Hot, damn hot. Hotter than a hot thing on an oven

I have no idea where we are (http://maps.google.com/?q=43.2824%2C2.5822) but it's rather warm (and it's been this hot all week).

Posted via email from Holiday Notes

iPhone feature request - edit emails in the outbox

I have been writing blog posts in my phone's email client all week, storing them in the outbox until I stumble across a convenient wifi hotspot. This works well until you decide that you'd like to change something in one of your waiting emails - it can't be done (probably because the phone should be connected to the net and sending emails immediately). The only option is to copy the text to a new message, delete the old and make the edits. This works but it is hardly elegant.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Another beautiful sunny day

Day four dawns with bright sunshine, blue skies, clear mountain air and bird song. It's all very picturesque.

Posted via email from Holiday Notes

iPhone feature request - improved offline warnings

I am abroad at the moment with data roaming turned off; I have only intermittent Internet access (typically wifi at the night's B&B) but I'm still using the phone to write email.
 
This all works very well. The emails sit in the Outbox until they can be sent, at which point they disappear into the ether and all is good. Unfortunately, using the email client triggers a refresh of the Inbox, which of course fails without an Internet connection. The phone then alerts me to this, informs me that I have switched off data roaming, and then tells me that it can't connect to the email server.
 
This gets slightly annoying since Apple chose to use intrusive click- through pop-ups for warning messages, and it happens every time I open Mail. My request is simple; don't bombard me with these messages. Once is enough.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Mont St Michel

My first visit to Mont St Michel and it's a bit more impressive than St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. Warmer, as well, and the coffee is better.

Now heading south toward Angers where we stop overnight in a B&B (if we can find it - there's some confusion over the road signs).

Posted via email from Holiday Notes

iPhone apps and their server-side counterparts

I like the idea of EverNote, an App that acts as a memory aid by allowing you to log notes, voice memos, photos etc that can later be accessed from your desktop. I think. Actually I've never used it because, as you can see in the screenshot below, you need to log into your online account before you can access or create notes and that's a bit tricky right now (the cross channel ferry cabin from which I am writing this makes a pretty good Faraday cage so I've enabled flight mode to save battery).
 
I may be able to create an account via a French wifi hotspot when we disembark, after which I will try out the app, but I have a horrible feeling that it might function only when connected to the server, which would be a pity and would rather reduce it's usefulness when abroad.

Posted via email from James's posterous

AutoStitch - panoramic photos on an iPhone

Ok, so the subject matter is a bit dull (or, if I'm honest, fantastically uninteresting) but that isn't the point. This panorama was stitched together very quickly by an app I've just bought from the App Store for £1.19, with essentially zero effort on my part. That's pretty impressive, even if you don't like cheesey bars on cross- channel ferries.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Sun Sea and Cycling

We have put together a selection of fantastic rides with options for all levels, including the famous 70 mile Cycle the Wight and the ultra-tough Hills Killer Mountain Bike challenge to family rides and forest trails.

via sunseaandcycling.com

Unfortunately, I'll be away on holiday during the festival and that's a pity because I quite fancy having a go at the 26 mile Hills Killer Mountain Bike Challenge.

Posted via web from James on Bikes

Wireless charging comes to Apple's iPhone 3GS, thanks to WildCharge

Starting today, iPhone (3G and 3GS included) and iPod touch users can order up a WildCharge Skin along with a WildCharger Pad in order to bring wire-free charging to their smartphone.

via engadget.com

Wireless charging? There must be a string...

Posted via web from James's posterous

Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models

CUPERTINO, California—June 22, 2009—Apple® today announced that it has sold over one million iPhone™ 3GS models through Sunday, June 21, the third day after its launch.

via apple.com

Posted via web from James's posterous

Annoying laptop problems

My work laptop is really starting to annoy me. On Thursday, a new problem was added to the list; the keys have started to repeat, at random. This is annoying when it produces a word like "regguuullarr", maddening when it locks out the affected application and infuriating when it both deletes all your text then locks the app.
 
If its behaviour doesn't improve then it's going to have to see the support guys when I return from holiday. It's either that or I'll be reprogramming it with a very large axe.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Riding the Isle of Wight

It's been 17 years since I've been riding on the Isle of Wight and I'd forgotten how many hills there are. It's also been a while since I've been on the hovercraft, which is definitely the best way to get to the island, and they seem to be fairly casual about taking bikes.

The tour kicked off in Ryde, where the hovercraft lands and I headed off toward Newport. I had an idea that it might be a good idea to acquire a rear mudguard because there had been rain overnight and I didn't fancy riding the hovercraft back to Southsea caked in mud. It was not to be; I rode round Newport a couple of times but couldn't find the shop I was looking for, so I gave up and headed towards Sandown on the dismantled railway line (at least, that's what I think it was).

These lines are pretty useful for travelling quickly but they're also rather boring - flat, hard-packed, clean and dull. After a while I turned back onto the road and climbed up to Godshill, which is basically a village with a picturesque church on a hill in the middle of the island. Hunger was starting to set in by this point so I stopped at the village shop and bought a frankly revolting sausage roll and a barely edible sandwich. Having failed to sate my hunger, I headed south out of the village on the big hill, looking for bridleways where, it was rumoured, the offroading was pretty good.

The rumours turned out to be pretty accurate; lots of tricky (for me) climbs in low gear and some frantic downhill runs. Great fun.

After this point things started to blur a little. The sun had come out and the temperature in the middle of the island was rather higher than on the coast; I was roasting and tiring, so I turned east on the easy trails, picked up the railway line and headed for Alverstone where I made a mistake and headed north up a little-used bridleway.

North seemed like a good idea; it took me up the ridge in the centre of the island, the ridge I needed to cross on the way back to Ryde, but it didn't curve - it just went straight up, getting steeper and steeper. By the time I reached the top (having pushed the bike the last third) I was shattered and still a good distance from Ryde. From here, though, it was mostly downhill. In fact, it would have been almost entirely downhill if I hadn't made a schoolboy navigational error and headed back inland when I reached the coast rather than following the shoreline.

Anyway. Great fun, lots of hard work. I'll definitely be going back, but not until I've forgotten how tired I now am. Here's the route: link.

Posted via email from James on Bikes

The site is not valid. The ‘pages’ document library is missing.

When you first try to use Document Conversion on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, you may get the following error message:

The site is not valid. The ‘pages’ document library is missing.

To fix this problem, you need to change a setting in the Document Library's administration page:

1. Open the document library,
2. Go to Site Actions - Site Settings - Modify All Site Settings,
3. In the Site Administration column, click Site Features,
4. Activate Office SharePoint Server Publishing.

That ought to prevent the recurrence of the above error message. You will probably need to repeat these steps for each Document Library on the server, or when you create new libraries.

Posted via email from James's posterous

iPhone 3G S Outsells iPhone 3G on Launch Day

The iPhone 3G S has got off to an incredible start with news reaching us that by lunchtime we’d sold more iPhone 3G S handsets than we sold iPhone 3G devices on launch day last year.

via dnc.o2.co.uk

This is somewhat surprising. I would have thought the price hike and the availability of the 3G over the last twelve months would have sucked up most of the demand for iPhones resulting in lower sales of the 3GS but I was wrong. Good luck to O2, I say.

I'm still considering upgrading but as my contract won't expire till December I have plenty of time to ponder. One alternative, if I really can't wait, is to buy an unsubsidised phone from Apple and to switch to a cheaper tariff when my contract expires but I don't think it's economic. Probably worth running the numbers, though, just in case.

Posted via web from James's posterous

Riding the forests of Warsash and Whiteley

Sunday morning, bright and sunny, off on the bike. Pretty good route (link) along the Hamble, through the woods around Whiteley and back along the dismantled railway line. Just under 20 miles - really good ride.

Once again the iPhone and MotionX GPS saved me from getting lost. It's a fantastic piece of kit but you can't beat an OS map for finding bridleways; the laminated Explorer maps (like this one) are the ones to go for.

Off to the Isle of Wight tomorrow to find some hills. Report to follow.

Posted via email from James on Bikes

Entertainment from MPs' Expenses

The BBC has a list of interesting claims made by our elected representatives (link). My favourite so far is this one from Gordon Brown:

 

The prime minister claimed £176.25 on his Communications Allowance in January 2008 for a CD of photographs of himself.

I'm not sure why the Prime Minister would need a CD of photographs of himself (surely he could find a few online?) and I don't buy the "publicity" justification; sounds really dodgy. 

Posted via email from James's posterous

Shazam - best iPhone app?

Shazam is an app that's been on my iPhone since the beginning, and in fact, everyone should have it. Besides the fact that it's free, it's useful in a very innovative way: if you hear a song anywhere that you don't know the artist or name of, just pull up the app to hear it, and it'll tell you what you're listening to.

via tuaw.com

If you don't yet have Shazam on your iPhone you're really missing a trick. Ok, so it's fairly specialised and it won't help you manage your email, but when it comes to identifying recorded music it can't be beaten. And it's free.

Posted via web from James's posterous

iPhone Apps - recommendations for beginners

You may be one of quite a few people picking up their first iPhone today, so here's a list of apps that you ought to check out.

This first set are the no-brainers, the apps so good, or so useful, that not having them just doesn't make sense. So, in no particular order, we have:

• Accuweather - Apple's weather app is rubbish; Accuweather has more detail and forecasts further into the future,
• Bloomberg - the Stocks app on the iPhone isn't all that great. Use Bloomberg and you get a pretty good selection of categorised news as well.
• Shazam - almost compulsory; identifies recorded music by listening to it - very neat,
• Stanza - a book reader. You download books from their library (some free, some cheap, some not so cheap) and read them with Stanza. Carrying 100s of books on your phone is no problem at all.
• MotionX GPS - very neat trail mapper - hugely useful if you walk or cycle and you want to know where you've been or where you are.
• National Rail - if you ever travel by rail in the UK you need this app - live data from National Rail so you can always find the next train home.
• Skype - vital.
• AroundMe or Locly - find out what's near you - restaurants, hotels, cafes, shops, petrol stations etc. Very useful.
• Dictionary - the name says it all. Fast and comprehensive but with an American bias.
• Air Sharing or Mobile Studio - if you want to move files to your phone, either of these apps will help you to do so easily and quickly.
• Palringo Instant Messenger - a multi-format client (Skype, MSN, Google etc.). 

Once you've got that lot installed, here are a few more that might be worth a look:

• Twitterrific/Tweetie - either of these Twitter clients would be a good place to start if you want to play with micro-blogging,
• Sky+ - not a great app (my mate at Sky assures me that their Dev team were properly roasted when this launched), but it'll allow you to record things when you're away from home - you need never miss another episode of Star Trek.
• Photogene - great photo editing app.
• TubeStatus - useful if you need to know which Tube lines are broken today.
• Wikipanion - pretty good if you want to access Whackypedia; useless otherwise.
• Shakespeare - the works, in an easily searchable format.
• 3D Premier - all the goals, in 3D, on your phone. Not very useful but technically impressive.
• Currency - convert Pounds to Kroons, for example. Uses live data.
• Remote - if you've got an Apple TV then you need this app. If not, you don't.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Searching email on the iPhone with OS3.0

Just tried the new search feature in the email client. Searching the downloaded email in my inbox is pretty useful, but searching email on the server (I sync email through GMail) is just brilliant - so much easier than using Google's App, and easily fast enough to be usable.
 
And while I'm at it, I should mention that the new text select feature hugely simplifies the editing of emails - no more need to hold the delete key for ages to delete an unwanted paragraph.

Posted via email from James's posterous

iPhone OS3.0 - First impressions

Installation of the upgrade was very easy but why did iTunes need to contact the Apple servers to activate the upgrade and then the phone? It's been my experience that sign-up or activation servers always fail when popular products are released and that's exactly what happened last night - iTunes was repeatedly unable to get through to the activation servers.
 
That was, however, the only problem. MMS is working and there's a nice new camera icon in the text application; landscape keyboard in email is very useful; Voice Memo looks ok and seems to run in the background; Cut and Paste works very nicely. Other features, like iTunes movie purchases, I'm going to try when I have a wifi connection - more later.

Posted via email from James's posterous

iPhone OS3.0 Release Notes

This will probably have been posted in hundreds of places already today, but here in any case are the release notes for OS3.0:

iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update

This update contains over 100 new features, including the following:

• Cut, Copy & Paste with shake to undo

• Landscape keyboard in key applications

• Enhanced Messages application

  - Send and receive photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS*

  - Forward and delete single or multiple messages

• Added search feature in Mail, Calendar, Notes and iPod

• Spotlight search across iPhone

• Support for CalDAV and subscriptions in Calendar

• Improvements to Safari

  - Performance

  - HTML 5 support

  - HTTP Streaming audio and video

  - Auto-fill usernames and passwords

• New Voice Memos application

• Sync Notes with a Mac or PC via iTunes

• Internet Tethering over USB and Bluetooth*

• Browse and download movies, TV shows, and audiobooks from the iTunes Store**

• Stereo Bluetooth***

• Wi-Fi auto login

• Enhanced Stocks application

• More Parental Control options for Apps, Music, Movies and TV Shows

• iTunes account creation and login**

• YouTube account login and access to subscriptions, ratings and favorites**

• Shake to shuffle

• New languages, dictionaries, and keyboards

• Find my iPhone and Remote Wipe via MobileMe (subscription required)**

• Support for more Exchange policies

• Create and send Exchange meeting invitations 

• Search mail on server (Exchange Server 2007 and supported IMAP servers)

• Search LDAP company directory

• VPN on demand and VPN proxy support

• Encrypted configuration profiles

• Encrypted iTunes backups

• 1,000 new developer APIs, including:

  - In App Purchases

  - Apple Push Notification Service

  - Accessories support

  - Peer to Peer Connectivity

  - Embedded Maps

  - iPod Library Access

• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone

• iPhone 3G

• iPhone 3G S

* Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S and requires support from your wireless provider.

** Not available in all regions or in all languages.

*** Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.

My phone is syncing as we speak and the 230Mb update is downloading. Could be good... 

 

Posted via email from James's posterous

Road bike or mountain bike?

I've got a problem; I've been wondering over the last couple of days if I should have bought a road bike instead of a hardtail mountain bike because there aren't all that many places to ride offroad near home.
 
I've spent hours researching routes but most of the decent ones are a train or car ride away; riding to them isn't really practical. Then I had a revelation - if I bought a road bike, I could go anywhere, without a car, no problem.
 
And that was fine, until I realized that all I really wanted to do when I reached the destination was head offroad, so it looks like the mountain bike was the right choice after all. Much joy.

Posted via email from James on Bikes

Stop hitting F5, iPhone OS 3.0 release still hours away?

You can refresh all you want but that won't make the 3.0 update for your iPhone appear any faster.

via engadget.com

Damn - I'd been hoping to install it before leaving work...

Posted via web from James's posterous

Ghost forest in Trafalgar Square

A 'ghost rainforest' of huge tree stumps from the jungles of Africa is to form a dramatic artwork in London's Trafalgar Square.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Fantastic idea - I'll definitely be going to see this if it happens.

Posted via web from James's posterous

Strange train this morning

There are always "characters" on trains - it helps to make the journey more interesting - but the lady across the aisle from me is filing her fingers (not her nails), which strikes me as somewhat odd. Maybe I've led a sheltered life (and doubtless there are many subtle points of feminine finger care that have passed me by) but I can't help feeling that finger-filing justifies a referral under the Mental Health Act.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Hydrogen car to be 'open source'

The manufacturer of a hydrogen car unveiled in London on Tuesday will make its designs available online so the cars can be built and improved locally.

via news.bbc.co.uk

An open source car? And with funky doors? Maybe this thing isn't as bad as I first thought. I wonder if the hydrogen will be extracted from oil or from renewable electricity and water?

Posted via web from James's posterous

Hydrogen-powered Riversimple Urban Car unveiled, makes your hybrid green with envy

little car from up-start Riversimple looks set to deliver the equivalent of 300 mpg, running on hydrogen and utilizing a network of small fuel cells to power four motors, one per wheel.

via engadget.com

Ok, so it looks pig-ugly, it doesn't go very fast, there isn't a distribution network for hydrogen and they're not even close to being on sale, but as a concept I think this one has legs (or, rather, wheels that aren't about to fall off).

Posted via web from James's posterous

iPhone application updates and OS3.0

The launch date for OS3.0 is approaching (it's tomorrow for those of you without an iPhone infatuation) and upgraded apps are now hitting the App Store.
 
The first I've noticed with useful improvements is Accuweather, my weather program of choice, which has experienced a fairly hefty makeover and is now rather better. If you haven't already ditched the default weather app, now is a good time to make the leap.
 
So what's new? There are three changes that I really like in the new Accuweather:
1) Forecasts can now be seen for the next fifteen hours rather than the next five,
2) Daily forecasts now cover fifteen days (again, up from five), and
3) You can now swipe between locations (as you do in the default app).
 
It also seems to be rather faster, but that's an entirely subjective assessment and might be complete rubbish. All-in-all, very good.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Making rain; using bacteria to trigger rainfall, or How to End a Drought With Germs

Before rain can fall - at least in temperate climates - the water in clouds has to freeze.

But - and you may not believe this - sometimes, water doesn't freeze at 0C. Pure water will not freeze until -40C, and clouds rarely get that cold.

So to get water to freeze you need some help. A catalyst such as soot or dust will do the trick but if you want water to freeze at relatively warm temperatures, say around -5C or -6C, bacteria turn out to be the best "ice nucleators".

via news.bbc.co.uk

So could we seed the atmosphere in dry areas with appropriate bacteria and encourage rain? I've no idea, but then it was news to me that water doesn't freeze at zero degrees. Live and learn.

Posted via web from James's posterous

New lines, new stations; good news, if it happens

The Beeching cuts of the 1960s saw a third of railway networks closed. Today, the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) has proposed some of these lines should be reopened.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Reopening disused or dismantled railway lines sounds like a great idea but what's the point if nobody uses them? The fact that this proposal is from ATOC (full details: http://www.atoc.org/general/ConnectingCommunitiesReport_S10.pdf) might suggest that at least the economics are sound.

The downside is that dismantled railway lines make great cycle paths and it's difficult to see how the two transport technologies can sit comfortably together.

Posted via web from James's posterous

TomTom for iPhone - Part II

TomTom has made navigation available for your iPhone 3G. All you need is:

• the TomTom app including the latest maps
  (coming soon to the iTunes App Store)
• the TomTom car kit that offers secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions and hands-free calling, while charging your iPhone at the same time.

via iphone.tomtom.com

I'm really keen to see TomTom working on my phone, although whether or not I buy it will depend largely on the price. The convenience of having all my applications sitting on one piece of hardware is not to be understated.

Posted via web from James's posterous

Seriously considering a 13" MacBook Pro

I've been a PC user since, well, forever (I don't count the Amiga 500 or 1200 as real computers - my phone has more of everything than the Amigas, except casing) and apart from a brief flirtation with Macs at University (where we used them for programming exercises with Modula II) I've not really been tempted to switch until fairly recently.

There are three things pushing me toward a new Mac laptop:

1. The aluminium unibody, and in fact the whole MacBook Pro package, is a beautiful piece of consumer electronics,
2. The iPhone works so well that any concerns I had about Apple products have evaporated, and
3. I can't get the new iPhone before December so a MacBook Pro would slate my gadget thirst (probably, although I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point).

So what's putting me off? There are a several things:

1. I want 4Gb of RAM, but Apple's price of £80 to upgrade from 2Gb to 4Gb is ridiculous when Crucial will sell 4Gb of compatible memory for £46,
2. There are some really neat features in Snow Leopard but there's also an upgrade price,
3. I don't actually need a new laptop. My Dell Inspiron 6000 is a little old but it works and is still acceptably fast and reliable,
4. I would need some software; the minimum would be Windows XP (to run Office) for use with Boot Camp, but Parallels might be a better solution. 

More thinking required. I'll probably still get one, but I might leave it a while and see how things go (although it would be nice to take one to France at the end of the month and play with it on holiday). Decisions, decisions.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Brighton's Victorian Station - Epic Steel

We've done Brighton and we're now back on the train, heading home. Didn't buy a great deal (some minor bike bits, a present for the nephew, some coffee cups) but we had a decent lunch and a good time.
 
No cocktails, though; Gin and Tonic this evening, I think.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Coffee and cupcakes in Brighton

In Brighton for the day. Coffee and cupcakes get us started, wine with lunch, cocktails later (if I'm lucky). Looks like it might be a really nice day.

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Posted via email from James's posterous

What a difference a title makes

Posterous is great and I really like the feature that tells you how many people have viewed each post. These counts are highly variable; use a decent post title and you get lots of readers. Use a rubbish title and you get none.

But how much difference does it make? To find out I took a post from 3rd June ("The walk from the office to the station"), changed the title to "Photos of the best walk to work you could find in a city" and re-submitted the link to the post on Twitter. Within seconds (and I really mean seconds - no longer than it took to navigate back to the Posterous dashboard) another 20 people had read the post, compared with 2 views in the previous week - cool.

Ok, so the numbers aren't all that impressive in the grand scheme of things, but it's interesting to see what a simple change of title can do to the perceived value of a post. Something to think about.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Cycling: Great Outdoors Guides - Times Online

To celebrate the start of summer, The Times is giving away a collection of guides to the great outdoors, showing you how to make the most of the British countryside. Your next instalment, inside The Times this Saturday, June 13, is a superb guide to cycling, filled with ideas, advice and wry observations from Times journalists.

via timesonline.co.uk

I'm always suspicious when newspapers use the word "superb" about their own writing, but you never know. We normally buy The Times on Saturday anyway so I'll be giving this guide a glance.

Posted via web from James on Bikes

EU tells the US to allow online gambling - The Inquirer

THE EU has told the US to abandon its 17th century puritan roots and allow Internet gambling, just like it finally allowed drinking and dancing early in the last century.

via theinquirer.net

The American attitude to gambling is fairly confused; they allow casinos and betting at horse races but they don't like online sportsbetting, particularly with foreign firms. With any luck, the new administration can be persuaded to adopt a more sensible approach; if not, it's time for the EU to go to the WTO for compensation.

Posted via web from James's posterous

New Small Reactor Could Revitalize Nuclear Power Industry

A major manufacturer of power-generation equipment announced plans today to build a small nuclear reactor that company officials touted as a "potential game changer for the global nuclear market."

via scientificamerican.com

Fantastic news. I love the idea of making modular nuclear power plants in a factory, it's brilliant.

Posted via web from James's posterous

Bats at war; fascinating stuff

Greater spear-nosed bats form maternal tribes that go to war with each other.

via news.bbc.co.uk

This is fantastic. Bat war films are the next big thing!

Posted via web from James's posterous

Boring Android smartphone pencilled for November launch

Acer will unveil its first Android-based smartphone in November, according to reports coming out of Taiwan

via reghardware.co.uk

I just can't get excited about Android phones. I don't really know anything about Android, but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me want to learn more. I think it's because I'm lazy; I can't be bothered to look for the info.

Posted via web from James's posterous

BBC NEWS | Passengers face Tube strike chaos

Millions of people are facing travel chaos as a 48-hour strike by London's Tube staff is causing massive disruption to services.

via news.bbc.co.uk

There were far fewer people on the train this morning, presumably because many decided that they wouldn't be able to travel from Waterloo to their place of work. Waterloo Bridge, however, was thronged with people, far busier than normal, which suggests that lots of people decided simply to walk to work rather than take the Tube.

This isn't good news for the RMT or TfL, of course, because many passengers will find that their alternative arrangements are actually preferable to riding on the Tube, and they won't go back on Friday when the strike ends. The lesson, learnt many years ago, is that this sort of industrial action is counter-productive; only the Unions still believe it works.

Posted via web from James's posterous

O2 Bolt-On for data roaming; it's rubbish #o2fail!

I've been looking into international data roaming charges for my iPhone because I'm going on holiday later this month and not having a fully functional phone is, quite frankly, a pain in the neck. O2 charge almost £3 per Mb for downloads within the EU but they also have a Bolt-On data package for travellers.
 
What you get, and I checked this with O2 because it seemed so ludicrous, is a 10Mb data allowance in return for a £20 monthly fee. That would be fine if it was 10Mb a day, but that's a monthly allowance; 330Kb a day is the limit and once you pass 10Mb you're back to the standard £3/Mb charge.
 
To put it in context, my bill lists an average data usage of about 6Mb a day while I'm in the UK (and nothing at all when I'm overseas - at these prices I never turn Data Roaming on) meaning that O2's "fantastic" offer gives me about 40 hours usage at my normal rates - not much good for a two-week holiday.
 
This is all very frustrating because data roaming is something I would be willing to pay for if the charges were reasonable; having data access abroad in unfamiliar territory would be enormously useful but at these prices I could easily rack up charges of £250 in just two weeks, and that's not on.
 
So what's the answer? I have to manage without mobile data and leach Wifi coverage whenever there's an opportunity. And hope the EU (or, more likely, an aggressive competitor) will force a change in these charges. I'm not holding my breath.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Gun laws in Tennessee: Bread, milk, handgun | The Economist

Opponents claim that the laws will increase gun violence, especially in bars. They can point to grim statistics: roughly 950 people were killed by guns in Tennessee in 2006, according to the National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control.

via economist.com

Tennessee has a population of about 6.2m. For comparison, the UK has a population of about 62m and in 2008 only 42 were killed by guns. Something is wrong in Tennessee, and they're making it worse by further liberalising their gun control laws. Terrible stuff.

Posted via web from James's posterous

So what do I think of the new iPhone 3GS?

I think it looks pretty good, actually. Improved camera, battery and performance were my major hardware wishes and the new OS seems to have most of the software features I want, as well as some (TomTom, for example) that I want now I know about them.
 
Is this enough for me to upgrade from the 3G? Yes, sort of. The performance gains alone would probably do it, given the amount of use I make of my phone, but there are two major problems:
 
1) My contract has another seven months to run and, unlike last year, O2 aren't offering mid-contract upgrades to existing customers, and
2) £275 is more than I feel I can reasonably spend on a phone.
 
These two policies seem to be causing a great deal of negative comment in the blogosphere, a marked contrast to last year's much-praises release. I imagine that the success of the 3G and the supply problems of last year (caused by very strong demand) have emboldened Apple and O2 to adopt the mobile phone industry's normal pricing practice, where early adopters pay heavily for the privilege of being at the technological vanguard.
 
This isnt totally unreasonable; can we really expect them to supply great kit on the cheap? Would Nokia, or HTC? No, they wouldn't, and now we can only hope that prices will fall, as they would for any other phone, over the coming months. Unfortunately, if there isn't a significant price reduction, I may have to skip the 3GS in favour of it's inevitable successor and that isn't something I really want to do.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Turn-by-Turn navigation from TomTom on the iPhone

It's been a gap in the functionality of the GPS-enabled iPhone 3G for months, and one that was promised for the 3.0 software update (even though third parties have been trying to get it working for a while now): turn-by-turn navigation.

via tuaw.com

This is very cool. iPhone and TomTom are my two favourite life-changing gadgets. Having both in one package is very cool indeed.

Posted via web from James's posterous

Research: Airliners can be more eco-friendly than trains • The Register

Research carried out by boffins in California appears to have seriously undermined a major piece of received wisdom regarding transport: namely, the belief that railways are more eco-friendly than airliners.

via theregister.co.uk

I haven't actually bothered to read the research paper but maybe I should. Maybe we all should. I wonder if they've analyses the vehicles' entire working life? I imagine that trains could be run for longer than planes (especially if the operator is South West Trains).

Posted via web from James's posterous

Mud. Lots of it. And Puddles, lots of them.

Apparently it rained last night, quite heavily. I hadn't really noticed (I snored through it, apparently) but it was pretty obvious on the tracks that quite a lot of the English Channel had dropped in for a visit; they were wet, puddle-strewn, muddy and messy. Marvellous.

I popped out this morning to do a quick lap around my default local route (which I've mentioned before, a couple of times) and by the time I got back the bike was covered in crud (I really need a rear mudguard) and so was I. In fact, even my phone was caked because I forgot to use the wet weather cover and it sat in its pouch on the cross bar, nicely open to the elements, picking up, it would appear, every stray piece of mud.

So, between the mud, the water and the dozens of people out walking their mutts, I wasn't really expecting to be all that quick but it turns out I did the 7.48 miles in 44:30, a minute faster than a fortnight ago. Woo hoo! Ok, so that's still only 10.3 mph, not exactly quick, but faster than last time and maybe next week, on dry trails, with fewer walkers, I can go a little bit faster.

Posted via web from James on Bikes

BBC NEWS | UK | UK 'must log' phone and web use

All internet and phone traffic should be recorded to help the fight against terrorism, according to one of the UK's former spy chiefs.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Apparently, this would help the security services to protect us from another terrorist outrage but I'm somewhat suspicious; do we really believe the Government has, or could build, the ability to record all internet traffic? Even if they could store every packet transmitted from, to or within the UK, how do they expect to be able to analyse them fast enough to spot dangerous activity?

Posted via web from James's posterous

Another #personalbest time at the gym

This may be somewhat repetitive, two days in a row, but this morning I set another personal best on the treadmill covering 3.78km in 20 minutes. No more running this weekend but I'm hoping to get a few hours on the bike, both today and tomorrow. More news later.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Long-term speed target

My long-term target at the gym is to cover 4km on the treadmill in twenty minutes. This isn't really very fast but then running has never been my strong point and it still represents a formidable challenge, especially as I am only able to get to the gym twice a week.
 
This morning I made another small improvement, from my previous best of 3.67km to 3.74km. Not a huge improvement, you might say, and you'd be right, but I'm rather pleased and I'm now off for breakfast with the wife to celebrate.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Google's Wave of the future is genius, but will it work?

The demo was too good, too exciting. Any well-planned demonstration of an upcoming technology sends you out of the auditorium all riled-up, ready to grab a rifle with one hand and a banner with the other and God help anybody who stands between you … and … and … um …

via suntimes.com

I saw a few comments about Google's new technology, Wave, a few days ago but I didn't have time to watch their 80 minute presentation (I'm barely able to spend that much time with my wife in the evening, let alone watching demonstrations of obscure vapourware). This article seems to cover all the major points and I think I now have a decent understanding of the concepts behind Wave; I'm hooked already, and it hasn't even launched.

Why am I hooked? Mostly because I'm a sucker for new gadgets, websites and technology, especially when they're basically free. This one looks like it might be a lot of fun to play with (am I showing my inner geek?). Roll on summer.

Posted via web from James's posterous

BT bumps up broadband speeds • The Register

BT customers will begin to enjoy the result of its much delayed 21CN network upgrade as it today begins to convert its retail broadband offering nationwide to ADSL2+, which will offer speeds of "up to" 20Mbit/s.

via theregister.co.uk

This is the news I've been waiting for. I really want a faster connection, but at the moment the only option is Virgin and I don't want the hassle of changing supplier. ADSL2+ might be a decent improvement.

Posted via web from James's posterous

TUAW Tip of the Day

F11 moves all your windows off the screen so you can quickly glance at your desktop. F10 shows you every open window in an application. F9 shows every open window for every application that isn't hidden or in the dock.

via tuaw.com

This sort of thing is a bit geeky - how many people bother to learn and use obscure F-Key shortcuts? - but I love it and it's one of the reasons I'm thinking of moving to the dark side and making a Mac my next computer purchase...

Posted via web from James's posterous

Cycling route planners

There are loads of sites with cycle routes or route planners, many of dubious quality and usefulness. Google Maps (maps.google.co.uk - select Walking directions if you want to avoid motorways) works really well for road routes but it's not so good off-road. These sites also have some really good stuff:

• Bike Hike is a mashup of Google's maps and those of the Ordnance Survey; very neat (hat-tip to Stu for the link),
• Sustrans has a searchable map showing current and planned cycle routes; it's not as slick as Bike Hike, but it's still fairly useful.
• BikeRadar.com is a good source for all sorts of bike-related info, and they have a particularly good selection of user-uploaded routes.

Posted via email from James on Bikes

This morning's train is...

This morning's train is somewhat smelly. There's a strange, but not overpowering, smell of something that shouldn't be here but I can't tell if it's emanating from another passenger or from the train itself. I'm going to assume it isn't me.

Apart from that the train is no worse than normal; we've just arrived in Woking and the already full carriages will now take on a load more passengers, but I have a seat so it doesn't really bother me too much.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Engadget reports iPhones in 4Gb - 32Gb formats...

...which would suggest that Apple is launching not only an improved iPhone but some sort of low-end model as well, since they're unlikely to match high-end hardware with 4Gb of storage (or low-end hardware with 32Gb, for that matter). All good. You can find the details here.

Posted via email from James's posterous

Video converters

I don't have a Mac but, as our collection of fruit-themed gadgets grows (one phone, one Apple TV, an iPod Touch, a Shuffle and a Classis, all in regular use) I keep thinking it might be time to make the jump. Something that's caught my eye is Evom, a one-click video converter, because I like to watch films on my phone when I'm on the daily commute. I can convert files at the moment but it's a bit of a pain (Handbrake, DVD43 etc.) and it would be really nice to have a simple application that ripped everything and dumped it straight into iTunes; Evom might be the answer (and it gives me another excuse to replace my obstinately long-lived Dell laptop).

Posted via email from James's posterous

iTunes Update - OS3.0 Getting Closer?

TUAW has news that the latest version of iTunes, released today, supports OS3.0, feeding speculation that Apple might release the its upgraded operating system next week at the WWDC in San Jose.

Posted via email from James's posterous

London at Lunch

London is very warm at the moment, too hot for long-sleeve shirts. Everyone is out at lunch and eating outside seems to be very popular.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from James' Photos

New iPhone feature

Here is my iPhone feature idea for June. I would like to be able to highlight a block of text, in an email or web page, for example, and create a new contact using whatever elements (email address, phone number etc.) can be identified within that text.
 
For all I know this might be in OS3.0 and hopefully there isn't too long left to wait to find out.

Posted via email from James's posterous