Laptop

You know, by this time next year I'm gonna have a new computer. A laptop. This laptop:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-0984.aspx

I know what you're thinking. What's an Apple Geek doing buying an "underpowered" AMD Windows Based Laptop. Well, the truth is, I really want a laptop and I like the styling, weight, size and feel of that one. Plus, it's cheap which means I can get it quickly. December 28th 2007 in fact.

By my 17th birthday I will have 3 computers. None of which will be this Dell. 2 will be Macs and one will be the laptop above. Of the two Macs, first I will be getting a 17" iMac in May then in September, a MacBook.

You might be wondering why suddenly I'm getting a second laptop rather than an XBOX 360. Well, as it turns out, my brother will be staying at home next year (Academic year), so I can just use his. I'm still going to buy the HDTV and AppleTV as and when I originally planned (January/February respectively).

As an early birthday present I'll get myself an iPhone in October.

I love money. ^_^

Good thing I get a job this year. Speaking of, I'm probably doing work experience at Nintendo Magazine. Nice.

Still no luck finding a Wii. Just gonna have to hope my sources inside Tesco can give me a decent heads up when they're getting them.

And of course, I've gotta hope that that is before late February. This whole thing's seriously nuts. I'm really annoyed about it all.

Oh well, feel good,
Jens

PS: Design is Law. BuySealand.Com

It's official

It's official folks. There are no Wii available in the UK, and it looks like it's gonna stay that way for 6 weeks. That's a real bummer. Very soon I will be able to cash the £100 check that I need and I was rather hoping to grab one right away. Luckily we have a friend in the Tesco Entertainment department who is going to tip us off about any pending deliveries.

Meanwhile, Apple have, as usual, singularly managed to make me want to spend too much money. Thank the heavens I get a job this year! As it stood, I intended to buy a MacBook, an iPod with Video and maybe a 17-inch iMac. Since Steve Jobs gave his keynote presentation at MacWorld '07, I now want a MacBook, an AppleTV, iPhone and the iMac. In total, that'll run to probably £2,000. Wow.

iPhone is an interesting one. The reason I want iPhone isn't the telephony, I have a RAZR for that, but the PDA aspect and video playback. To me, the actual phone is of no consequence. However, it does make the thing seem more special, like what we have there is the future.

Doesn't hurt that it's hella sexy either.

AppleTV meanwhile is simply a good idea. Once Apple (Finally) start selling TV shows and movies in iTunes Store UK, I intend to start buying. So once I have my HDTV next January, I'll grab one.

On another HD note, I'm joining the 360 club in November most likely, but my Live Account will be active before that on my brother's 360.

You know, what they say about high tech teens is true. I'm living proof.

Feel good,
Jens

PS: The Pirate Bay Nation. Awesome idea, cos as Carmack says "Design is Law". That is also currently my mantra.

WiiDS Live: Get The Groove On

Hey guys. Just a quick post to show you the WiiDS Live Titles:



And the first video to use them, Wii Sports Tennis:

FireFox 2.0

Forget IE7, FF2 more than makes up for it. This new version is prettier and has new features coming out of its nose. IE had the upper-hand in certain areas for a little while, but FF 2.0 is the best browser ever.

For example, you will see less spelling errors in this blog from now on, because FF 2.0 has a built-in spell-checker. Result.

Incidentally, I have found out why IE blurs the internet and how to stop it doing it. It's a new rendering something or other which they have enabled by default and you just have to switch it off.

Feel good,
Jens

Sometimes the world's okay, I guess

Friday was my birthday. I recieved some wonderful edibles, a dartboard, some money, assorted knickknacks like a watch and a booklight and also that gadget I've been raving about most recently.


Yes, iPod Nano Aluminum (AKA iPod Nano 2G, iPod Nano Aluminium) . Silver, 2GB, prettiest damn MP3 player currently made by anyone anywhere. It's great, I love it. Shame the otherwise brilliant iTunes 7 is having some iPod syncing bugs (It does sync both my iPods, but won't add or remove tracks to the Shuffle and intermittently refuses to allow me to change settings of my iPod Nano or remove songs.

And meanwhile, my dad's Creative Zen 20GB which at the time he was calling the second coming, is so disastrously screwed it's not even funny.

Funny how thing work out, huh?

Dieing industry

Here is a fact that many of you out there will dispute: Acting is a dieing profession.

I can't blame you for not believing it, it doesn't make sense. Why would the number of people choosing such a cushy, easy, well-paid job be going down? Well, that would be because it is none of those things.

It could be argued that it never was any of those things, however a strong case could be made for cushy and well-paid. But now at least, many actors are finding themselves laying down a lot of money and getting little in return. Far from being well paid, these people are losing money because they act.

And cushy it ain't. Early in one's career, there's no glamour at all. It's a world of late nights in winter, sleeping through the day in the cheapest hotels fit for human habitation and getting seen by very few people.

But why? It's simple. The reason the rest of the world is fucked up stems from lawyers. So the acting world's problems stem from the agencies. Oh sure, there's the odd good one, but the majority of agencies are rackets.

Permit me to explain. In order to get an audition for a role, one must either gain it by open audition (Rare and extremely unlikely) or else be on the books of an agency. Unfortunately, most agencies require training and/or a part to one's name before they let you on their books. Now, if you don't have the money for training and can never make it to an open audition, this makes that impossible. So in an attempt to corner the untapped talent market, some agencies have dropped such requirements.

Unfortunately, these agnecies almost always charge more in terms of fees than agencies for "professional" actors. They also turn up less significant roles and tend mainly to offer roles in adverts for peanuts. But if you can't afford the training necessary for a professional agency, how on earth are you meant to afford a larger representation fee for lesser results?

Acting? Yeah, it's killing itself. And Equity (UK Actors Union) refuse to lift a finger to help their non-memebrs (They have the same requirements as professional agencies).

MSIE7 Sucks continued

Oh for the love of Pete. You'll never believe this folks. It's just dumb.

Further to my previous post, I feel it it my duty to reveal that MSIE7 is not only craply designed, but in fact blurs the internet. Graphics, text, everything appears softer in MSIE than in other browsers, including MSIE6. Don't believe me? Try it. Seriously. If you don't want to try it, take a look at this screenshot (e-Mail me for a better version).

Jens out

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer is a horrific, but nevesary, part of my computing life. I need it as a backup for when sites do not support the ultimate standard, FireFox. However, it does suck a crapload. In an attempt to have a nicer time of it, I downloaded IE7.

Whoops. This sucks in whole new ways. The menu bar does not display by default, and when it is enabled it defaults to below the Navigation Bar. Icons on the Command Bar are too small. The tabs system isn't too hot either, with a tab displayed even with only one open. There is a new Tab button in the Tab bar, but I don't really think that adds too much.

Further, Back/Forward remain on the left of the address bar but Stop and Refresh are now on the right. This is officially stupid. It might not sound like much, but it becomes damn annoying. Also, the buttons all look different, almost like they are from different GUIs. Stop, Refresh and Search are all square with small icons, whilst Back and Forward are just circular widgets with arrows in them. The Command Bar buttons look fairly similar to IE6 equivalents from what I can tell.

What I can't understand is why Microsoft doesn't follow its own human interface guidelines. Office uses a different colour for the menu are and has fully moveable bars. Admittedly, moveable bars have a place in office applications, but Microsoft's inconsistency and shoddy IE7 UI has me wondering, just who the hell designs Microsoft software?

Feel good,
Jens

Richard Hammond

Richard hammond, probably one of the best presenters of our time has been critically injured whilst driving a jet powered car for Top Gear.

Hammond is known for presenting Top Gear, Brainiac: Science Abuse, Should I worry about..? and Richard Hammond's Five O'Clock show.

I really hope he pulls through. He's probably my favourite TV presenter ever, and my thoughts go out to him, his friends and family and I wish him a speedy recovery.

Reports are saying his condition has improved overnight, so hope is still there.

Jens

Know what?

You know, iPod Mini was probably the best digital jukebox ever built. And it shows. Apple adopted the Mini's version of the clickwheel into the dady iPod, and later the Nano. The Mini's design clearly influenced the Mac Mini. And it was a massive seller. I loved it and wanted one desperately.


Then, it got discontinued and Nano came out. iPod shrunk down. Great, terrific. Not Mini. So I got a Shuffle instead (Whilst on holiday in another country, made possible as it only charges via USB and those are the same eveywhere). I love my little Shuffle, it does exactly what I want it to. But I need more space, and I always wanted a player that was green like my shoes.


Well Mini is back, and it's called Nano 2G. Nano 2G fixes all the faults with Nano 1G in one fell swoop, by simply becoming a shrunk-down Mini. The Nano 2G retains the same Nano size, but grabs the Mini's looks, material (It's got that same anodized aluminium body) and most importantly, style. That is to say, COLOURS!


So I can get my green player. You can also get a pink one, a blue one, a silver one or a black one. And best of all, they've doubled the memory at each price point.

At the same time, Apple introduced iTunes 7, and I love it. All its small new features, and all its big. For example, Cover Flow is so deceptively great. I Now always use it to navigate my library. I finally have artwork for all my songs. I never bothered before, since Shuffle has no screen.

iTunes is simply awesome. And I finally know how to prove it's better than WIndows Media Player. WMP, you open to watch a movie or play some music. iTunes, you leave open and come back to. It's a media program that is as central to my computer experience as FireFox.

iTunes and iPod, you are both wonderful.

(Especially iPod Mini, iPod Nano 2G and iTunes 7)