I'm at the Village Hotel in Elstree, London... (Don't know where that is? Well, y'do now!)
Anyway, I'm using the WiFi here to get on the internet... It's provided free, so I guess I shouldn't really complain... But I'm going to complain anyway! And that complaint will take the form of a list... (Several lists, in fact!)
Here is list of internet-based stuff I've so far been able to achieve, from my hotel room -
- Facebook (although pictures don't always load first time around)
- Dailybooth
- Blogger
- Google (although slow)
- 365 Project
- Last.fm
- The BBC (standard site - I haven't tried to use iPlayer on this connection!)
- The Daily Telegraph
Here is a list of internet-based stuff I've so far not been able to achieve, from my hotel room -
- 1&1 internet
- Send or receive emails (I can access my emails through my iPhone, but not from my laptop!)
- Spotify
Here is a list of internet-based things which seem to work, and yet don't quite make it, and thus are extremely confusing -
- TwitPic (I can access the site, and view my pictures, but it won't let me log in!)
- Amazon (I can access the site, log in, browse, and add items to my shopping basket, but as soon as I try and "go to checkout", I can't!)
I am perplexed and frustrated, infuriated and puzzled...
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Monday, 12 July 2010
In a pickle, with salami
So, salami is meat, which you buy, in a packet, and it's ready to eat... Or is it?
I recently went through some tribulations with a packet of salami - I'll tell you about it...
When you buy a packet of salami, the slices of meat are arranged in an overlapping pattern... That's fine - the problem is, that the piece at the top, is at the bottom... D'you see? No? OK, here's a picture...
Do you see how the overlapping salami slices seem to be the wrong way around? The one which is at the top of the pile, is at the bottom of the packet...
So, what's the problem? Essentially, you have to open the packet fully, just to get at the first slice... You can't just peel the top down a couple of inches, because you only fancy a couple of pieces of salami, and don't want to open the packaging all the way...
Observe...
With the packet half-way open, you you can't get at the top slice of meat... You have to take the bottom one, and try and slide it out from underneath all the others...
Of course, the packet of salami, half-open, ought to look like this...
Don't you see how much better that is...?
Yes, it is, isn't it?
So, I hope that all the people who sell salami in this convoluted way will read this, and do something about it!
I recently went through some tribulations with a packet of salami - I'll tell you about it...
When you buy a packet of salami, the slices of meat are arranged in an overlapping pattern... That's fine - the problem is, that the piece at the top, is at the bottom... D'you see? No? OK, here's a picture...
Do you see how the overlapping salami slices seem to be the wrong way around? The one which is at the top of the pile, is at the bottom of the packet...
So, what's the problem? Essentially, you have to open the packet fully, just to get at the first slice... You can't just peel the top down a couple of inches, because you only fancy a couple of pieces of salami, and don't want to open the packaging all the way...
Observe...
With the packet half-way open, you you can't get at the top slice of meat... You have to take the bottom one, and try and slide it out from underneath all the others...
Of course, the packet of salami, half-open, ought to look like this...
Don't you see how much better that is...?
Yes, it is, isn't it?
So, I hope that all the people who sell salami in this convoluted way will read this, and do something about it!
Monday, 5 July 2010
The inevitable "I've got an iPhone and you're gonna hear about it!" post
So, last week, I got an iPhone... Not a new 4G one - I'm not that awesome - but an old 3G version...
I like it... I've only had it a week, but I'm already liking it a lot!
I'm not going to start reviewing the features, I'm not going to take a load of photos of it, and I'm certainly not going do any kind of tests on it... After all, an iPhone 3G is fairly "old-hat" now - I'm sure everyone reading this knows what they look like, what the main features are, and that, should they wish, there are a billion comprehensive reviews, from all angles and perspectives, available on the internet already...
What I am going to do, is ask this question... What is it that makes an iPhone better than, say a Blackberry, or an Android phone?
The answer? Well, nothing, actually... I know plenty of people who prefer those alternative Smartphones, and would much rather have one over an iPhone... But equally, I know I'm not the only person who would choose the iPhone over those others...
Discussions on the internet always seem to get rather heated, on this topic... Particularly, I've noticed, between the two rival "camps" of iPhone users, and Android users... I'm never sure why they feel the need to get so intense about it - it's only a choice of phone, for goodness' sake!
Personally, I am a big fan of Apple products... I'm typing this post on my MacBook Pro, I listen to music on my iPod Classic, and, now, I do all kinds of mobile telecommunicational activities on my iPhone 3G... The reason is, that I find Apple products work, for me... I'm quite ready to admit that they won't work for everyone - but, for me, they're great...
I think that's the whole crux of this ridiculous issue, actually... The idea of personal preference plays an enormous part in the choosing of these gadgets, and it all comes down to what kind of person you are...
On some level, I suspect that the designers at Apple are actually very similar to me... I think we must think the same, have the same ways of working, and so on... Which, I think, is why the products they design make so much sense to me... Apple's operating systems just "click" with my way of thinking, and always seem incredibly intuitive... The devices always work in the way I expect them to - everything about them (well, almost - nobody's perfect!) is designed in a way which makes me think "yeah, that's how I would've had it done!" And, as such, I feel very much at home using iPhones, iPods, Macs, and so on... It's almost as if they were designed just for me...
Now, not everyone's like me... I know many people who don't like the way Apple's products operate, and who find Windows, or Android, or the Blackberry operating system, much easier to work with... Those systems seem to make more sense to them, and they work much better with them...
I'm not sure whether there are any correlations to be discovered here... Is it true, for instance, that most "creative" types prefer working with Apple Macs, while businesses tend to lean towards PCs? I've no idea... And I can't be bothered to do enough research to find out...!
All I do know, is, that if somebody has a particular affinity for products which are designed in a certain way, and which work in a certain way, they're not "stupid" - they're not being "narrow-minded" or "a fanboy"... They just have a different approach to using technology from you... And, what's great, is that, in the modern technological market-place, there really is something for everyone...!
So, whether the iPhone's design really strikes a chord with you, or whether you find it clumsy, unintuitive, and you much prefer to use a Blackberry, that's fine! Just remember that not everyone will have the experiences using those devices...
OK? Good! :)
I like it... I've only had it a week, but I'm already liking it a lot!
I'm not going to start reviewing the features, I'm not going to take a load of photos of it, and I'm certainly not going do any kind of tests on it... After all, an iPhone 3G is fairly "old-hat" now - I'm sure everyone reading this knows what they look like, what the main features are, and that, should they wish, there are a billion comprehensive reviews, from all angles and perspectives, available on the internet already...
What I am going to do, is ask this question... What is it that makes an iPhone better than, say a Blackberry, or an Android phone?
The answer? Well, nothing, actually... I know plenty of people who prefer those alternative Smartphones, and would much rather have one over an iPhone... But equally, I know I'm not the only person who would choose the iPhone over those others...
Discussions on the internet always seem to get rather heated, on this topic... Particularly, I've noticed, between the two rival "camps" of iPhone users, and Android users... I'm never sure why they feel the need to get so intense about it - it's only a choice of phone, for goodness' sake!
Personally, I am a big fan of Apple products... I'm typing this post on my MacBook Pro, I listen to music on my iPod Classic, and, now, I do all kinds of mobile telecommunicational activities on my iPhone 3G... The reason is, that I find Apple products work, for me... I'm quite ready to admit that they won't work for everyone - but, for me, they're great...
I think that's the whole crux of this ridiculous issue, actually... The idea of personal preference plays an enormous part in the choosing of these gadgets, and it all comes down to what kind of person you are...
On some level, I suspect that the designers at Apple are actually very similar to me... I think we must think the same, have the same ways of working, and so on... Which, I think, is why the products they design make so much sense to me... Apple's operating systems just "click" with my way of thinking, and always seem incredibly intuitive... The devices always work in the way I expect them to - everything about them (well, almost - nobody's perfect!) is designed in a way which makes me think "yeah, that's how I would've had it done!" And, as such, I feel very much at home using iPhones, iPods, Macs, and so on... It's almost as if they were designed just for me...
Now, not everyone's like me... I know many people who don't like the way Apple's products operate, and who find Windows, or Android, or the Blackberry operating system, much easier to work with... Those systems seem to make more sense to them, and they work much better with them...
I'm not sure whether there are any correlations to be discovered here... Is it true, for instance, that most "creative" types prefer working with Apple Macs, while businesses tend to lean towards PCs? I've no idea... And I can't be bothered to do enough research to find out...!
All I do know, is, that if somebody has a particular affinity for products which are designed in a certain way, and which work in a certain way, they're not "stupid" - they're not being "narrow-minded" or "a fanboy"... They just have a different approach to using technology from you... And, what's great, is that, in the modern technological market-place, there really is something for everyone...!
So, whether the iPhone's design really strikes a chord with you, or whether you find it clumsy, unintuitive, and you much prefer to use a Blackberry, that's fine! Just remember that not everyone will have the experiences using those devices...
OK? Good! :)
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