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Wall Of Sound: The Biggest iPod Speaker In The World!
March 9, 2010
So when exactly could an iPod speaker be considered over the top? When the neighbours come knocking? When the police get called? Nope, now it seems there is a new benchmark – size.
Introducing the Wall Of Sound which dwarfs any personal speaker I have ever seen in my lifetime. Weighing in at 225 pounds and completely handmade, the Wall Of Sound can be purchased for mammoth price of $4,495.
Continue reading »Focus On Imaging 2010 Review (Photo & Video Image Capture Exhibition)
March 9, 2010
Last Sunday I was lucky enough to visit the annual Focus on Imaging exhibition where I joined the anticipated 35,000 other people that will be coming through the doors of the NEC over the next few days (until this Wednesday 10th March 2010, so it’s not too late for you to pay it a visit) to see what has become the most popular photographic show in the country.
What everyone comes to see is one of the biggest concentrations of cameras and anything vaguely related to them this side of Buckingham Palace, and to see some of the biggest names in the business showing off their best and newest offerings to the market: people such as Panasonic, Nikon, Canon, Adobe, Epson, Fuji, HP… I could go on!
Continue reading »Nike+ Running Sensor & iPhone App Review
March 8, 2010
Nike paired up with Apple to produce, what I think, is a great piece of running kit to encourage you to get out and about, walking or running.
What is the Nike+ Sensor for?
The Nike+ sensor and iPhone app track your running progress while you’re out and about through distance, speed and calories. It’s a little like the stats given to you while running on a treadmill. It’s great to have those milestones to help you keep going, even while listening to music. The app gives you stats to take away and feel good about.
Continue reading »How to Reset/Restore Your iPhone 3G/3GS
March 2, 2010
In the past I’ve written about my experiences of Apple’s big iPhone 3.0 software update in which I’ve had my doubts over useful the update itself was and found that after two months I had to try to restore my (then) iPhone 3G PAYG as I suspected (or hoped) the problems I had were due to some corrupted files and not a hardware fault.
Now as much as I like to do my fair share of Apple-bashing like any decent PC user and coupled with the highly annoying iTunes sluggishness we experience in Windows, I have to admit that they have made managing your iPhone day-to-day in terms of synchronising, backing up and restoring it when needed very simple and effective.
Unfortunately, iPhones are not without their faults, issues and problems like any other mobile phone or mini-computer, the worst one I’ve experienced a few times now is everytime you try to start an app, it would then immediately crash! Handy eh? Suffice to say, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to become familiar with restoring and resetting the two iPhones that I’ve owned so far.
Continue reading »Intego VirusBarrier X6 Review (Mac Anti-Virus Software)
February 26, 2010
Shortly before the new year, Intego’s popular anti-virus offering for OS X received an update in the form of VirusBarrier X6, which builds on X5 with new features and a lower price point of £39.95 (ex. VAT) with a standard license that covers two Macs, not just one, so for instance you could protect your MacBook Pro and Mac Mini on one subscription.
If you’ve never heard of Intego’s anti-virus (after all, if Apple had their way, everyone would think that getting a virus on a Mac is impossible, although some people think Windows is Virus Proof too!) then you’ll also be interested to know that it can also detect Windows malware in addition to OS X, so if you have a boot camp partition setup, you needn’t worry about any viruses on Windows either!
I personally have never had an anti-virus on any Mac I’ve owned, so I was definitely curious to see if I had anything nasty hiding out on my hard drive that had escaped my attention – coming from years of Windows use before using OS X, it’s certainly a strange feeling not worrying about an anti-virus, but I definitely feel more secure knowing that I’m protected even though it didn’t find any malware when I left it scanning. The scan took around two hours to complete and was very thorough, which was re-assuring.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Ease of Use
February 17, 2010
For most consumers, the number one factor when buying a computer is for it to ‘just work’ without them having to play around with various settings or install drivers for various hardware components.
There’s certainly quite a long way to go for many Linux distributions, but my experience so far with Ubuntu 9.10 has been painless, with everything seemingly slotting in to place and co-operating nicely. This also applies when installing software, and thanks to the Ubuntu Software Centre, it couldn’t be much easier…
With the introduction of the Software Centre, there’s now one place where the user can install, remove and update all of the software on their computer. Introduced with Ubuntu 9.10 in October, the functionality of the Software Centre will grow with the release of future versions, eventually replacing other applications such as the Synaptic Package Manager and taking over their functionality by incorporating it into the Software Centre.
Continue reading »Windows Phone 7 Series Announced By Microsoft
February 15, 2010
Microsoft have just announced their re-branding of Windows Mobile; the Windows Phone 7 Series at the 2010 Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona. The name may be a bit of a mouthful, but it’s clear that their new mobile operating system has taken a drastically different approach than previous efforts from Windows Mobile.
Every Windows Phone will have three buttons on the front of it: Start, Search and Back. This consistency will allow for a better experience for the user with hardware and software working together better – it’s a theme that Google’s also been chasing with their Android devices (such as the Nexus One) by encouraging manufacturers to use their 4 button template on the front of their devices, offering consistency across the board. This is definitely a step in the right direction as not only does it allow hardware and software to work better together, but also allows a much easier transition between Windows Phone devices.
Continue reading »Google Nexus One Review (UK)
February 15, 2010
Google’s new ‘superphone’, the Nexus One, has been the topic of many conversations since its release a day before CES began in January. Released subsidised in the US, and also available unlocked to the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong from Google directly, it comes packed with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM and a 5MP camera (more on that later on).
Shipping and Initial Setup
The cost of the phone from Google is $529, although you’ll also have to consider international shipping costs of $29.65. DHL’s tracking service was great to have when biting my nails to see where my phone was, although it took an extra day to arrive after landing in the UK due to a shipping mix up – it was destined for Gatwick instead of Manchester, but I was just grateful that my Nexus One didn’t end up in Uganda…
Continue reading »Google Chrome OS Tablet Concept? (Rumour)
February 2, 2010
With the press announcement of the Apple iPad come and gone, the fallout finally settling down, now there’s rumours beginning to arise of a potential Google ‘Chrome OS Tablet’. The rumours emerge from within Google themselves as they have shown mockups of such a device on a developer site.
With the release of the web-based Google Chrome operating system growing ever imminent, the world has been pondering over what the ideal device for the OS is. Originally, it was seen as the perfect netbook OS. A lightweight, web based OS would be a perfect fit for lower end netbooks which don’t possess the required power to get the best of Windows 7. Obviously netbooks are still in with a shout as Acer are apparently planning to release a Chrome OS netbook later this year.
Continue reading »The Apple iSlate: Wow!!!…
February 1, 2010
I’m almost certain he did this at some point, but I can’t find it. Ah well, never mind..
So then, let’s get down to stating the bleeding obvious about the Apple iPad…
Where’s the kick-stand? – Tablets are unwieldy, and it’s a pain to hold it through a 2 hour movie. I suppose you could scratch the back up by resting it against something, but good luck with that rounded back.
Wot, No Flash? – According to Apple, some websites aren’t accessible through the iPad, because the browser you’re forced to use doesn’t support it. Well, clearly the iPad belongs in 1996, when that wouldn’t have been such a massive, debilitating and inexcusable deficiency. Honestly, I’m lost for words on this one. I mean, I’d be better-off with my PSP(!)
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