The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From You epub

Posted on July 14, 2011 by John Large

I’m currently reading The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser. I downloaded the book as a DRM free epub (I’m funny about where I buy my books from as I have a Kindle, an iPad & an iPhone so i tend to chop and change my reading device). I’m about 50% of the way through the book and it’s quite scary stuff. It’s so far prompted me to slim down my Facebook account, including removing extra information from the account. I’ve also taken steps to block tracking websites by disabling tracking in Firefox & ramping up my Adblock Pro. It’s really crazy how much money can be made from your information, you think you are benefiting from a great free service but the company behind it are normally profiting hugely from sharing your information.
It really is a great read, give it a look and grab a copy for your kindle or iPad.

2010 in Pictures – The Best Bits

Posted on January 6, 2011 by John Large

One of the benefits of always carrying an iPhone is always having a camera handy to shoot quick pics. My iPhoto is brimming with snaps taken at a moments notice, and unlike a diary or blog, flicking through them gives an instant visual prompt to things we did & achieved last year. 2011 is bound to be a busy year, our businesses are growing, I’ve started the application process for my PhD & we have set many goals for the year ahead.

Considering we aim to keep a clear schedule (we don’t like to over commit to things) we are already pretty busy in 2011. We have the London Marathon coming up in April, we have another house move this year, we are getting our dog (Ludwig the French Bulldog) & my iCal is starting to look like that of a seasoned business man. The thing I really relish about our current lifestyle is the freedom. We do pretty much what we want, when we want. This was a dream of ours only a few years ago and now we have achieved it we are busy thinking about the next steps both in our current businesses & future projects.

Anyway all this stuff is for a future blog post, for now I’ll leave you with a selection of pics from last year (a short year in pictures).

Samsung n110 Netbook – 2 months in.

Posted on August 16, 2009 by John Large

Well I’m now in the second month of ownership and I still love the Samsung N110. This machine has completely changed the way I browse then Internet, and the fact that most of the things I do online are web based such as Twitter, Gmail, iPlayer and reading news and blogs, the Netbook is an ideal partner.

I was sceptical from the start with regards to quoted battery life, but I’ve got to admit, even with normal usage on battery with brightness adjusted to my lining and iTunes either playing music or downloading podcasts in the background, I still manage in excess of 8 hours battery life from a single charge. I now find that If I charge the netbook overnight, I can do all my computing on it the following day without the need for a power outlet. The powe consumption and battery life is amazing, and although the system may be limited from a processor power point of view, it is more than sufficient for editing photos in Picassa or Photoshop, and writing php in Dreamweaver.

Another fear when buying the netbook was the size. I wanted a laptop which was portable, and all the laptops I have owned in the past where far from portable because they required hoofing about in laptop bags, and always required the AC adaptors. The Samsung N110 was supplied with it’s own samsung netbook sleeve, and I tend to just throw it in the car or a backpack to take it anywhere I go.

The screen is only 10 inches, and the resolution is only 1024 x 600 but this is quite easy to get used to, and the synaptic scroll pad is great for scrolling down web pages. Most pages will fit horizontally without need for scrolling and with the adoption of good CSS standards, most content will shift to fit.

The keyboard was another worry, coming it at something like 93% of full size I’ve actually adjusted to the keyboard really well, and it is really nice to type on for extended periods of time. The silver nano key coating is also welcome as it eliminates bacteria growth on the keys, and i far more hygenic than normal keyboards.

I have tried Windows 7 on the Samsung N110 and whilst it runs well, there are issues with shutdown taking a while. Also I’ve experienced far reduced battery life under Windows 7, and the netbook feels nowhere near as snappy as it does under XP, so I’ve opted to stay with XP on the netbook. To be honest I don’t really see a problem with using XP on a netbook as it is a very familiar operating system, and does a great job at providing awesome performance and superb battery life.

This netbook has really set me free with regards working from home. Coupled with the new iPhone 3.01 update and Tethering I can work online from anywhere (even got online from the Outer Hebrides in Scotland and was able to work and twitter). The combination of the netbook and the iPhone means I am now truly mobile.

I can’t see my life without a netbook in it now, and hopefully as processor development continues, and battery technology improves we can maybe hit the 24 or 48 hour battery life marks. By using the Netbook in place of the Desktop 99% of the time I’ve reduced my power consumption from 400-500 watts right down to 6-8 watts of power draw. This is a great benefit of Netbook technology, and may even persuade me to look into a net-top for home.

I’ll keep posting reviews of this netbook along with experiences and problems encountered so watch this space.

Downloading Carpool Podcast. Check it out at Llewtube or on iTunes

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks August 12th

Posted on August 12, 2009 by John Large

Well tonight is the night. The Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks tonight (August 12th) so I’m going to be sat outside on the Balcony at Vicki’s Mums in Dundee, Scotland down by the river tay in the hope that we have clear skies and no rain. According to Nasa, as the meteors (which are chunks of Swift-tuttle comet) hit out atmosphere they burn up creating amazing colours in the sky and even audible phenomena. I’m really excited to get out and see what happens and wish I still had my Canon EOS 20D to take some slow shutter night photos.

Everyone get out tonight and see what you can see.

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks August 12th

The Ultimate Saving – Moved to Scotland

Posted on July 3, 2009 by John Large

Well the year of not spending kind of took a nose dive. I did replace a laptop with a shiny new Samsung N110 and I did by the Land Rover I was saving for when starting this year without spending, however I do consider each purchase a lot more carefully before committing to buy. To continue the trend of saving and not spending, Vicki & I decided to move to Scotland. luckily we have a family owned property with space available to us, so we have moved into it. This means we pay no rent, and very little in bills. Also the Insurance is all taken car of, so the savings in living costs are around £900 a month. We are putting this, and any spare cash we make towards paying off our debt.

We are also saving like mad to buy a camper van for touring round Europe in 2010. Hopefully going to spend at least a year on the road, and it should be a once in a lifetime kinda gig. There is a motorhome dealership a few miles away from our new home, and we have already tried and tested a few. Exciting times.

Well we have been living the good life since moving up to Scotland over a week ago. Walks on the beach in the evening, and even strawberry picking this morning. Love it. Checkout the pictures below for a taster of our latest shenanigans.