When I first heard of Groupon I thought the idea was awkward and flawed , having to pay for a voucher then use the voucher to pay for goods. I did'nt use it at forst , but noticed that there were some very good offers. The concept is that you pay upfront for goods or service and get a significant discount for this, such as £20 worth of food for a fiver at As You Like It.
The concept was featured on the Jeremt Vine show and got unanimous thumbs up from customers and merchats alike. I've now used it four or five times and saved a fortune , think you could do the same...
Just bought myself an Advent Vega. Impressed so far, very nice toy. Connnects via wifi , very fast , android based , full internet browser , 10" for those who like it bigger and significantly cheaper than even an iPad 1.
Having said that the screen is covered in my grubby greasy finger marks, but it's easy to use and I've hardly touched the thing. Will try it as an e Reader and with a couple of apps , so will report back sporadically on it
About ten years ago my daughter forced on me an old Pay as you go Motorola phone, and through the years I eventually got a contract , a bike , and then became employed by my present company who provide me with a phone and pay my bill.
When I started I saw article that one of the big cheeses in Orange had hoped for a 25% take up of mobile phones by the population - at that time it was around 130% (a number of people have multiple phones , personal and business). Apart from being able to make calls , you can communicate by text, take photographs , send pictures , browse the internet and interact with social networks as well as playing music and watching video. The latter option could bring some truth to the phrase "It'll Make You Go Blind!!" as watching films of a certain kind on such a small screen cannot be good for your eyes!!
Thr rise of smart phones (big hitters being Apple / iPhone and Google's Android) mean that phones can do anything bar teleportation.. Apples main failing is that you need a PC with iTunes on but they do the job , though the iPad is a big iPhone you cant make calls on!!.
Anyway here's my progression:
Samsung Tocco - My first touch screen phone - generally very good apart from the fact if you had the number pad on and put it to your ear it started pressing keys and cut you off.
Nokia X6 - Nokia have great cameras but a terrible operating system and it wmanaged to wipe my contacts twice so it went in exchange for ..
LG Chocolate - A Gorgeous Looking phone , absolutely brilliant until you switch it on!! This went in exchange for
LG 505 - Worse than the Chocolate and without the looks
Orange San Francisco - Android Phone , processor to slow , camera rubbish , but dirt cheap and brilliat in every other department - I do love this phone despite it's few drawbacks . Still have it and can't see anything I want to upgrade it for. Bought myself a tiny Panasonic camera to make up for the picture shortfall
I still can't believe how far mobiile phones have moved on since thefirst ones came out....
This week I've bought one or two CDs , I am a fan of music and always looking for new albums and decent compilations. This is what I bought that I can remember (only spent £50-£60):
Aerosmith - Pandora's Box - 4 CDs
Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Complete Columbia Recordings - 6 CDs
The Great Scottish Songbook - 5 CDs
Steve Hackett - The Genesis Files - 2CDs
Glasvegas - Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\ - 1 CD and 1 7" Orange single
Syd Barret - Introduduction , Jim Jones Revue - Burning Down Your House, Black Angels - Phosp[hene Dream, Ellie Goulding , Lissie and a few others 10 CDs
I know people with CD collection smaller than what I bought this week , but there's still more that I want. Some of the packages could not be done justice by iTunes and the like , so I'm still a huge fan of the format. And this is a precursor to National Record Shop Day coming up in two weeks time .
Listening to Ellie Goulding now , very good - much better than here "Your Song" interpretation.
Having just rekindled my love of fiction reading Philip Pulman's "Northern Lights", I found I'd mislaid the second volume "The Subtle Knife" so have ordered it online. If I had a Kindle I could have had it NOW!! One plus for e Book readers. Anyway I didn't I picked up "You're Entitled To An Opinion" by David Nolan - the biography of Anthony H Wilson - Factory Supremo, and it's got me hooked , loads of interstesting , funny and entertaining insights into that amazing man including the definite distinction between Salford and Manchester!! Until I picked up the book I never knew Salford was a city.
Anyway the e Book Reader , I think they are amazing pieces of kit but still feel they are a stepping stone to something else , I don't know what , but it means I won't be buying one in the near future , I stick with paper!!
I keep seeing adverts for the Amazon Kindle and other e-book readers . Apparently there is an app for Android and iPhone , though it wouldn't let me download an e Book as I didn't have a Kindle registered.
The technology is great , a months battery life , electronic ink that doesn't use power once the page is rendered. Also you can carry around 3000 or more books in a package that weighs less than a paperback. My problem is that usually you only read books once , and they need a time investment, whereas music can be listened to over and over again and sometimes to can have songs that last less than two minutes so you don't need a big time frame.
Real books still suit my purpose for reading , but the Kindle is tempting , but is that because it's just another gadget like an iPad?
Well I can't think of anything wrong with the place. Three pubs , two chip shops , two cafes , a chemist , a butchers, a delicatessen, a piano shop and a bank with a cash machine. Oh and they have a Co Op as well.
The bank is slightly odd in that it has a Griffin at the door but it's a Natwest bank.
John The Baptist - Tideswell in The Fog
Tideswell is also home to a very impressive church , John The Baptist (not sure if he was a saint) I believe and is known as the Cathedral of the Peak!!
