Goodbye Blue Sky

Cowboys, Aliens, Human Centipedes.

2011-11-25T01:03:00.001Z

Okay, so I watched "Cowboys and Aliens" and gave it half a star on flixster. It's just terrible. Let me explain.

I grew up with films in the '70s and '80s that exposed me to new ideas - ideas that, at the time, had never been realised on celluloid. Whether it was Harryhausen or ILM bringing the ideas to life, the ideas were new to cinema.

So, Cowboys and Aliens (C&A) - on paper it's quite promising. The reality is shockingly bad. I had lowered my expectations before seeing this movie, but I did not lower them anywhere near enough. It's just inexcusable that this movie should insult your cinema experience. It's the sort of thing I'd expect on the channels that show man-eating anaconda films peppered with octopus vs megashark. Not only that, but C&A is over two hours of Daniel Craig's tight-fitting trousers and it's just too much - especially when the only female gets drenched in water without even so much as a proud nipple. Disappointingly sexist. And proof, if any were needed after Indy IV or that cop flick he did, that Ford's career is over and he should stop embarrasing himself by "acting". He's around the same age now as Connery was in Indy III - the difference in talent is staggering. Connery gets respect, Ford just gets SMH.

So why Human Centipedes, aren't those films an outrage to the senses, part of the liberal agenda to poison young minds and - I don't know - gross them out. Well, I have to say I think the first one was treated unfairly, and the sequel more so. Certainly the first one isn't a great film, but I did think it was well made and treated the subject matter okay. Which is not to say I get a thrill from ass-to-mouth, but it did present to me something I had never seen before, that had never occured to me before. It was a "new" idea committed to film. The sequel is next on my watch list for the same reason. Despite the subject matter, it promises to have a level of intelligence and self-awareness sorely lacking in the orange-and-teal Hollywood shit of today. I don't want to lap up big-name Hollywood's shit, like I am way down the chain of the human centipede. I want to challenge myself - not by enduring boring shit like C&A - but by having ideas presented to me, wrapped in a story that might even provide a little subtext.

I'd rather be grossed out by a human centipede film than by Daniel Craig's arse, thanks.

Final Cut Pro X Killed The Post Production Industry

2011-06-25T11:48:00.001+01:00

Honestly. I can see what happened here but years of pressing buttons for clients and deriding fun-loving wedding videographers has salted many professional editor's brains and shrivelled them like blinkered short-sighted slugs.

I get it. The guys who sit on their arse all day are running out of excuses to justify prehistoric working practices. Suddenly they have to think about upstream- and downstream- and they realise the zombie movies took all the brains.

Well, I get it. And this time, I'm keeping a secret so that BUFI may profit from the knowledge.

I'll give you a clue.

Before the printing press came along, everything was handwritten by scribes. Apple doesn't follow curves; it jumps curves. Get used to it, or get out. Apple waited until viable alternatives returned to the Mac platform (Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer) so they have actually done you a favour. Apple are encouraging you to take your business and your legacy best working practices elsewhere so Apple can once again become the place of leading practices and champion of the free-thinking artist. A bicycle for the mind.

Think different. Brain required.

Get over it. Use Avid. It's what you should have been using in the first place as a professional editor, no? Not something with "pro" in the title, not ever.

iPad Killer Apps, iPad Killers

2010-12-29T01:04:00.000Z

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the end-user experience.

Soooo ... come the new year I am selling three Android handsets to fund my iDevice obsession redux. There's definitely a future for Android as a dominant platform, but no Apple crumble just yet either.

How did this happen?

When iPad was announced, it was an exciting foray into tablet computing so obviously starting out right. I was tempted back then (what, April?), to own what I am convinced will become a collectible piece of computing history. However, Apple then sued HTC and made me wonder what all the fuss was about with Android. Turns out, Android is very very good. However, right now, for, iOS is excellent for me.

I bought my iPad (3G capable, waiting for the SIM card to be delivered any day now) from the Apple store in the Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham UK. It was kind of a leap of faith based on no more than a total of 10 minutes hands-on time and many articles of rhetoric along the lines of "what's the point of iPad". Indeed, what is the point of iPad?

My particular circumstances.

I've recently finished editing a feature film on my iMac and the house is in the process of being turned into a children's day care. I am being turfed out of "my room", iMac and all. You can see where this is going. Without ease-of-access to my desktop computer then a portable device makes a lot of sense. If the iPad could stand-alone I'd ditch the iMac. As it is, I will need occasional access to sync iTunes - the bane and single biggest disadvantage of the Apple UX ecosystem. There are annoying workarounds, of sorts.

There remains one weakness and utter reliance on iTunes. I can use, say, iCab to download an mp3 but there's no way to get that mp3 into a playlist on the device without jumping through the Mac/PC/iTunes hoop. Disappointing. That's the only thing that is really really going to annoy me during this arrangement and make me despise iTunes even more.

Observation: I could have got a laptop, even a netbook. But I firmly believe that iPad sets me on the path of the future of end-user computing (whether it is Apple based or not, the iPad is not only a great portable touchscreen device it is also a fantastic thin client - remember those?!)

So whilst Microsoft fumble to port Windows to ARM in the coming years (why the fuck bother?!) the rest of the world will be moving forward, spearheaded by Apple and Google, probably for the next 5 or 10 years until Facebook makes net neutrality debacles look like the declaration of independence.

I mean, the iPad 1.0 has 256MB of RAM. That's measly by Windows requirements and yet the iPad blows the fuck out of every Windows personal computer I have used, ever. Tight code by Apple is the only explanation. It shows Windows in such a bad light I can't believe anyone would choose it as their personal computing UX.

Markets diverge. It's a contemporary example, no? Windows isn't going anywhere for now, but its branch may be beginning to rot.

Anyway. iPad. Let me count the ways. The killer apps of iPad.

1. UX. User experience. Waking from sleep is instant. Sleeping is instant. The iOS is extremely responsive (though I have to admit, not entirely perfect every time - and as seems customary I have found a dead pixel on the screen, bah).

2. UX. Installing and uninstalling apps. Does it get any simpler than this? Another testament to Apple's coding design decisions.

3. UX. You know how iPad is a giant iPod Touch? Well it pretty much is, with a teeny tiny motherboard inside. Guess what? The rest of that iPad is essentially a big battery. This adds to the game changingness of iPad - the battery power won't last forever but neither will you be fretting about where the next power outlet might be.

4. UX. They're not lying in those videos about typing in landscape mode. I can type as fast in landscape on the iPad as I can on a fullsize real keyboard. I don't know if I could write my next screenplay without investing in a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad, but I am confident that if I have to, I won't get RSI (unlike extended durations of typing on iPhone's keyboard - yakkkkk).

5. UX. My favourite iPad apps are those that have been designed for iPad's 9.7" screen. It's a massive ergonomic win in my book, information is somehow presented more appropriately on iPad rather than, say, in overlapping windows on a desktop machine.

And the killers of iPad.

1. File I/O. It's just a massive pain in the arse managing files via iTunes. Take my iCab downloaded mp3 as an example. If could import that into a playlist in the iPod app on the iPad and have it sync to iTunes when it is convenient to me (or - shock! - OTA) then I'd be pretty happy.

2. Multitasking. Probably due to the 256MB RAM, iPad does not keep as many apps instantly available to switch to (compared to iPhone 4 which has 512MB RAM). It's minor - but one of the thousand cuts that contributes to a future killing. An example here is Friendly For Facebook - once it gets kicked out memory it takes a few seconds to start up again. Yeah, seconds. That's not instant though, is it.

3. USB peripherals. Just forget it (eg audio interfaces and microphones) until you see official support (eg like the camera connection kit is officially for, you know, cameras).

4. Printing. Although I rarely print, you'll need an officially supported printer to do the AirPrint thing. Else there is the iTunes hoop jumping, or seeing if an app like ePrint can get to the thing you're trying to print.

5. iTunes required for activation. Just ridiculous. Other than data rape by Apple I can't think of why this should be a requirement in the second decade of the goddamm 21st century.

One more thing.

I also think Apple should bundle their iPad case/jacket with every iPad - it's very useful both in terms of protection and ergonomics in my experiences this last couple of days.

And a further footnote - this is likely the last blog post from my iMac (I'm doing an iTunes sync, see) - in all likelihood the next will be from BlogPress or some alternative iPad app. Because BlogPress allows you to select media from the iPad. AFAIK, using Mobile Safari or iCab won't allow me to select media from the iPad (I like to head each post with a dumb pic as you may have noticed) though I suppose I should actually test that assumption before calling it out.

Goodnight!

iPhone Scrobbling

2010-12-18T22:44:00.000Z

So I'm back on iPhone and kind of pissed at iTunes as per usual, especially when it comes to scrobbling (not the rusty shave kind). Although Last.fm's OS X app will scrobble from iTunes desktop app after a sync or something, it's kind of a kludge. Why can't I scrobble directly from the iPhone? Natch, there's an app for that.

I tried a few. Heed my advice that Scrobbulous and iScrobble Premium just aren't worth your money until they sort a few issues out. In the mean-time, my recommendation is to use iScrob because it's the simplest, cleanest looking (especially if you cough up to remove the ads) and most stable app I tested. And it works reliably. And it accesses the iPhone playlists directly so there's no dicking around creating new playlists in the app. It allows you to send your love. It does not allow you to tweet or facebook your listening habits like the other two, but that's no big deal - because iScrob hasn't crashed once - unlike the other two that gave me problems within minutes (this is where I really miss the frictionless Android refund process).

iScrob

Freedom vs Terrorism

2010-12-13T20:52:00.000Z

Submitted by: ray3c

Posted at: 2010-12-13 03:08:43

See full post and comment: http://9gag.com/gag/58200

Retina Display Wallpaper, Mine

2010-11-16T16:29:00.000Z

So I was looking for a non-offensive wallpaper to show off the pixel density on my iPwn 4. Couldn't find one so instead took an HDR pic of a piece of paper and scaled and cropped it to my liking. You might like it too. I'm thoughtful like that.

Unless BlogPress fails spectacularly then here it is, probably need to click for full size.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Mill Rd,,United Kingdom

iOS 4.2, iPhone 4, Gmail, Push and Me

2010-11-13T12:03:00.000Z

The right way. My way.

Unsurprisingly the Apple iPhone 4 running iOS 4.2 still does not support Push when autoconfiguring a Gmail account.

Fortunately, Gmail do support it. Through, errr, Exchange. ActiveSync.

This is how to setup your Google calendars, Google Contacts and Gmail to remain masterful in the cloud without bothersome 'Fetch' schedules or any needed third party push app.

Firstly, check which calendars you actually want to sync with from http://m.google.com/sync - visit it from Mobile Safari from your iPhone and pick the correct device (I have three iPhones listed, two of which I no longer own).

Also (although I have not tested on iOS 4.2) if you try a hybrid solution (Exchange Push for Gmail, and standard Gmail iPhone setup for Notes/Contacts/Calendars) then Push email and the rest of the things will work well enough, but third party apps that try to send an email will fail - you will find the email sitting in your 'Outbox' on your iPhone. However it's only because I didn't remember to select my calendars in the first place that I even bothered to try the hybrid approach. I much prefer the idea of keeping my Google services as my master versions rather than getting that syncing feeling over how things are going to behave.

Also, uncheck to sync Contacts to the iPhone via iTunes. You can still sync OS X Address Book to Google Contacts of course, just be clear about which you regard as your master copy and backup accordingly.

Got that. No? Tough. I never said this would be as easy as cancelling your MobileMe subscription (where you need access to your Mac for access to your master copies of everything - perhaps not such a bad idea if you are not yet cloud confident).

So, setup on the iPhone. You know, I'm done typing. Hopefully the pictures can do the talking (yay for iPhone screenshot function):

Select Exchange.

Put in your details (Email and Username is your Gmail address).

After 'Next' put in m.google.com into the Server field.

Select 'em all, why not.

I like to sync a month's worth of Inbox rather than 3 days.

I'm just paranoid that 'No Limit' may lead to some future race condition I don't want to deal with, ever. A month's fine. It's not like I can even remember what I archived yesterday. (Deleting from your Pushed Gmail Inbox will archive, not delete, trust me I'm a stranger from the internet).

Default Account will not be On My iPhone, thanks.

If you didn't rename it, yours will be called 'Exchange'. Fool.

Doublecheck Calendar settings are to your liking.

And which Calendars you want Push synced. Note that your colour scheme will differ from your Google Calendar. You can sit in the corner and cry about this, just keep out of my way.

This is a remaining anomaly. I have no idea why this second Birthdays shows up. Deal with it: uncheck it. Out of sight, out of mind. Probably some Google Calendar Labs feature I have dicked around with, who knows.

That's it, done. It's a little sad that non-hybrid means Notes won't sync with your Gmail label Notes, but it's a small price to pay for something I don't really care about anyway. I do care about emails from other apps sitting in the 'Outbox'. Maybe one day I'll re-test the condition but that day isn't today.

I typed. I'm too good to you.

Eating Humble Apple Pie

2010-10-26T22:18:00.000+01:00

Imagine for a moment that you do a lot of reading on your portable pocketable device. Of the two screens above, which would you find most comfortable to read?

And that, my friends, is when I realised my 'droids were destined for the sandcrawler.

"Less is more" - seemingly, every goddamn time. For as long as Jony Ive stays at Apple I really need to learn to stop being so (expensively) curious about other platforms.

It's not that Android is a bad OS, far from it. In some ways Android is set up to allow innovations far earlier than they'll show up in Apple's eco-system (unless they are from Apple directly).

I don't believe Android is particularly fragmented either, but waiting for decent upgrades from the carriers or phone manufacturers can drive you nuts. Not to mention some strange handset design decisions, Samsung: "I know! Let's include a fixed internal 8GB SDcard and refer to it as external logically and have the physical external SDcard mounted off the internal logical external - how could that confuse anybody?!".

iPhones and Droids, let me count the ways:

iPhone 3G - Cracked plastic back. Dust under the screen. Fucked me right off after spending loadsa money to import it from Italy where it was sold unlocked (it was not sold unlocked in the UK at the time).

Nexus One - Stupid bug that means multi-touch can flip axis on you and fuck everything up. Absolutely awful audio recording components in my opinion. Pentile matrix to drive you dotty if you look too close.

Samsung Galaxy S i9000 - Pentile matrix to drive you dotty if you look too close. Stupid SDcard arrangement. Android Froyo 2.2 promised for "End of August" - it's now October and it's not available in the UK. Other annoying Samsungisms throughout the OS like no stock music player and some stupid stuff that assumes you must be running Windows.

Dell 5" Streak - Kind of endearing, but again no official Froyo after promises to the contrary. An annoying "slide to unlock" bug that means unlocking isn't as reliable as it should be and it occurs frequently enough (even on custom ROMs) to fucking piss me off. Some stupid framebuffer that fucks everything up to landscape mode even on vanilla ROMs - I prefer to be primarily in portrait mode, thanks.

Now for every annoyance there are some very good points about each handset. But it's the little things, it really is. Especially if it is your primary portable device. These little things get noticed. A lot.

Roll on next week and iPhone 4. Let's hope I don't shatter the thing. In the mean-time, I'll steal what time I can from my daughter's iPod 2G when she isn't using it.

(Oh, and all empires do crumble - Apple no exception.)

Beast Released

2010-10-25T13:12:00.000+01:00

Sometimes it's just too much.
I don't lose it often, honestly I don't. And when I do, I usually lose it here on the rant cloud. This morning was different. I apologise to all concerned.

Trivia.
Like most things, the catalyst was trivial: attempting to rescue a borked install of a printer on a Windows 7 laptop. Windows 7 - that OS that is marketed as user friendly but in reality has hardly changed in 15 years. Let me explain.

Printer Hellspawn.
To de-bork, I like a clean slate. That means uninstalling whatever the poor soul who made the first attempt did. Simple, right? Reboot. Login with an administrative account. Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month). Take a look at the printer queues installed. Right-click - Remove device (in this instance the printer). F5 to refresh. Oh, it's still there. (Bear in mind I am in a bad mood because Royal Mail have currently lost a £1000 package I sent, payment for which is needed to keep a small business running another month).

By this point I'm pretty pissed and lose my rag. (Note, there is no internet at this location so a search for help cannot be done and it's not like I want to waste more of my life on this stupid issue when I have far more pressing issues to deal with - the very reason I had requested in the first place that the printer and laptop be brought back to base for me to fuck it all up personally from a known state).

I ask if I can take the laptop home and destroy it. Request denied. Well that's just asking for it isn't it?!

KA-BOOOOOOM!!!!
Eight months of stress is released through gritted teeth, language and spittle. The Mother of your children is probably not the best person to be on the receiving end.

She doesn't understand the full context, and perhaps I shouldn't expect her to.

I'll fallback to that famous Marilyn Monroe quote, paraphrased, no doubt; "If she can't live with the worst of me then she'll never get the best of me".

I'll cool down. I fear the damage is done.

THANKS MICROSOFT WINDOWS. A fucking OS of all things to be driving wedges into my relationship. Death by a thousand cuts, destroyer of souls.

Another reason the simplicity of Apple's eco-system can be worth the financial cost in the realm of personal computing (as opposed to enterprise computing which will always have fallout from letting users, you know, use it), if it strictly limits the emotional abilities of The Beast.

Well, I'm rambling now. Time to pick up and wash-up.

Once Bitten Twice Double Strength Kool Aid

2010-10-23T21:23:00.000+01:00

Much as I love the 'droids, I have come to the conclusion that they just aint there yet. Sure, the Nexus One is full on Google but moving across the landscape from Acer (Liquid) to Dell (Streak) to Samsung (Galaxy S), one thing sticks out in my mind - these guys over promise and under deliver. This means you have to fall back to the modding community, which is great n' all, but with more stressful things about to kick off over the next few months I really don't want to be dicking about with custom Froyo and Gingerbread ROMs - I need a tool that just works with minimal effort. I might whine on (and on) about iTunes but I have 5,822 tunes in there and 148 apps. It's slow, sure, but effortless and reliable. Shit, I even use MS Office for business, is that such a crime.

What's weirded me out is after mucking around with a friend who is an Apple diehard (we were testing out Facetime, I was using the OS X beta version) and then cursiously going back to my kid's iPod Touch 2G for a play I had an epiphany - Apple really do know their design shit.

I mean, I knew that already of course.

But after 10 months of Android system level tinkering it just became instantly apparent after 'slide to unlock' on the iPod Touch that this was a device for using, no tinkering required. I may have saved myself from impulse buying loads more iPhone apps over the last year, but instead spending time rather than money on maintaining the 'droids. And basically having no fun. I mean, that nails it. Dicking around with apps on the iPhone is fun. Dicking around with custom Android ROMs is a little tedious after several months.

So for the same reasons I can't be arsed to jailbreak iDevices, I can't be arsed to continually chase the perfect Android experience and never be finding it. I need to save that time and spend it elsewhere.

Therefore, tonight I am trading money for convenience. I still intend to keep the Apple fanboys honest mind you.

Client Server Apple Crumble

2010-10-14T21:53:00.000+01:00

You know, I'm somewhat skeptical that Steve Jobs is particularly running Apple nowadays. The Steve Jobs I knew would never allow "magical" in marketing material because that just is not a word good designers and clear communicators use. Maybe he's just gotten old and fuddy-duddy, like your grandfather running Apple.

When I switched to Apple for my personal computing in 2003 it was because a PowerBook was essentially a peer-to-peer device, a free outlaw on the network. All the Microsoft stuff was (and still is) slave to some other thing, whether it be a domain logon or checking in for the latest antivirus definitions - ie classical client/server no matter how you cut it.

Today, I see freedom in the way Google operate and allow you to access your stuff from practically anywhere with nothing more than your Google logon and whatever computing device you have to hand. Now, technically this is still a client/server relationship of course, but it seems no less inconvenient than carrying the keys to your front door (which, presumably you don't leave open to just anyone). The Apple eco-system on the other hand has become weighed down with client/server of old - just look at iTunes and the way it is (and still marketed as) your "digital hub" - your server. Which might not be so bad if management was effortless and not time consuming. But, it is. Even my kids (8 and 11) have remarked how slow iTunes is to sync. As a consequence they don't sync. If only iTunes could sync effortlessly and frictionlessly OTA (that's 'over the air' for anyone who's been using Apple products for too long and has never seen the acronym before because you are being left behind like you were left behind in the nineties) then the management of iDevices in the household might not seem like such a godawful drag. I mean, seriously, no user accounts on an iPad? That's not personal computing; therefore cannot be eroding the PC market.

So what's my point? My Android phone is essentially a peer-to-peer device, a free outlaw on the network ...

Politics

2010-10-06T07:30:00.000+01:00

For the first time ever I have personally been affected by the decision of the local Parish Council. In order to keep a revenue stream alive I am reluctantly selling my premium sound gear (Sound Devices 702T, Neumann RSM191 etc) on eBay UK. Much as I want to be mad and want to rant, actually kit ownership is not all that it's cracked up to be. So they tell me. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a Sennheiser 418-S and a Nagra LB-S (mmmmm ... Naaaagra). In the mean time, gone are my days of truly independent sound recording with my own gear.

Bank Holiday Zorkphone Revelation (dude, I got a Dell)

2010-08-30T14:05:00.000+01:00

Yeah yeah, the zorkphone turns out to be a Dell Streak and you are now hugely underwhelmed because box shifting companies run by Texans just aren't as sexy or as desirable as fruity companies within a walled garden with child locks.

Short version: if you can think past the form factor FUD and you get on well with Google's Android, this device from Dell does not disappoint.

TL;DR
The Dell Streak is the first Dell device I have ever used that hasn't been directly subsidised by intel (that I know of) and hasn't been strong-armed by Microsoft. It's ARMv7 instruction set running Android OS and it aint half bad. Neither intel nor Microsoft anywhere to be seen (except for some vaguely MS Outlook apps that I have no use for because I'm googled up). It proves that once Dell become independent of both intel and Microsoft (and now have a fully formed free-to-license operating system to use), they have a chance of providing homegrown devices and creating new categories. Whether Dell has the balls to break away from Wintel is another question altogether, although I guess the current court cases might help that along. Dell need to stop thinking about making money and get back to making meaning. Anyway, enough Kawasaki marketing bollocks, the universe really doesn't care.

Carry On Camping
So this last few days I've been field testing my Dell Streak, quite literally - camping in the New Forest at the Sandy Balls Holiday Centre. In the Cornfield, so no electrical hook-up. Using the stock 1530mAh battery with only car journeys giving opportunity to recharge. The battery holds up really well for a device with a 5" LCD. While using it as a SatNav (with the official Dell windscreen mounting kit) it would also charge at a reasonable rate (but still nowhere near as quickly as when mains connected). However, next time I need either to take spare batteries or a portable battery pack or do a lot more driving. That's just life with this type of 'phone. Battery life is easily on a par with other smartphones I have owned, used - iPhone 3G, Nexus One, Acer Liquid, Samsung Galaxy S.

Mobile Internet Device
Yes. I said phone, not tablet. There may be many reasons Dell chose to market this as a tablet (the chance to sell £25 cables because not being a "phone" means it is not mandated to have a microUSB charging connector, etc) but it's too small to be considered a tablet and - yes - a little larger than what most people consider to be a mobile phone. What is it? A new category - one that seems to have no name and that is the biggest failing of Dell's marketing. It tries to be "me too" when in fact it's the first in an unknown category. Dell should be working harder to name that category and be the first in it. Being first makes them a leader in the category. I will say though, that Dell did well to not call this thing the Dell Mini 5 - calling it the Streak makes it more identifiable, and aids word-of-mouth. Let's hope they don't go mad with the Streak brand by expanding, diluting and ultimately dooming it with brand extension.

The Killer
1. The 5" Screen
2. If it had an Apple logo on the back you'd believe it.
3. Android OS
4. Brilliant as a SatNav
5. Speaker volume, louder than any of the other phones I mentioned above.

The Bad
1. My screen has developed a single dead pixel and it annoys the hell out of me. I have the manufacturer's warranty but it was bought from Dell UK direct and I'm really not sure I can be bothered to put myself through the customer "service" grinder for the sake of a speck that I could reasonably persuade myself is no worse than all the dust and fingerprints.

The Ugly
1. Accessories are somewhat overpriced. I see the windscreen mounting kit has recently been reduced, fat lot of good that does me.

The Universe Doesn't Care
1. No microUSB port (replacement cables are an eye-watering £25).
2. No visual notifications when the phone is sleeping (can't see them in my pocket anyway).
3. No dedicated search button (can't say I've missed it even for a moment).
4. Side mounted headset jack an odd choice for a pocket-able device (get a bluetooth headset anyway).
5. Dell really want me to use this device in Landscape. I say fuck 'em, I still prefer Portrait.
6. Camera is average by contemporary standards, shit by DSLR standards (like all phonecams).
7. Ships with Android OS 1.6 (2.1 is available for those wanting to get their hands dirty).
8. People I spoke to called it "like a small iPad".

Terms of Endearment: my zorkphone

2010-08-24T12:37:00.000+01:00

Thanks to a serendipitous typo my 'droid sidekick is currently named zorkphone. You must have guessed what it is by now, but for those who need further clues, I took some snaps with my Sanyo Xacti (which it has to be said, is a better video camera than stills camera).

The zorkphone faces its first extended real-world test out in the field, quite literally, in the next few days. We will be camping out in a field, somewhere in the New Forest. Will its size prove to be a burden? I certainly think its size will be an asset during the navigation phase of finding the camp site using the zorkphone's satnav. I don't think it will help light a fire or catch fat rabbits, though I could be mistaken.

Dorkphone: Great Expectations

2010-08-19T16:23:00.000+01:00

What do I want from my dorkphone?

Pleased to see you.
A large screen. I've gone from iPhone's 3.5" to the Nexus One 3.7" to the Samsung Galaxy S 4" screen and I'm still left wondering .... what if it were a Droid X at 4.3". I'll never know. The Leprechauns have picked, packed and shipped my dorkphone - which has a 5" screen yet reportedly still fits in any normal person's trouser pocket. I guess I'll find that out in due course. It's due to arrive Monday.

Easy reader.
If there's one thing I've found myself doing a lot of on my smartphone and superphones over the last couple of years, it's reading. Not ebooks (I still prefer real books that don't short out in the bath). I read a lot of RSS feeds. It's how I get my news and opinions. Also within the last year or so, Twitter. Another stream of text. Not forgetting venerable email. Anything that makes these things easier to read without messing too much with the original formatting is all good in my book.

Usual suspects.
Of course, I also want great audio, GPS, compass and all the other goodies that come with the high-end. Even the worst video recorded by today's phones is a world away from the awful awful shockingly bad video phones were capable of just a few years ago. HDMI out (via a dock, bah) is a bonus, though it does mean I'll have to upgrade my CRT. Yes, my living room is from the late 20th century, hasn't seen an upgrade for over a decade.

If the dorkphone can manage all that - and everything I've researched so far says it does - then I may even reveal the dorkphone's identity assuming you haven't already guessed (c'mon, it's not that difficult!)

Windows 7 and the Classic Theme "Rainy Day"

2010-08-11T22:01:00.000+01:00

Call me old fashioned, but if GUI components are tacked on after thoughts I figure I may as well use the underlying forethoughts. So, although I've probably spent a total of two minutes using Windows 7 on my iMac's Boot Camp partition (to use Samsung and Acer phone flashing utilities, thanks Android) the "revolutionary" (by Microsoft standards of mediocrity) Aero interface compositing engine thing just looked annoying in conjunction with the 15 year old bits of Windows 7. So I go to the Classic Theme. But where is Slate? Egg Plant? Lavender? Desert? Slate? But most importantly, what the fuck have Microsoft done with their best classic theme ever, Rainy Day? Is this some cynical ploy to guide you towards Aero and it's annoying annoyingness, to focus you on the lipstick instead of the pig? The polish instead of the turd? Well one man's polish is another man's "for fuck's sake turn this crap off NOW".

Classic. Theme. Calm. But I've been using Rainy Day on Windows pretty much day-in day-out for 10 years (day job, see) and either I'm conditioned to it, or it's the best theme ever. Especially when I found those Amiga cursors to complete the retro feel of an OS past its prime.

I could go on and on and on about how Microsoft .theme packages just don't seem compatible between OS releases, but instead I'll tell you just how much work I went through to get Rainy Day back on Windows 7 where it belongs for the next 10 years.

Okay, so I still have access to XP. If only there was a way to export the theme from XP and import it to 7. Nope, for all Microsoft's talk of "life without walls" you just realise that walls keep the fucking roof up you dickheads.

Enter Jasmin's 3D Color Changer (3DCC). It runs on XP. Turns out it runs on 7 too. So now I can export from XP and import on 7, no thanks to Microsoft, but thanks to a small piece of (seemingly discontinued) donationware and the fact that after 10 years not a lot has changed with Windows except exception handling to guide you towards Microsoft's corporate lipstick. Yes, I first used 3DCC 10 years ago on Windows2000.

So anyone else pining for a simple ungarish Windows theme, I present to you my Windows 7 Classic Rain Amiga theme with FCUK variant (both mute sounds, both incorporate the old Amiga style cursors). Because I'm too lazy to upload individual files I just zipped who load of crap up for your downloading displeasure. Click here to download (862K). Use at your own risk, I can't help it if you're stupid, but I will assert that all files are virus free but without warranty or any comeback - it's the internet, dig?

Click the pic to revel and admire in Rainy Day in all it's glory (yeah, I tweaked the title bar, so suck it down) and relive the days when Blackcomb and Longhorn were almost exciting.

UK Samsung Galaxy S Review

2010-08-08T19:45:00.000+01:00

Okay. Let me say this: if you want a hassle-free device then the Samsung Galaxy S (aka SGS) with JF3 firmware is not it. If you don't want to think, please stop reading right now and get an iPhone and get on with your life. If you want to think and save some squids then an Android device coupled with Google cloud services (gmail etc) will give you something very close to iPhone 4 with iOS. Where the iPhone has a 3.5" 3:2 ratio screen, the SGS has a 4" screen and a "longer" 16:9 ration screen. The iPhone 4 has a "retina" 960 x 480 display, the SGS has 800 x 480 "pentile" matrix AMOLED display. There's no doubt you can see the pens and tiles in the pentile up close, but I'll take 16:9 over 3:2 thanks.

Let me also say before I forget to mention it - running Froyo on the SGS, Samsung have implemented an easy method to take a screenshot that Google would do well to steal (press and hold "back" then click "home").

Basically since Samsung as near as damn it supply bits and pieces of the iPhone 4 BOM means that they share very similar components and spec. The SGS does try a little too hard to look and act like an iPhone which is a little bit sad but easy enough to revert with third party apps from the Android Market (eg LauncherPro).

So you get it, the Samsung is similar and more cost-effective than iPhone 4 despite sharing and in some cases exceeding the iPhone spec. Sound familiar?

Anyway, what follows is pulled from a bunch of notes I wrote as I got acquainted with the SGS (bear in mind I was coming from a Nexus One running Froyo and an iPhone 3G before that).

There's no camera flash. Hurrah! I fucking hate cheap LED camera flashes that do more to contribute to a bad photo than a good but low-contrast (and shock horror grainy) photo.

It's very light. I like that. It might not be as macho as your gay icon unibody iPhone, but who's counting ismisms.

It looks iPhoney (old style 3G). I think this will put people off, and lead people to compare to the iPhone and say things like "it's got not flash" and "it's light so it must be a girl's phone look how macho my iPhone 4 is".

The UK version does have a front facing camera. Fuck that, I'm not shaving to answer the phone, go straight to voicemail you cnut.

No trackball. Big fucking deal. I haven't missed it once. Swype has cursor keys. Use them.

No visual alerts. Oh big fucking deal, you mean you could see your visual alerts on your Nexus One when the fucking thing was in your pocket? Douchenozzle.

Battery life - easily gets me through a 12 - 22 hour day depending how heavily I use it. I don't have a set routine, sorry. It's on a par with the Nexus One and iPhone 3G - no better, no worse, that I've noticed. I could always buy a spare battery and swap it out, and no doubt extended battery packs will be forthcoming.

I'm not a fan of Samsung's tweaks to vanilla Android. Of course, being that this is open source Android, Samsung have released source code and now it will just take time and a few hacker geek types to get an Android build as Google intended, which I will likely prefer.

Judging from the performance of Asphalt 4 HD (a racing game), this could set the bar for what an Android gamer's device should be. Not that I care since I don't do a lot of gaming on any platform.

TV-out - got it, though you'll need to buy a cable (Nokia CA-75U will do it) and it's SD only out of the minijack. There's also rumours that the USB port will output to HDMI in a future build, though I'm sure Hollywood would like to squash that one sooner rather than later. Go to the cinema you cheap shit!

I rarely take video using phones, however running about with the SGS and reviewing the results on my 24" iMac screen - this reminds me a lot of the early '90s when I would run around with a Chinon Super8 and project the results on my wall. The SGS does a pretty good job at auto-everything. It won't replace your dedicated videocam, but I can see the day when app-phones will be used as auxillery cameras then embraced by indies and outlaws for sure (I mean like within the next ten years, not the next ten weeks). Audio quality? A not too stunning 16kHz (32kHz would have been tolerable, 44kHz would have been great, 48kHz would have been all you need) - Apple SoundTrackPro reads the bit depth as 32-bit which I'm not convinced is correct (was expecting 8bit or 12bit or 16bit) - however listening back it does seem to sound pretty good on recording voice. So maybe the 16kHz/32bit combo (if it really is 32bit and not just STP getting confused) will do fine for near-proximity voice intelligibliity. Go double system anyway.

XXJF3 firmware seems to have memory management problems, whereby the phone doesn't efficiently close out unused programs from memory which leads to lagging (swapping), and recently a couple of total phone lock-ups needing a hard power-down and reboot. Oh dear oh dear.

So to fix this (and so far so good), I rooted (an easy application of a certain update.zip) and run MinFreeManager. Need to leave things running "as normal" a few more days to see if it has fixed anything. Hopefully they'll be an official firmware from Samsung soon to tidy up these bugs else they're gonna be pissing people right off. Also take a look at MoDaCo and XDA device specific forums. Since I wrote about MinFreeManager there's been better ROM releases that don't need it. Though nothing official from Samsung yet as far as I know.

iSyncr has been updated specifically to support the SGS, hurrah!

Froyo XXJP3 firmware (based on Google FRF91) fixes a lot/all of my performance gripes. Slated for release at the end of September 2010, SGS + Froyo final will be a great combo (though not as awesome as Froyo AOSP on SGS would be …) - do check the XDA forum if you're running pre-release XXJP3 to find out how to change your build.prop parameters so that the unstable JIT is minimised (heap size 24mb is working for me).

So currently if you want the best from the SGS you'll have to get your hands dirty. It really depends what your time is worth. The iPhone 4 is around £200 more than the SGS (comparing unlocked versions) and MobileMe is a further subscription on top (though the free Google services do work well on the iPhone).

So, if iPhone 5 is £200 cheaper than a top Android handset, has at least a 4" screen with 16:9 ratio - I could well switch back.

Hahaha just fucking with ya.

Uninformed Ignorant Biased UKFC Rant

2010-07-27T16:48:00.001+01:00

Seen it all before, will see it all again.

The United Kingdom Film Council abolishment is being carried out by the coalition government, acting upon intent of the previous Labour government.

People despise farming subsidies yet movie making subsidies are OK? Because, isn't that what the UKFC was best at? Attracting foreign films to UK shores (note: American productions are classified as foreign) and subsidising them with UK Lottery money. If the UKFC was doing such a good fucking job, why don't any UK directors stick around to make movies with the UKFC (Ritchie, Vaughn, Nolan ...) - I mean, "Gosford Park" hailed as a great UKFC was directed by Robert Altman (god bless him). Huh?

"Sink or swim", I hear the argument. Yet, for the rest of the fucking world not being subsidised that's exactly what we all have to do. And some of us do sink. Badly. Choking, claustrophobic fear filled deaths. Can't rely on handouts of free cash, we have to fucking earn our own cash with our own blood, sweat, tears and broken families. A lot of us swim. Some taken by the currents, a lot taken by the under currents, but hey, head above water, that's swimming, right?

And why is everyone blaming the cock-sucking Tories when it was decided under the previous lazy Labour government that they were going to disassemble their gentleman's club quango before they drew attention to their crooked accounting. Okay, I made that bit up about the accounting. Believe me. No, really I did. The UKFC was an above board quango in every way. They in no way took all that Lottery money and lined their own pockets and made their own films and fornicated whilst visiting big American film sets. Really, they didn't. Trust me.

Thankfully the BFI remains unscathed, however since there are close ties between BFI and ex-UKFC, I do wonder how much UKFC pollution will find its way into the BFI. Mind you, as people keep reminding me, the BFI is a charity, so it's obviously not worth raping. I mean, it's library of British culture, home of the BFI Handbook and LFF, totally fucking worthless for 80 years, compared to the ten year old UKFC failure. Right?

What we really needed was regional arts boards plus UKFC because, after all, films aren't fucking art are they, how can a film be made by a fucking arts board? No, it needs to have "film" in the name or the dumbfuck filmmakers won't know they can get money, and jesus do you want to see another film made by a douchenozzle art student? And how would an arts board ever communicate how great the UK was for making films, with lots and lots of starving actors and crew who will work for food.

Of the wholly British movies funded by the UKFC, I don't know any of their names, so did UKFC spend any money on marketing? I guess not. "Sex Lives Of The Potato Men", yeah thanks for that.

But UKFC licked arse on lots of American productions, so that makes it okay. That makes a British film industry which is not much about Britain (HELLO: Hogwarts is not representative of British culture, though it is a very successful ripoff of 'Worst Witch')

Fuck it. I like American films, but I don't want to subsidise them (disclosure- I don't buy lottery tickets so of course I'm not fucking subsidising them). Send our greatest directors to Hollywood and let the rest of us bathe in our money-starved mediocrity. Now that's true Art.

Pod People, Robots, Monkeys

2010-07-23T16:31:00.001+01:00

It used to be you could happily be a robot or a monkey. But lately I've noticed there is definitely a third category emerging, or, perhaps it has just been dormant. As we all know, a robot is likely to use cold hard logic do make decisions based on choice (perceived or real). A monkey - well, a monkey likes shiny things and is good at busting car aerials - cheeky monkey just wants to have fun and let others worry about the details. The pod person it seems, cannot comprehend that anyone has a thought process that may differ from their own. In a very self-centred way they perceive they are right (usually backed up with marketing bullshit they corroborate with in some emotional capacity) and often become extremely passive-aggressive by slinging backhanded complements to anything they see as threatening their perceived dominance in a situation. This is usually to stop the monkeys considering that robots might be onto a good thing. Because robots are brand disloyal (despite the word originating from the Polish word for slave - then again, how many slaves would actually be loyal to their masters given half a chance?!) the fun loving monkeys are the targets of the pod people (but if any robots can be re-programmed so much the better).

Why?

Monkeys are more likely to be followers than leaders (whereas a robot is generally just going to be a result of its programming) - sure, monkey alpha male, but every alpha has his cheeky fun loving followers. So these pod people position themselves as alpha male monkeys, and frequently offer shiny things. It's a lot easier to get simple rewards-based loyalty from a monkey than it is to reprogram an entire robot.

It's not clear to me if pod people are the result of robot monkey experiments, but clearly they exist. And, they annoy my programming.

Though, I do like shiny things and I'm pretty furry.

Samsung Galaxy S i9000, Why

2010-07-08T23:02:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm an idiot.

There, that's out of the way.

Since Google has forsaken me by striking the Nexus Two off their to do list, I started enviously eyeing the HTC EVO and Motorola Droid X with their Android specs du jour and old fogey friendly 4.3" touchscreens.

Look, I'm going through a tough time, okay? I need distractions to take me away to happy places.

Though surely I would return to the iPhone camp if they offered a screen in the region of 4" (I could possibly live without the 16:9 if retina display is as good as its reputation boosted by people with an interest in repeating Apple marketing materials). It aint gonna happen any time soon (in fact it boggles my mind why Apple isn't towing the 16:9 ratio line).

So it is after barely six months my Nexus One is feeling unloved by its creator, and the shortcomings of the Qualcommmmmmmm Snapdragon GPU are plain to see along with low quality components like the snaptics touchscreen which screws up multitouch gaming by crossing the streams and imploding in front of your face. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the Nexus One and Android rocks. I'm happy ... yet ... not satisfied. If I'm to beat the 20% VAT in 2011 then I need to act soon.

So the Samsung Galaxy S1, S, i9000 whatever the heck it's called. It kinda looks iPhoney (which I find a bit tacky and a bit me-too even though the iPhone 3GS look is now obsoleted by everyone copying the iPhone4 look no doubt). However ... it uses the PowerVR GPU family that the iDevices use and its 1GHz Hummingbird CPU is very close to the ARM chip Samsung designed with/for Apple. As I understand it they're practically the same. In terms of CPU/GPU architecture then the i9000 is practically an iPhone4 running Android. Did I mention it has a 4" touchscreen, AMOLOLOLOOLED or some such. The 720P video it shoots is reasonable for a phone (the fact any phone shoots 720P video leaves me gobsmacked when I think about it - really showing my age there).

So I am pondering. What's the resale value on a SIM unlocked Nexus One?

With the current rate of change I'm guessing - not a great deal. But, more now than in another six months.

OK, I lied. I'm not pondering. I'm pale. I need to stick more stuff on eBay to pay off the credit card bill I will get next month ...

Expect some first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, soon.

If It Sounds Better It Will Look Better

2010-06-10T16:45:00.000+01:00

Okay, there's a saying amongst soundies in the film industry that if something sounds great, it will help it look great. I happen to concur. Not only does sound affect you at deeply emotional level, but it can also help imply to your eye what happens on a cut of in a scene - so you can see something that never happened because your ears fed your eyes.

Where am I going with this, this is rantcloud after all.

When was the last time you watched your music collection? Surely you listen to it?

So why (again) is everyone more concerned over what a music player looks like and what it displays versus it's audio quality and functions?

For example, doubleTwist as potentially great as it may be, seems to be loved by the critics. Why. Because it looks good. FFS.

Right now if you are looking to sync your Android device with your iTunes library (Mac or PC) I'd recommend iSyncr from the Market Place. It works, and it keeps track of yout iTunes play count whilst on the Android device (how it does this I have no idea, but I tested pretty thoroughly and it does work). iSyncr won't win any beauty awards (it's not fugly but it's not a hot supermodel) but it works very well (and is cheaper than Salling Media sync which was my preferred method of sync before iSyncr).

My personal experience with doubleTwist to date is one of mediocrity. Oh, but it does look good (if your baseline is iTunes). By trying to be too many things it excels at none. Both Salling and iSyncr are far superior iTunes/Android syncing solutions though because - just like the core UNIX value - they do pretty much one thing and they do it well.

Now all Android needs is a remarkable music player. I don't mind the stock player, it hooks into Last.FM frictionlessly and scrobbles etc. I listen to my music (I don't sit there watching it) so it functions adequately for me.

There are however some things no Android player does today, though the potential is of course unlimited.

Here's my wishlist. Forget syncing, that's covered by others who already do it better that you.

1. Replay Gain. A standard that has been gaining traction slowly since 2001 or so. I use iVolume on my iTunes library to set the iTunNORM tag so that iTunes (and iPod/iPhones) built-in SoundCheck uses this value (rather than Apple's calculation which is not as good). Even Songbird support Replay Gain now. What a pity they're not developing an Android player (and an aside: where the heck is the VLC player for Android??!)

2. Crossfading between tracks. I don't remember if iPods do this (don't think they do yet), I know iTunes does and I like it a lot (in conjunction with BPM settings). I know Android players don't do this. Why not.

3. Sort by BPM. Useful, but not essential I suppose.

4. Play a m3u file (MP3 playlist) directly. There's only one app in the Android Market that does this. One. Am I the only person who would rather click on a playlist and listen to it instantly, rather than wait for Android to grind through the scan of new media processing album artwork and blah blah put the kettle on I'm bored.

5. Scrobble via standard API made available by Last.FM or Simple Scrobbler. Easy.

So obviously since we're dealing with open source and Linux here you're wondering why I don't shut the fuck up and go and code something myself.

There's a reason I don't develop software. I suck at it.

Perhaps you don't.

INVISIBILITY CLOAKS

2010-05-29T18:17:00.000+01:00

INVISIBILITY CLOAKS

Make sure the switch is in the ‘on’ position

Or you will be featured on Poorly Dressed.

Pod People Peeved

2010-05-23T17:54:00.000+01:00

This whole "my phone is better than yours" reminds me a lot of the old Mac vs PC bullshit spouted by unobjective fanboys from both sides (because marketers have brainwashed you to avoid the mushy middle, you are taught that your brand loyalty should polarise your opinion and it does).

I mean, when you moved from Windows to OS X, did you care that Windows had more apps? So why should I give a shit when pod people go on and on and on about how many more apps there are in the iTunes App Store versus the Android Market. (I'm guessing: NO).

Then as FroYo is released I hear pod people say that upgrading an Android phone is a destructive process, that I'll lose all my data and have to reinstall everything. Well, there goes their last bit of credibility. I upgraded manually from stock Eclair to stock FroYo and - after a bit of grinding, a bit of syncing - all my data and apps were still there. So is that a reason to fear the Android. (My answer: NO).

Another thing I hear again and again is that Android multi-tasking drains the battery fast so you must manage your apps and processes on you phone. More bullshit. I have never bothered to manage multitasking on my Nexus One and easily get 12 - 28 hours between charges depending how much I hammer the WiFi. More FUD from the pod people. So is multitasking a hassle on Android. (Absolutely resounding: NO)

Now, admittedly, I am in the demographic (over 35) that doesn't give a shit about consumer habits and being "cool" or "bad" or "cewl" or "kewl" or "sick". I am brand disloyal. I switched from iPhone to Android because - for me - Android offers more utility and more potential for trying out innovative stuff before it gets on that "other" phone. I'm loving having widgets on my Nexus One homescreen which as far as I know won't be available in iPhone OS4. Also, I'm loving Swype which as far as I know won't be available in iPhone OS4. I'm loving the 16:9 aspect ratio which we can be pretty sure will not debut on the next generation iPhone if the leaks are accurate.

The pod people are running out of FUD so I then started hearing back-handed compliments about the Google I/O announcements, like "oh yeah, that VP is ex-Microsoft" - like being an ex-Microsoft employee automatically makes you an evil conniving complacent bloody-minded monopolising cunt.

Android is where GNU/Linux finally gets into the mainstream. There's nothing the pod people can do unless they build a better phone. Right now, that doesn't appear to be happening and they know it. They applaud the success of the iPad as if it's a direct competitor to Android phones. Which of course, it's not. Personally I still have no use for a tablet, be it running iPhone OS or Android. I have no need to accessorise beyond my core "needs" of a pocketable computer and a more desktop bound heavy-lifting specialist PC. They do not need to be joined at the hip, I'm quite happy that my Android is fully independent from the desktop iMac.

So what does this mean for the future?

It means that - finally - the tech sector might not be dominated by a monopoly and, like most other markets, leave enough room for three big competitors with almost comparable market share.

After A Couple Of Weeks With My Nexus One ...

2010-04-13T19:05:00.004+01:00

Okay, so it seems the last couple of weeks has flown by. You can check out my recommended Nexus One apps by seeing what I keep installed here. I will give special mention to the SatNav software Navigon as my preferred GPS after finding out the free Google Navigation is currently USA only, and Co-Pilot Live has such a crappy/flakey/divide-by-zero installer I gave up and got a refund. Navigon does the job with ruthless German efficiency, but doesn't get listed at AppBrain for some reason. Anyway, this is not an app review, this is a rantcloud.

Why the fuck can't the Nexus One take a screenshot? Perhaps I was spoiled being an iPhone user for 14 months, but come on. It's 20-frickin-10 for crying out loud.

Why the fuck did Google spec an 8kHz A/D encoder? I can understand that phone lines have been 8kHz forever but, HELLO, this thing can be used as a half-decent video camera - except it's only mediocre because of 8kHz/13bit audio digitising for fuck's sake. (And remember, Nyquist tells us that only half of that 8kHz is useable, ie you are recording a 4kHz band, ugh!) - again, it's 2010, not 1910.

Other things I have observed:

If I turn off 3G then battery life on one charge increases by a noticeable amount.

Using an "automount" daemon has caused me to forcibly restart my iMac twice because Finder got its knickers in a [double]twist.

The AGPS unit is definitely less power hungry than the equivalent in the iPhone3G based on recording the same hike with EveryTrail.

Going back to the homescreen, it isn't always centralised and needs a flick to get back to normal. This will probably only make sense if you've seen the same issue.

Cut-and-Paste is half useful, but not system-wide. You can copy text out of the browser (if you know how) but currently it's not possible to copy text from an email. Say what? Anyway, I don't do much cutting-and-pasting so haven't needed to bang my head against a wall.

I quite like the trackball on the infrequent occasion that it's actually useful.

I like haptic feedback on key-presses more than I thought I would.

Live Wallpapers do my head in, I just chose that neutral gray background - yeah, boring old me.

It's more PDA than PSP.

Sorry, but I prefer it's near 16:9 aspect ratio over 4:3 any day of the week iPad fans.

The iPhone UI is more polished and marginally more responsive, I believe due to its PowerVR GPU (tangent: remember PowerVR vs 3Dfx Voodoo?) and more accurate (multi-)touchscreen.

Being able to swap out the softkeyboard for something you prefer from the Android Market is fab.

Getting a refund from the Android Market is frictionless and easy. Getting a refund from the iTunes store, errrrr, how?

All in all, a great phone from the Google/HTC partnership. One which I would not have thought twice about had Apple not decided to sue HTC and prompt me to investigate what all the fuss was about.

Got Milked?

2010-04-07T22:15:00.005+01:00

The picture above is a 1954 vision of the personal computer of 2004. I can forgive futurologists of the '50s for not cottoning on to just how miniaturisation of electronics would change our world.

I can't really forgive Apple. They should know better. I'm sure they do. Milking the market George Lucas style sure is addictive though, 'ey?

The iPad bubble. I had to escape before I suffocated. I got an Android phone. It doesn't need to sync with a PC or Mac. The standalone miniature and pocketable personal computer is my vision of the future.

I still like to think that the "i" in iPad designates it an interim product. But I'm beginning to tire of waiting.

Look, here's how it could work. Your pocket device is basically the network in your pocket (internet, phone network, social network, etc). It has some reasonable human interaction capabilities as demonstrated by multitouch (which Apple shrewdly purchased and did not invent in-house). But we all know you're not going to type a 120 page screenplay on that 3.7" screen, or edit a feature film. Probably nothing beyond 400 or 500 words at a time, tops (a long email). So how do you solve the problem of wanting a better keyboard, a bigger screen, and maybe a mouse or trackpad. The answer is already there: network.

The solutions are so teasingly close I'm amazed Apple haven't done it yet. I'm pretty sure Sun came close, but peaked too early and were more enterprise than entertainment. Years ago I remember hearing about IBM's work on PAN architecture and didn't really get what it could be used for. Now it's clear.

First, the keyboard is easy. HID compliant bluetooth (in lieu of any cabled/docking connection). In fact, it's pretty much there on Android devices and jailbroken iPhones. I don't understand why the bluetooth keyboard market hasn't become rampant since the iPhone's release in 2007.

Perhaps it's because the rest of the package is missing: bigger screen and keyboard.

You want a bigger screen? Well, dare I say it, devices like the Zune demonstrate that HD out is a reality from a pocket device. Cabled today, but work is being done with wireless HD. For anyone with $5 billion and more R&D budgets (Microsoft and Apple), the tech is there to explore, for sure.

So the mouse to maybe control an augmented pointer on the big screen (it could be a touch screen too of course). Well heck, isn't that 3.7" touchscreen in my pocket just dandy as a trackpad? (Taking it out of my pocket first of course).

Anyone who thinks storage may be an issue on you personal pocket device is a newbie to the industry. Battery technology is also on a relentless march. It'll get there.

So, back to the iPad. I wanted it to be a 9.7" dumb screen to connect with my miniature personal computer. It's not. It's another device that needs management. Device management adds complexity to your life. And it only does 1024 x 768 which people found too small 10 years ago for doing actual work. (I don't believe the iPad is meant for work it's meant for hipsters in coffee shops).

IBM's idea of a Personal Area Network may have sounded odd to me a decade ago, but the PAN is where my money would be today if I had any. We're real close now. C'mon, we finally have 60" TVs that you can hang on your wall, flying cars and jetpacks (yes, we do). I want to see the PAN developed and launch it's own eco-system to challenge iDevice+iTunes. I only want one personal computer, and I want to keep it in my pocket (cos, it's personal, see?)

Oh well, I'm usually at least 5 years ahead of reality so I guess I have some more waiting to do.

The Call

2010-04-05T09:03:00.000+01:00

an image from fukung.net

Do They?

2010-04-04T23:25:00.000+01:00

Even atheists love Easter Candy!: "

Author: chris

Posted on: 2010-04-04 16:42:33

Travolting iPad

2010-04-04T23:12:00.000+01:00

Why were you up so early this morning?: "

Author: chris

Posted on: 2010-04-04 16:40:03
"

It Wouldn't Surprise Me

2010-04-02T01:13:00.000+01:00

iPad Scrabble - the future is the past: "

Author: bennybb

Commoditised Knowledge: Remembered Wholesale

2010-03-29T20:57:00.000+01:00

China vs uncensored Google: "

:P

2010-03-29T20:13:00.000+01:00

:P: "

Author: chris

Posted on: 2010-03-29 13:55:40

10 Reasons I Welcome The Rise of the Androids

2010-03-27T10:22:00.005Z

Went cold turkey from my iPhone3G since my Nexus One arrived a couple of days ago. It's been easy, because Android 2.1 really is that good.

1. Multi-tasking - makes a bigger difference than I imagined.

2. Hold the power button and select Airplane Mode to turn of radios.

3. Easy to replace battery (will be handy in a couple of years when it needs replacing).

4. Status bar indicator for A-GPS signal.

5. Easy to scan WiFi for hidden SSID (don't ask).

6. The status bar and pull-down to see notifications.

7. Haptic feedback for keypresses (love it or had it - currently I love it).

8. Big screen for a phone and it doesn't need to be covered in soft buttons either.

9. Widgets - display stuff you want to see rather than rows upon rows of soft buttons.

10. Not SIM locked, easy to root (aka jailbreak) with no cat-and-mouse.

11. Multiple ROMs out there allowing multiple personalities for your phone.

12. Smart Keyboard PRO (from Android Market) is the shizz - no more fumbling for symbol keys, just long press.

13. No activation by a Mac/PC needed (compared to iPhone/iTunes relationship)

14. Integrates really well with Google services - as good as MobileMe for email/calendaring/contacts - but, free.

15. The Nexus One is not covered in ads as some would have you believe.

16. My personal Nexus One engraved with "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".

17. Easy 24 hour refunds from the Android Market Place.

The chances of the next generation iPhone incorporating ALL of these user-centric functions - zero. Therefore: I, Robot.

Nexus One Dock Review

2010-03-26T22:32:00.003Z

Well, this dock was not what I was expecting for $24 (+ forthcoming import duty grrrrrr). Although it comes with a dedicated power supply/phone charger to plug into it, it's a US plug. So, buyer beware - you will have to source a native power supply or plug adapter if you are outside the US. So bizarrely this means I have two US chargers for the Nexus One (one that came in the main box with the phone and the one that came with the dock) plus the EU charger that shipped with the order.

Also you should know that you cannot mount the phone on USB using this dock - it's just not designed to be primarily hooked up to a computer (although it will charge if you do - but nothing else).

What is does do - charge the phone (duh) - turn it into a clock (whether you like it or not) - send music out to external speakers - turn your phone into a strange softly relaxing to look at green clock after five minutes. The music is sent using A2DP it seems, so this dock is also a bluetooth A2DP receiver.

I also found if you try to use the phone whilst it is docked it will keep reverting to clock mode in a rather annoying manner and it's quite easy to knock it out of the dock whilst fiddling.

The reason I bought this was to mount the phone on my computer - which is doesn't do. D'oh. I did buy a couple more microUSB cables since I didn't have any of those, except for the one that shipped with the phone. A couple of quid each from Amazon.

I'll have to see if it's useful for teleconferences.

I have noticed the Nexus One charges a lot quicker from the mains. Charging from USB seems somewhat anaemic and in fact I found if I was using the phone too much whilst charging from USB, the reported battery charge would still go down. Blimey. I hope I imagined that.

Testing global 1161 #EggFreckles

2010-03-26T19:17:00.001Z

Sometimes 14 years eve using voice recognition to keep a model cars. 11 is halloween using tries to run translation in love with the chipset and karylle maps mail something a killer song grenoble.

Priscilla's in 1 day you will be useful and birthdays today. 14 union just because it's really miss translates wife said and special so much much for me.

See what i mean.

Google Nexus One - First Boot, SIM-less, In Pictures

2010-03-26T17:58:00.027Z

iPhone Lovers Fragging Android

2010-03-22T16:26:00.000Z

While I wait for my Nexus One to arrive (which will be replacing my iPhone 3G), I've continued to read up on Android. I've noticed a pattern. Dyed-in-the-wool iPhone boys really do their best to discredit the Nexus One, and Android, at every opportunity. It may not be helped by some obvious trolls in the Android camp, but nonetheless the pattern is there. The biggest reasons I've heard for not switching to Android are listed below. Along with my assessment. All in all, the iPhone boys are getting quite defensive, fancy that.

1. The Android platform is fragmented/fragmenting.

"Android has to support so many devices and form factors that the universe is going to implode".

It's true that too much choice can lead to confusion and inaction. But frankly GNU/Linux scales just as well as OS X, and shockingly it has these things called drivers that can accommodate specific hardware. I just don't understand the fragmentation argument, other than sewing of FUD. The closest other example I can think of was the FUD around the forking of UNIX. Funnily enough OS X is a certified UNIX so that didn't turn out so bad, did it? Apple also has different devices. For example I can buy apps for my iPhone 3G that won't work because it doesn't have a digital compass or video camera. Holy mother of god, the iPhone platform is fragmented!

2. iPhone App Store eclipses Android Market Place in sheer number of apps available.

To me this is just a non-argument. I think the latest figures are 140,000 iPhone apps vs 30,000 Android apps. But really, who gives a fuck? Gaming is definitely better on the iPhone (and likely will remain so) but for everything else I've found an Android equivalent. Each platform probably has the same amount of good and worthwhile apps. I've certainly wasted more than a few beer tokens on iPhone apps thinking they'll be useful, only to find out I was deluding myself. In the long run I think they'll be more apps available for Android, but really, I don't care. Most of them will be shit just like in the App Store today.

3. Managing content is somehow exclusively tied to iTunes.

I use iTunes and I really don't mind it. Largely thanks to Steve Jobs the AAC files you buy there are unencumbered by draconian copy protection methods. Funnily enough the Nexus One (and Android in general) has support for playback of AAC, H264, MP4, etc. Apparently people think content is "locked in" to iTunes. Which is bullshit, obviously. If nothing else you can drag stuff out of iTunes to the desktop (on a Mac at least, I assume the same is possible on Windows). But who wants to do that? Why not get DoubleTwist (free) or Salling Media Sync (free or paid) and sync your iTunes playlists to your Android device? Salling will even transcode video if necessary. If I never see the iPhone device tabs ever again, what have I lost? Nothing. (okay, I don't care to listen to podcasts, but I'm sure if I did then a bit of research would turn up a solution for that - such is the diversity of open platforms). iPhoto will continue to agnostically and happily pull photos out of any attached DCIM folder.

4. The music player on Android 2.1 is rubbish.

Obviously I haven't used this yet, but from everything I've seen it fits my usage patterns - listen to a playlist or shuffle a playlist. That's all I ever do on an iPod or with iTunes. For me cover-flow is a showboating technology with no actual point or enhancement to my listening experience. So likely I will get on merrily with Android Music Player. If I don't then alternatives exist in the Market Place.

I'll be sure to go cold turkey with my iPhone 3G as soon as the Nexus One is booted up, and report back to the blog. If I think the Nexus One sucks, you can be sure I'll have a rant about it. Right now I'm waiting for any sign of life on the DHL tracking reference ...

And in the worst case scenario ... I switch back to iPhone. Brand disloyalty, a shocking concept I know!

Get To The Point

2010-03-20T15:41:00.000Z

Powerpoint and dying kittens: "

I'm 96% sure this isn't true. [Mark Goetz via dataviz]

Stop #2095 Time

2010-03-20T15:38:00.000Z

Author: ray3c

Posted on: 2010-03-20 15:24:01

Choose Your Own ... oh never mind

2010-03-19T22:24:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

The Call

2010-03-19T22:18:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

Yarrr

2010-03-19T22:14:00.000Z

Random image from fukung.net: 5f0f805f11f7db672d2b78fc07dfa842.jpg: "

an image from fukung.net

The Something of Boris

2010-03-19T22:13:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

Belong

2010-03-19T20:44:00.000Z

All your data are belong to us: "

Author: bennybb

Posted on: 2010-03-19 13:09:46

Catasticness

2010-03-18T22:47:00.000Z

HOVERBALL CAT: "

According to this report, “This picture was taken just before Hoverball Cat took off at supersonic speed. It sounded like a whistle and a scream and the ground caught fire.”

Via Mr. Andersen at Implodr

Chicken Not Little

2010-03-18T18:59:00.000Z

Chickenfield: "

Author: bennybb

Posted on: 2010-03-18 11:49:04

No Hits

2010-03-18T18:58:00.000Z

Photo: "

Kitty

2010-03-18T18:49:00.000Z

Take away the fur and they don’t seem so lovable, do they....:

Worst Game

2010-03-18T18:46:00.000Z

No wonder: "

Author: bennybb

Posted on: 2010-03-18 13:22:44

Life Unboxed

2010-03-18T18:42:00.000Z

Author: bennybb

Posted on: 2010-03-18 11:31:43

iPhone or Android, Cathedral or Bazaar, Apple or Google

2010-03-16T20:02:00.006Z

So I'm looking forward to Apple releasing the next generation of iPhone and iPhone OS, who isn't? However, recent events are making me consider an Android phone as a viable alternative to my iPhone 3G. Why is this?

My iPhone is 15 months old. It was imported at high cost from Italy where they are sold factory unlocked (any SIM will work, no jailbreaking required). Because I use my mobile phone as an essential piece of work equipment, it must remain vendor supported. And, no, I don't want the hassle of carrying more phones and gadgets around with me thanks.

Just lately I've noticed a couple of things:

- The build quality on my iPhone 3G really isn't what I'd expect from a premium product. The plastic back has two hairline cracks - one by the dock connector, one by the mute switch.

- There's an annoying amount and size of dust trapped under the screen, presumably getting in now that the back case is not totally flush with the bezel and gasket.

- Apple have started to take away functions I use on a semi regular basis, for example copying large files by wired USB to a subfolder in the DCIM folder on the phone for an app to import, and, WiFi scanning.

- Apple sued HTC over a bunch of crap after Nokia sued Apple over a bunch of crap. The latest estimate is that Nokia will see Apple in court in 2012, so all this crap really is the usual dog-and-pony show. No word on progress of Apple vs HTC.

Basically, I expected more from Apple. Whilst the iPhone remains a great phone it's only a marginally useful pocket computer with a diminishing set of real-world usefulness for me. The 'pocket computer' aspect is important to me because I have ditched laptop computing in favour of specialist computing on the desktop (video editing, word processing, and stuff on the 24" iMac) and doing my personal computing on the pocket computing functions of the iPhone (email, calendaring, social notworking, newsreading, helping my dad fix a WLAN ...)

If Apple had never sued HTC then I would never have given Android a second look. I find that kind of delicious and wonder if it's evidence of further Machiavellian scheming to keep eyes focused on Apple and Google, who may yet still be playing out a two-pronged attack against Microsoft (Google from the low-end, Apple from the high end).

Anyway.

Since I soon realised that HTC had made the Google Nexus One phone running Android OS, I started wondering if it would be a viable alternative to an iPhone when the time comes (likely to be some time this year - I'll probably wait three or four months - perhaps). All my 'cloud' services run on Google after a disappointing year spent with .mac a while back. The Nexus One and Google services seem like a perfect match if the rest of the functionality of the iPhone is matched.

With the exception of 3D gaming, it is as far as I can tell. I've checked Android Market and all my additional 'essential' apps have equivalents. The only thing, for me, that differentiates an iPhone from a Nexus One is the flexibility. The iPhone is becoming increasingly inflexible, whereas Nexus One is a polar opposite. Long term, Android would seem to have a very bright future and iPhone a kind of Stepford wives future trapped in the app store with no more hairbrained innovation allowed. Sure, people point to web apps but, honestly, don't you still prefer native apps today? And likely will do for the foreseeable future.

Of course, the problem with Android is it could end up being the "Windows" to iPhone's "Mac". A big tangled mess of exception handling riddled with viruses and highly vulnerable to malware. However, this hasn't happened to any other *nix based OS that I know of, so I have no reason to believe it will happen to Android any time soon.

In the course of checking out YouTube videos of the Nexus One it was also impossible to avoid the chatter around HTC's upcoming 'Desire' phone. Basically it's very very similar to the Nexus One, but with a SenseUI layer and a few minor changes to keep costs down. I get the feeling that SenseUI is one of the things that Apple are suing over - from the physics engine when scrolling to cut-and-paste it all seems very very familiar. But what do I care? It's a whole lot cheaper than a current iPhone and it's more flexible (HTC don't try to obfuscate sale of SIM unlocked phones).

So unless the next iteration of iPhone and iPhone OS make it worth my while, my next decision will be between the Nexus One, HTC Desire, and/or whatever the latest greatest Android handset is.

In conclusion here's a brief list of unweighted pros and cons as applies to me:

iPhone

+massive app store

+3D gaming performance

+good quality speakerphone

+very large apps can be installed

-physical build quality seems poor after everyday real world usage

-lack of flexibility for developers, and, me

-carrier locked in the UK (O2, Orange, Vodafone)

-480 x 320 screen

-spec showing it's age (what, ~600MHz, 384MB RAM on 3GS?)

-cannot change the battery without significant hassle

-no flash for camera

-a lot of impulse buys soon add up!

-kind of useless without iTunes

Google Nexus One

+no carrier lock

+decent Android Market and other sources

+built with Google services in mind

+over the air OS updates

+totally open platform, amazing things could happen

+800 x 480 screen

+1GHz CPU

+512MB RAM

+removable microSD storage

+removable battery

+LED flash for camera

-could stagnate and bloat like Mozilla, maybe go nowhere

-shitty sounding speakerphone

-current idiotic architecture does not allow installing binaries onto microSD

I do thank Apple for kicking the industry up the arse in 2007. A rising tide floats all boats.

EDIT:

I've since discovered that the Nexus One uses a vastly inferior touchscreen component. This could be the deal-breaker for me. My iPhone may look nasty with hairline cracks and dust under the screen but at least you know Apple do sweat the details - I bet they took a calculated risk using plastic to save a few cents in a recession. I'm not excusing Apple, and I'm not excusing HTC for sourcing such a bad touchscreen from Synaptics (as I understand it, it's a hardware issue on the Nexus One, not software). Since the HTC Desire is based off the Nexus One, who's to say if it will have the same multi-touch inadequacy and thus contribute to holding the Android platform back from reaching it's full potential.

This video illustrates perfectly the problem with the Nexus One touchscreen in comparison to the Motorola Droid which is first up:

As with all escapes, mine must be well timed and worthwhile.

2012

2010-03-13T14:42:00.000Z

Author: chris

Posted on: 2010-01-04 17:29:57

Served At Home

2010-03-12T18:28:00.000Z

Do your children need to know this?: "

Author: fail

Posted on: 2010-03-12 17:54:18

Causing Convenience

2010-03-12T18:26:00.000Z

Author: funsign

Posted on: 2010-03-12 15:58:34

Read All Day, All Night, All Week

2010-03-12T18:18:00.000Z

Author: chris

Posted on: 2010-03-11 23:55:09

The Scream "D'Oh"

2010-03-12T18:17:00.000Z

Photo: "

Art Is A Lie That Makes Us Realise The Truth

2010-03-11T18:00:00.000Z

About the true artists:

Author: bennybb

Posted on: 2010-03-11 19:23:21

The Bat Cat

2010-03-11T17:56:00.000Z

(title unknown): "

All In The Mind

2010-03-09T21:10:00.000Z

Photo: "

Coke Free

2010-03-09T17:01:00.000Z

via http://www.wordboner.com/post/349581252/get-it-get-it-in-the-european-store-make#disqus_threa

Stand Out

2010-03-09T16:59:00.000Z

Ittqu.jpg (JPEG Image, 450x644 pixels):

via http://www.reddit.com/

How to Teach Yourself Programming

2010-03-08T20:56:00.000Z

How to Teach Yourself Programming: "

Seriously, why is everyone in such a rush?

Thomas and Jerry

2010-03-08T20:44:00.000Z

Thomas and Jerry:

Author: ccc

Posted on: 2010-03-09 01:51:20

Make Sense Mug

2010-03-08T20:39:00.000Z

sabinasblog:

(via littlemiss)

FU FOX!

2010-03-05T16:36:00.000Z

FU FOX!: "

Montagues and Capulets

2010-03-04T16:59:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

Fish What?!

2010-03-04T16:58:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

Why you should buy art!

2010-03-04T16:51:00.000Z

Why you should buy art!: "

Author: ccc

Posted on: 2010-03-04 14:30:27

He Preferred The Granny 'Tache

2010-03-03T20:58:00.000Z

He doesn't love Grandma much: "

Author: chris

Posted on: 2009-09-10 11:09:34

Remote Control

2010-02-18T18:27:00.000Z

Truth about TV remote: "

Author: chris

Bluescreen Blues

2010-02-17T21:20:00.000Z

instantjoy: I told you we need a GREEN box: "

Fxxk Art

2010-02-17T15:51:00.000Z

Author: bennybb

This Means Something, This Is Important

2010-02-15T19:37:00.000Z

Doom Babies

2010-02-14T13:51:00.000Z

As Seen On Ilafox

Tosser

2010-02-13T19:51:00.000Z

I felt I needed to repost this: "

Bacon Cheese Turtle Hamburger

2010-02-13T19:41:00.000Z

This is why you are fat? Bacon Cheese Hamburgers..: "

Truth Hurts

2010-02-09T22:33:00.000Z

(via u1.ipernity.com): "

Bite Me

2010-02-09T22:16:00.000Z

Photo: "

Cat 5

2010-02-08T19:04:00.000Z

Photo: "

Look Into My Eyes

2010-02-08T09:23:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

Bungeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2010-02-07T20:51:00.000Z

Bungee Jumping Cat: "

Author: chris

Follow The Yellowbrick

2010-02-07T19:32:00.000Z

marxisforbros: Banksy.: "

In The Mind Of The Prospect

2010-02-07T10:02:00.000Z

Art History Poster:

Author: chris

CLI Fu

2010-02-06T23:03:00.000Z

an image from fukung.net

What's With The What Um Thing

2010-02-06T19:27:00.000Z

GNJ

Brainiac

2010-02-06T19:24:00.000Z

I can kill you with my brain:

HR Giger wedding cake

2010-02-05T19:17:00.000Z

HR Giger wedding cake: "

Now that's true love, true, chest-bursty love.

H.R. Giger Cake

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in Makers |

Digg this!"

Spork

2010-02-03T22:46:00.000Z

Photo: "

Spud U Like

2010-02-03T17:27:00.000Z

Friends are like potatoes

..Also for Profit.

2010-02-03T17:16:00.000Z

..Also for Profit.: "

Fear Of Change

2010-02-02T21:16:00.000Z

(via Quintana Photography): "

Speechless

2010-02-02T17:50:00.000Z

Photo Retouching by Waldo Lee: "

Incredible work by the Paris based artist.

Via Unstage (Click here for more)

Advertise with Design You Trust! - DYT on Twitter - Facebook"

Mars Rover All Alone

2010-02-02T17:46:00.000Z

xkcd.: "

Super

2010-01-30T23:53:00.000Z

Photo: "

"

iStink Therefore iPad

2010-01-29T16:00:00.007Z

So, iPad. Looks like more a proof-of-concept to me rather than a finished product. But perhaps that's the point. Keeps tongues wagging. You'll note it's driven me to write some actual words rather than post another juvenile picture.

I really think Apple play by the Jack Trout gamebook, whether they know it or not. Let's see how closely they play to Jack's mate's Al's and Laura's 22 'immutable laws of branding' to understand why you have heard of the iPad yet don't know how the Crusades led to the formation of University degrees.

1. The Law of Expansion - the power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.

The iPad has a very narrow scope as evident from all the "things that are missing from the iPad" rants all over the internets big fat gob.

2. The Law of Contraction - a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.

Uh, isn't this the same as the first law? Certainly, iPad is focused on presenting the best browsing experience, etc. Whether it actually is the best or not doesn't matter - it only matters in your mind. Stephen Fry has already made his mind up, as has Daring Fireball.

3. The Law of Publicity - the birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising.

Well, duh. What have you been reading about the last eight weeks before Apple even acknowledged the iPad existed? Publicity via the rumour mill, not advertising.

4. The Law of Advertising - once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy.

I'll be surprised if Apple don't advertise the fact when the iPad goes on sale in a couple of months. I've already received the mailshot.

5. The Law of the Word - a brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.

What word does iPad own in your mind? Too early to say perhaps. Ultimately the lack of a single word the iPad owns may be its undoing. Maybe it will own 'tablet' or 'touchscreen', it certainly is not competing to own the word 'cheap' (and nor should any brand).

6. The Law of Credentials - the crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity.

Why do you think Jobs opened with an ancient pic of him and Woz in the '70s and went on about 250,000,000 iPods sold by his $50 billion dollar company. Credibility, authenticity.

7. The Law of Quality - quality is important, but brands are not built by quality alone.

Will the iPad perform better than HP's Slate? Are you sure? Will the iPad manufacturing process result in less defects than Dell's manufacturing process for the Mini 5? Are you sure? Quality is implied by not being the cheapest whilst simultaneously not appearing to be the 'cheap' either (even if you are - you do know how much mark-up there is on Apple products, right?) - if you still don't understand, get to know Ratners.

8. The Law of Category - a leading brand should promote the category, not the brand.

I don't think Apple's leadership is under contention at this point (note that leadership and market share are not the same thing). If iPad is the brand then the category is mobile touchscreen devices - possibly replacing 'netbooks' and certainly competing with them. Is Apple promoting multitouch devices? Yes, everything from phones to mice it would seem. And is it not rather telling that all Jobs talked about for 90 minutes was the experience of using the multitouch device.

9. The Law of the Name - in the long run a brand is nothing more than a name.

And what a name, love it or hate it. What's an iPad? You know now, and I'll bet you'll know in 10 years time too. Heck, people still know what a Newton is, right? Whether the iPad is still manufactured in 10 years time is irrelevant. The name has done its job in your head.

10. The Law of Extensions - the easiest way to destroy a brand is put its name on everything.

This is why we won't ever see iPad written on a MacBook. Not because it doesn't make sense (which is only in your mind now you know what an iPad is) but because an iPad is not a Macintosh now, is it. But it could have been.

11. The Law of Fellowship - in order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands.

A rising tide floats all boats. I'll bet HP and Dell welcome Apple's entry into the touchscreen personal computing category.

12. The Law of the Generic - one of the fastet routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name.

Which is the more generic term - Surface, Tablet, Slate, Mini 5, iPad. See? Exactly.

13. The Law of the Company - brands are brands. companies are companies. there is a difference.

It's Apple's iPad but you still know what an iPad is, right? The Microsoft Surface, HP Slate and the Dell Mini 5, do the respective companies allow Surface, Slate and Mini 5 to effectively stand alone? No. You need the company name attached to make any sense. Now it could be that Fujitsu have a claim on the iPad name, but does it matter now? Just like only nerds know what the Cisco Iphone is.

14. The Law of Subbrands - what branding builds, subbranding can destroy.

Will their be an iPad Lite, or an iPad Deluxe, or an iPad Maxi any time soon. Unlikely. Though how about iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle? Well, you create subbrands when you are chasing the market. I'd say that's exactly what Apple are doing in that category with the iPod. Successfully. Whilst transitioning to touch. It wouldn't surprise me if iPod Touch is the last iPod standing, perhaps with the Shuffle to bottom-end the market.

15. The Law of Siblings - there is a time and a place to launch a second brand.

The iPad direct siblings would appear to be iPhone and iPod Touch. But Apple has several types of branded computers for sale. Successful sibling brands all keep their own identity. Would you ever mistake an iMac 21" for an iMac 27"? How about mix up an iPod Touch with an iPhone? Oooh, danger Will Robinson. However, one makes cellphone calls, the other does not. Would you ever buy an iPhone without knowing which network you will run it on? How about the iPod Touch. Do you know the difference between a Dell Latitude D430 and a Dell Latitude D610?

16. The Law of Shape - a brand's logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. both eyes.

Somewhat curious that Apple breaks this rule with the company logo. But see law 13. The iPad is not represented with an icon or a crest or anything visual - it's a word, and that is all.

17. The Law of Colour - a brand should use a colour that is the opposite of its major competitor's.

So, at the company level you see Microsoft written in black a lot (though also white) and the Apple logo in white (though also black). The iPad is, what, silver and black, glass and metal. It's major competitor is yet to arise (and of course the iPad is far from a home run), but it definitely sits in the netbook segment. Netbooks are, what, plastic, brown, black, kind of opposite in material to the iPad if not fully in colour. But if someone launches a direct iPad competitor (not a Chinese clone) I'm guessing the most successful will differentiate itself from the iPad with colour, but what is the opposite colour to silver? Slate black?

18. The Law of Borders - there are no barriers to global branding. a brand should know no borders.

So that's why Marathon was renamed Snickers and Jif renamed Cif! Global brands, not regional. Is that why I've heard of a Zune but can't actually buy one outside of North America? Okay, so the iPad comes to the UK later than the US, but it is coming. The Zune's been out for years but is too scared to travel.

19. The Law of Consistency - a brand is not built overnight. success is measured in decades, not years.

There you have it. Nobody can declare iPad a failure just yet, just as no one can declare it a world changing success.

20. The Law of Change - brands can be changed , but only infrequently and only very carefully.

Don't see this affecting the iPad until it has to displace the MacBook, or iMac. But look at how Apple handled the transition from PowerPC based PowerBooks to intel based MacBooks. From my perspective it was flawless and actually bizarrely exciting. Now consider why you must upgrade your Microsoft Office suite every couple of years. What's the tangible value? Problem free?

21. The Law of Mortality - no brand will live forever. euthanasia is often the best solution.

That's why the Newton was killed, I guess. There was no intel PowerBook. How's Appletalk doing nowadays?

22. The Law of Singularity - the most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness.

You already know what an iPad is and that's a good start. But does the iPad own a singular idea or concept - a differentiating idea - in your mind? It's success will be as simple and as difficult as that.

"The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" by Al Ries and Laura Ries was first published in 1998.

Deep, I'm Sure

2010-01-27T21:09:00.000Z

Random image from fukung.net: 38cd773d5b46bb04943c3ae9dee448ad.jpg: "

an image from fukung.net

Girl Sold, Dad Calls Cops

2010-01-26T20:05:00.000Z

Photo: "

Muppet Exam

2010-01-21T18:39:00.000Z

tehphilosopherking: (via moneyissues): "

"Enlightenment"

2010-01-20T16:21:00.000Z

Enlightenment:

Eat

2010-01-17T20:26:00.000Z

Empire: Urban Regeneration

2010-01-16T22:21:00.000Z

Photo: "