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Stephen on Steve

Time has a really nice article by Stephen Fry on Steve Jobs.

I have met five British Prime Ministers, two American Presidents, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson and the Queen. My hour with Steve Jobs certainly made me more nervous than any of those encounters. I know what you are thinking, but it’s the truth. I do believe Jobs to be a truly great figure, one of the small group of innovators who have changed the world. He exists somewhere between showman, perfectionist overseer, visionary, enthusiast and opportunist, and his insistence upon design, detail, finish, quality, ease of use and reliability are a huge part of Apple’s success.

Read more.

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Still expensive to use 3G abroad…

BBC reports on Which that reminds consumers that the cap for downloading data doesn’t come into effect until the 1st July.

The consumers’ association Which? is warning that people going abroad with smartphones can still face huge bills if they connect to the internet.

By 1 July, new rules will come into force in the European Union which will cap bills for downloading data.

But, until then, people travelling in Europe could face unlimited bills.

Read more.

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Upgraded EyeTV

Just upgraded my EyeTV software to version 3.3.2 in the main as I am hoping it will solve some of the stability issues I have been having with the software.

No major new functionality from what I can see.

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and there’s more…

The Guardian’s Charles Arthur has added his thoughts to the ad blocking debate.

News websites’ relationship with readers could be portrayed as an activity akin to herding sheep: that you get a lot of people to come to your site, they read (or listen to, or watch) the content, and they also see adverts that advertisers pay to place.

But when the readers use “ad-blocking” software to filter out adverts – meaning the ads are never served to the page, thus pushing down the money that the site receives from advertisers – the game becomes more like cat-and-mouse. Faced with a small but significant number of people who are happy to have your content but not happy to have the adverts that fund it, what is the site to do?

Read more.

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So do you block Ads?

So do you block Ads?

Yes there are some very annoying adverts out there and I can understand why people want to block them.

Likewise with the plethora of Flash based adverts out there that can kill a browser, likewise another reason why I can understand why people want to block them.

However…

It must be remembered that many sites depend on advertising and blocking the  can “hurt them”.

Ars Technica in a recent post said:

My argument is simple: blocking ads can be devastating to the sites you love. I am not making an argument that blocking ads is a form of stealing, or is immoral, or unethical, or makes someone the son of the devil. It can result in people losing their jobs, it can result in less content on any given site, and it definitely can affect the quality of content. It can also put sites into a real advertising death spin. As ad revenues go down, many sites are lured into running advertising of a truly questionable nature.

I have to agree.

Despite all the issues with annoyance, I know I would be more annoyed if I couldn’t access sites like Ars.

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EyeHome is ALIVE!

The EyeHome is ALIVE! Working again after a few months now without it.

The main issue was a dead power supply. I couldn’t find a spare. In the end I found that the PSP charger, which is also 5V fitted and worked.

Initially I had an issue with finding the 10.5 Mac but after changing the IP address on the Mac it did work.

As I now have an 802.11n Ethernet bridge under the TV the streaming worked really well. No buffeting or stuttering.

Now need to get the EyeHome software running on 10.6 that looks a little more complicated.

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Lego Google Chrome

A Lego Google Chrome with a difference.

Made for Google’s contest that asked users to create a video of themselves building the Google Chromeicon in any medium.

Via Mashable

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Apple rumored to be readying Mac mini with HDMI

Engadget reports that Apple may be ready to launch a new Mac mini with HDMI.

A Mac mini with HDMI. Makes sense, right? Well, it hasn’t to Apple so far, but it looks like it just might be ready to change its tune. That’s according to AppleInsider, at least, which has it from “two people familiar with the matter” that prototypes of a Mac mini with an HDMI port have been seen making the rounds in the usual inner circles.

Back in March 2008 (two years ago) there were rumours that Apple were going to kill the Mac mini. Back then I said:

I do like the Mac mini, it works well as a little Mac for testing and trying things out as well as introducing people to the Mac. I also have used it in the past as a server for various web services and for limited use it works really well – probably would not be too happy if it was a production server.

I did try it as a TV computer, in other words connected to my TV, but I never really used it, in the main as it was an old G4 PPC model and was rather slow for recording and capturing video from an EyeTV USB device. The newer Intel models have the advantage of remote control and faster processors and graphics better suited to video.

I am looking to get a new TV when the Freeview HD models become more widely available. At the time I did consider getting an Apple TV over putting a Mac mini under the TV; as the Apple TV did have HDMI and as well as buying HD TV shows from the UK iTunes Store, you could rent HD movies for use ONLY on the Apple TV. If there is a new Mac mini with HDMI and you can rent HD movies on the new Mac mini then I may get one over an Apple TV.

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EyeTV Netstream DTT

Quite intrigued by this new product from Elgato. The EyeTV Netstream DTT.

EyeTV Netstream DTT is a dual network tuner for digital TV. It connects to your TV antenna and to your Ethernet network router/switch to stream digital television in full HD to your Macs and PCs. If you have a Wi-Fi network you can watch TV wirelessly on a portable computer, free from cables.

Find out more.

Now I don’t think I will be getting one, as though it is a very clever piece of technology, I don’t see me using it that much to justify buying one. In the main as I rarely watch live TV these days, much more likely to watch either recorded TV from the EyeTV on my iMac, or downloaded from iTunes.

Still if you do watch a lot of live TV then this could be an ideal opportunity.