Shiny and New

Monday, June 15, 2009 ~ 1 comment so far

Despite suggesting that I had, I didn’t actually purchase a 1TB drive the other day. I was perilously close and it was only the realisation that we were getting the bathroom done (and the car needs an MOT) that stopped me.

The same basic maths (money in - money out) is what will stop me getting the new iPhone 3GS when it is available. The one thing that excites me the most is the improved camera as it is safe to say that I’ve started using it far more than I imagined, largely thanks to the application Flickit which makes uploading images from my iPhone to Flickr achingly simple. Add in CameraBag for some post-processing fun and I’ve actually quite enjoyed using my iPhone as a camera.

Still needs must and if I’m honest a new iPhone isn’t a need. Neither is a 1TB drive, nor a second monitor or a second LCD TV for the bedroom, nor any manner of media gadget for the living room, indeed there is not really any need for any other shiny new things.

Yet the desire to get something shiny and new remains and, no matter how many I purchase, just isn’t sated by recent Threadless purchases.

Note to self: whatever happened to that t-shirt project you were gonna do? huh?? Lazy sod.

The iPhone remains the best gadget I’ve bought for a while, largely because the “ohh new and shiny” appeal is constantly being polished by the discovery of a new application that I didn’t know I needed. Apparently there’s an App for That too…

I don’t think I’ll ever be cured of the need for something new. It’s almost, but not quite, a grass is greener type desire balanced only by the fact that I can’t really afford to ‘experiment’ with new shiny things so said purchases are always well considered and match my exacting and specific needs. Part of me wonders if I enjoy the planning/researching stage more than I let on.

And part of me wonders just how much I have left on the credit card…

Space

Thursday, June 4, 2009 ~ 1 comment so far

The final front ears.

1 TB for £59.99, the advert announces, loudly, in my inbox. Regardless I move the cursor up to the Delete button and, hang on… £59.99, that’s not that bad.

Hmmm, I could replace the current second drive in my PC (it’s “only” 250GB) and then I could rip all our DVDs to the PC, convert them ready for viewing on any device, and then stream them downstairs to the PlayStation so we can watch any movie we want without having to shift from the sofa, walk 12 paces to the bookcase, and then walk 12 back.

So, by my reckoning, by shelling out £59.99 and spending weeks carefully ripping DVDs and probably reformatting them for something a bit ‘friendlier’ (MP4?), I could save us walking the length of the living room now and then.

All of these thoughts take place in an instant and, without even realising, my brain has moved my hand and subsequently the mouse cursor is hovering over said advert and the first, all too easy step, towards a purchase is at the end of my finger.

One click is all it would take.

But then, I wonder, I could certainly put £59.99 to good use on something else, something like.. like…

*CLICK*

Ohh shoot.

Still, at least I know what I’ll be doing for the next few weeks..

Switching off

Saturday, May 23, 2009 ~ No comments yet

Nothing of substance. Truth be told I’m killing time whilst I wait for some software to install. Aren’t you lucky, dear reader, that I’m so thoughtful.

I’m installing software because I’m working today, which from the looks of the weather doesn’t seem like a bad option now, typically holiday weekend weather outside. In other words, it’s chucking it down. Mind you, I’ll be in again on Monday as well so, frankly, the weather is the least of my concerns.

The office is quiet, so I’ve got my new XMI X-Mini Max speakers hooked up to my laptop to test them and have to admit that, for such a teeny tiny speaker system, the sounds is pretty acceptable. Perfect for taking on holiday.

Speaking of which, I’m starting to realise that I’ve only got a week left to pack… ohh wait, what am I thinking, it’ll take me all of 20 mins, 10 of which will be deciding which t-shirts to take.

What will take more time will be making sure I’ve got the right movies and music ready on my iPhone (and a new iPod Touch that some will be getting as an early birthday present… ssshhhhh). Never an easy task that one, although I do tend towards Soul, RnB and Pop and away from my usual fare. That said I can’t NOT have the new Prodigy album on there… but I’m open to suggestions.

What’s your favourite sunshine album?

I’ll start that task tomorrow, as well as nipping to the gym for a while (yeah, I do that now!) although that depends wholly on the state of my hangover as we are visiting my tequila monster friend this evening. I swear the woman is determined to destroy my liver.

So that’ll be the sum total of my day tomorrow, a day off which will be spent sorting out the various gadgets that accompany us to Spain, watching the Grand Prix, some footie and generally not doing a whole lot. I can’t bloody wait.

Lessons learned

Friday, May 8, 2009 ~ 3 comments so far

It’s all go at McLean Mansions but that’s nothing new for the first week in May with my sister celebrating her birthday on the 5th and my sister-in-law celebrating hers on the 7th. Of course that means presents and nice meals in restaurants, so we were out for dinner on Monday evening, and we’re back out tonight. Twice in one week! I know, I know, such a heady life I lead.

It’s not all fun and games though, I’ve spent the rest of my evenings either watching football, working on a client website, and royally screwing up my Windows PC (thank heavens I have a Macbook as well). Add in a fairly mental week at work and a rapidly filling list of things to do and I’ll admit that I’ve not really been fully concentrating on some things.

In other words I’ve fucked up a couple of things. But hey, a wise man once said you “learn by your mistakes”, although this stupid man is wondering how many more mistakes I need to make before being granted “wise” status.

However, in the spirit of sharing, here are a couple of the lessons learned.

* Geek warning active *
(more…)

I have a revelation!

Saturday, April 18, 2009 ~ 4 comments so far

Apparently, and this MAY come as a shock to some of you… in fact, before I continue perhaps some of you should make sure you are sitting down, even if you already are. So, please could you (yes, you) double check that you can feel your body weight being supported by your arse on something (hopefully) cushioned.

I mean that the seat is cushioned, of course, not that I think you have a fat arse..

In fact perhaps some of you should prepare yourselves by making sure you have a stiff drink ready, purely for medicinal purposes of course.

OK.

All set?

Right.

The revelation is….

Actually perhaps I should mention that this is not a Revelation with a capital R, this is no biblical tale of the coming of the New Earth and whatnot (and apologies to those of faith, my knowledge of the Book is lacking). It is, however, a revelation of the more everyday sort, so perhaps all this hyperbole is overplaying things a little.

But then, I tend to do that, don’t I. Waffle, some would say.

Yes please, with maple syrup…

Ahhh, but I jest, and even I have to admit that it now feels like I’m just stringing you along further in the vain hope that someone, ANYONE, is still reading (hellooooooo ?), rather than reveal what is likely to be recognised as less a revelation and more a rather obvious fact that everyone already knows.

Guess I should get on with it then.

So.

Did you know that you can turn computers off?

*click*

Informationally Overloaded

Monday, April 6, 2009 ~ 6 comments so far

Those of you who have been reading for a while will recognise the title of this post, as it used to be the name of this blog. Then I realised how naff it was and dropped it when the ‘one man’ stuff was borne.

The phrase itself remains particularly apt, probably more so than when I first used it and, with reference to the exponential growth of Twitter, it is coming back into prominence. Social media applications, and the use thereof, shows no sign of slowing. This is a good thing because I firmly believe that social media applications (think Facebook, Twitter and the like) can be useful to many and the basic model of all of these things is based on the premise that “the more people that use them, the more valuable they become”. Which, of course, is (sort of) in direct conflict with those of us fighting information overload.

Of course, we only have ourselves to blame, as the bulk* of the online information we digest is driven by either opt-in or by deliberately choosing to monitor or follow a particular thread of information. This point is crucial. If you feel you are being overloaded by the amount of information you are choosing to receive to parse, be it by RSS feed, email, or directly from a website, then you can choose to reduce that load.

Twitter remains a bit of a mystery mind you, every morning I gain another follower or two, sometimes based on a product name (hello Dyson Airblades) and sometimes on a completely random basis. Or at least I assume they are random because I don’t recognise the person following me, nor do I recognise their website (yes, I do check profiles in case it’s just a username I’m not familiar with) and, as of yet, there is still no easy way to find this out. I’m presuming that this is the same for everyone, and it is just the usual clamouring for ‘Friends’ that so many people seem to think a good thing to do.

Each new social media application brings with it yet another raft of gurus trying to exploit and harness the “wisdom of the crowd” for themselves in a hope of forcing a “Tipping Point” even if their idea isn’t “Made to Stick”. What they don’t get is that this is not just another marketing bandwagon to jump on, not this time. The phenomenon of social media and the way it allows people to connect can be very powerful, but the important piece thing to understand isn’t the fact that people all over the globe are connecting, but because it’s PEOPLE that are making the connections.

The opt-in model is still the most powerful part of all of this, ensuring that those people who are passionate about a product or service can seek each other out and share their thoughts and ideas. Over to Matt Haughey who suggests that companies should:

make awesome stuff that gets people excited about your products, hire people that represent the company well, and when your stuff is so awesome that friends share it with other friends

Twitter continues to be the buzzword of the moment, the numbers rise and more connections are made. I glad to say that I am benefitting from being on Twitter, something I wasn’t sure of even a few months ago. Particularly as some of my peers are now on there, posting ideas and links to articles of interest to my profession. The iPhone is a boon for such things, particularly as Twitterific and InstaPaper to keep a track of “to read” articles and blog posts (Twitterific has built-in Instapaper bookmarking capabilities).

So whilst I’m not blogging here, or on either of my other two blogs, you can find me on Twitter, or read the links I post to my Instapaper account, browse the random things I find and post to my Tumblr account, or keep an eye on the websites I bookmark using del.icio.us. You can see my photos on Flickr, and see what music I’m listening to on Last.fm.

It’s a bit scary seeing all of my online data listed out like that. What’s even worse is that I do have an RSS feed that monitors them all… talk about information overload!

* I’m aware that many social applications (or whatever we are calling them today) generate a lot of email notifications, but again, you can usually either turn them off or, you know, opt out of that application.

Ada Lovelace Day

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 ~ 1 comment so far

Yesterday was Ada Lovelace day, a day when women in technology, particularly those who blog, take a moment to highlight some of the heroines (am I still allowed to use that word?).

Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. Women’s contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines. Whatever she does, whether she is a sysadmin or a tech entrepreneur, a programmer or a designer, developing software or hardware, a tech journalist or a tech consultant, we want to celebrate her achievements.

An excellent idea and, whilst it was open to me as well I completely, and utterly, forgot about this. So by way of apology I’ll offer up some of the blog posts that others have posted:

• These women
• An interview with Ada Lovelace
• Oh me, oh my - it’s Ada Lovelace day
• Oh shit it’s Ada Lovelace Day post
• Ada Lovelace! Ada Lovelace!
• Ada Lovelace Day: Rachel Dixon

There are a variety of women I could mention in respect to Ada Lovelace day, particularly as my area of IT (technical communications) has a higher percentage of women than others, but over the past year or so there is one name that springs to mind, Anne Gentle, who has been a constant source of inspiration to me. I’ve been lucky enough to swap some emails with her, and we’ve bounced a few ideas between her blog and mine.

There are many other women in my field that I could mention and I’m lucky that, as I say, my area of IT is quite well represented. So, for those that missed it, what women inspire you?