Mickey Mouse - Jedi Knight!

So George Lucas has sold Star Wars (or more accurately Lucasfilm) to the house of mouse! I have to admit I didn't see this coming at all. As a lifelong Star Wars fanatic, I have to say that this news has excited me greatly, particularly the revelation that Disney will produce 3 new Star Wars feature films with Episode 7 due for release in 2015.

What has however disappointed me, is the general cynicism and snobbery from my own generation at this news. I'm referring of course to the purists, the prequel bashers, to whom Star Wars isn't Star Wars unless it's the original trilogy, and in its unaltered (non special edition) format. Now, everyone has a right to their own opinion of course, but the arguments of these protesters are starting to feel a little lazy, repetitive, tired, outdated, unimaginative, and quite frankly irrelevant!

Like it or not, time moves on, things change and it's not 1983 anymore and never will be. New generations have become Star Wars fans, and shock, horror, many of them love the prequels just as much as the originals. My eldest son George is one of them. It could be argued that he prefers the prequels actually as he asks to watch them more often than the original trilogy. Does this invalidate him as a Star Wars fan? I don't think so. I personally don't care too much for the computer generated Clone Wars series, but that is simply a reflection of my own preference of live action over any sort of animation. George quite enjoys the Clone Wars himself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

Now, I'm not about to start arguing specifics in terms of why the prequels have their rightful place in the saga. I'd be on all day if I tried to do that. The point I am trying to make is that my generation cannot claim exclusive ownership of the Star Wars franchise just because we were kids when it first came out. We have no sort of moral high ground to dictate what is Star Wars and what isn't. Ultimately, it was George Lucas' story and he delivered it in the way he saw fit. What I will say is that all six of the Star Wars films have examples of questionable acting and dialogue, but at the end of the day they are pure entertainment movies aimed toward children. Why not just try to enjoy them rather than pick them apart?

No single generation can claim ownership of Star Wars. It belongs to everyone, and will continue to do so for generations to come. That is why I think there is a place for new Star Wars feature films, and it is totally counter-productive to dismiss them out hand when no one knows yet what they are going to be like. So I say booooo to the cynics and naysayers. Embrace more Star Wars. Have a little faith, and remember that even if you don't enjoy it, your kids just might!

Peter

Tech Roundup

Thoughts on iPad Mini

When pre-orders for the iPad Mini opened up, the device quickly sold out as is normal with the latest and greatest Apple gadget. However, on the actual launch day, not many people turned up to Apple stores apparently.

I am always excited by an Apple keynote, but on this occasion once the dust settled, I didn't feel excited about this device. It boils down to this - £269.00 is expensive anyway, but £269.00 and no retina display? I think not! I'll wait until the next generation when they will figure out how to get the retina display into the device without making it thicker or compromising battery life.

Thoughts on the 4th Generation iPad

Why could they not either have released this model in April, or kept the iPad 2 as the current model until now? What they have done is not right!

I see what they are trying to do though. They want their iPad launches to be just before Christmas instead of in the Spring, and that makes total sense. So I don't expect to see another new iPad anytime before October 2013. As a 3rd generation iPad owner though, I'm still a little ticked off shall we say!

Thoughts on the Microsoft Surface

Apple timed their new iPad announcement and release date to perfection. No one is really talking much about the Surface that much as far as I can see.

I've not even seen one yet I must admit, but I know what to expect from a Windows 8 tablet experience as I've tried it on other devices. The price of the basic model itself seems reasonable at £399.00 for 32gb, but if you want the touch cover/keyboard, this is not included and you have to pay an unbelievable £79.00 for this.

Time will tell how well Windows 8 tablets do. This is an OS that seems to have a bit of an identity crisis however. I quite like it, but it does become boring quickly, and I think everyday consumers will find it confusing, whilst businesses will completely reject it and stay with Windows 7 for some time to come.

I sold my Google Nexus

I only got the Google Nexus 7 16gb in July, but after initially being very excited about this little device, it pretty much sat gathering dust in the sideboard for the next couple of months.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this device other than the fact that it was an Android tablet, and this little experiment simply proved what I suspected all along - Android is not for me!

It's gone to a very good home though with someone who appreciates and enjoys Android devices, and who is already invested in their ecosystem as much as I am in Apples. I had thought I would spend the money on an iPad Mini, but as you already read above, those plans are on hold for now. You know me though, I'm fickle when it comes to technology. I may change my mind again next week!

Take care!
Peter

Apple Event Highlights

So Apple introduced some new products this week. Some of these we expected, and some were complete surprises. We pretty much knew we would be seeing the iPad Mini, the 13" retina MacBook Pro, and the updated Mac Mini. However, Apple really threw a curve ball by also announcing the new iMac, and the 4th generation iPad (the latter being the biggest shock considering the 3rd generation model has only been around since April.

The new Macbook Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini are all fine and dandy if you are a designer/graphicsy type person, but I'll be honest and say they don't excite me as much as the two new iOS devices, so unsurprisingly I'm going to focus on the latter devices instead.

Let's start with the 4th generation iPad. How is it different? Well, it's got the new A6X chip which doubles the speed, improved WI-FI, a FaceTime HD camera, and it now has the Lightening Connector of course. That's about it really so it's a minor update in my opinion. The fact that Apple have broken their usual refresh cycle for the iPad though makes me wonder if we will see the 5th generation of their hugely popular tablet next March/April as usual.

For me, I have to say that I would have preferred if they had stuck to their usual cycle and added a few more changes next year - such as finding a way to make it as thin as the iPad 2 again, and getting the iSight camera up to 8 megapixels. Oh well!

So finally, we can talk about the iPad mini. This device looks very nice indeed. I'm a little surprised at the price, and the basic model will set you back £269.00 in the UK. This is £69.00 more than the Google Nexus 7, but quite frankly I don't think this price difference is going to matter. As ever with new Apple products, I think demand for this device is going to be huge, and I predict that competitive Android tablet sales will really suffer as a result.

I have the Google Nexus 7, and it's a good device. It's not a great device however, and this is why I am currently trying to sell it. I've not got many takers so far sadly, and I think that's because people just love Apple a whole lot more than they do Android, and I understand this - because personally I find Android to be limited, and boring.

Google claim that Android is the most popular Mobile Operating System, and Samsung claim that they are the worlds largest smartphone manufacturer. However, on my recent business trip to the United States, I played a bit of device spotting in hotels, restaurants, and airports. Overwhelmingly, I saw people using iPhones, and iPads. 2 people spoilt my glee by using Galaxy S3s however at Heathrow aiport on the way home. I swear these were the only Android devices I saw on my trip though. Each to their own I suppose.

In summary, as you can probably guess, I have my eye on an iPad mini already. It's an appealing, exciting device, and as Gollum would say "I wants it". The Nexus on the other hand, was OK for a while, but it only succeeded in proving that Android is not for me!

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

A few weeks ago for work, I had to arrange to travel to our offices in the United States. Now anyone who knows me well will know that I am not particularly fond of travel. If a car journey is going to take more than 1 hour, then I don't really want to do it. So the prospect of such a lengthy journey involving connecting flights was a little daunting I must admit, but by the same token I have to confess that I was also a little excited for this trip.

However,by the time I made it to my ultimate destination in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio - I felt like I had just lived the movie Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, but without John Candy as a travelling companion. My dear wife Louise points out that I would in fact have been the noisy, inappropriate and annoying John Candy character however, and on reflection I guess she is right! Whichever part I ended up playing in this travel caper though, here's how it happened.

Welcome to Wichita Toronto

It all started pretty well and I flew British Airways from Newcastle to Heathrow without any real problems other than a 20 minute delay due to high winds. I felt fairly comfortable with Heathrow as I had connected to Frankfurt there a year earlier, and I was confident of making my next flight which was with Air Canada to Toronto. It wasn't until I arrived at Heathrow however that I realized how much I had underestimated the size of the place.

I hadn't realized that I would have to transfer from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 to make my trans-atlantic flight. I had to go through security, was 20 minutes late, and this was already a tight connection. Basically, I didn't make it! Imagine my sense of surprise, panic, and terror when the really unpleasant, unhelpful, and irritating woman at the Air Canada desk couldn't seem to give two hoots about my plight. She said it was British Airways fault as they had delayed me getting to Heathrow, and she encouraged me to talk to them. So I did, and they couldn't have been more helpful. They got me onto their flight to Toronto an hour later and I still had an outside chance of making my connection to Cleveland Ohio.

Of course, flying trans-atlantic with BA instead of Air Canada meant I had to go back from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 again. This involves a 10 minute bus ride through underground tunnels, clearing security again, and finally a little monorail ride to my gate. Thankfully though, I made it! I was sat at the very back of the plane which did not bode well for my chances of a quick disembarkment at Toronto. However, those lovely BA staff once again did their best to help me and about 20 minutes before we were due to land, they moved me up to the front of the plane into one of those first class booths with a bed in them no less. Now that's what I call service.

Sadly, once again, the flight was delayed, and when we arrived in Toronto - I had a pretty good idea that this is where I would be spending the night. My last flight to Cleveland was departing in about 20 minutes. I was not checked into it, and I hadn't cleared the Canadian border, or US customs (both of which you have to do at Toronto).

Nevertheless I did not give up. I presented my Canada landing card and was allowed through. I took yet another monorail ride to a different terminal, and went to the Air Canada desk. The man I spoke to here I am convinced must be the Brother of that horrible woman I spoke to at Heathrow. He was equally as unsympathetic, but at least he gave me an emergency number to call for stranded travelers to try and get a bed for the night. He also got me on the first flight to Cleveland the following morning.

I rang the number, and the helpful people on the other end of the phone checked me into the nearby Hampton Inn for the night, and arranged to send a free shuttle to the airport to pick me up. The final twist in this tale however, is that it turns out there are two Hampton Inns close to Toronto Airport, and I of course managed to catch the shuttle for the wrong one. When I arrived, they had no idea who I was and did not recognize my reference number. They very kindly got someone to quickly take me by car to the correct Hampton Inn however, where my day from travel hell finally came to an end, and I slept in a really luxurious room for only $69.00, and it even had an iron and ironing board!

Thankfully, my luck changed the next day. I got through US Customs and made my flight to Cleveland and only lost a few hours of that working day. The trip back home a few days later was equally uneventful.

I will look back on this little adventure and laugh now, but I sure won't be going via Heathrow and Toronto on future trips if I can help it, that's for sure!

Is it just me, or do the Android folk seem a bit touchy?

Ever since the iPhone 5 was announced a week ago, I've seen many a review of the device by respected tech journalists (I'm not jealous at all by the way).

The overwhelmingly positive reaction, coupled with the absolutely incredible pre-order demand from consumers leaves my own anticipation for the device sky high. I simply cannot wait to get my hands on it!

If you scroll down these reviews to the comments section however, you will notice a pattern. These forums seem to be crammed full of Android fans who feel they need to tell everyone who will listen that their Galaxy S3 is way better and could do everything that the iPhone 5 will do ages ago!

I'll admit that the name calling goes both ways, and as an Apple fan it is hard for me to be objective at times, but those droid devotees do seem to be extra irked at the moment and seem to have a need to be noticed!

It doesn't just stop with Android Consumers either. Androids biggest manufacturing cheerleaders (AKA Samsung) came up with this extremely negative, paranoid, and spiteful piece of marketing the other day. They are trying to come across as clever no doubt, but they just come across as having a huge inferiority complex in my humble opinion.

So the big question is, do they feel inferior to Apple and in their shadow, and if so, why? They obviously feel that their products are better than Apples, and so feel entitled to some sense of moral high ground over their rivals from Cupertino.

The media and and the masses still excitedly flock to Apple though in a way that they never do with a Samsung product, and I guess it is this that just doesn't sit well. Basically, they want to be Apple, and quite simply they are not.

So they dismiss Apple devotees as sheep who will gladly accept an inferior product just because of the Apple name, but this raises the question of what makes a product inferior?

S3 devotees will boast of screen size, 4G, NFC, and various other features that they feel makes their device superior to an iPhone. They will say that Apple doesn't change things enough or even sometimes at all, but is this really a bad thing?

Apple is all about attention to detail, and putting user experience first. They don't rush a new phone out every other week in the way it seems many Android phone makers seem to. They take their time, and they get it right with well built, beautiful products.

I know at the end of the day it is all about opinion and personal taste, and ultimately I can only assess these products in such terms. For me personally, I have tried to get to grips with Android. I picked up a Google Nexus 7 a couple of months ago, and after a couple of days playing with it, it has pretty much sat in a drawer gathering dust, and this is because it simply isn't exciting and unique like the iPad.

I also had a play with an S3 not long ago too. I was bored with it in minutes, and it felt way too big and really cheaply built. Again, it just wasn't exciting! The iPhone on the other hand just feels amazing!

Regardless of individual opinions though, I am sure this debate will run and run. The droid faithful will not lie down and go away I am sure. It's a shame they just can't enjoy their phones and not worry about Apple so much. Then again, they probably say the same about Apple fans. As long as we all know that our phone is actually the best, then who should really care!

Peter

Creating a System Image in Windows 7

My luck with laptops seems to go in odd/even cycles. My last laptop was a Dell D630 and it never gave me any trouble over a period of four years. It was an absolutely cracking little laptop, and I always had the feeling that when I finally came to change it, that I would have nothing but trouble with the next one.

Well, I was right! I had only had my new Dell E6420 for about 3 months when suddenly it began crashing and restarting itself all the time. I ran a chkdsk and it found and repaired a lot of problems on the hard disk. This is usually a sign that the hard disk has had it.

So I ran the Dell Diagnostics tool, and despite the fact that I could still boot into Windows 7, the diagnostics could not even detect that the hard drive was present. So, Dell agreed to ship me a replacement hard drive under warranty.

This was all well and good, except that now I was going to have to rebuild my laptop from scratch. Not a quick task considering how finely tuned my laptop is with everything I need to do my job. I was quite demoralised at how long it was going to take me to find all of my programs and licences, and get my laptop back to exactly the way I liked it.

However, I then looked into the Backup and Restore options in the Control Panel of Windows 7. I saw that you have the option to create a system image, so I decided to give it a try.

I was able to choose between a hard disk, a set of DVDs, or a network location. I had a 500gb USB hard drive available to me so I decided to use this. It would not let me proceed because the drive was formatted as FAT32, so I had to reformat it as NTFS, and then I was able to start my image backup.

It took several hours to complete, but finally my 155gb image backup was safely on the hard drive, and at the end of the process it gives you the option to create a boot CD which I did.

I then installed the new hard drive into the laptop, booted using the CD I had just made, and the boot utility gave me the option to re-image my laptop using the image on the USB hard drive.

I was still very skeptical that this could work I must admit, and I left the re-imaging process to run as it said it could take several hours to complete. After about an hour, I went to make a coffee, and when I returned I saw that my laptop was waiting at the Windows 7 logon prompt.

I logged in, and amazingly everything was just as before! All my programs were there. All my files and folders were there, my desktop background, absolutely everything.

So I was very happy and very impressed. So my tip to you would be to always create a Windows System Image Backup in addition to any regular data backups you are doing. It could save you a whole lot of time and trouble if you find yourself in this situation.

Peter

The iPhone 5 - What kept you?

It feels like we have been waiting for the iPhone 5 for a very long time, but that wait finally ended tonight. Yes, the phone that should have been here a year ago was at last revealed by Apples finest at an event in California.

The all new design is 18% thinner, 20% lighter, and the handset is also longer (although not wider) giving it a 16:9 ratio on a 4 inch retina display which is perfect for watching movies.

There is a new A6 chip which is twice as fast as its predecessor the A5, faster graphics, and also improved battery life.

There is a new lightening dock connector and this was key to making the iPhone 5 thinner. It looks very very thin. The handset comes in black and white and has a two tone back. Basically, all the leaks of previous weeks have proved to be correct, but when presented by Apple, it just looks so much better.

It will come loaded with iOS 6 and all the great new features that were introduced earlier this year at WWDC 12, and you can pre-order yours from Friday 14th September with the handsets released one week later on Friday 21st September.

Prices remain the same in the US, however there seems to be an increase of £29.00 in the UK which is slightly disappointing. You can get it in 16gb, 32gb, and 64gb as usual.

iOS 6 will be available to download on existing compatible iOS devices from Wednesday 19th September. This does not include the original iPad however or the iPhone 3GS.

I could say so much more about what looks like another truly amazing device designed by the increasingly legendary Sir Jonny Ive - but this would turn into the longest blog post ever.

So, if you want to know more, then head over to apple.com and you can get all the details you need. I for one like the look of it very much though and I can't wait to get my hands on one (in black).

And that's that! Share and enjoy folks!
Peter