September 29th 2007
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Blogging, Educational, Life
University is something that wouldn’t have even crossed my mind a couple years ago. I was concentrating on GCSEs and having a good time too much to think that far into the future. I know it’s a cliché but time does fly. By the end of this calendar year, I will have a good idea of which Universities I have been accepted into, conditionally or not. It kind of scares me how fast we’re all thrown into this higher education business. It scares me even more because I’m the first in my family to actually finish school, let alone go to University.
Going into higher education isn’t something you shouldn’t, and I don’t, take lightly. It’s an expensive and hard experience but one that has the potential to reward you with the best three or four years of your life so far. Going into University is something many people have questions about and no matter how many UCAS conferences your school take you to or how many open days you attend, I guarantee there are some questions that can never be answered until you experience it first hand.
Making Choices
You’ve had a minimum of eleven years to decide what you want to pursue (and spend a considerable amount of money on) at University. My own experience has been somewhat tumultuous. For many years I wanted to pursue a career in IT and it seems that fate has made sure I’ve the experience to do so. About a year ago, my attention was grabbed and has since been held by the realm of physics. I love it. Physics has excited me ever since I was taught the ‘good stuff’, as it were. I got full marks on most of my Science modules at GCSE and made sure I achieved a top A* in it as I was only doing Double Science and not Triple Science, something I do regret (but am glad I got an A*, so was worth it).
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September 7th 2007
Blogging, Internet, Life, Technology
Sunny Man’s Blog has undergone a lot of changes over the past year in the hope to better the design, improve the quality of the writing and to spread the word. I’m not about to let all that work, which gained this blog access to the prestigious 9rules blogging community, brought steadily increasing numbers of visitors and allowed me to express my (sometimes not so) professional opinion on technology matters, go to waste. Over the past couple months, you were left starving for an update and I’m deeply sorry I didn’t provide you with anything to read and disagree with. I had other matters at hand such as work, exams and a room-load of reports to write (10,000+ words so far!) as well as new responsibilities. Don’t despair, my fair and (hopefully) beautiful readers, I am back and ready to provide you with my insights and to, as ever, ask for your opinions and not receive any - you can’t say I don’t try to include you in the discussion! Let’s get it off to a slightly exciting start…
Microsoft recently released a group of their newest applications under the Windows Live brand name, aimed at the general computer user and recreational blogger. This suite includes Microsoft’s successor to Outlook Express, a new version of the popular Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger if you’re not keeping up with the trends), Windows Live OneCare Family Safety and a host of other tools Microsoft seems to think we need/want. I have had some experience with some of the products before, most in beta form, and just wanted to share my voice.
Mail
During my extremely short use of Vista, I used the Windows Live Desktop mail application that was included with it at the time. My experience was less than pleasing and an installation of Thunderbird promptly followed. The new application gives the user the Vista inspired interface (if you’re on XP) and a much needed clean and polish of the user interface that Outlook so desperately needed. I don’t think this application is meant to replace Outlook Express as Windows Live Mail doesn’t provide all the features that some individuals and businesses would require.
Messenger
The next upgrade to the popular Windows Live/MSN Messenger, version 8.5 or version 2008 depending on where you look, is part of the Windows Live family and an option in the pack. This new version seems to improve the speed of the application as I’ve had no conversation freezes or lockups since upgrading to the newest version. Also provided in version 8.5 is an improvement a change to the interface to bring it into line with the rest of the Windows Live theme. It is a nice improvement, I have to admit but only a minor one. Maybe the design team should take some notes from the Yahoo! Messenger team.
Writer
Microsoft’s attempt to make blogging easier has definitely improved since its initial public release - and I’m not just talking about the snazzy splash screen in the newest version. In earlier versions, Windows Live Writer didn’t exactly agree with Wordpress in a number of areas. Whether this was because of Wordpress or Writer, who knows, but I’ll bet it was Writer who was at fault.
Final Thoughts
There are other products in the Windows Live suite of application but I wont go into them right now; you can check them out for yourselves if you’re curious enough. This re-brand is just Microsoft’s attempt to push their products into the faces of ordinary PC users and given them software that in 
some cases just isn’t needed by the most inexperienced users.
There are some applications that are essential to most Windows users though. The update to Messenger is recommended for users who want a more stable chat program and for home users who don’t know better, Windows Live Mail is a nice replacement for Outlook Express though I continue to suggest you come out of the stone age and use Mozilla Thunderbird!
Go and download the applications - but watch out for the pre-ticked boxes that install the Live toolbar and set your homepage to something evil - and give is your comments on them! That’s an order.
July 23rd 2007
Educational, Film/TV, Life
I was perousing around the iTunes store the other day looking for some science and IT based podcasts when I decided to click on a small link that said ‘iTunes U’. It was a spontaneous decision - one of very few I make - and has probably been one of the most fulfilling clicks I have ever made on my computer.
It makes a welcome surprise that, for me, overshadows the absence of TV content on the British and European iTunes stores - but that makes for another rant post. iTunes U is a way for university students - or anyone for that matter - to watch lectures on a number of subjects whenever they want. I’ve been watching a lecture every night for four days now.
Long Distance Learning
The service allows you to download video podcasts of your subjects from a number of American educational institutes and watch them on your 
computer and/or video iPod. Over the past few days I’ve been watching lectures on ‘Introductory Astronomy’ from Michigan Tech University with Prof. Robert Nemiroff. The lectures that I’ve watched have been quite interesting and, although recorded from September last year, up to date. The lecturer, Prof. Robert Nemiroff, is one of the people responsible for writing the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) descriptions as well.
I have found that in the first five lectures to be extremely interesting and it was funny to see the class slowly decrease in size as more and more people found out they didn’t have to attend the lectures. Some of the content was pretty basic while some went into more depth such as the lectures on black holes - this was very interesting and I learnt a lot more that I would have at my current A-Level course. I must warn you that Prof. Nemiroff attempts to inject some humour into the lectures and if I’m honest, fails the majority of the time but you may appreciate it more than me.
Are U Ready?
I don’t know the figures of the uptake on this service but as a British A-Level student it’s been interesting to learn things on the side while I have some spare time. There are other more hardcore Physics courses on there and a host of other subjects that you can subscribe to. 
The list of institutions that provide these courses seems to have increased since I first laid eyes on the service a few days ago and I only hope that more continue the trend.
Personally, I don’t agree with courses that don’t require attendance at lectures as I think that’s half the reason you go to University but I love the fact that these places are recording lectures and allowing people from around the world to learn more about their interests.
I know it may be a stretch to ask Windows users to download iTunes but do it anyway, for me. Check out the library of lecture-casts under iTunes U in the iTunes store and give it a go. Download 7 video podcasts and watch one every day for a week. Give us a comment.
Oh, and thanks to Derby University for supplying the iPod.
July 21st 2007
Life, Technology
The release of a major milestone at the end of June went unnoticed by me, for which I give myself a slap on the wrist. Mozilla’s under-publicised calendar application Sunbird finally churned out their 0.5 release. This new release, as with all previous releases, brings ever more features, bug fixes and urgently needed life into the overshadowed application. Sunbird has been overshadowed by its older siblings Firefox and Thunderbird but is just beginning to break out on its own.
I have used Sunbird, and its Thunderbird extension twin Lightening, before but only at an early state - version 0.1 or thereabouts. Here are my thoughts about this latest stable release and why Outlook should watch out.
Major Improvements
You can find a full list of the improvements and big fixes on the development blog but one major difference in this version compared to 0.1 is that 0.5 hasn’t crashed yet. This enables me to actually use the application! Seriously, there has been major improvements in just about every area. The theme has been updated and other interface elements have been graphically improved.
One warmly welcomed introduction was the support for shared Google Calendars and Outlook meeting requests. This start to integrate with Google Calendar should stand Sunbird well as Google Calendar is one of the few online calendar services that people actually use. If only Google would allow calendars to be externally edited. Oh wait! You can!
Google Calendar Support
The same people that built in Google Calendar support have produced an extension for Sunbird that enables read and write support for Google Calendars. When installed it provides another option when importing or subscribing to calendars which is specifically for Google shared calendars. This tight integration will be vital to the success and adoption of Sunbird in later releases although it’s no the be all and end all for it, let it be known.
Wax Wings?
Sunbird has come a long way since it was announced way back in 2001. With each release it is looking ever more professional and brings ever more needed and improved features with it, the application looks increasingly set to achieve as much success as Firefox and Thunderbird in the not to distant future. 
The fact that it is built upon Mozilla’s XUL tool kit stands it in good stead for a plethora of extensions and themes when it becomes more popular and more user friendly.
It’s twin Lightening - an extension clone for Mozilla Thunderbird - is another matter at the moment. There are a few issues with the integration of it and the e-mail client but it has the potential to be a free and popular consumer alternative to Microsoft Outlook. I do think however that if it’s to succeed then Sunbird will also have to integrate with Thunderbird rather than just providing a separate extension which is the current situation.
The Mozilla Calendar Project has come a long way and know they still have a long way to go but they’ve come this far in a relatively short time. If they’ve come that far in that short a time, we can only expect great things in the time to come. Will we see the dissolution of Lightening for a Sunbird that automatically integrated with Thunderbird? Time will tell. Go and grab a download of either Sunbird or Lightening and see what you think. If you haven’t used it in a while, I fell you will be pleasantly surprised. Sunbird definitely does not have wings made of wax and will be flying higher and higher.
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