Year: 2005
Live 8…was OK
I would love to say it was great so keeping the message that was endlessly played throughout yesterdays concert (Live 8. G8. Be great.) but it wasn’t. Like the original Live Aid no doubt in a few years time people will look back and say it was amazing but for me it’s all about what happens over the coming week. Already it looks like debt relief for the poorest nations has been secured and that aid will be doubled. The third key measure is fair trade. The amount of money the US and Europe (in particular) subsidise their local producers is amazing. They also force developing nations to open up their markets while at the same time ensuring their own are protected. This has to stop.
Key for me also is the government in Africa. Many countries which are poor also have a concentration of wealth and armies fighting over small strips of land which leads to questions of “why should I donate”. I’m not sure how this should be solved – I definitely don’t support the idea of regime change where the west takes over the running of some of the worst countries. Maybe a half way house is required where aid,debt relief and trade rules are introduced only if key UN advisor’s placed in each African country can see that the money is being used wisely and that the poor really are getting the help they need. But to think that all countries in Africa are like this is naive – I was surprised at the amount of calls that yesterday was an ego trip for most taking part and it will make no difference. Even if this turns out to be true and not one thing will change surely people have got to try in the hope that their efforts, particularly in Edinburgh, will make a difference.
Finally – concert highlights – Coldplay & Richard Ashcroft even though their timing was way off, Madonna proving she’s still got it even in her 60’s, Travis who actually got the whole crowding moving, The Killers who were robbed and got to play only one track, Velvet Revolver…rooooooooooock and Robbie – Come On!! Lowlights – Elton, Dido, Mariah Carey – fuck off with your mike stand requests and Pink Floyd – yawn. Over 60 and don’t we all know it.
All in all an OK concert – hopefully by Friday we can say it was great.
K750i Update
It’s been a month since I picked up my new phone and thought it worthwhile doing a quick update. The phone hasn’t crashed or frozen once which is excellent, especially as I’m still using the original firmware. Updates have come out but have caused issues with some users – I’ll stick with the original version until I know there’s a stable new release which increases functionality. Pictures are also excellent and amazingly close to my 3 megapixel digital camera. I also like the shortcuts available and the events screen which shows missed calls, new texts etc.
Downsides – menu’s can feel slow to open which is apparently being addressed in new firmwares. Also there are some graphical flaws in the menus. Apart from that – nothing. Cannot recommenced the phone enough.
If you want more info on the phone visit Esato – great forums with lots of good advice on Sony Ericsson phones. There are loads of theme sites out there but eSeth.net has some of the nicer ones. Finally, if your looking for free Java games this site has plenty – http://maestro.intramail.ru/files/java/index.php?page=1&sort=date
Now this is podcasting
And like that….they were gone. All podcast software writers must be jumping with joy now that iTunes 4.9 is out with podcast support – not. No need for iPodder or Odeo (nice knowing you) when iTunes supports it all from within the one package for free. Speaking of free I notice that all the podcasts have the word ‘Free’ text to the subscribe button – I can see some podcasts costing a few pennies in the not too distant future but for the majority to keep a fan base and charge the quality will need to increase. then again with the BBC and other broadcasters looking at podcasting, web technologies and alternative revenue streams it seems only a matter of time before a charging model is introduced. If thousands are willing to pay for ringtones who knows how big the podcasting market could grow to. Podcasts in iTunes also support chapters with pictures for each chapter and clickable links in iTunes. All sounds like a step to a new format of audible books and makes more sense when you think how easy it is to buy from the iTunes Music Store?
There’s some nice features for managing podcast transfers to the iPod – all episodes of a podcast, latest episodes only etc. I can’t see a feature I’m missing right now that I’ve seen in other software so this looks to be a good update to iTunes and a reduction in the amount of apps I need on the pc which is officially a good thing.
Also new is the iPod. No more iPod photo, the 20Gb and 60Gb iPod’s both have colour screens and support for bookmarking podcasts and displaying album and podcast art as well as photo’s. £299 for a 60Gb iPod is very tempting. Nice updates from Apple – again.
Andy Murray
There’s been a lot of talk about how good Andy Murray will be in the coming years – I thought he was pretty special already. Far more enjoyable to watch than Tiger Tim and lots more aggression too. People are already suggesting that Murray’s attitude and confidence will backfire – what drivel. His presence on the court is a shot in the arm for British tennis and just what was needed. I loved it when he strode up to the net and patted it in just had his opponent had in the second round. Some more fitness and stamina, a bit more experience and this will be the first Brit Scot in years with a chance of winning Wimbledon without looking for luck and opponents dropping out.
The Girl in the Café
I guess you could say the film The Girl in the Café is typical Richard Curtis – doddery english guy falling for lovely woman, and a woman way out of his league. All the usual content is there but I’m a sucker for it and always like his films. This also had a political…edge isn’t the word but you know what I mean…undercurrent – that’s better. Set against the G8 summit the politics were dumbed down but the message still hit home more down to the acting of the two leads – Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald. Kelly MacDonald was superb and also had the best quote of the film:
dirty dirty dirty John
I could listen to her saying the word dirty all night but enough of my fantasies. Her speech to the G8 dinner was superb with the clicking fingers every 3 minutes really hitting home. The end was left open – G8 summit in Scotland and what will these 8 men do, but it should have been more. Where was the appeal to support Make Poverty History? Where was the plea to march to Edinburgh? Live 8 has always struck me as ‘disorganised’. This just added to that feeling – I hope the organisation doesn’t let it down.
Quicktime HD
If you’ve not seen just how good hi-def video can look then swing over to Apple.com where Quicktime 7 is available (finally) for PC although it’s still a technology preview. Once installed go to the Quicktime HD gallery – favourite at the moment is Batman Begins trailer…only 115 Meg for 2 minutes of quality HD action. Looking forward to my HD tv already although it’s at least 6 months away.
Nasty eBay
So Geldof has been ranting about eBay and how folk have been selling their Live8 tickets on the auction site. While I don’t agree with what the sellers are doing, I don’t agree that it’s eBay’s fault. So watching the ITV news I loved Sir Bob’s quote when talking about eBay – I would love hackers to hack into eBay and stop it working. Quality. His other quote was valid though:
The people who are selling these tickets on websites are miserable wretches who are capitalising on people’s misery. I am appealing to their sense of decency to stop this disgusting greed
Even better – ITV’s Mark Austin started off his interview with eBay chief executive in UK with a ‘what are you going to do about this then’ type quote only to have the wind taken completely out of his sails with a ‘we’re taking them down’ statement in a small but clear voice that totally debunked the whole interview. Nice one eBay. Back onto Sir Bob – he also quoted:
What eBay are doing is profiteering on the backs of the impoverished.
This is something that could easily be labelled at others who have gained out of the plight of millions in Africa.
Dead Pixel Fixer
For all PSP and TFT owners that have dead pixels there’s reports that a video which flashes red, green and blue over and over (to force the pixels to constantly change) can ‘fix’ the dead pixels. Not 100% fix but if you’ve got a problem it’s worthwhile giving it a go. The video can be grabbed for PSP Vault. It’s also worth pointing out this is more for stuck pixels rather than dead ones.
Meow
Great news – we’ve got a new cat. When I say we’ve got, we don’t pick her up for another 3 weeks and when I say cat I really mean kitten. She’s only 4 weeks old and the Cat Protection League keep the young kittens for a period of time to make sure they are healthy and OK to be housed.
I snapped a picture as she played with another kitten – she’s going to be a handful but it will be nice to have a wee pet around the house again.