by Alex Forbes
June 17, 2010 Leave a Comment
… but unfortunately before finishing the series on setting up the Ubuntu home server. Realistically it is unlikely it will be finished until I setup another one, as the original is back in New Zealand and I’m en-route to the UK!
It should be more than enough to get most people started though, so it has certainly been a worthwhile exercise. For the parts that were finished, see An Ubuntu Home Server.
May 25, 2010 Leave a Comment
It’s about time.
I know it’s really sad to eagerly await a firmware update, but since this one fixes a lot of bugs, improves stability and adds Skype video calling, I think any eagerness is warranted.
The update was released over-the-air in the UK today and the worldwide release will follow tomorrow. But rather than wait I elected to do a clean flash.
First impressions? I’ve hardly had a chance to play with it, but it looks good so far. I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop me wishing I’d bought a Nexus One though.
February 2, 2010 1 Comment
Currently updating the firmware to the latest version, I’ll be writing a review once I’ve had a good play and am familiar with the device.
Initial impression: awesome.
January 22, 2010 Leave a Comment
This is a game I’ve been anticipating and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I was all ready to pull the trigger on a pre-order but the DRM has given me pause.
First there’s the whole Games for Windows Live (GFWL) thing. It annoyed the hell out of me in Batman Arkham Asylum, and I’m not particularly thrilled about it here. Had I known what GFWL was when I bought Arkham Asylum I might have thought twice. I know Steam is a similar concept, but somehow it’s more tolerable, although if you buy Bioshock 2 through Steam you have to put up with both!
The game is also protected by Securom, and has a 15 activation limit enforced by GFWL. With Bioshock 1 this caused issues, and later on I believe they removed the limit (although back then the limit was enforced by Securom).
If you preorder the game it will cost $90 NZD boxed or $63 NZD on Steam. With the Steam version you effectively have to handle two (no wait, three) DRM systems – GFWL, Steam and SecuROM! It really doesn’t get much more ridiculous than that.
Boycott this is not, but I think I might vote with my feet here, even if I am in the minority. Or I’ll just wait until they remove the DRM and drop the price like they did for the original Bioshock.
My opinion of Steam and GFWL can be summed up thusly:
Steam serves the publisher while throwing the customer a bone, and while you give up some rights you do gain some conveniences. It is also cheaper.
GFWL seems to be designed to serve only the publisher, and is little more than an annoyance for gamers.
At least the pirates won’t have to deal with this crap.
More info at Arstechnica, the Steampowered Forums and the 2k Games Forums.
January 19, 2010 2 Comments
I ordered one last night via a mate who’s doing an order from Adorama in the states. Can’t wait! Amateur user review will be forthcoming. 
January 5, 2010 Leave a Comment
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is such a murky topic, I almost cringe when I hear the term. It can be used to describe legitimate techniques such as organising your website into a structure that is easy for Google to index and renaming pages to describe their contents, but also dubious methods such as paying for links from other websites and blog spam.
Flickr uses an interesting technique. Googled for “photo sharing” lately? Flickr ranks number one, above the king of search results – Wikipedia.
How did they do it? Well here’s some html code that was generated by Flickr and posted to my blog when I clicked the “Share This” link:
<div style=”float:right;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:10px;”>
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/al40/4241715457/” title=”photo sharing”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4241715457_b72168688f_m.jpg” alt=”" style=”border:solid 2px #000000;” /></a>
<br />
<span style=”font-size:.9em;margin-top:0;”>
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/al40/4241715457/”>Foxdown 13</a>
<br />
Originally uploaded by <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/people/al40/”>Al404</a>
</span>
</div>
test post
<br />
The interesting part – note the value of “title” inside the name tag. What possible reason, other than SEO, could Flickr have to make the title of every single shared photo titled “photo sharing”? Every time you use share a Flickr photo this way, you’re providing a link to Flickr and boosting their name against that term. While this is certainly not as dubious as other SEO techniques, it’s also not in the spirit of the title tag or the value Google is placing on it.
Unsurprisingly, a Yahoo search also shows Flickr as number one, but Bing clearly ranks pages a different way – Flickr doesn’t appear in the first page when searching for the phrase.
November 11, 2009 1 Comment
Over the weekend I attended a family reunion of sorts in Cambridge. Cambridge celebrates armistice day in emphatic style with a remembrance ceremony at the town hall, and a military show that runs two days.
My camera had shot over 600 frames by the end of the weekend, which left quite a few photos to sort out and process. In the end I came out with 40 decent shots.
The final set is here.
For more information about Armistice in Cambridge, visit armisticeincambridge.co.nz.
September 27, 2009 10 Comments
So. They’re not out yet but I want one, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy to get hold of one.
I enquired with a friend who’s a computer dealer this week. He has an account with a major wholesalers that distributes Nokia devices, so I figured it would be a good place to start. The reply I got back was rather interesting.
Hi Alex,
By some wondrous decision, without consultation, we are now NOT allowed to sell any product from the importer that has Cell capabilities.
We have approached the commerce commission but they are swamped with bigger matters!
Long live New Zealand’s free trade… It appears that the big brothers still run the country.
[...]
Say what?
So I decided to ask Nokia themselves. And this is the response:
Hi Alex,
I am pleased to hear of your keen interest in the Nokia N900.
At this stage, there are no updates when this phone will be launched and release in Asia Pacific, which is including New Zealand. Hence, I do apologise as I am unable to confirm if the Nokia N900 will be available for sale in New Zealand once it is launched in Asia Pacific.
Kindly be advised that all new product launches are carrier and market dependent in all countries due to the tests carried out to ensure compatibility with network and government regulations. Hence, the launch dates are still not available as it is still in tests and awaiting approval from the respective network providers and government.
As a suggestion, you can subscribe to our Nokia e-Newsletter. The e-newsletter will provide any latest updates on our products as well dates for new product launches. You may refer to the link below to register for the e-Newsletter subscription:
http://www.nokia.co.nz/subscribe
We thank you for your interest in Nokia products and hope for your continued support.
Hope the above helps to clarify your query.
Thank you for emailing Nokia Careline! Please help us serve you better by providing your valuable feedback at:
[Link removed, has UID]
Do you know you can now update your phone software at your own convenience?
Visit www.nokia.com.au/support to check if your phone model is supported and download the “Nokia Software Updater”.Kind regards,
Suba
Nokia Careline
Please contact us at 0800 665 421
www.nokia.co.nz/support
Well I’m 100% sure that no government regulations are going to get in the way of a generic HSDPA device, so in other words, they need to wait for Vodafone to test whether an HSDPA 900/2100 device will work on an HSDPA 900/2100 network.
Can’t the consumer take some responsibility here? What if we want a phone that’s not locked to a particular carrier’s network? Paying $1000+ for a phone that only works on Vodafone’s network? I don’t think so. What if we want to buy a phone at market value rather than the exorbitant markup Telecom and Vodafone put on their phones? Vodafone charges $1800 for the N97 which is close to 100% markup and totally absurd.
I’m sure the high markup is done to make the contracts which include the phone more attractive, but it completely shafts anyone that doesn’t want to be locked in.
This market needs to change. Networks are built on standards, and so long as the device is compliant with those standards there should be no need for the carrier to “approve” them and control the market. Cellular devices are not just phones anymore, they’re computers, and the market isn’t reflecting that. I think the wholesaler’s decision not to sell cellular devices to computer retailers is strongly influenced by another party – and it’s fairly obvious who this benefits (hint: not the wholesaler, consumer or computer retailer, and I’d be dubious about whether this benefits Nokia in any way).
It looks like I will have to get one from a parallel importer. But I’m not particularly happy about it.
September 15, 2009 Leave a Comment
I’m not Microsoft’s biggest fan, but I’m not going to turn down food, drink and entertainment at their expense! And to their credit, this was a good event.
I snapped a few pics on my camera phone, and they showed I’m well and truly past its limits in this sort of environment. A few people had SLRs, and I wish I’d taken mine as most concerts you can’t take that sort of equipment to. Maybe if I score a ticket next year as well…!
Katchafire, The Septembers, ElemenoP all put on solid performances, and the comedy act Ben Hurley was hilarious. Two thumbs up.
Full set is here.
Update: Some of my pics were added to the official Teched gallery.
September 6, 2009 Leave a Comment
Noticed today that my .com namesake is an adult search/spam site, and since it was registered in 2002 it probably has been for a while. The main reason is of course because it’s a 3 letter domain (visit any 3 letter .com domain and it’s guaranteed to be registered).
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