Say hello to my next blackberry!!!

Yup, since getting my blackberry I've said that I basically would not get another make of Phone again and this still stands! I currently have a blackberry Pearl and it rocks (with the exception of the memory leak issue)

Anyways, seen this and I want one. I reckon Orange will have them in the next 3 months which is great being as that's when I'll be able to upgrade my blower :)

Blackberry Storm baby!!

Enabling the Back/Forward button with ASP.net AJAX

So we're building this new web site and it's an upgrade to one we have before. Basically redeveloping from the ground up making it more user friendly, better design etc. Anyways, one of the problems with ASP.net AJAX is that eventually you're going to have problems with the back/forward buttons being as they won't relate to the series of actions the user has done on the page.

Done a quick search and found this which works a treat. Took 10 minutes to implement...
http://www.nikhilk.net/UpdateControls.aspx

Enjoy :)

Oooh - Chrome!

New web browser is now out. Is it another version we have to account for when developing or a phunky browser that will leave the masses gagging for more? Time will tell but so far...I'm impressed...feature rich and looks pretty nice to boot.

http://www.google.com/chrome

Tee-Ay-Assimo!

OK, so I must be getting on in years being as one of my birthday presents to myself this year was a Tassimo! 5 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed of getting one but now...it's one of my favourite gadgets (sad I know). You get these cool little pods, you put the pod in the machine, press the button and 60 seconds later you got a hot drink. Cafe Creme people!! It's pretty much the same coffee you get in Amsterdam not the shat they serve over here...anyways...get one!

Oooh - got me a stupidly expensive surround sound system too. HD and Optical inputs n all o that, woop ass speakers, think I prefer the Tassimo ;)

VB.net to C#

So - being as pretty much 80% of .NET web development roles require the use of C# and I'm primarily a VB.net developer I've decided to get on the bandwagon and become a little more multi-lingual in programmatic terms. That's right...I'm learning C#! (Other coders who know me....well - it had to happen sometime init?!)

Now the upside to this is that it will make me a great deal more employable when hunting for a new job, the downside...you get into that repetitive situation where you're coding in 1 language...when you try and switch to one you're cool with (such as going back to VB.net from C#) you end up trying to code 1 language against the other platform! I totally remember this happening way back when I was learning Javascript. Started adding curly brackets to stuff when I moved back onto ASP (I'm talking classic ASP here so it was some time ago). I know this isn't going to last long but it still sucks a bit.

Anyways, for those VB.net developers who are wanting to learn C#. If you know your Javascript or Actionscript syntax then you're sweet. All there is to it is syntax when it boils down to it and having a grasp of the aforementioned will help you no end. Thankfully, the CLR dictates that all the methodologies are pretty much the same. Inheritance, instantiation, OOP methodologies are bang on how you'd do them in VB.net - and once you know the little quirks that'll trip you up in the beginning:

• No more optional parameters for functions/sub routines
• No real declaration for a Subs, Functions or property but more how you write it that defines what it is
• You'll need to do a compilation every so often to find errors
• You can't be slack. By this I mean, you need to be sure you keep your case sensitivity in check...VB.net does a whole bunch of automated corrections for you that you don't even notice - C# basically tells you - "That's wrong...try again".

But stick with it and within 2 weeks...you'll be blazing through no problem.
Anyways - a few sites that have helped me shed loads...

VB.net to C# Converter
Great for the little snippets when you know what you want to do but can't quite get it right in C#

VB.net to C# Comparison
Heaven send blessings to the dude who wrote this page...it's helped me no end! Shows you all the basics of VB.net and their C# equivalents from object instantiation to data type declarations.

Anyways, figured I'd throw down my 2 cents and help anyone on the same path with what knowledge I have aquired thus far.

Happy Codin'!

Multi touch blackberry! WOW!

So, browsing around and bump into this blog by a dude with what I must say is the best name on the planet (Tim McKnight). Anyways, nice little speal on multi touch devices and it would appear that blackberry are joining the band wagon (FINALLY!!). Out of every phone I've had, the blackberry is my fav without a doubt. It's got that weird bug where you need to take the battery out every few weeks or you wave good bye to your text/email messages. Other than that...it's freaking awesome. Has all the functions I need and it doesn't suck (pretty much my criteria for a phone these days!).



Anyways, Tim has some nice blurbs so go check out his blog. Meanwhile - the Blackberry Thunder site (which is down right now) can be found here.

Nike+

Yup - scored me some Nike+ and that little gimmicky thing you put in your trainers so that they connect to your pod. Anyways - turns out the freaking thing don't work with my Touch so had to score an iPod Nano today. Got a cheapo second hand one from CEX though. Anyways - thats the reason for the thing on the left. Won't be at 0 for long...

Fantasy Interactive and Propod

Anyone notice how FI have gone REAAAL quiet about ProPod? A shame if you ask me...especially as it was meant to be live a good few months ago!

Amsterdam (Woohoo), my new WII (Double Woohoo) and my HD DVD (Triple DOH!)

Yup, 4 days and counting until my Trip to Amsterdam. Unlike all of the other times...getting there in the morning which means I gotta be outta my bed at stupid (AKA 4am) in the morning! Totally worth it though...I reckon an hour to get ready...another hour to get to the Airport and then the plane leaves an hour after that - it's gonna be great!

In other news...hooked myself up with a Wii on Friday. I gotta say, I can see why it's outselling everything else - it's freaking AWSOME! Shits all over my XBOX 360 and costs half as much. Anyways - got the one that comes with Wii Sports and also went and scored Mario and Sonic Olympics and after playing a good portion of the weekend I gotta say it's addictive as hell and so much fun it's almost insane! I have got a downside though...woke up this morning...went to stretch and my arm is MESSED UP!! All that swinging up, down, left and right proper does you, not to mention the fact that I must have lost a good few pounds from the cardio it gets out of you. But that aside...if you intend to get a games console...get a Wii. It's easy as hell to use (with the games I've played) and I'm willing to guarentee that you'll have the most fun!

Finally - anyone wanna buy a Hi Def DVD player for the 360?? Seems that if I had waited another 2 weeks I would have seen the news that Blu Ray has won the Hi Def battle! Sony you gits!! Nicely done though...but you've cost me about £200 bones :( Anyways - I may keep it...I reckon that'll be worth a nice little wedge in a few years in a "Remember these??" type fashion...but if I'm gonna get rid...now is the time. The way I see it...any techie bods that are in the know will laugh at me (as most already have) if I try and sell it to them...but your average Joe will just think...Hi Def...cool....like those poor fools (my dear old mum included) that buy a television just cos it says "HD Ready" on it. Yes...wrong as it may be I'm counting on peoples stupidity, technophobia and lack of understanding to try and claim back some of my coin! Will update on that another time.

Domain problems, Apple (again!) and the countdown begins (yes...again!)

So...looks like my domain name ran out yesterday...didn't even notice until I tried to update my blog earlier! Anyways - seems to be sweet as a nut now...soon as I managed to find my UKReg account details (from like 6 years ago!) - everything was sweet as a nut.

Meanwhile - seems that Apple (the money grabbing bastards!) have released a 32GB iPOD Touch! This is taking the piss now...I get a new 30gb iPOD to replace my Nano and they release new versions of it within weeks of me getting it. I get a Touch and they not only charge me like 10 bones for updating it...but then they release a 32GB version and it's not like it's been out for a year yet! APPLE - I AIN'T BUYING ANY OF YOUR SHIT EVERY AGAIN!!

Anyways - new countdown....18 days until my next trip to the Dam :) Gonna be proper Bo! MUHAHAHA!

Oooh Oooh, finally got around to doing a nice little redesign to the Kane Academy webby...the new one looks the biz and is one of the nicest designs I've turfed out in ages. Either way, think I've got rid of my design block as I'm designing some nice stuff at work n all. Happy Happy Happy Happy Days! Check out the before and after.

Apple

Right, while I've gradually been warming to apple products over the past few years I can't help but be a little pissed about the fact that I've had to fork out 13 notes for the January update! It makes no sense and here is why! Anyone who goes and gets an iPod touch from here on in will have the January update already installed. Sounds quite normal right? Wrong! Basically, there has been no price increase to iPod touches at all, so we're basically being punished for buying the touch early and supporting apple! While I hear you say "why get the update then?", this is simply because I don't like having out of date shit - plain and simple. There are many others out there with the same sentiment but I have no intention of getting another apple product again!

iPod Touch baby!

Contrary to previous opinion I've gone a sorted myself and iPod Touch. Chuffed?? Proper!! This thing is the business and my gas has definatley been flabbered! So many nice little features to it from contacts to finding music. GET ONE!

Back but I don't want to be

Got my Octagon Necklace yesterday. Well chuffed with that :) Doesn't look cheap and tacky or anything - although it wouldn't go with my style of dress so it's never coming out of the box - but chuffed non the less. Talking of which - UFC 79 was the BOMB! I was well chuffed with that being as the last few have been a bit of an anti-climax. The fight with Machida was cracking...that dude is on fire. He's easily one of the best fighters I've seen but I'd prefer to see him against some notables before I make a firm decision. Also, the fight between Silva and Liddel was cracking! Not a moment to be bored in that fight and I don't care what anyone says - win or lose Silva can take a punch! Anyways - to the good stuff - GSP is now interim champion - YAY!!! Well chuffed about that and the entire fight went exactly as expected. Matt Hughes has got skills but he ain't GSP. Next on the hit list is Serra and then home free :)

Right - in other ramblings...back to work and don't wanna be. I think the time off has been cool - but it's a damn shame that work beckons. I think the entire country just can't be bothered this week. But sooo looking forward to my little lie in tomorrow - Woo Hoo!

Oh - Finally - Merry Christmas and Happy new Year to all. I know it's a good week late but better that than never. Also - I have finally scored me a HD DVD add on for my XBOX 360. Does what it says on the tin but when it's spinning disks it's as loud as the XBOX. Does not matter too much with the surround sound on full bollock but still...if you wanna just chill to a quiet movie - you don't want constant whizzing in the background do ya?

Egyptian artifacts, getting arseholed and the last word on my new telly

So one of my team got back from his holiday to Egypt and bless his cotton socks he remembered to bring me back something cheesy! It's my new thing, collecting cheesy stuff from different countries (no idea why!) so I now have stuff from Jamaica (cheers Dawn), Egypt (thanks John), China (thanks Ngai), New York (thanks Abi) and of course Holland. Gotta do the popular cities and countries before I get to the obscure ones.

Meanwhile, why is it that when you go out for a quick drink for like an hour it never works out that way? My boy Ste came up from London to visit me for the weekend and the plan was, a few drinks, come back and have a catch up. That was at 8. What time did we get back? Sometime past 3 in the friggin' morning! And I ended up falling asleep in my contact lenses which is always agony! Felt like my eyes were bleeding not to mention the massive hangover! Spent the entire day absolutely no good to man nor beast!

Ooh, I've discovered an artist by the name of Fink! The dude is freaking genius! (check out www.finkworld.co.uk) been listening to 'Blueberry pancakes' all morning! Not very often you find an album you can listen to all the way through but 'Distance and time' is definitely one of those albums! Also turns out he's playing in the Dam the weekend I'm there but its all sold out! Gutted! Talking of artists playing in the Dam, Jill Scott has a gig there the same weekend (again, sold out! Double gutted!) her latest album is alright, better than the 2nd but not as good as the 1st. She set the bar way too high with 'Who is Jill Scott?'

Finally, my new TV is the biz, if you get one make sure you got something high def to appreciate the goodness as even DVDs ain't quite up to par compared to the HD content. But very impressed indeed, and runs at 1080i no problem. Although now I'm gonna have to fork out coin on a high def DVD player! Great : last thing I need in the run up to Christmas is another gadget to fork out coin on (and yes, I am fully aware that the acquisition of these toys is a "choice" but the advertising gets me frothing at the mouth not to mention the fact that I'm WEAK!)

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 4)

So my plans last night were, go home, eat and then start rearranging all my electronic kit in preperation for my new TV! That way, I wouldn't have to do anything apart from accept the delivery, plug it in and marvel until it was time to go to work! Did I do any of that? No! Spent most of the evening lounged infront of the TV with my Vaio on my lap coding the new company intranet (which looks freakin dope by the way!)

Anyways, after that email from eBuyer last night I figured no point in moving all my shit around if it don't arrive, just to have to move it all back again when I cancel my order due to the fact that they couldn't get the delivery time right. And what do you know, this morning at 7am on the nose it's the delivery man with my TV! Woo hoo! (nicely done eBuyer, you've acquired a punter for life) So I damn near put my back out moving this monstrosity that's been making my living room look ugly for the past 18 months and got the new set sorted out quick smart (I'm a geek remember! New toys must be played as soon as humanly possible)

It was a little sad really, I'm there making these sounds like a monk doing a ritual, place that bad boy on the TV deck and remove the protective covering..."haaaaaaaar!" this TV is sexy as shit! So I plug in my sky digibox to my new baby and wow! The picture looks shat to say the least! So now I gotta hook it up using something other than scart (I know I know, a school boy error!) and being as I can't find the hdmi cable that I'm sure came with my 360 I'm gonna have to score one of those too.

Anyways, so far the TV looks sexy and when I get a sexier picture coming out of it I'll be a great deal happier. No idea what cables I need to score that would suit all the different connections on all the different devices to get the best result but lucky for me, I work with some of the geekiest people imaginable (an up side to working in an IT department) so the mere mention of "what do you reckon" will no doubt get me a barrage of background information along with facts and figures that I don't need but more importantly, the info I do! So when I plug everything in using new cables I'll be able to finish off this 5 part review and you'll probably not hear from me for a few weeks while I pay hommage to my new gadget!
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 3)

So...just got a message from eBuyer tellin me that my goods have been dispatched - "WooHoo" I thought, however I log onto the website (all singing and dancing btw) and they got this cool little thing that lets you track your order (which is currently in sheffield apparently). However, it also says "Your order will be delivered between 0900 and 2000" - DERRR, WRONG ANSER!! I paid an extra 20 notes so they could get the shit here before 7.30 am!! I'm presuming this is an oversite cos I don't wanna have to kick off and kick up a fuss!! (which I most certainly will)

We'll see...

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 2)

Well - eBuyer have done their thing in tremendous fashion...my blackberry's been kicking off for the past hour with email notifications on all the different phases they've gone through and it's currently in the picking phase. I've done my order for between 6am and 7.30am tomorrow morning (Yes...I am prepared to wake up 90 minutes earlier for a new gadget!) so next step...see if...

• it gets here on time
• it's in good nic
• if the TV is any good

More on this later.

In other news...been getting text messages from my best mate (he arrived in Amsterdam this morning) - THE SWINE! (although he deserves it). So quite literally this time in 2 weeks I'll be on an Easy jet flight to Amsterdam - YAY!!!

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 1)

So I've been meaning to score myself one of these babies for a while but figured I'd wait a while until the price had come down a reasonable amount. This time around 5 years ago I managed to get a pretty dope 32" CRT (that's the big box type television for the less tech aware of you out there) for £300. I figured when HDTV's come down to around the same price that'll be a fair price to pay. So a work colleague recommended eBuyer and I gotta say, I'm well impressed with their prices and I've scored me one of these bad boys. If you read the reviews, they're all superb and with the constant mentions of eBuyers alleged "amazing service" plotted around all of these comments I decided to just take the plunge and place the order. This of course was not without a little more research, mainly due to the fact that all this talk of 720p, 1080i etc confused the shit out of me. Anyways - thanks to the oh so wondrous tool that I refer to as the "t'internet", I've managed to enlighten myself as to the wondrous joys in all the differences and if you (like I once was) are someone who has not been enlightened, allow some of these links to show you the path.

Hi Def TV Explained on Wikipedia
Quite in depth, the graphics made me realise what the numbers meant (it's actually referring to screen resolution) and all in all - a great source if you wanna know pretty much everything there is to know.

HDTV resolution explained
Found this on CNET. If you want the quick overview - this is the best place for it. the following quote even helped in purchasing my TV and saved me about £200 in the process!

"...Today, however, the premium for 1080p is still pretty steep, and unless you're
getting a very large set, say 50 inches or more, we don't recommend basing a
buying decision on whether or not the television has 1080p native resolution."
- David Katzmaier

1080i vs. 1080p HDTV: should you care?
Not for a while apparently - a slightly older article but from the looks of it and the way things are going...this still holds quite a bit of water.

All in all, unless your intention is to pay a fat wedge now so you won't have to later...then go for 1080p - but if for the next couple of years you're content to have a TV that looks pretty dope compared to that giant box you stare at that takes up space in your living room - 720p should be alright for you.

Blackberry Pearl - the search is over

The search is finally OVER! Went and scored me a Blackberry pearl yesterday and I gotta say, it's the freakin' shiz. My best mates girlfriend got one about a month back and I was put off by the fact that the typing was a little weird. However I was informed that the difficulty only lasted a few days and after speaking to the dude in the Orange shop - he said the same thing too. Anyways - I left it on charge for the day yesterday while I went to go pick up 'the little one' and I've only been using it today. What can I say...this phone is the SHIT! Works great although I've not hooked it up to my regular email account being as I get ridiculous amounts of spam and I don't want to lash all my allocated blackberry megs before I get a chance to use them. However, the update prior to this one was done via the blackberry and it took maybe 5-6 goes before I got used to the typing. It's roughly the same dimensions as the Prada phone and around the same weight which is great. It has all the features I need (Phone calls, text messages and email) and a bunch of stuff that other people may be interested in like a camera (I just don't see the point), an MP3 player (again...I don't see the point being as I have an iPOD that does a way better job) but I can say with confidence...get this phone!! I wasn't looking to set the world on fire (and this phone by no means does that) but in terms of what I wanted it for...it is absolutely perfect. Well done Blackberry.

Propod, Fantasy Interactive and Google

Well, decided to drop an email to Fantasy Interactive to find out what the deal was with Propod and whadaya know, the gems that they are mailed me back!

"Dear Tim,
Thank you for your recent contact, and interest in Propod. Already, Propod has generated a lot of excitement and interest and we are currently producing all the relevant information that will go live on the Propod website in the 4th quarter of this year.

Given the wide-ranging inquiries from individuals and businesses among a variety of industries, we have prepared the following brief details.

Propod is an interactive solution of the highest quality. The dynamic application has all the markings of Fantasy Interactive; it is not just simple and beautiful, its usability is exemplary. The platform has been developed to allow the simplest of users, the “Moms and Dads,” as we put it, to easily share their digital life through a clean and efficient platform.

Propod will launch publicly in the earlier part of the upcoming 4th quarter and will be released in three unique versions.

A brief overview of the 3 models:

Propod.com: Individual members of the public can sign-up for free and businesses can sign-up for a small monthly fee. You will then receive your own “pod” with a URL such as, “yourname.propod.com” or “yourbusiness.propod.com”.

Propod Enterprise Edition: Businesses or organizations can have the Propod platform customized to fit their specific needs, and then implemented into their own environment. This version is for internal use only.

Propod Complete: Corporations with a large distribution network can buy Propod. Fi customizes and implements over an agreed-upon period of time. The client can then distribute it under their brand to their customers."

So - as you can see, by the end of the year it would appear that I'll be blogging on propod! If you'd like to see an example of a propod (there's only one out there at the moment) visit Think Swedish. Oh yeah, that'll all flash baby!! I'd code my own but just don't have the time with the amount of freelance stuff I'm doing. Also, while programming skills are up to par, my design ain't nearly as pristine as there's. And as an old friend would say "you don't have a gimp to put a pool ball in your own gob!". Shame I can't say the same thing to my underlings at work but gotta keep P.C. n all o that. Anyways, I'll be turning this back into my online folio at some point but until then I'll carry on blogging here and will add a final post when my Propod is up n running. One thing I will say...this blogging lark is a bit addictive once you get going, but hey, better this than .

Also - been checking some news articles and quite frankly, I want a job at Google. If you're in the development community it's a well known fact that certain companies really take care of their staff (Google being one of them) and looking at this article it would appear that these guys being big on technology have even extended this to their toilet facilities! Sweet lord! Toilet seats that vibrate...I read that article and I was like "DUDE!!! Niiice!!!". Apparently IBM are pretty cool for that kinda thing too. Rumour has it that they'll literally leave a bunch of developers in a room and just let them come up with stuff on their own! This idea being that intelligent/creative minds will come up with pretty fly stuff without the requirement for direction. GET IN!! No change of that happening at most companies though! The mere suggestion of such a think would either cause a barrage of laughter or weird looks swiftly following by the recommendation of psychiatric help. However, what these people fail to realise is that some of the greatest products were based on some guys coming up with something as a school project or hobby (Facebook and Google being perfect examples of this). 'Outside of the box' is the key phrase here, I don't think following the usual mould is the way to go if you're planning on setting the world on fire.




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