Posted by DarrenG
on January 30, 2010
Funny as some of the comments are following the iPad launch, the ethos of computing may very well have changed with the launch of iPad.
How many of us spend time supporting the PC installs of family, relatives and friends? Who hasn’t taken a call from a family member asking why the laptop won’t load the internet or why, when they click on an application icon, nothing happens?
The vast majority of computer users ask no more of their little boxes of magic than they should power on when commanded and that they should be able to browse the web, send email and write a letter when they wish?
Few of these users even know what multi-tasking is let alone need it so all the hyperbole about its absence is a red herring. They don’t do a dozen things at once on a computer and they methodically open and close applications one at a time. It’s a prayer to the computing gods in the hope that the next time they need to, it will power on and behave!
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Posted by DarrenG
on January 27, 2010
There can be few who don’t know that later today Apple are holding a product launch event and that, if fevered speculation is to be believed, a new tablet style device will be announced. And as my close friends will attest, I am a Mac user and a huge fan of their products.
So what is it about Apple that drives this fanboi devotion to their product and the fever pitch of anticipation whenever they launch a new product? Why do Mac users display a unique devotion to their chosen platform that is quite unlike anything you see from users of other products?
Apple have the unique ability to whip up a storm of rumour and gossip months before any new product is unveiled. This free publicity is priceless but in this case all the hype has been whipped up despite the actual product being unknown. Can you think of any other company who can cause such excitement ahead of an event to discuss an ‘unknown’ product?
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Posted by DarrenG
on January 05, 2010
I’ve long been interested in alternative fuel solutions for vehicles. Good as LPG was at reducing running costs, it was never a truly practical alternative with the bulky and inconvenient tanks, the need to start on petrol and switch over to LPG on some systems and the scarcity of LPG equipped stations.
Electrically driven vehicles powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells, with their only by products being electricity and clean water, seem to be the perfect solution. But they are still some way off being a practical option. The necessary infrastructure to supply hydrogen and the difficulty in actually producing it in the first place mean there a still some large hurdles to overcome.
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Posted by DarrenG
on December 29, 2009
I received a Chumby for Christmas, a Classic model to be precise rather than the recently launched ONE but more of that later.
The Chumby is a difficult device to pidgeon hole. It’s a small Linux powered web connected gadget to which you can add up to a 100 ‘widgets’ from a list of thousands available at Chumby’s website. It is also a streaming web radio and clock/alarm.
It has a 3.5″ colour touch screen, stereo speakers, two USB “A” ports and a unique soft leather shell.
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Posted by DarrenG
on October 21, 2009
True to their promise, Amazon and UPS tuned up at my front door this morning with a Kindle International, the new, albeit somewhat kludged (more of that later) version of their previous US only EBook.
I had lusted after one of these for a long time so when the announcement came that the International version was being released and could be pre-ordered I put my name down that very day.
Later, having read some of the restrictions of the International Kindle such as no web browser, no access to blogs, no images in newspapers or magazines etc I cancelled my order. At least I thought I had until the email announcing dispatch arrived. Ooops ….
And so here I am with a Kindle International. And first impressions are very good. It’s smaller and lighter than I had imagined, about the size of a paperback in width and height and 6mm thick. It is very light in the hand and comfortable to hold, much better than struggling to keep the cover of a thick paperback open or supporting a weighty hardback.
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Funny as some of the comments are following the iPad launch, the ethos of computing may very well have changed with the launch of iPad.
