This is probably my second favourite video from the now legendary epic summer of travel.
Dries… is a legend.
Thanks man, you rock.. I’m smiling.
Hope you are too.
Tag: whatleydude
Waiting for the Ikea bus
The Case
Shot with the new Nokia N900.
Crossing the streams
Last week I bumped into fellow NaVloPoMo’er, Benny Crime, at a super secret screening of the brand new British comedy, “Bunny and the Bull“.
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Benny and I, both attempting to post a new video blog every day, thought we’d do something dangerous, something wild, something crazy and CROSS THE STREAMS!
Exit stage right
Aug 31st will officially be my last day of employment with SpinVox.
As you may be aware, things have been quite tense and anxious of late (at least when I’ve been in the country anyway), and it’s become very clear to me that my predicted shelf-life for this chapter of my career was accurate. It’s time to move on.
The past two years have been, in the main, awesome. I’ve learnt a hell of a lot and have had the good fortune of working with some amazing people on some fantastic projects.
In fairness to SpinVox, I had every intention of leaving around about now so this timetable of events has always been on the cards. Trust me when I say: I will take much of what I’ve learnt in my time in Marlow long into my professional life.
What next? Well, I’m talking to some people about prospective new projects, but right now, I’m just looking forward to being back in London and taking a much needed break.
Although, on that note, if you think there’s a project we should be working together on either now, or in the future, then by all means get in touch.
You can reach me – as always – on james at whatleydude dot com
Thanks for reading.
“Where the hell is that Whatley guy?”
The short answer? Namibia (and more).
The longer answer is tad more complicated…
Some of the more observant Really Mobile followers out there may have noticed of late that Sir Ben of Smith has been running around keeping the lights on for all and sundry. While he has delivered some spectacular posts, it’s about time we pulled our socks up and got our hands dirty again.
Vikki laid the smack down yesterday with her ode to the Eseries (while giving the E75 a firm ‘thanks, but no thanks’ along the way), but now it’s time for yours truly to step up and take his true mantle today, on this day, Whatley Wednesday.
So, where have I been?
If you read my personal blog or if you heard the recent All About Symbian podcast, you might know that this Summer is going to get very busy indeed for the chap tapping the keys right now.
Very, very busy indeed.
Basically, I’m off around the world to cover the ‘Lucozade Energy Challenges‘ from a social media perspective. This means that I’ll be uploading photos, videos and blog posts for the next few months while at the same time tweeting my little heart out from the most remote of destinations.
I am taking a huge sack of equipment with me, a few things I’m going to list for you now…
First of all, what phone?
Given the nature of the project, the choice was simple: the Nokia N86
Yes I know that I’ve been fighting with Ben about how good the N97 is, but really, when it comes to creating content (video and/or photos) – the N86’s 8MP camera leaves the rest standing. A fantastic piece of kit that – so far – has managed to survive the heat of the Namibian desert as well as the danger-filled madness known as ‘the inside of my rucksack’.
Very, very impressed indeed. So that’s the handset sorted, but what about network? Well, the answer is two-fold.
In the areas that I actually had signal I switched between ‘NAM Cell One’ and ‘MTC Namibia’, neither of which allowed me to dial out using the Voda PAYG SIM that I was armed with. The former allowed me to use their data, and the latter I could at least send text messages, vice versa was not possible.
The second part of the ‘staying connected’ aspect of the trip came down to this bad boy –
The TT Explorer 500 BGAN Terminal Satphone.
According to the website:
“This high-bandwidth, highly portable device, weighing 1.3kg and measuring 218 x 217 x 52mm, is ideal for either mobile or semi-fixed use by individuals or small teams. Over a standard IP connection, it connects at up to 464kbps in the receive direction and 448kbps when sending. Streaming data is available at speeds of 32kbps, 64kbps or 128kbps for both send and receive. The terminal connects to a laptop computer via USB, Bluetooth or Ethernet. Voice is delivered via a standard desktop phone or a Bluetooth handset.”
Awesome.
Here I am, in the middle of the desert – Damaraland, Namibia to be precise – four hours drive from any kind of hint of civilisation and… I have Internet connection!
Look, there I am.
This thing is bad-ass. A snip at £2,276.64, the TT Explorer can get you an Internet signal pretty much ANYWHERE in the world and (according to my sources) only has real problems when it’s placed near the North or South poles.
However, if you think that the price stated above is too high then you can rent the satphone at the following rates.
Short Term Satellite Rental:
£20 a day or £500 per calendar month
Data costs are £7 per MB
Voice calls are £1.20 per minute
Compare this to, I don’t know, say Vodafone for instance and you get the following:
£35 per calendar month
Data costs are £10 per MB
Voice calls are £1.65 per minute
Admittedly you don’t have to pay the huge rental fee for a normal networked handset, but still.
If a satphone can beat the data costs of the Vodafone – especially when I’m pointing the damn thing at an actual satellite, then surely something must be going wrong somewhere, no? **
We’ll leave that one to the comments shall we?
The point of this post is that, thanks to some rather awesome technology, yours truly is going to be filing his Really Mobile postings from some very far flung corners from the world indeed…
If you have any questions, now’s the time to ask them…
I may be some time 😉
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**that is of course forgetting the small matter of the radiation.
James Whatley meets: Richard Mills
Every day I meet new and exciting people.
Every day I come across fresh ideas that force me to look at the world with a fresh pair of eyes.
Every day someone or something challenges my way of thinking so much that I can only sit back and marvel as my imagination is stretched into whole new dimensions.
Last week ladies and gentlemen, I met Richard Mills.
Richard, or ‘Richie’ as he prefers to be known, is an extreme sportsman of the highest caliber. But, unlike any other extreme sportsman I have met before, Richard is a real live Suburban Warrior.
Adrenalin junkies are not new to me; I’ve leapt from planes, thrown myself down mountains and even taken the odd wake-board ramp from time to time… But Richie Mills? This is a man who takes it to the next level.
Filmed at a secret location in West London, the following video takes place on a normal Monday afternoon. Blindfolded en route, Rich explained to me the level of competition that goes into these kinds of events, his love for the sport and then, we arrived…
Remember one thing folks: Richard Mills is a trained professional.
Do not try this at home.
_____________________
All video shot and filmed on a Nokia N97.
All photos shot and uploaded with a Nokia N95 8GB.
There is a Vimeo version of the video if you’d prefer and also a Flickr Set of all the photos from the day’s activites.
Check it.
Thanks for watching.
The value of ideas
They can be good, they can be awesome – some can even change the world.
But who owns them?
If your idea is shared with another, does that other then co-own it with you?
Your ideas maybe the most valuable things you ever, ever own. Guard them well and be careful with whom you share them with.
Something that maybe so obvious to you may not be as obvious to the next person.
Before opening your mouth next time, take a moment – pause, take a break and think.
How much do you value your time? Your ideas?
Is it the price of a coffee? Lunch? Dinner?
Or is it a day of work, a week maybe?
How much are you worth?
Writing this, as I am currently, in the bar of the ICA – home of the London Social Media Cafe – I am comforted by words of wisdom from my good friend Carl Jeffrey:
“Share your ideas and your dreams, you’ll be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork to help you – but make sure to hold off telling the full story until the end. Remember; genius has limits, stupidity has none.”
Mobile Industry Review: The End of an Era
Regular readers of this blog (or any of you that have frequented my about page and/or follow me on Twitter) will know that as well as my main role over at SpinVox, I also write and co-present over at the Mobile Industry Review (MIR).
Pre-show discussion, Covent Garden – Photo by Josh Russell
Last week Ewan Macleod, Owner and Editor-in-Chief at MIR, announced that all future content had been bought (in the name of research and analysis), and as part of the bargain, the site in its current iteration would be discontinued.
As of March 27th 2009, any and all content created by Ewan will only be available for corporate clients via a new subscription-based model. Details of which are below, from the man himself:
“[The] new client is unwilling to subsidise our existing audience of readers (300-400k last month) so the content that I’ll be creating – reports, video interviews and day-to-day industry news and analysis – will become proprietary from 27th of March. After this date, the public version of MIR will no longer be updated.
The nature of the agreement allows for corporate subscriptions to [MIR] content at £12,000 per annum, plus applicable taxes. I’m able to offer the first 10 subscriptions at half price until the end of the month…”
Sad times.
I joined MIR (previously known as SMS Text News) way back in November 2007; I had just posted my initial teaser post regarding that year’s Future of Mobile event and Ewan called me up asking if he could have the full write up for his site.
Needless to say I agreed. The post was written and both Ewan and I were pleased with the response. Between us, building on that that initial conversation, a new weekly column – ‘Whatley on Wednesday‘ – was born.
– Whatley Wednesday –
Later on, when we moved into the realms of ‘other’ media; starting with audio then later moving into video, the site really started to develop and, by the time the weekly videocast developed into a fully-fledged show, the format was in the bag along a brand new name: Mobile Industry Review.
Along with the infinitely knowledgeable Ben Smith and the always engaging Dan Lane, I really felt that the Mobile Industry Review was going places.
We were able to provide an entertaining look into the global mobile industry and maintain a credible voice by incorporating various sources from both inside and outside the microcosm of mobile.
The informed, editorial opinion was well respected and it will be missed greatly.
Through MIR I’ve established some great contacts, played with some awesome phones (some not so awesome) and last but by no means least, made some real friends.
Filming the show @ Mobile Monday, London – Photo by Rebecca Cottrell
Ewan has given me an export of all my work to date and I will be importing all of it into http://whatleydude.com later on today. Apologies if this clogs up your RSS.
Also, any fans of the MIR Show should save the MIR Vimeo channel in their favourites. Although there will be no new episodes in the future, I’m told that the MIR TV back catalogue will remain online for posterity.
Finally have no fear, I’m still very much a Mobile Geek and I’ll still be keeping my eye on what’s coming next in the world of all things Mobile.
All that’s changed is where that output will live.
Until next time,
James.
🙂
Today I missed The Tuttle: Take Two
Today is Friday.
And every Friday there is a little thing that happens in London, that used to be held just around the corner from Soho, above The Coach & Horses Pub on Greek Street.
It’s official name of this thing is The Social Media Cafe…. We’ve been here before.
…but, the important thing is, it’s not there anymore.
Oh no. The SMC or ‘Tuttle Club‘ as it is fondly referred to by it’s regulars, has since moved since it’s days down in Soho and is now held just as regularly at The ICA (The Institute of Contemporary Arts) on The Mall.
– a bit swish huh? –
Notionally referred to as ‘Phase II‘ – this next evolutionary step of Tuttle has been running at The ICA for just over a month now and well, I love it… I’m gutted to be missing out on it again. I’m in Madrid at the moment, waiting to meet some cool Spanish Bloggers that are attending EventoBlog. No doubt I’ll be waxing lyrical about the Social Media Cafe (and it’s new home) as soon as I get the chance!
Thing is, I was part of the the team that championed the move from the C&H in Soho see and it irks me that I’ve only actually managed to make it along a handful of times since the big day. The interest and attendance levels have upped dramatically thanks to the support of the ICA; and the breadth and diversity of those that have discovered the Social Media Cafe through said institution has also increased.
One thing I can share with you today however is a little video that my good friend Steve Lawson took last time I was there. Steve took it upon himself to ask me exactly why I go and why I like it so much…
http://share.ovi.com/flash/player.aspx?media=Worldtour.10057&channelname=WorldTour.public
Nice one Steve 🙂
What do you think of the Tuttle Club?
Have you been? What do you like about it?
If you’ve never been, why not?
Come on down!
😀
whatleydude.com 