Digital-Lifestyles

December 2008

  • HomeCamp Event: Andy Stanford-Clark’s View

    We really, really wanted to get along to the first HomeCamp event – which covered the now-realistic world of automating your home.

    Due to a change of circumstances on our side, we couldn’t make it. Much to our relief IBM Master Inventor and Distinguished Engineer Dr Andy Stanford-Clark (who you may know from his house that Twitters) said he’d cover it for Digital-Lifestyles’ readers. Thanks Andy!

    HomeCamp Event: Andy Stanford-Clark's ViewA couple of Saturdays ago I went to the first “HomeCamp,” at Imperial College in London.

    HomeCamp was an “unconference” (a conference where the participants decide what form and content it should have, on the day) to look at areas of home energy monitoring and home automation.

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  • Oasis Joins The Growing Band Of Twitter Fans

    Oasis Joins The Growing Band Of Twitter FansA couple of new Twitter converts came to our attention last night, despite what
    Nick Curtis thinks of it.

    Oasis, who are on a tour in the US at the moment, jumped on to Twitter a couple of days ago with their @OasisOfficial account.

    They haven’t exactly gone mad on it, making only two posts, but they are picking up followers fast.

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  • OpeniBoot: Linux On The iPhone (Video)

    OpeniBoot: Linux On The iPhone (Video)Interesting to see that Apple’s iPhone has had its iPhone interface replaced with a version of Linux by a group of determined enthusiastic Linux fans.

    From the video that we’ve seen (below) – and who knows if it’s for real? – OpeniBoot gives iPhone owners the choice to start the iPhone up in Linux, as well as the normal Apple OS.

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  • Canon 5D Mark II dSLR: HD Video Is Stunning (Videos)

    Canon 5D Mark II dSLR: HD Video IS Stunning (Videos)We’ve been salivating over the Canon 5D Mark II dSLR since details started leaking about it.

    Now we’re starting to see the quality of video it’s capturing, we’re in overdrive.

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  • Some eBay Sellers Still Charging 17.5% VAT

    Some eBay Seller Still Charging 17.5% VATOne of the great things about being computer-based is that you can move fast and change information quickly … right?

    We know these things, don’t we.

    This was the basis for us being really confused as to why some eBay sellers are still charging VAT at 17.5%, instead of the new 15% rate.

    As those in the UK will be well aware, in an attempt to stimulate the economy and get people spending their money, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer allowed the VAT rate (sales tax) to be trimmed down on 1 December 2008.

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  • The Rise Of The PVR: Painfully Slow. New Technology Adoption Is Slow

    The Rise Of The PVR: Painfully Slow, But UK Highest In EuropeNever be fooled. Things always take a lot longer to change than you think they will – particularly where the mass adoption of a new technology is concerned.

    The PVR lesson
    When I started writing about TiVo back in 2001, I saw “PVR’s are a vital piece in the jigsaw.”

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  • Twitter Misunderstood In The Evening Standard

    Twitter Misunderstood in the Evening StandardNick Curtis has written a poorly-researched piece in the Evening Standard that attempts to take a chunk out of Twitter, while asking if ‘Twitter is the new Facebook.’

    Why poorly-researched? Well, he starts the piece saying that Tweets are 160 characters long – and as anyone who has ever looked at the sevice will know, they’re 140, the large ‘140’ beneath the input box being the clue. He then moves to tell us all how he didn’t really understand it.

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  • Kevin Rose: Pioneering the Downturn As Well?

    Kevin Rose: Pioneering the Downturn As Well?It’s interesting how a couple of months can change the view you hold of a collection of companies.

    These in particular center around Kevin Rose and the companies that he has an involvement in – Digg, Revision3 and Pownce.

    It’s not long ago – back in March 08 – that there were rumours that Digg was subject to a bidding war between Microsoft and Google. The tech giants were – rumours told us – battling to outbid each other for the blessed Digg. Figures of $200 million were floated, although the accuracy of the rumours was questioned by Digg’s CEO Jay Adelson.

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  • Sun Startup Essentials: An Interesting Deal For Start-Ups

    Sun Startup Essentials: An Interesting Deal For Start-UpsIt’s possible that some people reading this won’t have heard of Sun. They’re a big computer company that has gone through many iterations (during the dotcom boon their moto was “The computer is the network”).

    We’ve covered a background below to get you up to speed on Sun, but before that, we’ve got an overview on the Sun Startup Essentials, which is aimed at start-ups.

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  • Pownce: Shutting Shop On 15 December

    Pownce: Shutting Shop On 15 DecemberPownce, a competitor to Twitter, has announced that it is shutting the service on 15 December – Just two weeks notice.

    The two main people behind the service, Leah Culver and Mike Malone, will be going to work with blog company, Six Apart.

    Two more of the Pownce team, Kevin Rose and Daniel Burka will be all ‘la de da’ and become advisers to Six Apart.

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