Getting The Right Tech Is Not Easy

I confess - I'm really not very good at choosing technology.

When I bought what I thought would be the perfect ultraportable for me, it turned out to suck on a previously unprecedented scale. I replaced it with a fine machine that's too big to carry about - and my subsequent choice of ultraportable was, quite frankly, a little *too* ultraportable for me!

Basically, I've been struggling around to find the mobile devices that are best for me, so far without success.

I've ended up with not one but two laptops - one's too big for portability, and the other one is too small and underpowered - and the battery life, while not completely sucky, really isn't good enough for my purposes.

So the Tech Update plan is proceeding once again. Rather than spend more time trying to tweak what I've got, the decision has to be to ditch what doesn't meet my needs and replace multiple systems with a single one that *does*.

So - it's goodbye to this:


And this:


And, to raise additional funds, this:


And the money raised will go towards one of these:



The Big Plan is actually to add some 'extras' to the box, rather than simply get a stock one - so the end box will, I hope, have 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD and a 9-cell extended battery. This should ensure that even I have enough speed, storage and portability!

So far, both of the laptops are sold, and there's about 24 hours remaining on the Archos. It's got 12 watchers, so I'm reasonably confident that it's going to shift.

In other tech-related news, the long-awaited Phone Upgrade date approaches. As I have a strong desire for a particular phone, I popped onto the Carphone Warehouse website to make sure I could upgrade to it - and was surprised to find it wasn't on the available list.

Hmmm. < grab mobile...dial...hold...hold... >

One unfulfilling conversation with a salesdroid later, I was left in no doubt that the object of my telephonic desire would only be made available to me if I upgraded my contract to £45/month. However, the phone in question tempted me from the website, available to *new* users at a saliva-inducing £30/month!

Hmmm. < grab mobile...dial...hold...hold... >

"Hello, I'd like a contract termination date and a PAC code, please."

10 minutes after uttering those words, I had confirmation of my upgrade to one of these...




...with a £30/month contract offering me more minutes, double my current texts and unlimited calls to mobiles on the same network.Veiled threats of loss of custom FTW!

To ensure I get lots of connectivity goodness even when I don't have the laptopI'm also going to get one of these for it as well:


It's also 'geeky t-shirt week' - I'm waiting for my 'Insider' shirt and goodie bag from Qype and hopefully should also receive my first goodie bag from Startup Schwag. Photos will, of course, be posted when my goodies arrive.

Being a Geek - it's not all easy-peasy, you know.

A Quite Interesting Typographical Error....

There are some places one expects to see spelling errors and unproofed documents - Labour Party websites, for example.

However, when the site in question is intrinsically linked with one of the most erudite - and one of the funniest - men in Britain today, one would expect to see an immaculately crafted site, bulging with bons mots and proofread to perfection.

So I can only say, dear reader, that it was Quite Interesting to see the typos below on the webpage:



I shall leave it to you to locate the offending misspellings.

Email sent, and I shall be watching eagerly!

UPDATE:
I've received a response, corrections will be made. I wonder if I can parlay this into a freebie membership....*grin*

New Restaurant Review on 'Dungeekins Eatings'

Review of Pierre Victoire, Oxford - 2 May 2008. Find it here.

An Ode to The Local Elections

I never thought I'd see a day
As good as this,
"But Why?" you say,
"A war's still raging in Iraq,
Our wages taxed to Hell and back,
We're credit-crunched, the Pound is down,
There's violent drunks in every town,
Our hospitals will make us ill,
We can't afford our petrol bill,
Inflation's rising out of sight,
At school our kids can't read or write,
So we can't see a single way,
That you can say 'life's good' today".


Though all the things you say are true,
They've brought about a change in you,
Today, there's something in the air,
Now people really seemed to care,
You left your houses, man and youth,
and you went to a Polling Booth,
Be Proud! Because as one you rose,
And gave this Government a bloody nose,
Turnout's higher than years before,
You stood your ground,
You said "No More".


And all the things of which you spoke,
Are true
We're still beneath the yoke,
Of Government inept and dumb,
But now they've seen their time has come,
We won't be robbed or back your war,
We won't live like this any more,
You work for US - not us for you,
Your years of conning us are through!,
We want real action, not cliche,
We want a change that starts TODAY,
And so, upon a final note,
I'm Happy.
Because today,
Britain remembered how to VOTE.