I have realised that most of my blog posts begin along the lines of ‘since I started uni…’ and well, this one is no exception.
It’s safe to say that since moving down to where I am now, music has been an ever-growing importance to me and well, a wonderful invention called CDs have made it something more. Perhaps now I have too many? Or I’d argue not enough, but regardless of how many I’ve somehow managed to squeeze on my shelf – isn’t it wonderful?
After purchasing a lava lamp Wednesday, I’ve noticed my mood chill out. The blue bubbles of lave bounce off each other in a kind of boring but weirdly relaxing way and have somehow inspired me to actually do something.
Considering the fact that my end of year exams are only a week away, you’d think that I’d do some revision, right?
No.
Well I’ll be honest and admit that I’ve been a little distracted. Continue reading
As I moved into my flat in student halls, I was too excited to care about all the nonsense people had warned me about. Nonsense like not spending too much in your first few weeks, look after your diet and more importantly, what James told me about getting out for a bit.
Instead, I overspent on everything, drank way too much and ate utter rubbish. The working side of things wasn’t an issue yet, I was settling in and meeting my new drinking buddies. I mean, I managed to get myself a part-time job the day after I moved in, but that was a weekend thing and the uni course wasn’t due to start for another few weeks. Instead, I became a student and followed all the routine student doings that new students do in a very student round about way.
For me, as we began to settle down on the course, the drinking slowed down and the Continue reading
Those six months went by fairly quickly with tonnes of end of year coursework and a dragged-out breakup but I made it to the door and rang the bell on the Monday morning ready to start work. I had no idea what I’d be doing and who I’d be meeting, so I was dressed smartly and prepared for anything. Or at least that’s what I thought. James met me at the door and showed me into a meeting room. We discussed what would be happening throughout the week and said that Metallica would be coming down on Wednesday and a phone interview with You Me At Six on Friday on top of the generic work experience jobs like sorting out the mail. Luckily for me, making cups of tea wasn’t a job in my task book!
WIN!
The mail job sounded pretty easy. Sort the post into piles of who’s they were before dishing them out accordingly. The only problem was, this is a music based radio station, that has a very popular unsigned show. This was also notably the peak time in the year for unsigned releases as they were sending in their demos ready for the summer and festival period. Postal sacks, yes, multiple, landed on my desk and I began to dig deep. It didn’t take me long to be overwhelmed with identical jiffy bags form unsigned bands trying to stand out from the crowd. Kind of ironic really. Continue reading
Twelve months ago, I had my first work experience in commercial radio.
It was offered to me six months earlier in the weirdest of ways and despite it only been a week or so in duration, there are things which I learned there that I could not have been taught elsewhere.
I received a text from one of my then-teachers saying that there was a gaming careers talk at the other college campus, which meant nothing to me. Why on earth would I be interested in a talk about how to get a career into game design and the world of COD? My teacher replied back with a ‘lol’ before explaining that one of the guest speakers was ‘someone who ran a local radio station’. The message came days after he found out my passion for radio was a hell of a lot bigger than making podcasts for an independent record label and so he made a call and I was there.
Being honest, I hadn’t an idea what was going on and had my mind on a recording session the following morning at a recording studio in central Birmingham. I still hadn’t properly learned the song (typical for a guitarist…) and here I was, sitting in a hot and stuffy room, listening to a bunch of men talk about gaming. That was until the radio dude stood up. I sat forward and took out my little jotters pad and pen ready to make notes on anything interesting he says. Continue reading
Having spent £9,000 on my first year at uni, you’d think I’d have learned a lot wouldn’t you?
Well, actually, I have.
As I begin to contemplate revising for my end of year exams, I came to realise that I learned way more than what was taught in lectures and seminars. In fact, putting the food poisoning to one side, I believe that I have become a different person.
For example, the embarrassment of having the lyrics to Grease Lightening blue-tacked to my mirror seen by girl has made me more socially awkward and having nearly been shot outside MI6, well that’s made me realise that you can’t take pictures of their building at midnight, wearing all black, half an hour after a terrorist attack in America. Continue reading
For the first time in a while, I am really struggling to sum up the kind of week I’ve had.
Mixed feelings doesn’t really begin to describe it, but it goes like this.
Having been single for the best part of eighteen months, (and to the obvious question on that, I’ll answer ‘no’ with a cheeky grin and a wink…) it was difficult for me to break the ‘work mode’ I have endured since my last break up. You could argue that being single for so long has helped me get to where I am now, with an amazing job opportunity in my email inbox and near completion of my first year at uni, but when it came down to telling someone how I felt, I obviously screwed up. Continue reading
Today is a good day. It’s official.
The sun is out, I can’t hear any birds but that’s okay because it’s a great day.
For me, the day had been set in my diary as one that was going to be terrible because of an expected rota change at work, however after turning up at my new time, I figured that actually it wasn’t going to be so bad after all. Despite the stock-take happening tomorrow, the panic I was told to expect was fairly minimal as the senior staff shared out their checklists and left me training a new guy in hard-drives. In all honesty, I’m not sure how long he’s going to last as well, in a job where human interaction is well, necessary, he seems to not understand the concept of speaking.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt though, for now, as I guess he’s nervous. We all were when starting the job and yes, he’s a lot younger than anyone in the store – trumping my spot as the youngest kid in the team – but still, to not say a word? While introducing myself, all he did was nod and even after asking him for his name, I had to check the rota what it was. But he seems a nice lad, as you can tell he’s quiet, but nice. Continue reading
When I travel, I prefer trains because they take one route to your destination. The only stop starting is between stations and that seems to be getting better of the years, but ultimately, it’s being able to sit down and watch the countryside pass from my window without having some bloke in the car next to you staring at you through the window.
It was my mums birthday over the weekend, the Easter weekend. As usual, bank holidays were awarded for no particular reason other than to make my life absolutely hell. Taking advantage of nothing different, except a day off uni, I got myself some train tickets for the Friday morning and a return for Monday afternoon. Two full days to relax and to not worry about work, coursework and anything else for that matter – I even saw some snow! Continue reading
Tonight I have decided that I am really mean.
I know.
There are two things that really stand out in any argument I have with myself or my closer friends on the matter and usually end with the conclusion that yes, I’m a mean guy. The first of these is slightly self inflicted. I have a way of bullying myself into thinking that working lots is fantastic and leads to great success, but all its done so far is given me a shift-change and broken my natural body clock so much that sleep? Well, that’s not a word in my dictionary. Continue reading
The point of doing anything is the end result of personal satisfaction, apparently.
For me, however, not everything seems to satisfy me and instead, satisfies the needs of others around me for what only appears to be a short term basis before they begin to degrade my response. My situation isn’t unique. Personally, I’d describe it like a series of steps. I share a particular step with a few, or on a larger scale of thing, a lot of people. Each of us have our own agenda, our own ambitions and ultimately, we are all different people. My person, or the person within me, is not only looking up at the next step and figuring out how I can get there, but also looking at the step below and lending that helping hand to those who need it. Continue reading
Oops indeed as it feels like a lifetime since I last wrote something and I have a variety of excuses too…
Okay, so the busy thing is at least half true. With university taking a slight decrease on the whole workload thing, ignoring the french and media law exams coming up, I’ve stepped up and began planning a brand new piece of radio with my friend who has recently joined the main news team with City OnAir. You can hear all of those programs here, but the new one will be epic. I hope. Continue reading
Something which I failed to mention in my previous article, which is slightly important and thats the whole business side of things.
Back in 2011, HMV had 19.1% of all music sales in the United Kingdom. At the same time, Apple’s iTunes had 17.9 – a close battle indeed but HMV were still ahead, just. Amazon managed to take up control of online CD sales by a LOT but these are companies that aren’t based in the UK, unlike HMV. Continue reading
Music is an industry that cannot die for many reasons – not just the fact that I love the stuff. Music is everywhere and as well as being a form of entertainment, it is used as a commodity, a way of messaging and a way of brainwashing people. Everywhere you turn, music is following your every move. It watches you sleep and is the hand that grabs you when you’re in the shower. It is everywhere.
Actually, unlike that creepy hand in the shower; it is in shops, on the bus, on the tube and in your head. It’s on the television, radio (of course), the laundrette and probably your mums kitchen too. Continue reading
Everyone loves muffins, and equally, everyone loves Tetris.
So why not combine them? I did.
I had seen this little gadget advertised around for a few months, waiting for its arrival in the UK after it took off over the great pond in America late last year, but I finally got my hands on one yesterday. Continue reading
So as the company was announcing it’s status in administration, it was obvious that their vouchers would not be accepted in stores. The news that afternoon confirmed it, despite them showing job opportunities for the company…
However, I thought I could try my luck and phone Jessops’ customer services. Nothing. Continue reading
I was now left without a camera that I wanted to use for university (and for the potential of a video blog for this website), but told to wait 2-3 weeks for the repair to come through. The assistant took my camcorder, or what ever it looked like, to the back and that was that. Goodbye.
As any tech’ fanatic would, I began taking a peak at what the store had to offer; hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde assistant but she was nowhere insight. The store was larger than the other but still, I didn’t have an awful lot of time and soon headed back to the flat.
Two to three wasn’t a bad wait, for a repair/replacement anyway. I was happy with that, and so continued on my day-today life for the time being, but it got to the point where I had almost forgotten about the camcorder and soon enough, I evidently did. Continue reading
It was on the 24th of October, in the year 2012 that I walked into the Jessops store on Oxford Street; to make an insurance claim on what was inevitably going to be a ‘destroyed beyond repair’ camcorder that had just been accidentally smashed to smithereens.
The purchase date? October 11th, little over a week earlier.
I took everything that I had with me into the store; receipt, box, all the accessories that it came with and of course, the insurance certificate. The young lad who I approached turned out to only have been working at the company for a short time; and so passed me onto a familiar face. He was around in the store when I bought the camcorder for £199.99 and so it was nice to be able to speak to him. The man, who was apparently the manager however I was unable to confirm that, seemed to be a little ‘edgy’ in his questioning. Continue reading
As funny as it may sound, for a company that has only just gone into administration, Jessops has advertised jobs on it’s website! I don’t even know why I looked, but it sure made me giggle after the stress and frustration the company has caused me over the previous few months.
If you look closely at that image, which is a screenshot taken at about 10 o’clock in the evening today (Wed 9th Jan), there are 25 vacancies in the company and they range in many different locations in the country.
I’m waiting for my own case with the Customer Relations department to be finalised and closed before I have my own story published; as it is still yet to be resolved after nearly four months of aggro. My personal issue with the store is that of aggressive staff, misleading and incorrect information, conflicting information from different sources and of course, them ripping me off in the first place. They also “lost” a couple of details and well, now that they are in administration; I presume will make things very difficult for me to get the rest of my money back!
But watch this space, as there is definitely a fun story to be heard from someone’s shoes.
It’s something we all end up enduring at some point in our ‘social’ lives, social being the prime word there as while we may all think we’re chatting to our mates across the internet, in reality we’re sitting alone in a very dull room with nothing but our iPods keeping us from going insane.
It improves by friday of course, with the familiar #FF to anyone on Twitter, and for those of you who aren’t on the site, why?
#FF is the one day of the week that is filled with a glitter of hope as we well and truly feel social and popular. The more times you’re mentioned, the better. But, without sounding like someone who wants to ruin our new year on what is only the 2nd January, you’re still alone at your desk, typing away on your laptop.
Or perhaps you’ve gone out.
You’re sitting in a pub, restaurant, on the train, bus or in the back of a taxi. Somewhere. You’re surrounded by people, but you’re face is glued to your phone. You’re texting, updating your Facebook status, tweeting away to a growing number of ‘followers’, or just a list of weird usernames that people think are imaginative.
Now this is the point where I’m going to get weird. So there was no apocalypse last month, but the world is kind of ending. A world where people chat to each other in person, having real life conversations.
People question today’s youth and their ability to speak properly – and it’s true. Abbreviations that are used in mobile communications are now being used as figure of speech. Is this the new normal?
I bloody hope not.
It’s been approximately twelve weeks since I made the move out of a quiet little cul-de-sac in Birmingham to a ground floor flat in the heart of the City of London and you could call it a good time to sit back and reflect on what’s happened since that weekend my parents left me to cook by myself.
In fact, while day-dreaming through my politics lecture this morning, I realised that throughout my time at university I have learned so many new things – and here’s my chance to share this with you.
1. In the first week of arriving, I learned that it is possible to pop over to Leicester Square for breakfast before running across London in order to get ready for a wedding that’s in Basingstoke.
2. I have learned how to wear neon paint on my face and how to draw various graphical images on other people while convincingly telling them that it was innocent.
3. In addition to number two, I have also learned how to remove such paint, ten minutes before a job interview.
Looking down into Northampton Square, City University London
4. Some of my earliest memories of university itself include wine. I guess you can say that I’ve learned to appreciate free wine at every occasion.
5. Following that, I managed to work out that white wine was the 2nd most consumed drink I had in the first week of me moving to London, which then shot up to the 1st by the second week.
6. I have learned that it is fun to dress up in a tiger onesie and run around Piccadilly Circus at midnight!
7. At the end of my second week, I learned that the Wetherspoons make a great king prawn curry.
8. I have learned that when you use the washing machine, that you put your washing up powder in before you press the start button.
9. I have learned that I really shouldn’t play the popular game ‘never have I ever’ with people I have to work with the following day.
10. I have learned how to get ripped off by a ‘major photography store’.
11. In mid-October, I learned that storing all of your friends’ mobile phones, your own, a laptop and various drinks is highly suspicious when entering the Houses of Parliament.
12. I also learned that day that it takes more than two hours to order and eat lunch form a pub as well as run half way across London in order to make the next seminar on time.
13. I have learned that conversations over a pizza have no limitations… Especially with references to the discussions that happened during my ninth point.
14. I have learned how important it is to go to a good jazz night and that an Apple Martini is always welcome.
15. I have learned how cyclists don’t stop for red lights, on many occasions.
16. I have accidentally learned how to give yourself food poisoning.
17. I have learned how to get yourself barred at a pub.
18. I have learned that my mum’s cooking is simply the best. It’s better than all the rest.
19. I have learned that when you have a train at seven o’clock in the morning, it’s a good idea to pack the night before – and to also wake up with enough time to avoid the start of London’s rush hour on the underground.
20. Unfortunately, it was only after reading week had ended, that I learned that the week was not-best spent drinking.
21. I have learned how weird it is to have impressions taken of your ears.
22. I learned that a pint with a comedian is always funnier than the show itself.
23. At the end of watching One Rogue Reporter in SOHO Theatre, I learned what Kelvin Mackenzie looks like naked. I also learned that this is the reason I have nightmares.
24. I have learned that even in the Houses of Parliament, you have to wait for internet videos to buffer as half way through the live feed from the Leveson Report, it did just that.
25. I have learned how to get yourself barred at another pub.
26. I have learned that money-off vouchers have an expiry date and that managers can’t do anything with a voucher thats over two years old.
27. I have learned that going to a teacher’s book launch helps put you in his good books when you miss his seminar.
28. I have learned that three donuts is a substantial breakfast each morning.
29. I have learned that ‘devils advocate’ can help you keep friends when you say something controversial in a panel discussion.
30. I have learned that it is possible to get changed, eat dinner and get from St Pauls to Wembley Arena in an hour.
31. I have learned that you can listen to your own music (Mi1) loud and clear, while standing at the front of a rock concert.
32. I have learned that rice, tuna and cheese don’t really ‘go’ well together.
33. I have learned how to disguise earphones for lectures.
34. I have learned that ‘flat inspections are important’ and ‘should be taken seriously’.
35. I have learned that it takes a considerable amount of time to write an essay and that just over half an hour before deadline is not a good time to start.
36. I have learned that there is a food pincher in my flat.
37. I have learned that when one person borrows your printer, everyone suddenly has things they need to print.
38. I have learned to come up with printer excuses in those situations.
39. I have learned that flat parties at 2am are ‘unsociable to others’ and ‘annoying to my neighbours’.
40. I have learned that when running late, I can indeed get to uni in five minutes. It does however mean that I can’t stop off at the bakery on the way…
For the many years that I have been running round different venues, I have always felt inclined to stick in a couple of £25 ear plugs to try and limit the volumes that would potentially damage my hearing. £25 seems like a lot at first, but what do you get? A piece of plastic that will block out a few decibels but when it comes down to a gig, honestly. What protection is it going to do?
I heard from conversations how a fair few of my closest friends had perforated their eardrums from exposure to loud volumes, one of which was someone who had the same level of exposure as I did. This prompted me to take a few hearing tests and while I came out okay, I had only barely scraped a pass. While my plugs had prevented me from forcing a hole in my ear drum, they wouldn’t be anywhere near suffice if I was to keep up my interest in music and going to as many gigs as I do. This called for one thing.
A months worth of wages from my weekend job paid for the replacement and well, I can honestly say that I am thrilled with the results.
About a fortnight ago, I got in touch with Minerva, a hearing specialist based in Wales. I knew what it was I wanted and went ahead with the £175 order. It seemed a massive expense, but hearing aid costs far too much, so if these plugs would help prevent the need for future hearing aids, I would consider this cheap.
I ordered their Mi1 – single driver in-ear monitors. Or basically, ear protection with a tiny speaker for listening to clips. The reason why I chose these against standard ear plugs, was that at this price, I know that I won’t be in any rush to replace them. By having the speaker, I can use them for use with comms at events (if necessary) or even in production where I can use them as well, monitors! There is also general use where I can use them for discrete earphones, such as in lectures where the teacher won’t notice…
That isn’t so well accomplished by standard earphones, where the bulky plastic design stands out a mile off. Minerva offer a selection of various designs, with a single colour or blends of multiple colours to your choice. I chose to have a pair of transparent pieces and the over-ear cable design to be more discrete and personal preference.
Two days after confirming my order, I headed over to Baker Street to a certified specialist who was able to carry out the next stage of the process. In order for the ear plugs to do their job, it is best that they are custom fitted for the ears that are going to wear them and so this means having your impressions taken.
It can be a little scary on your first time, especially if you look at videos and photos online of others having it done, but I can assure you, it’s simply weird and wonderful – in a weird kind of way.
The first thing that will happen, is the specialist will examine your ears for debris. If your ears are clear, the process can continue. Then, he or she will insert a plug into your ear, ‘just past the second bend’ they say – which is fairly close to the ear drum. It is vital that for these parts you stay still so that the rest of the fitting can run smoothly. The specialist will also keep you updated on what they are doing too, or at least mine did – which relaxed me a hell of a lot more.
Following the plug, the specialist will then fill each of your ears with a cold and wet liquid silicone and the sensation is that you are underwater. At this point, you should keep your face still until the specialist signals further to you. By moving your mouth and other muscles, you change the shape of the silicone that is slowly hardening, therefore not being an exact impression of your ear. This then means that when you receive the delivery, your plugs will not fit as smoothly as you’d perhaps like them – making them feel uncomfortable and well, a waste of £175!
Once the mould is solid, the specialist will signal for you to move your mouth so help loosen each ear and they will slowly twist them out. This is a perfectly normal feeling and doesn’t hurt at all. Your ears may pop, but again, this is normal.
Unfortunately, this is now a waiting game as your impressions are sent to the Minerva laboratory to be magically transformed into your seamlessly fitting ear plugs. Roughly ten or so days later, you will be opening the seal on your new protection and following the fitting guide for the first time.
It is a wonderful experience as you place them into your ears, following their blue-left/red-right symbols. The over-ear cable for me, means that I don’t have any cable hanging below my neck or down my chest – potentially getting caught in my hand or arm movement as I work. I wanted to test the speakers inside for their response and well, after plugging them into my iPod, this is what I found.
On previous use with other earphones, the volume when I sit in my kitchen would have to be at about 15-20% so that I could hear my music comfortably. With my new speakers in, the little blue dial was non-existant and I could still hear what I was listening to. I also found that these don’t hurt as much as the standard earphones do after long use – which is something to remember if you’re apprehensive about making the purchase. The response from these is also very satisfying and after setting my equaliser back to default, sounded amazing. I found that there was a good mix of all frequencies and when I wasn’t playing anything, still just the same response.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied with spending £175 on these, and recommend them to anyone who knows that they’re exposure is a little on the dangerous side.
Unfortunately I’ve had to take an unexpected break from writing on here, but I am back with just as much flavour to treat your empty stomaches. Or something like that anyway, but as ‘they’ say, people come and go – life goes on and through.
Without a shadow of doubt, things have gotten weird – in both logical and practical ways as I continue weekly life as both a student, part-timer et un amoureux de la musique. Yeah, my french exam earlier this afternoon worse than expected, but you can’t say I didn’t try!
If you ignore the actual working elements of the diary, university has been extraordinary. A recent night at ‘the Jazz Market’, thanks to Chaos Theory, was all I needed to keep on top of things. The night began with a glass of top shelf white which begun the hole into what was a replenished wallet after payday. My debit card dug deeper into my overdraft throughout the night with the purchase of my first cocktail – an Apple Martini. The flavours took over my tongue through my second, third and fourth before I tried the Porn-Star Martini. That too played with my mind, begging for more. It was unfortunately, the end of the night.
It is sometime before my next endeavour into the basement at The LUXE, where the jazz market is homed. In the meantime, I sit firmly at my desk writing what should be an essay due Friday, but instead is another couple of draft articles for the site – oh and before I leave you tonight, news that Angelo Uccello will be featuring in another review isn’t surprising, but gossip tells me that this is also going to be the announcement for some very exciting news.
Be strong, be vibrant. To be or not to be is not the question, but being is definitely an answer…
Today, I borrowed a DSLR camera from the university’s technical office – so that I could practice with it before potentially using it to shoot some very exciting photos in the upcoming days/weeks as part of a little experiment.
This is one of the many photos I took while trying to get my head around some of the settings – I’m not a photographer by nature you see, but this is what I got.
Back in April, I wrote a well received article on where the best place to buy a Mac from and it turned out that you get the best offer at the Apple Store directly – you can read that article in full here, but he’s a few secrets that the Apple Store don’t think anyone would notice…
You can buy the simplest Macs at most electrical outlets – John Lewis, Argos, PC World/Curry’s, Comet… you get the idea. Those are all sold at the ‘same price’ as the Apple Store though, but when it comes down to student discount, there is nothing like going online.
I began a search to see how cheap I could purchase a MacBook Pro 13″ and began by visiting the different stores. They couldn’t offer me any discount, or even a deal that could benefit me in someway so I ended up in the Apple Store. But still, it was the same as everywhere else, £999. A pretty round figure I know, but that’s the price of the machine I was looking for. That is the standard price for the computer, and so after knowing about the student discount I asked what price I would get it for with my current discount (which at the time was college level) to which they offered me the computer at £939.60 which is roughly 5% off! That’s like saying “here’s £60 to spend on a sleeve…” seriously, it is.
You can then ask for the university student discount for the machine – and even with proof of studies, they can not issue you the higher level of discount! It’s something you have to do online through the university network as it takes you to a specific website where you can buy most items on the online store at the highest discount rate. Of course, what use is that, when you still have 4 weeks left before freshers week? Remembering that I did my search in April when I received my BTEC results, I was eager to get started on my nw machine right away so I did a little bit of research.
I then (after receiving my Uni confirmation on UCAS) bought my Mac with 15% discount from the university pages – while sitting in my back garden. £839.40 was the price I paid for the MacBook Pro, brand new. Nothing second hand, refurbished, or what ever. £160 off the machine straight away, no questions asked.
It sounds good doesn’t it? £160 could buy you a new iPod and accessories, or what ever floats your boat really. A printer may be useful, or you could pocket the savings for freshers week? Again, what ever. I don’t really care.
How I did it?
It was the day I received my university confirmation through UCAS and I payed a visit to a link I discovered back in my original search. It is stressed by both myself and Mike Wilson who wrote the original article, that you have your accepted university position BEFORE you make the purchase through their network for obvious legal reasons. However here’s the article; How To get a 15% Discount At The Apple Online Store From Your Own Home and use it wisely.
If you can’t find the original link he talks about, this is it;
http://store.apple.com/uk_edu_
And don’t forget to add your university’s code to the end of it (just the number beginning with ’500…’ directly after the underscore)
Goodluck to those going to university of course, and those returning after their first summer off!
I’ve spent the last few years using various Mac computers, from Leopard to Lion – but was my upgrade to Mountain Lion worth it? Well, yes. Yes it was.
The first Mac I used was an old white machine which was falling apart, running Leopard. On paper, it shouldn’t be so old but when you compare that to the operating systems that have followed, you will see a dramatic change. Yet this is without the ‘big Autumn update’ Apple have shared online, where even more features will be available. At first, when I primarily looked at the update, I questioned the need for the majority of the new features. The notification panel for example, Reminders, Dictation and the Twitter integration (with Facebook arriving in the Autumn package) all seemed a little tacky – however I take back those words as they have made my Macbook even more useful. And more worth the money too!
AirDrop, Mission Control and Launchpad made Lion interesting, and the additions from Mountain Lion completes the package. Of course, for those who are upgrading from Leopard to Mountain Lion will have a slight shock, but for the rest of us, it’s another useful package of goodies to make the whole experience more worthwhile.
They aren’t the only things to have been updated though, as over 200 features are listed on the Apple website. If any, this update would be the most worthwhile but after that? I’m afraid I don’t just know.
I’m going to start his post by saying how fed up I am of people arguing about this, where the truth is, there is only one correct answer. I’m not going to hold back, I’m not going to lie. I firmly believe that there is no comparison between the to machines, but I will stop and say that price really is the only point.
For years I spent my life working behind the Windows XP OS, with my parents using Vista on their laptop. Both laptops were pretty much the same technical specification, with the XP being a year older. That is the only difference. About a year ago, when I had chance, I would sit down with both laptops and do the same tasks – timing them both. The XP on the left, with the Vista on the right. The test would include; turning the machine on, logging into my user name, opening the internet browser, logging into my emails and printing the same email, before shutting the machine down and closing the lid. The XP won, every single time. I often gave up on the vista after it ran past the 30 minute mark, but things have not improved.
I since made the move to Mac, passing down my old Windows XP laptop to my younger sister for her studies which were heavily based on Windows programs. It seemed logical. Of course, with university around the corner, I moved back to a laptop but insisted it was the Mac operating system for only one reason. Reliability. The day I bought home the iMac, I knew I would never go back. It’s not me being bias to a particular company for any personal reason, it’s simply because it’s a better machine. You expect a computer to begin to deteriorate pretty much straight away, from the word go. The Vista laptop certainly did, it didn’t need promoting. Infact, I’m surprised it hasn’t been launched through the window yet! I will honesty take my hat off to the XP, for a machine that’s almost five years old, it’s still working without a glitch, it may be getting slower, but it still functions to a reputable standard. The iMac however? Despite it being a desktop computer, it has showed no signs of deterioration. After two operating system updates from leopard, to snow leopard and then to lion, it’s not changed a single bit.
That is the reason why Mac wins.
There is no comparison, if you need a machine that is reliable and in the long term*, cheaper, buy Mac.
Mac VS. what?
*When I say long term, I am suggesting that over the space of 18 or so months, a Windows based computer will have lost so many brain cells the turning it on takes a fun twenty or so minutes – as does my parents vista laptop – therefore being beyond any form of use to anyone. A Mac however, would still be able to function as a computer, rather than a large dusty object on the desk, so in other words, you could buy two Windows laptops to do the job of one Mac.
They’re a band who rebelled against certain politics during the bloody sunday and the forever fighting Ireland, but U2 are possibly one of the last iconic band to hit the world stage. With the last flame from the Foo Fighters burning away, have we lost touch with what music really stands for, or have we all become a saturated nation in computerised nonsense? Since the world of technology took off in the 80s and 90s, we saw the beginning of a new era in everything. Computers suddenly became highly sophisticated machines and the software dramatically improved. Into the new millennium and this was key to the creation of new music, and experiments with different sounds began. But has all of this experimenting taken away the pride of instruments?
If the likes of Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain were still alive, what would they think of all this electro-pop?
You could say then, that we’ve entered a new era of the music industry. An era where live guitars and large drum sounds are rare, and unless you look like you’re from Hollywood you have no chance of even touching the charts? And that’s true. Unfortunately, in today’s industry the music isn’t the first deciding factor of a band. It’s not even second. It’s stuck behind the sell factor, where as I just mentioned, you need to be thin and have a nice smile to get a number one single. And of course you only get one shot to do that, because as soon as it’s out, you’re done. The next week, somebody else is out doing the same thing and knocks you off the throne and you’re forgotten.
To prove my point, if you counted how many different artists get a single in the charts today against how many different artists reached the charts thirty or forty years ago, you’d see that today’s number would be much higher.
Is this any surprise though? We live in a society where everybody is saturated in music on a daily basis. From the alarm on your phone to wake you up each morning, to the soundtrack of the news bulletin on the television. As you do your shopping or even walk down your local high street. Music is everywhere now and so, just like the rest of the world, it needs to keep up with the ever going changes. It’s an explanation into what’s happened, but can it also shed light into how things are going to pan out for the future of music? Is it going to be used more scientifically to interfere with our minds? I say more, because it already is. Certain shops will play certain styles of music because it may stimulate a certain mood on the consumer. It could relax the consumer and almost bully them into making purchases, or excite them to buying a drink at a bar. It sounds a little far-fetched, but it’s true. A team in America have built a driver-less car. That’s also far-fetched, but it’s also true. Music has a massive mark on the human race and this is just another one ‘stand out’ moments in the entirety of the industry that follows the famous 70′s disco, grunge metal era and that of political rock. Or as a parent may say, “it’s just another little phase…”
So have we lost touch with music? My answer is no – it’s just trying to keep up with the rest of us.
It’s that time of year when upcoming University students are finding out whether or not they have a place at their chosen University and for those with a confirmed place, some of them will be thinking about their computing needs. Is it going to be a Windows or a Mac? What will it be used for? How frequent? How much hard drive space will be necessary? And then the most important question, how much is it going o cost?
It is worth knowing what operating system is used at the chosen University before you make the first decision of whether it be a Windows or a Mac, as it’s all very well choosing a nice laptop, but what if you arrive in September and the program’s you’ll use are primarily based upon the other operating system? Of course, some programs will recognise file types from the other, with Microsoft Office included, however some specific programs will not share their file types across systems. This is something you will have to find out independently, as there are so many variations to this, depending on the type of programs and work you will be using the laptop for.
I myself have been shopping around for the best deal on a laptop for University for a couple of months,and have been amazed on the quantity of Window’s laptops are on the market. Everywhere you look, Windows 7 is everywhere. The need for my laptop is to be highly portable, reliable and has a good battery life. Of course, it also needs to be beautiful, because nothing is worse than turning up with something that looks like it’s come out of the scrap.
It was after visiting the University that I found there was no real need to get either Mac or Windows, and it was down to personal preference. Of course, I have always found that Mac’s are much more reliable and responsive than a higher-spec Windows, so it was my first port of call.
Before completely dismissing Windows, I had briefly looked at the Sony VIAO Y-Series laptops and the Dell Inspirion 15R, both between £300-600 rage, however neither of them were right for me. Despite both of these laptops being reliable, their size and weight were questionable. The Sony, despite being much lighter at 1.46kg (including battery), the overall size was much much smaller than I would have liked. I was looking for a 13″ laptop, to help with portability and use in smaller places, but 11″ was just that little bit too small. The Dell however was the opposite, and quite a lot heavier. While it was a 15″ screen, it weighed 2.65kg – without stating if that included the battery. Talking of battery, I couldn’t find anywhere that stated how long the battery could potentially last for. It’s a bit of a disappointment really. I managed to look at both of these in store and to further my disappointment, they were clamped down to the desk and locked with an administrators password. I couldn’t close the lid, pick the laptop up, or have a play with it. How was I able to see for myself how easy it is to use or feel the weight of it? I asked the shop assistant if it was possible to unlock these for me, and it was refused. So I moved on, I walked along the remaining laptops on display, flicking the control pad to move the mouse. They were all locked, except for one. I immediately stopped and turned, it was similar to the Sony I was looking at before.
The task bar was filled with the Windows Update Installer, with seven windows open. I flicked through them, and had no idea why a webcam interface needed installing on a laptop without a webcam. I don’t want this, but before I could escape a forever updating world, the anti-virus pop up stalled the computer and crashed it.
All I did was move the mouse.
I then headed over to the Apple store, to look at overpriced machines. The 13″ MacBook Air sat next to the Pro. There was no question, the Air was too small. The hard drive was only capable of 256GB, for what would be the same processor. Of course, the battery life was the same as the Pro, being seven hours, but this was so much thinner. I knew however, that I would need the extra hard drive, and also a disk drive. Apple sell a disk drive for the Air, however I don’t wish to carry this around with me as it would take away from the portability. I concentrated on the Pro. Weighing 2kg, it was already lighter than the Dell – any other laptops I looked at. It has the 4GB RAM and up to 750GB hard drive. It also has a disk drive and an SD card slot, which could add further storage if needed. It was also beautiful, and a machine to be proud of. It was however, a pound short of a thousand, almost three times the amount of Window’s laptops.
I had to do some research of course, which meant paying a visit to my local retailers.
Throughout my search, I would be looking for the same model. 13″ MacBook Pro (i5), with 500GB hard drive and 4GB RAM. At this stage, I was not going to be looking at additional software or hardware – just the machine.
Starting off in the Apple Store. The table price is £999, but after using the Mac to open up the online store, they offer student discount. This brought the price down to £939.60. I called over for an assistant, and after explaining that it was for University, he explained that there was a higher rate of student discount available, taking the price down to £859. 15% off in store (or online while connected to the University network) with proof of your study. Concrete confirmation is needed to secure this discount, otherwise it is the full amount. This set a benchmark for me to begin my search elsewhere.
A few minutes walk away, was John Lewis. I understood that they had a technology department so headed down there to have a look. On display, was the MacBook Pro I was looking for, listed for the full £999. After spending 10-15 minutes searching for a shop assistant, I discovered that they could not issue any student discount. I asked if they did any offers or deals with buying extras, to which they said no.
The Argos catalogue displayed the MacBook Pro, and again, it was listed for £999. They too don’t offer any student discount. I then had a quick browse through local supermarkets on the way to the retail park. Tesco was first, with the same response from John Lewis. I then headed into Sainsbury’s, to the limited technology department at the back of a crowded store to find nothing. My experience in these two stores was disappointing, but made even more unpleasant by the ensemble of screaming children blocking the exits.
Upon leaving Sainsbury’s, Comet and PC World were just around the corner. These looked most promising as they were specialists in selling computers. I approached the desk in Comet and found the MacBook Pro I was looking for. Again, it was on display for £999. A shop assistant came over, asking me if I needed any help. I explained that I was looking at this specific model and asked about student discount. After much discussion over the price, the man then asked whether the Apple Store was or not, and how much it was. He then walked off, made a phone call and returned. It was an offer for £950, and came with two years free something or another.
I left the store and walked over to PC World. Not the first place you think of when buying a Mac, but after a recent visit for printer ink, I knew it was worth checking out. The store had a small collection of Macs on offer, and very quickly I found the one I was after. I couldn’t however see any prices relating to it, they were all for the MacBook Air, or the iMac, or the cinema display opposite. I called an assistant over, and asked to know the price. It was on sale for £999, so I asked about the student discount. It was explained that Apple do not allow other retailers to discount their products, and it was only going to be £999. I explained that another store offered me £950, to which PC World began selling me a webcam. The assistant explained that he could sell it cheaper, if it was part of a bundle with some additional software, and of course hardware. The MacBook Pro has a built in webcam I said, and being a laptop, you don’t require external keyboard and mouse. Especially not a Windows designed keyboard. As I was looking only for the machine itself, I decided to leave the store.
It concludes that for students, visiting the Apple Store directly with proof of studying offers the best price on Macs, with 15% off any machine. This does not include third party products sold by the store. It pays to be annoying and ask shop assistants on deals, and I imagine it would be the same amongst other laptops too. You can not access the student prices on the Apple Store without being on the establishments network, however codes have been made public so that you can access the page from outside the network. More information can be found through a post on Mike Wilson’s website by clicking here, but it is stressed by both of us that you are a genuine student or have a confirmed place before you start making orders.
