Reeds jewelry store

Companies like Reeds jewelry store have realized the power of the web when it comes to selling to the current market. The products are well presented and the website gives you confidence in both the products and the retailer.
Using the power of good web design, you can create the right ambiance, just the right level of opulence without having to invest in fine silk backdrops and expensive mahogany display cabinets that would be essential for a High Street retailer. This online shop exudes class even in the all-important 'clearance' section - personally I always check out the clearance section of any online store in the hope of sniffing out a bargain.

'New' iPhone

I have semi-reluctantly joined the 'herd' and now have an iPhone, but would point out in my defence that it is not one that I have bought, but one supplied by my employer. I feel I should explain because I am one of those that have displayed a bit of 'inverted snobbery' concerning Apple products and their marketing strategies for a while...
So, I now have the chance to compare iPhone with Android and will probably from time to time, post about the pro's and cons. Initially then I have to say I did not warm to the iPhone (Mine is the 4S) interface, but then if you are used to one Operating System, there are always going to be a level of resistance at the start. Suffice to say that I am starting to grow a little fonder of this 'little' phone (my Android has a 5.4" screen!), and although others have criticised smart-phones in general for their lack of ability to be a 'phone' - this one works well if you want to make or take calls!! It actually is a better telephone than my Android as far as I am concerned - I find my Android actually a bit too cumbersome to use as a phone and I also struggle to hear callers properly without using the speakerphone.
I am not able to load it up with apps as it is a works device, but the apps for messaging and for email are fine - it connected to my home wi-fi easily. The iPhone is running iOS7, and I quite like the smooth way in which the interface moves from one screen to another. I managed to link via bluetooth to the Nokia in-car system, so am once more hands-free. (I managed the same thing easily with my Android, but running bluetooth all the time drains the Android whereas it doesn't see to drain the iPhone quite as dramatically).
So those are my initial thoughts, I am quite sure I will have more discoveries both good and bad to report...

Tuxedo for kids

Whether it's for a wedding or some other special occasion, it's important to look the part - that's why so many companies make a living providing clothing just for weddings.
So the grown-ups are well-catered for, but what about the kids? It not always easy to find the right tuxedo for kids unless you have a really great selection to choose from.
The website I found had nearly 60 different outfits in the 'tuxedo' section ranging from natty suits to a full white tux with trousers and waistcoat - to suit anything from toddlers to teens.

NAS update

I was pretty sure from the start that the NAS I bought from eBay would not be straightforward to set up, and in that sense it has lived up to expectations. As soon as I started it up, it went into alarm function because it had detected that the data on the drives was not there. To compound the problem, the software I downloaded for controlling the NAS could not 'see' it on the network.
I have now got to the stage where it is visible and have finally discovered the 'reset' button - unfortunately I now need to force the firmware onto the system before I can get any further and I got a bit stuck at this stage.
I will 'open negotiations' with it again sometime this week and see if I can force the update (may be easier now I have found the reset button) - I have been relying on forums for instructions on how to resolve the issue, but have still got a little way to go. I'm not really sure where I go from here if I can't get it working, but there is a support phone number, so I may try that if I get really desperate....

Swings and Roundabouts...

There is this fantastic company for swing sets in virginia beach that I spotted on the web the other day. Any child would be in seventh heaven just to play on one of these never mind actually having your own to play with at home.

This company makes bespoke playsets to suit exactly the space that you have available, unfortunately in our case, that's not much at all...

However for those with the right sort of space in the backyard, you can create the playground of your dreams (for the kids of course, strictly for the kids...)

Go-Karts for kids

Of course, every child should have a go-kart, but I'm wondering if these are really go karts for kids? With four-stroke, 5.5 horse power engines, running up to nearly 30mph and headlights for night driving??

This sounds like a kids item that would keep some adults I know amused for a lifetime never mind a few hours.

All I can say is if you have the space to run around in one of these, your kids will surely love you forever if you were to buy one!(assuming of course that you allow them to drive it).

Virgin Media Update

Just had notification this week of my next Virgin Media bill and sure enough it will be about £10 cheaper than I was paying before which will be a saving of over £100 a year, plus a brand new router makes the phone calls and hassles worthwhile.
I have not received any reply to the survey I submitted a few weeks ago, makes you wonder if they take any notice, although I have heard they usually deal with complaints thoroughly.
Overall I am happy to remain a Virgin Media customer, I get a reasonable deal for phone and internet, plus I am getting a good deal for the mobile phone accounts that I have because I am a media customer (one for me, my wife and my daughter). The two for my daughter and my wife have limitless texts, but for mine I have chosen the go for the large internet data tariff, I get a massive 5GB of data, but if I get into text conversations with the family I end up exceeding my 50 texts a month - I accidentally did this for the first two months, and am hoping not to make that mistake again... I pay £8.22 for my account which included a Sony Experia which is now out of contract, the other two accounts are £7 each - I should probably see if there is a free upgrade for the Experia or switch mine to SIM only, but for the extra 1.22  month, I don't really want to lose the 5GB data even though I never get anywhere near using it up... When I can summon up the energy to ring Virgin again, I will see if I might be able to wangle a new phone....

Network Attached Storage

I finally bought myself a NAS (OK it's the second one I have bought, but the first one was rubbish! so this time I went for a proper brand-name system). It is second hand and winging it's way to me from eBay as I write...

I went for a Buffalo Terastation in the end as I found a reasonably-priced one, but would have liked a Netgear Readynas if they didn't command such high prices. The Terastation I have bought is supposedly in good working order but has no disks, which is perfect for me as I have a bunch of disks that I want to put into it. I now need to recover any of the data that I might want from these disks before the NAS arrives, that way I can start with blank disks and use the NAS as my future storage system.

I think it will take me a while to set it up especially as I will have to download all the software for it before I can start using it - I think I will use the default 'RAID5' setting, that way each disk has a partition set aside for recovery purposes - if any one of the four disks fail, the other disks will have sufficient back-up to be able to repopulate a new disk with all the lost data - neat huh?

I paid £65 (free postage) for the NAS by taking the 'buy-it-now' option on an auction that would have otherwise started at £45 - the trouble is once the bidding starts, I figured it would go for more than £65 anyway, so bit the bullet and shelled out some of my hard-earned PayPal fund... Having done a few cassette to CD conversions recently and had income from some other online sources, I think this will be going down as one of my many 'business expenses' in this tax year.

I will be sure to post an update once I have been able to get the thing up and running and give it a bit of a road-test. I am hoping I will discover some great features to make use of once I start to explore what it can do...

LogMeIN update

I have been using the free version of 'LogMeIn' for a couple of years now, but they are now withdrawing free accounts and are now charging for the service.
I have previously written two posts about them here...
This is a real shame as I find the service offered by LogMeIn particularly useful for logging into my Mother's laptop and helping to solve some of her computing problems for her - only last weekend I was able to help her with with a software update, and ran some anti-virus software which picked up and deleted a dozen dubious files. I have also used it in the past to run software in my workplace when I have been at home and unable to get to work.
It's fair enough that free software should expire after a time, so no complaints there, I just thought I needed to write an update seeing as I have blogged about the free version of LogMeIn on this blog previously.
I have yet to try the 'native' Windows remote assistant software, so I guess I will be trying that soon to see if that offers any functionality that I had previously got from LogMeIn.

Jungle Heat - Android Game

Remarkably similar to 'Friendly Fire', a game I reviewed a while ago, Jungle Heat is another 'build up your base and fight the enemy' type game which moves slowly if you are too mean to pay your way...
The aim of these games is really to get you hooked and then frustrate you into paying real cash in order to progress in the game a bit faster. News Flash - I am too mean to fall for this, I will endeavour to keep playing or just let it slide before resorting to actually parting with hard-earned cash. It's not that I think the creators of the games don't deserve a reward, but I see it this way:
I am playing the game and thus contributing to the global popularity of the game in general - I am encouraging others to part with their cash by playing the game, and thus aiding the creators to make a profit - just don't expect me to actually key in my credit card details at any point...
Jungle Heat seems very popular and the game-play is fairly intuitive as far as I can tell, I haven't actually interacted with any other players as yet as I seem to be just plodding through the initial steps even though I have been playing for about 4 or 5 days. I like the game enough to persevere with it, ad would happily recommend it to those who like this type of app.

EGH Law Firm

In business it often pays to specialize in a niche area of a market, and become expert in specific areas. This has been the philosophy of EGH Law Firm in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Success in this type of business often comes as a result of good service rather than self-service. Here is a firm that espouses the virtues of serving the community, recognizing the value of this rather than simply helping the firm itself to flourish.
Whilst there is no doubt that the Law can provide a good living for those that practice it, being a successful local business means being part of the community as a whole.

Premier Fantasy League

It's Saturday night, and you are waiting for Match of the Day to come on the BBC... Normally, you just want to find out how your team did, and how you rivals fared... When you get involved with fantasy Football, almost every game may have an impact on your weekend...

I started playing Fantasy Premier League last season, and got the app for my 'phone so that I could get updates on the go. I loved it so much, I got work colleagues involved and almost the whole office is playing it now. To be fair it works much better on a PC, some of the features don't work very well at all on a phone, but you can at least get your weekly score and see how each player performed.

All in all, the app is not a replacement for the online PC version, but when you get hooked, having the information at your finger-tips is a nice feature. So the game play follows the Premier League, you get to choose a squad of 13 outfield players and 2 goal keepers, and you get points for their performance on match day (league appearances only). You get to sell and buy one player per week, players that are injured in reality, don't earn you any points - you put three of your squad on the bench, and they 'play' if one of your team does not play for any reason. The players get points for clean-sheets, goals and assists, they get docked points for yellow and red cards, they get a point for playing, 2 for the full 90 mins. This will test your mettle as a manager and may leave you as frustrated as Arsene Wenger on a bad day... I love it!