Have That! - The official Blog of FirstPersonView.co.uk

Archos 5 now available at FirstPersonView.co.uk

2009-03-20T23:18:00.004Z

I've been a fan of Archos products since I first used the AV500 to record FPV flights. The build quality is amazing and the functionality of the AV500 is superb (record in DiVx, USB host, play any movie format, etc).

Unfortunately the AV500 was discontinued a few years ago so I've recently been testing the new Archos 5 product from the latest Archos range. The Archos 5 is billed as an 'Internet Tablet' and has WiFi and the Opera Internet browser built in as well as Flash 9.

You need to buy the 'DVR Snap On' to record analogue video which is a bit of a shame but once you've got that its an excellent choice for recording your FPV adventures in a digital format. You can then easily transfer them to your PC, add a bit of music and stick them on YouTube!

I've found the Archos 5 60gb to be an excellent device with a fabulous screen, excellent touch screen element, brilliant internet browser, flawless movie playback (although Archos charge about £12 more for a downloadable codec to allow you to play all formats), superb recording from a composite video source and very good battery life.

The onscreen keyboard implementation is even pretty decent too - I am writing this blog post on the Archos and I wrote the last one the same way as well.

All in all I am extremely impressed with the Archos 5 60gb.

Website improvement: we now accept Paypal

2009-03-20T23:13:00.003Z

By implementing Paypal we have given our customers the ability to choose their preferred payment platform and also got around the annoying £500 limit per day per card on NoChex.

If you get to the checkout with over £500 of items in your cart the website will automatically grey out NoChex and direct you to Paypal. You dont need to have a Paypal account to checkout with Paypal either.

Cameras now available in NTSC

2009-03-08T00:51:00.003Z

I'm pleased to announce that we now stock cameras in both NTSC and PAL versions.

All of the other gear (Goggles, Diversity, etc) work just as well with either NTSC or PAL so there's no need to worry there.

Check it out: www.firstpersonview.co.uk

Website Improvement: Now includes shipping estimator

2009-03-08T00:41:00.003Z

I'm frequently asked how much shipping will be to a particular country.

The FirstPersonView.co.uk website calculates the shipping cost based on the weight of the item, the destination country and the Royal Mail service chosen but until today it only revealed this information once you'd got to the checkout and entered in quite a few of your details.

Now you can see the shipping price by simply adding the item to the cart and then pressing "Estimate Shipping".

FirstPersonView.co.uk are proud to sponsor the FPV board on rcmf.co.uk

2009-03-07T00:43:00.006Z

If you frequent the Radio Control Model Flyers forum (RCMF.co.uk) then you may have recently seen a new FPV board and these two graphics appearing on your screens from time to time:

We're proud to sponsor the new board and I hope it will prove to be a popular and useful resource for FPV pilots everywhere. I'll be lurking in there ready to answer any questions that come up about our gear.

First Person View simulator - Found it!

2009-03-07T00:16:00.005Z

I wrote a few posts ago about my fruitless search for an RC simulator with an FPV mode. RC simulators are doubtless very popular these days and with good reason. I have been searching for an FPV simulator for those same good reasons and I've finally found one!

The simulator is called AeroSIM RC and its fantastic. It offers full FPV mode with an OSD and even head tracking. Of course it also works with your RC Tx through the buddy port like all of the other simulators out there.

I've ordered some SVideo to composite video adaptors to allow me to plug my goggles into my PC and fly FPV from my desk (with my real RC Tx, my head tracker and an OSD on screen)! I can't wait to try this out!

The graphics are based on Google Earth images and AeroSIM comes with a system to create your own scenarios based on your favourite locations, although the process is quite complicated and so far I've been unable to get this to work on Windows Vista.

The graphics aren't at the photo-realistic level that you might have come to expect from programs like Phoenix RC but they're not bad and the physics are just as important in a simulator - for my money the AeroSIM RC simulator is spot on in that respect.

There's a two minute playable demo on the AeroSIM RC website so you can give it a try and make up your own mind.

AeroSIM RC comes with plenty of different aircraft to fly and there are a few game modes to play (fly threw hoops, score points by hitting birds, etc) if you get bored of practising your circuits.

You can also fly the plane from the old fashioned line of sight view or from a chase plane, etc. as well.

The guys behind AeroSIM RC promise to keep building the software and adding new features and updates will be free for life. Sounds great!

Website Improvement: Now includes testimonials.

2009-01-29T02:59:00.003Z

Its 3am and I've finally finished the next mod to the website. We now have customer testimonials and the ability for customers to submit their testimonials as they wish.

Check it out at www.firstpersonview.co.uk on the left hand side.

I hope this is useful for customers to get an idea of what people really think of our products when they receive them and also their experiences with our customer services.

Web Site Improvement: Now includes prices in Dollars and Euros

2009-01-28T19:47:00.005Z

After a great deal of my sweat and tears the website now shows an approximate conversion in both Dollars and Euros. http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk

This is a feature requested by many of our foreign customers and it also serves to show UK customers how cheap our products are compared to those in the US at the moment.

The Advanced Flight Kit for instance is cheaper from us than buying from America and you'll get it next day with no additional costs, unlike one from America which would attract 14% import duty (the rate for video goggles), usually a £10-15 admin fee from the courier and up to 2 weeks waiting!

Easystar Pilot makes the front page!

2009-01-24T01:15:00.005Z

A couple of days ago I watched this beautiful but tragic Easystar film from Sweden: http://uk.youtube.com/user/dadde87.

I felt for the guy and emailed him to say that I was impressed by the beautiful film and sorry to hear about the tragic ending and I offered him some "disaster discount" to get him back in the air!!

We started having an email conversation and today he let me know that the model was found! He put posters up in the local supermarkets and before long got a call! Apparently the Easystar glided down to earth, hit City Hall (of all the buildings to hit!!) and was rescued by a lady who works at City Hall.

The Easystar is a little worse for wear but what a relief to get eveyrthing back, almost in one piece. He even made the front page of the local paper!

First Person View simulator...Are there any good ones?

2009-01-24T01:07:00.002Z

I am often asked about RC simulators that include First Person View or cockpit view. Yesterday I downloaded the demo of RealFlight G4 after a tip that this indeed includes a cockpit view.

Unfortunately the demo version doesn't include the cockpit view so I was unable to test it. I wonder if anyone else has used RealFlight G4 for FPV simulator flying and if so what is it like?

Or has anyone got other suggestions for FPV simulators?

Personally I love flying Phoenix RC simulator but unfortunately that does not include the FPV angle.

We're booked in for the 3rd annual FPV event in Northern France for May 8th-10th

2009-01-24T00:45:00.003Z

http://translate.google.fr/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Faeroimmersion.free.fr%2FMeeting09.htm&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8

Its official! The event is on and I've just booked a ferry ticket! The entire www.firstpersonview.co.uk team (that's right BOTH of us!) will be there from first thing on Thursday morning until about midday on Sunday and we'll have as much as we can fit in the car! Hopefully the Easystar, Wing Dragon, Innovator (which hopefully by then will be modified to be a twin or perhaps a pusher) and Trex 450 - all setup for FPV flying.

Lets hope for good weather now!

I hope to meet lots of other FPV pilots at the event and have some great fun flying. If you can make it please do come along, full details are in the link at the top of this post. If you need any help translating or anything let me know and I'll try and get you in touch with someone who can tell you everything you need to know.

I wonder if anyone there will have a Mikrokopter. I'd really love to see one in action. Perhaps I'll ask Alex Wilder at NextGenRCif he's going to go to the event.

FPV Tanks are go!

2009-01-24T00:38:00.003Z

Here's a testimonial from one of our customers who has fitted FPV cameras to two RC tanks with InfraRed fighting capability and been battling his young daughter in the woods!

I have just come back in from test driving one of the tanks.

Total complete success! It is absolutely brilliant, quite surreal though. It actually feels quite fast when you go full chat. The suspension is very good on the model so vibration was not an issue, also I had no signal interferance from all the motors & systems in the tank.

The sets were worth buying just for the tanks alone. Any other models we use them in will be a complete bonus.

Many many thanks. Just on that 10 minute play outside I am sold on the system. You have to actually use it to get the full feel of it. I think with practise & familiarity it will become quite an immersion experience.

Best Regards to you,

Andy

New Cameras coming very soon...sneak pics

2009-01-24T00:27:00.010Z

I probably shouldn't reveal these yet but what the heck. www.firstpersonview.co.uk will very soon be stocking a range of 12v cameras.

These are well proven FPV cameras and we have put them through significant testing in real PFV flight use over the past 6 months before deciding to develop a 12v plug and play power system to accompany them.

The KX171 and OSC camera will hopefully be available on our website on or around the 5th February alongside our 2.4Ghz transmitter with built in PSU and 12v output for the camera. The Tx module also has OSD pins which include an audio pin for use with the new Ez-OSD telemetry feature when it is available.

Pan and Tilt units now finally in stock!

2009-01-24T00:23:00.004Z

After a very very long wait our Pan and Tilt units are now in stock and we've shipped out all back orders. We're very pleased with the units and they're available here with a standard pan servo: http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=124

Or here with a 180 degree modified pan servo: http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=136

TrackR2 head trackers arrived today! Pre-orders sent out and now in stock.

2008-09-19T13:07:00.010+01:00

At last they have arrived. The TrackR2 is now in stock. If you have been waiting for yours it has been sent out today.

If you'd like to order one now please go ahead here, we have a few left! We've already placed our next order for TrackR2s.

TrackR2 head tracker now in stock here

BMFA announce FPV is "a legal and insurable activity"

2008-09-19T13:07:00.007+01:00

The BMFA have recently announced that they have agreed with the CAA and their insurers to confirm that FPV is, in their words, "A legal and insurable activity".

There are a few guidelines that the BMFA would like us to follow:

After Consultations with the Civil Aviation Authority and our insurers, BMFA is happy to confirm that First Person R/C will be a legal and recognised aspect of model flying and as such covered by the BMFA Insurance policy but ONLY where the following conditions are applied:

• The activity is solely for ‘sport and recreation’ purposes.

• Two pilots must take part

• A buddy Box system must be employed

• The pilot in charge must operate the master transmitter

• The pilot in charge must not wear the headset or view a screen

• The aircraft remains within the natural unaided visual range of the pilot in charge

• Reliable operation of the Buddy Box is established

• A clear handover protocol is established

• The pilot in charge is solely responsible for the safety of the flight

These operating conditions very clearly place the legal responsibility for the safety of the flight on the pilot in charge.

Only by compliance with the above procedures can First Person RC take place as a lawful and insurable aspect of model flying activity.

Manny Williamson
Development Officer

Link to the full press release on the BMFA website

5th in the queue on launch day but still 17 days until I get my iPhone!

2008-07-17T19:37:00.002+01:00

Reviews from me have so far been pretty thin on the ground and I'm sorry. Its not that I'm being lazy, or even that I'm too caught up in playing with all of the great new App Store software to sit down and write, no its much worse than that. I STILL don't have an iPhone!

I thought I was being cunning by selling my G1 iPhone a couple of days before the announcement of the 3G. I got a good price and I thought I'd only have a few days to wait to pick up the next model... Alas, Steve Jobs made us wait a month between his announcement and the release, and then to my dismay, Charles Dunstone has got me waiting another 2 weeks.

For those of you who don't know, old Charlie is the MD of "The Carphone Warehouse". An "independent" phone shop chain that has 700 stores in the UK and a deal to sell iPhones on the o2 network alongside the Apple and o2 shops.

I am now being told that my iPhone will most likely be delivered on Monday 28th July. And its not like I just ordered it either, I queued for 3 hours at the opening of my local store and was the 5th person to the desk!! Unfortunately my local CPW (Brighton, Western Road) had been delivered 10 x 8gbs and only 2 x 16gbs.

Being number 5 I was given the choice of an 8gb iPhone there and then, or a 16gb delivered to my home the next day. The manager assured me that there were over 1500 in the warehouse when I ordered and that one of those was allocated to me for next day delivery. So I walked out £59 lighter, signed up to a £45 per month tariff with nothing more than a SIM card to show for my 3 hour wait!

Of course Saturday came and went, Monday came and went, I was told Friday delivery, then I was told that that delivery was only 8gbs, so I am now being told that the next delivery will be Friday 25th which should mean it actually gets to me on Monday July 28th. 17 days after I queued!

The best part is that I got my first o2 bill this morning! £45 for the month and I haven't even got a phone!

Anyhow, you can rest assured that I have my eye on a number of apps that I'd like to try out and review and as soon as I have something to install it on I will be writing here!

Charles Dunstone, if you're reading this, sort it out mate!

iPhone - it got me!

2008-04-27T02:41:00.004+01:00

When I heard that the price of the iPhone 8gb was being reduced to £169 on the Tuesday evening before it happened I decided to finally get one. I was 90% convinced to get one anyhow, but this was the final push.

I was up early and down to my closest Carphone Warehouse by 9.10am. They confirmed the new price, which they had seen on their intranet only a few moments before, and I was their first customer of the day.

A week later I was back there to buy a second one, and they were all gone. Carphone Warehouse have confirmed that they've sold the lot (see the Register’s article here: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/25/uk_iphone_clear_out/) and o2 have only a few left in their retail stores and not a single one in their online store.

It’s really amazing to see how well this marketing strategy worked. To my mind they are clearly selling off their stock of 8gb before the launch of the 3g/ v2 iPhone which is expected by many to be announced on the 9th May at the WWDC.

Even knowing that the 3g version is imminent I decided that £169 is a great price for the iPhone, and I'm very pleased with that decision. It's just incredible.

The interface is fantastic and the best feature to me is the browser. It is by far and away the best mobile browser I have ever used. Compared to Safari on the Nokia E90 it is a completely different world. The way the iPhone's Safari handles scrolling and zooming is fantastic and the speed to load is like nothing I've experienced on a mobile device. Where my E90 will often fall down and not let me into certain web sites, my hosting control panel for instance, the iPhone sails through and loads the pages perfectly and quickly. I don't think I've come across a single website that the iPhone can't handle and the iPhone on GPRS will give the E90 a run for its money on HSDPA in loading a heavy website.

Text input on the iPhone is also superb, which is really surprising considering the absence of any kind of the keyboard. The on screen keyboard is very well done and the software which works out your mistakes and automatically corrects them for you is the really clever part - this allows me to type on the iPhone really very quickly. Coming from a die-hard “I need a qwerty keyboard on my phone” guy, that might be surprising.

There are a couple of areas where it shows that this is Apple's first attempt at a phone. It's not that anything is broken or badly written, it’s just that the iPhone is missing a few things that I've come to expect from a phone these days. 3G - 3.5G HSDPA in fact, Copy and Paste, Exchange ActiveSync, VoIP SIP client, Bluetooth stereo headset profile, and Bluetooth keyboard profile are my main issues.

A lot of those issues, if not all of them, will be fixed in the v2.0 firmware/ the v2/ 3G hardware I think and that will make the iPhone truly great.

The simplicity with which an extremely sophisticated piece of technology with fantastically clever software is presented to the user in this device has really got me interested in Apple products. The analogy of a "gateway drug" popped into my head a week or so ago. I thought that was perhaps because of the place I live, Brighton, which has held the infamous title as the place with the most drug related deaths in the country for the last 5 years (second to Blackpool this year I believe), but I heard Dan, Brandon, Patrick and Judie use the same term in the Podcast that they did here at JustAnotheriPhoneBlog: http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/2008/04/24/just-another-iphone-chat-come-join-in-with-us-next-monday-night/ so I'll go ahead and use it as well.

I agree with what those guys said in their super-long discussion, the iPhone IS a gateway drug and already I find myself warming to the idea of Mac. It’s only been a week and a half and I'm almost converted...good work Steve Jobs! If it wasn't for my obsession with UMPCs, and there being no UMPC from Apple, there would be no contest. I would happily use a mobile Mac device, although I'd probably keep an IBM-compatible (does anyone say that anymore?) PC on my desk, to begin with. And before anyone says it, no I don't class the Macbook Air as a UMPC.

In the JustAnotheriPhoneBlog Podcast the guys (and gal) disagreed amongst themselves about how they think the Apple Software Store will work. Patrick made the assertion that it's unlikely that Apple will have the man power to manually sit down and test every single application produced by third parties before making it available to the paying public. Brandon disagreed and thought that this is most likely what will happen, with a small number of quality sealed apps coming out that have been tested to destruction (perhaps employing automated testing tools for a lot of the grunt work). This sparked an interesting little debate; would we rather have a few very well tested, authorised, approved applications that will be rock solid stable and pose no risk to the ongoing stability of our iPhones, or a much more open market where we can make the decision for ourselves?

I don't know what my answer to that is. What I actually want is both...thousands of apps from tons of vendors that are all 100% reliable! I don't like iTunes, I never have. I much prefer the way my Nokia handles MP3s. The Nokia detects as a drive letter, you drag your MP3s on to it, and then you play them on the phone. If you want to copy them back again, go ahead. iTunes is a good deal more fussy than that and I'm sure iTunes will handle software purchases the same way that it handles MP3s. I'm already starting to prepare myself for that.

I jailbroke my iPhone less than 10 minutes after I got it home and I have been enjoying using the many applications and games available through the installer. Labyrinth, an iPhone version of those wooden tilting games where you have to guide a big ball bearing around a track with holes in it, is just the best use of the accelerometer I've seen. I even stumped up the 7 Euros and bought the 270 extra levels!

I also like Lockbox, by Nathan Black, which I've entered all of my important information into and can now access with just one password. Todo is also proving very useful, although this is one that I hope Apple releases in the v2.0 firmware and has it synchronising with Outlook through ActiveSync. A pre-release version of Fring came out the day that I got my iPhone and I stuck that straight on there. This goes some way towards fulfilling my VoIP SIP client requirement but unfortunately it’s not good enough. I can't make reliable calls at all. It does allow you to be connected to VoIP through Skype, MSN Messenger, ICQ, SIP, Google Talk and instant text messaging through Twitter, Yahoo, and AIM and I'd love to blame the pre-release status for the poor/ lack of performance but having tried Fring on a few Nokia phones I have to say that I've never really got it to work. At this point I’m just not sure it’s very good. I’d love to be proved wrong on that though.

I have also used Terminal to connect to SSH to a remote server and, whilst writing this, I have installed VNCsea - the native VNC client for the iPhone which has been broken on Installer every time I've tried to download and install it over the last week. Now I've got it installed it won't actually connect to my PC, but I'm sure I can sort it given a little time and it looks pretty good so far.

So in summary the iPhone is a very different device to my usual mobile (the Nokia E90) but, apart from a few small items that the new firmware and the new hardware will fix soon enough, I think that Apple have unceremoniously finished my affair with Nokia. And I won't be going back to Windows Mobile any time soon either.

2.4Ghz Spectrum Analyser/ WiFi/ WiSpy

2008-04-09T15:47:00.009+01:00

I have been looking at a WiSpy 2.4Ghz Spectrum Analyser with Chanalyzer software and also InSSIDer with a high gain WiFi USB dongle over the past couple of days.

The graphs produced are mind boggling at first but quite interesting. From the various outputs I have discovered that my TV sender is very strong and always transmitting, the flat above have their WiFi AP (SSID Bruce 10) on channel 6 and its very strong in here and that there is a load of noise on channel 11 from 6 other WiFi networks nearby.

So using all of this information I have done the following; moved my TV sender to AV Channel 1 (2.414GHz) - which you can see on the far left of the graphs between WiFi Channel 1 and 2 and I have moved my WiFi from Channel 11 to Channel 13.

On the middle Topographic view you can see the neighbour's WiFi mushroom on channel 6 and mine on channel 13.

Metageek's InSSIDer will run with just a normal WiFi card and I'd recommend giving it a quick try, or else just make sure your WiFi isn't on channel 11. Chanalyzer, also from Metageek, is a bit more specialist and requires the WiSpy USB dongle which you can buy from firstpersonview.co.uk here.

It's snowing in Brighton!

2008-04-06T14:32:00.004+01:00

We've had more snow in the last 24 hours in Brighton than we did in a week in the alps when I was there last month!

Nokia BH-503 Bluetooth Headphones and Nokia SIP client echo

2008-04-03T13:20:00.007+01:00

I have been playing with the Nokia BH-503 Bluetooth Stereo headphones for the past couple of days. I've got to say that overall they are great and a far cry from the Sony Ericsson HBH-65 which I have in my desk drawer, decommisioned very shortly after it was purchased several years ago.

The Nokia headphones sound great, are comfortable, and Bluetooth seems to work OK 90% of the time. There is the odd crackle and pop when on a phone call, music occasionally stops momentarily for no apparent reason but overall they're great. Yesterday I listened to 3 45 minute-ish Podcasts and 4 or 5 music albums and for a good deal of that time they worked flawlessly.

Unfortunately I have found a couple of problems with the Nokia SIP client/ Bluetooth combination.

1) The call button can not be used to answer an incoming VoIP call. It works fine with a cellular call but not with SIP. This seems to be a known issue.

2) The other party hears a very prominent echo of their own voice when on a VoIP call. Again this doesn't happen with a cellular call.

I've mentioned it this thread on the N95 website http://www.n95users.com/forum/connectivity/5359-bluetooth-over-sip-client.html

I really hope Nokia fix this in the new firmware versions of the SIP client as it is a big issue for me.

Please let me know if you have the same issue, or even better, if you don't have this issue but you use a bluetooth headset and the Nokia SIP client.

BT VideoPhone1000 - will it work with other SIP providers?

2008-04-03T12:51:00.005+01:00

The BT VideoPhone1000 is now down to £39.99 from BT, £69.99 for a pair and its even cheaper elsewhere. Its supposed to be used with BT's servers and they charge per mintue for calls, etc. I wondered whether it is possible to get it working with other VoIP providers including my own Askozia PBX.

From a little bit of reading of this thread I have discovered that the phone is a standards compliant SIP phone but it has the sip gateway address hardcoded and in the later firmwares the phone must make a connection to a BT HTTPS server otherwise the phone stops working.

If you have firmware 0.5.3.96 there is a way forward (just be sure not to connect it to the internet until you've read the rest), if you have another firmware unfortunately there is no way forward at the moment but Nosilla99 on the Scream forums is working on a possible solution.

The phone automatically connects to a server to download new firmware so if you have a phone with firmware version 0.5.3.96 there are two things that you must do (don't connect the phone to the internet before you've done this!):

1) Block the phone from updating its firmware from www.videophone1000.bt.com (you'll need to run a DNS server and make sure that that address does not get through to bt.com)
2) Re-route the address that the phone tries to connect to BT's SIP servers at sip.btsip.bt.net so that it is actually routed to your PBX, or SIP service (using your DNS server).

I have set my Monowall router up as a DNS forwarder which publishes itself as the DNS when it dishes out DHCP. I've then set it to override the DNS responses for those two addresses. This seems to be working fine when I do an NSlookup test.

All of this information came from Nosilla99 at the www.the-scream.co.uk/forums.

Nokia N800

2008-03-31T11:00:00.005+01:00

I have recently been playing with a Nokia n800 to fill the gap between my EeePC and nokia E51. These are my thoughts on it.

First thing i did was put Nokia's Tablet OS 2008 (Linux) on it which makes it the same spec as a N810 without a keyboard or GPS. Nokia provides easy software to do this.

Its battery life and instant resume are brilliant, its great to have an internet device quickly available at all times.

The operating system is great, easy to use with just thumbs. The full screen keyboard is very handy for entering stuff when you dont have a surface to work on. Multitasking etc is fast and easy. The very clean, tight OS with custom apps makes the Eee's linux seem pretty rubbish.

The web browser is the best i've used on such a device, it can even play youtube flash videos ok. Bookmarks are easy to launch from the home screen with thumbs also.

There is also Skype, Gtalk, POP3, Imap, RSS, SIP support etc all installed as standard.

There is a good software community around it, the ones i've found to be good are:

Mplayer - plays most divx files absolutly fine, some frame skipping on higher res stuff, great for watching tv on. The built in stand is ideal for this.
RDesktop - Remote desktop client, unfortunatly does not work with the n800's software keyboard so is pretty useless, better on the n810 or with a bluetooth keyboard of course. One day maybe it will be completed?
SDL Quake - Pretty unplayable with the interface but its amusing to see something from ID running on a small device.
SSH Client - Command line app, does exactly what it says, surprisingly usable. Shown in the pic connecting to a linux machine and running BitchX IRC client.
Battle Gweled - Bejeweled!

I've just ordered myself a pair of Nokia Bluetooth headphones to use with my various nerd toys (Dell Dimension E521, EeePC 701 4G, Nokia N800, Nokia E51) and hopefully will be able to set them up according to this guide http://geekpenguin.blogspot.com/2007/09/bluetooth-headphones-made-easy.html Making it a great portable MP3/DivX etc player.

Other than that, I paid £120 used for this device and think it represents great value for money. The GPS and keyboard enabled n810 is quite a lot more expensive, more than I can justify at the moment but looks to be a nice improvement.

Fab Fairies for sale!

2008-03-27T11:26:00.011Z

Saara (my girlfriend) has finished her first batch of greetings cards and they are for sale in Giftz Store (www.giftzstore.co.uk/)in the south lanes of Brighton and will soon also be in Chocky Wocky Doo Dah in Brighton as well.

I'm very proud of her. It's taken her nearly 3 years to get these to market but shes done it and I really hope they sell!

Its amazing that they have done a big promotion for them in the front window and a very prominent position as you walk in! Check out the photos!

She is now working on a new website to sell them through, but if you fancy one (or more) let me know, I'm sure I can arrange it!

Free AVG doesn't say "Checked by AVG Free Edition" on my emails anymore

2008-03-09T12:29:00.003Z

I'm not sure if its intentional or not but I've noticed that since my free AVG updated itself yesterday it no longer says "Checked by AVG Free Edition" on my sent and received email, instead it now says "Checked by AVG."

The release notes mention "Minor text improvements to the GUI", perhaps that's what they mean?

If its intentional its an interesting decision. I almost feel guilty for persuading several people who use AVG to upgrade to the paid for version on the basis that not only is it fairer to Grisoft but it also looks better to their customers to not say "Free Edition" (IE license agreement infringement) on their footers.