I Am Off To Dublin Next Week........ Day One - Sunday

My flight from Heathrow was uneventful. The flight was delayed by 25 minutes, but hey, in the end we were up in the air and before i noticed the captain was annoucing our arrival into Dublin airport. I was not expecting the airport to be that small. Mind you I was expecting Dublin to be a big city, but as my driver was telling me on the way to the Hotel, Dublin is a fairly small city. Since joining the EU, there has been a huge influx of workers from Europe currently working here. Everything here looks so different [obviously!].

The driver was kind enough to take me through a quick tour of the city.

I am staying at The Merrion Hotel, which, according to the driver, is located in a very strategic part of town. He adviced me to check out The Temple Bar. My next question to him was "how about the Guiness". He just laughed and said I should not leave Dublin without sampling the beer. He said if I did leave without sampling the beer I would be doing myself serious harm.

My hotel room is just amazing. As usual, i have taken some pictures of the room and hotel for those interested. Watch out for Day Two log enteries which will have some pictures.

I Am Off To Dublin Next Week.

I have never been to Ireland, you will please pardon my excitement.

There is a conference being held there for a period of 4 days. Its a practice that when the top guys in BAT are having a conference in any part of the world there is the presence of an IT person there to assistance with any IT related things. This can range from Blackberry support, through VPN connection issues down to anything.

Yesterday, the PA to one of the top guys at work asked me to kindly step into her office so that we could book our tickets to Dublin. I will be going via Terminal One at Heathrow and will be flying with Air Lingus.

I wonder what the Irish people are like? And what is all this fascination about Guinness Beer? Well I hope I get some time to do some sightseeing whilst I am up there. Hey if any of you out there is Irish and has some tips for me, then please jot something here for me. Thanks

That reminds me, I need to ask the PA tomorrow what hotel we will be staying in.

How Do I Get Out Of £11,000.00 Of Debt, And More?

Its a long story. To cut a long story short, I took out a loan years ago for £10,000.00. I managed to pay off £4,000.00 back, but due to financial difficulties stopped payments. I was taken to court by the company handling the debt and was asked to pay back £11,000.00. I have sort the help of a debt management agency to help me repay the money back. I have 3 other creditors, no strick that, i have 4 other creditors to pay money back to.

One is for overdraft owing to the bank. Thants about £1,200.00, then there are 3 credit cards totalling about £6,000.00

MindManager Pro 7 or MindMapper..?

I seem to be slowly losing grip of things. I dont seem to get things done when they should be done. Basically I am not in control any more, and I hate not being in control. Being not in control makes your day look very unproductive. You feel as if you have achieved absolutely NOTHING.So, to get myself back on track, Hopefully, I am going to employ the use of MindManager Pro 7. I have heard some good things about it in the past, I quite remember employees at Morley Fund Management using a lot. And I am hoping it will be able to transform the way I approach thing on a day-to-day basis as well as regarding plans made in the future. I am currently reviewing two products that I have come across. I have used MindManager Pro 6 in the past, and that was just on the surface. Recently I came across and similar product called MindMapper If anyone out there has used both products before is is able to recommend which one to use, then please feel free to post a comment here

The Power User's BlackBerry Guide: 121 CrackBerry Tips, Hacks and Resources

Yanked from INSIDECRM CrackBerry addicts, are you ready to take your BlackBerry to the next level? In this list, you'll find some of the most awesome tips, hacks, how-tos and guides for the BlackBerry, making it easy for just about anyone to become a power user.

These BlackBerry tips will help you work easier, better and faster.

Delete Multiple Messages: Search for messages, then press Delete Prior to delete all of the messages in the results.

Read "A Wired-In Guy Getting Set for a Big Date": Stick your wet BlackBerry, or any other doomed device, (turned off) in a bowl of uncooked rice overnight, and it will suck out the moisture.

Navigate Your Calendar Quickly: First, enable Quick Entry, then press "D" for day, "W" for week, "M" for month and "A" for agenda.

Separate SMS (Short Message Service) Messages and Emails: Select Separate in the SMS and Email Inboxes field under General Options.

Select Text on a Page: To highlight text, press Shift, then move the wheel up or down.

Delete by Date: Click a date and press Delete Prior to restore order to your mailbox while still retaining your most recent messages.

Get BlackBerry Tips, Tricks and Key-Press Shortcuts: Learn important keys, message tips and more.

Permanently Delete Emails: To ensure that you're permanently deleting emails, delete them from your email client rather than using the Delete Prior feature.

Capitalize Letters: Press and hold letters down to make them capitals.

Turn Off Messages: You can choose to turn off messages by going through your security options and modifying your firewall settings.

Get Better Coverage with Your Radio: If your coverage is not doing well, try turning your radio off and on to force a network scan.

Scroll Down: Use your spacebar to scroll down a page, then press Shift and the spacebar simultaneously to move back up.

Get BlackBerry Calendar Tricks: This post covers popular tricks for the BlackBerry's calendar.

Sync Specific Folders: Set up Folder Redirection to sync only selected email folders to your BlackBerry.

Dial Letter Numbers: Call lettered numbers like 1-800-GOOG-411 by pressing Alt, hen typing the letters.

Empty Your Phone-Call Log: Enable Call Logging, then delete items in your Phone Call Logs folder.

Insert the "@" Symbol in an Email Message. Press the spacebar to enter an "@" symbol in a message or press it twice to insert a period.

Dry Your Device with Silica Gel: If you've dropped your BlackBerry in water, dry it out with silica-gel packets, which often come in shoeboxes. This also works with silica cat litter, which is generally labeled as crystal.

Select Special Characters: Press and hold a letter key, then move the thumb wheel up or down to get the appropriate character.

Enable Content Protection: Store data on your device securely by enabling content protection.

Stop a Page from Loading. Press the Escape button to keep Web pages from loading.

Reboot Your BlackBerry: You can reboot your BlackBerry without pulling out your battery by pressing Alt, Caps and Delete simultaneously.

Dry Your BlackBerry with Alcohol: Another drying option that also disinfects is 100 percent alcohol. Turn your BlackBerry off, soak it in alcohol and take it apart as much as possible. The alcohol should evaporate with exposure to air.

Read the Top 10 Phone Tips from BlackBerry: This list includes simple tips for changing volume, speed-dialing and more.

Use Your BlackBerry as a Flashlight: The BlackBerry makes a great flashlight for middle-of-the-night runs to the fridge or the bathroom.

Delete Mail-Client Emails from Your BlackBerry: Select Purge Deleted Items under Email Reconciliation to delete emails on your mail client.

Guides

Learn how to turn your BlackBerry into a supertool with these guides.

1. BlackBerry on Crack: 25 Tools to Supercharge Your Lifeline: This guide offers useful tools for BlackBerry business users and more.
2. BlackBerry Software and Utilities: If you're looking for any aftermarket BlackBerry tweaks, this is the place to start.
3. Mac OS X Tethered Modem Solution for BlackBerry: Find out how to use a BlackBerry as a modem in OS X.
4. Voice-to-Text Voice Mail Services and Third-Party Alpha Pager Dispatch Services: Check out these services that will transcribe your BlackBerry voice mails.
5. What Are the Methods of Receiving Email on BlackBerry?: Read this article to figure out your email options.
6. BlackBerry for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: This article explains why BlackBerry devices are great for those who are hearing impaired.
7. The Agony of "BlackBerry Thumb": Learn about BlackBerry-related thumb pain and what you can do about it.
8. Why BlackBerry?: Find out why the BlackBerry is a superior choice for some people.
9. BlackBerry HTML Web-Browsing FAQ: Get the lowdown on HTML browsing here.
10. Basic BlackBerry Etiquette: Here, you'll find a basic list of dos and don'ts for being a polite BlackBerry user.
11. Buying a BlackBerry on eBay: Check out this guide to learn how to avoid getting scammed when purchasing a BlackBerry from a seller on eBay.
12. Implementing GTD with Your BlackBerry: This guide recommends applications and more items for helping you get things done on the BlackBerry.
13. Transfer a File Using Bluetooth Technology Between Two BlackBerry Smart Phones: This guide will show you how to transfer files easily.
14. Gmail Receiving "Sent Items" You Send On Your BlackBerry: Learn how to turn off this syncing feature for Gmail and more.
15. BlackBerry Chat Apps/FAQ: Learn about awesome IM (instant messaging) applications and more in this guide.
16. Remove an IT Policy from a BlackBerry: Here, you'll find out how to rid yourself of a pesky IT policy.
17. Easy BlackBerry Backup: Use this guide to back up your BlackBerry in just a minute.
18. The First 10 Things You Should Do With Your New BlackBerry: Before you do anything else with your BlackBerry, do these 10 things.
19. Appear to Be in the Office While Actually Working from Home: Fool everyone by making these tweaks using your BlackBerry and more.
20. BlackBerry Messenger: What Is It and How Does It Work?: Get the lowdown on this BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry messaging service.
21. Maximize the Battery Life of Your New BlackBerry: Follow this tutorial to learn how to get the most out of your battery.

How-Tos

These how-tos will guide you through step-by-step hacks and tricks for the BlackBerry.

1. How to Use Your BlackBerry to Transfer Between Windows and Mac OS X: In this guide, you'll learn how to port tasks, notes, appointments and contacts from Mac OS X to Windows, and vice versa.
2. How to Turn on Standby Mode Using the Mute Key: Use this method to avoid pressing keys by accident.
3. How to Edit a Profile and Set Notifications: Here, you'll find out how to change your BlackBerry's message and email notifications.
4. How to Restore Your BlackBerry to Default Settings: Perform a security wipe on your device with this quick tutorial.
5. How to Free Up Memory on Your BlackBerry: Keep your BlackBerry from enabling the low-memory management feature with this tutorial.
6. How to Get Images onto Your BlackBerry: This quick tutorial offers a few easy ways to get images on your device.
7. How to Remove "Sent from my BlackBerry": This tutorial will walk you through the steps to changing your signature.
8. How to Use BlackBerry as Modem For Laptop: Give your laptop full Internet access using a BlackBerry.
9. How to Increase the Speed of the BlackBerry Browser: Speed things up with these simple tips.
10. How to Configure Full Internet Access on BlackBerry: Learn how to get full Internet access on your BlackBerry with this tutorial.
11. How to Install Third-Party Applications (Mac OS X): This guide will walk you through installing apps on your BlackBerry through Mac OS X.
12. BlackBerry 101: The How-To Lecture Series: This series covers purchasing a BlackBerry, checking out the controls, third-party apps andmuch more.
13. How to Disassemble a BlackBerry Pearl: Whether you're taking your Pearl apart for fun, hacking or just to air it out, here's how to do the job.
14. How to Secure Your BlackBerry: Keep your data safe by following the tips in this guide.
15. How to Clean Your BlackBerry's Trackball: Get your trackball cleaned up with this how-to.
16. How to Stop the Blinking: Here you'll find out what various blinking lights mean and what you can do about them.
17. Installing Third-Party Applications: This guide for Windows users walks you through the process of installing of apps.
18. How to Get BlackBerry Internet Access without a Data Plan: Avoid data plans with this hack.
19. How to Set up Gmail as a Free Spam Filter for Your CrackBerry: Use Gmail to keep spam out of your BlackBerry.
20. How to Pair a Bluetooth GPS Receiver with Your BlackBerry: Check out this Bluetooth hack to pair your BlackBerry with a GPS receiver.
21. How to Transfer Files to Your BlackBerry: This guide will teach you a few different methods of file transfers.
22. How to Use BerryDialer to Save a Lot of Money on Voice Calls: Use this dialing hack to save some cash.
23. Turn a Full Length DVD Movie into a Pearl Movie File: This guide shows you how to turn a DVD into an .avi file.
24. How to Use Your BlackBerry as an Emergency Flashlight: Learn what you need to do to turn your BlackBerry into a flashlight.
25. How to Remove and Clean the Trackball: Get your trackball squeaky clean with this guide.
26. How to Put a Full-Blown Windows Desktop Environment on Your BlackBerry: Use your microSD card slot to get Windows on your BlackBerry.

Cheat Sheets

Make shortcuts and formats with these BlackBerry cheat sheets.

1. Hot Keys: BlackBerry Browser: Use these hot keys when viewing Web pages.
2. BlackBerry Cheat Sheet: This sheet is full of useful shortcuts.
3. Compare Cellular: Compare Cellular offers guides to getting started as well as quick reference guides for a number of BlackBerry models.
4. Supported Document Types: This list offers a glimpse at the file formats that a BlackBerry can handle.
5. BlackBerry Shortcut Collection: This handy guide has lots of shortcuts for the BlackBerry.
6. Tip: Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts: This cheat sheet offers lots of shortcuts for phoning, messaging and more.
7. RIM BlackBerry Quick Reference Guide: Get this handy printable sheet for an easy, quick reference for your BlackBerry.
8. Cheat Sheet to Share: Here, you'll find loads of shortcuts.
9. Hot Keys: Calendar: Create appointments and view dates more quickly with these hot keys.
10. SMS Quick Reference: Get this quick-reference guide to learn about SMS shortcuts for the BlackBerry.
11. Free SMS Messages: Avoid messaging fees by sending carrier-specific emails.
12. What Is My Carrier's BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) Web Site URL?: Here, you'll find BIS URLs for providers worldwide.
13. The BlackBerry Glossary: Find out what various acronyms stand for in this BlackBerry Glossary.
14. BlackBerry PIN Quick-Reference Guide: Have everything you need to know about BlackBerry PINs handy with this guide.
15. Hot Keys: View Word Document: Use these hot keys when working in Word.

Tools

Put these tools to work on your BlackBerry for loads of increased functionality.

BlackBerry Operating System Downloads: Find places to download a new OS here.

Berry Bloglines: Access Bloglines from your BlackBerry device using this RSS reader.

Google Maps Mobile: Get traffic, listings, maps and more with Google Maps for your BlackBerry.

Mobile Desktop: With this software, you can access your desktop PC from anywhere using your BlackBerry.

Mobylo! MultiAlarm: Get ultramanageable alarms with this neat tool.

Black & Whitelist: Keep harassing phone calls at bay using this blacklist application for the BlackBerry.

TryPhone: If you're shopping for a BlackBerry, use TryPhone to find out exactly how your model will function.

Naggie: This reminder application works with your BlackBerry's GPS to nag you about tasks when you get close to a location.

Google Mobile: Sync up your Google Calendar and more with this service.

RepliGo Professional: Using RepliGo Professional, you can view documents as if they were on your desktop computer.

Empower HTML Mail Viewer: See your emails in HTML with graphics, links and more with this tool.

Digby: Shop a number of online stores from your BlackBerry using Digby.

Spot: Get GPS on your BlackBerry with this software.

Necho Expense BlackBerry Edition: This tool makes expense reports a breeze.

Secure Password Manager: With this manager, you can safely store all of your important passwords and numbers on your BlackBerry.

BBTetris: Entertain yourself with this classic game for the BlackBerry (link opens download folder).

ABC Amber BlackBerry Convertor: Transfer contacts, emails, logs and lots more onto your desktop computer with this convertor.

iSkoot: Use this Skype client to get cheap calls on your BlackBerry.

IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger: IM on several different accounts and applications with this neat tool.

MicroStrategy Mobile: MicroStrategy Mobile automatically reformats documents so that they can be easily viewed on your BlackBerry.

Mobile SSH: Get access to your server from your BlackBerry using this cool tool.

Windows Live Search Mobile: Get local information, maps and searching capabilities with Windows Live Search Mobile.

StockView: Track stock prices with this free viewer (link opens download folder).

Translator+: Use this tool to get easy foreign translations on the go.

BeamBerry: Make your BlackBerry compatible with PDFs, Word documents, text files and more with this software (link opens download folder).

Beyond411: Get supercharged 411 listings using Beyond411, a service that gives you local prices, listings and GPS searches.

BlackBerry Unite!: Collaborate with up to five users by sharing remote access, calendars, documents and more with BlackBerry Unite!.

Backpack Mobile: Get organized on the go with Backback for the BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Tools: In this suite of BlackBerry tools, you'll find a number of useful applications.

Books

Find out even more in-depth tips and hacks in these BlackBerry reference books.

"BlackBerry Hacks": You'll learn how to supercharge your BlackBerry with this book.

"Professional BlackBerry": Learn how to extend your BlackBerry's functionality, get maximum uptime and more in this book.

"Hacking BlackBerry: Extreme Tech": This book discusses some of the many ways that you can hack your BlackBerry.

"How to Do Everything with Your BlackBerry": Take your BlackBerry way beyond email with this book.

At Work - Weekending 17th May

This week I was based at Danesfield House Hotel, based in Marlow, supporting the LACAR conference. The Hotel grounds are absolutely great. I didn't actually spend any nights in the hotel, but with these old country houses, you notice that they tend to need a complete overhauling due to their age. Standing outside the hotel at the back you have a superb view of the grounds and also part of the Thames River.

I was originally booked to set-up the IT kit and return back to Globe House on Tuesday. However thinking to myself, told the PA that since this was her first conference it would be a bad idea for me to leave her all alone for the rest of the week. Out of the 17 delegates at the conference, at least 12 were popping into the office I was using every day asking for assistance on IT related issues.

Danesfield House Hotel is a perfect place to: 1....chill out for the weekend with your partner, wife/husband or friend 2....have a wedding reception 3....have breakfast, lunch or dinner

RIM's BlackBerry Bold / 9000 Gets Official

Damn, took 'em long enough! RIM finally announced the BlackBerry Bold / 9000 -- we've got specs, but no price or hard launch date. Here we go:

• Family will include HSDPA and EV-DO versions (including an AWS-capable 1700MHz version), much as we'd heard
• 480 x 320 display
• 625MHz CPU, 1GB internal flash memory
• 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2Dp), GPS, MicroSDHC
• 480 x 320 video recording, photo geotagging
• 4.5 x 2.6 x 0.55-inches, 4.7 ounces

PC Mag's got the (latest) hands-on, hit the read link.Read sourced from engadget

Perfect For A Hot Summers Day

I was driving down to London this afternoon to sort out a computer problem for a friend when I suddenly remembered that I had a bottle of Polish Vodka resting on my freezer at home. Actually, I had some friends over last week and one of them left the bootle in my freezer. He rung the next day asking if the bootle was still there. I quickly told him that the bottle had been empltied to the very last drop.

A BBQ was the plan for this saturday, but my trip to London was important, so the BBQ has been cancelled. So I am back home now resting and...yes...enjoying the Polish Vodka in the comfort of my home. Happy weekend y'all and dont get too drunk.

What The Heck Is CLOUD COMPUTING..?

I was listening to a podcast on my iPOD when the presenter method "Cloud Computing". Then I said to myself, hey wait a minute, isn't this the same as "Client Server Computing"? Well isn't it?. Ok so its probably another posh name for "Client Server Computing". So the definition of "Cloud Computing" is this: Cloud computing is a computing paradigm in which tasks are assigned to a combination of connections, software and services accessed over a network. This network of servers and connections is collectively known as "the cloud." Computing at the scale of the cloud allows users to access supercomputer-level power. Using a thin client or other access point, like an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop, users can reach into the cloud for resources as they need them. For this reason, cloud computing has also been described as "on-demand computing."

You can get some good reading on the subject at SLATE

No Comment.......

I was onsite at another company about two weeks ago on a Friday night to do some work. I couldn't help using my mobile phone to take pictures of thier server room. I just could not believe the state in which the room was in. I have been in a lot of server rooms, some in a sorry state, but this one beats them all. well done FSA..!

At work Today - 22nd April

got into work at 08:10 as usual. My trip to work was no different from those I normally take every other day, well except for the fact that today the train stopped at Bedford for about 10 minutes, something to do with the doors not being able to close properly. But when you get into the habit of taking trains, and event like this is no big deal. So I got into work, dropped my stuff off at my desk and made my way downstairs to the company restaurant. LOL...yeah restaurant, I would normally call it a canteen, but this place of eating is too posh to be called a canteen. Anyway, I got myself a bowl of oats and a cup of coffee and headed back to my desk.

The morning was pretty busy, we are currently short staffed. Normally arrangements would be made for replacement support analyst to fill in the gap, but recently a lot of "politics" has been going on within managed services. Everyone has their suspicions that its to do with the renewing of the present contract.

About 20 minutes before lunch, I noticed that there were quite an unusual number of people gathered around Kirks [not his real name] desk. I had a quick glance and noticed that there was the Service Delivery Manager, another support analyst, the IT Manager for the company I currently work for; and a few other people. From the conversations that was being thrown about, Kirk was urgently trying to sort out a Lotus Notes issue for a VIP. The VIP needed his Lotus Notes on his laptop sorted out in the next 10 minutes as he was going on a trip. To the relief of all those standing around Kirk, he managed to sort the issue out, tested Lotus notes and confirmed that all was OK.

So we make our way to lunch with Kirk telling us what the issue was. Twenty minutes into lunch, we notice the Service Delivery Manager wondering around the restaurant. he heads towards our table and calls Kirk aside and walks off with Kirk. back upstairs, we notice that the Service delivery manager and the company IT Manager are standing around Kirk whist he is gathering his things. No one could tell us what was going on. From the body language, I immediately sensed that Kirk was being walked off site, but the question was WHY? After thirty minutes, the SDM [Service Delivery Manager] calls us all into the meeting room and informs us that Kirk has been suspended pending further investigations.

You should have seen the look on our faces. We were in total shock. What the hell is going on?

Apparently, after fixing the Notes problem, Kirk wanted to send a test mail from the VIP's laptop to himself. He asked the SDM and the IT Manager [to which they agreed] before sending the mail. Now the VIP notices from his Blackberry that an email has originated from his account into Kirks email account. Now here is the knockout punch. The test email Kirk decided to send was an email, with attachment of a document of very sensitive nature. So the VIP immediately calls the IT Manager and request that Kirk be dismissed.

Anyway, at the end of the meeting everyone seem to come to the conclusion that we needed to watch out for ourselves because management are just not an effective tool in supporting you in such a crisis like this. All during the meeting, it became more and more obvious that Kirk had been led to the slaughter house to save the hind of the SDM and IT manager.

What a shame....!

All In A Days Work

Since becoming an IT contractor many years ago, I have worked for a lot of companies, especially in the city of London,UK. Each day at work has never failed to bring the unexpected. If only I had started documenting the events of my day at work [sigh] earlier on in my IT career. However since it is never too late to start something, I have decided to dedicate a page to the rants and raves of my workplace environment and the things that happen in then. I suppose the driving force in anyone's day in a work environment are the people whom you work with or for. I am sure you will agree that there comes a time when you have to work with some real jerks and on the flip side, other times you get to work with some really nice people.

Another determining point of ones day are is your working environment itself. If where you work is pretty much a hell hole, then I suppose your feelings towards work is negative and you embrace your activities at work with a feeling of some rejection.

I wonder how other people in other professions would document their day? Well maybe if you happen to drop by on this blog, you will be kind enough to tell me [us] how your day was at work [not necessarily today, but any other day gone by.

Currently Listening To....

1....Gerald Albright :;::: When I Get There 2....Wayman Tisdale My World

3....Peter White Walk On By

4....Boney James Hypnotic

5....Fourplay 4 Play and Pleasure

6....Euge Groove Get Em Goin'

7....Kim Waters Secrets Told

8....Brian Culbertson Without Your Love [Album Version]

9....Norman Brown Missin' You [Album Version]

10....Steve Oliver High Noon

11....Kirk Whalum When Can I See You

12....Jeff Kashiwa Everyday Magic

13...Chuck Leob In The Hands

14...Paul Taylor Sunshine

Is The For The Fun Or The Free Ride..!

You might have probably seen this picture before somewhere on the Internet, and your instant reaction would be "that's a fake". I would have said the same thing too, till i took a trip to Bangalore/India. However I have not posted it here to debate on the authenticity of the picture. I just want to know if these two rants did this for the thrill of it or the ride?

Get Digsby NOW..!

Digsby is taking over the as the best IM on the internet. I came across it about a week ago. After a day of using it, i immediately uninstalled Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. I am totally enjoying the product. I used to use Trillian, but one thing i noticed with that was whenever i tried sending a file to a friend who was using the Yahoo IM client, they couldnt receive it. I dont know what the situation stands now in that respect, but i carried a few tests sending files from my Digsby IM client to another person using Yahoo IM client, and it works like a treat.

Features:

• Support for multiple IM networks. Nothing new here. It supports Google, Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ and Jabber.
• Tabbed conversations. You can chat with multiple buddies with just one window.
• If your buddy is on multiple IMs, you can merge their accounts into one in Digsby.
• Your buddy has a weird number in his/her name? Give him an alias.
• This is the best part. You can have Digsby minimized but new messages will popup and you can reply from within the popup and get back to what you were doing!
• Setup various alerts for individual buddies like a sound and/or a popup when a friend logs in or logs out.
• Video/Audio chat using TokBox

I will not say anymore. Download the program, and I will guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Here is the link to Digsby IM website: http://www.digsby.com

Someone Wants My Money..!

I got this email in my inbox last night. Actually this was the second time I got this email from "Halifax". On the first instance that I noticed the email, I brushed it aside, saying to myself that I would take another look at it when I was free. Then I got another mail from "Halifax", and this time I decided to open it and see what they wanted. I smiled to myself when I hovered my mouse over the link I was asked to click on. Hmmm, here we go again, some prat thinks there are more prats out there waiting to fall into his/her trap. So below are SNAGIT snapshots of the webpage and the email received. The funny thing is, I am totally broke, and here is some prat who thinks I am minted and stupid enough to fall a dumb ass plot like this.

The Easter Sunday Evening Play

Last night I went to church to celebrate Easter Sunday with other members of the church with some singing and other series of events. After thirty minutes into the service it came to the point where the youth group put on a short play for us. It was short, precise and brilliant. It centered on a girl who initially was with God enjoying His Blessings and all that came with one following His ways. Then she got mixed up with the wrong crowd. She had bad relationships, turned to drinking, became obsessed with money and tried to be someone she wasn't. The final straw [well not exactly final] came when she tried to kill herself. However her present life situation took a dramatic turn when Jesus came back into her life [accepting Him again] and conquered all the negatives that were destroying her life.

A Glimpse Of My Study - 180 Degrees

UBUNTU - Installing your Bluetooth Mouse

I have spent part of this morning installing Ubuntu on an old laptop I have had hiding away. A few weeks ago I was given a Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse and receiver, so I decided to make use of it on my Ubuntu laptop. The laptop picked up the Bluetooth USB stick as soon as I plugged it into a USB port, however no matter how much I tried to pair the mouse to the receiver, i just couldn't connection. After a couple of minutes searching on the net, I found the solution below:

Re: Bluetooth mouse

---

I am by no means an expert on this but I do have it working well on mine.. I am using a Planex bluetooth mouse and usb adapter.First make sure you have all the bluez stuff installed.Do a

Code:

hcitool scan

To get the MAC addresses of all available devices, if this does not work then you may need to manually load the bluetooth modules, for me they auto-load on insert of the bluetooth device, you can see if the device is detected by checking the kernel messages.

Once you have that do a

Code:

sudo hidd --connect XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

but substituting the MAC address of you're mouse.

It should just start working at that, since I want it to just work every time I plug the thing in I have edited /etc/default/bluez-utils on the lines

Code:

HIDD_ENABLED=1
HIDD_OPTIONS="-i XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX --server"

I am sure I left some stuff out, like that the mouse sometimes may not show up on a scan, in which case move it to ensure it is not asleep or press the little connect button on it.Hope it works as well for you as it does for me

Thanks Burkey

IT Conference Support @ The Grove Hotel, Watford

Last week I was at The Grove Hotel in Watford, providing IT support for British American Tobacco's 2008 Global Finance Conference. I have been to The Grove before, that was somewhere in October last year, to sort out an IT issue for a period of roughly 2 hours, and that was it. I didnt have the time to actually enjoy the beauty that this hotel had to offer.

This time it was different. I was going to be there for a whole week. I got picked up from North Finchley and token to work in a Merc [top of the range]..it was absolutely great. I easily and quickly relasped into a world of my own whilst I was being driven to Watford; I imagined myself to be a top exec being taken to work that morning. We got to the Grove at 8.00 AM prompt and I was escorted to our command centre, Office Number 60. All the kit had arrived by courier the previous day, so I immediately got down to work setting up the IT kit. The main thing was to get "BOB" setup and configured. "BOB" is BAT's mobile CISCO router and switch. Once configured, it allows BAT connected laptops gain direct access to the BAT network without a separate VPN connection from the laptops. In the absence of "BOB", users would connect to the hotels wireless network and then VPN into the BAT network. this is ok, but the only problem is that the wireless connection keeps on dropping off.

So everything is hooked up and working, I have all 4 laptops setup and connected to "BOB"...lotus notes [which is the main thing] is firing on all 24 cylinders. Both colour printers are up and running and the fax machine is geared up to churn out some serious faxes....then what happens?..."BOB" decideds not to play anymore. That is when mayhem suddenly breaks in...lotus notes cannot connect to the domino server which means there are no emails coming in...this is where the PA's go nuts. I quickly switch to plan B and get my 4 port hub out and feed a single broadband connection provided by the hotel into the hub and susequently feed this to the rest of the teams laptops. However they still have to VPN into the BAT network, which is better than nothing at all. For a period of about 50 minutes i was running around like a headless chicken just trying to sort this out.

I got chauffeured to and from the hotel for 3 days, and on the last last day, the PA organizing the conference asked if i would like to spend the night at the hotel...why not I thought, and instantly said yes.. After work I over to reception and checked in, got taken up to my room, turn to my escort and asked her "are you sure this is my room"...it was HUGE...check out the pics below.

I freashened up and went over to another part of the hotel called The Stables to have my dinner. the food was fantastic, a bit pricey, but hey it was all being paid for. who am i to feel guilty!!

The conference finished off on a high. I didnt leave The Grove untill 7pm on the friday. I was back in the bar with the other PA's and another chap who helped organize the conference. When I was ready to leave, my chauffeur pulled up and drove me to King Cross St Pancras to catch the train back up north. What a great week working away from the office.