Archive for March, 2008

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LG U990 (Viewty) Mini-Review


28 Mar

Posted in Friends, Technology | 5 Comments »

This post is from Tom Inett, it’s a bit long so I have put a half time break in it, if you put the kettle on to boil now by the time you hit the break it will be ready to make the tea!

Hi all! Ok, so my good friend Andy has asked me to give my thoughts on my LG Viewty handset I have been using for the past 3 and half months and so I have graciously obliged with the following mini-review (or Mini-view if you will!)

Up until last November I had been using various older handsets on PAYG tariffs (due to my poor student finances!), but I had grown restless of being behind the times, had just sampled the delights of my friends iPhone and wanted to get myself a new bit of technology to play with!

I make no secret of my love of the iPhones interface, I believe it to be probably the most user friendly device ever created, however I was frustrated by the iPhones relative lack of features with comparison the other leading phones at the time, primarily it’s lack of decent camera and shoddy internet performance (also the massive contract price demanded in the UK as well as £200 handset fee put it out of my price range completely!!) Therefore I narrowed my search to 2 of the other leading handsets at the time, the Nokia N95 and the Sony Eriksson K850i.

As a rule, I don’t like Nokia phones, not because they aren’t good, but just because they used to have such a monopoly over the handset market and I’m a bit of a techno snob when it comes to being different to everyone else!! I also was slightly annoyed by the apparent poor optimisation of the GPS device inside it – if a phone has cool features like that, it’s best that they work!! I also had a friend who had just got hold of the K850i, and despite being happy with it for the first couple of days, started experiencing faults with it after that (and still to this day!) which put me off that then.

Solution? The LG Viewty. Similar features to the iPhone (i.e. almost fully touch screen interface/looks/music etc.), but with a 5MP camera and HSDPA (2 generations better than the iPhone could manage!!). So…what’s it like? Well…Good. Very good. Sure it has some flaws, but what phone doesn’t nowadays…but for day to day use I don’t think I could find a much better handset for me. The menu system is slightly confusing, however the firmware I have on mine, customised by 3 (my network) contains 3 shortcut buttons on the main screen which take care of almost everything you want out of the phone..(Facebook in 2 touches? Yes please!!)

Ok so to stop myself rambling, I’m going to come up with my top 3 Pro’s/Con’s…

(more…)

RSS Feed screwy


28 Mar

Posted in Blogging, Me | Comments Off

Ok so I just noticed that my RSS feed has gone screwy. I believe it happened when I upgraded to 2.3.3 as the last entry that went through on the old feed was the entry saying I had upgraded.

Sorry for the mess up I do not have a clue why it changed. I know what has happened though so all you need to do is to click the blue RSS icon at the top right of the site and that will allow you to subscribe in the normal way.

Again sorry for the problems

A

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray round up


25 Mar

Posted in Technology | Comments Off

After following the HD-DVD and Blu-ray debacle for the last (it seems) 100 months, and having finally, it seems, watched HD-DVD fall by the way-side, I have to ask myself, was all the battling worth the effort/money? With internet speeds increasing at an alarming rate, and, to an extent, the download/upload limits too, many (including Apple) believe the future to be on-demand content, rather than physical media, and to be honest I see their point. With the release of the BBC Iplayer and 4OD, with “Kangaroo” to come in the future, the big broadcasters seem to be putting their weight behind downloadable/streaming content. A common complaint with this method is, of course, your computer may be in one room, and your main television in another… AppleTV and various other media centre applications attempt to solve this, but the evil, monstrous beast which is DRM will always make things 1000 times more complicated than they need to be. Obviously the dream is interoperability between all things, with no wires, short range radio transmitters between devices and DRM-less content, but in that world, I am King Dave the Merciful, with an army of flying pigs.

Dave

Thanks Dave for this. (note this was scheduled to be posted much earlier on (aka feburary) but it was pushed back)

A

Vista SP1 released to the masses…..


25 Mar

Posted in Technology | Comments Off

Microsoft have officially released Vista SP1 to the masses via Windows Update. It will not autmatically start downloading until mid-April (for those that have auto updates switched on) but you can go and grab it now. I have not (as I am on vacation) had a chance to try this out but as soon as I do I will document and writeup my findings!

Stay Tuned.

(there is loads of news to report on but I don’t have time now, I will try to post some more soon)

A

FEED ME, AUDREY


24 Mar

Posted in Blogging, Technology | 1 Comment »

I’ve never understood the relationship most geeks (especially male geeks) have with food and drink. They strive to spend as close to 24/7 as possible, doing whatever it is they do, in front of all that equipment, staring Google-eyed at their thousand dollar dual monitors, fingers flying across their ergonomic cordless keyboards, typing a mile a minute (usually hunt and peck, like some 1940’s film noir character), while sipping on a Starbucks Grande Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème, or nibbling on a Taco Bell Beef Nacho Cheese Gordita with a side of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes. For dessert? A cigarette or two and an icy Bud.

 

Nothing will get a geek outside like a trip to the local Starbucks or fast food joint, or a ciggy and beer run to Seven Eleven. Even if these places are only a block away, if said geek has a car, he’ll drive. No car? Then he will take a bus. God forbid, any card carrying geek should walk, unless it’s to visit a new Apple store, wander the maze of booths at a tech trade show, or to camp out, outside Best Buy, in order to be the first among his peers to acquire some new over priced, over hyped techie toy.

 

Geeks want to rely on their great intellect, but they avoid, at all costs, ingesting anything that might actually feed their brain. Instead, they rely mainly on artery clogging saturated fats, and other garbage, behaving as if fresh fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, spring water or any other so called ‘health food’ is the devil incarnate, Satan on a plate. If it isn’t served on or in Styrofoam, or wrapped in paper, it’s verboten on most tech geeks’ food itinerary. The only veggies allowed are an occasional shred or two of anemic iceberg lettuce on Mexican food or a paper thin slice of mealy tomato on a double cheeseburger, any variety of raw onion, or a slice of pickle.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

These boys want to be internet super heroes, legends in their own time. They want the stamina to work through the night, they want to develop the next computer language or successful video game, thus becoming the next billionaire tech wizard, but honestly believe the most sensible way to reach this goal is with regular infusions of caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats, nicotine and alcohol, combined with a sedentary lifestyle.

 

On rare occasion, I have dared to question a techie geek on the above, and usually, what I get spit back at me (very defensively or offhandedly) is some version of the following; “I don’t have the time or the money to waste on grocery shopping or cooking.”. “I don’t believe there is any real or substantial proof that ciggies are doing me any long term damage” or the ever sensible; “I’ll clean up my act after college, or by the time I’m thirty”.

 

What can I possibly say to that? Not much. Anyone who dwells that far outside of the realm of reality is not likely to be impressed with facts.

 

Lin aka Oupsie

 

*footnote – Well I know that I agree with this in terms of my lifestyle (it really pains me to say that). I am not sure it goes for all geeks though!

Thanks Lin for a super post!

 

A

Analogue or Digital???


23 Mar

Posted in Technology | 2 Comments »

This post was inspired by Belola, who I know through the Oupsie chatroom and community.

I recently bought a Nikon D40 Digital SLR. I already owned (and still do) a Minolta Dynax 4 35mm SLR camera that I used an awful lot. As time went on though I felt that the need to move to digital was growing. I finally took the plunge I saw this camera on offer in Jessops (UK camera store chain). I know the D40 is not “top of the line” but it was within my budget and it was a really good offer. Also for what I use a camera for (I think of myself as an enthusiastic amature) the D40 fits my needs perfectly without having lots of extras that would never be used.

Belola however just took delivery of a second hand Canon EOS 1v. As the Canon website says “The EOS 1V is the choice of professional photographers the world over. Combining outstanding reliability with advanced features it is the world’s leading AF SLR camera.”
That is all well and good and yes the camera is a truly fantastic imaging tool. It is however, still analogue. Ok, analogue cameras take MUCH MUCH higher quality pictures that digital but for me that is where the benefits stop. You cannot see the pictures in real time you have to wait to see what they are like after they are processed, you HAVE to develop the films you cannot place them on a computer and choose which ones to print and which to scrap or archive. It also costs more, each film you have to buy, each development process, for me I just bought a 4GB SD card and that is it no more costs (barring electricity to charge the camera).

I love my Minolta and won’t stop using it just because I have my Nikon, but I certainly won’t be using it much. For me digital is the way forward.

What do you think??

A

St Pancras Intl


21 Mar

Posted in Me | Comments Off

A few weeks ago I was down in London for a day and I had to make a brief pass through St Pancras station, a station which has been undergoing a massive multi million pound refurbishment for the past 7 years. Starting in 2001 the project was completed late last year and cost around £800m. My view; boy was it worth it. The station is Fantastic, amazing, exhilarating, beautiful, romantic and nostalgic all rolled up into one. I had been through a number of times as the renovation was carried out but this was the 1st time since it was completed and in full operation. I was awe struck to say the least. It is light, airy, welcoming and a wonderful place to be. I really wanted to stay and just wander around taking in the atmosphere (sadly I had to get to my destination). If you are ever in London, either just visiting or for any other reason, make a special effort just to go and see this station even if you are not travelling as it is a sight well worth seeing. I know I will be taking time out next time I am down just to really experience the joy that is St Pancras Station.

St Pancras

A

A Vacation Beckons…..


18 Mar

Posted in Me | Comments Off

Hi all,

(spot the banner change at the top, if you cannot see it then press ctrl + F5)

I am currently in the final stages of getting ready to go on holiday for 16 days to Canada. I am off to catch the end of the ski season @ Fernie Alpine Resort, BC. For the next14 days I will try to post some articles but I am in no way promising anything (afterall I am on holiday). In the eventuality that I cannot post I have got a selection of guest posts gathered and pre written a number as well which are all timed to appear throughout the next two weeks. Unfortunatly due to the process of getting ready I have not got as many as I would have liked written. I think I will probably be writing a few on the plane over and then I can post them when I reach the ski resort. I know there is wifi in the lounge of my accomodation but am not sure if I will have an internet connection in my condo. So I will probs be online every other day to check things and maybe write a few posts (again no promises). I will update twitter now and again (though that is expensive from my phone so not too often) so keep an eye there.

I should also think I will take time to post a few photos, just to make sure you are all nice and jealous of me!!!

I hope you enjoy the guest posts I have managed to gather (I am still trying to get one finalised) and also my pre-written posts.

Have a good easter all,

A

Alltop not so hot.


17 Mar

Posted in Technology | Comments Off

Guy Kawasaki has officially launched his second low budget site called alltop this week. Guy last year launched truemors.com on only £13,000. This is his follow up. Basically it is an RSS reader for many different subject matters. You cannot customise what you see and what you don’t see, you cannot add feeds that interest you. I am assuming Guy decides what feeds are worth having on the site and adds or removes accordingly.

The thing I noticed straight away was once you have chosen a subject area to read about you are then bombarded by a page of information from all different sources, there is no fluidity in its layout and no easy way to extract articles and information that you may be seeking from all the other “debris” on the page. I read a lot of information from the Internet on a regular basis (100’s of items a day) all from different sources, all on different subjects. To-do this I use Google Reader which works perfectly, it shows me what I want, suggests new feeds I might want to read based on my current subscribed material and does not clutter up my reading space with “debris”. Alltop does the total opposite. I am afraid alltop is very much allbottom of my list for information gathering utilities.

The man who is my dad


15 Mar

Posted in Family | 1 Comment »

Last night, I attended my fathers’ retirement party. He, after 38 years 6 months and 2 days is leaving his job at British Telecom to pursue a consultancy freelance role for the next 3 years. The party itself was really wonderful and quite emotional, but that is not what I want to write about. I want to write about the man himself. My dad, my counsellor, my financial provider (he’s not a fan of being the last one). Ever since I can remember he’s been there for me. He has always strived to provide the best for Mum and I and he has always succeeded. His career at BT has been an illustrious one; starting in the engineering department at the age of 18 and ended as the Director for Intelligence, Applications and Convergence. He has been a key figure in BT’s development from just a voice company to the data and voice provider that they are today and the influence he had on the company was shown last night with discussions I had with his colleagues and employees. The general consensus was that he was a) irreplaceable and b) a fantastic boss. I knew he is a fantastic dad but I never realised how respected and admired he was in his work. To learn this fact gave me a massive sense of pride. Dad has achieved so much in his life, all of which has been so inspiring to me.

I am finding it very hard to put into words how I actually feel about my dad; I am sitting here on the sofa trying to string sentences together and everything I write does not do it justice. 

I am going to leave it with this, no more, no less, just this.

“Dad, you have always been someone I look up to, someone who I can talk to, someone who is there for me. I am so very very proud of you for all that you have done and will do. You truly are the best father in the world. Thank you”

A    

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