BSkyB have confirmed that the content on offer will include the Sport channels, which in my opinion, are the only reason anyone would pay for their service.

So, this means, that Premiership football will be available to watch without an expensive Sky subscription, which is great news.

Of course, it remains to be seen what the subscription costs will be. Will it be pay-per-view? If so, how much would you be willing to pay for a football game?

Undoubtedly, the BSkyB media player will not be available for Apple Mac (as everyone except the BBC seems to have opted for Microsoft DRM technology). Still, I can live with that. Watching the game online will hopefully be much cheaper than a full Sky ‘box’ subscription, or a visit to the pub.

Well, since then I have been contacted 3 times by people trying to sell me insurance.. not due to my blog entry; but simply because I have opted to by the phone, but not the insurance.

First off, I received a phone call from Carphone Warehouse. I told them I was already covered. Still, the next day Carphone Warehouse managed to send me a text offering me insurance, along with a number to reply to if I want to unsubscribe from future spam.

Yesterday, I received a phone call on my new phone. This seemed odd, as my phone number doesn’t port over until today. I should have guessed. Someone from o2 offering me insurance. I asked when this harrassment would stop and the sales assistant got all defensive. After much probing, I discovered that she wasn’t calling from o2, but from another company. Apparently o2 are happy to give out your phone number without your consent. Thank you o2.

It’s nice to get involved in sales pitches and speak to customers directly, unlike when I was a contractor. It’s great to work with a creative, and to be able to bounce ideas around. And it’s really nice to get positive feedback from customers and clients.

Stan seem pretty happy with the way things are going too. Howie is now officially, the new man at stan.

Great statistic. Bottled water costs 4 times that of oil, yet we have don’t have an oil tap in our kitchen!

There is a map showing where the blasts have taken place

Tweets

Sadly, Ian’s grave hasn’t been left in such peace. As reported in the Machester Evening News, some sick, sad pillock has nicked his headstone!

Very. Sad.

The reason for my bloglessness, is that I’ve been distracted - weddings, marriage, work. These real-world events seem to be preventing me from escaping into my online, virtual world. That’s life. That’s having a life!

Fear not. The blog is back. Part of the reason for my lack of updates, is my current work environment. I’m on a contract for a UK bank, and our internet access is severely restricted. No email, no IM, restricted access to web sites. Can’t really blame them. It does make you more productive.

Anyway, my work situation is soon to change. Whilst I’ve been offered a contract extension until November, I’ve chosen to escape. I’ve been working on a private banking web site. It’s a rewrite of the current application. The current solution is a mess, and the new solution will be just as bad. Accenture have their sticky paws all over the project. The work is dull, the office vibe non-existent and to make life more interesting, the bank has decided to knock 10 per-cent off all contractor rates. My agency decided to swallow the difference, but I’m still off.

I’m actually giving up Java contracting.. again. Java projects tend to be for big institutions and seem to always be large, over-managed, process-driven and political. They also seem to lack innovation. Sure, the money’s good. but the work simply isn’t rewarding.

So, it’s time for a change. At the end of this month, I’m having a second stab at moving into freelance web development. Last time I attempted it, I enjoyed getting back into the CSS, javascript, Web 2.0 stuff. But I also learned two valuable lessons:

1. Don’t work from home. You end up working too hard, and it’s important to interact with others
2. You need to find the work, as it won’t find you.

A year on from my first attempts the landscape is a little different. I’ve met some interesting people, and from next month, I’ll be working with others, not on my own. This is really exciting. I’ll be working form an office, with a creative and a PR person. And along with them, I’ll be networking.

The other change in the landscape is the current state of the World Wide Web. Agencies are no longer being asked to design web sites with some content management thrown in. Today’s clients are, or soon will be, after a richer experience. I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out in predicting that there will be a big move to having web sites on mobile phones. Clients are also realising that the web isn’t just about a static, brochure web site, or an e-commerce shopping cart. Web design is out. Web applications are in. As the credit crunches, and the belts tighten, the business that will prosper will be those that embrace the power of the internet as it evolves at a magnificent pace. I hope to be able to provide solutions for such businesses.

I’m not sure what lies ahead for me in my new adventure. I’m giving it six months, and then I’ll reassess the business, and financial situation. If all fails, it’s back to contracting. But hopefully, this will not be the case.

Here’s to the beginning of a great adventure.

According to BBC News the tremor measure 4.7 on the Richter scale.

Is it coincidence that several tremors have also been felt this week in Indonesia?

time for a stiff drink!

On Tuesday night, GastrGrrl and I came home in the evening and collected our post in the hallway. There was a letter, addressed to someone else, living at the same house number, but on the next street. That’s incompetent.

But, this letter had a label on it reading Recorded and Signed For!

The sender had paid good money, and entrusted Royal Mail to ensure that, what is presumably an important document, is safely sent.

Well, no-one had signed for this Recorded delivery, and it was delivered to the wrong address. Incompetent and untrustworthy. Be warned. Beware.

Normally, I download podcasts using iTunes on my mac-mini at home. I then transfer the podcast to my iPod and listen at work. But of course, I don’t always remember to sync my iPod.

so, today I thought I’d listen online. I went to the BBC web site and it offered to add my podcast subscription to iTunes, My Yahoo or Google Reader.

So, I gave it a go, and immediately found out that the web-based reader provides an inline player. Nice. And you can move the player to a pop-out window, or use the original link to listen in a player of your choice.

I’m impressed