Author: Jonathan Weinberg
Opinion: Vodafone gives us an early Christmas pressie and unwraps Social Networking on the move
Jonathan Weinberg writes… I saw a quick demonstration of this yesterday and it certainly looks like being a brilliant idea that I hope other mobile networks follow. With Internet prices dropping like stones across all the mobile firms thanks to bundled ‘unlimited’ data and use of social networking growing by the millions in the blink of an eye, it makes sense to match up the two.
Vodafone has designed a downloadable application that sits on your handset connecting you to Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Bebo. Nothing majorly new there, because you can surf them at present and many have their own download applications too like the excellent Facebook program for Blackberrys…
Opinion: Creating our own content will never replace traditional media
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
2012, the year London is set to host the Olympics and also the year Nokia reckon a quarter of all entertainment will be created and consumed within peer communities. They think that in five years time, traditional media as we know it now, will begin to die out further with personally-created content becoming the must-read and must-watch for Internet users within their friend networks and social community sites.
But I just can’t see it. There’s no doubt it’s becoming more and more popular to make your own videos and post them on the web for all to see, but 99 per cent of it is absolute tosh – like the man who can juggle dogs while standing on his head drinking a glass of water and playing the harmonica! PS: Don’t try that at home, it doesn’t exist and we don’t condone cruelty to animals, I just use it as an illustration…
Opinion: Amazon's Kindle won't make E-Books popular but how hard can it be?
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
I don’t read as much as I used to, one look at the amount of books in my house is enough evidence to tell that story. Not that I don’t have many, oh no, I’ve got shelves full of novels and non-fiction. It’s just most of them are bought on a whim, and then a few pages in swapped for something else or put down to play the Xbox 360 or check out the telly.
Children too aren’t reading as much as they should. In fact, David Cameron, the Tory leader, is about to announce plans to try and get every
youngster up to speed with their reading by the age of six. It’s a massive failure in any education system when kids can’t pick out enough words to enjoy a story without it being spoken to them…
Opinion: Mobile phone deals aren't call for cash
They’ve always said you don’t get anything for free in this life, but flick towards the back of any of the tabloid newspapers in this country and you’d have to question that view.
FREE Xbox 360, FREE iPod, FREE laptop, FREE Wii, FREE PSP, FREE HDTV, FREE money – and all you have to do is sign up for a FREE mobile phone. In fact, some of the deals even give you a FREE handset with your FREE handset. Please, tell me, where do I sign…
Top 5 Gadget Sparklers for Bonfire Night
Remember, remember the 5th of the November – that's how the saying goes. Now Guy Fawkes, there was a man who knew a thing or too about making a statement. If only he'd have done it with his gadgets though and shown off his status with some bling, rather than trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
So, as it's Firework Night today, what better way to mark it than with five top sparklers from the techno-world. Unfortunately, not all of them can be waved around in the air and they don't make pretty colours in the smoke, but with gold and crystals on them, each one definitely costs more than a penny for the guy…
Opinion: Why Nintendo is getting it right on lifestyle games
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
If you’ve ever played games, then at some point, you have absolutely loved a Nintendo title – for many of us, they were the firm who shaped our childhood virtual experiences. And while Sony and Microsoft are great at catering to the core gamer, Ninty have always been the best at spotting new opportunities and finding ways to appeal to everyone.
Just look at the Game Boy, the most successful handheld of all time and played by men, women, children of both sexes and grandparents. This week Nintendo showed off a whole new crop of lifestyle titles in its Touch Generation series and I was left in no doubt that these are going to expand gaming horizons into areas they have so far been slow to reach…
Opinion: Corporate cash is never a bad thing!
So the boss emails me this morning and he says: “Can you do a post on either Microsoft buying into Facebook or Blackberries becoming more of an entertainment device?” ‘Mmm’ I thought, why don’t I do both! So here it is, cunningly combined by way of a tenuous techno link.
I can’t lie, I’m possibly one of the most corporate people you’ll meet. I love big business, capitalism and all the positives that come from it. And I’m overjoyed at Bill Gates grabbing a slice of my beloved Facebook. His firm has invested $240m in the social network site and while it’s less than a two per cent stake, there’s no doubt the company will start to exert some of its muscle amid the Poking and Fun Walls…
Top 5 gadgets for Jonny Wilkinson and the England Rugby World Cup team (for their match on Saturday night)
Erm, if you didn't know, there's some sporting thing happening tomorrow. The final of a rugby tournament I think it is, in Paris in France. Only joking, it's the Rugby World Cup Final tomorrow with Jonny Wilkinson leading our brave boys in the fight against South Africa to hold onto the trophy. COME ON!!
But just in case they need some help off-the-field, here's some technology that might give them a gee-up before the crucial tie…
Opinion: Why Gordon Brown, Dr Tanya Byron and the Nanny State should stay out of technology
When does a Government go too far in a bid to protect its citizens? When it locks people up without a charge? When it bans people from taking to the streets and puts them under curfew? Or when it employs a TV presenter to look at how the Internet and computer games are harming the nation’s youngsters?
This week it’s been announced Dr Tanya Byron – star of such TV greats as House of Tiny Tearaways – is to preside over a review of what effect the web and console adventures are having on kids across Britain. And I for one find it not only laughable, but downright disgusting that Gordon Brown and his cohorts think they have the right to interfere in our lives which such a pointless exercise…
Opinion: Does Nokia move pave way for car that drives itself?
I’ve wanted a car that drives itself ever since I first watched Knightrider. What child of the 1980s didn’t grow up hoping that by the time they turned 17 a real-life version of K.I.T.T. would be on the market. Well, this weekend I turn 30 and that hope is still not a reality some 13 years later…
