Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 17th May 2013

Well hello hello! It's Friday, it's coming up to the bank holiday weekend...it's raining..hurrah...

No messing about this week as feeling a bit sleepy and already midway to the office.

Advert: O2 are proudly displaying their new offer 'change phones as often as you change tubes'. Well that's all fair and good O2, but not everyone is a pickpocket...

Gadget: Just got off the phone to my contacts at Apple and got some juicy news about the new iPhone 5S. Listen up...that right, it's going to have a better spec mic. Brilliant...if only I was with O2, I'd have swapped mine in a heartbeat. (Perhaps could have heard the heartbeat with the 5S). There are also rumours of Apple launching a budget version of the iPhone which will have plastic instead of aluminium. Well that's Preeti's birthday present sorted...Can't give Min Marks out of 10, till I see it, so holding score till then....2.13. (Come on Apple sort your selves out, give us SOMETHING otherwise you know what's gonna happen...)

Ooo, before I forget, my iBook which is currently in final stages of review by Apple should by available by the weekend. It's a book version of my tech blogs plus all my FB updates that week. And yes you cheapskates its free...just search for author 'Bhogaita' or the title of this blog.

App: Zeebox. Believe it or not (no not you Ripley), but no one just watches TV anymore. Most of us usually have our iPhone or tablet on whilst we watch Sir Alan (Glueless...bloody clueless)...or Britain Got Talents init (Leicester version). That's right and this app, Zeebox is bloody brilliant. Not only can you use it to change your TV channel (aka Sky+ app), it shows you real time tweets from the general public and stars who are watching the same programme. It really made the 3 hrs and 15mins of the Eurovision Song Contest fly by! (My favourite lyrics on the show were 'It becomes untrue because of my shoes I’m wearing today, one is called love the other is pain”...nice (perhaps get a bigger size next time). App is very addictive and gets Min Marks out of 10...9.73

Joke: well going to do a little poem to make up for always having a joke at Preeti's expense...

I can't eat in the morning because I'm thinking of her.

I can't eat at lunchtime because I'm thinking of her.

I can't eat in the evening because I'm thinking of her.

I can't sleep at night because I'm really starving...

Right, that's your lot! Have a lovely bank holiday sleep,

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 17th May 2013

Well hello hello. Yes I know it's late and you normally expect the blog to be ready by 8.25am, but I have a valid excuse (just in case you were wanting a refund or something). Woke up dead early and had most of the blog written by 7am, even made sure to do a copy every so often and was mid way through the app section then was busy all day at work. Thought I'd finish it on the way back home and then boom (that's the sound effect denoting that the battery died) and when I charged it up, the paste was not pasting. Damn...

Thought about sacking it off this week, till the phone started ringing and the texts started to pile in saying if I was ok, alive and where was the blog. And as they say, no matter what happens, the show must go on...unless your Rolf Harris, Jimmy Saville, etc. 

Enough of the messing about, on with the show!

App: Bluetooth Speaker. Imagine the scene. it's Sunday afternoon, your at home busy looking at random stuff on FB (better than doing those chores right?) Then the door bell goes. "Whose this? At this time?" (as if there's a better time). and yes, it's Auntiji and some relatives that you see every couple of years who decided to give you a visit as the wedding nearby finished early and it was ages since they had lunch. Get ready for that tricky time that you never quite know what to do as the guests come into the hallway. Do you give them a hug? Bow whilst doing something with your hands? or go old skool and give them a kiss (well touch cheeks for a bit). I always seem to get stuck in two minds and go half way between the two and just make me look like a bloke whose lived in space for a few months and not quite used to gravity back on earth!. After this standard ritual and 'here have some glasses of water' bit come the next stage in the process. BTW, like me do you always go for the one that's got the least water in it? because its probably luke warm. I mean should I drink it or have a little wash with it? 

Finally, its that time! oh yes, time to crack out those frozen Samosas you brought from Leicester. you know the ones right, £10 for 50 right. (if you live it London, make that £20.) This is where this week's gadget comes in! To look super cool and also relax the mood, I switched on the Bluetooth speaker that is so small that it fits in the palm of my hand (and I've got small hands!). You can play music from your iPhone via the tooth that is blue and the sound is amazing! Even better than the 7.1 DTS DDS STS GTI sound system I brought from Rayners Lane Market. But check this next bit out! It also comes with a microSD slot, so you flick a switch on the bottom of the device and it plays music direct. I'd loaded Anup Jalota and some Krishna songs on it for extra brownie points, which did the trick with Aunty..well until those songs ran out and Drake started playing on it. Damn, back to square one! Min Marks out of 10. 9.75. For about £25 you can't go wrong and it even has these cool LEDs and rechargeable battery.

App: Snapchat. Having seen this in the App Store Top 10, I thought I'd look into it a bit more. what can I say. Err harram. Apparently it's one for the teens and its used to send pics or videos to your friends (or randomers) and you can control how long they see the image/video for, after which it self destructs (boom!..that was it self destructing). A

nd why would I want to send a picture of my nose to anyone? hmmm. Min Marks out of 10. 2.16.

Joke: Preeti said shes leaving me because apparently "I live my life through my iPhone". I've no idea where she's getting that idea from my dear blog reader and I've left her a voice mail message to that effect...

Right that's you lot and it actually is time to have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min.

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 10th May 2013

 Well hello hello! How are we all on this merry Friday morning. Looking at my fellow Met Line passengers on my way to work, I'd say 'ready for the weekend'. On my left we have a lady playing scrabble on her iPhone (stalled - good word lady), and on my right the dude is reading a book on his ipad mini called 'A feast for crows' (la di da...)

Before we get on with the show, just a quick mention that this recent series of blogs will be available in the iBook store in a couple of days as a proper book. Not only will it have all the blog content, like a DVD (or blueray if your posh), it has some extras. the extras in this case being my FB musings (jokes). I know these extras are usually rubbish (see black hawk down where they had this whole section on how they composed the music), but I've put this in for the hundreds of you who would rather punch yourself in the face then join the book of the face. My last book about my met line journey home has been downloaded in 64 countries so no pressure peeps, no pressure...yes, before you ask, it's free to download!

On with the show!

New section: (requested by my brother in law): Tube advert of the week.  There is one about Toilet Roll. Wowza! Why are there adverts trying to sell toilet roll? Whose not buying it?...

App: If you are like me and can't be without a wifi signal around the house, then I have just the thing for you! Imagine, like last Sunday, your sitting in the garden, swinging in your hammock whilst wanting to see on catchupTV or the bbc iplayer app  if Ronnie was going to make a 147 or self destruct during the snooker world championship. However, your iPad (mines is only wifi as I'm a cheap guy) refuses to find your router as it's in the opposite corner of your house. What you gonna do boy? (Quote from Speed - all rights reserved). Well, I brought this amazing bit of kit which allows you to plug into any socket and it uses the electrical cabling in your home just like if you had a massive long network cable! It comes with 2 bits, 1 that you plug into your router, and one for where you need a signal. Dead easy to set up and even comes with a Ethernet port if you did want to go old school and physically wire up your laptop to it. These things have really come down in price and I reckon you could get one for about £35. Shabash technology (and shabash Ronnie...see you next year). Min marks out of 10. 8.76.

App: Nearest Tube. Ever gone somewhere in London, where the first bit was easy, where you hopped into a cab from work to a restaurant in the city for a celebratory project din dins (ie that's fine to claim back the expense...you worked damn hard on that project and even worked past 8pm...mostly because the free pizzas didn't arrive in the office till 7:45. Anyways, so you have the lovely meal (being a veggie, before i even look at the menu I just tell the waiter 'can I have the token risotto with mushrooms dish pls. Obviously have to have the pudding as well as what does a pudding over £10 look like!! And then the dreaded moment of wondering how the hell do I find the nearest tube station? Well fear not my dear blog reader, help is at hand with this lovely app. It uses AR (alternate reality) to superimpose on your camera where all the tube stations are! Amazing. So as you hold the phone up and do a 360, it shows you the tube station direction and even how many yards away it is! It's great and I've only been mugged a couple of times whilst waving it in front of my face like a loon. It's a paid one, 69p, but saves hours walking up and down the street like a hobo. Min Marks out of 10. 9.69

Joke: I helped Preeti with the dinner last night. I took the batteries out of the smoke alarm...

Right that's your lot. Have a great weekend and a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 3rd May 2013

Well hello hello! Yes it's that time of the week again. Hurrah, I hear you cry with tears of joy and laughter.

Lets get on with the show!

Gadget: So, hands up those who have a lovely iPhone 5 or Ipad 4? Yeah? Nice one. (Are girl followers of Apple called FanGirls?). Anywhoo, if your anything like me and have all the other stuff that Apple have released, this gadget could be just for you! You know what I'm talking about right? Yep, that bloody new connector on the new devices. Now none of those old wires you have safely stored away in the TV cabinet drawer are next to useless for the new devices! Now if your like me, and on your gadget 24:7, you need a constant charge to keep up with all the nonsense your 'friends' are putting on FB. (Thanks for letting me know you are at the Gym, eating somewhere posh, doing a poo) etc), then you need to have your charging wire in your back pocket. (Though its dead uncomfortable if you sit on the plug bit). Now I hear what your saying, just buy another one Min, it's only about 25 British pounds, so you have the original one at home and one for office. And I say back to you, err hello, £25!!. Indian...So, long story short, a quick search on amazon and I found the gadget you need. It's a converter that plugs into your old wire (the 30pin bit) and make its the new fang dangled shape. Hurrah! And the price of this life changing bit of kit...£1.47.(incl p&p). Shabash and thank you China, you are the best! Had it 4 weeks now and still working like a dream. There are loads of suppliers for these so let me know if you want the details of the one I purchased it from. Min marks out of 10...9.47

App: Flowergarden. So after a talk (tell off) from Preeti that I seemed to have become obsessed with my phone and no longer enjoyed the simpler things in life, I reflected on what she said and yes it was true, that I needed to get back to Nature. A quick trawl of the App Store and I had the answer! FlowerGarden! With this app, you are given 12 empty pots, and you have to grow virtual plants. Starting off with seeds, fertiliser and lots of water. It's well addictive man, as if you don't water them, they die. It makes this really neat noise when the plants need a drink, and when you get out the virtual watering can(press your finger in the top right corner), it sounds just like the real thing. The number of times this week I've had to stop people mid sentence during meetings to tell them to just 'hold that thought', whilst I spent 2 minutes giving my plants a top up. The best bit is that once they are full, all the flowers that were previously flopping all rise back to full health again! Hurrah!! I do however get some strange looks whilst on this app from fellow tube passengers, and some have been known to start banging on the tube door as the gurgling sound of the water has meant they they now desperately need to go for a number 1. Lool! Min Marks of 10. 8.15.

Joke: Preeti just said to me, "I really wish you'd pay a pension when I'm speaking to you."...

Right, that's your lot! Have a great week and a lovely sleep.

A small man called Min.

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 26th April 2013

Hello Hello! and welcome to my weekly tech blog. Thanks again for all the likes last week! (You know who you are!)

No messing about today, lets get on with the show.

Gadget: So a few months ago it was my little nephews' birthday, so Preeti asked me to find a suitable present for a 5 year old. Several searches later, I had found the perfect present for him! A remote control helicopter!! So just as I was gonna hit the 'buy' button! I thought..woah are you crazy, what are you thinking!! That's right folks, if its good enough for a toddler, then it must be good for a middle aged man! So I ordered two of them! However, I thought that I should get a couple of optional extras on mine. So as well as the standard flashing lights when it's flying, mines also came with a little video camera so I could take pics and photos mid air. It comes with a miniSd card , has built in gyroscope to keep it level and the helicopter can be charged via USB. The gadget is brilliant though the lady next door does seem to get a bit annoyed when the rotors tap against her bedroom window....It cost about £27 pounds. Min Marks out of 10. 9.18.

App: Pedometer. So been using this app for about a month now and it's super fantastic (and free and everyone loves free). It records how many steps you walk during the day and is smart enough to know when you are sitting down. When this happens, I shake it a bit to improve my step count. You can set a daily goal (2km in my case), and it tells you in a lovely lady robot voice what percentage of your goal you have walked, calories burnt etc. you can also see a map of the same route you have followed day in day out and summaries for weeks and months. I'm not saying its addictive but sometimes during meetings I just stand up and walk around the table a few times to increase my record...Min Marks out of 10...8.43

Joke: Preeti had me do a spring clean of the loft last night and in one of the boxes was a CD called "The Only Jazz Album You'll Ever Need". And they were bloody right....

Right, that's your lot! Have a great weekend and a lovely sleep.

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 19th April 2013

Hello Hello! Welcome to the 4th blog in the series, and I sincerely hope the BBC do fund another one. So 6 likes last week! (and 1 comment - thanks Mohneesh!) so a 50% increase on the previous week. One of the statistics I read this week was that 'In the next 10 years, the sexiest job in the world will be that of a data scientist!' And as I have a massive shiny head, I reckon that I'm gonna be in the top 1% of the 1%, the best of the best (all rights reserved Top Gun). Ladies if you want my personal contact details autographed on your Rubix cube, just let me know...

Gadget: Gonna talk about Google Glasses today as its being tested by volunteers at the moment, who have the pleasure of paying $1500 to Google for testing it. Lucky them! First question...Will it spoil my good looks by putting them over my regular glasses?..and what if I'm down at the cinema watching Lion King 3D, will I be able to wear 3 pairs of glasses at the same time? The video released a while back was amazing though! For the 'volunteers, guidance has already been issued to make sure they don't break the law'. Stuff like 'don't wear them when you drive as you might be distracted', and 'no secret recording when you are in the women's changing rooms'...that kinda thing...Can't give it Min Marks out of 10 until I try a pair, so a holding score of 8.3 based on potential excitement they will bring to my life.

App: KView+ So a few months ago, passing Maplins (as you do), I noticed a fancy CCTV system in the shop window with loads of cameras (4), a shiny black box and lots of wires so went to have a closer look. On the box it said, iPhone. Enabled so 30 secs later, I brought it! It's brilliant and we have set up the cameras all around the house, and you can set it to just email pics of when there is movement or get a live feed from anywhere in the world. Yep, works even when you leave Harrow! Setting up the app to work with the router was a bit tricky, but what I don't know now about opening ports and network IP addresses isn't worth knowing.
A few weeks ago, there was a headless pigeon on our doorstep and initially I thought it was some voodoo from someone suggesting that I should step away from the blog! Having viewed the recording on the app for the previous 3 hrs, I saw that it was actually a hawk that had try to fly off with its prey, couldn't quite lift it so just ate its head and flew off. How's the lunchtime snack going by the way?
It does have a few glitches though. For example, every time the milkman comes to drop off the milk and have a chat with Preeti, the cameras always freeze for an hour...sure it's a glitch right? Min Marks out of 10..7.3 as a bit tricky to set up but brilliant after that.

Joke: "So how did the interview go?" Preeti asked me.

"I'm not too sure to be honest, I said all the usual stuff like, "I'm a hard working person, I get on well with others, I won't let anyone down, blah blah blah, but then he sort of looked at me funny."

"How come?" she replied.

"Because I said blah blah blah."...

Right! that's your lot. As always lets have your likes and comments and see you next week!

Have a great sleep,

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 12th April 2013

Well hello there! Week 3 of the technology blog and I've hardly been able to do much work due to all the constant calls from the TV and Radio people. Most of them saying 'Please stop, my eyes are bleeding reading your blog', but as Gandhi once said... 'Where's my slippers'...sorry wrong quote, as Gandhi once said 'Believe in the people'...that's what I'm gonna do as the '4 likes' last week told me.

Gadget: Gadget emergency battery. Have you ever been in a situation where you have to make that really important call and you have the dreaded 1% battery sign? I'm talking to you my iPhone buddies. Then you have to use all your brain power to do the call as quickly as possible. So most of my calls were like 'Fetch me' (translation : I'm at Rayners lane tube my dear wife, can you come and collect me as I can't be bothered to walk the 963 steps home), or 'Pizza...now!' (Calling Papa Johns, though more into Papa Mia (£9.50 for really large pizza, though you do have to collect). The finally straw was when I recently flew back into Heathrow and had the 1% warning and still had to call the taxi man. 'Taxi now, OK bye' was as much as I could get out before the swirling lines indicating shutdown came on (did you do the 'OK bye bit in an Indian accent? Errr racist...)

Anyways, brought a really good 5000mA strength charger about a month ago for about £23 and its brill. Can charge 2 devices at the same time and most importantly has these 3 funky LEDS that show you how much power you have left and comes with a million different connectors (except iPhone 5). Min Marks : 8.3

App: Solar. Great little weather app I got (free) which is really slick. Seeing as its going to be a crazy 18c this Sunday, the timing couldn't be better to show all your (imaginary) friends how much the mercury is rising. You can swipe and pinch as much as you like, and once you've stopped messing about with your nose, check out the app. Best bit is when it shows rain or snow, if you tilt your phone, the rain or snow falls in that direction, it's brilliant and the meetings this week have just flown by! Min Marks out of 10.: 9.2

Thought for the day: With the lovely weather in mind, why do people draw the sun wearing sunglasses. What is it protecting his eyes from?

Tara for now and have a great sleep!

A small man called Min