It’s a Blog ! Not a Log !

Mentioned a few posts back that I won the Carphone Warehouse’s TechnoGeek contest, which resulted in me winning a lovely shiney new Dell Laptop, also mentioned in previous posts was a bit about the piece they had in the Trafford Metro about me winning, at the time I did’nt actually have a copy of this news piece, but now thanks to the lovely Suzi at Bisslancaster I now have a copy, so with no further ado heres what the Metro had to say

VINCE IS THE (TECH) CHAMP!

Trafford man announced as Trafford’s gadget grand master!

A Trafford man has been named  ‘Tech Champ’ after winning a competition with the new-look Carphone Warehouse store at the Trafford Centre.

The store wanted to find the area’s biggest technology fanatic who could become a honourary member of the store team and be able to review and provide feedback on all of the new products, and self confessed technology geek, Vince Elgey from Davyhulme, certainly fits the bill!

Vince (43), who works in IT, explains: “I admit that I’m a tech geek. If it has a wi-fi then I want it, if it’s the latest model then I must have it, if it means I can talk to my twice removed cousin in Timbuktu then I’m in the queue! I’m constantly twittering on my iPhone, updating my Facebook status and posting on my blog.”

As part of his prize, Vince received a brand new Dell laptop and he’ll also get to test out exciting new products before they hit the shelves.

Vince continues: “Technology plays such an important part in my life so I was thrilled to be chosen as the Tech Champ. I’m really looking forward to getting the chance to review the new products that come into store and I’ll be posting my reviews on my twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blog and AudioBoo accounts!”

Branch manager Neil Sears, explains: “It used to be the case that gadget lovers were thought of as being a bit geeky.  However these days it’s rather cool; everyone wants to have the best laptop, the most stylish phone or the latest application or music download on their mobiles.  In fact all of our store team are extremely proud of their expert knowledge and gadget know-how. “

Neil continues: “We’re excited to welcome Vince as an honorary member of our team. It’s always useful for us to get customer feedback on all our new products and services and I think Vince is going to do a fantastic job for us!”

The store is the latest in the new breed of ‘wireless lite’ Carphone Warehouse stores which have been developed to keep up with an ever changing technology market. Customers can find a wide range of laptops, portable game consoles and games and broadband packages as well as all the latest mobile phones and a team of experts who can handle any home IT problems and provide quick and expert solutions. They can even offer computer support and repairs as well as technology tuition.

Anyhows the Laptops still going strong and I’m loving it to bits and am looking forward to eventually testing out some of the gizmos and devices the Carphone Warehouse decide to throw my way and once they do I’ll be sure to test it to its limits and share the results with you lot

this time they’ve been helping the members of a local Age Concern keep fit and healthy, heres a few pictures and the press release :

FIT WITH THE OLD FOLKS!

Members from a Manchester based Age Concern group turn to the Wii Fit to help keep active

Members from Out in the City, a local Age Concern group have struck upon a novel way of keeping fit.  Leisurely walks, bowls and swimming have been usurped in favour of a new hi-tech training tool – the Wii Fit.

Four members, aged in their late 50s, 60s and 70s, visited the new wireless lite Carphone Warehouse store at the Trafford Centre this week and were given a demonstration in the popular game.

After the demonstration, the store donated the Wii Fit console and game to Age Concern so that members will regularly be able to use the different Wii fitness games, helping to keep themselves active and agile.

Thanks to the games console, they will now be able to regularly participate in Tai Chi, fitness programmes and can even monitor their posture and BMI.  For those wanting something a little more strenuous, snowboarding, skiing and dance classes are the order of the day!

Jane Barcoe of Age Concern said, “The members love keeping active and doing something different!  This is a great gift from The Carphone Warehouse and I’m sure we’ll have no shortage of people who want to use the Wii Fit.  This is a really innovative way to help our members interact and keep fit!”

Neil Sears, Store Manger of  The Carphone Warehouse at the Trafford Centre, said, “Technology can be a great way to connect with other people and in this instance a perfect way to keep fit too.  The range of technology on the market is expanding, and age shouldn’t be a barrier so our aim is to breakdown the walls and make gadgets simple for everyone.”

The ‘wireless lite’ Carphone Warehouse at the Trafford Centre offers a wider range of mobile communications such as laptops and gaming products too.  The store is one of four to be trialled across England and offering a new format, with expert advice and counsel given on all manner of high-tech issues and gadgets.

I think I may have won it, they would like me to meet at the Trafford Centre one day this week to discuss, have photo taken etc etc etc.

In the words of one Ubergeek to another “WooooooooooHoooooooo!”

Seems a young lad of 11 fell into a pond somewhere between Davyhulme and the Trafford Centre tonight around 6:00pm, we heard all the Police cars responding to a call out, there must have been about 3 vans and a couple of cars go flying down Broadway trying to figure out how to get to where the lad was, at one point a Police helicopter joined the search for the boy
Seems the lad was with a few mates playing around the edge of an old pond when he slipped in and went under, Fire and Rescue teams turned up, but didn’t find his body until a good few hours later
Such a sad waste of a young life, but things like this will always happen when theres bored kids around on the summer hoildays looking for things to do and adventures to go on, condolences to his family from me and mine.

Trafford Centre, just way way way to many people bustling about shopping till they drop

I filmed this one Saturday in there while waiting for Mel to finish her shopping.

All these people spending there Saturdays running round shops buying stuff they dont really need, but are made to think they need it by the mass advertising and playing to peoples fears that if they dont own one of those there some how inferior to everyone else, consumerism at its height, thats what the Trafford Centre is

Watching back this footage I saw quite a mad thing for the Trafford Centre (or maybe its not), kept seeing a set of girls walking around in coloured Tu-Tu’s and at first thought I was seeing things, but they appeared again and realised there really were people in there in fluorescent Tu-Tu’s mixing with the Shopper on saturday . .  weird place indeed

Finally my 18 months with my N95 has come to an end and I’ve finally been able to upgrade my phone to something a little snazzier

What phone have I decided to upgrade to ?  well after much thought and deliberation I’ve decided to go for the Samsung SGH-F480V, a rather natty little phone with touch screen technology

Picked it up last night from the Vodafone shop in the Trafford centre, though I spent about 2 hrs deciding whether to get this phone or get the HTC Touch Diamond, I liked the HTC phone a lot, but found it just a little bit to fiddly to use, especially for someone with sausage fingers like my own.

So what do you get for your money with the F480V then well here’s here’s some of the specs for it

• 2.8″ touch screen
• Intuitive navigation
• 5.0 Megapixel camera
• Autofocus, image stabilisation and LED flash
• MP3 Music player
• 3G HSDPA connection
• Dimensions: 96 x 55 x 12mm Weight: 91g
• Standby time: 250 hours
• Talk time: 3 hours

As well as the above it has a very easy to use touch-screen interface which after a few minutes use is easy to navigate, it also has on its main screen widgets similar to those found in Mac OSX, there’s a music widget so you can start playing tunes straight away without having to find your way through the menu, there’s a photo widget which allows you to change your desktop/screen-saver to another picture with 2 easy taps of the screen, there’s even a birthday widget which as long as you have your contacts birthdays listed in your calendar will remind you when the time to buy a present is, something that will greatly assist me in keeping on the good side of Mel and a few friends.

So all in all I think its a pretty decent phone, though I’m yet to test its connectivity with my Apple Macs, something I’ll be trying later today.

Oh I just love getting new gadgets 

Sit in a Cafe in the Trafford Centre and Surf the net and eat bagels while Hrs HP does all her shopping or girly things, this place normally cracks me within about 15 mins, but now I got the net I can just sit down and ignore the consumers masse’s running around like the world revolves around the latest fashion statement. .

I love you Wi-Fi

I also love bagels

Anyway whil I’m sat here I’ve set up the time-lapse camera and got it pointed at one of the walk ways, so hoping I’ll get some good time-lapse captures of people running around like mad little rats in a maze, will hopefully post some of the footage tonight after I’ve played about with it in Final Cut.

Heres one I made earlier using the Line Art filter

Please feel free to comment on it and let me kow what you think

Seems that Blue has made a bit of an impact on 2 girls who work at the new Krustie Kremes Doughnut place near the Trafford Centre, everytime we go there on a saturday for our coffee before we walk Blue they give her a complimentry doughnut . . now maybe if I pant a lot and get myself a sad looking face they might start giving me free doughnuts.

Anyway girls Blue say’s thank you very much in her doggy style woof

More like the 7th level of hell . . .

Just went in there tonight with Mel to do some shopping for Christmas presents and it was a nightmare, the queue inHMV was about 150 deep and just getting bigger by the minute, seems everyone is like me and leaves tehre xmas shop until the last minute, same can be said of about 50% of the shops in there tonight they were heaving with mad for it shoppers.

Only actually managed to get one present in the end then just had enough and left, but the nightmare was’nt over, it had only just begun, seems much like the late shopping I was’nt the only one wh wanted to leave the Trafford centre at the same time . . we ende up stuck in clogged up traffic for about 1hr before we actually got out of the carpark !

Never again shall I venture in there on a weekday