Month: September 2011

  • New Amazon Kindles and Pricing

    So Amazon, as widely expected, has announced details of its new range of Kindles. There are four of them: Kindle at $79 Kindle Touch (WiFi) at $99 Kindle Touch (WiFi + 3G) at $149 Kindle Fire (their colour tablet) at $199 Woohoo. Let me order one immediately. Ah. But they’re mostly only available in the…

  • Cookie Deletion

    I do wonder sometimes whether or not digital media industry is desperately trying to cause more problems to itself than is absolutely necessary. Take cookies. Cookies are clearly very useful. They serve many purposes for many websites, as well as advertising networks and so on. They can be very powerful. And users find them useful…

  • Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990

    Any exhibition that includes a heavy dose of Blade Runner (one of my favourite films of all time), and ends with the video of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triange (one of my favourite songs of all time), is going to be very popular with me. And Postmodernism at the V&A is definitely a worthwhile exhibition.…

  • Scheduling Queries

    If like me, you’re suddenly feeling the chill, then you’ll know that autumn is well and truly here. And with it comes what was once known as the “New Season” of TV programmes. Sunday nights are interesting. The Guardian made much of the fact that the BBC has scheduled the final series of Spooks against…

  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

    Before I went to see the new film version of the Le CarrĂ© classic, I first sat down and watched – for something like the fifth time – the 1979 Alec Guinness version. I’ve seen this at least five times over the years, and together with Smiley’s People, it makes Guinness the definitive George Smiley.…

  • Scooter Takes Out Cyclist

    I’ve been a cyclist for years to a greater or lesser extent. And for the last 12 months or so, I’ve been regularly using a Brompton as part of my London commute, meaning that I get to avoid using the tube. Over that time, I’ve been lucky enough not to have had – or seen…

  • Facades

    I found this week’s Feedback on Radio 4 very entertaining. A correspondent had written in to complain about the use of a particular piece of incidental music in several different drama and documentary series on Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra across a single evening. That piece of music in Facades by Philip Glass… Now…

  • A Plea To Android App Developers

    I own an HTC Desire. It was one of the earlier Android phones, and was the top of the range phone from HTC at the time. Overall I love the phone. I still love it. I’ve managed – touch wood – not to crack the screen, unlike so many of my iPhone owning friends. HTC…

  • Paris

  • Passports Don’t Like Washing Machines

    That’s the sad news that I learnt this week following an unfortunate incident that essentially involved me not checking the pockets of a pair of trousers. Interestingly, if you need a replacement in a rush and you check the relevant section of the Direct.gov website, you are told that the Premium one-day service is not…