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Also fixed is the wifi issue experienced when waking your machine from sleep mode and a few new RAW formats have been added to the compatibility list.  Full details of the update can be found here.

As with most other update packs for OSX, there’s also a number of security fixes too, although the link they provide for details on that seems to go to a page that doesn’t really give a lot of information away.  See here.

I know that as human beings we have a deep-seated fascination with what was cool when we were younger.  I personally love watching movies from the 80′s; love listening to the same bands I did when I was in high school and find myself wearing a lot of the same sorts of clothes.

I’m also aware that now that we have digital photography, film is on the rise in select groups.  Lomography and the fascination with taking photos that look like they’ve been pushed through a lavatory u-bend is all the rage these days and I must admit, there is a certain charm to these images.

However, retro IT is not cool.  Software development moves on and things usually get better, more secure but in some cases more bloated, but this is progress whether you like it or not.  Rolling out software that is over a decade old is really not a good idea.  Your IT administrator may like it because it means he/she doesn’t have to learn anything new, but it is going to be bad for you and your users in the long run.

IE6 isn’t secure, it isn’t standards compliant and it can’t even handle RSS feeds.  It’s a bad browser, hated by people who have to work on the web, loved by very few.  There is no reason for it to grow in market share.

Considering Windows 7 was showered in such praise it’s a little hard to understand why XP is also on the rise.  I’ll admit than in both IE and XP stakes we’re only talking about small changes in percentages, but it’s still a rise at a time when it should be falling, fast.

If you are about to embark on a new enterprise network rollout and your IT contractor (or anyone else) suggests using software from a time when the internet made a loud shrieking noise before it started working and people still used Netscape Navigator, you may want to show them the door.  Please.

Browett replaces Ron Johnson who departed for a job at JC Penney (apparently like Primark in the UK…) a few months ago.

What I (and many others no doubt) find odd about this is the track record of Apple’s new VP. He came from Dixons, a struggling chain of retail stores specialising in selling extended warranties with its “race-to-the-bottom” consumer goods. It is well known for clueless sales assistants and making losses year on year.

Perhaps I’m being harsh. The chain is doing a little better than its nearest rival, Comet. However, shopping in Dixons is a world apart from the experience you can expect at an Apple store. Hopefully the cluttered, inept Dixons experience won’t seep into the Apple store.

I don’t think this will end well…

I’m quite an avid viewer of the Linux Action Show from Jupiter Broadcasting. They are usually quite entertaining as well as having a fair few interesting picks that I may have missed when they reached the news feeds.

As it has been a fairly interesting time in the Linux world lately, I thought I’d share this episode with you. On the agenda is the recent announcement of the open WebOS roadmap and the new Ubuntu HUD.

As I suspected it might, the new Ubuntu HUD seems to divide opinions. On the show Bryan was very dubious about the new a HUD, whilst Chris was more open minded. I’m more inclined to agree with Chris, but I’ve already given my opinion earlier in the week.

One useful tip they had was the “awesome” window manager. A stripped-down, fast window manager is something of a rarity these days, but if you know what you are doing and want something that just gets out of your way, it could be what you’ve been looking for.

Gamespot has put together a summary of some of the Vita’s launch titles. There’s a couple of weak links in there, but they look quite interesting on the whole.

Investing in a business allows them to carry much more cash, so you can sell more of your items to the shop keeper before they run out and you have to take your business elsewhere. Unfortunately, you’re going to need a speechcraft skill of 70, as well as unlock the relevant perks as you level up.

The best way to boost your speech skill is to find a trainer, such as Giraud Germane at the Bards College in Solitude. Once you get to 70 and unlock the Investor perk you are good to go.

I’ve been simultaneously building up my smithing and speech-craft skills so that I can make Dragon armour with the dragon bones I’ve been collecting, then sell them on for a large wad of cash. Once you have a lot of gold in your wallet, you can pay trainers to raise your skill levels in other disciplines.

Ahead of the UK launch on the 22nd February, Vita demo units have started to roll out across Game stores in the UK.  As a bit of a Vita fan I was eager to see one of these new machines in the flesh.

This morning I headed down to the local Game store to try one out and I’m happy to report that I’m not disappointed.

I had a brief blast of Motorstorm RC and Ridge Racer which were pre-installed on the unit. Motorstorm RC is a bit of fun, but it’s not something I’d want to spend money on.  I’m a little baffled as to why they decided to create an RC game rather than a full-on Motorstorm title.  The unit clearly has plenty of grunt and could handle the sort of visuals and pace that we’ve come to expect from the Motorstorm series.

Ridge Racer was pretty, very pretty indeed.  You could be forgiven for thinking it was a direct port of a PS3/Xbox 360 game, complete with all of the graphical trickery you would expect from its TV-tethered brethren. It’s a game that suits the device perfectly too.  Races are short, self-contained and good fun – as has been the case with every Ridge Racer so far.  With that in mind, it makes the Motorstorm game even more disappointing.  A proper Motorstorm game could have been so good.

Build quality is perhaps on a par with the PSP 2000. It’s a bit of a plastic-fest and anyone expecting something to rival Johnny Ive’s recent creations will be a little disappointed.  However, it still feels quite solidly made.  The buttons are smaller than I was expecting and a little cramped for my tastes, but for the size of the device and the relatively enormous screen in the middle, compromises clearly had to be made.  Reassuringly the dual analogue sticks are a vast improvement on the PSP’s rather pathetic analogue nub.  The idea of playing something like Uncharted on those sticks is not something that fills me with horror.  The demo units, being securely bolted to the device prevent me from getting an idea of weight, but the size is perfect for the inside pocket of my coat.

The screen is a thing of beauty.  It’s colourful, sharp and the touch-screen is certainly responsive.  Coming from the PSP it does take a little time to get out of the habit of using the buttons for everything. Menu options are usually touch-only affairs on Ridge Racer and no doubt others too.

Do I still want one?

Yes, I do.  My wife isn’t convinced I’d get much use out of it and being mindful of how little time I’ve spent with my PSP over the years it’s a reasonable comment.  However, the PSP was largely isolated as far as the Playstation Network was concerned.  Sure, they both hooked into the same online store, but there were no Trophies, no friends lists and aside from transferring games from the PS3′s hard drive to the PSP, there was very little interaction between the two platforms.  The Vita could be seen as an extension of the PS3 experience, with cross-platform gaming as shown in this video:

Another reason why the PSP didn’t get a lot of use was the analogue nub.  It would give me terrible cramp in my thumb and I’d purposefully look for games that used the d-pad instead.  Sadly, there weren’t many of those.  The analogue sticks on the Vita are a lot more comfortable, more responsive and there’s two of them – as there should be.

The Vita is an exciting prospect, especially for gamers on the slightly more “hardcore” end of the spectrum.  It will have its work cut out competing with the smartphone market for Angry Birds clones and simple games, but anyone wanting something more serious and hates playing on a picture of a control pad as much as I do should give the Vita a try.  I’ll pick one up as soon as I can afford one.

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Google, one of the biggest companies in the world, is sending a team to Wales for 12 months from March to promote the business benefits of being online.

It’s no secret that Wales has a rather lacklustre private sector and this isn’t helped by the number of business who have yet to establish themselves on the internet. However, I don’t believe it is simply a case of ignorance towards the Internet.

The area north of Merthyr Tydfil and south of Wrexham is largely farm land and accessing the Internet outside the major towns is not always easy. 3G coverage is patchy and broadband “not spots” are prevalent away from the M4 corridor. It isn’t simply a case of not wanting to join the Internet age, it’s more a case of can’t join. Still, it’s nice of Google to take the time to notice.

The first session is in the Coal Exchange, Cardiff on 6th March from 4pm until 7pm.

PC & Mac gamers with iPhones or Androids will be pleased to hear that there is a Steam app on their respective app stores right now. However, the app is already attracting negative reviews from people who can’t read.

You see, the app is in beta and in order to use the app you need an invite from Valve. Installing the app and logging in sends a flag to Valve suggesting that you would like an invite. The app clearly tells you that this is what is happening, yet the reviews mount up.

When you do finally get access to the app, it provides you with the store and social features of the regular desktop version, but without your games, obviously. No, you can’t play Portal 2 on your phone, but that goes without saying.

Still, being able to chat to your Steam friends on the go sounds like a step in the right direction.

So, this is this new HUD we’ve been hearing about. It appears to take the idea of Spotlight on the OSX and the search bar on Windows a step further to include menu options as well. It’s an interesting idea but I’m guessing that typing every command rather than mousing over to them is going to get annoying very quickly.

There’s a lengthy explanation on Mark Shuttleworth’s blog, but this paragraph seems to explain the thinking behind it.

Even casual users find typing faster than mousing. So while there are modes of interaction where it’s nice to sit back and drive around with the mouse, we observe people staying more engaged and more focused on their task when they can keep their hands on the keyboard all the time. Hotkeys are a sort of mental gymnastics, the HUD is a continuation of mental flow.

Fortunately 12.04 will get the lite version to ease us in gently, but 12.10 may well get the full fat version. I’m not convinced that this is the right way to go, but the proof in the pudding is in the eating, as they say. I’ll try it out when I can.

You can read more on Shuttleworth’s blog here.

For the 360 I’ve so far heard that it will be intolerant of used games, it’ll have blu-ray and be six times more powerful than the previous one.

First the used game thing. Perhaps there is something in that, but for a reason that will render the blu-ray idea null and void – downloads. I don’t particularly want the physical disc to go away, but that seems to be the trend. On the subject of power, the 360 came out seven years ago. I’d be surprised if it was anything less than six times more powerful.

The Wii U is pretty much a known quantity now. We know the hardware anyway. I’m still not convinced it’ll fair better than previous Nintendo consoles in terms of 3rd party developers or games that adults between 18-50 might like, but we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt until we know for sure.

As for the Playstation, I don’t imagine we’ll see a new one soon, certainly not for a while after the launch of the Vita. Releasing a product to steal your own product’s thunder is not a great idea. Besides, Sony has already said it wants to give the PS3 a 10-year lifespan.

Now, I have some of my own – tongue firmly in cheek of course…

When you use the internet with any device, whether it is a phone, tablet, PC, Mac or even a PS3 the website can see what sort of machine you are on; what screen resolution you are using; where you are coming from and what your IP address is. This site for example will display a mobile version of the page you are viewing if it sees that you are using a smartphone or an iPad.

In the case of mobiles, one piece of information that can be offered to the site you are browsing is your mobile number. Obviously, this is something that will raise alarm bells to anyone browsing a slightly dodgy website. The last thing you want is phone calls from said dodgy site or anyone they may have sold your number to.

Carriers will provide your mobile number to websites but only to specific parter sites and apps that need them. (Myo2 for instance).

Unfortunately it was discovered that O2 customers were indeed providing their number to all and sundry when browsing on 3G. London-based Tweeter Lewis Peckover noticed the cock-up yesterday and passed his findings onto O2. In all credit to O2 they were onto it pretty quickly. They held their hands up, slapped themselves on the wrist and had the problem fixed in a couple of hours.

You can read more about it on the O2 Blog.

Still, I can’t help going over in my mind what sites I’ve viewed on my phone over the years. I’ve been with them for around 6 years now, but thankfully only two years with a phone that had a decent browser. Hopefully there weren’t too many shady areas in my browsing history!

For those of you of a slightly more paranoid persuasion, another Twitter user, Liam Gladdy has kindly created an “evilness test” for ISPs. It’ll tell you whether your mobile number is visible; whether or not you have been funnelled through a proxy and whether any unusual JavaScript or CSS shenanigans have been going on.

Sadly I don’t feel as though we’ve heard the end of this. If it turns out that this has been going on for a while, there may be some retribution sought from O2′s customers who may feel as though their privacy has been violated – which it has. It is also possible (but not confirmed) that other mobile networks around the world could be doing the same thing. Best way to check is to try out the Evilness test above.

Posted up on WebOS Nation is the full release from HP, but the highlights are as follows:

• January: Enyo 2.0 and Enyo source code Apache License, Version 2.0
• February: Intended project governance model, QT WebKit extensions, JavaScript core, UI Enyo widgets
• March: Linux standard kernel, Graphics extensions EGL, LevelDB, USB extensions
• April: Ares 2.0, Enyo 2.1, Node services
• July: System manager (“Luna”), System manager bus, Core applications, Enyo 2.2
• August: Build release model, Open webOS Beta, Open webOS 1.0

The big question is whether any manufacturers will pick up WebOS and run with it, or whether we will see it fade into nothing.  That being said, there’s a lot of nice ideas in WebOS that could be incorporated into rival systems when the source code is there for the taking.  The future may not be WebOS, but something else with WebOS-like features.

One thing that is worth highlighting is the March entry…

March: Linux standard kernel

Presumably this means that WebOS should work on pretty much anything.  This is a very, very good thing.  Also, questions over which license the source code will be released on has also been answered – Apache version 2!

Nice one, HP!

Once you’ve paid for your domain and the request has gone through, you’ll need to tell Dreamhost what you are going to do with that domain.  Here you have the option to buy a hosting package like I have for this site, use Google’s DNS services or choose from a few other options.  If you scroll to the bottom of the page you’ll see the basic “just DNS” option.  Pick this one.

Now you need to point your new URL to 500px.  You do this by first creating an A record.  Head into the Manage Domains section of the web panel and look for the “add a custom DNS record”.  You can usually ignore the “Name” field, so skip right on to “type”.  Here you want to change the drop-down menu to say “A”.  Godaddy calls this “@” but Dreamhost tells it like it is…

Next you need to put the IP address 500px give you on their domain page into the “Value” box.  The comment box isn’t necessary, but I just put 500px in there.  Click the “Edit Record Now!” box.

If we leave it at that your domain will work, but only without the www in the URL.  Whilst this shouldn’t cause a problem if you bring traffic in through hyperlinks, if you tell people what your web address is they might assume it has a www in it.  To fix this we also need a CNAME.

In the “Add another custom DNS record” section, type www into the “Name” box, then in the “Type” box you’ll want to change it to CNAME.  In “Value” you’ll want to type in your domain name without the http://www bit.  Press the “Edit Record Now!” button and wait patiently for the DNS servers to propagate the new information.  It took around an hour for me but it can take up to 72.

In the meantime, you can tell 500px what your new URL is on the domain page.  That also takes up to 72 hours to take effect (again, about an hour for me) so you’ll have a bit of waiting to do.  Probably a good time to make sure your chosen portfolio theme is right for you!

Head over to http://www.gavinlewisphoto.com and have a look around.  It’s a pretty simple affair, with just a few collections and no social features, but there’s links to all of the places you can find me on the Contact page.

Ok, I’ll shut up about it now…(for a day or two anyway).

“There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership,” he said at a press conference at RIM’s headquarters in Waterloo, Canada.

Source

After seeing market share and their stock price ebb away, they had to go. Sadly I do wonder if this is just a little too late. Android and iOS continue to march onwards, eating into RIM’s customer base. It’s going to take something pretty remarkable to turn things around.

A quick train survey (where my bored mind wanders and I start looking at what other passengers are doing) would suggest that the Blackberry had a foothold in the youth market. Perhaps they need to focus on that.

Thorsten Heins will be taking over. Heins has been at RIM since 2007 and is currently a Chief Operations Officer. Perhaps it would have been better to get some fresh blood in from outside. Mr Heins is probably a little too close to the problem to see it.

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Here’s a rather lengthy lesson from podcast legend Ted Forbes. In this episode he talks about the many options for creating your portfolio website, the things you should try to do and the things you should avoid. I must admit I agree with most of what he said, especially when it comes to the use of Flash. As I talked about in a previous post, around 25% of my visitors here are coming from mobile devices, specifically Apple devices which do not have Flash.

Flash has had its day and it needs to shuffle off into the sunset with other internet fads from the previous decade. It’s still very buggy, inconsistent across different platforms and will melt the legs of any laptop user trying to view your site (it makes the CPU work overtime!). You are also likely to run into problems with search engines being unable to index your site properly.

One possible (& very easy) solution Ted didn’t mention is 500px. I have a portfolio up on 500px, but I’ve yet to add my own URL to it, so it is simply gavinlewis.500px.com, but you have dozens of very attractive but simple themes and a common-sense admin page to organise your images into categories. The other side of 500px is the social site – the images are the same but other 500px users can rate and comment on your work.

Update
I now have my own custom URL! Head over to http://gavinlewisphoto.com for a look around.

There’s a basic free account which gives you a reasonable upload limit and a handful of themes, but also a paid-for version (around $50 Canadian) that has no limits, more themes and a custom URL facility. It isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly worth a look.

For more podcasts from Ted, check out the Art of Photography website