A nice gift from Gran Turismo PSP

As you may already know, I play a lot of Gran Turismo PSP. This is because I don’t own a PS3 or Xbox and quite frankly find PC gaming nowhere near as good. So I was on the Playstation Store looking for a new game to try out (I actually got Motorstorm Arctic Edge as well) and saw this: Special Vehicles Game Pack.

From Youtube: Apple iPad Parody

So yes, many people have made fun of the iPad for its name and lack of features such as multitasking and flash support. So here is my video parody of an iPad.

Skype

Many people are now using the Voip (Voice over internet provider) service Skype. It is a great service, and it’s free*. I put the * there because it can be not free. It is free if you use Skype-Skype calls, but if you want to do SMS services, call landlines, call mobiles, you need to buy credit.

Crazy Taxi game

Some of you may remember a few days ago I reviewed the game Crazy Taxi and now I have found a way to embed the game on to websites. So, if you want a play, feel free. I have to say it is extremely addictive, and I have already achieved a score of over 90000! So, if you have played it, just comment below with your score and let's get a huge battle going! So, play the game!

How to beat Spotify ads

Many of us use Spotify. Fact. More and more people are buying the £9.99 a month version to use it on their iPhones, Android and Symbian devices. However, many also use the free version which includes ads every couple of plays or so. Now, I’ve developed a technique that can beat those ads. You do need a fast enough computer, but most people will nowadays. So, read on for how to beat those annoying Spotify ads.

Why I am not buying an iPad

There has been a lot of talk about the iPad of late, and no wonder; It has been so hyped over the past years. The reviews so far have been pretty good with a few exceptions but there are a few reasons why I am not going to buy an iPad. There are a number of reasons for this which I shall explain during this post.

Summary of the Apple Event in San Fransisco

Of course, I’m pretty sure that most of you know how yesterday was pretty much devoted to Apple, in fact, it was all Apple’s day yesterday. In this post, I am going to summarise everything that went on during that event yesterday.

Today (27/01/10) is Apple day

Today is just simply the day of Apple. The launch of the iPad has dwarfed all other news of today. Even though ASUS released an Eee pad powered by a Tegra chip, this has all been swallowed up by the Apple iPad announcement.
It seems so strange that years of rumours have led to the release of this item. But that’s how it is. I hereby declare Wednesday 27th January 2010 “Apple Day”.
It is strange that every post of today has been on Apple. And tomorrow is going to have more with a round up of all this event in San Fransisco. Stay tuned for that and be sure to read all that has happened today down below!

You can read my summaries of the iPad here: for the outside , for the insides  for the software and design

Summary of iPad Part 4: Design, Accessories and Usability

The screen is a capacitive 9.7" IPS display with 1024x768 resolution. It is 0.5 inches thick and weighs 1.5 pounds. The back of the device looks to be a silver with black Apple logo, a bit like the current iMac range. The button looks like it has been lifted off the iPhone; let’s hope it’s big enough.

Summary of iPad Part 3: Software

So, the outsides and insides of the hardware have already been analyzed. Now let’s take a look at the software involved in this feat of technological engineering.

Summary of iPad Part 2: Insides

So yes, in the earlier post we said that iPad had came in 3 memory sizes: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. But that's not nearly the start of the story.

Summary of iPad Part 1: Outsides and Price

So, Steve has just announced his iPad, and we are now going to do a number of summaries about it. This is the first, compromising of the outsides (hardware) and pricing.

(Sort of) Live from the Apple Event

This post is going to be updated as much as possible from the commentary of the engadget live updating of the Apple Event.

(All times are in GMT -8)

The Apple Tablet: all but confirmed

Ok, so now that you've just read the most recent post on the Apple event and its expected Tablet, let's now focus on what has just been scouring the web at lightening speed. It is concerning Terry McGraw (related to Tim McGraw?), CEO of publisher McGraw-Hill who announced in an interview with CNBC news that there will be an announcement tomorrow on it.

What could Apple’s “New Creation” be?

Well, above is my edited photo of the invite which has been sent out. Rumours have been flying around the web for years, literally, about what this could be. There are a number of things it could be; and in this post they will be rounded up.

Facebook App Review: Crazy Taxi

This insanely addictive game has made its way to facebook, and here's my review of it.

My plan for upgrading mobile phones

It's that time we all love, when your contract has just a few weeks of its 18 months left and you will soon have a new phone for the next year and a half. That is the position I'm in, and I'm in a bit of a ponder.

Are digital cameras going backwards?

Yes, that is the question I am asking. You see, I think they are. For two reasons.

Opera Mini 4.2 Review

As of late I’ve been using a Skype phone as my main mobile after my Sony Ericsson K800i decided to malt some keys, crash repetitively and not accept top-ups. This problem would have cost a vast amount of money to fix so I just bought the Skypephone S2 for £49.99 There’s nothing special about it in terms of hardware but the software is amazing, as is the contract. Thanks to a package with one heck of a lot of Internet data allowance I’ve been accessing the Internet through my phone a lot.

The built-in browser doesn’t have a great deal of special abilities. It’s more or less a bare essentials, basic access browser which was developed in just under a minute to provide easy, simple access to websites of your choice. I’ve now decided to give a third-party browser application a whirl.

And that third-party browser just happened to be Opera Mini 4.2…

Email or text: will one ever win?

Email or text? The debate has been hotting up with the increase in mobile internet posing the question: why pay for a text when you can send something extremely similar on the internet for free? But of course, email isn't free, you need to pay for the internet. But you could get around that by using your local library which has free internet (or at least the dozens I've been to have). But, if you get an email bundle on your mobile phone, then it is included which is now perceived as free. But that is the same with texts on many mobile phones. The thing with texts is (like Twitter in a way), there is a character limit. Whereas in email there isn't. This is a huge benefit, although I am coming to a conclusion. Neither is better, they both have their benefits and disadvantages. It is simply your own preference and what you have on your mobile phone.

Technorati Tags: Phones, Email

Facebook Share… Has Arrived!

So… Facebook has copied Twitter and introduced a Share button.

I say they’ve copied Twitter because this is just like a Retweet button.

This button is basically a quick way of reposting someone else’s content.

I’m sad to say that at the moment it’s limited to reposting links.

Technorati Tags: Facebook,Share,Twitter,Retweet

CCleaner #1 - Registry

CCleaner is a fantastic bit of software which is amazingly useful when it comes to keeping your operating system in tip top condition. It’s split into three main parts. The cleaner, the registry and the tools. Each section is useful in its own way but Registry is superior, as you’re about to find out.

This is part one in a series of three posts about CCleaner.

Registry scans your entire computer and finds all the issues it possibly can. Then it amalgamates all those problems into a long list and waits for an agony aunt or IT technician. I’m just kidding. It then waits for you to do something, and there’s only one thing you have to do. Click a button…

iColor Folder – Styles your Files

After the initial shock of DeskSpace’s uselessness, I decided to review a Windows-to-Mac appearance application which I’ve used on previous PCs and which I know works perfectly well. Please note that I’m using an older edition of the software but after checking the website the latest version doesn’t have any changes that should affect you unless you’re an extreme power user. Welcome to the wonderful world of iColor Folder…

DeskSpace – Expose for Windows

I don’t have a Mac. I know a lot of applications for making your Windows system look like a Mac so you can imagine my excitement when I heard about a Microsoft counterpart for Expose. DeskSpace is now a Windows counterpart for the Linux Compiz Fusion cube effect. But it used to be an Expose copycat.

So I downloaded the setup file and executed the installation process…

The future of CD players

(My iPod Dock)

Driving Games: an idea

Technorati Tags: Gaming, Cars

I play mostly driving games, and one thing that I find annoying is the gearboxes. In a real car, you can have an automatic or a manual, or a semi-automatic where you can override the automatic gearbox yourself with "paddle-shifts" and I wish this was like that in games. The number of times I have been driving in automatic and wanted to change down is amazing, games don't understand that keeping the revs up is as important as the higher gear but lower revs and poorer cornering. But if you're in a manual then it means that you constantly have to do it, and I tend to forget from time to time if I play on silent. So, makers of Gran Turismo and Forza etc, take this on board.

Gotta Captcha All! Codémon!

Captcha codes are the illegible jumbles of letters and numbers you sometimes see on websites when signing up or signing in. They’re sometimes quite annoying and can be far too hard to read. Someone asked me earlier what the point of them is so I’ll post the answer here on Technokratos.

Evaluation of RT on twitter

Retweet was an unoffical trend on twitter, with many of the users doing it. But recently, Twitter brought it in officially. So now, anyone can do it. It's great! But it shows how Twitter is a company that sees what its users are doing and responds to that. You can choose not to see people's official retweets, but users of apps like twhirl, you will still see their retweets. Unfortunately though, the 3rd party apps like twhirl don't use the official retweet button, but that's ok. But this is a good step for twitter, and hopefully going to make it a long-term social networking site.

Technorati Tags: Internet, Twitter

Xbox 1 vs 100

I was recently at a friend's house and was playing on his Xbox. We played Forza 3 and Halo 3 ODST, but since it was friday there was the 1 vs 100 competition. But first off, it is more than 100 participants. The main point about it is that it is very easy to do quite well and win a few XP points, but also very easy to lose them all very quickly. So, if you're the 1, then take the money when you can and don't get cocky. There was this one guy who had 30000 points and went for it and lost it all! I have to say though, that it brings out a better side of gaming, and can be a great laugh.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Gaming

Why Twitter?

In every lifetime… something comes along which changes the way we see things. The way we hear things, and the way we say things. In this lifetime that something… is Twitter. Excuse my movie trailer narration voice. I’m getting a little carried away admittedly. So, why Twitter? What is it about Twitter that makes me so addicted to it? After all, it’s just going onto a website and telling people what I’m doing in under 140 characters. What’s so appealing about that? I’ll tell you.

Firefox No More

Firefox 3.6 just came out. The only difference between this release and the previous ones is that this time around I’m not excited. I used to defend Firefox zealously! But these days I’ve made the jump over to Chrome. And that’s where I’m going to stay.

Whatever happened to flip phones?

Remember the time when the Motorola Razr rocked the world, Samsung had super slim flip phones and smart phones were just dressed up business phones? Well, that seems to have ended. Motorola seem to be concentrating on Android, Samsung have super slim touch phones and smart phones are what everyone wants. But what has happened to flip phones?

Something about Twitter

I remember when I started my twitter in August 2009 (so last year...) and I got TONS of spammers, but as I continued on and racked up the tweets, I seemed to get fewer and fewer. Now, it seems, that no more of them are following me. I think this happens over a period of time and is good, because spammers spoil it. Twitter of course, is the social phenomenon of the last year or so. If you want to follow me, or any of the other authors on Technokratos, or Technokratos itself, then look right to the sidebar and it should give you the links.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, Internet

YouTube – News!

YouTube is a pretty boring website in terms of news. It never actually has anything new or worth mentioning. So I’m glad to report that I spotted some new changes today. And here they are:

Reviews for various items coming

Just to say, but expect to see some reviews of various products that I have bought in the past days. Everything from a 19" TV to a wireless-n router to a 300W power supply and everything in between.

Free software alternatives

I have to say that I use my laptop hard drive solely for running programmes. I keep all my media and less important documents on my USB HDD. This is because it just keeps things simpler.

PSP through a TV

This is something I'm really pleased about. Since I don't own an Xbox 360 (unlike Matthew) or a PS3 I only game on my PSP. And I found it slightly annoying that I could only use a relatively small screen when I had a 26" LCD across from me.

Shoot, Drive, Shoot, Kill, Shoot, Drive, Shoot

What is the game industry but a man with a stutter. He happily talks for hours on end and then you bring up a sensitive topic and he can hardly string a sensible sentence of simple words together. In a vain attempt to regain some dignity the man forces out some words but just ends up making a bigger fool of himself when he repeats the same thing multitudinous times. This is the gaming industry through and through.

Patents, Patents, Patents

Right, well there has been a lot of talk recently of companies suing each other. This isn’t just because they are American, even the Finns are getting in on the act. But it’s due to patents. The most recent acts have been submitted by Kodak against Apple and RIM (makers of Blackberry) and Nokia against Apple. Apple seem to be getting a lot of stick, but that’s probably because they are the best at what they do and companies want to take a little dig at them.

Augmented Reality: with People!

Just for starters, this will probably never catch on due to "personal space" issues but here goes anyway. My idea goes like this, you have augmented reality now with stuff like buildings and landmarks. But why could you not implement that software into Facebook and then have your phone realise that if you took a photo of them, then it would tag them automatically as it uploads to facebook and then, e.g. tell your their latest status. Of course, it would be very difficult to implement into modern age technology, however, we are into a new decade and anything is possible in the next 10 years. So, if Microsoft launch it, I want to be in their advert for having that idea. Ok? Good.

Technorati Tags: Augmented Reality, Facebook

Three is Not a Magic Number

Two weeks ago I switched from Vodafone to 3 after my old phone died on me and I thought getting a Skype phone would be a good idea. My girlfriend lives in France while I’m stuck in Not So Great Britain. Considering 3 seemed to be the only network selling a half-decent Skype phone, I went with them. And I haven’t regretted it thus far bar for one tiny detail. Yesterday I suddenly couldn’t connect to the Internet. To being with I thought it was just my phone being a bit of a twat. So I tried to connect via my laptop through a 3 mobile broadband dongle. That didn’t work either. 3 was completely down and out.

Asda just made buying gadgets easier

I am a fan of internet shopping. But I don't like to buy unseen, so I went into asda recently about a digital camera that I was considering buying for someone's birthday. And I have to say, they weren't the best help, but luckily my knowledge helped me and I soon realised that I had a huge deal in front of me. A Fujifilm camera with 10.2MP and loads of features reduced to £75 from £125. With multi-buy discount it ended up quite a bit cheaper than that as well (if you subtract all the multi-buy onto it) but it really was quite a bargain. Of course, this is just an exception. There are many times when online stores are cheaper than instore shops, but nothing beats having a hands on. I have to say that supermarkets are a great place to buy gadgets: the atmosphere is nice and really laid back. Can I also say that I got a 4GB SDHC memory card for just £7! A great deal all around. So, if you are looking for a bargain deal and don't like online buying, try your local supermarket, you'll be surprised what it has in store.

Technorati Tags: Fuji, Camera, WalMart

Yep, it's the Apple Tablet

Actually, that's not what the actual invite looks like. Shame though, it would have been funny if that would have been the case. The event is at 6pm GMT and I will be here to blog the aftermath. Of course, what people are expecting is a tablet, so let's hope we are delivered what we want! Comment below on what you want to see.

The hottest CES chicks

CES is about hot stuff. It is in a hot place, Vegas. And it has some hot girls too, so feast your eyes on some of the hotttest stuff from CES...

check out the original article at t3.com

Microsoft Tag – You’re It!

Microsoft wants to take over the world or at least try to have another unsuccessful crack at doing so. Microsoft Tag is their Dalek this time around. It’s a new kind of barcode which you scan with your phone’s camera. When scanned, your phone will open a browser and direct you to relevant information. It’s a nice idea but it’s been around on many Nokia handsets for ages now…

 

Here’s what the official website says:

Microsoft Tag is a breakthrough technology that transforms everyday things in the real world into live links to online information and entertainment.

From your mobile phone, simply snap or scan a Tag image anywhere you see it – in editorials, advertisements, product packaging, signs and storefronts – and gain instant access to Websites, videos, reviews, schedules, contact information, social networks, discounts, promotions and more!

All you need to do is download the free Tag reader on your web enabled camera phone and when you see a Tag, snap or scan it to interact with the world around you in new ways!

Microsoft Tag will fail in my opinion.

If Apple did it then it would succeed of course.

See the site here.

del.icio.us Tags: Microsoft,Fail,Tag

Innovation Innovation Innovation

You’ve got gimmicks. And then you’ve got innovations. Gimmicks are just things which some awesome and cause people to gasp for a few seconds and then carry on walking to the next shelf. Innovation is more than that. Innovation is what makes tech exciting.

Retweet gets Retweeted

Facebook has a habit of copying other people’s ideas. While I think this is a good idea to increase the social networking site’s functionality and make it better and easier for practical use, why can’t they think of their own ideas.

Quite the trooper

Since it was released mid 2005, the iPod Nano has been a huge success. And mine pictured has been owned since Christmas of that year. It is a warrior, literally. Despite the fact I replaced it, I found it in a cupboard and saw the state.



I thought the screen was totally broken, which was why I got the new one. But look, it's going on! I think this is a great image of their build quality and how long they can last even if they have not been treated amazingly well. So, thumbs up to the iPod and its build quality.

This iPod should be knighted and given all the honours possible, for one reason. It has withstood the test of time and abuse. Well done, bravo!

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod

3D, Another Empty Castle?

The main item on everybody's lips at CES was 3D, with both 3D Tvs and HDMI conversion 3D Tvs. But what I was really interested in, was how 3D gaming would be implemented into the games industry. The technology is CERTAINLY not new, with 3D films having been released since the 50's, so where is 3D gaming going and is there any future in it?

One of the busiest kiosks at the Sony CES booth, was surprise surprise, the 3D Playstation3 demos, including GT5 demo lap, Super Stardust HD in 3D, recently released Avatar and a series of clips of Motorstorm and Little Big Planet. As impressive as the effects were, people couldn't help but wonder, are they really necessary? Whilst an in car view in GT5 looked great and seemed immersive, all that Super Stardust gained was an extra layer. Is it worth both the investment and discomfort for such a novelty thing? It seems to me as if that in the current economic climate games developers see the best way out of the recession is to toss out a not so new, but flashy piece of technology. They are capitalizing on the recent release of films such as Avatar, and encouraging the consumer to bring the cheap cinema gimmick home with them.

We all remember the hype surrounding the wii's motion sensing capabilities, it was hailed as the next big thing. In reality, few consoles have implemented the technology with great success. On the Ps3 for example, the Sixaxis usage in games is often more of a nuisance than it helps improve game enjoyment. Are we being led down the same route as with the motion sensing technologies of the past few years. However, this time, it's gonna cost a heck of a lot more.

If we want high definiton 3D gaming, we cannot simply use the same technology as modern cinemas use. Instead, you use a pair of active shutter glasses that polarizes the individual lenses in conjunction with the refresh rate of on-screen content. Since the first implementation of active shutter technology with the Sega master system in 1987, both the clarity and contrast of the images has been improved greatly. However, this technology comes at a hefty cost. Many recently bought HDTVs may be incompatible with the 3D signals of the coming years. So that means a new Tv set AND glasses if you want to be doing some serious HD 3D gaming.

Perhaps just as important is comfort. Whilst 3D cinema glasses are light weight, active shutter ones are not, with all the built in technology adding alot of weight. It seems that anymore than a couple minutes play and you become aware of the weight of the glasses, unable to shake the thought from your mind.

Good Car-Ma

It seems that to ask for a normal car to be produced in this day and age, where we are surrounded by technological revolutions and endless reels of breakthroughs, is something laughable. These times are testing us and the only way we’re going to win the test is to succumb, and that means forking out a wallet the size of Arkansas just to gain new wheels, but the benefits are aplenty. What I’m more or less getting at is the sudden outburst of gadget cars.

Facebook Tips and Tricks #3 – Magic Circles!

This post has no purpose other than to show your friends a nice little trick on Facebook. It’s an easter egg. If you’re not already sure what that means it’s a small piece of code on a website or in a game that serves no purpose. It’s there solely for your entertainment. I am an easter egg hunter. I just love finding out these things and then sharing them with everyone. It’s a bit sad really.

Wiicycle

People in general used to say that the gaming industry was a large part of the reason why the world is getting so fat. Teenagers sit in front of their consoles eating salted peanuts and drinking cream soda while piling on the pounds. Thankfully Nintendo came along and shot those accusers in the face. The gaming industry screamed ‘head-shot!’ while fat kids got off of their oversized backsides to work out on the Wii.

Google Desktop

After having used Vista for almost a year and then 7 for about a month and a half, I’ve become accustomed to hitting the Windows Key on my keyboard to bring up the Start menu and then typing some keywords I wish to search for and seeing them appear instantly before my eyes.

Distaste to Mac OS X

I am a Windows user, fact. The reason is I can't afford a Mac. But at school there are some Macs in the computing labs and I have a bit of a gripe with the OS. You see, there are a couple of things that just put me off Mac OS completely.

In defense of netbooks

Most people have heard of netbooks, right? Yes, the 10 inch screened, Intel Atom N270/N280 + Intel GMA 950-equipped miniature computers that can't do anything but word processing? They are like Marmite, you either love or loathe them. Some people loathe them because of their non-HD compatible processors (I admit, even HQ YouTube is a struggle) and smaller keyboards, touchpads and screens. Some people do not see the point if you can do 90% of what a netbook can do (which is 10% of what a laptop can do) on something like an iPod touch, which costs less and can fit in a pocket. Some people just plain don't like either XP or 7, or the myriad Linux flavours such as Ubuntu, that run on them. In any case, they are wrong.

TweetDeck

Everyone knows that to update Twitter you launch your browser, head over to the official wesbsite, type your tweet and click the Update button. But there are a surprisingly large amount of people who miss out on the more powerful side of this social networking-cum-micro blogging engine. A powerful side which can be unlocked with desktop Twitter applications aplenty. But the king of these desktop application is undoubtedly TweetDeck.

Gran Turismo cutting corners

As I'm sure you know by now, I play a lot of Gran Turismo PSP. That is because I simply love cars and as I'm unable to drive this is as near I'm going to get without being in a simulator. But after a long session the other day, I realised something that you wouldn't want to about the game. Well, it looks like Polyphonic have taken some shortcuts in order to make this game playable through a UMD. And, after completing the whole challenge section (all golds) and having a few drives in the BMW M5, I returned to my Bugatti Veyron for some proper driving. And then something hit me, they sounded the same! I guess that they had to do this to fit the game onto a UMD but still, I found this out after 3 months, imagine what else they could have cut out and I am still to find out. I also think the game is quite glitchy in the sense that if you go to the sides of certain courses you see strange stuff. All this slightly detracts from the gameplay, but at least I have a new game, Little Big Planet.

Technorati Tags: PSP, Gaming

Twhirl: my twitter desktop application

Right, I am currently using twhirl and I am going to argue why it is good. Steve is using TweetDeck and is going to argue why he thinks it is good, see how this is going?

So, down to business. Twhirl. It uses Adobe AIR, so was a breeze to set up and all that. But using it, I have to admit that I am slightly won over. For me, it was better than TweetDeck because TweedDeck didn’t show @ replies, it just kept saying loading. So Twhirl wins in that department. But, however, Tweetdeck is a full screen app whereas Twhirl is a sidebar app, which I have to say I prefer.

The regular layout to Twhirl is a blue pretty similar to this current Technokratos layout, but I prefer the black magic layout. Much cooler :). I like the way it notifies you for new tweets, but would be annoying if you followed a lot of people (I don’t). It can be tedious, I admit, to have to mark each tweet as read, but you can skip that if you want. I just choose not to. So, do you use the twitter web page? I don’t any more. Comment below with which 3rd party app you use.

Technorati Tags: Twitter,App,Twhirl,TweetDeck

Blackle: energy saving search

Since it's so cool nowadays to be green and eco-friendly, what is better than an eco-friendly search engine? Well, your wish has been answered. It claims to have saved 1,654,566.720 Watts of energy overall which is staggering. But, it isn't perfect. It's custom search, not full search, searching is almost the same, but not fully the same.

It is becoming popular for schools to use it, at mine and a nearby one the computing labs have it as a home-page. I'm sure work places have it as well. So, if you want to save energy (apparently) then head over to blackle.com

iPhone 4G - Touch Sensitive Case

A nice new rumour has appeared about the fourth-generation iPhone that has everyone speculating about a touch-sensitive case. This would probably use the same technology as the Magic Mouse. Technically this could open up a whole truckload of new technological opportunities for Apple's golden delicious.

PSP System Update 6.20

I recently updated my PSP system software to 6.20 and then got annoyed with it and changed back down. You see, the battery indicator whilst charging was a moving icon, like you see on many gadgets. BUT, on the old software it showed how much it had charged which was much more informative. Why did Sony go for form over function? I don't know. I had upgraded form 5.50 so maybe the battery indicator was like that in 6.00 as well but I'm not sure.

Technorati Tags: PSP, Battery

Facebook Tips & Tricks extra

Yes, Steve did the original post but this is just me saying that if you are in chat then if you do *word* then the word will be in bold. Of course, that might not be as useful to you as some of Steve's, but it's still out there if you want to use it.

Is twitter breaking?

This seems to be happening to me more and more often. It is that I go onto the web page (I don’t use a 3rd party app) and I get the image above. This seems to be happening more and more often to me, and it is getting really annoying. I also seem to get the image below as well but that is more when I am on a profile and am trying to return to a homepage. And I don’t think it’s just me, I have heard multiple forum complaints about this, and it is becoming more and more frequent. It might be that Twitter’s servers are not up to scratch for its usage, which must be super high. But either way, Twitter needs to sort its site out.

Vodafone iPhone out... NOW!

This is the exact time that the iPhone is being released onto Vodafone's network, the 4th to host it. Are you on Vodafone's network and upgrading to an iPhone? Have it on o2 or Orange, even Tesco? Changing to Vodafone for it? Comment below then as it's great to hear your views. Myself, I hope to get it as an upgrade, but am not expecting it.

---Update---

Sony Ericsson Elm: the ultimate phone?

May I just say that I am so looking forward to this because it features just about everything I like in a phone, minus a QWERTY keyboard. It is still "to be announced" but I hope that it is sooner rather than later. I mean it just has the lot that a "feature phone" would have nowadays. But I wouldn't call it a feature phone, nor smartphones smartphones. I mean, it has an amazing battery to begin with, up to 440 hours. It is very small and light, only 90g. It supports MicroSD and has 280mb built in, with a 5MP camera. It is in black or pink, so male or female should like that. I mean, short of a touchscreen (which I don't like apart from iPhone/iTouch) and some fancy Android or webOS software.
What do you think? Do you share my love of this phone? Comment below to have your views heard.

Technorati Tags: Sony,Ericsson,features,keyboard,battery,MicroSD,Comment

iPhone apps everywhere!

It seems, everywhere you look, that there is an iPhone app for something. I'm not talking about lying on the street, that isn't possible. But I mean on websites, saying "get our iPhone app" and stuff like that. What is the incentive? I don't understand. There must be dozens of Twitter apps on the App Store, why couldn't there just be one? I don't get it. I mean, websites like Engadget and The Guardian have their own apps, why not use Safari web browser? I guess if I owned one of those iPhones then I would know what it was like to be able to have tons of apps.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone

Facebook Tips & Tricks #2 – Chat Emoticons

Facebook Chat has more emoticons than people think so to enlighten you all to what you’re missing out on I’ve decided to compile a list. Here are the shortcuts for each emoticon with a little image of each.

Eight Apple Tablet Truths

Apple just loves to keep a secret, leak a little out in the open, and then leave us reeling. Steve Jobs must seriously get pleasure out of torturing us mere mortals into hopelessly making endless vein guesses as to what the leakage could be about. In the end, when the product is finally released, there’s so much hype it just can’t be ignored.

Well, the company that never sleeps is doing it again.

How can we help you?

Well, this is us opening up our services to you, the readers. Basically we want to help you in anyway possible, be that for something small or big. Between us 4 authors we know a hell of a lot, even if we are not the most exper ienced. So, if you do need any help, please do not hesitate to email us. It’s technokratos@gmail.com and we should get back to you pretty quickly, I mean the same day or soon after. We will, of course, not share any details with anyone as that is just sad of sites and companies to do that and we are not one of them. If you don’t want to email us, feel free to tweet Technokratos or any of the authors (links on the right).

Technorati Tags: services,Technokratos,links,readers,authors

How to conserve iPod battery

Technorati Tags: Apple,iPod

As you know, many people will have received new iPods for Christmas. And here is the ultimate guide on how to conserve iPod battery from years of personal experience. The first one is simple and probably the most effective, turn the brightness down. It may sound or look like it's not doing much, but you're saving yourself a considerable amount of time on your battery life. And, once you've had it lower for a period of time, I bet you'll be surprised just how bright the screen is when you fully use it again if you do.

The second tip is not to overcharge it, this isn't fully backed up, but I have found that there are considerable differences in time if I charge my iPod until it is fully charged and take it out immediately, or leave it in my dock for days on end. So, if you put it on a dock, take it off at night, it's easy as that.

My third tip is to only charge it when it needs it. Many people will stick their iPod in the charger after a daily commute to and from wherever and might have 80% left, but they charge it anyway. Why? Just use it until it needs the charge, then charge it. I'm sure that this helps battery life.

Also, make sure you use your iPod. This may sound stupid, but use it at least once a week to keep it up to nick in my view. So, that is the best way to conserve your iPod battery. Has this helped you? Comment down below to have your views shown across the web.

Facebook, Tips and Tricks #1

Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting a few tips and tricks to make Facebook a better experience for you. Here’s the debut! In this post I’m more or less gonna tell you how to invite all your friends to a group automatically.

iTunes Podcast feature

I was just listening to one of my Engadget podcasts and noticed this new feature at the top of the screen. It is called Chapters and enables you to see the chapters in podcasts. I knew this worked in iPods but never in iTunes. This is really useful and I advise you use it if you listen to podcasts on your computer.

Facebook Virus! *dislike*

I am a staunch Chrome user and as of late there’s been a lot of hype about Google releasing a website on which a whole load of extensions are available for download to make your browser a whole lot better. A bit like Firefox. I was looking around on the extensions website today and I came across a download which claims to add a Dislike button to all posts on Facebook. A lot of people have been crying out for this feature but it has yet to be added.

Technokratos has a Google Profile!

 

Well, we are on YouTube and Twitter, and now have a Google Profile. Check it out, we are http://www.google.com/profiles/technokratos so be sure to check us out there. We are expanding as a blog, with things like videos and full reviews. Be sure to check back over the next few weeks for some quality postings.

The Gadget Show: details of challenge leaked

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Television

Well, when I say leaked, Jason Bradbury (one of the presenters) tweeted about it. In the tweet he said "On a train bound for another Gadget Show Wild challenge." and later in another tweet "Testing some out-doorsy type gadgets tomorrow. Utimately, I'll take a console & a cappuccino over a tree and a flask - but needs must :-)".

Judging by that,it seems they are testing rugged flasks. But who knows? What do you think it is? Comment below.

Technorati Tags

As you probably have seen in my post before this, I have started using Windows Live Writer. And in this post, I am informing you of one of the plug ins I have just downloaded from the gallery website. The most recent one I have is one which generates Technorati tags for you. I had been doing it manually before now, but this newer method is a lot easier and efficient. I advise that if you are using Windows Live Writer (which I advise you do as well) then use this method of tagging instead of the blogger one. It also helps boost your SEO ratings and therefore, views and even money if you have adsense! I have also set it up to automatically tweet my latest post to my twitter account. This really is the best way to blog, no doubt about it.

Technorati Tags: Live,Writer

From Windows Live Writer

I have to say, that after reading Steve’s post about using Windows Live Writer, it has transformed my way of blogging. No longer do I need to have Firefox on, and not only that, but I have a constant preview on my laptop screen. It doesn’t get much better than that. It was a breeze to download and install, and I’ve even got a few add-ons now. All this is a lot better, and a huge improvement to blogging through the blogger website. I advise that you try this, honestly, it’s that good. More posts from Windows Live Writer to come, you bet that!

Windows 7 ‘God Mode’

It just goes to show that Windows 7 is still full of surprises. As of late news has been spreading across the web like wildfire about a nice little secret in 7. This secret has playfully been dubbed ‘God Mode’.

Cheeky wee newspaper...

As I'm sure you'll know, iTunes has given out something free for every day of Christmas. Well, I noticed something pretty sneaky by The Times. On the front page it has been saying stuff like "Free Robbie Williams Music Video" and so on for the stuff iTunes is giving away. Now, to me, this looks like it's The Times who are giving the offer and taking credit from Apple. I'm not saying they shouldn't advertise Apple's free stuff, just not make it look like they are taking credit for it.

Technorati Tags: Apple,Newpapers

Gran Turismo gets real

Have you ever wanted to be a racing driver? A budding Michael Schuhmacher? Well you might want to read on, because the racing game Gran Turismo could make you one, and place you behind the wheel of a Nissan 370Z racing car. Weirdly y The first of 5 stages involves a time trial race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in a Nissan 370Z in the game. Then the top 20 times from each country will qualify for the finals in Australia in 2010, called GT Academy.ou cannot do it if you have a proper driving licence, or if you're under 18. So it will be for mostly university students or those hardcore public transport users.

I like to think I am not bad at driving games, unfortunately I own neither a PS3 or Gran Turismo 5. You have until 11:59pm on January 24th 2010 to enter, and good luck!


---UPDATE---

YouTube video of it:

Assassins Creed II: Great but flawed!

Assassins Creed II for the Xbox 360 and PS3 is undoubtedly better than the first and all in all a fantastic game. Now to be honest i spend a fair amount of time gaming but i dont take it to serioously and in actual fact im pretty bad at it...But this only took me around 7 hours gameplay to complete! Appalling if im honest consider i forked out £39.99 for it, and now im done with it. On the upside it has a great story mode and is in 15th century Italy with a similiar style play to first edition. A nice touch is the well integrated free run mode for you character and riddles you must solve to complete the game. But throughout I felt I was being told a story than playing a game. Nevermind the feeling that it was a bit of Grand Theft Auto rip off! The most adequate summary of this game i can give is enjoyable but dont be surprised if your back at your local game shop a week later after picking up an easy 1000 gamerscore or a platinum trophy.

CES 2010 a bit of a joke so far?

Your probably all aware the past two days the great tech show known as CES has been taking a place, in years gone by it has seen the release of many loved gadgets. So far this year though the releases have been somewhat suspect, the highlights (if you dont already know) are the Toshiba 3D tv, the LG GW990 widescreen phone and the Palm Pre and Pixi Plus (maybe not for all of you but im a big fan of Palm) . We can safely say that many companies are almost trying to combat the success of the unconfirmed Apple Tablet by "beating" them to it. Most namely Dell and MSI but Apple are yet to deliver their goods. But boy have they got a lot to live upto, it's seems unlikely they can top a tablet running fully fledged Windows 7 with a oversized iphone, without giving us a taste f a cut down Snow Leopard. Who knows they are full of surprises!

By Matthew.

Battery Farm

In the realm of the camera there are two kinds of batteries. You’ve got the re-chargeable battery, which offers far more freedom for the camera, because you don’t have to keep buying new batteries all the time. You can just attach a lead to the camera, stick the other end in and mains electricity supply you can scavenge and away you go, it’s refuelling itself. Alas, there is still a bunch of cameras locked up in a pen.

Biphone

At the moment I have two phones. One of them is totally busted and is missing 12 keys and the navigational joystick. It’s a Sony Ericsson K800i. The new phone is a Skypephone S2. It has all its keys and is far more advanced than the K800i. Unfortunately, I’m in a bit of a dilemma. As you can tell, my tech life is never absolutely perfect. Roll on the day I get converted to Apple.

Google Nexus One: what's the big deal?

So, it seems that this year that CES has been slightly overshadowed by Google finally announcing its first mobile phone. But let's be clear here, it's not really theirs, it is being made by HTC who probably did all the work for the hardware. It does run Google's own software though, Android 2.1 Eclair update to be exact. It has a nice 3.7" AMOlED touchscreen consisting of 480 x 800 pixels, as opposed to 320 x 480 in the iPhone which it is clearly in contention with. It is also similarly sized to the iPhone, despite having a larger screen, it weighs almost the same (130g) and is 11.5mm thick (slightly slimmer than the iPhone). It also has a trackball (wrong to start with, but bear with it) which lights up different colours for different notifications like email, text or call, useless if it's in your pocket though (see, I outsmarted both Google and HTC together). It also has a removable battery (good choice) which the iPhone doesn't, and a 5MP camera with LED flash which wipes the iPhone off the floor.

But what is different is how it is being sold. Google has its own online store for it (presumably through Google Checkout) and then it's unlocked for you to slot your own sim card into, no matter which country you live in. But T-Mobile have it for sale in America for $179 on a contract and it is going to be on Vodafone in Europe. But, I don't see what all the hype is about. It is an HTC phone marketed through Google which is very good but not really groundbreaking. It's not like everyone gets this excited about every phone that HTC release (of course some might, but still). It is likely to take a while to get over here to the UK, though, so don't hold your breath for it.

Technorati Tags: Google,HTC

Are Google Doodles Pointless?

As much as I love the way Google frequently posts an edited version of their multicoloured logo on their homepage, I think that modern software and browser technology is making them rather pointless. Why? The only way you can see the Google Doodle itself is to go straight to the homepage. But as strange as it sounds, the majority of people don’t search like that anymore.

As time goes on, technology does get better

My thoughts on the iTunes 12 Days of Christmas

Technorati Tags: Apple,iTunes

Well, that's another year over, and 12 free iTunes downloads on the computer. I have to say, though, that I have been rather disappointed. It started rather well, with that nice free Snow Patrol song, even though it wasn't my favourite, it was free and useful for falling asleep to. It continued well after that, with Alan Partridge. Then it started to go downhill for me, with an App which is useless for me (I have no iPhone (yet) or iPod Touch), then music videos which I can't be bothered with. It redeemed itself with Day 6 and the film "Lesbian Vampire Killers". Day 7 was good too, even if I didn't know what it was. Day 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 didn't really do it for me.

So I give it 4/12 for my taste. But that is me, what do you think?

iTunes 12 days of Christmas: Day 12

Technorati Tags: Apple,iTunes

Today it is the new music video by the Foo Fighters. I have to say I am not a huge fan of this new song, so I'm not getting it.

Windows XP Black Royale Theme

As of late I’ve had to roll back to Window XP after using Windows 7 for about two months. For some reason 7 started crashing on a regular basis and it was interrupting both my personal and working lives. Thus, I rolled back to XP.

Windows Live Writer

Technorati Tags: Windows,Live,Writer,Blogger,Offline,Blogging

The only Live service I use every day is Windows Live Messenger. Other than that, I use none of the other free applications from Microsoft, but I’ve officially decided to try out Writer. In fact, this very blog post is written inside Writer, an application dedicated to writing blog posts offline, and then publishing them when you connect. I love it.

What the VAT increase has brought

Well, it's 2010 and there is a higher VAT rate, and it sucks! All around the place prices are up, I was recently on the Apple Store and an iPod Classic is nearly £200! I'm sorry, but that's too much. There have of late been sales for stores like Tesco saying "VAT Frozen!" which is great, until they raise it up as well. I think this is really annoying for smaller items like iPods, e.g. the 8GB iPod Touch was £130 on Amazon, now it is over a tenner more than that. That makes a HUGE difference if you are considering buying a new music player from that price range. Computer prices are also considerably up, and what was this for? So that the Government can get a bit more money, why did they change it in the first place? But that's economics, and this is a gadget blog. If you do want some cheaper gadgets to beat that horrible VAT then go refurbished. The Apple Store refurbished section often features some smashers of deals, but you need to watch out for them as they go so quickly. You could also buy second hand, but beware on sites such as ebay.

What do you think of the VAT increase, have you not bought something because it is worth that bit more now? Comment below as we love hearing your comments.

iTunes 12 days of Christmas: Day 11

Today it's the "Let's Golf" App. I have played it before and as a golfer was unimpressed, but it's free so enjoy it. Check back for tomorrow's last free item.

I like that...

I was just checking out the Vodafone website and saw this pretty cool item on the right hand side. It consisted of a countdown to the iPhone being released on their network, which I'm so looking forward to. I think that is so cool as it is a rolling countdown, anyone else agree?

Google Doodle for 4th January - Isaac Newton Animated Logo!

Google always posts edited logos on Search for every special occasion you can think of. But today they've done something that nobody expected. They've posted an animated logo.

A couple of weeks ago Google introduced a fade effect into their homepage so that only the regular logo and search bar are visible until you move you mouse and then everything else fades in.

Here's the logo before the fade effect:

And here's after the fade effect:

The apple falls from the top to the bottom. This is all to commemorate the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton, after the myth that an apple fell on his head. Whether or not this is true is obviously a conspiracy.

This has caused quite a stir on Twitter. 'Animated Logo' is a trending topic and you can check out what people have been saying here. It'll probably climb to the top by the end of the day.

Also, see all of Google's past Doodle's on their Twitpic feed.

iTunes 12 days of Christmas: Day 10

Today it is the Peter and The Wolf film. Click on the picture to download it. Sorry I didn't do yesterday's, I was up north skiing. Check back for tomorrows.

Technokratosical Difficulties

I would just like to take a moment to post an administrative notice and update my personal situation.

It's been four days since I came back to England from France and I'm missing my girlfriend quite terribly. In fact, I miss France itself, it's officially my home. I was planning to write and publish more posts. But I've been experience several technical difficulties. Here's the full list in chronological order this time around:

1. My Sony Ericsson K800i loses two of its keys so I can't type a, b, c, d, e, f, 2 or 3. And guess what the number was for calling to top up my phone was? 2345... That means I had to use a card to put credit on my phone instead. Fail.
2. So I got a new phone which lets me call Joy's PC via Skype completely free of charge forever. It takes me an age to activate Twitter on there.
3. As soon as my new phone is all fixed up and ready to roll my laptop starts crashing and I have to take a giant quantum leap backwards from Windows 7 all the back to Windows XP. Here I am using Windows XP but I had a whole load of problems during the installation...
4. First of all I couldn't actually start the installation.
5. After several tries I managed to get into the installation process but that came to a standstill when it asked for a license key that I didn't have.
6. A friend managed to fix me up with a key and soon Windows XP was installed and I was putting all my backed-up files on there. But then I had to activate it by calling Microsoft and typing in a number, but the number contained a '3', so I couldn't type it.
   
7. Thus, I couldn't activate Windows XP until I put credit on my new phone which I totally couldn't afford at the time.
8. Nevertheless, the same friend helped me activate it without having to call anyone.
9. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck without sound and I'm still searching around for a driver to get my audio back up and running.

I'll be posting about France very shortly so bear with me. I've installed Microsoft Word so I can write the posts while I'm offline and then publish them another day. But I've got GCSE examinations coming up so I may be a bit pressed for time. I'll get them done sooner or later so don't fear.

Just don't expect anything remotely like Shakespeare.

Threedom at Last

I haven’t had a particularly fun life in the mobile phone department. I got my first one at the age of 13 and it was the oldest thing on the planet. Unfortunately dad was poor so we could hardly afford much more than that. It was a Sony Ericsson K310i with the following features:

RIP Chrome

A month ago I started using Chrome as my default browser after a friend from school recommended it to me. I love the browser itself but unfortunately I’ve had to switch back to Firefox.

CES: what do you want to see?

As I'm sure you know, CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is going to happen soon, and I am asking the open question of what you want to see in it. To kick things off, I'll give a few ideas of what I'd like or expect to see. First off in what I expect to see is Blu-Ray, but not players on their own, but in televisions. DVD players in televisions have been around for ages, but Blu-Ray players built into slim televisions is right what we need for this new decade. If many of the big companies had these out, that would be great.



Something else I expect to see is OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) televisions. These are super thin, size 0 televisions for the future. OLED has been around for a while now, but only in smaller screen devices such as MP3 players. Maybe then, the technological companies could mix together those first two ideas (Blu-Ray TVs and OLED TVs) and have an OLED-BluRay TV! That is definitely a hope for seeing, but who knows?


Many people hope to see an Apple Tablet (pictured above) but in an earlier post to this blog I questioned it. I think that if it does come it will be in WWDC in June, but even then I don't think it'll happen.

So, the question is asked, what do you think will feature in CES 2010? Comment below and we'll see if you're right.

iTunes 12 days of Christmas: Day 8

Instead of the normal lite version free, it's the full version for one day! Click on the pic to download and enjoy! Check back tomorrow for what's on then.

The Engadget Show: Episode 4

The Engadget Show is becoming something of a hit. It has had only 3 episodes but my word has it had some hits, like Steve Ballmer on the day Windows 7 came out. Watch it down below if you'd like, or head over to iTunes and download it there. It is some great show this, the ultimate tech show out there.

Happy New Year from Google

A week or two ago I wrote about one of Google's many easter eggs - if you clicked the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button without typing anything into the search box, a countdown would appear showing you the amount of seconds until the new year.

Now that the new year is upon us Google has gone a step further.

First of all, and most obviously, they've posted a Google Doodle to welcome the new decade in which fireworks are exploding around Big Ben:

Also... if you click the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button without typing anything in the search box now, lots of sparkly fireworks will explode onto the page and you'll be welcomed a happy new year!

Admin Note

I will soon be writing some more posts soon but due to technical difficulties I'm afraid to report that there may be a short delay. My laptop repetitively crashes and I may have to fix that problem before the posts appears. But I wish you a happy near year all the same!

Amazon MP3 vs iTunes

I must admit to not being a huge fan of downloading music, basically because I like the hardware of the CD and the knowledge that it is mine. But I do own some iTunes downloads, just because my sister had an account and wanted me to try it out. So I made a few downloads and it was all jolly good, syncing with my iPod and everything. But it isn't great. Until recently its songs were full of DRM and that sucks!

But recently I changed my online download service to Amazon MP3. This is because I had spent over £15 on music (CDs) and they gave me £3 of downloads. And I have to say I was impressed by it all. It was very swift and easy to do and entered my iTunes library easily and without fuss. It did need a tiny app (I mean 2MB) but that was it. It was at a nice 256kbps which is good enough for most people. But it only did music, no videos, TV Shows, podcasts or anything like that. What was good though was the 29p songs which were great, and that most songs were cheaper than on iTunes.

iTunes does benefit from all those Films, TV Shows and podcasts but there is something else in its favour: its ease of use. Since 80% of the market is dominated by the iPod, iTunes is the place to buy music since it goes straight onto your iPod without you having to do anything. Nobody wants to have an extra app on their computer just to put music onto iTunes, they want music from iTunes.

Amazon MP3 will do well, but nothing compared to iTunes has and will keep doing. However, I will continue buying CDs until lossless music is available to download online, which will not be until there is super-fast broadband out there.