Beauty & The Geeks Event In Didsbury

Who says ‘beauty’ and ‘geek’ can’t go hand in hand?

Heaven Spa (one of our clients at work) are launching a Beauty & the Geeks event for those interested in beauty and blogging. A number of the leading bloggers in the Greater Manchester area are expected to be there (boys and girls!) and the company is launching an exclusive mouse finger treatment at the event.

Hang on… mouse finger?

OK, it’s a bit of a gimmick, but what other signature geek treatment can you think of?

Apparently, this new treatment will massage your fingers and keep them feeling fresh all day every day.

I will of course be there, taking full advantage of this new mousey treatment. The event is on November the 26th and starts at 6.30pm. Drinks and food will be on offer, and it’s at Heaven Spa’s salon in Didsbury. There should be some interesting conversations with all those bloggers and beauty experts about.

You can click the event image to add it to your calendar.

(Image courtesy of Geek Pr0n)

Posted: October 22nd, 2008 under Blogging, Off Topic - No Comments. Tags: beauty, beauty and the geek, bloggers, Blogging, geek

iTunes is Genius!

I’ve just upgraded to iTunes 8, and am loving their new feature Genius.

It’s an intelligent playlist that will offer you music in a similar style to the song you are listening to, much like Pandora and Last.FM do.  It also offers similar music in the iTunes store… so it’s a nice feature for you and a great cross sell for iTunes!

Posted: October 22nd, 2008 under Digital Media - No Comments.

Manchester Digital Event

Manchester Digital are hosting another social gathering in Manchester for those in or interested in the industry.

I’m gutted I’ll miss this one as I’m away at the time, but I would encourage anyone in the area to go.  They’re always interesting events with nice people in a related line of work/study.

The party starts in Bar Ça on 8th October, and you can get tickets from the Manchester Digital Site.

Posted: September 24th, 2008 under Digital Media, Online Marketing, Online Social Networking - No Comments. Tags: Manchester, manchester digital

Google Phone – Android Platform

I’m always excited by the latest innovation in phone technology – and I’m looking forward to see what Google’s phone is like.  It’s made by the same manufacturers as my phone (HTC), so I’m wondering if it will have the high spec/dodgy camera combo!

The BBC have some basic info on this here and the video is below:

It looks to be the perfect phone for developers, gamers, and technology enthusiasts, because it’s so open to customisation.  You can even play Quake on your mobile!

Google has set up a developer centre and commmunity for Android here.

Can’t wait!

Posted: September 23rd, 2008 under Technology - No Comments. Tags: android, android phone, google, google android, google phone, phone

Using Technology To Learn Languages

I’ve been learning Spanish recently, and naturally, I have been making the most of the technology available to me.

The BBC has a decent section with a number of tools for different levels & uses:

• Spanish Section
• Spanish Steps
• Spanish GCSE Bitesize

And here are some of the Spanish Podcasts I’ve been listening to on the way to work:

• Notes in Spanish
• Edufone
• Voices en Español
• Medical Spanish & Spanish Grammar Review
• Spanish Pod
• Spanish Pod 101

I’ve been listening to Podcasts and reading bilingual Spanish/English books for about 3 months now, and have just started a college course.

I’ve found that the real life interaction, practicing speaking and receiving feedback has accelerated my learning greatly, even after just a couple of sessions.  It just shows that although these technologies can help you, there’s no substitute for real people!

Posted: September 18th, 2008 under Podcast, Technology - 2 Comments. Tags: languages, spanish

Blurred Line Between Mobile Phones & Computers

I use the O2 XDA Orbit, which is a PDA with Windows Mobile. I find it’s really useful for keeping in touch, up to date and organised. I keep my calendar synchronised with my PC using an exchange server, so I always have access to my latest work and home commitments. I can back up my contacts so I always have the phone numbers and email addresses I need. It’s got Sat Nav, so I can find my way to meetings.

I can check my emails, create Office documents, play games, browse the Internet, listen to music, take photos and upload them straight to Flickr.

Oh yes, I can phone people on it too.

It’s an inevitable step, but I’m still impressed with these two tiny computers. They are ultra mobile, you could carry it in your handbag or a large pocket, and they have performance and functionality that really compares to a PC.

The OQO model 02:

And the budget, lower spec version – The Asus EEE:

A well known assertion is that computer technology is getting cheaper and smaller as time progresses. Moore’s Law states that technology is improving exponentially. The law can be applied to processing speed, memory capacity and resolution of digital cameras.

Although I would agree that the power and capabilities are improving exponentially, I feel that ergonomics will dictate how small things can go. I expect technology to keep shrinking, become more powerful and relatively lighter. But screens still need to be large enough to comfortably read text and watch video. Input devices such as keyboards and mice need to be big enough to control and type accurately.

Touch screens, and laptop touch pads are great for mobile use, but the accuracy and usability of these tools still don’t compare to a traditional keyboard and mouse in my opinion.

Laptops are becoming the first choice for home computing, because they have become powerful enough and cost effective. They save space and allow computer access in the living room, garden and away from home. But some people still like the traditional desktop.

Although I love my phone, and it has the capability to do great things, the size of it means it’s slower and a bit more awkward to use for a lot of the tasks it boasts about. I couldn’t imagine creating a long document in Word for example.

Posted: September 17th, 2008 under Digital Media - 3 Comments.