"I Confess I'm a Geek!"

Anyone going to buy Apple’s new stuff?

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:00:50 +0000

Now that the dust has settled on yesterday’s announcements – has anyone clicked the BUY button on the Apple Store?

Let’s take the new releases one at a time:

Apple TV – it’s smaller, cheaper, and in black?
Now at only £99 it’s a real bargain for anyone looking for a way of streaming content to your HDTV. Consumers in the UK are at a disadvantage though because one of the biggest selling points in the States is the fact you can view Netflix movies and TV. Unless love film or blockbuster do the same here, we are going to miss out.
Did I order one? NO – my Mac mini does the job extremely well, especially now that I am using PLEX as a media interface.

IPod Shuffle
The return of buttons and new colours. I have no need for this product, so no order placed!

iPod Nano
Now with a square colour screen and multitouch – it loses video. No compelling need for this product, so NO order placed.

iPod touch 4g
Introduction of two cameras, high res screen, better speaker, and a mic. Also now using the faster iPhone 4 CPU. The camera unfortunately is of a very poor quality, and only good for casual snaps. As we already have an iPod touch (for my 6 year old), it looks like a great upgrade. So I reckon on a £70 upgrade price after selling on eBay. ORDER PLACED!

In addition to the hardware announcements we had the launch of iTunes 10, PING a social network tool, and upgrades to IOS which brings us printing to the iPad, and a fix for minor bugs, including that darn proximity sensor fail. (4 out of every 10 calls are cut off by inadvertent pressing of mute or another key on the soft keypad)

Comments welcome from anyone else. Did anyone else buy anything?

iPad: the perfect device for a week away

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:57:25 +0000

Yes, I can honestly say after a few days away, the iPad has been an absolute godsend. Especially after I had worked out how best to feed it with a data connection (mine’s only a wifi model you see)

It has been a babysitter on the long car trip – Angry Birds a firm favourite
The TV guide for the tv in the holiday home
Google maps proving route planning for the week ahead, and a great browsing experience for finding out more about local attractions.
A great WordPress editor for keeping the blog up to date.
A brilliant way to get the morning papers delivered, using Pressreader – $29.99 a month for as many papers as you want.
Ocado for sorting out a grocery delivery for our homecoming.
Bump for sending photos from iPhone to iPad.
Photoshop express for editing them.
iBooks for your great holiday reads and not having to take half a tonne of paperbacks.
A great email client for not missing out on those important messages.
Using a webcam app for checking out the cameras at home ( a great new upgrade from y-cam)
Watching my favourite movies and listening to corny eighties music on the beach.

The iphone picked up the slack when checking for train times and finding the best route through some of the narrow streets back to the station.

What happens when your data runs out?

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:51:29 +0000

2 days in to my holiday in Cornwall, and I was presented with a data dilemma. I had my wifi with me and in it there was a sim card with my Orange broadband contract. This only gave me 500mb a month though. I knew with heavy usage in the coming days, I would be in excess of that. I was under the misapprehension before I spoke to the customer service team that my cost for overstepping my limited data barrier would be a max of 60p per day.

I was wrong.

This was only for smartphone usage, for mobile broadband dongles (although I had it installed in my 3 mobile MiFi) there was an excess charge of 5p per mb!

Ooops!

After a swift request for help, I was advised by orange to upgrade my package for £15 a month for 5gb of data. After a couple of hours nothing had changed on my account, so I checked back, and found that this bundle was incompatible with my account. So customer service said they will “look after me” and waiver any data charges in excess of £15 at the end of the month.

Well done Claire and Derek at Orange.

Just in case though I installed an app on my iPhone called MyWi which tethers my iPhone to any wifi device. The app cost $19.99 on a jail broken phone, but then I will only pay 60p a day once my limit is reached.

Episode 46 – Polish up your Chrome

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:59:10 +0000

Installed Google’s chrome this weekend, so i thought I would share my experiences, thoughts, and tips. Also a couple of great apps and a website that should save you money.

How the Google Chrome Logo was designed

NOTE about NDrive mentioned in tonight’s show.

As of 18 June 2010, all NDrive applications has been pulled off from Apple AppStore, rendering it unaccessible for iOS device users.

NDrive support have explained this as follows:

“Unfortunately due to a technical error with our applications on Appstore [sic] you currently cannot purchase the NDrive software. We are resolving the situation with Apple so we ask you to wait a few more days.”

Print Central

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http://www.google.com/chrome

IE Tab – Google Chrome extension gallery

AdBlock – Google Chrome extension gallery

eBay Extension for Google Chrome (by eBay) – Google Chrome extension gallery

Xmarks Bookmarks and Password Sync – Google Chrome extension gallery

Awesome Screenshot: Capture & Annotate – Google Chrome extension gallery

1-ClickWeather for Chrome – Google Chrome extension gallery

Agile Blog : A 1Password alpha for Chromium is here

Bargains!

O2 | Home Phone | Broadband, Calls and Line Rental in Just one O2 Bill

HotUKDeals – Deals, Discounts & Voucher Codes

iPad Apps

Crosswords for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

WordMaster XL – Word Finder for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store

Tips for iPads

TV Guide for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store

12 Solitaire Games from Astraware for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

Brodit Car Mount Solution for the HTC Wildfire

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:14:36 +0000

There isn’t a mount available yet from those nice people at Brodit. So, after a little bit of research discovered, that as long as you don’t need access to the micro USB port for charging it, the mount for a Google Nexus One works a treat!

And for me there’s a major bonus, the iPhone 4 also fits the mount!

ibVPN sets the standard for affordable VPN

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:42:59 +0000

Whoever you may be in the geek world, there’s always a time when you want to get access to content that strictly speaking you shouldn’t be allowed to get to.

By this I mean of course if you live in the UK, all the lovely TV that appears on ABC or Hulu, and if your stateside, all the goodness of good old Aunty Beeb. The way the internet is structured though, means that your geographical location is checked, and if your not living in the right country, you’re not allowed in!

Many people who don’t happen to live in the source country, may have a genuine right of access. They may be merely on holiday, or working abroad for a period of time.

Is there a solution?

In fact there are a couple. the first one I tried was something called an anonymous proxy served up by a programme called Hotspot Shield. This can work (sometimes), but is hampered by very poor bandwidth, and is plagued by pop up ads. One of the major flaws is that many content providers are wise to this method, and block its IP address.

The second method uses something called a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This is used in the main by corporate users who want to allow their employees access to their servers, but only by making them adhere to their policies and rules, and of course free from any external nasties.

This technology is now available for the good of the common geek to access their favourite TV shows! There are many commercial offerings, and a couple of free ones albeit with a very limited service. I think though after extensive research and a couple of weeks of use, I can recommend ibVPN.

There is NO setup fee. For $4.95 a month you get a choice of either US or UK access plus a free dutch one. For $7.95 you can have the lot! Setup is easy, although the Mac guide was out of date. I have published an updated setup guide below. The bonus for me was, that because there is no software to install, it works a treat on an iPhone and iPad. A guide for this is also below.

In terms of bandwidth, there seemed to be no issues. I watched several shows on Hulu though my Mac Mini, and from the iPad app for ABC with no stuttering or pauses whatsoever. If you are worried about the internet police catching up with you they guarantee anominity. The only caveat to this service is that you do not use P2P or torrent sites. I haven’t tried it, but I assume those ports are closed.

To get you all up and running I have put together 2 guides.

First the Mac.

Click system preferences. Then Network.

Click the PLUS sign just above the padlock. Select VPN from the dropdown, and make sure you select PPTP from the Type of VPN.

Next, you will need to enter the server name from the list that ibVPN provide. In this case us3.ibvpn.com.

Then your AccountName – usually email address.

Click authentication settings

Click apply – then connect – and you’re done!

It’s also a great idea to tick the status in menu bar box. This way you can connect and disconnect at will, by using the menu bar icon.

As for the iPhone (or iPad)

It’s even easier!

Go into Settings > Network > VPN

Then, select Add VPN Configuration

Enter the account settings:

SAVE it (top right)

And in the settings page just select the VPN as required!

I hope you found this guide useful.

If so please retweet, or drop me a line and let me know!

Episode 45 – Android or iPhone? My view

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:35:14 +0000

Another show from the Geek in Maidenhead! A rundown of loads of news stories and articles found on the net. Also a quick review of my new addition to my gadget family – an android phone – an HTC Wildfire.

Windows Phone 7 coming to Europe in October, US in November, according to Microsoft COO

Making a call on a mobile? Surely not – Telegraph

BBC News – Vodafone backs down in Android row

BBC News – Virus writers hit Google Android phones

Camera+ pulled from App Store for ‘volume button as camera shutter’ workaround

Twitter Takes Over The Tweet Button From TweetMeme

11 Essential WordPress Plugins To Get Your Blog In Motion | Social Media Examiner

BBC News – Online gaming takes it to the next level

TUAW Tips: 25 ways to check the hardware on your iPhone 4

World rejoices as Photoshop Express for iPad is fixed

The 30 Best iPhone Apps So Far This Year

Vlingo Home

PressDisplay.com – Newspapers From Around the World

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Episode 44 – Hands off my Blackberry!

admin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:20:24 +0000

News from the Tech World includes an update on the RIM situation in the UAE. Also Apple opens it’s 300th store. I talk about the impending arrival of my Android phone and recommend a VPN service.

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BBC News – Saudi accord to prevent ban on Blackberry ‘in sight’

Official: iPhone 4 jailbreak hits from iPhone Dev Team (updated with video) — Engadget

JailbreakMe 2.0

16 Reasons to Jailbreak Your iPhone or iPod Touch NOW

Grand opening of Apple’s 300th retail store brings Covent Garden to a standstill – Digital Lifestyle – Macworld UK

Tour of the biggest Apple store in the world – Holy Kaw!

10 Entertaining eBay Facts You Might Not Know

Apple (United Kingdom) – Apple Battery Charger – The energy-efficient way to power your accessories.

HTC – Products – HTC Wildfire – Overview

Unlock Wildfire? – Android Forums

Amazon Discount Finder: Find hidden 75%-off deals & more…

Invisible Browsing VPN – free and premium US and UK VPN service

PC and Mac compatible game – Starcraft II – Free Delivery – Tesco Entertainment

Episode 43 – Moving on Up!!

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:49:25 +0000

Lots of news from Apple, and from Amazon on the new Kindle. Special feature on moving house, and a quick heads up on using a VPN to watch HULU.

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Amazon announces new Kindle, UK Kindle Store | Latest technology and web news | Web User

Apple Magic Trackpad: The Beginning of the End for Mac OS X

Apple Battery Charger -- The energy-efficient way to power your accessories.

Pay as you go sim with data Wiki

www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMvWGzJTxw

VPN Review coming soon!

iPad Application | Rightmove property-to-you

iPad Property Search Application from Primelocation.com | Primelocation

upmystreet.com

FixMyStreet

Episode 42 – Here is the News (on my gadget)

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:17:50 +0000

A podcast themed on getting and receiving news on your iPhone, iPad or PC. Inspired by the superb FlipBook for the iPad released just this week. Comments on the free case offer for your iPhone 4, and a quick

Free Case for your iPhone – as long as it’s black, and if you can wait over a month!

BBC News – India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer

BBC News – BBC News iPhone and iPad app launches in the UK

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Risk like Game – Dominion HD

Car Cigar Lighter Socket to USB Unit – Suitable use with Apple iPhone, iTouch, iPad and iPod

Kodak ZX1