This question isn’t new, It’s been asked for years, and not just in the realm of technology either, but when we look at TVs which span one hundred inches or more, phones with processors running at over one gigahertz, and cameras in those devices over eight megapixels, plus computers with twelve possible compute cores, I just have to wonder where we expand with technology from here.

Eventually, we’re going to run into the issue that processors any faster than about one and a half gigahertz will produce too much heat when used in a mobile device, and the fact that in the end, we want not only speed, but also portability, making 5 inch displays really something that will only be seen on tablets and the like, unless the world devices to start wearing trousers which considerably larger pockets in them.

I’m not saying the progression and advancement we’re seeing in technology is a bad thing, being a graphic / web designer means that I rely not only on paper and pens, but also on computers to get my job done, as do many of millions of people out there, but I just continue to wonder more and more about how viable the continued progression of technology, in regards to the portability, cost and durability of these items will be.

For all I know, I could be completely off here, and there could be a massive population of people who are begging to be sold into a seven inch tablet device with a two gigahertz processor, two gigabytes of RAM and a twelve megapixel camera, it would certainly not be the first time I’d end up being wrong about this sort of thing, but I have a sneaking suspicion in the back of my head about this, even more so, seeing how George Pearce, who I consider a fairly technically inclined person, couldn’t even figure out how to sync his calendar with his iPhone 4 on his new MacBook Pro, so if someone who can write code can’t sync a calendar, I do believe we’re in for a fairly large sized problem in just a few years time, for those out there who are still using Motorola V3′s from 2004, who are forced to upgrade to something newer, especially with the announcement of Verizon’s migration from CDMA2000, to LTE 4G (GSM).

However, just as most copyright related things goes, there are some very important exceptions to this ruling, most of which the iPhone/iOS jailbreaking/hacking/modification/development teams have neglected to cover, in light of their new-found (small) victory over Apple.

The most important, and the worst blow to the change, is that changing the software to permit the device to connect to another GSM carrier, or unlocking is exempt… from this exemption, as it’s covered under a completely different part of copyright law, unaffected by this change, so while those who love to install non-Apple approved applications can rejoice, those of us (like myself) who wish to use their device on other networks, are still out of luck for the time being.

As CNET said, this is still a pretty shocking (and highly important) change in direction for copyright in the states, it’s the first big ruling in favour of the consumer, based around the concept of fair use in a very long time. The entire concept started in English law around the 18th century, however the Americans have been far more lenient in their usage of it in large cases like this.

While it most definitely does not say that America will start approving exemptions under fair use left and right, it shows that the US Copyright Office is willing now, more than ever, to use these exemptions in favour of the consumer, which as we continue to see massive amounts of lawsuits being thrown against people by the RIAA, BPI, MPAA and others, for alleged violations of copyright infringement, and illegal acquisition of digital content is very important for everyone involved.

It should be interesting, seeing as America tends to be the standard for copyright regulation and enforcement across most of the world, as to where this all goes, I personally think that it could still be 3-5 years (at least) before we see any major changes in copyright law which directly effects consumers, but it’s still a bit of a nod that changes to copyright change can happen, and that large corporations in any industry shouldn’t take copyright for granted, especially if for those who wish to abuse it for their gain.

First and most simply, Media Temple are absolutely brilliant. No questions asked.

From a very serious dedication to providing support to customers, helping them get the most of what they pay for each month, Media Temple take support very seriously, more seriously (dare I say) than Rackspace. From response times to just general overall knowledge of the services they provide, Media Temple really do manage to set the bar for what every other hosting provider in the £10-£15 cost sector need offer, and they set that bar very very high. They really do go above and beyond.

Secondly, Regardless of your service choice, from a simple Grid-Service account, to a Dedicated-Virtual Rage, what you can really do with their offerings is nearly limitless. My usage of my (gs) account is pretty simple, my personal blog, email and some little side-projects, I really don’t use much of my account, usually maxing out about 100 GPU’s per month, but with offerings like the (ve), a true blank slate solution, to the (dv), a server ready for heavy lifting (and a product I used for a bit of time before deciding it was a bit too much power for me personally, you really can let loose and be madly creative, no matter which path you choose to go about.

I could really go into how both of Media Temple’s data centres are connected with a dedicated fibre connection, or how they have N+1 redundancy and the lot, but for most people reading this, N+1 means nothing, and while George Pearce has had quite a bit of success with his migration of projects to the Rackspace Cloud, After a weekend of experimentation, I can again say for sure that for a “designer type” such as myself, Media Temple is a better choice, unless server management and command line usage is a secondary specialty of yours.

This should be a post, interesting to much of anyone who has any idea of what Helvetica is. If you don’t, Let me introduce you. Helvetica is a sans-serif typeface, originally created in 1957 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann, at the Haas Typefoundery in Switzerland. From the start, it was designed to be a pure, clean typeface, in a time when most types had a very handwriting inspired look to them, with intricate swirls and the like, Helvetica was designed to be clear, and had an element of being mechanical, or having been made artificially, versus having been created via sampling handwriting. It’s based on the Akzidenz-Grotesk typeface, which was released by Günter Gerhard Lange from H. Berthold AG some 59 years earlier. Now some 54 years after its release, Helvetica still has just as much appeal in todays design as it did back in the 1960′s, 1970′s and beyond.

Helvetica is one typeface which has never really gone out of style, the pureness of it has allowed it to stand the test of time, it was one of the first typefaces to redirect focus from the typeface, to the content, in which graphic designer Wim Crouwel said best in the documentary created by Gary Hustwit dedicated entirely to Helvetica.

Helvetica was a real step from the 19th century typeface… We were impressed by that because it was more neutral, and neutralism was a word that we loved. It should be neutral. It shouldn’t have a meaning in itself. The meaning is in the content of the text and not in the typeface.

Fast forward to 2008, when in celebration of Helvetica’s 50th birthday, the Helvetica Project, in colaboration with Moleskine s.r.l, created the Helvetica, Limited Edition Moleskine notebook. A tribute to one of the most popular typefaces of the current period. It many ways, the Helvetica Moleskine is a collectors item, however like most Moleskine products (due to brilliant design and attention to detail) it does demand to be written in, filled with ideas, notes and whatever else comes to mind, however for many designer types like myself, this can be damn near the closes thing to a must have object you can ever get, besides an Audi Q7 Quattro in cream white. Mmmm. Audi Q7.

Don’t joke with yourself though, this limited edition book comes with a price tag which strangely resembles that of an Audi Q7, as with tax, shipping and the book on its own included, you’ll be spending nearly £40 to get one of them in your hands, and you’ll be looking at a 7-10 day wait before it even enters the country, as they’re only available online, in limited quantities, from Moleskine Asia. While I’m sure this won’t surprise many, I have of course splurged and bought not one, but two, yes, two, one black, and one red, one of which I’ll be using once I fill my current Moleskine plain journal, and one of which will remain in the plastic cellophane wrap, to be cherished and protected.

I’ll of course be flaunting the Helvetica inspired goodness on Flickr, sometime next week on Flickr, so taking a peek at my Photostream would be a wise decision, provided your interested, and if your as insane as I am, and wish to get your hands on one yourself, for 30 quid of your own, you can accomplish that as well, provided you don’t take too long.

(Second Image Credit: Mark Jensen)

If you’ve been under a bridge for 8 months, .co is the newest publicly available domain out there, it’s the domain for Colombia, and is marketed as a .com alternative, for those wishing not just for a smaller domain, but also for a domain which may already be registered in the .com name space. However, Personally, I think .co is a pure scam.

The fact is that .co creates more issues than it resolves. Everyone from the BBC, to Sky, to Tesco, O2, T-Mobile and the lot now have to try and protect their trademarks in the .co space, and for many, there is a high risk of having your domain taken by someone else, to be used for a malicious purpose, and seeing as .co is quite a bit more expensive than .com (even with the recent ICANN rate increase) with a cost £18 to £30 per year, and what it offers over the tens of other TLD’s offered currently is nearly nothing.

To provide some examples about the risk of having trademarks infringed upon, the BBC is one of a few who have already lost the chance to hold their trademark in the .co space, and I can see many more loosing the opportunity as well. Right now many .co domains have WHOIS data which doesn’t explain the actual owner, more pointed to .CO Internet SAS’s reservation of names for eventual owners.

While I have thought about it, I’ve decided I won’t be registering donaldkelly.co, as it doesn’t actually provide me with any benefits for the amount of money I’d be spending on it per year, seeing as I can currently pay for a two year period of all of of .uk domains in my portfolio for the cost of one year of a .co domain, registering a .co simply doesn’t make any sense, and seeing as I already own many of the more important domains when it comes to available TLDs, I’m comfortable with donaldkelly.co being available for register by someone else.

If you personally choose to register a .co domain, I won’t downplay your decision, however I think that for most people, .co simply doesn’t make sense, unless you have a massive brand to protect, or are just overly paranoid in regards to owning every possible variation of their name or brand possible, but for most people, the £30/year is better spent elsewhere.

The Future of BlackBerry

I long debated a move to the Nexus One, and was even as close as clicking the “Purchase” button on the Nexus One order page, but I decided to wait, and take another look over my options, and much to the displeasure of many, I decided on another BlackBerry, a white 9700.

VaultPress

It’s no secret that I’ve been an avid WordPress user since 2006, from self-hosted installs on the smallest of web hosts, to free WordPress.com sites, I’ve used WordPress in nearly every environment possible, some better than others. regardless, this experience has taught me to have a deeper overall understanding of WordPress, the way plugins work with the core and how even something as simple as a php configuration file can completely wreak havoc on a WordPress install, and this is where VaultPress comes in.

Moleskine’s

I knew though, that grabbing some standard A4 paper and drawing things wouldn’t be a solution however, I’d need something I could organise and manage, and I knew I didn’t want a desk full of paper overflowing on to the floor full of random notes and drawings, which could never be sorted and organised into something useful

Twitter Highlights. Follow me on Twitter, @DonaldKelly_

“As I use it more and more, I must say I’m beginning to love my Moleskine more and more.”

“Why is Software Update for Mac ALWAYS so slow, REGARDLESS of the connection speed? It’s the only thing I hate about my Mac.” (Thurs, 22 July 2010)

“Ticket machines at most rail platforms are too complicated for most passengers, a survey of 30,000 passengers has revealed” You don’t say!? (Wed, 21 July 2010)

Next week I’ll be reviewing the Moleskine London CityBook, Publishing my views of the VaultPress Beta (providing the terms of use doesn’t prevent me from doing so) and looking at how Twitter has changed since it’s creation in 2006.

On Sunday, I’ll be LiveTweeting the UK Top 40, on my twitter project, @OneRecent, with a chance of B.o.B (feat. Hayley Williams) being knocked from it’s number one spot from last week, only to be superseded by Yolanda Be Cool (feat. DCUP) with “We No Speak Americano” it should be a very interesting show, listen live on the iPlayer, http://bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio/.

I long debated a move to the Nexus One, and was even as close as clicking the “Purchase” button on the Nexus One order page, but I decided to wait, and take another look over my options, and much to the displeasure of many, I decided on another BlackBerry, a white 9700.

As someone who’s used almost every recently released device, from the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and even an iPhone 4, to the HTC G1, Magic and even the Nexus One, I’ve seen and used most every modern device out there, however, for some reason, I continue to come back to the BlackBerry platform, even with it’s lack of modern applications, somewhat clumsy user-interface, and semi-idiotic upgrade schedule for device software, controlled not by users or RIM themselves, but by the carrier’s who offer the devices to the customers, a process users of the Bold 9000 in America are well aware of, seeing their 2 year old devices, while capable of running OS 5.0, have gone without, and may continue to go without for quite sometime, due to AT&T’s decision to not release the OS version to those customers.

RIM has a unique position in the market with the BlackBerry, because the BlackBerry was technically the first mobile data equipped device on the market, back in 1999, when GSM and CDMA were still 2-3 years off, the Mobitex and DataTAC networks were the only way to connect early devices like the RIM 850, 857 and 950 to a wireless network.

The issue being, The past really does RIM no good in today’s market. Consumers demand media centric, mobile computers today, the iPhone 4, EVO 4G and Milestone are all examples of this, so far, the BlackBerry is still a smartphone, it doesn’t play super dynamic games, and while the Storm II and 8530 Curve do support OpenGL, as of now, no other devices, including the 9700 support it, making it nearly pointless to create a game at this point which uses it, because your targeting a minuscule subset of the entire market, if anything, writing a game for OpenGL would mean you don’t have to localise, as the Storm II and 8530 are only available in North America.

Don’t get me wrong, I do really like the BlackBerry platform, but in order for the platform to survive, and for RIM to reach Mike Lazaridis’s goal of 100 million BlackBerry subscribers in the next few years, there needs to be a change in the direction of the platform, towards not just what the enterprise needs, but also towards what the consumer is looking for.

I’ll be purchasing a Bold 9700 in the next month or so, and I’m hopeful we’ll be seeing the 9800 Slider come out before the holiday season, with rumoured specs of a 1GHz Processor, 1GB of RAM, and possibly a 5 megapixel camera, I think RIM could be taking the platform in the right direction, I think BlackBerry still has a lot of appeal, but I think a lot needs to be done to ensure that the BlackBerry remains a leader in the field of smartphones and portable devices.

One of the thing I’ve loved about WordPress is the fact that your own your own content. Everything you publish, and anything you create on your site is completely yours, this includes things you can build on WordPress, like plugins for example, with WordPress self-hosted installs, you have complete control of your domain, and most importantly, your content.

But one challenge I’ve faced since day one, is the fact that backing and keeping data safeguarded is not as easy a process as you may think, there are plenty of ways to backup content, the easier, quicker ways are less thorough, while more through options are available, at the expense of having to be something close to a rocket scientist to understand the complexity of them, from scripting to permissions and the like.

While a close friend of mine has had a bit of experience in using S3 and other cloud based data storage options to back up entire websites, for me the entire concept has never been overly viable, due to the amount of time and effort required to getting the backup system setup, and also ensuring that backups of everything needed in the event of a critical failure is obtained and pushed to the cloud.

For a while, My backup has consisted of an XML output file from WordPress, combined with a backup of any themes that are used on the site, and a list of plugins used. While this isn’t a horribly thorough solution, it does provide me with the essentials should I need to set everything up elsewhere, my posts, categories, my theme and a list of the plugins used to make everything work.

While this method has worked beautifully in the countless times I’ve used it, I will admit that it is by no means the easiest or quickest method for having a backup which can be used to restore an entire site. In some tests I ran, I can usually have an entire site up and running within 60-90 minutes with this method, excluding the 24-48 hours required to get DNS propagation in the event a nameserver change is required.

All of this is why the idea of VaultPress interests me quite a bit. The idea of having 85 per-cent of my essential content backed up to a central, reliable server (the Automattic grid) is lovely, and while I will confess and say that I’m not quite sold on the price of £10p/m, the idea still appeals to me, as the VaultPress concept would eliminate my need to pull an XML file off WordPress every 72 hours, and would allow me more time to focus on development, and creating posts, rather than finding a suitable backup solution.

I’ve submitted my applications for a ‘Golden Ticket’ and currently am patiently awaiting one to show up in my inbox, I’m not quite sure when that will happen, but I’m hoping soon, I think the VaultPress concept has a lot of appeal to most bloggers, not just me, and my worries about scalability aside, I think VaultPress could very quickly become one of the “must-have-add-ons” for WordPress bloggers who are serious about their sites.

Paper. For the longest time the simple material has been my biggest enemy. I was brought up in a technology centric home, which was situated in a paper addicted world. When I was growing up, everything from journals, to scrapbooks to simple school coursework was done on paper, no digital involvement at all.

As a result, I ended up being forced to use paper while attending school, and while doing many other things as well, but once I was able to branch away from the overuse of paper in the world, I adopted digital as much as possible, If you were to search around my bedroom, you’d spend a good bit of time trying to find a piece of paper that I’ve ever written on.

However for the longest time, I’ve wanted to have some place where I could be creative on paper, you realise very quickly that there is a need to sketch things down, and just experiment easily, which is something that even with a Mac, isn’t always as intuitive as you may think.

I knew though, that grabbing some standard A4 paper and drawing things wouldn’t be a solution however, I’d need something I could organise and manage, and I knew I didn’t want a desk full of paper overflowing on to the floor full of random notes and drawings, which could never be sorted and organised into something useful.

Eventually I remembered about the Moleskine, something I had been told about a long time ago, but never took the time to really look at, right off the line I had the standard reaction, they’re a bit pricey. £10.95 for a pocket journal with an elastic band and 192 pages of paper is a bit on the steep side, however, even with, I decided to jump in and buy one.

Looking back, It was quite a good decision. Even though it’s simply a notebook, It really does inspire you to write, sort of the same effect you get from holding a DSLR versus a standard point and shoot camera, it commands you to be creative, and to release anything from your head, onto paper. It’s quite a unique experience, even though, through it all, it is just a notebook.

There is a lot to be said about the Moleskine, and I have a lot more I’m planning on saying, but regardless, I have to admit that 2 weeks in, I already own four of them.

Amazon is a wonder, a company that started from a small online storefront selling a few thousand books in Seattle, expanding to an international corporation known for being a simple, honest, true to their word company, who offers their customers value and often times, offer the customer the product they’re looking for at a lower price versus the competition, due to their lower operaitonal costs.

However, Something recently made me take a step back to think about the convinence of Amazon, and any costs we pay for the convinence, speed and usability of Amazon and the service they offer all of us. To start off, I should explain where this arrises from.

Sunday evening, I decided I wanted to expand my Moleskine collection by one more, and decided to search Amazon in search of a plain, black Moleskine, and decided to settle on the Moleskine which really started it, blank pages, black cover, A3 size pages, £14.75 not bad at all.

However, a few minutes after placing my order, I decided that there was another version of Moleskine (yes, there are many different vareities. You’d be surprised how difficult it is to choose one.) and so I decided it was probably wise to change my order. I navigated back to my order page, selected the order, selected “Change/Modify Order” but strangely, as soon as I clicked that link, my order changed status to “Shipping Soon” – which as far as I’ve been told, means that the Amazon system has found a suitable distrubution centre for you order, and cued your order to be picked and then packed in a box at that facility.

While I wasn’t overly upset with my order having changed statuses, It did make me step back and think as to what we loose in order to get our items quicker. In a retail environment, I could have simply turned around, and done an exchange, however in the space of Amazon, I’m completely out of luck, my only option being to wait for Amazon to ship the item via UPS, wait for it to arrive, and then turn around and arrange for an exchange via Amazon CustomerCare.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Amazon, I’ve been a customer since 2008, but it really made me wonder if there isn’t a better way to allow the customer to have more time, not just to change their mind regarding purchasing, but also to allow the customer to purchase more items, and allow them to be combine shipped in one package.

I am completely aware that Amazon, when using 1-Click purchasing allow you 30 minutes to purchase more items before the item is routed to a distribution centre for shipment. Why not implement this into the customer experience for those who use Shopping Basket based purchasing? Better yet, Allow customers to specify an amount of time that the order can be held before its routed to the distrubition centre, or allow them a button at the top of the screen which says “I’m done! Send my order to be processed.”.

I love Amazon, and always will, but this experience made me realise how the order process used by Amazon could be expanded, and improved. I understand the need for simplicity as not to drive away those who are less technically inclined than others, but I also feel there is something to be said for allowing those who wish to have more flexibility regarding what they buy to grasp that control to their advantage.