As with any latest device the Iphone 3g will be subject to updates and upgrades from time to time. Whilst I purchased the iphone so I am always connected to the internet I did find the poor 2mp camera, no MMS support and also no video recording a pain. Let's face it I had that on mobile phones since 2003/4.
I was therfore anxious to see what Apple's new latest software update 2.2.1 would provide me with.
After downloading a 254mb file I was annoyed to find that only a quick fix for a bug in Safari was the result. Now usually I would not complain about this but there are plenty of rumoured websites around saying that the code has leaked news that Apple are about to launch a THIRD Iphone.
Is that Apple's policy? They spend a fortune on advertising a new product only to then say "Well actually your going to have to wait for what you want until we launch our brand new 3rd generation Iphone". Which in reality means "Tough shit mate, what you want your going to have to pay more for".
When someone pays £40 a month for a phone that is labelled as "Cutting edge", or "The cream of mobile technology" they expect to have a service that matches that of Nokia and LG's latest phones.
It's a crime that some mobile companies seem to hold customers to ransom time and time again.
About Me
- Dean
- I'm an author, poet, screenwriter and blogger In May 2010 I will begin work on my new screenplay 'Departure'
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The Iphone is seen by many as a novelty, a fashion statement or even a gimmick. The only reasons I purchased one is because I was looking at buying an Iphone but also that I use the internet a great deal and I want to have it on the move at all times.
Whilst the Iphone does its job for me I have been reviewing and adding some of the thousands of applications that are available. One of the applications is called Gratitude Journal. Much like a small blog that sits on your phone this application allows a user to add up to 5 small descriptions of events that made your day a successful and happy one. You can also rate your day and even add a photo.
US TV show host Oprah Winfrey said "The Gratitude Journal really changed my life, give it a month and knowing all the good you are doing will change yours".
So why after my first day did I only rate my day’s happiness as one out of five? Was it just a shit day? Well yes it was but surely something positive would come from it?
I guess that looking and reviewing all you have done on this iphone mini blog will possibly make one feel better and see all the good that someone is doing? Who knows, but it is a free application so what is the harm in trying it?
I doubt, like Oprah, it will be a life changing experience. It will probably be just something I will giggle over when waiting for a bus or train. But anything that makes us strive towards a better life has to be worth it.
For those who want it go here
http://happytapper.com/
Do you remember the "Good Old Days" of internet browsing?
When AOL was the only competitor to Internet Explorer?
When AltaVista was the most popular search engine?
When you can build your own website using HTML and GeoCities?
Ah the good old days....
Move forward a decade and oh how things have changed! Google has cornered the search engine market, Firefox has taken over from Internet Explorer and of course the Mac has taken a huge chunk out of Microsoft's fortunes.
Whilst Vista was meant to be an improvement on XP quite frankly it was anything but. So is IE8 and improvement on the rather dissapointing IE7?
he US software giant says IE 8 is faster, easier to use and more secure than its competitors.
"We have made IE 8 the best browser for the way people really do use the web," said Microsoft's Amy Barzdukas.
"Microsoft needs to say these things because it continues to lose market share to Firefox, Chrome and Safari," said Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald.
Recent figures have shown that Microsoft's dominance in this space has been chipped away by competitors.
At the end of last year, data from Net Applications showed the software giant's market share dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years to 68%.
Meanwhile Mozilla broke the 20% barrier for the first time in its history with 21% of users using its browser Firefox.
The beta version of IE 8 was released last March and today the company has put out its first release candidate for the public. This is the last stage for the browser before it is finalised, although very few changes are expected.
Ms Barzdukas told the BBC: "What we are seeing for many consumers in particular is that their computing experience is a browsing experience.
"The role of the browser has become more and more important. Our focus is on delivering the best experience possible and one that is faster, easier and more secure."
To that end IE 8 offers performance upgrades to speed up page loading, new navigation features and tab isolation so that if you hit a bad site only that tab closes and not the whole browser.
WebSlices will give users a way to keep updated about a particular item on a web page like stock prices, the weather or an eBay auction.
Accelerators let users access Web services like maps or translations in a small window without having to leave the page.
"We believe with IE 8 much of the performance discussion is off the table," said Ms Barzdukas.
"Microsoft needs to say these things because it continues to lose market share to Firefox, Chrome and Safari," said Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald.
Recent figures have shown that Microsoft's dominance in this space has been chipped away by competitors.
At the end of last year, data from Net Applications showed the software giant's market share dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years to 68%.
Meanwhile Mozilla broke the 20% barrier for the first time in its history with 21% of users using its browser Firefox.
The beta version of IE 8 was released last March and today the company has put out its first release candidate for the public. This is the last stage for the browser before it is finalised, although very few changes are expected.
IE 8 offers performance upgrades to speed up page loading, new navigation features and tab isolation so that if you hit a bad site only that tab closes and not the whole browser.
WebSlices will give users a way to keep updated about a particular item on a web page like stock prices, the weather or an eBay auction.
Accelerators let users access Web services like maps or translations in a small window without having to leave the page.
"We believe with IE 8 much of the performance discussion is off the table," said Ms Barzdukas.
Microsoft is making much of its security enhancements, which Ms Barzdukas said makes IE 8 "hands down the most secure browser on the market."
These include "InPrivate Filtering" which means users can see and block when a third-party content provider might be tracking their activities on the Web in an effort to target advertisements.
Web publishers and online advertisers have in the past expressed concern over this feature because it could "frustrate the business model".
"InPrivate Browsing" is also being touted as a major improvement which allows a user to start a browsing session during which the history of sites viewed will not be recorded.
Some bloggers have nicknamed the feature "porn mode" because it keeps online activity a secret and prevents those with access to a PC from seeing where other users of the same PC have been.
Online privacy advocates like the Centre for Democracy and Technology have called the features "a great step forward in terms of giving users more control".
So will I return to my once status as IE fan? Not from what I have seen but they are moving in the right direction.
I read today that Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry have split, ending a five year relationship.
According to reports Chelsy ended the relationship as it had simply "run it's course". Meanwhile Chelsy’s friends were rallying around her after the meltdown of her fiery romance. After the split the 23-year-old Zimbabwean beauty—who is on a masters degree law course at Leeds University—stayed with a friend in London’s Mayfair.
Harry, 24, is believed to have told his father about the split a few days ago. Both Charles and Camilla were said to be sad for the couple, but respected his decision. The Queen was also informed. “She does not like surprises,” said an aide.
Harry warned Clarence House officials of the news, telling his private secretary former SAS officer Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and press spokesman Miguel Head.
Now all of this got me thinking. Here is a 23 year old very attractive young lady, about to graduate with honours from University and start work in the world of law. As you can see from above she is not only beautiful but also has the brains to go with it.
Harry's older brother is of course dating Kate Middleton. When the relationship of William and Kate first made the headlines Kate was portrayed by the media as "The New Diana", yet through all the press interest she kept her head down and remained out of the limelight as much as possible, showing the same sensibility of Chelsy. Then came the split.
Suddenly Kate was being photographed falling out of nightclubs, attending nearly any showbiz party that she could get photographed at. Her reputation as a Party Girl soon replaced the shy demurring type that we had become accustomed to, eventually William and Kate made up and since then the relationship has simmered.
If we look at the royal relationships they are hardly a case for success. Sarah Ferguson and the Late Princess of Wales were single handed thrust into the spotlight at such a young age and with the ever growing pressures of the Royal Family, the media attention and of course the growing love with the public both marriages ended with all sorts of stories about affairs, heartache, betrayal and even toe sucking (Fergie).
The Death of the Princess of Wales should have been a wake up call to the press to leave off the Royal Family, and to a certain extent they have.
So here we are, Chelsy has made the decision to continue her life without the circus of being part of the British Monarchy. One of the final straws for Chelsy may have been our revelations of Prince Harry’s racist shame. She was said to be furious about the furore caused by Harry’s remarks on a video diary during a training exercise in which he referred to a comrade as “our little Paki friend”.
The first indication of a split came last weekend when the pair were due to attend a party at the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland’s Alnwick Castle, where Harry Potter was filmed.
The grand bash is understood to have been thrown by Harry’s pal George Percy and Chelsy was expected to show up on the Prince’s arm—but friends suspected the worst when she failed to join him. Now both will be going their separate ways.
Chelsy recently did work experience at the Queen’s solicitors Farrers and has law exams in a few months time.
Chelsy is a bright girl with a bright future in law. Harry has made it clear he wants a real military career. And, both in their early 20s they are perhaps too young to be settling down. I admire her dignity a great deal, a real loss for the Royal Family, but who wants to live under a shadow?
Happy 25th Birthday to the Apple Mac. Still quicker than a PC some 25 years on!
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OkcQPtEcMRw]
The Macintosh - the first Apple computer to bear the name - turns 25 on 24 January.
The machine debuted in 1984 and kicked off a product line that were Apple's flagship computers for many years.
The Macintosh helped popularise the combination of graphical interface and mouse that is ubiquitous today.
The machine was unveiled using a hugely expensive TV advert, directed by film maker Ridley Scott and shown during the US Superbowl on 22 January 1984
Desktop pioneer
The project to create the Macintosh was started by legendary computer maker Jef Raskin and the original machine had a 9in screen in an upright beige case, 128k of RAM, internal floppy drive, and came with keyboard and single-button mouse.
Apple had previously produced computers using a graphical user interface (GUI), such as the Apple Lisa. But those machines cost far more than the original Macintosh.
Although Microsoft had launched its operating system - MS DOS - in 1981 it was not until 1985, a year after the Macintosh made its debut, that it introduced its own GUI, Microsoft Windows. However, this did not enjoy significant popularity until the advent of Windows 3.x in 1990.
The Macintosh's relatively low price tag of £1,840 ($2,495) made it very affordable, said Mark Hattersley, editor in chief of Macworld UK.
"It was a hugely popular machine," said Mr Hattersley.
"It took desktop computing away from IBM and back to Apple for a good number of years," he said. "It brought the notion of the desktop graphical interface to the mass market."
The "Macintosh" moniker was reportedly taken from the name of Mr Raskin's favourite Apple - the McIntosh.
However, this form of the name had to be altered to avoid legal wrangles with another company already trading under that name.
Once successors to the first Macintosh were introduced by Apple, the original machine was re-badged as the 128k version.
The initial production run of the first Macintosh reputedly have the signatures of the design team burned in to the inside of the case.
In the UK, science-fiction author author Douglas Adams was the first to buy one of the original Macintosh machines. Second in line was Stephen Fry.
Sadly, he said, he no longer possesses the early machine.
He told the BBC: "Oh I wish I still had it. I remember giving it away in 1986 to a primary school in a village in Norfolk."
Apple has retained the Macintosh name for many of its products - in particular the shortened form re-emerged in 1998 with the launch of the iMac.
Jason Fitzpatrick, from the Centre for Computing History in Haverhill, said that it was now hard to find a working 25-year old Macintosh.
Many, he said, have suffered what is known as "bit rot" in which the memory chips inside the machine decay, leading to a gradual loss of functionality.
Kevin Murrell, director of the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, said it had many working Apple machines even older than the 25-year-old Mac.
Swap shop
Even new, he said, the Macintoshes had their quirks. The external hard drive available for later versions of the Macintosh had to be placed on the left side of the machine to avoid interference with its power supply.
The lack of hard drive meant that anyone working with the machine had save everything on a floppy disk, leading to an awful lot of disk swapping.
But despite this, he said, many people had very fond memories of the time they spent with an original Macintosh.
Call me a little slow to get with the times but I have just caught up with the TV series Lost. Maybe it is because I have been so wrapped up in some other wonderful TV Shows. But here is a show that is based upon survivors of a plane crash that are suddenly found on a desert island.
Amongst them are a rather 'hunky' Doctor, a rather if I dare say good looking former drug addict, a rather plump Australian who never seems to lose weight despite the lack of food and also a plethora of good looking other tourists.
Now take my plane today into the same equation, we crash, we are on an island and the main aim is to survive. Yet rather than be surrounded by Hollywood beauties that never seem to age I take the passengers I was with.
The fat man who kept staring at the 19 year old stunner in the denim hotpants
The twins who kept yelling "Ollie" at the same time
The annoying woman who would not keep moaning about the current price of Coke
The man who smelt of body odor so bad I felt like chopping my nose off.
The two German guys who would not understand the meaning of the word QUEUE!
The small child who would not stop crying
And the guy whose Ipod had no volume control!
Would I try and get off the island?....
Only if there was no gun....Lost maybe an isolated paradise, mine would be the truest form of torture!
I read today that a survey reveals that 95% of all downloaded music files from the internet are done illegally.
The global music trade body said this is its biggest challenge as artists and record companies miss out on payments. I will be first to admit that I have downloaded certain albums in the past but I have also put a fair few dollars into the ITunes Store.
The IFPI, which represents 1,400 companies in 72 countries, estimated more than 40 billion music files were illegally shared in 2008.
There were 1.4 billion single tracks legally downloaded in 2008, with the top-selling digital single, Lil Wayne's Lollipop, selling 9.1 million copies.
The report revealed that the digital music business has grown steadily during the past six years.
In 2008, it grew by an estimated 25% and is now worth $3.7bn (£2.5bn)
Music fans in the UK downloaded 110 million single tracks in 2008 and bought 10.3 million digital albums - accounting for 7.7% of the market.
John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of IFPI, said the industry had changed its approach to doing business.
He said: "There is a momentous debate going on about the environment on which our business, and all the people working in it, depends.
"Governments are beginning to accept that, in the debate over 'free content' and engaging ISPs in protecting intellectual property rights, doing nothing is not an option if there is to be a future for commercial digital content."
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said: "We are worried by the recording industry's desire to clamp down on illicit file sharers.
"We need to see how much better these companies do by getting their services right before governments start pushing drastic and draconian laws forward."
He added: "Growing online sales show the recording industry can win against illicit file sharing.
"If companies go further and offer the same sort of experience as P2P then they will win new revenues, and reduce copyright infringement, which we would welcome."
It is an interesting argument, I pity the artists who are not receiving money for their hard work, but I feel that record companies make a ludicrous amount of money from the public.
Opinions?
I am a self confessesed football fan. I have been all my life, I support Chelsea FC.
Back in 2003 Chelsea were taken over by Roman Abromavich, one of the worlds richest men. Roman financed a great change in Chelsea football club buying some of the best football players in the world and as a result Chelsea had two years of great success. Whilst the money was a great boost to the club nothing out of the ordinary really happened. The players Chelsea purchased were purchased for not out of the ordinary fees and the wages were, in the football world, quite normal.
How things change.
Manchester City, who are now owned by a Billionaire conglomerate, have rumoured to have put a £100 MILLION bid for Brazilian footballer Kaka.
Kaka is a man of religion. Always talking about his love for god and Jesus and he does donate a lot of money to the Christian church. But for the love of the game this transfer deal cannot happen. I don't care how good you are no player in this world is worth £100 million, no player in this world deserves $1 million A WEEK for kicking a football.
I flicked over to the sky website today and there was a picture of Kaka and underneath there was a picture of a starving child suffering from malnutrition and famine.
The leading voices in football are saying this deal is insanity. This is not sour grapes becuase one of the best players in the world are going to a rival team. It is insanity because this deal could possibly ruin the game for good.
Footballers used to be like us, normal hard working guys who earned the same amount of money. That is why we identified with them, the very reason why we used to mimic them in the street after school with jumpers for goalposts. But now they are like aliens, out of touch and out of reality.
It is in Kaka's hands. But if he is a man of truth, he knows that it is not all about the money. If he does sign, the world really has gone mad.
She stared deep into the cataclysmic abyss that gazed back with beckoning eyes.As the rain lashed against her face like shards of broken glass, sharp enough to hurt but not enough to cut she gently began to sway. Like a rag doll playing in the wind her body moved in random directions, undeceive in which way to go, a euphoric feeling of being out of control.
Silhouetted figures moved slowly in the distance, up and down they bobbed they were animated yet made no sound. Maybe the noise they were emitting was being drowned by the banshee screams that echoed through her ears. The wind howled violently, seemingly humming to her to “Jump”. She was out of control; fate was out of her hands only certain death awaited her if the next step forward was to be her last.
The only thoughts that ran through her mind were how she had arrived at this point, the events, the promises and broken dreams of the last year all seemingly pushing her forward towards the point of no return. As the raindrops dripped down her face masquerading her tears into a path of drowned emotions the pain suddenly snapped her back to reality.
Where was she? Had she abandoned her child again? The daughter that she had bought into this world yet abandoned time after time as her own selfish addictions took over her body snapping her desire and murdering any last ounce of willpower she possessed. How many more times will the social services give her a final warning, she had lost count. Vicki was the saviour of her life, the only thing that had stopped her from engulfing herself in the darkened cataclysm that offered her such a tempting invitation.
Was it fate that had led her here? How can a soul become so decayed in such a short space of time? The willingness to feel wanted and accepted was the cause, that much she knew, but what she still could not fathom was why she had let herself be abused by those she trusted. There was no element of friendship in her life anymore, family were there to protect her but they had abandoned ship a long time ago.
The racism portrayed when she invited Joel into her house by her family were inexcusable, the blunt outburst was unforgivable. But her kin turning their back on her had to be the straw that not only broke the camel’s back but crushed the poor bastard. Alone and frightened the year ahead saw a path of self destruction she would not have wished on her worst enemy.
The silhouetted figures were getting distant, the sun had replaced the rain and was etching pain upon her blistered skin, and it was all too much to bear. There was nothing left to live for, nothing to hold her back ending it all. The wind picked up pace and pushed her further to the edge, leaning over she looked down into the infinite hole that waited for her choice…a choice that would change everything.
Distant lands divided us
We were separated only by the sea
Then I felt the harsh winds from your soul
Eternal cruelty
You said the ultimate two words in life
Two words forever true
Yet the knife you held behind your back
You slashed and stabbed right through
Playing just a wicked game
Right from the very start
A juvenile masquerade
Lies pouring from your heart
But you never penetrated deep enough
My heart it still beats in song
Life for you is shackled by pressure
Mine will move along
Handcuffed to the way you are
Never amounting to be free
Whilst we phoenix rise from the flames
For all eternity
As I soar once more from Ashes
I shake off all the debris
Your life will be like the stagnant rock
Whilst I’m eternally free
I have been lucky enough to travel to all corners of the world, Europe, Canada, America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australasia and All over the Middle East, Russia, China and Japan.
There are only two countries I really have left to visit and one I maybe visiting this summer (Antarctica!) but though I am lucky enough to have seen things that have changed my life and made me into the person that I am there is only one place on Earth for me. That one place where no matter how low you feel it will lift your spirits, the sort of place where time after time it will always be home.
Everyone has a place like this, that one special place that holds memories so dear and precious that you cannot imagine your life without them the place where you whisper your inner most secrets into the wind as somehow they trun into a symphony within your heart.
That place for me is the west highlands of Scotland. My home, a place where eagles still fly freely, where I can horseride along the loch as the cold wind blasts in my face. It's heaven on Earth, no place like it. No phones work, no mobiles just escape from reality.
A place where the your world and heart feel as one.
Mine is Glenfinnan. Home
[caption id="attachment_289" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Glenfinnan"]
Distant lands divided us
We were separated only by the sea
Then I felt the harsh winds from your soul
Eternal cruelty
You said the ultimate two words in life
Two words forever true
Yet the knife you held behind your back
You slashed and stabbed right through
Playing just a wicked game
Right from the very start
A juvenile masquerade
Lies pouring from your heart
But you never penetrated deep enough
My heart it still beats in song
Life for you is shackled by pressure
Mine will move along
Handcuffed to the way you are
Never amounting to be free
Whilst we phoenix rise from the flames
For all eternity
As I soar once more from Ashes
I shake off all the debris
Your life will be like the stagnant rock
Whilst I'm eternally free
There are some things we just cannot tell, some things that we don't want others to know. We as individuals are all entitled to secrets, secrets so personal that we dare not tell anyone for fear of it being used against us later in life, or that someone could take it the wrong way. But bottling it up inside can sometimes be the worst thing, sometimes we need that outlet.
In the world we live in today, we no longer have to keep a diary under the bed with a lock on it. Blogs and online diaries always allow us to express our secrets, maybe some will stumble upon it, maybe some will never find it. But it will be there in the public domain to sometimes aid, guide or just be an eternal stamp of a certain period of time in our lives.
I will be honest, this is not my only blog. I have another "secret" blog that I have been writing since 1999, maybe some I know have found it, maybe they never will but I often find it somewhat therapeutic to read from time to time. Over the past decade I know and can see just how life has changed.
The hopes, the dreams and the fears of life itself all change as we get older, but do we ever change as individuals or is it just our thoughts that fragment into a universe that changes around us? Certainly I don't feel much different to ten years ago, some things I am still doing, others have left my life but secrets will always remain.
One day I may show the woman I love my ten year diary, maybe it will explain how I am, the hurt I overcome, the pain that I had to endure and fight in life to just survive. Maybe I will show her the inner most thoughts in my life and ask her to heal the wounds that others carved in my soul, maybe just maybe she will be the glue to mend my shattered heart.
Or quite possibly it will forever remain.
My secret.
