How Microsoft Blew It With Windows Mobile

An interesting article about the rise of Apple and fall of Microsoft in the smartphone market.  Personally I dislike Macs and and anything Apple related.  I don’t even own an iPod and the only reason I have iTunes on this computer is because my partner uses an iPod.  On the upside, she too uses a a Windows Smartphone, like I sometimes do.  We currently use the Palm Treo 500 which admittedly is an entry level smartphone.  It has no touch screen, a crap camera and the music player, while using Windows Media Player Mobile, leaves a lot to be desired.

What I do enjoy about the Windows Mobile phone is the ability to read and edit native Office documents on the go.  It may seem a bit geeky and unnecessary to access an Excel spreadsheet on the train but document reading and writing is great, and I have even studied a PowerPoint show on the train in preparation for a presentation.  I am told that the iPhone does lack these features currently, and while I admit they don’t work that well on my phone, I would hope they run more efficiently on the higher end phones.

I really like the potential for seamless synchronisation between phone and PC, but at this stage it’s just that – potential. In all honesty while I do use the Windows phone on occasion, it’s size and absolutely crap battery life means most of the time I take out my trusty Nokia 5310.  Even with the music player I get at least 2 days out of it.

As someone who has been using a smartphone of some sort for a number of years, I get a little frustrated at all the iPhone hype.  I’ve been emailing, surfing the web, reading docs, managing time and listing to music on my phone for years.  Microsoft and to a greater extent Palm have really missed the boat here – they had the potential to saturate the market with devices that were superior to the iPhone, but lost out it on cool.

From: Wired.com

The Freelancer’s Guide to Getting Started on LinkedIn

I’ve been a member of Linkedin for a while now, but haven’t really utilised it’s real power – professional networking.  Previously I have just used it as another “Facebook type site”, where I just connect to all my friends, and then say “now what?”  I’m going through the process of inputing as much useful data as I can at the moment.  Lately I’ve been connecting to people who I wouldn’t normally connect to on Facebook or Twitter (current/former colleagues/employers or recruiters for example) and browsing their connections for helpful contacts.  Also, like Facebook, Linkedin offers suggestions for connections you may know as a result of connections you have already made.

“LinkedIn is a good tool for freelancers because it provides instant access to employers, clients, and colleagues. Maintaining these contacts is important because referrals are one of the top ways to get new freelancing projects.”

From: Freelancefolder

The Lazy Designer’s Guide to Success

Some great tips here for any aspiring designer in practice at present.

“Facetiously positioning himself as a “lazy” designer, Michael Beirut, the prolific founder of design observer and partner at pentagram’s New York office, shares his seven steps to success.”

From: Azure Magazine

Cool, pointless gadget.

Yep most gadgets are cool, and most are pointless.  This is no exception.  It’s a Transformers Deceptacon Jaguar USB stick, I believe, available from Amazon for a mere US$44.39 excl. p+p.  All I can tell you is it’s a 2GB memory stick and that it has been incorporated into a Transformer.  I would have loved this as a kid – I grew up on Transformers and Lego, and this would have sat well next to my Soundwave stationary storage unit I had.

Those whose loyalties lie with the Autobots can choose the Tigatron alternative.  But like all things Autobot it’s not nearly as cool as the Deceptacon equivalent.

Awesome Autumn

Short days, cooler temperatures, grey skies and winter approaches.  What is there to celebrate about autumn?

Toastie coats, warming food, great TV and the beginning of the rugby season.

Recently we had some guests, one who was vegetarian, so I was inspired to prepare a vege-indian meal for all to share.  While I was a bit slow off the mark to photograph the meal I did take a photo of the refreshing beverage I had to accompany it.

Unless you’ve visited India, this mean little or nothing to you but I was most excited to see this at the Green Street Market recently and at a bargain – 30p a bottle.  I had a bad experience with canned Limca in Dubai so I was cautious about buying a whole case of the stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Did I mention rugby?  I wish I hadn’t.  The last two matches involving the All Blacks have not been a good advertisement for rugby – will England come to the party and produce a free-flowing, running game of rugby?  Most likely it will be the All Blacks vs the penalty and drop goal count of Jonny Wilkinson.   On a brighter note, the Boks lost again to a club team making it three on the trot.  Maybe it’s time for de Villiers to hang up the cricket jersey’s and hand the reins back to the real coach (whoever that is).

Rotating power outlet

I found this post on Wired.com – initially it seemed like a brilliant concept for hotels, although I have to wonder at the kind of person that travels overseas with electrical devices and doesn’t bring an adapter plug.  That said – it would be a decent idea to incorporate on to airplanes or cruise ships.  I’ve never been on a cruise ship – do they have power supply in the rooms, and if so what kind of plugs do they have?

Berlin Wall, 20 years on.

It’s not quite the  same as being in Berlin, but here is a section of the Berlin Wall outside the Imperial War Museum in London.

Those in the know will recall that today is the 20th anniversary of it’s demise.

The BBC explains it a lot better.

Really Cool Photo

Saw this and had to share. I’m not a photography expert so I can’t really explain why I like it.  I guess it is the combination of the balance of light, the composition and the fact that the cyclist is not quite in the centre of the road.

UPDATE 18.11.09: I took it from my FriendFeed, however the original is no long online.

November Rain

Woke up today to thick fog across the river.  Autumn is definitely here and it’s time to pull out the 12.5 tog duvet, the autumnal recipes and my “big” jacket.

I re-watched An Inconvenient Truth yesterday and I found it to be inspiring, and despite reports that Al Gore’s statistics may not have been totally accurate, the fact is you can’t really fudge photographs.  Well you can, but I can’t believe that he would have.  On that note I can’t believe Bush was elected at all let alone for a second term.

This week I am on the hunt for signs that people are making an effort, with regards to the environment.  I was appalled last week to see our building manager dumping the plastic recycling overflow into the mixed glass recycling.  Just goes to show that despite our best intentions to recycle, at the end of the day it all gets dumped in the same place and probably gets shipped off to China or somewhere.

The thing with sustainability is that it’s not enough any more to just recycle our paper and plastic.  We need to think about what we are consuming and question whether we actually need it.  Do you really need 25 pairs of shoes, 15 hats and 10 jackets?  Do we really need to buy our fruit and veg in prepacked plastic containers?  I get a little annoyed when you go to Pret A Manger and they have signs up saying they are doing their bit for the environment by not giving you more than one brown napkin.  What a load of bollocks!!! If they cared about the environment they’d tell offer you a service where you can bring in your own cup and refill it.  Or sell drinks that only come in glass bottles!

On a positive note, I saw this the other day while waiting for the train. I hope that when they say it will be 98% recycled they mean 98% reusable as opposed to 98% dumped in a recycling centre.  But that is asking a bit much, I fear.

Oh yes, and the rugby this weekend.  A good result in the union (All Blacks – Wales), however that was probably one of the most boring matches I’ve seen in a long time.  The Aus-Eng game looked a little better (in the highlights anyway), but full credit has to go to Leicester Tigers who toppled the world champion Springboks.  In the League, sadly the Kiwis couldn’t recreate last year’s RLWC magic, and succumbed to England.

London Loitering

My followers on Twitter and Facebook will know that I visited an Antipodean café in Fitrovia called Kaffeine.

Those of you in London will be well aware that decent cups of coffee are few and far between.  As with Sacred and Flat White, the coffee at Kaffeine was excellent, and the experience was enhanced by the fantastic atmosphere and competent antipodean baristi.

Here is a pic of my flat white, complete with silver fern in the froth.

The Oxford Circus crossing is now an “X” crossing, like those in Tokyo.  I went there after my coffee, and I did take a picture on my cellphone but to be honest it wasn’t really worth posting.  You can see it for yourself on the BBC website, no doubt.  Viewers outside the UK probably won’t be able see the video.