flash on iOS. Well, Flash is now dead on mobile. And yet the Earth’s obliquity of the ecliptic is still about 23.4°. We seemed to have survived that one. Q: So all you’re saying is that Apple Maps was rushed out the door even though it wasn’t quite ready? A: As they say, every turn-by-turn direction starts with the first step. The longer Apple waits the harder it gets. From iPods to iTunes to iPhones to iOS, Apple’s modus operandi has been to introduce products and continuously improve them into widely attractive maturity by adding value without increasing prices, enlarging ecosystems, deepening integration and generally delighting users with a constant stream of innovations. With a user base fast approaching half a billion and thousands waiting in line to buy its latest product at this very moment, we empirically know this to be true. Why should Apple Maps be any different? - Winckel

an interesting and slightly tongue in cheek discussion about Maps in iOS v Google Maps - Winckel

I tried it and it says: "This route includes a ferry.". It takes 27 hours and if you drag it to land, it becomes 35 hours. One can argue which route is better, but it certainly is not completely wrong. - bruno

LOL :-) - Winckel

via http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news... - Winckel

o.O - COMPLICATED MR. NOODLE

This is kind of gay - كودن با استعداد

In the sense of cool? - Winckel

I don't know :) it looks like this is for condo residents kind of people, yet, condo spaces are so small that are already cluttered, they don't need more gadgets - كودن با استعداد

:-) - Winckel

EY JONAM - درویش پارسی

Love it! - Son of Groucho

http://skiptucker.blogspot.co.uk/2012... - Winckel

The world boasts numerous abandoned settlements that span modernity, from remote ghost towns to vast deserted cities. Some, like Pripyat in Ukraine, have become notorious symbols of human-caused disaster, while others have fallen into decay due to economic decline, civil war, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Some abandoned towns and ghost cities are so isolated that they have become like time capsules, almost untouched since their last occupants departed generations ago. Join us as we travel across the continents to explore 50 of the world’s most impressive deserted settlements. - Winckel

steve :-) - Winckel

The Australian treasurer, Wayne Swan, in an unusually blunt criticism of US politics weeks before the presidential election, said "cranks and crazies" had taken over the Republicans and posed the biggest threat to the world's largest economy. Swan, one of few world leaders able to boast his country had avoided recession during the global financial crisis, also labelled the Tea Party wing of the Republicans as "extreme". "Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over the Republican party," Swan said in a speech to a conference in Sydney. The Republican party's position on the US budget had led a year ago to the deadlock in negotiations, Swan said, to prevent the looming "fiscal cliff" – nearly $600bn in planned spending cuts and tax hikes that will bite early next year. Congress had been debating whether to increase the US borrowing ceiling but the Republicans would not budge. "Despite President Obama's goodwill and strong efforts, the national interest was held hostage by the rise of the extreme Tea Party wing of the Republican party," he said. Australian politicians rarely launch such blunt criticism of their counterparts in the US, a key strategic ally. Swan, named by banking magazine Euromoney as its finance minister of the year in 2011 and treasurer of a centre-left government, also called on the US Congress to resolve an agreement on the budget to support growth in the short term. With the US presidential campaign entering its final weeks, the spending cuts and tax rises will kick in unless Obama and Congress reach a deficit-reduction deal. Democrats want to make up the shortfall by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans, while Republicans favour spending cuts. - Winckel

Christ Church Meadow - Winckel

yeah, always good to have a good laugh. - Sig. N

as you say, an indispensable source of knowledge and help. - Winckel

not bad at all for a retarded friend! :-D - Sig. N

Echinodermata - Halil

A phase pistol - Winckel

Already have. - Winckel

:-) - Winckel

lol, it was just now reading it here that I realized they're not called FACE pistols - marta

A necessity. - Stephan Planken

Under roasted. - Todd Hoff

I'm not picky. - Stephan Planken

"Oxbridge interview dos and don'ts Do arrive in plenty of time and as relaxed as possible. Make sure you know where the college is and, if possible, where your interview will be. Don’t rely on public transport. Drive there or stay in a hotel the night before if possible. Do feel confident. You are there because you — specifically you — have been invited for interview. Don’t let the competition intimidate you. You deserve to be there every bit as much as they do. Do keep calm and carry on, even if you stumble over an answer. They know you are nervous and make allowances for the odd slip-up. Don’t admit defeat. Remember that Oxbridge colleges also consider exam results and personal statements. The interview doesn’t account for 100 per cent of the final decision. Do practice. Ask a teacher or tutor to set up a mock interview. Don’t worry about your accent or pronunciation — unless of course you’re applying for modern languages. Do take your time and consider your answers. Don’t fire out the first thing that comes into your head. Speed of response won’t impress." - Winckel

Safari feels super fast - Winckel

schonbrunn, vero? - Franka®

Yes, I love it - Winckel

The deaths of two female police constables have brought into focus the unarmed status of most British police. Why does Britain hold firm against issuing guns to officers on the beat? It's the single most obvious feature that sets the British bobby apart from their counterparts overseas. Tourists and visitors regularly express surprise at the absence of firearms from the waists of officers patrolling the streets. But to most inhabitants of the UK - with the notable exception of Northern Ireland - it is a normal, unremarkable state of affairs that most front-line officers do not carry guns. Unremarkable, that is, until unarmed officers like Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone are killed in the line of duty. There are always those who question why Britain is out of step with most of the rest of the world, with the exceptions of the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and a handful of other nations. Continue reading the main story View from a bobby A police constable serving in a city in southern England gives his view: "I have been in the police for 12 years, before that I was in the Army. I would happily carry a gun if the decision was made but it won't ever happen. "I don't think practically it could work because of the training. Officers in this country are highly trained and this would extend to firearms training, too. But, at the moment, with all the cuts, we can't put enough officers in the cars, let alone give them firearms training. "Also, the police in this country are always under so much scrutiny. Look at the issue of Tasers, the civil liberty groups think they are one of the most inhumane things going. "I was previously injured badly in an assault. My colleague and I feared for our lives - thankfully other officers came to our aid. I don't think a gun - or a Taser for that matter - would have helped us in that situation. Communication is one of the best tools, and to be honest, having a gun could make an officer feel over-confident." The public are the police and vice versa Police should not be armed - Orde For a heavily urbanised country of its population size, the situation in Great Britain is arguably unique. Film director Michael Winner, founder of the Police Memorial Trust, and Tony Rayner, the former chairman of Essex Police Federation, have both called for officers to be routinely armed. But despite the loss of two of his officers, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy was quick to speak in support of the status quo. "We are passionate that the British style of policing is routinely unarmed policing. Sadly we know from the experience in America and other countries that having armed officers certainly does not mean, sadly, that police officers do not end up getting shot." But one thing is clear. When asked, police officers say overwhelmingly that they wish to remain unarmed. A 2006 survey of 47,328 Police Federation members found 82% did not want officers to be routinely armed on duty, despite almost half saying their lives had been "in serious jeopardy" during the previous three years. It is a position shared by the Police Superintendents' Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers. The British public are not nearly so unanimous. An ICM poll in April 2004 found 47% supported arming all police, compared with 48% against. PDF download ICM poll (see page two)[106KB] In 2007, the centre-right think-tank Policy Exchange found 72% of 2,156 adults wanted to see more armed police patrols. Continue reading the main story International models All major police forces in Europe, as well as the US, Canada and Australia routinely carry firearms, says Prof Peter Waddington. The exceptions are Britain, the Irish Republic, and New Zealand. In Norway officers carry arms in their cars but not on their person, he says. New Zealand has adopted an armed response model similar to Britain, says the International Law Enforcement Forum. There was considerable debate there in 2010 when two officers were shot, and commissioner Peter Marshall wrote: "International experience shows that making firearms more accessible raises certain risks that are very difficult to control." These considerations included: • risk of police having weapons taken from them • risk of greater use of weapons against the public and/or offenders • and ambush can never be controlled, whether or not officers are armed For decades there have been incidents that have led to calls for issuing all officers with firearms. Cases like those of Sharon Beshenivsky, shot dead during a robbery in 2005, or of the three plain-clothes officers murdered by Harry Roberts in west London in 1966, or the killing of PC Sidney Miles in the Derek Bentley case of 1952. Few expect the system to change even after widespread public horror at the deaths of PCs Bone and Hughes. For one thing, incidents such as that in Greater Manchester are extremely rare. Overall gun crime, too, remains low. In 2010-11, England and Wales witnessed 388 firearm offences in which there was a fatal or serious injury, 13% lower than the previous 12 months. In Scotland during the same period, there were two fatal and 109 non-fatal injuries during the same period, a decade-long low. Additionally, officers, chief constables and politicians alike are wary of upsetting an equilibrium that has been maintained throughout Britain's 183-year policing history. "There's a general recognition that if the police are walking around with guns it changes things," says Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state, as in other countries. This owes much to the historical foundations of British criminal justice, says Peter Waddington, professor of social policy at the University of Wolverhampton. "A great deal of what we take as normal about policing was set out in the early 19th Century," he says. Continue reading the main story Police use of firearms 2010-11 Authorised in 17,209 operations, says Home Office figures for England and Wales - a decrease of 1,347 (7%) on previous year 6,653 authorised firearms officers - (5% decrease) 13,346 operations involving armed response vehicles (6% decrease) Three incidents in which police discharged a conventional firearm (down from six incidents) Breakdown by region (Home Office PDF) "When Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police there was a very strong fear of the military - the masses feared the new force would be oppressive." A force that did not routinely carry firearms - and wore blue rather than red, which was associated with the infantry - was part of this effort to distinguish the early "Peelers" from the Army, Waddington says. Over time, this notion of guns being inimical to community policing - and, indeed, to the popular conception of the Dixon of Dock Green-style bobby - was reinforced. While some in London were issued with revolvers prior to 1936, from that date only trained officers at the rank of sergeant or above were issued with guns, and even then only if they could demonstrate a good reason for requiring one. Today only a small proportion of officers are authorised to use firearms. Latest Home Office figures show there were just 6,653 officers authorised to use firearms in England and Wales - about 5% of the total number. PDF download Home Office statistics on police firearms use, 2010-11[317KB] None of which implies, of course, that the British police are somehow gun-free. Each police force has its own firearms unit. Police armed response vehicles have been deployed since 1991. Continue reading the main story View from Louisiana Colonel Richie Johnson West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office "What does a British police officer do if someone comes out with a knife? Is he supposed to get out his knife and fight him? "Our citizens are armed - even the bad ones. The criminal element here is better armed than the police departments most of the times, due to budget constraints. "It would be impossible for us to do our job if we weren't armed. I'd have to quit. I worked narcotics for 20 years and definitely in that field, how would you do that job without being armed? Even as a patrolman, you're reactive. The other guy knows what he's going to do. It definitely has to be armed when you have to be reactive. "The public expects us to be armed - when they call in the cavalry that's exactly what they want. The general public, because of television, they believe that we're a lot better armed than we really are. You respond to a call and they say 'Where's your machine gun?'" In addition, trained officers have had access to Tasers since 2004 despite controversy about their use. Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe called for police response officers to be routinely armed with the weapons in November 2011. Particularly in London, the sight of armed officers at airports, embassies and other security-sensitive locations has become a familiar one, especially since the 11 September attacks. However much firearms become an accepted part of British life, however, former Met deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick doubts police themselves will ever support a universal roll-out. For one thing, the sheer cost of equipping all personnel with weapons as well as providing regular training would be prohibitive at a time of public spending cuts, he says. In addition, Paddick adds, front-line officers would not be keen to face the agonising, split-second decisions faced by their counterparts in specialist firearms units. "In terms of the police being approachable, in terms of the public being the eyes and ears of the police, officers don't want to lose that," he says. "Every case in which a police officer has shot someone brings it home to unarmed officers the sheer weight of responsibility that their colleagues face." Cases like that of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead by a Met firearms officer after he was wrongly identified as a terrorist, illustrate Paddick's point. For now, at least, that starkest of all distinctions between British officers and those abroad looks secure. - Winckel

Isn't it because they would have long ago shot lots of completely innocent black and middle-eastern looking dudes? - Winckel

^^^, also, consider the fact that had our police been armed, the riots would of been 1000x worse, since the public would of known the police were armed, do you really think that some people in the riot areas wold not of also armed themselves? Then what, a gun fight killing innocent people caught in the cross fire and no doubt not a single police conviction!!! And on that note alone, the very fact we have yet to see any real justice for all the deaths in custody, what makes you think they'll have our welfare in mind? If a policeman can beat up a woman in custody in the police station on CCTV, if they can be brutal and push someone over resulting in their deaths etc etc etc, what makes you think an accidental shooting (we already have 2 cases, the Brazilian and Duggan) will actually result in any justice or any prosecutions?! - Halil

just beautiful - Winckel

I used to live in that town. - Nils Sandin

never been, looks wonderful - Winckel

Nice place, founded in 98 AD. - Nils Sandin

Bertrand Delanoe, the Socialist mayor of Paris and one of France's few openly gay politicians, expressed his shock at the comments, made at the weekend, by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of the Gauls. "It is very shocking and even surprising coming from him, because he is someone I consider a wise man," he said. "I don't know what came over him, he flipped his lid a little bit and what he said was downright ugly." The row has erupted as Francois Hollande's Socialist government draws up a bill legalising same-sex marriages and adoptions by homosexual couples, to be tabled on October 24. Speaking to RCF Christian radio at the weekend, following talks on the legislation with Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, Cardinal Barbarin warned that gay marriage would herald a complete "breakdown in society". "This could have innumerable consequences. Afterward they will want to create couples with three or four members. And after that, perhaps one day the taboo of incest will fall," he said. "The first page of the bible, which says that marriage unites a man and a woman, has more force and truth, crossing cultures and centuries, than incidental or transient decisions made by a parliament. This is a choice of the government with which we do not agree." As mayor of the capital, Mr Delanoe said he was "obviously" ready to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies and had already received several requests to do so. Bishop Dominique Rey, the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, has demanded a popular vote on gay marriage as the conflict escalates unto the worst split between church and state for over a decade. "A referendum must be held to allow a real debate and to make sure the government is not in the grip of the lobbies," he said. "A majority of the population agrees with the traditional view of marriage." - Winckel

the crazies are crazy :-) - Winckel

Guys like him are grasping at straws. - Stephan Planken

needless to say, islam and its acolytes don't look too impressive by comparison. I'd have thought you need to reach a pretty low ebb to look less civilised and less sensible than the religious folks we see in this country. - Winckel

I'm posting this as a warning to show the extremes freedom might lead us to. - Winckel

ahahah - Visconte Cobram