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OddPrints – Print Photos in Any Size (including 3×3 & 4×4)

By Technology, The WebNo Comments

earthy theme photo frame

I bought this photo frame (above) from Next a few years ago. I absolutely loved it, but couldn’t get photos printed in the 3×3 and 4×4 sizes that the frames required. I tried cutting the photos down, but they either didn’t look right or things/people that I wanted in the photo I’d have to cut off. So I ended up putting it away in a cupboard.

Recently, I came across the photo frame. I decided to have another look online for 3×3 and 4×4 photo prints and discovered OddPrints by Matt Burns.

Matt Burns recently said in email:

I wrote OddPrints mainly because I’m a programming-maths-nerd and I found printing photos for little frames really difficult. I figured what chance do casual computer users have?

Matt’s right he’s made it so easy; even a technophobe like me can work OddPrints. First you upload a photo, select your size (Below Left) and then choose any other options (Below Middle):

OddPrints Screen Shot

Upload your photo and select your size.
OddPrints Screen Shot

Choose your options.
OddPrints Screen Shots

How to print your own photos.

Then you can either print your own (Above: Right) with the guidelines on or get them professionally printed by OddPrints. I had mine printed by OddPrints; the quality of print and speed of postage were superb. When my photos arrived I simply cut them down and put them in the frames.

Hurray! A simple solution to my problem. I highly recommend having your photos printed by OddPrints. So if you need photos in odd sizes visit: OddPrints.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 3 January 2014

Import: Stay Safe over Christmas with the iSurvive App

By Creativity, Journalism, TechnologyNo Comments
iSurvive

iSurvive App

 The Christmas party season is upon us! We all want to have a good time; but we need to make sure that we’re safe to (and I don’t just mean condoms). Tom Hunt and his team have developed an App to help you out, appropriately named iSurvive.

iSurvive has two modes: Attack and Accident. It allows you to send a pre-written emergency text to up to three of your contacts in three quick taps, to let them know you’ve been attacked or had an accident with your GPS location and a Google Maps link.

iSurvive also has a one touch ‘call international Emergency Services’ (112) button, a quick and easy way to find your current location, the ability to turn a flashlight on, use the Flash as an SOS flashing signal and even convert text into a flashing custom Morse Coded signal.

If you move after sending the text, when your contacts click the link they get a real time update of your current location. These updates continue, until you deactivate the app at the end of the emergency situation.

The App was inspired by an event that happened two years ago in the UK, in which someone was reported missing. The Police eventually used the missing person’s mobile phone signal to track them down but it was too late. The victim had been abducted, murdered and left in a remote forest location.

If you’re being attacked and the attacker is trying to get you to cancel the alert in the App you can enter a fake code and it will appear to them that you’ve cancelled it. But in reality it will continue to transmit your location to your three contacts. How realistic it is that the attacker would try and force you to deactivate the alert, rather than smash up your mobile is questionable.

There are a lot of great customizable options on this App including: the pre-written messages, who they are sent to, the ability to type a detailed message to your chosen contacts and the deactivation texts.

If you or someone else kills the App the alert continues to be active, until you fully deactivate it yourself. iSurvive is FREE to download from 14th-28th December 2013, after this is reasonably priced at 99p.

Of course an App alone isn’t going to completely safe. You need to take some sensible steps yourself, such as: knowing your alcohol tolerance limit, staying with friends, not going home/off on your own, carrying emergency money, keep hold of your drink and in the event of an attack attracting as much attention as you can.

Have a great & safe Christmas.

Published by: The Gay UK on Friday 20th December 2013.

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Thursday 19 December 2013

Whoops, I Bought An iPad Air (32GB, Space Grey)

By TechnologyNo Comments
Lit Up Reindeer I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a tablet for a while now. I wanted something I can access Facebook on, use to listen to Music and watch Films/TV Boxsets on while being in the living room with the cats.

When I saw the previous generation Kindle Fire for £99 on Amazon’s website, I wasn’t sure whether this was a Christmas offer or Black Friday offer. I wasn’t even sure if the Kindle tablet would be what I wanted. But at that price, I had to look into it.

So during my visit to Manchester Christmas Market (see Getting Into The Festive Spirit: Manchester Christmas Market) my friend and I nipped into Currys PC World to have a look at the Kindle.

I was looking at the newest Kindle the Fire HDX and the screen was just seven inches. So on the one hand the Kindle was cheap, but on the other hand the screen was far too small for what I wanted to use it for.

Undecided on cost or screen size, I spoke with my friend about it and then to mum. With some persuasion from mum, I decided to buy the much more expensive iPad Air (32GB in Space Grey). Whoops! Here are some obligatory photos:

iPad Air - Box New iPad Air - Case Boxed New
iPad Air - Cover Green iPad Air - Home Screen
iPad Air - Back

The reasons I bought the iPad Air were: bigger screen, compatible with my other Apple Products (iMac & iPhone 5), really light, great hardware specs (including better camera than most other tablets) and a massive range of Apps via the App Store.

I also splashed out on a cover. A cover, just covers the front of the iPad (the screen), costs £35, comes in a range of colours and is perfect for using the iPad at home. Whereas a case, covers the entire iPad (front & back), costs £65, comes in a range of colours and is ideal if you’re planning on taking the iPad out and about. Be careful when buying, as their package design is very similar.

I’ve had my iPad for a few weeks now, so I thought I’d give you my first impressions of some of the Pros and Cons:

Pros Cons
  • Light-weight, feels lighter than the average book.
  • Great Battery Life.
  • Charges really quick.
  • Compatible with my iPhone 5 charger and USB charging.
  • Like the Space Grey effect, reminds me of the Star Trek pads.
  • Easy to set up & use.
  • Always on, quick to check Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
  • Great Apps available on the App Store.
  • iPad specific Apps, to make the most out of the iPad Air.
  • Made for media consumption, whether it be: Music, films, TV Boxsets or ebooks.
  • Now comes with free Pages, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie and Garage Band.
  • It just works. No crashes at all (so far), not even Apps.
  • Silent operation – no sound of cooling fan.
  • Reasonable speaker sound quality.
  • iMessage & FaceTime.
  • Can be backed up through iTunes or iCloud.
  • Updates Apps Automatically.
  • Has Siri.
  • Find My iPhone – Works for iPad, so you can detect where it is if its ever stolen.
  • iPad as a device is expensive.
  • Doesn’t come with headphones.
  • Would literately be a blank canvas without the Apps on the App Store.
  • Covers are expensive at £35. Cases are extortionately priced at £65.
  • Made for media consumption – Feels difficult and slow to create things on the iPad.
  • Inhibits creativity and makes it less likely that you’ll spend your time creating something.
  • Pages, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie and Garage Band are all designed to help you be creative, but each takes up an awful lot of disk space.
  • iTunes doesn’t accept .avi files, so most of my movies can’t be played on the iPad. Have found a work around which I shall be blogging about soon, it’s just frustrating because I shouldn’t have to do this.
  • No way to access my wireless hard drive.
  • Doesn’t seem to want to link to my iMac through WiFi.
  • Missing the biometric security, the finger print scanner the iPhone 5S has.

One or two of the Cons might just be things I haven’t worked out how to do on the iPad yet. If you know how to do something that I’ve put on my Cons list, feel free to leave a comment.

The iPad Air 32GB Space Grey is available to buy on Amazon, on the Apple Store Online or on your local high street (at various retail outlets).

Write soon,

Antony

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Thursday 12 December 2013

Vidahost Review: Reliable Hosting, Outstanding Customer Service & Discount Coupon

By Reviews, TechnologyNo Comments
vidahost-logo Just over two years ago, I was chatting with a friend about how unhappy I was with my old hosting provider. He suggested that I checkout Vidahost and I’m so glad that I did.

I decided to give Vidahost a go; it was really easy to sign up, quick to transfer my blog and without any downtime. It didn’t affect my search engine ranking either. Vidahost offered me more features for less money. Vidahost features include:

vidahost-2
  • Really easy to transfer my domain name, website and email accounts.
  • More disk space: great for images and an ever growing blog/website.
  • Reliable Hosting, hardly any downtime. EVER.
  • Fast Servers – meaning that your website, uploads, images, music and videos load super quick.
  • Plenty of email accounts, subdirectories and SQL databases allowed. (Many more than my previous provider).
  • Easy to use through CPanel and My.VidaHost Dashboard. CPanel comes complete with WordPress and the other software/scripts you’d expect.
  • Truly outstanding customer support via live chat, email and a support ticket system. All Vidahost Staff I’ve wrote to have been friendly, quick and efficient.
  • They Back Up their Servers regularly.
  • Competitively priced with a range of packages, one that will suit everyone’s needs.
  • The ability to host multiple websites on one hosting package.
  • Unlimited Password Protect Directories.

I’ve been with Vidahost for two years and have never been so impressed with a hosting provider. They’ve made continual investment in the hardware and software throughout the time I’ve been with them.

My friend was looking for hosting and I recommended Vidahost to him, telling him all about my experience. He bought hosting for a month to give it a try and was so impressed that he bought an annual subscription. He said that Vidahost had exceeded all of his expectations.

And it’s not just my friends and I that are heaping the praise on Vidahost. Here are some testimonials from other Vidahost customers:

“No matter who I speak to I always feel that you guy’s are really helpful and very professional. 10/10. Thanks and well done to you all.” – Tony

“Another designer / developer recommended that I use Vidahost and I have not regretted the decision for a moment. Support has always been accessible and responsive, and the packages come with a full featured cpanel. I have since had the opportunity to recommend Vidahost to others and have moved another 2 domains to this hosting.” – Andrew Kennedy

“In short : Does what it says on the tin.
After being messed about and being treated like an insignificant inconvenience, by some far more well known names, I discovered Vidahost.
They’re efficient, friendly, there when you need them and don’t laugh when you’ve missed something glaringly obvious.
I’ve paid five times more for a tenth of the service I get from these people, and It’s become a mission to recommend them whenever the occasion arises.
Bravo Vidahost – I look forward to many more years with you.” – Allan J Wilkinson

(From: Vidahost Page – Customer Testimonials, Last Accessed: Saturday 2nd November 2013.)

Thanks for the last two years of superb hosting Vidahost; I look forward to the next two years and beyond.

If you’re looking to transfer your hosting or get some, without any hesitation I would recommend Vidahost. You can get 10% off your hosting by entering the Coupon: HOSTRED during the sign up process.

Review soon,

Antony

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Wednesday 6 November 2013
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