Tru dat.

Back when 3G first came about in the UK, video calling was going to be the new big thing. The first 3G network, Three, was pushing video calling in its ads, all of its phones had front-facing cameras (I had a Motorola C975, which was a budget phone and even that had a front facing camera) and it was touted as one of the biggest features on the network, with dedicated buttons and everything on their launch phones.

And now...? Fuck all. It didn't interest anyone. There are very few scenarios in which video calling is a good idea compared to voice calling or text messaging, and even they don't justify the ridiculous cost (51p per minute, right now. Not at launch, now. I just looked up the prices now.). That was when it even worked, which it rarely did, and when it did it had appalling picture quality. They don't even mention it on their website now.

Apple have made some inroads into the market with FaceTime, and it's a valiant effort, but that's WiFi only and frankly I don't hear about people FaceTiming each other all that often.

Video calling makes sense when you're in front of a computer or another terminal. That's why Skype, Windows Live Messenger and to a certain extent iChat have been very well used. When you're out and about, not so much. Three learned this the hard (and very expensive) way.

BT was also effectively penalised for defending itself, per para. 54, with the court holding that defending itself against an order such as this - the first of its kind in the UK - was insufficiently neutral.

So, they can either not defend themselves, and lose by default, or they can defend themselves and lose because they weren't neutral.

I'm sorry, but did I fall through a wormhole and end up in a copy of Joseph Heller's Catch-22?

But none of that is computer science. It's what Slashdot discusses, and what a good portion of computer science people care about, but one thing it isn't is computer science.

Yeah, I got an iPhone just yesterday. It's nice enough but the battery life SUCKS.

BlackBerry may have issues (oh hell has it got issues) but the battery life wasn't one of them.

Don't ask my why, but certain people I see have no money yet insist on obtaining the latest iTrinkets no matter what.

Apple will be fine.

What's a five-letter word that begins with an 'H' and ends with an 'R', has a 'U' in the middle, and relates to the use of satire or comical remarks to spark a laugh or amusement in others?

"HURRR", as in "HURRR DURRRRRRR"?

I had a Motorola Defy (Android thing), which had a Gorilla Glass screen. This was supposed to be waterproof, scratchproof, dustproof and, most importantly, when you drop it on the ground it won't break because the glass is supposedly so tough.

I dropped it on the ground exactly once. The Amazing Won't Ever Smash Gorilla Glass smashed. I've dropped my Curve several times and it's still intact with barely a scratch. My ex's Curve got dunked under water several times also and it lived. I really, genuinely couldn't say anything bad about BB build quality given all that.

Try dropping the Bold sometime. I can understand criticising RIM's software quality or whatever, but one think I wouldn't dare fault them for is the build quality. BlackBerry phones, in my experience, take a lot of punishment before they give out.

I own a Curve, btw. It's solid as a rock.

Android has basically locked up the smartphone market for people that don't want to pay Apple prices or just don't like iOS for some reason, trying to fight that trend with a fourth tier OS is kind of crazy (even RIM with a much stronger financial base is going to have a hard time fighting the two and will likely lose or adopt Android in the end and I think MS's shareholder are going to revolt over their losses on Windows Phone).

RIM are probably a lot better off than most people think. For a start, at least here in the UK, they have the youth market utterly sewn up thanks to BBM, the keyboard being great for bashing out quick text messages and the fact that on a bang-for-buck basis BlackBerry phones are ridiculously good value (a Curve 3G is about £160 on prepay, mine is free on a £10pm contract and you can get one with a PlayBook on a £36pm contract). The UI wasn't as slick as iPhone or Android, but certainly with OS6 they've made some great strides. As far as usability goes, I had an Android phone for six months and was actually fairly grateful when it broke (protip: when Motorola say Defy phones don't break when they're dropped, they are lying through their teeth) as the BlackBerry experience is so much more efficient.

At any rate, RIM are not going to adopt Android; they bought QNX and are going to be replacing their existing BlackBerry OS with it come BB8.

That, my good man, was beautiful in so many different ways. Kudos.

Thank you for saying what I was trying to get at but was too fucking hamfisted to actually get across. :P

Nope, I am talking about the American Budweiser and not Budvar (which perversely I haven't tried - and probably won't for the foreseeable future, thanks to my diet plan I can't drink beer). Mind you, this is when I want lager - if I drink beer (which I will probably celebrate with when said diet is over) I'd rather drink ale. Aforementioned Innis and Gunn probably.

Carling is worse than Budweiser by a long shot. It's standard cheap British beer for people who drink to get drunk. It tastes like shit. Budweiser is just an easy-drinking, decent (not great) tasting refreshing beer.

In the UK it's nicknamed "Wifebeater". The premium marketing here is nothing more than a desperate ploy by InBev to link it with prestige and class, as opposed to domestic violence.

It's not very nice lager anyway. Mind you I drink Budweiser* so who's kidding who here?

* it's a light, refreshing lager which is ideal for summer evenings, and it's a damn sight better than some of the pisswater we have over here like Carling. That said I'd rather have Innis and Gunn all things considered.

You can buy it in cans (certainly done so here in the UK). Why you'd want to is another matter.