Tag: jonathan weinberg
Opinion: iPhone in the UK – overpriced, overhyped and over here!
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
So the iPhone is finally landing in Britain on November 9 – well, whoop di doo! I’m told Steve Jobs did his usual brain-washing-style spouting at yesterday’s launch – he even turned up live, presumably so it’d work better than via video – and regular readers will already know what I think about that from my column when the iPod Touch launched.
Timewise I make it seven and a bit weeks until the scrum kicks off, so roughly seven weeks from today until a load of morons begin camping out in front of O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores up and down the country in a bid to get their hands on this so-called “holy grail” of gadgetry…
Opinion: Why it's now COOL to be a GEEK
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
This is possibly the most important techno story I’ve seen all week, it’s officially ok to be geeky. A new list of the UK’s most coolest brands has been released and the top 10 contains SEVEN firms related to gadgets, gaming and the internet. So if that’s not a reason to embrace your virtual friends and give thanks I don’t know what is.
The iPod was only pipped into second place in the CoolBrands 2007 by James Bond’s favourite car, the Aston Martin, and you could argue there’s something geeky about being a fan of that motor. No longer is it nerdy to be geeky – because both are different…
Opinion: HMV need more than gimmicks to attract kids to "cyber store"
Quick quiz now – do you still buy CDs on the high street? I rarely do these days, unless it’s an impulse buy in a sale as I browse, but then I don’t get much time to do that either like I used to. Let’s face it, we’re a cash rich, time poor society now and that means one thing – the Internet!
I’m not going to spit out the obvious downloading facts and figures that we all already know, digital music is big business and only a miniscule percentage of people reading this will never have bought or “found” a music track via the web…
Opinion: Why we should all smile as stars of CCTV
Yep, you’re right, that is an album by Hard-Fi but it’s a serious point, because a funny thing happened to me today – I went to the dentist! Nothing particular humorous in that, no you are right, but seriously I am telling the tooth! Ok, enough with the bad jokes already.
As I sat in the dentist chair, he said there was something he wanted to show me and quickly thrust it towards my mouth. I was a bit shocked but suddenly it all became clear – he’s had a techno-makeover in the surgery. And boy, what an exciting 10 minutes it was…
Opinion: Are we not clever enough to withstand Apple's spin
Jonathan Weinberg writes… Hands up who's going to be buying a new iPod after last night's announcements from San Francisco? Keep your hands up if you are all fools – and what is it they say about those and their…
Opinion: Facebook numpties deserve to be defrauded!
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
Two days into the week and TWO Facebook security threats appear. The first in The Guardian on Monday warned secret code from FB’s inner-workings had been published on the internet prompting warnings of a security risk for users. Boring! Code, schmode, it’s far too technical.
But then this piece of wonder appeared today in The Times and it’s far more worrying, not least because everyone I know does it – and also because it involves a frog!
Freddi Staur is a cute green frog who has stolen email addresses and mobile phone numbers from users on the social network website – in an experiment to show how easily people give out their personal information to strangers…
Opinion: Stamp out striking posties with email
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
For those outside the UK, the reason for this rant won’t mean much but the wider implications affect us all wherever we live. We’re currently in the grip of a nationwide wildcat postal strike in Britain and it’s started to get me more steamed up than that kettle you use to open your partner’s letters.
And it got me thinking, what’s the point of post anyway now we have email. I’ve had a pile of stamps sitting on my desk for months.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for workers rights, fair pay for a fair day and all that, and I love my new postie, he’s very friendly and helpful. But the sooner everyone switches over to electronic delivery and snail mail dies off, the better life will be…
Opinion: Pulling ads from BNP Facebook pages is absurd
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
Just a week ago I called on advertisers to think more deeply about which websites they want their brands to be associated with. It came as a response to the Panorama BBC investigation into violent beatings and fights being filmed by youngsters and posted on the popular websites in the name of entertainment.
And now, it seems the money men are sitting up and taking notice. Obviously, I don’t – and can’t – claim the credit for that but I’m not sure I want to in this case, because on this one, I actually think they’ve got it wrong.
A few days ago Vodafone and First Direct, two of the UK’s leading firms, decided to withdraw their advertising from Facebook because it might end up appearing on pages run by the British National Party. Now we can debate the BNP’s stance all day and night but the fact remains they are a legitimate political party able to stand in council and general elections…
Opinion: Free laptop deal looks good
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
Let’s face it, who among us is ever going to turn down a free gift – especially when it’s worth up to £500. Well, that’s the prospect facing techno shoppers at Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World this week.
You couldn’t have failed to see the ads in the newspapers over the weekend proclaiming the gratis machines in return for signing up to broadband with the likes of Orange and AOL. ‘So where’s the catch?’ I hear you ask. ‘There’s always a catch!’
Well, you’re right, to get the free laptop you are tied into a contract with the firms for two years and yes, the machines aren’t super-spec’d enough to suit most Tech Digest readers. But in terms of getting people interested in technology and onto the interweb superhighway, it has to be good news…
easyJet go green
They may be known for their garish orange but Stelios seems to fancy a colour change – his budget airline has unveiled a new fuel efficient plane, The Ecojet.
It’s not just a normal flyer with better fuel efficiency, this has two open rotor jet engines at the back of the airplane, which, according to the firm, improve the overall performance of the plane. The wings are swept forward to reduce drag and the body is made with lightweight carbon fibre to reduce the overall weight…
