The HP Touchpad launched in the UK today so I went Carphone Warehouse and PC World to have a quick play.
From the hardware point of view, the device is very nice, if little plasticky. Much has been made of the fact that this tablet isn't as thin as the iPad 2. However, it isn't massively thicker and with its rounded corners it's quite pleasant to hold. As with the iPad 2, the screen is in a 4:3 ratio which works fine for most things, but is less than ideal for video playback. The screen is also very reflective.
The software was pretty intuitive. On the main screen you have a row of application icons at the bottom and at the top there is the Just Type box which lets you search both the device and the Internet by just typing. Pretty neat. In between these two items, cards are displayed (minimised windows) showing the currently running applications. If you flick one of them to the top of the screen, that closes the application. Windows from the same application, for example the browser, are displayed in this view stacked on top of each other which is a pretty elegant way of doing it.
The browser is pretty good. At Carphone Warehouse, access was blocked to the Guardian's website, so I was only able to try the BBC News website. This rendered very quickly and accurately and the device was very responsive to scrolling and zooming, but I did manage to crash the browser, ending up with with the busy animation which I was unable to get rid of without closing the browser window. At PC World, where the restrictions on the network weren't quite so Draconian, I was able to access the Guardian website and also CNET UK's video page, where thanks to Flash compatibility, I was able to see Flora Graham work her magic.
Based on a very brief couple of plays, the HP Touchpad is a pretty nice device. With WebOS being the third player in the tablet market after Android and iOS (the less said about the RIM Playbook, the better) it will be interesting to see whether a current lack of apps is a dealbreaker for potential customers. The other downside, shared with the tablets, is the price. The 16 gig version is £400 with 32 gig version at £479. For me, that's too expensive. Three years ago, I paid about £300 for a netbook, and that's the sort of price I want to pay for supplementary device to access the internet, update my social networks and play Angry Birds.
Friday 15 July 2011
Saturday 30 April 2011
Brief Review: BubbleDS for Android
Way back in 2008, I replaced my CD player with a Linn Majik DS music streamer. The DS connects to your router and music is streamed to it from your computer or network attached storage. Then all you need is a UPnP compatible control point to select the tracks you want to play.
Having auditioned the Majik DS against the Majik CD player, at a similar price point in Linn's range, it was clear the DS was sonically superior. For Windows PCs, the initial control point software supplied by Linn was called LinnGUI. Although it made it possible to browse the music collection on my NAS drive and select tracks to play, it was extremely basic. Once the music was playing, all was well, especially the sound quality, but the software had none of the polish you would expect the product at this price point. Indeed, its functionality fell short of Windows Media player. For example, after adding a track to a playlist, there was no way to use that track as the basis of an artist or album search.
A while later, Linn released much-improved software to control a Linn DS called KinskyDesktop. I was using KinskyDesktop on a netbook, which was less than ideal for this purpose - it's surprisingly inconvenient to pick up a netbook and fiddle about with it just to get some music to play even if it's always switched on and ready to go.
What I really wanted to control the Linn DS was a small handheld device. Once I got an Android smartphone, I waited to see if anyone would develop a control point application for a Linn DS. I was therefore very pleased to see that Bubble has developed BubbleDS for Android 2.1 and above. This app is priced at about £9 and can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace.
Once you've switched on wi-fi on your phone, you run BubbleDS. The first thing it does is search your Linn DS on the network and then you're presented with a simple screen with four tabs along the top, namely Now Playing, Playlist, Radio and Library.
The Library tab lets you browse the contents of your music server (in my case, a NAS drive running TwonkyMedia Server). You can search by album, all tracks, artist, folder or genre. A long press on an album, an artist name or an individual track brings up the usual Android contextual menu with options to play straightaway or add it to the playlist to play later. The Radio tab lets you play various radio Internet stations which isn't something I ever do.
Using the Playlist tab, you can see the tracks that have been selected to be played. A long press give you the option to clear the entire playlist, remove an individual track, find the album to which an individual track belongs (which the Linn supplied software is incapable of doing), or find all the albums by the artist of the selected track. Unsurprisingly, the Now Playing tab lets you see the current track being played and give you controls to play/pause and skip forwards and backwards through the playlist.
In use, the software itself is effective, stable and intuitive and a smartphone (or other similarly sized device) is an ideal way to control this kind of music system. With BubbleDS, Bubble have created a vastly superior alternative to Linn's KinskyDesktop software at a reasonable price. I think Linn could do a lot worse than supply a Linn-branded Android device (perhaps a small tablet) preloaded with BubbleDS with every Linn DS streamer that they ship.
Having auditioned the Majik DS against the Majik CD player, at a similar price point in Linn's range, it was clear the DS was sonically superior. For Windows PCs, the initial control point software supplied by Linn was called LinnGUI. Although it made it possible to browse the music collection on my NAS drive and select tracks to play, it was extremely basic. Once the music was playing, all was well, especially the sound quality, but the software had none of the polish you would expect the product at this price point. Indeed, its functionality fell short of Windows Media player. For example, after adding a track to a playlist, there was no way to use that track as the basis of an artist or album search.
A while later, Linn released much-improved software to control a Linn DS called KinskyDesktop. I was using KinskyDesktop on a netbook, which was less than ideal for this purpose - it's surprisingly inconvenient to pick up a netbook and fiddle about with it just to get some music to play even if it's always switched on and ready to go.
What I really wanted to control the Linn DS was a small handheld device. Once I got an Android smartphone, I waited to see if anyone would develop a control point application for a Linn DS. I was therefore very pleased to see that Bubble has developed BubbleDS for Android 2.1 and above. This app is priced at about £9 and can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace.
Once you've switched on wi-fi on your phone, you run BubbleDS. The first thing it does is search your Linn DS on the network and then you're presented with a simple screen with four tabs along the top, namely Now Playing, Playlist, Radio and Library.
The Library tab lets you browse the contents of your music server (in my case, a NAS drive running TwonkyMedia Server). You can search by album, all tracks, artist, folder or genre. A long press on an album, an artist name or an individual track brings up the usual Android contextual menu with options to play straightaway or add it to the playlist to play later. The Radio tab lets you play various radio Internet stations which isn't something I ever do.
Using the Playlist tab, you can see the tracks that have been selected to be played. A long press give you the option to clear the entire playlist, remove an individual track, find the album to which an individual track belongs (which the Linn supplied software is incapable of doing), or find all the albums by the artist of the selected track. Unsurprisingly, the Now Playing tab lets you see the current track being played and give you controls to play/pause and skip forwards and backwards through the playlist.
In use, the software itself is effective, stable and intuitive and a smartphone (or other similarly sized device) is an ideal way to control this kind of music system. With BubbleDS, Bubble have created a vastly superior alternative to Linn's KinskyDesktop software at a reasonable price. I think Linn could do a lot worse than supply a Linn-branded Android device (perhaps a small tablet) preloaded with BubbleDS with every Linn DS streamer that they ship.
Sunday 13 February 2011
Beauty and the Beast
Last night, I watched episode of the Channel 4 documentary Beauty and the Beast: the Ugly Face of Prejudice. In this episode, Sarah, a 50-year old cosmetic surgery aficionado met Susan, who had undergone 60 facial reconstruction procedures after developing cancer at four months of age.
The format of the program involved the two women spending a few days to explore their attitudes to appearance and more specifically changing appearance using cosmetic surgery and other techniques.
So, Sarah persuaded Susan to try facial exfoliation and take part in a photo shoot and Susan tried to show Sarah how she doesn't let facial disfigurement stand in the way of enjoying life. Susan also tried to give Sarah an insight into what it was like to walk around with a face that differs from accepted norms.
Let me start by saying when it comes to people's bodies, I'm a libertarian. People own their bodies and it's up to them to decide what to do with them, including extreme sports, tatooing, cosmetic surgery, BDSM or whatever else people want to do. I'm happy to admit that a number of years ago I did consider cosmetic surgery myself. Unfortunately, despite claiming to be an enthusiastic advocate for cosmetic surgery, Sarah didn't do a very good job.
She made the mistake of thinking that because having other people approve of her appearance is very important to her, everyone else must feel the same way. This led to a very uncomfortable discussion between the two women where Sarah expressed disbelief that Susan was happy with her appearance and basically didn't believe Susan, when Susan said she didn't want to have any more surgery.
While Sarah and Susan were walking along a busy shopping street, Sarah noticed that sometimes people would look at Susan and point and nudge their companions, but then stamped on this green shoot of insight by saying that she'd was glad she looked as she did, and not like Susan. There was no acknowledgement of how hurtful intrusive comments and staring must be. To be fair to Sarah, she did compliment Susan on her intelligence in this part of the show, but it seemed that in Sarah's mind, intelligence is a consolation prize for not being pretty.
Also, Sarah came across as particularly shallow and insecure. At the photo shoot, a comment from Susan that Sarah use a different persona when she was doing a photo shoot was interpreted as being called "a bad person" and led to a near meltdown.
Later, Sarah had to work with a make-up artist to make her look her age. She was very freaked out about this, and even more so once the results of the make-up artist's handiwork were revealed.
What was very illuminating about Sarah's attitude to looks was a trip to a pub singing contest. Partly as a result of all the speech therapy she had following reconstructive surgery, Susan had an excellent singing voice which she demonstrated with a fine rendition of Ain't Misbehavin'. It seemed to me that the look of amazement on Sarah's face when Susan sang was because she genuinely believed that someone who in her terms didn't look good couldn't be good at anything.
In fact, the main lesson of the show was Susan was content with the way she looked and spent her time and energy pursuing activities she enjoyed while Sarah, who much more closely fitted society's norms of what a woman should look like, was totally consumed and obsessed by her looks to the point that really, she wasn't having any fun at all.
I was really hoping that there would be some input from Cindy Jackson. Ever since she's been in the public eye for her own extreme makeover, Ms Jackson has been the go-to woman whenever the topic of cosmetic surgery comes up. She took part in number of years ago in a discussion programme chaired by Joan Bakewell in which she very successfully challenged the prejudices and preconceptions of the panel members about her surgery. It appeared the panel made the mistake of thinking she was pretty, blonde and stupid. She wiped the floor with them. I think a discussion between her and the equally intelligent Susan would have made for very interesting TV.
The format of the program involved the two women spending a few days to explore their attitudes to appearance and more specifically changing appearance using cosmetic surgery and other techniques.
So, Sarah persuaded Susan to try facial exfoliation and take part in a photo shoot and Susan tried to show Sarah how she doesn't let facial disfigurement stand in the way of enjoying life. Susan also tried to give Sarah an insight into what it was like to walk around with a face that differs from accepted norms.
Let me start by saying when it comes to people's bodies, I'm a libertarian. People own their bodies and it's up to them to decide what to do with them, including extreme sports, tatooing, cosmetic surgery, BDSM or whatever else people want to do. I'm happy to admit that a number of years ago I did consider cosmetic surgery myself. Unfortunately, despite claiming to be an enthusiastic advocate for cosmetic surgery, Sarah didn't do a very good job.
She made the mistake of thinking that because having other people approve of her appearance is very important to her, everyone else must feel the same way. This led to a very uncomfortable discussion between the two women where Sarah expressed disbelief that Susan was happy with her appearance and basically didn't believe Susan, when Susan said she didn't want to have any more surgery.
While Sarah and Susan were walking along a busy shopping street, Sarah noticed that sometimes people would look at Susan and point and nudge their companions, but then stamped on this green shoot of insight by saying that she'd was glad she looked as she did, and not like Susan. There was no acknowledgement of how hurtful intrusive comments and staring must be. To be fair to Sarah, she did compliment Susan on her intelligence in this part of the show, but it seemed that in Sarah's mind, intelligence is a consolation prize for not being pretty.
Also, Sarah came across as particularly shallow and insecure. At the photo shoot, a comment from Susan that Sarah use a different persona when she was doing a photo shoot was interpreted as being called "a bad person" and led to a near meltdown.
Later, Sarah had to work with a make-up artist to make her look her age. She was very freaked out about this, and even more so once the results of the make-up artist's handiwork were revealed.
What was very illuminating about Sarah's attitude to looks was a trip to a pub singing contest. Partly as a result of all the speech therapy she had following reconstructive surgery, Susan had an excellent singing voice which she demonstrated with a fine rendition of Ain't Misbehavin'. It seemed to me that the look of amazement on Sarah's face when Susan sang was because she genuinely believed that someone who in her terms didn't look good couldn't be good at anything.
In fact, the main lesson of the show was Susan was content with the way she looked and spent her time and energy pursuing activities she enjoyed while Sarah, who much more closely fitted society's norms of what a woman should look like, was totally consumed and obsessed by her looks to the point that really, she wasn't having any fun at all.
I was really hoping that there would be some input from Cindy Jackson. Ever since she's been in the public eye for her own extreme makeover, Ms Jackson has been the go-to woman whenever the topic of cosmetic surgery comes up. She took part in number of years ago in a discussion programme chaired by Joan Bakewell in which she very successfully challenged the prejudices and preconceptions of the panel members about her surgery. It appeared the panel made the mistake of thinking she was pretty, blonde and stupid. She wiped the floor with them. I think a discussion between her and the equally intelligent Susan would have made for very interesting TV.
Sunday 30 January 2011
Movie Review: Mr Right (2009)
Mr Right is one of those well-meaning gay indie films that starts with the premise that a film about gay people doesn't have to be about gayness. We're introduced to a number of characters, all gay men who are friends with the same straight woman and who socialise in Soho.
There's a frustrated TV producer with an equally frustrated actor boyfriend, a successful actor in a medical drama, a successful artist and his devastatingly handsome kept man, and an antique dealer with a nine-year-old daughter from a previous straight marriage. We also meet the straight female friend and her new boyfriend and a lot of the film is taken up by some really quite dreary "is he or isn't he gay" stuff. It's not clear whether we're supposed to conclude he's deluded, or that hanging out with gay men turns you gay, neither of which are particularly agreeable options. This whole subplot feels very bolted on and unsatisfying.
The real problem with this film is that, with the exception of William, the antique dealer, none of the characters are remotely sympathetic. They're either deluded (in the case of the artist and the struggling actor), self absorbed (the struggling actor again) or just plain spiteful. Unfortunately, this really gets in the way of any point of the film is trying to make.
The pivotal scene occurs at a dinner party when secrets are revealed and long simmering tensions finally boil over. This scene isn't particularly well acted, but also, the characterisation gets in the way. The successful actor berates his antique dealer boyfriend for being too timid about their relationship, and accuses him of being overprotective about his daughter, trying to protect any loss of any kind after an acrimonious divorce and her mother's subsequent death in a car accident. It's a fair point, that no matter how well-intentioned we are, we can't protect children from everything and we can't protect them forever. Unfortunately, this comes over so viciously that the point itself is lost and we wonder why, given he's so nasty, the antique dealer is even trying to be in a relationship with him.
The film does have some funny lines and there are some touching moments. Rocky Marshall, who plays William, gives a very sensitive performance which is head and shoulders above anybody else in the cast. Unfortunately, the film as a whole doesn't gel. However, it was only the first film from brother and sister writing and director team David and Jacqui Morris, so here's hoping they build on the good parts of this film, and their evident love for Soho, in their next project.
There's a frustrated TV producer with an equally frustrated actor boyfriend, a successful actor in a medical drama, a successful artist and his devastatingly handsome kept man, and an antique dealer with a nine-year-old daughter from a previous straight marriage. We also meet the straight female friend and her new boyfriend and a lot of the film is taken up by some really quite dreary "is he or isn't he gay" stuff. It's not clear whether we're supposed to conclude he's deluded, or that hanging out with gay men turns you gay, neither of which are particularly agreeable options. This whole subplot feels very bolted on and unsatisfying.
The real problem with this film is that, with the exception of William, the antique dealer, none of the characters are remotely sympathetic. They're either deluded (in the case of the artist and the struggling actor), self absorbed (the struggling actor again) or just plain spiteful. Unfortunately, this really gets in the way of any point of the film is trying to make.
The pivotal scene occurs at a dinner party when secrets are revealed and long simmering tensions finally boil over. This scene isn't particularly well acted, but also, the characterisation gets in the way. The successful actor berates his antique dealer boyfriend for being too timid about their relationship, and accuses him of being overprotective about his daughter, trying to protect any loss of any kind after an acrimonious divorce and her mother's subsequent death in a car accident. It's a fair point, that no matter how well-intentioned we are, we can't protect children from everything and we can't protect them forever. Unfortunately, this comes over so viciously that the point itself is lost and we wonder why, given he's so nasty, the antique dealer is even trying to be in a relationship with him.
The film does have some funny lines and there are some touching moments. Rocky Marshall, who plays William, gives a very sensitive performance which is head and shoulders above anybody else in the cast. Unfortunately, the film as a whole doesn't gel. However, it was only the first film from brother and sister writing and director team David and Jacqui Morris, so here's hoping they build on the good parts of this film, and their evident love for Soho, in their next project.
Sunday 9 January 2011
Movie Review: Boystown (2007)
Boystown is an amusing, if slightly uneven, Spanish gay comedy centred around a bear–club couple. Leo (Pepón Nieto) is the older member of the couple and works as a driving instructor while his younger partner Rey (Carlos Fuentes) does odd jobs as a plumber. At the start of the film, they're very much in love and their only problems are a shortage of money and an ex-boyfriend of Rey's sniffing around a little bit too intently.
All of this changes when there are a spate of murders of old ladies living alone in the neighbourhood. This fate befalls Leo and Rey's elderly neighbour. When the police find out that the neighbour left her flat to Rey, Leo and Rey are immediately suspects. The situation is not helped when Ray's harridan of a mother comes to live with the couple after being kicked out by her daughter for drying a cat in a microwave.
The murders are investigated by neurotic policewoman with multiple phobias and her long-suffering son. The audience learn very early in the film that the culprit is a buff, gay estate agent who is bumping off the old ladies so that he can buy their flats and redevelop them to sell the gay yuppies.
The two leads make a very good job of playing a happy gay couple, with a number of funny and touching scenes, not least the playful scene in which Rey has taped pens to his hands to look like his cartoon hero, Wolverine, before he ravishes his beloved.
What was really interesting to me however, is a scene in which the improbably buff estate agent beats up Leo while berating him for being the kind of gay men who isn't interested in going to the gym, endless personal grooming and wearing the most fashionable clothes. This scene really struck a chord with me, with the estate agent almost seeming to symbolise mainstream gay culture with its emphasis on the superficial and Leo representing the more balanced gay existence where what's on the inside matters more than what's on the outside.
This film is an amusing watch if you're looking for something undemanding, especially if you have a taste for Spanish bears.
All of this changes when there are a spate of murders of old ladies living alone in the neighbourhood. This fate befalls Leo and Rey's elderly neighbour. When the police find out that the neighbour left her flat to Rey, Leo and Rey are immediately suspects. The situation is not helped when Ray's harridan of a mother comes to live with the couple after being kicked out by her daughter for drying a cat in a microwave.
The murders are investigated by neurotic policewoman with multiple phobias and her long-suffering son. The audience learn very early in the film that the culprit is a buff, gay estate agent who is bumping off the old ladies so that he can buy their flats and redevelop them to sell the gay yuppies.
The two leads make a very good job of playing a happy gay couple, with a number of funny and touching scenes, not least the playful scene in which Rey has taped pens to his hands to look like his cartoon hero, Wolverine, before he ravishes his beloved.
What was really interesting to me however, is a scene in which the improbably buff estate agent beats up Leo while berating him for being the kind of gay men who isn't interested in going to the gym, endless personal grooming and wearing the most fashionable clothes. This scene really struck a chord with me, with the estate agent almost seeming to symbolise mainstream gay culture with its emphasis on the superficial and Leo representing the more balanced gay existence where what's on the inside matters more than what's on the outside.
This film is an amusing watch if you're looking for something undemanding, especially if you have a taste for Spanish bears.
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