Daniel Hannan, conservative MEP, stand up and take a bow. The fact that this clip got no air time on the BBC and other national news should be little surprise as it arguably amounts to little more than name calling. However, that doesn’t make it any less satisfying to watch…
Take a look at this article: Virgin Media says it may open its high-speed cable network to other broadband providers.
Does anyone else find it completely staggering that in 2009 people are still talking about ‘proving the market’ - for pity sake, most people outside cities struggle to get an Internet connection above 2MB/sec - it’s pathetic!
It should be 100MB/sec minimum - then we can’t start enjoying HD movies on demand, true home working etc. I mean the possibilities are literally endless. At a time when making our economy competitive is supposedly top of the ‘to do’ list, why the government isn’t making this happen as a priority amazes me…
I use Windows on my Mac in two ways: Vista Premium through bootcamp and Windows 7 and Windows XP as virtual machines through the OSX desktop.
Previously I was using Parallels to run my virtual machines but since my trial version expired I wasn’t able to access my virtual OS any more. Then I came across Sun’s free offering VirtualBox (in this walkthrough I’m running VirtualBox version 2.1.4) - it does everything I need, and it’s free!
The only pickle with switching virtual machine software was I didn’t want the hassle of re-loading Windows XP as I’d spent some time building it up/adding programs etc under Parallels.
After much googling I came across a number of solutions, however, none as easy as the one I am suggesting here. If anyone else is in the same situation, I hope it helps:
Converting a Parallels virtual machine to VirtualBox:
1. Download the trial version of VMWare Fusion (I used version 2.0.2.)
2. Once installed, start VMWare Fusion, and choose File > Import from the menu
3. Browse to the Parallels folder (if it doesn’t default there) and choose the appropriate directory (e.g. Windows XP) and then choose the relevant file ending in .pvs e.g. Windows XP.pvs
You’ll now see a window like this:
4. Click the Import button. Choose a name & location for the new machine and click ‘Save’
5. Watch something on TV, go walk the dog, contemplate life. Whatever you do, it will probably take a good 30 mins.
6. Eventually you will get a confirmation message. Great so far. Trouble is, we don’t want it to work in VMWare Fusion, we want it to work in VirtualBox. So…
7. Using the Finder locate the new VMWare Fusion version of the Windows XP virtual machine (the file will be wherever you saved it in Step 5 and will end with a .vmwarevm extension e.g. ‘Windows XP.vmwarevm’). Now right-click the file and select ‘Open Enclosing Folder’ from the menu.
8. From the next Finder window, right click on the same file again but now choose ‘Show Package Contents’.
9. In the window that now opens, copy all those files (most end .vmdk) and paste them into a new folder someplace else. I called mine ‘WINXP’ and saved it on the desktop but you can put it anywhere you like.
10. Shut down VMWare Fusion
11. Open VirtualBox
12. Click ‘New’, then ‘Next’, then name your OS e.g. ‘Windows XP’ and choose the relevant settings on the two drop downs below. Here is what I mean:
13. Now click ‘Next’, accept the defaults on the next screen and click ‘Next’ again.
14. On the next screen (headed as ‘Virtual Hard Disk’), click the ‘Existing’ button.
15. On the window that opens, click ‘Add’ on the top menu and browse to the folder you made in Step 9. Choose the file name e.g. winxp.vmdk (don’t choose the numbered ones e.g. winxp-s016.vmdk) and click ‘Open’.
16. Back on the main screen now, click ‘Next’ again and then ‘Finish’.
Et Voila! You now have your Parallels machine working in VirtualBox.
The Nike Five Zoom T7/Nike 5 Zoom T-7 trainers comes in two distinct flavours; the CS version (black and green with lugs on the base for Astro/3G turf) and the FS or ‘Futsol’ version (green and red with gum sole for indoor courts).
This review deals with the FS version although they are all but identical to the CS version with the exception of the sole material and colour.
The Nike Five trainer range goes up in increments (T-3, T-5, T-7 etc) with additional features added each time. The T-7 is Nike’s top of the line indoor shoe for 2009. Features listed include Zoom air units, Poron cushioning, toe punt shoe box and offset medial lacing. All these features can also be found in the T-5 trainer, however the T-7 also adds Kangaroo leather for increased comfort.
So how are they? You can tell by looking at my earlier posts ‘Nike/Adidas, make some trainers for the over 30 crowd‘ and ‘The pursuit of the perfect indoor football trainers‘ that I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to finding something comfy to play indoor football in. If you’re light on your feet, have perfectly functioning knees and are not prone to over pronation of the foot, many of my criticisms of this shoe will seem unfounded. With those caveats firmly in place let’s take a look.
First the good. These trainers look the part, bright lime green and soft supple leather. Furthermore, the grey interior around the heel area is leather, not fabric, so is likely to wear well over time. They fit a slim foot well (as per usual Nike fitting) and don’t have any unnecessary bulk - allowing good touch and control of the ball. They are also extremely light, weighing in at around 320g per shoe.
The Nike Five T-7 trainers have been expressly designed to be keep the foot close to the ground, subsequently the cushioning is minimal. The ‘Zoom air unit’ is merely a 3-4mm thick blob of air stuck to the bottom of the insole, not built into the actual trainer. The ‘Poron cushioning’ is similarly integrated: merely stuck to the bottom of the insole. This lack of substantial cushioning is likely to be less of an issue when playing on Astro/3G (which by its nature provides greater underfoot comfort) but if you are used to harder indoor courts (typically constructed by laying a wooden surface over a concrete base) it should be a consideration. And if you’re over thirty and usually suffer sore knees the day after playing - forget it!
The other area that these trainers fall completely shor
t is for players suffering any degree of over pronation of the foot (flat feet). The T-7 offer absolutely no arch support, visibly sinking in that area when worn by users with flatter feet.
The Nike T-7 are a fine and well thought out trainer but for a specific subset of players: young, slim players with a good arch in their foot will love them. However, for players hoping to retain the use of their knees in advancing years or suffering any degree of over pronation of the foot these trainers simply can’t be recommended.
For this latter group of players, I would recommend the Asics indoor court range. Despite being targeted at Squash players, the ‘Asics Gel Sensei’ (2008) and ‘Asics Gel Blast 2‘ (2008/2009) trainers, at the expense of a little ball control, provide a level of comfort and durability for indoor football simply not offered by the mainstream manufacturers.
Next Tuesday journalists are being invited to a media event at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters. Apparently the invitation reads ‘Get an advance preview of what we’re building’.
Well, here’s three things I’m hoping for…
1. Cut and paste - it’s not rocket science but as the all the cool kids running jail-broken iPhones already have it, it’s not too much to ask for it on the official software is it?
2. MMS - its continued omission is almost embarrassing. Need I say more?
3. Sat Nav application built in - I can only assume the reason we haven’t already seen a proper sat nav application for the iPhone is because Apple is writing its own. I hope so.
Here was today’s blue touch paper: an email from my local multiplex telling me about ‘The Age Of Stupid’ - a new film, based around the premise of a man, one of earth’s surviving humans speaking to us in 2055 and asking why we didn’t do more to avoid the global catastrophe of climate change. OH MY GIDDY AUNT! I don’t know how much more Eco terrorism I can take. You may all believe we’re going to hell in a hand cart just because cows suffer a little more flatulence than in 1972 but some of us don’t buy it so GIVE IT A REST! If you really want to worry about man’s demise, may I kindly point you towards near earth objects or level 4 bio hazards. Please find a new drum to beat.
Now, that said, I’m no advocate for the reckless and insatiable appetite to rid the planet of its resources for material gain, few people are. I’m also happy to see a move from our dependence on oil as a fuel source. A dependence that has arguably stifled propulsion technologies for far too long. But if you think I’m going to swallow the ‘fact’ that it’s going to be ‘Waterworld’ within fifty years you must think everyone is made of cloth. Perhaps they are, as there seems little high profile opposition to the notion. Which leads me to another thing…
This is supposed to be a democracy, where freedom of speech is embraced. Yet I so much of mention I don’t believe in man made global warming and I’m vilified. In one fell swoop it is now possible to become a social and professional leper, merely through a lack of conformity. The level of social compliance with this set of engineered ‘man made global warming’ ideals is truly frightening.
To harbour feelings of doubt about the theory, Lord forbid, to air them, is now unsafe, they are a dangerous secret to be confided in others only after prolonged and guarded probing. I fear we have really have lost our ability to debate this subject anymore without ostracizing people for a differing point of view.
I’ve not written for Computer Active before and as the UK’s best selling computer magazine I was pretty excited when I got the chance to do so. If you pick up the current issue my first feature for them begins on page 30 titled ‘Windows Pick Me Ups: Just the tonic’. The feature covers quick and easy ways to perform some house keeping on your Windows XP/Vista machine and hopefully speed things up.
I hope to provide more copy for Computer Active in the future. It’s a title I enjoy the slant of. It’s accessible but also provides genuinely interesting stuff in each issue to get the best out of a system.
This post details how I upgraded the hard drive in my Aliminium iMac to 1TB…
After the lack lustre iMac upgrades this March I skipped picking up the latest generation and opted for one of the ‘old’ models from the Apple refurb store. It was the 2.8GHz model with 2GB memory and 320GB Hard Drive, costing £949.
However, it needed beefing up a little…
Upgrading the memory to 4GB is a cinch (£40 from Crucial) but upgrading the hard drive on an iMac is a different proposition entirely.
I’d found a video here:
http://www.briandorey.com/post/Apple-iMac-hard-drive-upgrade.aspx
and I’d originally read about the process a while back here http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4130605#post4130605
I have to applaud the people who led the way on this procedure. I don’t think I’d have the guts to prise open an iMac without knowing how it was done, so full kudos to them!
Having performed the operation I’d say it is no more difficult than upgrading a Mac mini. The pucker factor is no different (you are equally worried about killing your Mac) so if you are brave enough to upgrade a Mac mini, upgrading the iMac is perfectly within your grasp.
However, I would add these additional comments if you are planning to follow the video.
Note: my geography is with the base of the iMac towards you, iSight camera furthest away:
1. If you have a proper glass lifter, great. If not, those little suckers that are used to hang things from windows are fine. Get four (one for each corner) from your local DIY shop. They cost me 80p each. Put those on each corner of the screen and lift from there. Under NO circumstances attempt to get the glass out with a screwdriver or similar.
2. Buy some cheap door stops from Poundland or Instore or the like. You need four - my pack was £1 for four. Lay them out on a desk so that when you have removed the front glass panel you can lay the panel down onto the doorstops with one underneath each corner of the glass. This stops the glass picking up any dust on the side that will go back on the LCD (dust will only fall on the side facing up – the side which is on the outside when back in place).
3. The leads running to the LCD were different on my model than on the video. The video isn’t clear about which little card on the right to unscrew before lifting the screen. Mine was the one with a black braided cable (about half an inch wide) coming out of the top and heading toward and under the LCD panel. I also had to disconnect a little plug on the left near the fan. Do not attempt to prise this out with a little screwdriver or pull the wires. Just hold the base with your finger nails and wiggle it gently out.
4. Use a can of air to gently blow away any dust from the LCD surface before putting the glass back on. I find this far more effective than trying to wipe the screen with a cloth which is more likely to introduce marks and extra debris. Don’t shake the canned air as it will bring fluid up and spray it all over your LCD!
5. Ensure that the aluminium shroud fits correctly when you put it back on. All the screws should go back without additional force. Feel around the shroud and ensure it is uniformly fitted and that you still have easy access to the memory slots (if you can’t pop memory in and out then the shroud isn’t on right).
With that done you should be able to enjoy a improved capacity iMac. I opted for a nice 1TB Samsung with 32MB Cache. Screams along now and I have plenty of space free. Good luck!
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