-
Latest Discussions
Site Tag Cloud
Powered by Vanilla 1.1.5a.
Installed add-ons.
-
-
The Hero and Spotify
- bymonsieurledan on7th February, 2010 inOpinions
-
Over Christmas I was given respite from the noise of family. I felt a wave of nostalgia as I took up the offer to trial the HTC Hero with Spotify from 3. I created offline playlists of tunes I used to love in the 90's and the Noughties. Despite what you might think, it's not the music I feel the need to reminisce over, instead it's the technology at work.
Spotify might be a cool new concept when it comes to convincing the Big 4 record labels that it's ok for people to stream music for free, but look beyond that at why those people love Spotify and maybe you'll see the same community of playlist collaborators I was once a part of, but using WinAmp and ShoutCast like an online radio station.
My spare time in secondary school was mostly spent talking to anonymous friends on IRC channels. I'd managed to get online with the help of my geek peers by circumventing the school's web filters. This was a time when "geek" didn't mean owning products made by Apple, drain pipe jeans, and over-using the word "chic" as it seems to now - back then, a good day was one that a geek wasn't stuffed roughly into a locker.
I digress. Music was a competition: who could collect the largest number of MP3 files, who could occupy the largest chunk of hard disk space, and who could produce the best .m3u playlist.
At college and university, how I consumed music was focused...
-
-
-
Mini Expectations
- bymonsieurledan on7th February, 2010 inOpinions
-
What feels like a lifetime ago, I was given the INQ1 and immediately fell in love with its converged thinking and simplicity. It won some awards, people loved it. I too nicknamed it the Facebook phone because of the awesome nature of the Address Book - it was possible to merge the data stored on your SIM and contact details available via Facebook. Following the release of Facebook for iPhone, people started to view Facebook as the new way to keep an address book updated and synced between devices. INQ got there first.
So anyway, a second and third INQ device have been available for a couple of months - the 3 INQ Mini and the INQ Chat. I happened upon an INQ Mini, courtesy of some blogger/consumer-focused social media ninjas who run @3mobilebuzz from 1000 heads.
Now let's be honest - we're all seeing the INQ "make phones for the masses" pitch and interpreting that as "cheap backup phone". Actually, I'd like to suggest a slightly different view - the INQ Mini is a superb 3G USB dongle because you can also make phone calls to your Facebook friends.
Overall this
donglehandset gets a thumbs up from me. Just to look at it and hold it in your hands, it feels like a more polished product than the INQ1. However, the INQ1 was the most amazing first product it was possible to release, and now I feel slightly disappointed that the INQ Mini is as far as INQ has progressed...
-
-
-
Deutsche Telekom Brings Software Portal Softwareload to UK
- bycmrlee on23rd October, 2009 inOpinions
-
Deutsche Telekom, the German communications leader, has launched its Softwareload download service in the UK. The service is extremely popular in Germany where Softwareload.de has more than a million users.
Softwareload.co.uk aims to become the place for Web users to purchase software from various application providers. Softwareload.co.uk contains software applications for work and home life, and customers can store their purchases securely on the site.
Products available at launch span categories such as anti-virus and security, data protection, photos and graphics, plus personal interest, leisure, Internet and browser software. Visitors can find products such as G Data security products, MAGIX photo and video applications, Nuance PDF apps and Nero burning software, alongside dozens of other applications. Customers can store their purchases for up to one year in the ‘My downloads’ section. This service is free for customers signing up before the end of 2009 and £4.99 thereafter for 12 months’ secure product storage. Softwareload.co.uk users can also benefit from customer support by both phone and email.
-
-
-
The Worst Things You Can Hear From Tech Support
- byPhil H on8th September, 2009 inOpinions
-
A list of the top ten worst things you can hear from Tech Support when you call your ISP. This list was composed whilst waiting for a download that's so far taken a good two hours longer than it ought to.
10. There seems to have been a misunderstanding; just because we gave you the router doesn't mean it'll work.
9. Sorry I've got to put you on hold, a sacred cow just walked in.
8. According to this reading you're getting almost a tenth of the download speed you're paying for, so it's working fine.
7. The problem seems to be all that dwarf porn you've been downloading. That's right. We know.
6. Please call back in three hours, it's my guilds raid night.
5. Ahh here's the problem, I unplugged it.
4. Oops. Yeah. I shouldn't have told you to do that. Your computers insured though right?
3. It's my first day.
2. It's my last day.
1. So... What are you wearing?
-
-
-
Gear4's KRG-D50 DAB Radio with iPod Dock
- byash.matadeen on12th August, 2009 inReviews
-
The KRG-D50 is one of the latest additions to gear4's line of speakers. It's an iPod dock, FM and DAB radio and an alarm clock all in one. In fact, the KRG-D50 is gear4's first DAB radio system. I have been using one for just over a couple of weeks now and thought I would share my experience.
Gear4 claims it features a stylish design that combines retro elements with an updated modern look, making the KRG-D50 fit perfectly into any interior, from kitchens to bedrooms. I however thought it looked and felt more like something my granddad would have owned, especially with the retro antenna that you have to pull out from the back when you want to listen to the radio. Once I got past its looks however, things got better.
As soon as I plugged the unit in, it automatically started scanning the air waves for DAB stations. As someone who has never owned a DAB radio, I was pleased to see it had automatically set the time and date as soon as it had tuned into a DAB radio station. That, is a feature I wish a lot of other devices had. The sound quality doesn't disappoint either. Despite only having a single speaker, the sound quality is really good and the bass very strong for a radio/iPod dock this size.
The blue LCD display shows the name of the radio station as well as the name of the...
-