RSS Awareness Day

Today is RSS Awareness Day. I'm a hardcore user of RSS, I can't live without it; and now I feel obliged to spread the knowledge. So what is RSS? It is a method of receiving updates of content online, for example - blog posts. Everything is explained in the link above, but here's my analogy to help you understand:

Scenario: You like to read the daily newspaper, weekly comic book, and a few various magazines.

Solution 1: You have to physically travel to the news agent (or other retail outlet), check out what's available and if they have what you want. The travel to the store and back can be very time consuming and inconvenient, especially if different issues are released at different times. Time is wasted traveling.

Solution 2: You subscribe to them all, getting them delivered straight to your door. All you have to worry about is initiating the subscription.

OK so what has this got to do with the anything?

Scenario: You like to read the daily news, a few web comics and various other blogs.

Solution 1: You browse to each website individually, with no guarantee of there being updates. Time is wasted browsing.

Solution 2: You subscribe to the RSS feed of the site, getting them all delivered to your feed reader. Once the subscription is started, you have nothing else to worry about.

RSS (Real Simple Syndication), is a great technology. It's only problem for its low adoption is the obscurity behind its philosophy. Head over to this site to learn more here.

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Easy Web Design with Firebug

My latest addition to the arsenal is Firebug, a code debugging add-on for Firefox. Firebug allows be to instantly inspect HTML or CSS elements on any given page, actively making changes to the code; rendering live within the browser.When I first got into the basic writing of HTML and CSS, a lot of the code was written in plain text. Since then I have improved my productivity by using a Syntax Highlighting Editor, such as Coda for example. My workflow previously consisted of a cycle of trial and error code editing, followed by a document save then a browser refresh. This cycle will happen many times per minute and get very repetitive.

With Firebug, I can make all these changes live, then once I am happy with it, i just copy and paste the new code into the relevant file, and relax.

I must point out that this is barely scraping the surface of the features Firebug provides, but if you are into web design, then this is definitely a tool you should consider utilising.

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Review: Logitech VX Nano - Cordless Mouse

I no longer own a desktop computer, last September I bought myself a Macbook and had done away with my problematic desktop immediately. The one thing I couldn't get away from was the need for a mouse. A trackpad is good but nowhere near as easy to use or convenient as a mouse. Up until now I had owned a Microsoft optical mouse. Not much wrong with it as such, but it wasn't very portable and had a wrecking ball sized receiver. I needed a more portable mouse for my portable computer.

The size of the mouse and receiver is astonishing. The mouse is very compact, but not so small that ergonomics become a major issue. You tend not to get cramp as you would with similar compact sized mice, and you can reach all the controls very easily. It also comes with a cool little carry bag, to protect the little mouse whilst on its travel.The VX has 4 programable functions. There is a left and right mouse button, a search button and a scroll wheel; perhaps the most interesting feature. The scroll wheel can function like any over conventional scroll wheel - or - with a single click you can change it to free wheeling mode, where the wheel has very little physical resistance. One little flick and the wheel continues spinning; useful for those situations where you have to trowel through vast pages of text. Also, the wheel can be tapped to the left or right as two additional inputs. On to accuracy, I have not owned a mouse this accurate. In fact, until now I never knew how much of an issue it is. The VX is very responsive, thanks to its dual-laser technology.


I do not regret buying the VX Nano. It ticks all the marks and more. If you're not after something portable, then I can recommend its bigger daddy: the MX, for it being based on the same technology. I would have liked to have gone with a Bluetooth mouse, but from what I read, the Bluetooth protocol has negative effects on battery life and latency.

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Vespa: An Alternative Way to Commute

Recently I have been thinking of an alternative method of transport, especially for the college commute. I need a quick, cheap and easy method of transport that is always there for my convenience. With the ever increasing fuel prices, I also need something that is cheap to run. Finally, living in a capital city, I need something that is easy to park, especially in the heavily congested city centre. After a bit of thinking I have decided, a car is out of the picture. I'll need a Vespa.

Why A Vespa?

The college that I am currently attending is based in the city centre, and therefore parking anywhere near the college can be a difficult task by car. To get to college I need to rely on public transport. Like many others like me, I have come to hate relying on public transport. Their services are there to fit their own schedule, and not yours. Alternatively, I could drive to college; but rush hour traffic and limited parking becomes an issue (at least for a car).

Also, I am finding the costs for running my current car, specifically when it comes to fueling it; with the current prices rising it is becoming increasingly harder to handle. Being the poor student that I am, I need something with better fuel economy than my car.

Another reason to justify my choice for a Vespa (although not the primary reason) would be that it will be "greener" than my Volkswagen. Admittedly this wouldn't be the sole reason for the purchase, but it helps as an afterthought to think that you are doing at least a little something to help prevent global warming, or the energy crisis.

What next?

I will be looking online and in classifieds for a Vespa. I am specifically interested in obtaining an ET4 model or later. I wouldn't mind if I needed to get involved in some restoration work, and would love for the Vespa to double as a canvas for me to get arty with. I will be keeping my eye out for the next few weeks, and will keep you posted here on the progress.

Watch this space.

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iPhone: The Phone of Your Choice?

The iPhone has been around for a while now. I've been sitting on the fence on whether or not to get one, and now as my current mobile contract is about to expire it's about time I chose my next.
Often you can see a submission on Digg's front page entitled not much unlike to the following:

"AMAZING - iPhone r0xx0rz teh s0xx0rz [pics]"

or

"BREAKING: Top 10 reasons why iPhone is best ever"

Rarely have I seen an article about the iPhone that doesn't seem like it is written in a YouTube commenter mentality, let alone given a fairly balanced view portraying the pro's and con's of the device. As Apple were initially marketing the iPhone as "An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator" lets address it on each of those highlighted features.

"An Ipod"

An iPod functionality present in your phone will eliminate the need for you to lug around a separate music player around with you all day - free up some space in your pocket. Not any old iPod either, a Touch-Screen iPod. Awesome, right?
Well yea it is, but lets not turn a blind eye on the negative side of things. Unlike the iPod, the iPhone doesn't have any tactile feedback. Without any feel for the controls on the iPhone, the full and instant control you would otherwise get with an iPod is lost. The best way to control the iPhone music playback whilst on the move, is to use the handsfree earphones. The button found on these can Play, Pause or Skip the track currently playing. For some people this is enough, though the transition will take some getting used to.

The iPhone can also play video, which you have to see to appreciate; the playback on the iPhone is stunning. Not a lot a I can say wrong about the video functionality of the iPhone. I would however like for it to support a few more codecs, namely DivX amongst others; but it doesn't bother me that much to make a fuss over it. Video playback is going to be a lifesaver for those long journeys or mid lecture breaks.

"A Phone"

It sends and receives phone calls, which is enough for some. But you don't want to spend upwards of £269 for just those features (If you do you want help, seriously) . Chances are you want your phone to be cutting edge, so you can show off all the cool stuff to your mates. In terms of phone functionality, there is nothing too fancy at all. It's quad band which is handy for the jet-setters amongst us, and it's got a cool feature called "visual voicemail"; where rather than following an array of spoken menu's to navigate your voice mailbox, you get a graphical representation of it (much alike to SMS, or email).

In this department however, it does seem the iPhone is more featureless rather than featureful. The iPhone DOES NOT support Video Calling, MMS or Video Recording (though rumours suggest these issues being addressed in the next iteration of the device). All these features I have been familiar with in previously owned phones for almost 5 years now. Another important issue for some is that it is locked to one network operator - o2. Perhaps these will be addressed in the future, but let's stay in the here and now. Also as previously mentioned, there is no tactile feedback on the device, so typing out messages can be a problem. I have been told that after a while this is something you get used to, but I'll reserve my judgement on that statement.

"A Mobile Internet Communicator"

One of the most interesting features of the iPhone is the WiFi capability. Given you have access to a hotspot you can experience pretty much any website in it's full glory (so long as it doesn't contain any Flash elements). Any page can be rendered as it would do on the desktop. You can zoom into the elements you want to help you get a clearer view. However, as the iPhone and other mobile internet devices gain popularity, more and more mobile optimised sites will begin to appear. This is the first phone I have used where using the internet was not made a chore.

Conclusion

Seeing as buying an iPhone in the UK will tie you down in an 18-month minimum contract, any potential customer will be a bit wary on whether or not they will make the right choice. That choice is dependent on the type of user you are of course, but it is apparent that very few devices on the market measure up to the features that the iPhone provides. What features it does offer it offers well. Internet browsing blows any other device out the water, for example. There are other things such as the touch screen interface, or the synchronisation with iTunes.

I would think that the selling point to me (should i chose to buy one, which I more likely will at this stage) would be 3 things:

• Music - All would be carried on one device, rather than multiple
• Internet - The ease and practicality of casual browsing
• Coolness Factor - Let's face it, the iPhone will turn a few heads now and then.

However, before I make my purchase I shall wait to see what Apples Worldwide Developer Conference in June brings to the table, as rumours of a release of a 3g iPhone with front-mounted camera will be launched (most notably from Diggnations Kevin Rose). Don't we all hate buying something new, only to find out that the model is replaced seemingly seconds later.

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