hitchhiker's Profile

And, yes there is a typo in my comment... ;-)

"I agree that Apple never so much as mentioned that upgrades for the iPod touch would be free as for the iPhone, but they made sure that people assumed that they would be so they bought those iPod touches." No, you assumed, apparently. How did they "make sure" precisely. I own an iPod touch. Would I have liked the apps to be free? Of course. Do I feel as if I've been lied to by Apple? Er, no. If you can provide me with one single piece of evidence that demonstrates Apple's "little hint", I'll happily agree that we've all been shafted but until then...

With the greatest of respect James - what I said in my first comment was... "It comes across as an internal memo; and certainly isn’t a “story” in any sense of the word." and "Do you guys have either an editor or a sub-editor who views, tidys up and, occasionally, spikes stories?" In short, I both asked "why?" and made comment about quality control. I repeat - in the same initial comment. I didn't get offended by Beeb's comments regarding news, merely his assertion that, as I'd used the word "story", that didn't include so-called "op-ed" pieces. Maybe it's a difference in the vernacular but, to me as a former journalist, they're one and the same. So I've never changed my opinion or attitude, I made TWO initial points, and have carried them through until now. And I maintain both of them. Sorry, nothing personal I assure you. There's some good writing on AM but far too much of it gets lost because it's not well-written. To me, this piece was just one example. And, again, I apologise if you consider this statement rude.

Interested to read that I offered advice regarding offence. What advice was that precisely? "Come down like a hammer and prevent its publication." Yeah, cause that's what I said isn't it. Editing/sub-editing = "come down like a hammer". If you want to engage in intelligent disagreement, you have to read, absorb and react to the comments that people make. Not extrapollate them into distortion. I want one simple thing: quality control. Too often stories/articles/pieces on this site could do with tightening-up. The points they make are lost in sloppy writing, which is a terrible waste. Not too much to ask I thought.

You guys crack me up - computers, yeah right. On a serious note - and this isn't aimed at you James - whilst different opinions are good (we often see one contributor commenting on the story of another), articles like this... well, they don't say anything. It comes across as an internal memo; and certainly isn't a "story" in any sense of the word. I'm not going to do the "and I will be removing your so-called 'blog' from my RSS feeds" that a lot of people do about this point - but, seriously, what's the point in this story? Do you guys have either an editor or a sub-editor who views, tidys up and, occasionally, spikes stories?

Sorry - should be cap T on "the" and "much of THE componentry..."

"3G isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. It doesn’t allow handovers which is the absolute worst when you travel from 3G area to NON-3G area while on the phone. You know you left because it hangs up. Going through the 3G switchover was also a PITA as calls would drop consistantly and getting the phone to stick to one serivce was a Pain." I don't know about 3G networks in the US - but in the UK, that just isn't true. I have a 3G phone which connects to 3G if possible but, if I move out of a 3G area, then it reverts to 2.5G or whatever's available. So I don't know if your problems are to do with the US 'version' of 3G or your cellular network - but it's not 3G per se. Not that I'm saying your problems aren't real just that it's not necessarily a symptom of 3G as such.

I never said you were a stupid Belgian: you simply offered your own evidence to suggest this was the case. Again, thanks for the lesson in the English language and the definition of PR. Quite how I coped before you turned up I'll never know. Interestingly, you also failed to answer any of my comments or questions. Funny that. As to what's keeping you here: God only knows. Boredom? A mistaken belief that you're getting to me? Masochism? Intellectual sparring? Whatever it is, I hope it passes soon. And Ben - yes, Herge's one of the three famous Belgians. The others are Hercule Poirot and Jean Claude Van Damme.