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2004.11.16'blogging' at 30,000FT over Siberia
Ok, I know it's not a first
but it's a first for me goddamit and so I just had to do it. iChat audio works very well via it too, can't get skype to work that well, but I think that might be a user problem *cough* ...
more details on the service on Lufthansa's site.
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2004.11.03
Oh dear. oh dear. oh dear.
I know I'm not alone in this sentiment.
How could it happen? How could Bush be re-elected? Well, quite simply, because the two party system doesn't work. Is freedom really being able to vote for either of two people you don't agree with, or voicing your magnial beliefs in a vote for the other parties?
I think not. It's all a smokescreen. And there ain't know smoke without fire.
_sigh._
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2004.10.14
Communicate: British Independent Graphic Design since the Sixties
Some choice words of mine are included in the chapter on web design featured in this book.
I've not read it yet, despite having received a preview copy of the chapter from Nico, so I haven't reviewed it. yet.
Barbican Website for the Exhibition
Amazon.co.uk page for the book
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2004.10.05
the iPod myth
Why is it that iPod users are all theives?
I own an iPod.
I'm also a director of PostEverything that makes it's money from selling CD's.
Now, there is a common myth that exists in the Music Business, and the computer industry, that because I own an iPod I steal music. I see a lot of people say this, every day. Well I'd like to break some news to you. I don't. It would go against what I believe.
I buy CD's. I rip them onto my Mac, and I copy the MP3 files to my iPod. I then put the CD's on my shelves. I've got about 500 CDs. More than will fit on my 20Gb iPod.
This isn't to say I never download music. Yes, I download tracks from time to time. Mostly to check stuff out, which I then go and buy, or stuff that you simply can't go and buy. And despite the record labels objections there is a lot of music in this category... the thing is I could try and buy records second hand, but then the artists/labels still don't benefit from it anyway. Just whoever is selling it on ebay.
Another myth : only Apple can sell content for the iPod. No, I can buy MP3s from Bleep and they work fine on my iPod. I can also produce AAC files from CDS which are smaller and higher quality than MP3 files and put them on my iPod. all with free tools.
The problem that other suppliers have is that they can't use apple's DRM [Digital Rights Management] software to control how those music files are used. Apple have acknowledged that they only included DRM - and light, breakable DRM at that - to be able to get the labels on board.
I hope that's helped dispell a couple of myths about the iPod. As always it's the computer industry big wigs spreading fud to hurt another player. Kinda like gangsta rap...
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2004.07.15
So predictable it's not funny
Once again a delay with Apple and new product delivery
Dear Apple Store Customer,
Thank you for ordering the new Airport Express!
We are very excited about the response to this great new product!
Unfortunately we cannot meet the previously estimated ship date
for this product and we now expect to ship your order by July
30th, 2004.If you would like to track your order, please visit our Order
Status website at
https://store.apple.com/Your/WebObjects/OrderStatusEurope.
Once your order has dispatched, you will receive a Shipment
Notification email, which will enable you to track your order.Your business is very important to us, and we apologise for any
inconvenience that this change may cause.Thank you for shopping at the Apple Store.
Kind regards,
The Apple Store Team
You really thought Apple would have learnt not to announce products until they are ready to ship, and would have had a good idea of expected demand by now. _sigh_
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2004.05.17
Burgled! (or Robbed?)
A rude awakening...
I was woken up at 4:30 this morning by the sound of creaking floorboards. Angie thought it might be a mouse. "Bloody big mouse". Armed with a mirror - it was there and it was heavy - I went to invetigate. Hiding behing my kitchen coutner I found a 5'8" tall Mediterranean looking man who claimed "I'm just looking for somewhere to squat, show me the way out and I won't cause any trouble" whilst flashing a knife.
I showed him to the door and as he exited noticed he'd picked up my camera bag which contained my Nikon Coolpix 5700, a pair of £185 sunglasses and , er, some other bits. But I wasn't going to get into a fight over it.
When the police came [as they did, promptly] they were really good. They found a ladder propped outside of my flat which had come from a local building site. The burglar had climbed up and through our bedroom window whilst we slept and walked through our bedroom without waking us. Scary.
The polcie got fingerprints, and we've had a look at mugshots, but who knows if anything will come of it. They seem to be taking if very seriously. And Angie and I seem to have dealt with any issues it may have caused, so all goes on.
My advice: don't sleep with your windows wide open!
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2004.02.12
It's nice to see Microsoft are also making Macs vulnerable
Virtual PC gives root exploit...
Microsoft Virtual PC For Mac Temporary File Privilege Escalation
// though it has to be said that this program was originally written by Connectix, and it might not be microsofts fault, and mac os x has it's problems, but I find it nicely ironical.
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2004.02.11
For once, the Royal Mail help...
... unfortunately the Inland Revenue still suck
So, the Inland Revenue managed to 'loose' my 2001-2002 tax return. The year before last. So I redo it in April 2003 and send it to them and hear nothing, no being top of my agenda I forget about it, time passes and I get on with my year. In december I get a letter demanding it... call them up, no record of delivery.
So I send two tax returns this year, one for 2001-2002, one for 2002-2003. I send one to my tax office [the 2002-2003 one] and within a fortnight get a receipt for the cheque I send them. Well, at least that is this years sorted.
This morning I get a call from the other office, the once where I sent my 2001-2002 return : they say the haven't got it.
Fotunately I sent it Special Delivery. I check out the Royal Mail site and they tell me it's been delivered.
If I find out they have lost it internally, and that is potetially what happened with April 2003's copy, and the one I sent originally in January 2003, I am going to be furious. The inland revenue are all too happy to charge huge amounts of interest on non-payment, but would they refund me for my wasted time, energy, paper and postage? I doubt it very much. They probably won't even let me off with the interest. Argh.
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