speedyb.co.uk (posts)

Hi

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:28:23 +0000

I'm having to type this up on my iPhone, so forgive any oddness.

I thought a little elaboration on my recent intarnets absense wouldn't go amiss. Firstly we've just bought our first house, moving out from my folks place went smoothly, however overcoming all the little niggles of first time home ownership has been wonderfully enlightening. :-)

Second to this I've got a lot more on at work which has left me rather tired and unwilling to do much more than lounge on the couch upon returning home.

I am trying to set aside some time to get myself reaquainted with the world wide webbery, so hopefully my crap spouting shall return to a regular sceduled farce once again, but we'll see.

Still alive.

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:11:27 +0000

Contrary to reports, and possibly even some wishes, I'm still alive ... barely.

I've not really the energy presently to compile my present on-goings, however most of my life is presently pivoting wildly around personal matters (Nothing bad, mostly good, so don't worry there) and I've always tried to keep the site away from getting too personal, though that leaves me with the issue of where to aim the site? I'm not too sure at present, though a few ideas have bubbled up in my mind, none are really fitting or make sense. Maybe some suggestions would help?

I can say though, given my new un-tethered internet access (I now own an iPhone) I've been twittering more recently, therefore I'd like to share a few more ways of tracking me via the internets during the interim periods of updatery:

• Twitter.com/speedyb
• FaceBook.com
• speedyb.muxtape.com
• Last.fm/user/SPeedY_B
• Xbox Live

Naturally, there are all the methods on the Contact Page to get in touch with me, and my cam over at Camportal to view a small window into my life. So until next time... stalk me elsewhere ;-]

Snooch to the nooch

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:34:17 +0000

Posting from iPhone FTW! :-)

yes, that is all.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Chatpad

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:28:49 +0000

If you own Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, you may know they recently gave users the ability to chat to one another over the Windows Live network (Previously, MSN Messenger), on-top of the already-in-place messaging system between Xbox owners, along with this there are text input opportunities in games which require the players name or anything similar. Previously users were to choose from either using the horrid on-screen keyboard, which took forever to type anything, or connect a USB keyboard which is great if you have your console set up on a desk or in any other close vicinity to your seating area.

Given the nature of the wireless controllers it would only make sense to attach a text input device to the controller itself, which they have indeed done. The keyboard fits snugly onto the bottom of the controller, and can be easily thumbed at whilst playing games. When I first saw the chatpad I thought that it may impede on both the weight and comfort of using the controller in general, however this is not the case. Fixing the chatpad to the controller is a simple affair, aligning the headset connector and pushing until everything clicks into place. You will certainly notice the chatpad is connected, not only due to the now seemingly gargantuan size of the controller but also because you can feel the rear of the device raised up from where you fingers would normally fall on the back of the controller.

Using the chatpad is as you would expect... press the letters and in the appropriate places, they appear on screen. The keys are presented in a QWERTY layout, though some keys such as backspace are on the bottom row rather than at the top, thumbing at the keys gives you a satisfying/annoying (delete as appropriate) click-y noise, offering audible and tactile feedback similar to an old mobile phone keypad.

Obviously due to space restrictions you're not getting a full keyboard laid out on the face of the device, instead you're given what are effectively two shift, or function keys, which alter the input of most other keys when pressed, these are presented in the form of an orange button and a green button located in the bottom corners of the input area.

When using the chatpad, to my surprise and delight, when pressed the keys illuminate a feature I had not previously read about, or even expected. Much like my new Apple Keyboard, it takes a little while to get used to the keys and getting anywhere near up to speed with typing full sentences is something I'm nowhere close to achieving, perhaps Microsoft should make a dashboard achievement for attaining a certain level of words per minute when using Live Messenger.

The device is great, though I feel much like the Live Vision Cam - which I also own - it's use is very limited, most of it's life will be spent entering text into Messenger, which I use primarily on my Mac rather than my Xbox, therefore I think that the Chatpad may be a worthwhile purpose if the price is right for such a limited gadget, or if you're a heavy user of messaging feature on the console otherwise if you're able to use a USB keyboard with your console... stick with it.

Apple Wireless Keyboard

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:39:24 +0000

One of the new toys accumulated over the festive season was an Apple Wireless keyboard.

In my Apple owning years I have gone from the original Apple "Pro" keyboard with my PowerMac G4, to the not-so-nice-in-my-opinion bluetooth wireless keyboard. I have now got my paws on the all new - to me, at least - aluminium notebook styled wireless keyboard.

I remember first using my PowerMac G4 keyboard and thinking it was quite possibly the nicest and most satisfactory object anyone could ever hope to lay their typing fingers upon. Regrettably, I then sold the damned thing and had to put up with a horrendously awful keyboard made by some (Apple orientated) company, whose name escapes me at present, that was until I later upgraded to the wonderful world of wireless. The original wireless keyboard, whilst styled in a similar style as the original Pro board, was somewhat lacking, I could never put my finger on if the problem, be it the differently shaped keys, the every-so-slightly adjusted layout, or perhaps even bizarrely the lack of a wire and USB ports... though surely that couldn't be it. Either way, the wireless model simply was never as nice as it's wired brother.

Skip forward a few years and it seems Mr. Jobs has become obsessed with all things thin and metal-y. The new, or rather current, range of keyboards available for Macs are crafted from - what I assume to be - aluminium, and have oddly spaced keys taken straight from a MacBook.
As with the any sort of change, the new board takes a little getting used to, as I'm sure any iBook to MacBook migrator already knows. I don't think I am quite up to the full typing speeds I can achieve on my iBook yet, however practice makes perfect.

The new board offers not more, but in-fact less, than any previous keyboard I have connected, or paired with my machine. Apple's present offering not only lacks a numeric keypad on the far right, but also all the surrounding buttons accompanying those familiar digits. So there is no period key, no plus, minus, oblique, or asterisk. They even removed everyone's favourite enter key.

Not content with butchering numerals, they took to the F-keys. Whilst the none-mac-using folk out there may not know this, Apple keyboards don't stop at F12, they can go on and on and on, all the way up to F16, however this is not so true of the board I am typing this upon, I only have access to a mere 12 F-keys, though I never really saw the point, or even had use for those remaining four.

Also victim to the hack-saw are the direction keys, and the small block of page-up/down home/end, etc. These keys are of course still on the board, however they appear to be an after-thought all squashed up on the bottom right hand corner, or only accessible by the newly added "fn" key, which you may have already guessed operates as a functionality toggle when held down.

These points are not problems though, simply differences. After only a few hours of use, the small directional arrow keys become second nature, and you become more used to utilising the top row of numbers with both hands instead of pawing in digits with your right hand on the number pad. So with no real disadvantages, does the keyboard offer any advantages?

Of course! There are some fancy new little icons on those F-keys I previously mentioned, and they perform some very handy features such as adjusting the brightness of your display, activating expose, opening your dashboard, skipping and pausing iTunes, adjusting the volume, and last but not least, ejecting your optical media. These new function keys take a little getting used to, where I used to rely on three separate keys to get my expose fix, I now have just one, altered by holding down modifier keys to obtain different results. The same could be said of Dashboard, previously, and since Dashboard was first announced, the default key for opening dashboard was F12, now it seems some bright spark has decided to put it on F4, my hand has hovered the wrong key a few times before my brain kicks into gear re-routing my movements to the left.

On top of these new features, thanks to the designers hack-saw, the keyboard is as you would expect, a lot smaller than a regular number-pad, directional-key toting model. Some people may find this off-putting or perhaps just a little odd to begin with, I personally found it very strange as I am now able to position the board on my desk at least a good three inches to the right. However this new found positioning has not only given me space to place my coffee cup in previously occupied territory, but also adjusted my typing position, for the better.
To top it off, be it a side-effect of the shrinking, or simply a designed feature, the keyboard now only requires three (AA) batteries compared to the older requirement of four. This can be a little awkward as batteries are usually retailed in even numbers, however I am using rechargeable batteries, so it's not a great concern.

Overall, after a little practice and every-day usage, the keyboard is a joy to type with. It's certainly a little strange to get used to initially, however stick with it and you'll be happy with the outcome. I'd definitely recommend one to anyone who wants to save space, venture into the realm of wireless technologies, or simply wants to upgrade their current keyboard to something a little different.

Happy 2008... better late than never.

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:25:25 +0000

As you may have guessed the year hasn't exactly got off to a great start for me. After a small break though, I'm back in the land of the interwebs and shall hopefully be back on track with most of my online activities soon. :)

I'll take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year, and hope that you all enjoyed the festive break. I certainly did and have plenty of new toys to talk about, it's been a very gadgety few weeks for me recently, obtaining plenty of new play things to talk about.

So here's to the new year and all that it may bring.

iPod Nano, Cause of Death: Dangerous Battery

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:28:42 +0000

I decided that I wasn't going to let my poor iPod Nano die without a fight today (It is Sunday after-all, I needed something to do). So I fashioned my own "Safe Tool" out of a plastic card, so as to not scratch or even dent the casing when removing it, and got to work.

Dismantling the Nano took only minutes, and I've never done it before now. However, what I was greeted with inside was rather shocking.

Image #1, Image #2, Image #3, Image #4, Image #5, Image #6.

It would appear as though my battery has swollen to around three times it's original size and I've narrowly escaped a melting or exploding iPod. The swelling had not only wedged the select button permanently out rendering it, and the iPod useless, but also the front of the casing is actually cracked, a fact I had not initially noticed as it's not easily visible on the white backing.

I'm going to attempt to bring this to Apple's attention, as I believe this has been caused by a bum gravyty in-car charger, however I think Apple should be told just in-case there's a small chance there's a dodgy batch of two year old Nano's out there about to start popping.

We shall see what happens though.

Update: Via some very unofficial channels, I've managed to get this:

Now its been opened, we won't be interested I'm afraid, anything could have happened to it and we will not be able to determine the cause of the failure.

humping typical! Do note though, that this response is not the opinion of Apple, nor in any way official. It's a shame I don't live within reasonable distance of an Apple store, else I'd close the bugger up and see what the guys/gals at the genius bar had to say. Oh well.

Update #2: Having probed my lighter socket with a volt measuring device it seems that the lighter is indeed supplying a level of voltage deemed correct for most devices, though it certainly didn't seem to be a steady flow - varying wildly from 9v to 12v - it never heightened to unacceptable levels. I tested late at night so it was dark out, I shall attempt to try out the charger itself, and again test the voltage with the engine running (Only performed a quick test today as I was only in the car to change a fuse). Either way, Santa was kind to me this year, so I am once again not without iPod, however, I'm still interested in why this one bit the dust.

Wheel & iPod

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:38:10 +0000

While not related devices, both play a major part in todays events.

Microsoft have sent me a brand new wheel, which not only won't set my crotch alight, but also does not have the hideous centring issue which affected my previous model, in-fact, the new one seems better all round. I tip my hat to whoever is organising these recalls, a damned fast turn around and a replacement rather than a fix-and-return are very welcomed.

On the downside my iPod nano is about half-past-humped. I use my iPod shuffle more than I use my Nano, due to it's size it's always in my pocket, however my Nano has been for the past month or so in my glovebox, as I use it with an FM transmitter. The Nano has been inside a case, therefore it should have been protected from knocks and bumps (Also there's no apparent damage to the Nano or case).
When coming to use it today, I was unable to select anything or even skip tracks, though I was driving at the time, decided to try and turn it off when I next stopped, which again, I could not do. When I got home and had the opportunity to get a better look, it became obvious that the centre / select button is stuck, not stuck down though, but apparently stuck up. I can't press it down and there's no response from the UI when attempting to press it.

Unfortunately the only similar problems I can locate on the net are with people suffering from their iPods not responding (Curable by a reset) or the button being stuck down, so I'm guessing this isn't a common fault, and due to being about a year out of warranty, without paying through the nose, my Nano is humped. Bah!

Oops.

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 10:37:01 +0000

Entirely my bad. Comment disabling had kicked in on the following posts:

- Cocking Postal Service!
- What is next gen?
- Audio Set-up
- Would you kindly...
- Wicked Wheels
- Palm Z22

Comments are now enabled again, and hopefully should be working on all future posts withough me having to delve into the database to tweak things by hand.

Palm Z22

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 10:20:17 +0000

I have recently acquired (Read: At no cost) a Palm Z22, having never owned a Palm, or in-fact any sort of PDA device before, I must admit to being a bit lost with what to do with it.

Naturally, Doom shall be installed when I get the chance, and the occasional dentist appointment and so forth shall be bestowed upon it's calendar, however beyond that, I don't really have great use for it, so to save it from a life of none-use, does anyone out there have any ideas as to what I could do with it? Also is there any better Sync/Transfer software available for the Mac, as I feel Palm's own offering a little clunky.