Ahhhh! The BBC. Shining bastion of purity in a sea of commercial malaise. Nothing can spoil its lustre. Well, for those of us in the UK. For the poor sods who find themselves living in the wilderness of ROW (Rest Of World) this is their BBC experience... BBC With Adverts The reasons for me seeing this are rather complex and involve VPNs and a co-located BES. Regardless, what's this advert…
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Edit! I've uploaded the clip as it's no longer available on iPlayer https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/I-am-the-Cheese-Lord.mp4 A few weeks ago, I blogged about seeing Russell Howard's Good News. I was (only slightly) gutted not to have appeared on the broadcast version of the show. Then, this morning, one of my colleagues stopped me in the lift... Hey! Saw you on TV last …
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When I was a student, I had a brilliant idea. Why not have a stand at every train station where you could sync your Palm Pilot with the latest news? Insert a pound in the slot, press the button for The Times, aim your handheld's IrDA at the blinking light and ZAP! All the latest news for you to read on your train journey. It's just as well that my idea never got out of the paper prototyping …
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I wander around the world in a perpetual state of confusion. Why is the world the way it is? Why do people make bad decisions? Why - when there are so many better alternatives - do people choose the worst of all possible worlds? Rather than getting bogged down in philosophy, I refer to the reason people choose Microsoft Windows to do anything public facing. Advertisers obviously care…
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There are many reasons to love Open Source Software. It's free (as in you pay nothing), it's free (as in speech) and - perhaps my favourite reasons - it's free (as in liberating). By liberating, I mean that one isn't tied down to the product roadmap and release schedule of the developers. If I find a bug, not only can I report it, I can fix it myself. If I can't fix it myself, I can often fi…
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Once again, I dive into the confusing world of Mobile Internet Advertising. A world, so we're told, where the streets are paved with gold. Based on the evidence I've accumulated, mobile advertising is subject to a lot of hype and not a lot of professionalism. Take this example as seen on my BlackBerry 9000. Flickr iPhone Advert First off the bat, it gets my phone wrong. It should be using…
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NA! BLO! PO! MO! It sounds like a Judoon war cry - "Na Blo Po Mo!" But rather than legions from the Shadow Proclamation, it is an amassed horde of bloggers poised to do battle with the enemy. Gentlemen - the enemy is us. I noticed that I had averaged a blog post every few days in October - I wondered if I could beat that and still retain some vestige of quality. During BarCampLondon I heard…
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I first heard of Dans Le Noir? last year and have been itching to go ever since. Dans Le Noir? is a restaurant with a gimmick. You eat in the dark. I don't mean that the lights are dim; there are no lights. Mobile phones and watches with luminous dials are banned. There's not so much as the ethereal glow of LEDs from around the room. All is dark. You choose your meal in a dimly lit bar then,…
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Earlier this month, the lovely people at FreshCase sent me some boxes of wine. Alex Hilton wanted to know how easy it was to recycle. So, for your edification and delight, I present... Recycling The FreshCase Disclaimer These boxes of wine were sent to me for free. Enjoy alcohol responsibly. Do not attempt without adult supervision. …
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I feel a bit guilty about including NatWest's latest mobile advert in my Badvertising section - because it's mostly very good. But it shows exactly why you need to carefully examine every link within your site and see how useful it is for your customers. You may have noticed this animate banner as you wander around the mobile web. NatWest Advert Here it is in context NatWest Ad on Times Site …
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America and Canada both celebrate a holiday called "Thanksgiving". Although, for complex reasons, the celebrate it at different times of the year. Outside of North America the holiday simply doesn't exist. Much like the US doesn't celebrate Guy Fawkes night - the British don't celebrate Thanksgiving. So, I was a little surprised to see this advert for #tweetsgiving on my mobile. What is…
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I'm an Apathist. It's a funny sort of mix between the various flavours of Atheism and Agnostism. At its very root is the fact that I just don't care. Arguments about religions and their various gods are tedious; by their very nature there is no way of resolving them. So, lets take some points. See if you agree or disagree with my reasoning. There is no evidence of gods. Absence of e…
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