The Silverlight Tour comes to the UK – and it’s called the Masterclass!
This 3 day hands-on training with both designer and developer tracks looks awesome and (uniquely) has two expert trainers per course.
Currently scheduled in London, Manchester, and the Midlands for June, all courses also come with the chance to win an xbox 360, and Silverlight Spy licences!
Early bird discount of £100 if you book in May, and if you are a member of #SLUGUK or #nxtgenug there are additional discounts to be had.
Full Details are here: http://silverlightmasterclass.net
In addition bbits are holding a raffle for a free ticket for the masterclass. To be eligible to win the ticket (worth £1095!) you MUST paste this text, including all links, into your blog and email Ian@bbits.co.uk with the url to the blog entry. The draw will be made on June 1st and the winner informed by email and on http://silverlightmasterclass.net
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Hail the iPad, NOT!
I've been coming across a lot of iPad articles lately and I am quite surprised at the online community dissappointment with the much hyped tablet device. Considering the fact that the internet was buzzing with rumours and excitement about the iPad, I'm sure that people over at Apple are not very happy with the community's reaction to the first unveiling of the device. Obviously, there are a number of articles out there branding the iPad the saviour of the tablet market, but these articles where mainly written by Apple affectionados, and are not supported by anything more than an Apple bias.
I came across an article on ITPro that compared the iPad to the HP Slate, which has also recieve a lot of lip service online. The author of this article was clearly a Mac user because he branded the iPad the winner, even though the points that he made about both tablets very clearly showed the the HP Slate as much more capable of meeting the needs of the consumer. For example, when comparing the operating systems on both of these devices, for some reason he brands the iPad as having the better operating system, even though it relies completely on Apple applications, while the HP Slate has a fully functioning operating system, on which virtually any PC software can be installed. How can you say that an iPhone app is better than a full fledged Windows application??? Personally, I would much rather have Microsoft Word than the dumbed-down iWorks!!!
Another feature that is lacking in the iPad is that it does not support Flash, as with all other Apple products sporting the iPhone OS. The fact that it does not have a USB drive is also a major drawback because it stops the iPad short of being a computer, but rather an oversized iPhone/iTouch. Screen resolution is also an issue, because the iPad, or as I like the call it the iPod Touch Plus, boasts 4:3 resolution, which decrease its capabilities as a multimedia platform on which one can watch movies.
More bad PR for the iPad is that the user interface for Apple's new eBook store, called iBooks, was stolen from a popular Mac app called Delicious Library. What makes matters worse is that some are saying that the iPad is actually an eBook reader, which would be a complete embarrasment if its book store's interface is stolen from another company!! I am aware that the interface was not copyrighted, but I would expect more from a company that prides itself on creating innovative and revolutionary products.
One thing I must admit though, is that the iPad has put tablets in the spotlight. If it does end up being a complete failure, it will have at least introduced tablet devices to the consumer market as a viable alternative to the laptop and netbook.
I came across an article on ITPro that compared the iPad to the HP Slate, which has also recieve a lot of lip service online. The author of this article was clearly a Mac user because he branded the iPad the winner, even though the points that he made about both tablets very clearly showed the the HP Slate as much more capable of meeting the needs of the consumer. For example, when comparing the operating systems on both of these devices, for some reason he brands the iPad as having the better operating system, even though it relies completely on Apple applications, while the HP Slate has a fully functioning operating system, on which virtually any PC software can be installed. How can you say that an iPhone app is better than a full fledged Windows application??? Personally, I would much rather have Microsoft Word than the dumbed-down iWorks!!!
Another feature that is lacking in the iPad is that it does not support Flash, as with all other Apple products sporting the iPhone OS. The fact that it does not have a USB drive is also a major drawback because it stops the iPad short of being a computer, but rather an oversized iPhone/iTouch. Screen resolution is also an issue, because the iPad, or as I like the call it the iPod Touch Plus, boasts 4:3 resolution, which decrease its capabilities as a multimedia platform on which one can watch movies.
More bad PR for the iPad is that the user interface for Apple's new eBook store, called iBooks, was stolen from a popular Mac app called Delicious Library. What makes matters worse is that some are saying that the iPad is actually an eBook reader, which would be a complete embarrasment if its book store's interface is stolen from another company!! I am aware that the interface was not copyrighted, but I would expect more from a company that prides itself on creating innovative and revolutionary products.
One thing I must admit though, is that the iPad has put tablets in the spotlight. If it does end up being a complete failure, it will have at least introduced tablet devices to the consumer market as a viable alternative to the laptop and netbook.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Slate PC's and Playing God
More research of Windows 7 today... Lots of filtering through forums about Windows 7. Here's some interesting stuff I found.
Slate PC
The coolest thing I came across was the touchscreen (or slate) PC's that several companies are making in collaboration with MS. The shining star out of these three futuristic looking machines is HP's device. I don't think its even named yet, but a short video, and some pictures were released online:
As far as aesthetics go, HP's got it down.
With an 8.7" keyboard and a sleek look, I can really see this catching on if the software delivers. Pegatron is also creating a Windows 7 machine, but no pictures were available online.
From a software perspective, Windows 7 supports multi-touch and is supposed to be very intuitive, but I cant confirm that myself. With Apple's tablet circulating around the blogosphere for the last couple of months, 2010 could become the year that the tablet PC finds a place in the market. Apple's product is apparently to be called iSlate, but I think that's just a rumour (I hope it is!). When that's released, we will really see what's in store for the tablet/slate market this year.
GodMode
The next most talked about thing I came across was the GodMode feature. Honestly, I don't know who gave it that name but its completely over-rated. Basically, its another alternative to the Control Panel.
Instead of listing all the different Control Panel tools, GodMode creates a folder that lists all of the tasks that can be performed through the Control Panel. Definitely give it a go, takes only a couple of seconds to set up and you can bin it if its not to your liking. Here's how to do it:
-Create a new folder on your desktop;
-Name that folder " GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} " (without the quotes).
-The folder should now have the Control Panel icon...
Your done! You don't have to name it GodMode, I just did for the sake of simplicity. There are apparently many other GodMode-like features, but the ones that I tried were all sub-features of the main GodMode.
The reason why I am completely not phased by this is that it is apparently doable on all Windows OS's since XP, so its obviously not that needed... Anyway, give it a go, and you can judge it for yourself. That's it for me, more research ahead...
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Windows 7 in 2010
As you may know (or not), I work as a IT researcher. Anyways, today I was given the task of researching Windows 7.
First of all, I just want to say that I absolutely love the operating system. I just got it about a week ago on my computer for 30GBP , using the UK student discount (THANKS MS!). From the research I have done, it appears that the online community seems to share my opinion. There really hasnt been much criticism. So for those of you Vista users out there who have yet to make the migration over, YOU MUST DO IT!
The only negative attitude that I have sensed is that some people think that the upgrade/clean install process is too complicated. I did a clean install of Win7 (which is supposed to be the more complicated of the two methods) and I seriously didnt have any problems, and was quite impressed by the 30 minute install time. Windows 7 found and installed all the drivers for me, except the BD Rom driver which I got through Vaio Update easily enough.
Think about it like this, Vista and Windows 7 are two sisters, Windows 7 being the prettier, smarter one, which one would you choose??? Its basically a step up. MS have gotten rid of all the stupid quirks it gave us with Vista and added some awesome features (Superbar, Jumplists, Libraries and I havent had time to look at other stuff). Hope this convinces you, you wont regret it!!
PS> Im not one of those MS fanboys, I am genuinely impressed by Windows 7.
First of all, I just want to say that I absolutely love the operating system. I just got it about a week ago on my computer for 30GBP , using the UK student discount (THANKS MS!). From the research I have done, it appears that the online community seems to share my opinion. There really hasnt been much criticism. So for those of you Vista users out there who have yet to make the migration over, YOU MUST DO IT!
The only negative attitude that I have sensed is that some people think that the upgrade/clean install process is too complicated. I did a clean install of Win7 (which is supposed to be the more complicated of the two methods) and I seriously didnt have any problems, and was quite impressed by the 30 minute install time. Windows 7 found and installed all the drivers for me, except the BD Rom driver which I got through Vaio Update easily enough.
Think about it like this, Vista and Windows 7 are two sisters, Windows 7 being the prettier, smarter one, which one would you choose??? Its basically a step up. MS have gotten rid of all the stupid quirks it gave us with Vista and added some awesome features (Superbar, Jumplists, Libraries and I havent had time to look at other stuff). Hope this convinces you, you wont regret it!!
PS> Im not one of those MS fanboys, I am genuinely impressed by Windows 7.
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