Motoral Droid aka Milestone with android 2.0 now available in UK

this is THE phone to have at this point ....
if I could afford it I would be buying it to replace my Samsung i7500 Galaxy.

Motoral Milestone 2.0 on Expansys

£450 aint too bad.
not forgetting an extra 30 quid for the 'bedside' or 'beside your work pc'
docking station
:-) very slick

Im stuck for now but if Samsung dont update the Galaxy to 2.0 then Im forced to move on.
Phone still works well though on 1.5 release

GTI Edition 30 APR Stage 1 map update

as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I heard on the grapevine that there could be updated maps for ED30 cars.
So friday I reckoned it would be rude not to go into Awesome Manchester for an update :-)
They were very accomodating and helpful as ever applying an update to the car at 4.30pm.
Ive no idea what the changes are but first signs are very encouraging.
throttle travel vs boost seems much more 'controllable'
it also appears that boost is held much better as the revs increase rather than dropping from the initial 'spike'
time will tell............

345mm cross drilled S3 (same as R32) front brakes fitted to Golf GTI Edition 30 (std are 312mm)

UPDATE 2022 on : I also performed a similar upgrade when I sold the Edition30 and now have an Edition 35 , of note the later Mk7 calipers can fit the Ed30 too

see https://johnoldfield.blogspot.com/2021/08/draft-golf-gti-edition-35-front-brake.html

a full review to follow in due course but given that a track day looms I have succumbed to a slight upgrade ;-)

S3 front brakes, std pads and goodridge braided hoses

here they are laid out for fitting :

From Johns Car Blog

the Edition 30 original setup 312mm x 25mm single pot :

From Johns Car Blog

getting fitted by ADS Preston, 345mm x 30mm single pot:

From Johns Car Blog

blurry but good :

From Johns Car Blog

up and running :

From Johns Car Blog

Golf GTI Edition 30 MPG update

332 miles @ 28.5 MPG Shell Optimax

Android (specifically Droid) = 20% of mobile smartphone traffic

Which Android Phone browses web most ?

Press Release link for first LHC collisions

First Collisions press release

HD freeview rollout but alas no equipment

check the details here
HDTV rollout
there are however a few 'issues'

1.no hdtv freeview tuners are available yet lol
2. lots of people are gonna be pretty p*ssed if theyve just bought SD freeview boxes for the recent switchover dates (Nov and Dec 2009)

great idea , dunno if it works , but its certainly not gonna be cheap for a HD freeview PVR.
plus lots of people are gonna be confused as to the difference between an HD ready Tv and an HD freeview tuner !

First LHC collision events detected!

well if you were checking the portal page you will have seen this under the section 'live log' of the CMS ....


all they need to do is turn up the wick and the universe may yet reveal its secrets ...

LHC Portal : lots of great realtime info

http://www.lhcportal.com/

of note
LHC : "Page 1" for the detectors running status
Status Op : shows you the detectors online

all fascinating stuff in real time!

Android 2.0 on i7500 Galaxy petition

Just in case Samsung think they can get away with leaving us i7500 Galaxy users with Android 1.5, no way!
Add your name to below , we want 2.0 at least .......
Android 2.0 for i7500
dunno if the petition site is ok, so may want to use a disposable email address

BBC IPlayer channel on Wii

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8357777.stm

you used to be able to navigate to Iplayer on the Wii using the InternetChannel, but now nintendo have released a new specific channel for UK users and its free :-)

Best of all it works well , slick interface , defaults to full screen and the resolution looks to be far better than before.

Go download it from the shopping channel now ..

preview of Google Chrome OS

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/11/google-chrome-os-press-event.html

its an OS based around Chrome browser
notably boot up time 7 seconds ....

Miglior Professional Car Detailing

just a blatant plug for Jays website for his professional detailing business, top guy , top work , highly reccomended ....

heres xome comments from mk5golfgti.co.uk :

I love car detailing (as a keen amateur) and have previously done it all myself, but this year decided I would enlist the services of a pro (JPC).

Initially it does appear to be a relatively large outlay (but compare it to tuning parts and it isnt....) for paintwork.
Thats the misconception.

If you have the time , then by all means learn from the pros and buy the right kit and DIY
but this will cost you a reasonable outlay. If you will stick at it and have the patience to learn the right way to do things , then go this way

But as we all know time is limited , and the days of having 2-3 days free to clean a car just never happens when you have wife/kids/dogs/houses/jobs... insert selfish other tasks here to look after......

Yes I want to do it myself , but no I just dont have the time.
I can only confirm that my car was well looked after and came back like glass
Using the correct washing procedure I have only washed it and lightly detailed it to keep it looking fresh.
No more than 2 hrs tops and its back to gleaming.....
hassle free gorgeous car everytime , and its now > 6 months later

its a balance but you pay professionals to look after your engine / add mods , so i dont see why the same principal doesnt apply to car detailing.
Yes you can DIY , but ultimately a well known and trusted professional will be able to do create a better finish , that lasts longer, in less time using the correct finishes for your specific car

for me this is Miglior Detailing aka 'JPC' due to location and he's someone from the forum I can trust.
based on location though this can apply to your local 'trusted' detailing professional.

this was not intended to be a advert , but a comparison of DIY vs Professional detailing


http://miglior.co.uk/

get it done :-)

Golf GTI Edition 30 mpg update

380 miles @ 31.4 MPG
also crossed the 30,000 mile barrier :-)

From Johns Car Blog

Top Gear / MPH / Classic Car show @ NEC Nov 2009

great fun and very well organised

Pace Twin PVR : no EPG after freeview retune

From Johns Car Blog

North West UK , so we had another freeview retune recently.
Only this time the trusty (and somewhat dated!) Pace Twin freeview recorder had lost its entire EPG guide , and no matter how long I waited it would never load....
funnily enough it did work if I selected 'Info' button to view current EPG and next program for a single channel.
A quick websearch unusually didnt turn up much (which was a surprise).
But at last I found the following gem...

Pace Twin - GENERAL thread (not bugs) on DigitalSpy.co.uk by pacetwin and davidbrown
thanks guys

The problem with the Twin is it's got limited EPG space, originally designed for 30 channels which have grown to over twice that, and every time a new part time channel starts it's EPG has to be stored. Pace decided that showing the programme times was important and then to load the details where there was room left. An algorithm is used to decide which programmes get the details. Sometimes you will see the last day in the EPG has gaps, this is the PACE prioritizing. Not sure how it works but I assume it fills in today and tomorrow first and then day-time programmes over night-time ones.

When I asked Tech Support many years ago they said 'details' may show for a while and then disappear as the Pace reallocates the EPG memory. Using a Favourites list means it doesn't have to store channels you will not see so more memory is available for the details.

I have 2 lists one for my favourite TV channels (TV ONLY) and one for the Radio channels (RADIO ONLY). Before going to the EPG I switch to the TV ONLY list using the left/right arrow keys and then press EPG. When I come out from the EPG I either stay in TV Only or switch back to the FULL list.

The less channels you have in your list the faster the EPG loads.

so there you go!
'Menu' button , select 'Your TV Lists', right arrow to select 'List 1'
right arrow , then right arrow to add each channel , remember to hit the green button to save your selections.
best try it just with BBC1 first to see if your EPG loads.

'List' then right arrow to select 'List 1' , OK to watch.
you will be limited to the channels you added. but its easy to switch back to 'All channels' if reqd

voila my 'restricted' list EPG now loads.
means I dont have to bin it just yet , but its days are probably numbered.......
trying to hold out for an HD freeview box though ;-)

heres a cool mod site for the Pace Twin
Pace Twin Wiki data

Golf GTI Edition 30 mpg update

355 miles @ 28.8 MPG

Ferrari and Porsche driving at Prestwold Hall

there were 2 vouchers bought for me over xmas 2008, so they needed to be taken.
Ferrari thrill and Porsche thrill.

4 laps in a ST Focus to learn the track
then 4 laps in a yellow 360
then 4 laps in a silver 997

Really well organised, and very easy to get sucked in to purchase extra laps in the other cars there.

I preferred the 997 tbh , manual gearbox and a much better 'feel' than the 360
the semi auto change in the 360 was absolute rubbish! made a nice sound though.
track is small at 1.8 miles and laps soon pass.

Its a very controlled environment which i can understand.
Full credit to everyman racing , and definitely a fantastic day out

Next up Im at Oulton Park in the Edition 30 ;-)

Lots of lovely performance cars
Lambos,430,elise,GTR,impreza,r8 etc , check out the pics.

Everyman Racing Driving Days

Motorola Droid Phone Review

check out the review at
http://phandroid.com/2009/11/03/motorola-droid-review/

A new king is born ........

Android has just taken another giant leap :-)
I can only hope they port Android 2.0 to the Samsung i7500

Golf gti edition 30 : 30k mile service / mpg update

57 plate , 30k miles service due.
Car now 2 yrs old.

decided to go with Gilbert Lawton Manchester again (supplying dealer) on a while you wait basis. Specified use of LongLifeOil and NOT to wash the car....
Been good so far, and once again all went smoothly , 1.5 hrs for service and also a brake fluid change.

2 R32's and a 5dr Edition 30 , all around £20k !

From Johns Car Blog

Mk6 GTI with ABT kit. Kit was nice , wheels are horrible.......

From Johns Car Blog

From Johns Car Blog

the bill!
£216 , inc brake fluid change , long life oil adds £25 !!!

From Johns Car Blog

355 miles @ 28.8MPG , using Tesco 99RON for this tank (vouchers + clubcard lol)

From Johns Car Blog

oh dear Im hooked again : Metroid Prime 1

...........

From Johns Car Blog

google analytics sample report

get one of these each month. Pretty cool and works well.
Notice the spike mid month when a pile of SeatCupra.net users downloaded a scanned review.
Get your own at Google Analytics page

From Johns Car Blog

Golf GTI Edition 30 mpg update

362miles @ 30.5 MPG

From Johns Car Blog