Always the Queen of the Impulse Buy, I just picked up an HTC Touch from my local Orange Store. I fell in love with its dinky size and TouchFlo interface. One pleasant surprise when I got home home was to find that it is not the HTC Elf but an Elfin. The main difference being that the Elf has 64mb RAM 128mb ROM, the Elfin has double - 128mb RAM 256mb ROM.

The phone was locked to Orange of course, but I unlocked it straight away to take my o2 sim. (yes o2, as I had to port my number from Three as the coverage turned out to be atrocious). I have loaded up with programs and am enjoying using the Touch, so far. I have now put my TMO sim back in the TyTn where it belongs (At least until the contract is up in October…..then hopefully I can get down to just one phone number!).

One thing I have decided to do is sort out a lot of my gadgets & phones and sell them on to good homes. I have cupboards full of stuff. I think I need an eBay shop!!

To paraphrase the character from “The Fast Show” - This week, I have been mainly flashing the TyTn!

Now that my MDA Vario II is well out of warranty, I can safely admit to having played with the many ROMs around. Many have “issues”, even the latest WM6 upgrade from HTC (the official T-Mobile upgrade) proved to be a liability. Dead battery within hours of a full charge, no bluetooth, very poor reception, I could go on. About the best of the bunch for me was Black Majik, so this week I have gone back to Black. Now the battery is only on 80% at the end of a hard day (including a little wifi). Bluetooth is still an annoying bug, but I can live with it as the TyTn has IR.

Having upgraded the ROM I had to reload all the gubbins via backup (SPB Backup, great for this job) and since I run most of my programs from the SD card I just had to add the shortcuts to the start menu from the backup file on the card that I made prior to re-flashing (a real time saver).

Programs that are best reloaded on to the phone itself include SPB Mobile Shell (I just upgraded from the first version to version 2.1) an excellent  program that gives a real TouchFlo feel to the interface. Phatnotes and SplashID have to sync with their desktop equivalents so they shouldn’t go on the card either (I have older versions).

Even though the TyTn has persistent memory I can’t emphasis enough that you should still make backups. SPB Backup is very versatile. I also copy my SD card to my PC for extra peace of mind.

SPB Mobile Shell 2.1 in action.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous for a walk around Bletchley Park, home of the Enigma Machine. During the second world war, code breakers worked here furiously, decoding missives sent by the German forces. According to most sources, the efforts made at Bletchley Park shortened the war and saved many allied lives.

Strange choice for a wedding anniversary day out, but there you go.

I took the Digilux 2 along and got a few nice pics. At one point the other half came up behind me to see what I was photographing “You like your peeling paint don’t you!” says he, as he went off to photograph a broken window……….!

(Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge them.)

Just popped along to CentreMK to take a quick look at Collectormania with my Leica Digilux 2 in tow. It was all very busy even at 10am. I took a few photos, though to be honest, it was a bit of a scrum in places, and with the shutter delay on the camera, I got quite a few shots of peoples’s backs as they pushed in front of me. Still I enjoyed it. Nice to see some familiar faces, I managed to spot both June Whitfield and Leslie Phillips…I hope I have their energy when I’m their age (which feels like it could be any day now!)

(I have tried something new with the picture - a WordPress gallery)

Yes, its that time of year again when the CentreMK becomes a mecca for all SciFi Fans. Collectormania 13 is about to open in Middleton Hall (at the front of John Lewis). I was in the centre today and saw the setting up. The guest list this time looks interesting too. Everyone from June Whitfield and Leslie Phillips (Hellooooo, sorry can’t write it the way Leslie says it) to the emperor himself Dave Prowse. Amongst others due to be there are Nick Courtney (The Brigadier to Jon Pertwee’s Dr Who) John Barrowman (Torchwood), Hattie Hayridge (Holly - Red Dwarf) and Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Babylon 5). There are loads and loads of collector stalls around, so you should be able to find something to take home. Even if you can’t, you can always dress up like your scifi heroes, many do. Go on dig out that Worf mask! The website is here.

My Hundredth Post - WhoooHoooo!

A facinating article over at Reuters shows the way for recycling mobile phones. Apparently one ton of phones can yield more precious metals (like gold) than an equal amount of metal ore. Enter the new “Urban Miners” searching for value in old electronics. At the moment it seems that every evening on our local news, someone has stolen copper wiring from telephone exchanges, church bells and drain covers. At least this “mining” seems to be a more honest approach. Read the article here.

I just found out that today (April 27th) is World Pinhole Day. Aaha! A chance to dig out the Lomo Diana I was given at christmas. You can take the front elements off the Diana and turn it into a pinhole camera…..must rush out and try it.

Today, for once it wasn’t cold and it wasn’t raining. I grabbed the Leica Digilux 2 and the family (in that order) and went for a walk around the grounds of Linford House. A very lucky couple had chosen the same time to get married in the Church there, so we didn’t stay and intrude too much. I grabbed a few shots with the aim of converting them to black and white just to see what they looked like. I am still learning, but am quite pleased with the results. Lucky me also managed to cadge a Leica M6 for the day, but I will have to wait for the film to be processed to see what I have there.

Linford House. With an infra redish look.

Thunderbirds Are Go!

Ooky, yes,  but also very photogenic.

A splash of colour.

You may know how much I love Astraware’s games for Pocket PC. Smartphone and Palm OS. I just treated myself to a copy of their “Casino”. The pack actually comprises quite a few Vegas style games, BlackJack, Poker, Roulette, Craps (excuse me) and the old one armed banditos. Astraware’s games are always a joy to look at and the game play quite satisfying, I have never played Roulette before, I love watching the little wheel spin (little things please my little mind). As with all their games, Astraware have trial versions available for download before you buy. Astraware.com.

Astraware Casino = Good Fun

(Picture from Astraware’s as I can’t figure out how to take screenshots off the TyTn)

]]> http://butterflyminded.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/astraware-casino/feed/ Butterflymind http://butterflyminded.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/skypein-skypeout-shake-it-all-about/ http://butterflyminded.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/skypein-skypeout-shake-it-all-about/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:53:01 +0000 Butterflymind http://butterflyminded.wordpress.com/?p=160

I have been a long time user of Skype, it was one of the reasons I found the 3 Skypephone so attractive. However, that wasn’t to be. Actually being able to use my TyTn allows me to use more of the the Skype services on the move. I can connect via WiFi and use SkypeIn and SkypeOut, something the Skypephone couldn’t do.

I was about to top up my SkypePro account today and found that the pricing has changed. Now you can go Pay As You Go (similar to the previous rates) or you can subscribe to their monthly packages which give you up to 10.000 free landline minutes a month, voicemail and a SkypeIn number. Prices start at £2.24 in the UK. The SkypeIn number, (which you may already know is a proper landline number you can be called on at cheaper rates than say a mobile, or international number) would previously have cost £30 odd a year alone. So for me this new tarif is a money saver, both as a caller and callee (my friends can use their free mobile to landline minutes to contact me). Check out Skype.com for more info

Rumours abound that Skype is about to be sold off by eBay and maybe their newer more attractive tarif will boost the user numbers and company value. I, of course, couldn’t possibly comment……..