Lost!

No not the amazing series but a dilemma we've all faced. Driving around lost is not only time consuming but also expensive (price of petrol in UK is hovering around £1 per litre).

Last month I bought the TOM TOM 500 Sat Nav system. Wow I never appreciated how great these little devices are. The devices run embedded linux and perform great, 3D display, clear instructions and tons of features. Better yet you can add your own POI's (points of interest) and the power of the Internet has allowed people to compose a database of speed cameras as POI's. Set an audible alert for these and bang you get an alert when a speed camera is nearby... genius.

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/uksafetycameras.php

Other great features include the ability to connect to your phone and make/receive phone calls via bluetooth. It can even import your phone book and dial numbers for POI's. Looking for a hotel, fire up the TOM TOM find one and click the icon, away it dials while the mobile is in the boot.

Only one problem found so far, when previewing a route from my home to a location up North, the 3D preview gets half way and then starts again. Sounds minor but I have yet to prove it will direct me correctly when I actually do the journey.

Free Online VB and C# Tutorials

MSDN have posted over 10 hours of free video teaching you how to create applications using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition and Visual C# 2005 Express Edition.

Available at http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/beginner/default.aspx these videos take you through the basic steps of creating an application and include sample code as well.

There is also a section on how to build your own RSS Reader!

Got a Cisco Connection Online account? Not now...

Reports on the Internet are flying around saying that due to security issues, Cisco have had to reset Cisco Connection Online (CCO) passwords as a precaution.
Users have been advised to email an automated service to get their passwords reset. But due to the number of requests a reply may take some time.

A Laptop not to miss

Ok I don't intend to turn this blog into an advertisement board (so I won't post a link) but if your in the market for an incredibly cheap decent laptop then look no further than the HP NX6110 Cel-M 360.

I stumbled across this one while looking for the cheapest laptop I could find and guess what for the money this is one of the best laptops I've ever seen. Ok this will not be any good for you if you want to play games. Otherwise your onto a winner.

Specs as follows...

• Intel Celeron-M Processor 360 1.40GHz
• 256MB Memory
• 40GB Hard Drive
• CD-RW/DVD Internal Drive
• 15" TFT Screen
• Microsoft Windows XP Home
• Builtin 802.11g wifi
  

Price... around £400 including VAT!

The Supervisor of Customer Service Hell

Fantastic Random Blog I come across...

The Supervisor of Customer Service Hell

Pod Casting

Having been bored to death of the radio and same CD's on the way to work. My brother suggested I try Pod Casting. Mmm I thought sounds like a waste of time. Wow how wrong I was, load up a Pod Cast each morning and learn something new everyday on the way to work.

If anyone is looking for ideas for Podcasting then may I suggest they compose a 'Learn [insert topic here]' I'm sure this is a massively untapped market. Imagine you were studying for a professional exam, then imagine having a Podcast teach you it every morning on the way to work.

Top Software I would recommend to anyone...

In no particular order here is software I would not live without.

• Zonealarm - Fantastic free firewall can't recommend more.
• Open Office - Lets face it, do you really make use of all the features of MS Office, if not then why not try this.
• Audacity - Great piece of Open Source music editing software.
• Spybot Search and Destroy - Free Spyware utility.
• Adware - Another great piece of free Spyware killing software, use in combination with Spybot for almost total Spyware discovery.
• Itunes - Why order CD's or go into shops for music, just download them within minutes. And no you don't have to have an IPod you can still burn them to CD.
• GIMP - Great Open Source Photoshop competitor.
• Windows XP - Solid OS with the widest support of drivers and software.

The PVR Revolution

The PVR in case you don't know is the new video recorder. These tend to use Hard disks instead of Video tapes. These hard disks are the very same used in your PC.

Don't get me wrong I like to have complete control over my devices, but I don't want to spend my evenings patching, upgrading, fixing or configuring devices. I want to come in from work and make use of a device. Welcome to Sky Plus.

Having owned one of these devices for the last few months I have to say I'm impressed. Select a show/series to record and walk away. Brilliant, most of the time, however occasionally the box has crashed and worse still lost all my saved programs. But hey I forgive.

Want to become a Programming Mastermind!

If your like me and either want to start learning to program or become a casual programmer then take a look at these two FREE products...

#develop http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/

An Open Source IDE for C# and VB.NET projects.

Microsoft Express Edition Beta Products http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/

Lightweight beta versions of Visual Studio.

Both these IDE's are a fantastic place for you to start learning how to program. Remember to check their respective forums for tips and sample code.

Xbox 360

The specifications for the Xbox 360 are out and they don't disappoint...

512mb unified RAM
3.2Ghz Power PC
500Mhz ATI GPU
Wireless Controllers
Snazzy design

My thoughts? As an owner of all current generation machines, I have to say the original Xbox has captured my heart and mind. Microsoft are doing everything so right they really do deserve to win the war. Take the approach to the developers, they reportedly asked developers 'what do you want from the machine' whereas Sony appear to have relied on the fact developers will produce games for their machine because it is a guaranteed high seller.

The implementation of Xbox Live is genius, a single sign on with a single payment. In comparison Sonys approach is messy to say the least. Per game/publisher sign on and payment, ouch.

The Xbox360 just simply gives the feel of a nice clean architecture. When Sony reveal a little more about their machine then further comparisons can be made.

The Power of VOIP

Wow what can I say Wireless ROCKS! Why? I have a Dell Axim that a bought a year ago and never used. Being a student at the time, it was a stupid and costly purchase until... I got Skype on it. My god, take the PDA + wireless card + skype and I now have a VOIP phone. Calls are cheap or even free (to other Skype users) plus 'line rental' is tiny. Bye Bye BT, why would I possibly want to pay £10.50 for an analogue line when Skype works out at approximately £5 per quarter.

Now all I need to do is persuade Friends and Family to move onto it.

Leave Microsoft alone

Why are people always slating Microsoft, without them the PC revolution would not have occurred. They make good operating systems, if you think they are rubbish then show them how its done and try build a better one. Prove me wrong.

No wait a minute you say Linux is a better OS, really then why with 10 years plus of IT experience do I struggle to carry out basic tasks with it. If I cant perform basic tasks then how could a newbie be expected to!