Apprentice: You’re fired

Posted on April 8, 2007 by mike

As some of you know, I actually enjoy watching "The Apprentice" TV series, especially the UK version. Well, as I am in London, and somehow wanted to enjoy it even closer, I decided to apply for a ticket to go and see the Live recording of "The Apprentice: You're Fired" show, which is shown on BBC2 each week directly after the actual episode. Well, I got assigned tickets for the 24th April, which interesting enough is a Tuesday, meaning the day before the new episode will air. I shall provide you with my impressions after the show, which is actually being recorded at the Riverside Studios in London.

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Joost Beta

Posted on April 8, 2007 by mike

One of the application I installed straight away on the VAIO MediaCenter PC was Joost. And after playing around with it over the last hour, I have to say that I start to like it already. Yes, there is not yet too much content available on Joost, but the interface is really nice, it simply works and the quality of a lot of the videos is good enough, even on a HighRes TV.

I will share my experiences with Joost over the coming weeks. 

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MediaCenter PC

Posted on April 8, 2007 by mike

Well, it won't come as a surprise. As indicated I was looking for a nice solution to play back all types of HD (and non HD) content in an easy and efficient way on my LCD TV. In addition, I am not too happy with the FreeView (DVB-T) receiver on the Sharp TV. Especially the EPG and the interface in general is rather poor.

Well, after shopping around a bit, I saw the Sony VAIO XL201 MediaCenter PC's for around 500£ (normal price around 900£) in some shops at Tottenham Court Road. After looking around on the Internet O was rather quickly convinced that this is a nice box for a good price.

Well, here we go, I bought it, and I am more then happy with it. FIrst thing I did was to upgrade it to Vista. The specs of the Machine are certainly good enough to run Vista.

The fact that the box is able to deliver 1080p over HDMI to my TV is really nice, and work great! And yes, not everybody like Windows MediaCenter, but in the end, it is working very nicely. And if ever one of the alternative products are able to really compete with it, I can still change it any time.

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HighDefinition TV

Posted on April 6, 2007 by mike

Yes, I finally went for it and bought a new TV. I decided in the end to go for a Sharp Aquos Full HD (1920×1080) TV, and so far I am rather happy with it. After having a rather low resolution Plasma screen for over 2 years now, I have to say that going for a Full HD TV is impressive, especially if you use HD content. Games on the Xbox360 are amazing, and HD-DVD's look also wonderful. Unfortunately my good old Xbox running XBMC (Xbox MediaCenter) is not able to play back real HD content and as such I will most certainly replace it shortly with something else to playback Media. More to come.

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Loreena McKennitt

Posted on April 4, 2007 by mike

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Last evening I went to see Loreena McKennitt at the Barbican. The event was part of her "An Ancient Muse" Tour, and I have to say, that seeing/listening to her live on stage is fantastic! A truly unforgettable evening! A must see!

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Classical Spectacular

Posted on March 24, 2007 by mike

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I went to see my first major concert since I moved to London. It was actually pure luck that I even became aware of it. While walking around London, I saw posters for an event at the Royal Albert Hall called "Classical Spectacular". Well, once I was home, and read more about it on the web, I decided to buy tickets for the Friday evening show. And I did not regret it. It was really spectacular. Nice selection of famous classical songs, combined with a rather nice light show, and all of it in the really spectacular Royal Albert Hall. I certainly enjoyed it, although I have to say that I was feeling a bit weird when the whole of the Royal Albert Hall was singing "Land of Hope and Glory" and "Rule Britannia" while waving flags. Rather unusual. Clearly showed that there were mainly local people in the audience and not too many tourists. A good start into what should be only the first of many events in London.

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London Appartment

Posted on January 10, 2007 by mike

Well, everything is moving ahead rather quickly. I have signed the rental agreement for an apartment in London. It is only a 10-15 minute walk away from my workplace. As such, I won't have to "enjoy" the morning and evening fun on the different means of public transport. But since it is located in the docklands, I am still only 15-20 minutes away from the city centre, allowing me to enjoy the city whenever I want. Pictures can be found on my homepage.

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Moving to the UK

Posted on December 26, 2006 by mike

As a lot of you know, I will be leaving Switzerland after a little bit more then 7 years. I guess it will be a rather big change, especially moving from a small village near Geneva to a real city: London. I will keep you informed about the progress. I am rather excited about it and look forward to a new city, and a new job.

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StarTrek NG vs. Starwars

Posted on June 11, 2006 by mike

What would happen if the Entrerprise encounters the Death Star? Have a look and find out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxhrPaaCA4

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First Entry

Posted on June 9, 2006 by mike

Just adding a first entry here, to check the installation.

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