Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Saturday 20th September 2014

Well hello hello! How exciting is this! A blog on a Saturday. Decided to go to see the British Library today to see if I can see my book on the shelf, so thought I'd better do a blog as only the Pic line is working today, and it's only a mere 22 stops from Rayners so have a bit of time to kill.

Advert of the week:

Woah! Initially I thought this was another dating style website, which I guess it kind of is..without the dating! Its a bank with a difference I guess, as not only can you specify if you want your child to have blue eyes and likely to be a giant (6ft), but also what occupation they will do when they grow up!!! Wowza! Not sure many people will be ticking that accountant box...

So what else has been going on in the world? Oh yes. Scotland...I have been doing quite a bit of analytics on this topic over the last week and I had predicted that it was always going to be No. How did I do this you asked Min? Are you a magician? Can you see into the future? Please tell us... Well, it's quite simple. If you looked at the odds at the bookies, you could see that the bookies had started paying out on the 'no vote' from earlier this week! Money always concentrates the mind huh. 

I know that Cobra, the emergency govt committee had lots of contingencies in place just in case the Scots had actually got their wish. The plan was to take this on the chin, and let them call their new country something that would be a blend of both countries so they don't forget their history. The plan was for them to go for the first 3 letters of the country where Westminster was and the last 4 letters of their current country...

It was a bit sad to see Alex Salmond retiring from politics though. Just remember Alex, there's always a welcoming place for you south of the border....France.

It did make me chuckle that Scotland can leave the UK simply by checking a box that says "Yes." and I have to agree to 18 pages of terms and conditions to download iOS 8.

I was up late into the night checking those and downloaded it last night. It's not that different but I do like the new predictive keyboard and the fact you can add your voice to text messages. Woah, what next? The ability to actually call them?

Tip of the week:  Fed up with waiting ages for your iPhone to charge? Well, did you know that if you put it in Airplane mode whilst you do, it will charge loads quicker! Also means that Mrs Min can't contact me for a bit...

App of the week: Like your music tunes but also want to discover new songs for that genre? Do you spend lots of time on the tube with no signal or don't want to use your precious data allowance. Well Blinkbox is for you! It's really neat! Just select an artist or genre of music and it creates a personal radio station for you but the best thing is that you can ask it to download the songs to your phone for free! Hurrah! It's helped me with my street cred with the kids at work when I start humming 'Somebody to you' by the Vamps

It's a super app and I give the app 9.2353 out of 10. This blog was brought to you by my sponsors Tesco...

Latest news: Idi Amin still remains the last king of Scotland..

Right managed to get all the way to Green Park! Enjoy the weekend and have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min.

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 10th September 2014

Well hello hello! How are we folks?

It's been a while but I thought it was time for a blog special after yesterday's lovely Apple event, so I could share my views on what we saw.

Let's take them in order...

iPhone 6

Yes. Most of the leaks turned out to be true, so happy to see the slighter bigger screen, better res, the bigger battery so I won't need to recharge again in the morning till at least 9:14. But I guess the Apple Pay was the biggest talking point. Hurrah, I no longer need a real wallet as long as all my worldly demands include paying for stuff in McDonald's and Subway. Seriously I think this is going to be revolutionary for the way we pay for everything as all the major card companies are on board. As Apple has 500 million iTunes users already (so already has your card payment details), I reckon adoption will spread quickly. Also will make a bob or two for them with their commission to all the retailers and merchants! What else...nope that it.

iPhone 6 plus.  No people this isn't just for 'big boned' people but Apple's response to the phablet market and making sure folks don't defect to Samsung notes.  For a small man like me, it's massive and I'm thinking of selling my plasma and just watching TV on that! Little bit funny how Apple said a couple of years back how no one would want something you couldn't operate with one hand! It is super big, but I reckon could be quite good for emails and watching 'catch up TV on the player in the morning on the met line'.

It will be interesting to see if this takes sales from their iPad mini though.

Will be interesting to see the prices for buying the phone off contract. The bloke next to me said it could be £900. £900!!

For that sort of cash, I hope when you put it on airplay mode, it takes you on a holiday!!

Iwatch

My bad...apple watch. Apparently this was because they wanted to the watch to appeal to fashion folks like me, rather than just the traditional user base who had all the other i products. First impressions. Thank god they have finally announced it as I've been wearing a real apple on my wrist the last couple of months and it's starting to smell a bit!

I kinda hope it was round like the moto360, but I'm sure it will grow on me. The different straps and magnet click into place thing is neat and I don't think I've talked about crowns on a watch so much in my life! The haptic feedback system is neat so I won't have to take out my phone or even my watch when I enter a dodgy area. Hurrah!

 The big question is how long will the battery last? I'm already getting ready for the 'Sorry I'm late for work Sir, I forgot to charge my watch' excuse... I would rather it wasn't accurate to 50ms, but rather the battery worked longer than a day.

Everyone I've spoken to as said 'no way, why would you want that'...but that's what they said about the iPad...

Having brought all the iPhones so far since the first one in 2007, obviously I will be getting one in 'early 2015', but to be on the safe side to ensure I get to work on time, I will be transferring my regular watch to my right hand...

Let me know what your views were folks.

Standing outside Covent Garden apple store...only 9 days before I can collect my latest igadget...have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min.

P.S. I was gonna take Mrs Min a special gift of a world wide holiday tour but have just spent the money on the igadgets instead. We can see everything on the watch right, just twiddle the crown...

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 6th August 2014

Well hello hello! It's still rather hot huh, and ready for some regular summer weather now!

The tube looks nice and busy and we have a healthy selection of folks reading the paper, books, or just sleeping! Maybe their phones have no charge left...

Just looked at the adverts on this tube and they are all rather dull so gonna skip this bit today.

Adventure of the week: So last night, I went to this restaurant called Circus near Holborn station. It's a bit different to your regular place as between each course, some folks come onto the dinner table and do some entertainment. Everything from doing acrobatics to fire eating. The Asian food was lovely, especially the pudding which come in this deal or no deal style black box. I decided to deal...

Well done Circus, definitely worth a visit if your looking for something different (and someone else is paying. Indian innit)...

App of the week: ok gang, imagine this. You secretly want to find fame and fortune and you do rather fancy yourself as the next Adele / Robbie but just need to get a true understanding of if your good enough. Also, you can't be bothered to queue for the x-factor. What to do?? Well, consider downloading "Singer takes it all", an app which goes with the Ch5 new series hosted by Alan Carr. 

You basically can either record in karaoke  fashion a song,  or just have loads of fun pretending you are Simon Cowell with their fate in your hands. You get a 30sec clip, and you press a "Hit" or Miss" button after the first 5 seconds.  It's really addictive and gives you an insight into the great british public. A lot of the singers were rather big boned which I though was true dedication of not going out and just practising with just some KFC/Pizza for company. Min marks out of 10...9.452

Thought of the week: Was Luke always warm?

Right, time to check out some more singers, so let's leave it there! Have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 23rd July 2014

Well hello hello! How are we all and sorry for not doing a blog last week...I was washing my virtual hair...

Thought about cancelling the blog just now as not in the best of moods to be honest with you my dear blog reader.

I was walking past Sainsbury's when I saw a sign saying, "All items: a third off." So I decided to buy a dozen eggs. Just opened the box on the Met line and seen that 4 of them were bad.

Boom! And we are off! (For the less statistically minded of you 1/3 off, brought 12 eggs...word play of 'off'...get it now?...)

So rather late getting away today from work but the good news is that the tube is well deserted! There are only 6 people in our whole carriage! Happy days! I've stretched my legs out as far as they can. Nope still can't touch the floor...

Advert of the week: The Gold One - I've always loved it. from my first dance competition to going out tonight. Always backstage. always in my bag. - Cheryl Cole.   Woah! I have no idea what that advert is about. There is a sign in the corner that says 'Elnett Satin'. Nope, still no idea, perhaps it's a chocolate or a wig...let me know.

Well this time of night certainly draws in a different crowd. I'm looking at the now 4 people in the carriage and they are doing strange things like reading the paper or a book. No candy crush in sight!..gonna make sure I leave earlier tomorrow.

Just seeing the headline in the evening standard about some chap who was killed in London when he got caught up in a turf war. I wonder if he was mowed down?...

App of the week: So, how hot has it been for the last few weeks! That orange ball of light has finally found us and I've been that confident of the weather predictions (thanks BBC Weather app), that I've replaced the umbrella in my manbag with a solar power iphone charger.

I don't know about you, but it's been getting a bit too hot for my liking so this app has been a life saver for me. The app is particular useful for those of you who don't have the luxury of air con like we do on the new (but still a bit rubbish as they have stolen all the chairs) met line.

What am i going on about?  An app called 'Sleepy Fan'. It's a virtual fan for your iphone which plays authentic sounds of a fan and animation and fools your brain that your actually being cooled. What was funny was this morning, the woman next to me asked if I could point it in her direction as she was 'glowing'. I put it on top speed for her and after about 15 seconds, she goes, ahh, that's much better, thank you.

Come to think of it, I think she said her name was Cheryl something...

It's a fun app and currently free so give it a go. Min marks out of 10..8.6735

Which reminds me. Wind Turbines. I'm a big fan...

Mrs Min news: Mrs Min said she's decided to leave me as she been seeing a dolphin behind my back for the last few weeks. I asked her why and she said that they just sort of clicked...

Right, that's your lot. Time to turn the fan on. Have a lovely rest of the week and a great sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 9th July 2014

Well hello hello! How are we all? 

Left work a bit later today, as been rather busy (more about that in a bit), but the good news is that I've got a seat! Yippee!

So, how crazy was the match last night! I saw there was a chap who had put £5 on Germany to win 5-0 and Muller to score first, at 800/1.  He must have got rather excited at half time.

Lots of funny stuff following the match on social media today, checkout 

http://dancinghenryalmanac.com/world-cup-folding-arms/random-player.html

The man opposite has fallen asleep and also has his hands in a kind of prayer  position. Wonder if he's from Argentina...

Advert of the week: Football is our lobster. It has pictures of Ronaldo, Michael Owen and two other chaps who must be famous. Err that's it. Oh in small writing it says 'the sports social network'

What the hell has that got to do with lobster? Apart from a lobster could probably commentate better than Michael Owen... Think I'll stick to Facebook thanks mate.

So, the reason why I'm late today i hear you ask? We have only received a delivery of Google Glass! No mum you can't call it Google Glasses as that's not what the kool kids call it...

Where do I start, apart from...I have seen the future!  The glasses (damn)....the glass takes a few minutes to get used to but after that it's just like second nature. A bit like you never forget to ride a bike or drive a manual, even if you've driven an automatic for years. Mrs Min still drives a manual like an automatic even today and always responds back 'But I like First gear when I'm on the M1...'

Where was I..oh yeah, so once you have stuck them on your face (I needed to put them on top of my glasses, so feel I look even more super cool) and then adjust the prism screen so it's in the top left corner. There is an app called MyGlass (remember all one word, otherwise you

may get another app call Kiss My Glass, which is really not going to help unless your looking for transparent put downs...'

The app pairs with your phone, using bluetooth, then either wifi or personal hotspot, giving you a quick tutorial regarding the various swipes and taps you can do. It's dead easy. Once set, your ready to go and you can say 'ok glass' then whatever you want to do. It let's you read your emails, (if your super lazy, it will even read them out!), see your pics or take pics just by blinking or 'take picture' command, though thought best not try this right now whilst on the tube as it could be my very last blog ever!!

Oh 'one more thing'..it uses some fancy skull bone technology so you can hear commands, your music etc straight through your head rather than old fashioned head phones. It's all simply amazing even though it's rather expensive at £1000. Min marks out of 10..9.854

Joke of the week: Look on the bright side Brazil...you haven't got far to go home...

Ok google, that's your lot. Come on Netherlands and Brazil, you have a great sleep!

Ta ra

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 20th June 2014

Well hello hello! Its's Friday, it's the weekend, and everyone on the Met Line is looking super happy....not

Yeah ok, so England lost again but the Italians can still save the day right? Err scratch that, just seen that Costa Rica scored. Never mind, perhaps it's fate and we have to wait till the year ends in '66...

Let's look around...

A lady is using her high powered iPhone (5S) to play...candy crush. Great...

Just done my good deed for the day and let some dude take my seat as his legs are broken. If I now win the lottery tomorrow, let me know if you want to take over the blog...

Advert for the week: Be a great westerner. This is an advert for Great Western. Woah must have taken ages to come up with that one,..think I might change career.

App of the week: Picture the scene . It's 28 degrees, your on the copa cabana beach (how good was it for them to name it after one of Barry Manilows  songs (how do you make Barry Manilow's nose a mile long...fold it half))..where was I again?

Oh yeah, on the beach and you are imaging that you are Pele or Beckham and practising free kicks and doing super duper curls over the wall and into the top corner. That reminds me, how cool is that  shaving foam they are using in the tournaments to keep the walls at bay. I do like the way the referee does a happy face in front of the ball too!

Anyways, with this amazing app, called Flick Kick, you can live out this fantasy, though it's a regular stadium rather than the beach. That bit was just in there to get you to read this far.

There are lots of challenges, from arcade to how many goals can you score in a minute. Do you know how you flick your finger in your nose when you have a little ball up there, well it's the same action you do on the screen. You can really curl that thing... Then come back to the game when your done. My highest score is 73 on arcade so let me know when you've beaten that Steve and Ket.  (It's not really but won't say until you beat my true score). The other great thing it does apart from showing slow motions when you get it really close to the crossbar, it that you can play your regular music in the background. I tend to play the 'Crying for no reason - Katy B' track as that seems to fit in nicely with watching the England games. Min Marks out of 10...9.534

Tech News: I read yesterday that there are going to be 2 versions of the next iPhone, one that a bit bigger and then a 'yo mamma's so fat' size one to compete with all the other phablets out there. The iWatch has some crazy price being banded about of around $450, so I might just have to stick with my timex for a few more years.

Joke of the week: England.

Right, it's going to be a super nice weekend I hear, I'm off to an Indian wedding for a change so hope Mrs Min hasn't left me by Sunday morning as I don't know how to tie my tie.

Ta ta,

A small man called Min

 

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Friday 6th June 2014

Guten tarken or something like that...Hello hello, and today's blog comes to you live from Dusseldorf! Been here a couple of days and I have learnt a few things such as 1. Everyone is super duper efficient. 2. They do actually laugh ( from time to time). 

Currently the blog is coming live from the airport and my flight back is showing a delay of 15mins which in reality I know means at least an hour as they will just keep adding 10mins to the delay even though they full well know the plane is currently crossing France...(err hello, we know about plane finder.net)

What I watched this week: carrying on with the airline theme, I watched the new series on BBC1 about BA - behind the scenes. It was super interesting and I learnt that they had brought their first big plane (A380). Everyone was very excited and they checked it out for scratches and in first class they spoke about how they had moved the luggage thing above your head to be next to you in first class. (That was actually my idea as I always have to ask the stewardess to do this for me). They then had some bits about the cost of maintenance (£637m per year) and how some items that need changing cost more than your house. Finally we learnt about the rigorous process for becoming a cabin member, which involved everything from looking the part, to dealing with dead people. Nope you can't just hide them in the toilet folks...if you got 4 snapshots ( I kept thinking of screenshots when they said this), you were basically fired and had to go back to working behind a bar...one chap had this happen to him as he forgot the configuration of the 747 and said 2-4-2, rather than 3-4-3, so look our for him at your local bar...Min marks out of 10 -9.36

Gadget of the week: After 8 years of good service I thought it was time to replace the trusty electric toothbrush as finally the rubber was starting to come away. Having served the Min family very well (yep just have different heads, mines was blue) it was time to see what was out there. After extensive researc on the internet - googled "what is the best toothbrush", the man in the computer told me to check out the Braun Oral B 5000 - Triumph as most people said it was rather good and hadn't lost any more teeth since using it.

I was umming and arrring about it as at £67 that's a lot of manual toothbrushes ( especially from the poundshop (3 for a £1)) and then I saw that it came with a WIRELESS SMARTGUIDE. 1.3seconds later, it was ordered!

The next day (Thanks Prime) it arrived in a big box and for the next 30 minutes I read the manual, watched the YouTube video (aren't cats funny?) and then assembled the kit. What can I say...OMG, it's simply changed my life. It's loads more powerful than my previous one and comes with about 6 heads to do everything from polish, floss, sensitive to making your tea. If you press to hard it shows you a red light! I had to get the drain cleaners in after I used it as it got that much stuff out from between my teeth...and yes my dear blog reader the SMARTGUIDE is indeed what makes it so much more fun. You stick it on the wall and as you start brushing it shows you which quadrant of your mouth to brush and how long and this is the best bit...gives you a star rating! ( little tip for you if you brush for 3 mins rather than 2, you get 5 stars!! Min marks out of 10...9.97

Min joke of the week:

Hoodie 1: if it wasn't for our grandad's bravery on D Day, we'd be speaking a strange language now

Hoodie 2: true dat...

Right, time to board the flight! Have a lovely weekend and a great sleep...

A small man called Min