John Mayer – Sucker

I originally wrote this about 3 months ago, but because I live such a hectic, ever changing lifestyle then I simply have not had the chance, or time for that matter, to post it. Of course, I am also a terribly lazy person who is quite an adept liar -

The song ‘Sucker’. How did I not know about this song. More importantly……what other songs are out there just waiting to be found by Mayer and also other artists for that matter.

Whilst browsing youTube looking for John Mayer performances I had not seen, I found many videos from his ‘Mayer Craft’ show, of course ,envious of those who made the gig, I clicked onward in search of things which would ultimately make me green with envy. Whilst watching through the impromptu performance of random songs, I heard him start to play a song, a song I had not heard before, a song I was ‘instantly’ pulled in by and attracted to. After reading through the ‘blurb’ alongside the video I found this song is called ‘Sucker’. Which is quite apt when it comes to me and this song, for I am a major ‘sucker’ for it.

Well, this was awesome quite frankly. A rare gem from his past which I had somehow overlooked. Apparently this song has never been released and only been performed a handful of times.
The song is a choppy, plucky acoustic delight, which is basic and simple. However, it is a great song, which I have grown to love over the past couple of months.
To view this gem, simply go and find it, just as I did. I hope you find it as addictive as I do.

 

Me and My Apple Macbook – Update 002

Well before i begin this post, I have to say thank you to all that have commented on my previous post. Many of your comments pointed me in the right direction and at the very least, made feel that i was not alone in my Macbook woes and downfalls. Is this the way of the Mac community? Support, assist and co-operate? Well if so, I like it! But enough of the ramblings, I just wanted to say many thanks.

Okay, so lets get ‘tucked in’ to the ‘main course’ of this post. I wanted to give a brief update regarding the adventures of my Macbook and I. Or at least follow up on some of the topics and problems which i discussed in my last post.

Wireless Connectivity

Okay, so what is first? Well lets talk about the Wireless Network problems, or should i say lack of. I have to apologise to Apple on this one. But the trouble ‘all’ stemmed from a faulty router. No more than three or four days after my post, my work laptop (a Dell laptop running Vista Ultimate) started to have problems regarding the wireless network. Identical problems and more started to rear their ugly little 802.11g head even with this machine. Luckily a friend at work had a spare router hanging around and was good enough to let me lend it for a while. Guess what, no problems whatsoever since i have been using this different router. The Macbook, The Dell and even the Wii (this is not mine by the way) have seamlessly been able to connect each time to the router, as you would want and expect. So i feel i ought to say a HUGE sorry to Apple and more importantly, my precious little Macbook.

Permission Problems

Well i am also pleased to say that my problems regarding all things ‘permissions’ related appears to have gone too. I know that all these problems which i faced originated from ‘BootCampGate’ and the mess which i got myself into after that.

To cut a very long story short on this one, I can remember that two main things, or procedures rather, allowed me to solve this little but oh so annoying problem. These are -

1. I ran ‘Disk Utility’ several times. Initially, there were problems reported, and so naturally i selected the ‘Fix’ option and they went. I re-ran this each day after that for a couple of days and repeated the procedure. The problems found naturally became less each day until there were no more.

2. I changed the permissions on my ‘Macintosh HD’. I do not know what i didn’t do this initially. Worried i suspect that i may do more damage than good. However, all i literally did was to ‘Get Info’ on the disk add ‘Read/Write’ access for myself. Additionally, i also ensured that these changes were applied throughout all sub folders and files.

Looking back now at that previous post, i can see that i was overreacting hugely (which by the way, is nothing new really). I was just very frustrated at the time with what seemed at the time, consistent problems. But of course, they were not. Faulty hardware (the router) and my mess up (BootCampGate) were all to blame. Looking back, it had nothing to do with the Macbook or its ability to do what i wanted it to.

Looking Forward

So lets briefly go through what i have been doing with it since then. Well i can proudly say that i have been having a much better time with it. In fact, i have grown to really enjoy using my Mac.

The major addition to my arsenal of Mac software has been VM Fusion. This works beautifully, i have to say it really does work well. I am currently only using the Beta but so far, so good. I am using it to run the necessary evil which is Windows XP (that is actually said in jest, I am not one of those who will jump on Windows at any given chance. Mainly because it is now boring and quite frankly obvious to do so now). However, with that said, there is still something strange, something fundamentally wrong and something ‘dirty’ about hearing the Windows XP startup music coming from my Macbook speakers. (Oh dear, did i really just say that? Perhaps i have gone too far on that slippery Mac slope, perhaps i don’t care) This software raises a very important question however, why would you ever want or more importantly need to ever purchase a non Mac machine ever again?

Another mentionable addition is Mozy Backup. Now admittedly i am only using the free 2Gb option to backup the most important and critical parts of my Mac. These include my iCal, Address Book and other important documents. However, it works seamlessly so far. I see the little icon kick into action occasionally notifying me that it is ‘doing its thing’. Without that and ‘Growl’ letting me know ’stuff’ was happening, i really wouldn’t notice it, which i guess is the way it should be. A very nice piece of software.

So there we have it, hopefully i do appear a little more ‘upbeat’ and hopeful regarding my Macbook throughout this post. I hope so, because i am. At this moment in time, I can NEVER see me going back to Windows, certainly not out of choice anyway.

 

Me and My Apple Macbook – Update 001

Well I have been using my Macbook now for a couple of eventful weeks. Problems unfortunately have never been far away during my experience with using it.

The main issues encountered revolve around the two following areas -

1. Wireless Connectivity – Everyday there has been an issue when trying to connect to my home wireless network. The Macbook blatantly refuses to connect to the Wireless if I use WEP, however three other devices at home have no problems at all connecting. So I went to WPA2. This was working initially up until a few days ago where it would simply refuse to get a dynamic IP address from my router, thus rendering the Internet connection as useful as a chocolate ashtray. I hope that the problems all stem from my router being a little ‘flakey’.

2. Permission Problems – Ever since I had my first major problem when implementing a BootCamp installation using XP, I have been plagued by what I believe to be ‘Permission’ based problems. Numerous errors regarding numerous Applications have been occurring on a daily basis. More frustratingly, a program will work fine one day and the very next day will not even run. Again, I hope this is all due to my initial problems regarding ‘BootCampGate’ which happened a week ago now. I will update this scenario accordingly when I know more.

I will of course try and find the root cause of these problems and repair them, however, that classic line which the typical Mac user uses ‘Macs just work‘ is admittedly starting to grate a little on me as I can only go by my own experiences so far, and unfortunately so far I have had more problems than good times with my Macbook.

Do not get me wrong; I have not given up yet, far from it. I want to get to love my Mac, I want to give it a fair and decent trial period before I throw in the towel and go back to Windows.

Lets see where this journey goes………………..

 

The Start Of A New Journey – Me and My Apple Macbook

A little over a week ago now, I purchased my first Apple Mac laptop. Why I did this I am not really sure even to this day. Of course I was excited about getting a new laptop, sure I was tempted by its superior looking exterior, but why a Mac? Well quite frankly I cannot give a straight answer for that, maybe there isn’t one.

So moving on, I wanted a small form factor laptop and also wanted a useable ‘work horse’ if you will which would see me though for a while, and so that was the Macbook Air out of the question. Look, I understand many will sneer with fanboy disgust when they see that comment, however for me, personally it is not useable. I feel that I ‘need’ an optical drive and additionally an Ethernet port. Do not get me wrong, the ‘Air’ is really a work of beauty and design, however it is just not for me.
With that in mind I opted for the Macbook. Not the white option, but the beefier, stronger and quite frankly more attractive sibling of the two models, the black one.
After getting back from the Apple store, I lay the box on the ground. It was all very exciting and quite frankly I am not ashamed to admit that. I thought, ‘oh I really ought to take a picture or two for the blog’. And so I did. Below you can this remarkable creature in its box –

I really have to say that its beauty lies in its simplicity and style. Its doesn’t do unnecessary add-ons and practically redundant ancillaries. But what it ‘does do’ it does perfectly and with sublime style.

The reason I wanted to leave it a while before posting anything about my new purchase was so that I could give my opinions and thoughts about getting to grips with a Mac rather than using a PC, which I have done for most of my life.

Well I have to say, yes, its very different but not impossible. Actually I knew it would be one of things I would revel in most. I am thoroughly enjoying the process of learning everything all over again. Its like a breath of fresh air.
So far, honestly all I have done is download a selection of ‘must have’ programs from which a friend [Uberspod] has recommended and have imported most of my CD collection. But to be fair, I haven’t really had the time or the energy to do much more yet.
Unfortunately, I had a spot of bother on Saturday with it, due to a faulty boot camp implementation. I think the weak link was the Windows installation [insert witty and obvious dig about Windows here]. The Windows install somehow managed to use up ALL of my drive and wiped all of my data. Luckily I had a backup at hand (not a clone however I might add) and so was able to eventually get back up and running.
This last little incident has not tainted my experience so far at all. Mainly because I know I was messing with things, which I did not really, know about. Additionally, the disk, which I tried to install from, was rather scratched to say the least and fear it may not have had SP2 included (as prerequisite apparently for Bootcamp installations when using XP)

As its early days, I will cut this post short here. But I will be updating my blog with my trials and tribulations regarding my Mac experience. But I will say now, that for some strange reason I think me and my Mac are going to get along quite well.

 

Apple iPhone – Update 1.1.4

 

The downfalls of being a music snob

Definition:
A person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field: a musical snob

Dictionary.com

Although it pains me to admit this, I have hold my hands up high and say ‘okay you have got me’. I am a musical snob, I take great pride in the music I like or enjoy and I hiss and sneer at others who have (what I perceive it to be) a lower grade of musical taste and interest. Just writing that embarrasses me because I know that is a very light-hearted and friendly version of my true feelings regarding this particular topic.
Without this post becoming frightfully sombre and self loathing, I must move on to my point, yes I do have one.

Around a year ago, my musical tastes took a major turn. I started to listen to quite a different genre of music to which I had become accustom to previously. For example, around a year ago the following artists were on heavy rotation on my ipod (does that even make sense when using an ipod?!) –

Jamiroquai, Roy Ayers, Brand New Heavies, Gill Scott Heron, Amp Fiddler, Amy Winehouse, Isley Brothers and Prince

Of course I could go on forever regarding the list above as this is only a fraction of what would be listened to, but it at least gives you a view of the sort of music which I was heavily into at the time.

Now, however (up until recently anyway) the genres of music I listen to are quite different, bands such as The Libertines, Babyshambles, Bloc Party etc fill the airwaves around me. There are countless reasons for this change which I can consciously think of, and I which are not really relevant to my post/rant/moan.

With all of that said, I am big and ugly enough to admit that I am a snob. But more shockingly I fear that I am becoming a victim of my own snobbery. Is it even possible to sneer and judge oneself regarding the music they listen to? Well maybe I have issues, maybe I am going a little crazy but when I ‘get into’ something it has to be 100% and nothing less. For example, I am learning to play guitar still and do not want to just be someone who occasionally plays, I want to become a great guitar player. To be on par with those who I aspire to.

This attitude makes such things difficult. For example, if I listen and start to appreciate a certain kind of music I want to immerse myself in that lifestyle, mindset and ethos. I don’t want to play at it, I don’t want to dip in and out when it suits. So what happens when someone starts to listen to totally different styles of music? How does one split themselves between the two cultures?
So there you have it, a musical crisis maybe? A conflict of mood, opinions and feelings? Or just random thoughts? I guess I have to figure that one out for myself.

 

Dirty Pretty Things – Waterloo to Anywhere

Okay, okay I understand that I may be around 200 years too late with this particular album/post, well maybe more like 1 ½ years but hey ho. I just want to share my recent interest and passion for this album.

Dirty Pretty Things, who are essentially ‘The Libertines’, after the tabloid fodder that is Pete Doherty left (or got kicked out should I say), have produced rather a special debut album here.

The album is messy, uncomplicated in many ways and strangely complicated in others. It still oozes all the rash and roughness you would come to expect from the Libertines, however I feel its been produced with a lot more thought and dare it say it…………..care than any of the Libertines albums.

Now please, before you start posting your comments, do not get me wrong for one nanosecond, I adore the Libertines. The two masterpieces in which they produced are on continuous play in my house and in the car.

The difference with ‘Waterloo to Anywhere’ is apparent in the lyrics vs the music. In my mind, Pete was the lyrics man, the poet and thinker. His perceptions of everyday life are perfectly put into lyric form on countless songs. Carl (Barat) appears to be the ‘music’ man. He has the chord structures, the riffs and the song construction skills. Of course, this worked perfectly when the two were together, it was a like a ‘musical marriage’ (did I really just write that?!).

Of course, there is no Pete here on this album and this of course changes Carl. I feel Carl has ‘upped’ his game on this album immensely and the results (musically speaking) are very special.

Some of my particular favorites on this album are –

1. Deadwood
2. Gin and Milk
3. Bang Bang Your Dead
4. Doctors and the Dealers

So if you want some messy, rough, raw and strangely beautiful tracks to listen to, I urge you to check this album out.

Links -

Official Website

Purchase From ITunes

 

Radiohead – In Rainbows

I am going to start posting about albums that have really impressed me and perhaps more importantly, that I have connected with in one way or another.

My first choice and much to my surprise, I hasten to add, is the masterpiece ‘In Rainbows’ from the English band Radiohead. (Yes, apologies I had to get the ‘English’ part in as it’s quite important regarding this band)

Everyone who has any kind of access to the media, be that internet, TV or newspaper would have heard about this album. The reason why that is, is the fact that Radiohead, being Radiohead, didn’t stick to the rules in regards to how you should release an album. Interestingly, the band released the album only on their website first. But the really interesting twist was the fact that they allowed you, the buying public, to choose ‘how much’ you paid for the digital download. I chose to pay £5.00 for the album, which I have to say now, knowing what I know, feels a little ‘scrooge-like’.

I have always liked Radiohead but never really understood their ‘latter’ work. Starting from the album ‘Kid A’, I lost the understanding of sorts which I thought I had regarding this intriguing band. Everyone knows the songs such as ‘Creep’ and ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, but not everyone knows their strange, quirky and astonishingly beautiful tracks such as ‘Kid A’, ‘The National Anthem’ and ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ to mention a few.

Well I can honestly say, that the confusion regarding the lesser known and possibly less ‘radio friendly’ tracks (no pun intended) has completely disappeared for me. Please do not think that I proclaiming that I am able to strip these tracks down completely and dissect them to form a logical and clear story about their origins, meanings and purpose. Far from it in fact. However I can say that I now have a connection with them and I have to thank one album for this privilege……………….that album is ‘In Rainbows’

So let us briefly discuss the strange and exquisite, ‘In Rainbows’. I am certainly no music journalist nor do I try to be, so you will have to bear with me when I try and put all the thoughts, ideas and outlooks which this album conjures up inside of me when I listen to it.
I will pick a couple of my ‘current’ favourite tracks from the album. I have to emphasise current as these choices do change from week to week.

1. Bodysnatchers – My initial thoughts were that this track sounds very reminiscent of an earlier era of Radiohead. However, there is more to this track than is initially noticeable. Each time it has a listen a new twist or turn is heard and that is what I love about it.

2. House of Cards – Possibly one of my favourite tracks from Radiohead…………….ever. I would say this is the ‘warmest’ track on the album and probably the most sincere. A soft guitar riff gets the track going with minimalist vocals from Thom ushering it along. As with most great tracks, its simplicity is what gives it that edge whilst still retaining an unspeakable depth. Truly astonishing.

3. Jigsaw Falling Into Place – There are two standout reasons why I have selected this track as one of my current favourites. Firstly, I like the thesis of this song. I am a firm believer of ‘things happening for a reason’, and I perceive this song as highlighting this notion. Secondly, I always think to myself how at odds with itself this track is. I will explain my thoughts. The vocal never seems to match the music in terms of mood and complexity. Thom vocals are conversational and minimal where as the track which is going on in the background has a complex up and down vibe which is almost trying to ‘get in on the act’. This strange relationship between vocals and music is what makes this track for me.

Links -

In Rainbows Album Site

Official Radiohead Website

In Rainbows Wiki Page

 

Viruses, Spyware and all the horrid things in between

This weekend I have noticed a re-occurring theme which keeps popping up regarding my computing activities. The theme is Security.
Security (or the distinct lack of, which we will get to in a moment) has been the blatant subject matter which I have not been able to get away from this past couple of days. It all started on Friday evening just after getting home from work. Literally seconds after getting back I hear the door go, it’s my neighbour with his laptop in hand (it’s an Acer but in this case I will make an exception – sorry private joke!). Apart from thinking to myself that this is only leading to bad places, I offer my assistance with a begrudging “what is wrong with it this time?”
Now I feel I must explain a little first about the person or rather ‘the type’ of person who my neighbours are. They are a 50 ish year old couple, who have zero experience with computers but decided they ‘need’ a computer. But instead of having the glorious thought of ‘maybe I should get to know how to use a computer first before actually purchasing one’ they just go and make a beeline for their nearest PC World and purchase the first shiny device they can land their hands on. Oh dear……….let the chaos ensue.
They are constantly running into problems with their newly purchased computer and it is normally me who has to pick up the pieces. I know many people are in this situation with friends/family or possibly even know the type of person I talk of and happen to be in the same scenario as I.
Know please do not misunderstand me my comments, I appreciate that everyone must learn at some point and not everyone has the same knowledge and experience. However, my frustrations are bred from the risk of attack at which they are putting themselves at un-knowingly.

Anyway, back to the laptop. The main problem was that his anti-virus and spyware software had expired and had been like this for quite some time. There were warnings going on everywhere and of course the person in question had become apprehensive about the state of his shiny, or not so ‘shiny’ Vista Basic operating system.
I guess the overall point which I struggling to make here is the amount of people who do not have even an average IT literacy level but still have PCs which are because of that, disasters waiting to happen. These people ‘know’ how to purchase items online, they ‘know’ how to book plane tickets. However, they ‘do not know’ how to update their antivirus software or even set an scan to run. More importantly, they have no concept of what exactly antivirus software is, let alone its importance in today’s online world.

So what is the solution to this disaster I hear you ask? Well if I knew that I think I would become a rich man and very fast too. In all honesty I am not sure that there is a solution. I have thought about maybe a competence test before gaining a certificate to allow you to purchase a PC? (Yes I am serious). But I appreciate that would hardly be good for such a fast paced, competitive world such as the technology world.
I do hope that I do not come across as pompous and big headed with my comments. I appreciate that knowledge levels are totally relative from person to person. For example, I have a much greater knowledge regarding IT than my neighbours do. However, when stood next to manager at work for example, I know I have so much more to learn about many aspects of IT.

So that was Friday. I start to look through my RSS feeds this morning to see what is going on and to catch on some blog postings etc. I am delighted to see one of my favourite blog’s has been updated with a new post. The blog is ‘Stephen Fry’.

The latest blog posting discusses online threats and criminal activity in the form of ‘Bot Nets’ (robot networks). He talks about the frightening but very true concept of ‘zombie’ PCs and interlinked networks gaining in size and intelligence.
This got me thinking about the terrifying concept of this. I suddenly started thinking about the lack of protection which my neighbour had been using his pc online with. Something needs to be done people and quickly.

Geeks, nerds, enthusiasts, tech savvy users- it’s time to educate these people.

Stephen Fry Blog

 

Banksy – The Modern Day Artist

Recently i found someone/something really interesting. I found out about ‘Banksy’.

Banksy is a guy from Bristol who is a bit of a ‘renegade artist’ here in the UK. Some would call him a great artist, some would call him a vandal. Which ever way you look at it, the guy has talent and a keen eye for thought provoking (and sometimes very controversial) images and drawings. Now i will admit that i dont really agree with graffiti in the’wrong’ places and to be honest i am not sure where i stand in the old argument of ‘oh but its an artform etc etc’. I would have to say i sit on the fence with that whole argument. Additionally to that, i would not call myself an art buff, but i do like images and paintings which are as eye catching and as different as this guy’s work. I have to say that i find this guy’s work amazing.

Now i appreciate that i may be a little slow here in finding out about this guy, but i did actually see some of work qiute a while ago and totally forgot about until the other day. After thinking about his work once again i went on the internet and checked his site out here – Banksy. Much to my surprise and joy, there were many many new images, drawing and collections to look at.

Below i have posted some of personal favourites from his work -

To find out more about this talented guy’s work check out the following site -

Banksy Offical Website

Banksy Wiki Page