the 2007 blog
14/12/2007
Destroy your remote control
Had enough of remote controls taking over your home. Then just destroy them!! ... That's exactly what one of my mates has done (with a little bit of help from his 3D skills!) ... check out his cool video destroying a remote control
24/09/2007
Saunton Sands and Croyde Bay
We recently returned from Devon, staying in Croyde Bay again for the umpteenth year (third time this year). Weather was pretty good considering the crappy summer we have had. I managed to get a few nice shots of the beaches and Saunton Sands Hotel ...
25/07/2007
Prints from PhotoBox
I moved to PhotoBox for my prints after Fotango closed down and PhotoBox offered to take over the account. I've got online photo's going back to 2001 with Fotango but now the individual photo size is at least 2MB with my 10.1 Megapixel 400D the online storage is starting to get much bigger. I've currently got 1.7GB online (20GB offline) and you get your space increased by 50MB with every order you place.
I'm really pleased with PhotoBox, my 6x4 prints are only 4p and I placed a poster order yesterday at about 4pm and it was delivered by 9am. They are currently running an offer of 3 for 2 on all poster prints, so I ordered three 12x12 inch prints and the total cost was £11.48. The shots were taken by my brother Simon: www.simonmackney.co.uk
Simply enter the offer code SS342POSTERS at the checkout before midnight 29th July 2007.
22/07/2007
The CR-V in Croyde
The main reason for getting the CR-V was the extra space and 'cruise ability' for our UK holidays! ... well we've recently spent 2 weeks in Devon and after loading up the CR-V for a family of 4 we had space left in the cabin! we cruised down very smoothly, It definitely lived up to expectations. Click here to view the CR-V gallery
31/05/2007
Microsoft Surface
WOW! ... "Surface is the first commercially available surface computing platform from Microsoft. It turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects" ... Just watch the video!
14/05/2007
CR-V Specifications
Yep, we are still on the subject of the CR-V. Well there is loads of other great stuff going on, babies, toddlers, families, work project wins and also much more sadder things. But I've just seen a program on the TV about the problem with 'gas guzzlers' and the labeling of all 4x4's being the same. Here is a copy of a letter from Honda to address these issues:
- Too dirty? The new Honda CR-V is not only cleaner than other SUVs - its exhaust emissions* are lower than some large estates, hatchbacks, MPVs and even a Mini Cooper S!
- Too big? The CR-V has a footprint that's a similar size to a Ford Mondeo (and smaller than a BMW 523iE).
- Too dangerous? The current CR-V achieves a 3-star rating for pedestrian safety - which, according to industry experts Euro NCAP, puts it in the top 10 per cent of pedestrian-friendly cars on the road . Also, the current model gets 4-stars for occupant safety. As for the all new CR-V, we are aiming for yet another high level result.
* CO 2 emissions: CR-V 2.0-litre petrol - 194g/km, Mini Cooper S 16v - 207g/km
09/05/2007
The new Honda CR-V
Honda recently launched their new CR-V, the most environmentally friendly and safest SUV on the market. The UK environment manager at Honda UK defended the CR-V against 4x4 campaigners with the following points:
- The new Honda CR-V is cleaner than other SUVs, and its exhaust emissions are lower than some large estates, MPVs, hatchbacks and even the MINI Cooper S
- The CR-V's footprint is similar to a Ford Mondeo and smaller than a BMW 5-series
- The CR-V achieves a three-star rating for pedestrian safety, so it's in the top 10 per cent of pedestrian-friendly cars on the road
- If it achieves its predicted five stars for occupant safety and four stars for child-seat safety, the CR-V will be the safest all-round vehicle in its class
On a recent holiday trip we found our HR-V slightly lacking in space due to a recent family edition! So with this and future UK holidays planned ... We bought one!!!
26/03/2007
Innovate by Dartington Crystal
We went out at the weekend to look for a couple of presents and found the Innovate range of hand made glass by Dartington Crystal. We only live down the road from the Denby factory and shopping village and there is a Dartington Crystal shop. This stuff is ace, it's vibrant modern and individual. I ended up buying a piece for home as well as the presents and now have something really nice to put on future present lists. Take a look at the Innovate hand made glass range
26/03/2007
Mazin Properties
Fish Media recently launched Mazin Properties the brand new way to buy, sell, rent or let your home with the minimum fuss or cost! It's a great new site with a great identity and site design :) with easy to use navigation it is simple to search for properties to rent or buy. As a launch promotion, it is currently FREE to list your property to sell or rent! and you can even purchase a for sale board for a low fee - The site has everything you need if you are looking to advertise your property.
22/03/2007
Phil and Ted's
As mentioned earlier, we said we would wait and see if we needed a new buggy. Well we probably don't - but as The Dill is still only two and a half and the holiday season is looming, we decided to order one. We decided to go for another ALL TERAIN buggy just in case we need to bump up a curb, go jogging in the park or roll over a non-smooth path. We went for the Phil & Ted's Sport 3 because as well as all that, it also is a 'double decker' with four combinations for a new born, a toddler and even two toddlers! It's a great price AND I got another 10% off at Mothercare.com with Promotional Code: ETC
We have gone for the Orange version to match our Quinny Zap, and I'm sure Colin will have a few more remarks about certain Mountain Rescue Equipment with this new buggy as much as he did when we first got the Orange Zap!!! ;) ... to be fair, the Zap only came in that colour at the time and we love it!
21/03/2007
Diskless Internet Terminal
I have been thinking about the easiest way to convert old PC's, Laptops or basic build PC's into Internet terminals. I thought that it would be possible to enable cheap Internet access for schools, library's, public places and even undeveloped areas with a minimum specification PC with very low maintenance costs. If the software corrupts you just reboot, If the machine fails you just replace the whole thing.
Enter my first peek into the world of Linux. Well It had to happen sometime! I must admit I'm quite impressed with the free open source distributions (DISTRO's) of the software. I found a Disto called SLAX which can boot from CD on a diskless PC, nothing is saved to the hard drive (if it has one) and as the CD is read-only it can't corrupt or get a virus. I've downloaded this version and booted it ... it's pretty neat, it found the WIFI card, connected to the net for surfing and Instant messaging. It also comes with loads of business tools and is great to have around if you are a PC engineer that needs to run hardware diagnostics without loading Windows! ... check out the screen grabs of the diskless operating system.
And if you can't be bothered to find old PC, check out this small diskless box that runs as an internet terminal
13/03/2007
My Bonnie Lass
A lot of people are asking about progress of a certain little person, and I'm proud to say she is doing amazingly well - everyone is! ... things have settled down nicely and we are all getting into the swing of having a (very) little person in the house again (apart from when Gary comes around) at the last weighing she had gained a bag of sugar (1lb 5oz) in 3 weeks! Next weighing will be near the 6 week mark and I'm looking forward to knowing if she will be Fly or Bantam!
Update 15/03/2007: Just weighed in at 9lb 11oz that's 2lb 2oz in 6 weeks ... nice!
09/02/2007
Photo Frame Concept
I'm currently working on a large photo frame for the house that will contain a portrait photo of all the 'sprogs' ... mainly, our two, Jane's brothers boy and my sisters girl (plus the new arrival). Then hopefully I'll update the photo's on a periodic basis to keep up with them as they get bigger. I'll make sure that each photo taken is in the same month or hopefully week.
09/02/2007
Welcome to Narnia
Do you remember when you first read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, well one of the main images that sticks in my mind is the first steps into Narnia, snow covered and lit by a street lantern. Tonight, it's been snowing quite heavily and I looked out of the window to see the following ...
Ok, it's not Narnia, but seeing a snow covered floor at night highlighted by a street latern is pretty magical! (I'll shut up now)
08/02/2007
Sent to get nappies, got bike instead
Yesterday I was sent out with my son to get some more nappies for the new baby and some other essentials. We thought we would pop into Halfords and when we got through the door I heard the shriek 'BIKES' ... after finding out that my son is still too young to fit on any pedal bikes, we found a 'trainer bike' (in a low rider chopper styleeee) that has NO pedals and is used to teach balance and allows them to move onto a bike without stabilisers later! (hmmmm) The display was the last one so we rode it out of the shop :)
05/02/2007
Happy birthday Fish Media
It's nearly 12 midnight on the 4th Feb. Happy Birthday Fish Media. We officially went limited on the 5th February 2003.
04/02/2007
I have a daughter
On Friday the 2nd of February at 9am we arrived at the hospital, by 12.55pm we had a beautiful baby daughter! After one night in hospital Jane and baby were allowed to come home and we were all home by 11.30am on Saturday. I'm not going to put too many details as this can be read by anyone, but hopefully all family and friends know of the good news by now! and I'm sorry for the 5 duplicate text messages you may of received - believe it or not, MASS text messaging is something new to me!
And now for the technology link ....
Like all good husbands I thought I would buy Jane a present for 'delivering' me such a wonderful gift - and I don't mean flowers and chocolates. She has been going on for a while about wanting an iPod, and my argument has been - why do you need an iPod when you have a mobile phone that plays MP3, takes pictures and a Palm PDA that does the same! but on Saturday, before I picked them both up, I had to give in to her expensive tastes and bought her an iPod Nano in anodised Pink (yes pink!) so there is no way anyone can say I bought it for myself! Just like the Pink Roberts DAB radio I got her for Christmas!
<start side ramble> A bit about Jobs V Gates ... When I first started with 'proper commercial computing' I was using Apple Mac with built in grayscale screens at Art school, mainly used for font rendering ready to be put through the Omnicrom machine to add colour! ... then I moved to Microsoft when a good friend showed me how to build a 286 and a 386 PC and installing Windows 3.1 ... returning to Apple in my summer placement and back to the PC in my first Design job. I returned again to Apple when I first went into freelance design with an early iMac and worked as a New Media Manager with a Titanium PowerBook. But since starting Fish Media in 2002 its been Bill Gates all the way and Media player synchronised with PocketPC has been the choice for MP3 over iTunes and iPod. <end side ramble>
I've been forced to install iTunes as it is required to initialise the iPod!! - Amazing, and I thought only Bill locked users into their systems! and then when I wanted album artwork from the internet I had to sign up to Apple iStore with a credit card! However, I have to admit the iPod and iTunes combination is pretty powerful and It converted my 5GB's worth of WMA music into MP4 without a problem. It also makes you realise where Bill got the Vista Aero idea from.
To the batmobile robin ...
Another reason for Jane wanting an iPod is the appalling 3rd party CD player I installed in the HR-V. Now reverting back to the original HR-V model with AUX in she can enjoy the whole collection on the move.
Home entertainment sir? ...
My dad has had an iPod video for over a year and uses it for all his music needs with additional speakers. Also Janes brother has a iPod video and BOOSE sound system. We have always accessed our complete music collection (and photos) over Wifi from the PC to the surround sound system in the lounge with a Linksys media adapter, but now I might link the iPod to the surround sound via a dock with remote? or maybe even get a FM modulator that sits on the bottom of the Nano and can be used to transmit to any car, the kitchen, lounge or dining room! and the iPod Nano is just used like a remote! ... keep your eye out for a solution coming soon!
By the way, it's nearly midnight, Jane and TheDillster are asleep and my baby girl is lying next to me as I type - don't worry I'm not going to waste precious daylight hours writing a blog!
31/01/2007
Pushchairs (again!)
When we first started looking at pushchairs and 'travel systems' it was early 2004. The problem at the time was trying to find one that would collapse 'short' enough to fit in the boot of the Mini Cooper S. The first choice at the time was the Bugaboo Frog, which wasn't widely available and not very well known at the time. We went to John Lewis in Nottingham, had a demo and tried it in the Mini but it wouldn't fit! and Jane was gutted. After many demo's and fittings, we found the Maclaren Mac3 and we got this with the intention that 'if' we had another baby it would be re-used.
Well here we are in 2007 and I'm sitting here typing wondering if I am going to get a call from upstairs to say we need to go to the hospital! We have been discussing pushchairs again, not because the Mac3 isn't good enough (we still really like it) but because Jane has been looking at 'double decker' pushchairs! The order of the day is the Phil&Ted E3 stroller, and Jane has already had a demo! It caters for the following; Newborn, Toddler, Baby and Toddler, 2 Toddlers !
However, as we already have most things there is no need to rush out and buy a load of new things this time. In fact apart from buying a new bed for The Dillmiester we have been lucky enough to be able to re-use the masses of 'stuff' - so we are going to see how it goes before making any major purchases. This of course allows me to spend even more money on useless technology.
30/01/2007
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
It's finally arrived but can your PC run it? ... We have received licenses at the office through our Microsoft Partnership, but it's looking unlikely that we will be installing it any time soon. It may be worth putting it on a demo PC or a home PC to start to get to grips with it.
Microsoft have provided a program to test your PC's readiness for Vista! Even my one year old Sony Vaio laptop with 1.5GB RAM is going to struggle, and you can forget enabling the Windows Aero desktop experience unless you have at least a 128mb graphics card and 1GB of RAM is the order of the day.
Download Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
14/01/2007
Louis Ghost by Philippe Stark
When I was studying my tutors asked the question 'what designer inspires you'. At the time I was still learning about the classic designs, designers and artists and didn't really have a response. Someone on my course had a Philippe Stark book and I instantly knew this was a designer that could 'inspire me' - so I, and many others named Philippe Stark!
After buying the book and visiting the Stark designed Café Costes in Paris, the first item I owned (a present) was the Alessi Juicy Salif, an iconic juicer designed in 1990. I then purchased a 26' TV with Stark's logo on it and a £1.50 mineral water bottle! - now 15 years later I've picked up where I left off and bought a Kartell Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Stark.
The Louis Ghost chair is injection moulded from polycarbonate, and is quoted to be 'daring' by being a single mould! It comes in coloured and transparent versions. Stark took the classic design of a Louis XV armchair and used ultra modern materials to re-create it (not for the first time)
.... Anyway, today I also took a picture of a swan!
View a pic of our Louis Ghost Chair
View another pic of our Louis Ghost Chair !
06/01/2007
Happy New Year
Well here we are in 2007, I can't believe it was 7 years ago when Jane and I were in London for the Millennium fireworks and stayed at Charley's house. This New Years Eve was much more civilised with a special 5 course meal at the White Hart in Duffield. Jane and I would always spend our NYE in Duffield since we met in 1988 and it was also there that I proposed!
2007 promises to be a great year, with Jane due in the next few weeks I can't expect a better start to the year than a new member of the family! The 2007 holiday is booked and the company has now got an amazing team behind it and we are really busy.
I got a digital SLR for Christmas so keep an eye on the mackney media gallery for new photos - having an SLR means you can take better pictures right? My book library has been updated with Digital Macro Photography, so I'm hoping to take some interesting pics in the next few months! anyway ... stay tuned, 2007 should invoke some interesting snippets of random blogness!
View the blog from 2006>
