January 2008

I’m not sure if this is legitimate or not. If not, it’s funny anyway. If it is, it’s even funnier

Here’s a corker from the BBC web site, where they’re highlighting the story of a remake of the Three Little Pigs (with a new title of Three Little Cowboy Builders) being labelled offensive not only to Muslims, but also Builders!

The CD-Rom digital version of the traditional story of the three little pigs, called Three Little Cowboy Builders, is aimed at primary school children.

But judges at this year’s Bett Award said that they had “concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues”.

One assumes this would also then mean that no discussion of pork sausages is allowed. They go on to state:

They also warned that the story might “alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)”.

I guess my immediate response to that would have to be “so what?”.

What next?!

MacHeist have made available another of their terrific Mac software bundles. Since buying my MacBook Pro, I’ve been lucky enough to get some outstanding Mac software for fantastic prices due to promotions on MacUpdate and now MacHeist.

I’ve been thinking about getting Pixelmator for some time. It’s now included in the MacHeist bundle, which sealed the deal for me. The usual price for Pixelmator is $59, and I got that plus 12 other applications for only $49!

As well as Pixelmator, you get the following applications included in the bundle:

• 1Password (I already had this, but it’s a “must-have” if you haven’t already got it)
• CoverSutra
• Cha-Ching
• iStopMotion
• Awaken
• Speed Download
• AppZapper (a great little uninstaller)
• TaskPaper
• CSSEdit
• Snapz Pro X (fantastic screen grabber)
• Wingnuts 2
• Tiki Magic Mini Golf

You’ve only got 4 days left to get this deal, so if you want a quick boost to your Mac software library for a stupidly low price, go grab it now!

This might sound a bit like an advert, and I guess it is to some extent. If you order through the links on this page, I’ll get a couple more apps thrown in, so there’s my disclosure

Update: Thanks to everyone who signed up. I’m not sure how many of you did, but it was at least two, as I’ve received the unlocks for the 2 additional applications. MacHeist have also just announced that they will unlock VectorDesigner should they reach the $300,000 figure for charity. They have already reached $281,000, which is a remarkable achievement. So, if you know anyone with a Mac, send them over and let’s try and reach the magic 300k

I don’t know if it’s something specific to the UK, but there seem to be more and more cars driving around plastered with signs proclaiming “Earn £500 per day”, “Retire in 3 years”, “Earn more money than you’ll ever be able to spend” etc.

Thing is, they’re invariably on knackered, 20 year old cars with hardly any of the lights working and driven by people who look like they only have one set of clothes. Now, I guess you could argue that they’re so busy saving for that early retirement that they don’t want to waste any money on a new car (or a spare set of clothes). I guess you could also argue that they’re so stupid they don’t realise people will look at their car and think “well, it obviously didn’t work for him…”.

So, is this just a UK thing, or is the entire planet littered with idiots?

2007 was a good year for my gadget collection. I managed to add 3 superb bits of kit, all of which I’d happily recommend to anyone. In no particular order of preference:

1. MacBook Pro. I took the plunge and finally moved to Mac OS. I now wish I’d done so years ago, although in fairness I needed to wait for the Intel models, as I still boot into Windows to go flight simming and for some other games. Read my more detailed post about this exquisite piece of kit here.
2. Nokia E65 mobile through the 3 UK network. This is a simply stunning bit of gadgetry. I went through 3 rather than any other network, as they gave me a free Slingbox (yet another wonderful gadget) which allows me to watch my satellite TV pretty much anywhere on my mobile. This is terrific for those odd moments when you just want to catch up with the news, or maybe watch a movie! I can browse the web on it (I’m using Opera Mini), I have Push email, Instant Messaging, games - pretty much everything I want on the move. Additionally, it makes a perfect modem for my MacBook Pro.
3. Panasonic FX55 camera. I love Panasonic cameras. I also own an FZ30, which is a fantastic camera, but I wanted something I can carry with me always, so I never have another of those “I wish I had my camera” moments. The FX55 is beautifully built and takes stunning images. The 28mm wide angle end of the zoom is superb and the Intelligent Auto mode is something else. True fire and forget. You can check some of my test shots over on Flickr.

So, there’s my brief round-up of last years technical wizardry. I’m sure there’ll be lots more goodies for me to play with this year.