'Formspring Me' seems to have popped up overnight... although, Formspring themselves have been around for a while. (http://formspring.com) However, it's a relatively basic idea, but a good one nontheless!
Basically, you register as a user at http://formspring.me (You can use your Facebook login if you wish), fill in your profile details (optional) then send your Formspring link to your friends/followers. They can then ask you a question either anonymously or providing their username and then you answer their question. It really couldn't be easier.
You can then change settings within your profile so you can automatically post your answers to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or your blog page.
Obviously, it's more fun when questions are asked by an anonymous person as they can ask whatever they like... although, you don't have to answer it, if you don't want too!
Ok, ok... so it's not much use! But it is great fun!
If you want to ask me a question, click http://formspring.me/jaybranch :)
Jay
Hello all,
Sorry for the lack of update on the blog recently. I've had a few things on! Namely work to be honest, although things haven't cooled off just yet... I've just managed to find five minutes to come on and do a bit of updating! I got sick of the blac & grey look, twas a bit boring. So, I found a computerised/IT theme and changed a few things on it. I hope it looks ok.... let me know what you think. Be honest.
I've even added some fish that you can feed down the left hand side bar.... they're hungry and will need fed.... go on then! :)
Anyway, must dash. More blog updates soon!
Jay
Hey all,
Hi all,
Well, most of us have heard about the extraordinary goings on in Iran at the moment.
Iran has been shaken by several days of protests as opposition supporters cry foul over presidential election results in the biggest popular upheaval since the 1979 revolution.
Twitter however, is one of the social networking tools being used by people inside the country to coordinate protests disputing the election result. Twitter even changed the time of planned maintenance, so people could contiune with their communications!
In order to show support for Iran, many Twitter users have changed their avatars GREEN and have been using hashtags such as #iranelection, #gr88 and #Tehran
Support is immense from the Twitter community and you can show your support by turning your avatar GREEN too!
If you are not sure how to do this, I will do it for you! Simply send your avatar picture to me at jb79uk@gmail.com and I will send you your picture back and you can upload it to Twitter... simple!!
Lets turn Twitter green and show our support!!!
@jaybranch
Hey all,
I've not posted anything to my blog over the last few days.... it's not down to laziness, I promise. I've been on holiday (from work anyway) spending the time at home with the wife and kids, so I've only been on the PC to use Twitter and to check e-mail, so thought I'd drop onto my blog and do a quick update!
It's been nice having the time off from work. It doesn't happen very often, so I've taken full advantage! Can't say I'm very pleased about going back to work though, although I guess most people feel this way when they've had a few days off from the grind!! Unfortunately, I didn't win the lottery on Saturday (Although, if I had I doubt I would be sitting on the couch updating my blog!!) so I'm still poor, at least for another week.... I'm sure my numbers are going to come up on one of these days, although I have been saying this for about 10 years (probably more...) now and I've only ever won £10.... but I can live in hope!
Well, I've got a few things to do today: Go for a run, do the rest of the washing, spend time with the kids in the sun and so on.... so I'd better go.
However, I will be back in a couple of days with a better update that might just make your life better........ or maybe not. :)
Bye for now.
JB
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford, The Animals, Fleetwood Mac, Jon Mayer, Thin Lizzy and many more.
Enjoy!
Hi all,
Well, got a lovely surprise this morning when I logged into Twitter. I did my usual 'tweet' by sending all my lovely followers a link to my Just Giving fundraising page for Tiny Lives (which you can see at the top of my blog!) and in response, Alan Davies (Better know to many people as the infamous Jonathan Creek from the BBC TV series of the same name) donated £367 to get me to my target of £500!!
How generous can you get!!!! I was uttlerly speechless to say the least! What a guy! :)
I'd like to send the guy a thank you letter personally, but I have no idea about how to get it to him, so I sent him a few kind messages via Twitter instead!
Anyway, if you would like to donate to help seriously ill & premature babies, you can do so by clicking the Just Giving widget at the top of the blog, or click here
That's all for now!
Jay
I've recently been updating my Twitter profile home page and used a background created from http://www.twitbacks.com/. The interface is really easy to use, you can use pre-supplied backgrounds, or you can upload your own. It takes a couple of minutes to create and upload to your profile page and that't not all.....it's FREE!!!
Check out Free Twitter Backgrounds - Twitter Themes
Jay
Hey all,
Well, last week I found a new music application, called SPOTIFY. I've used Blip.FM in the past and to be honest, I thought it was going to be 'just another music app', but it's actually one of the best music apps around!
Nearly every track I was after I found within seconds and as soon as I clicked play, it was streaming the music, no gaps, no stops.... nothing! :)
Spotify is a proprietary peer-to-peer, streaming music program that allows instant listening to specific tracks or albums with almost no buffering delay. Music can be browsed by artists, albums or created playlists as well as by direct searches. Although it is not possible to save the streamed music for use outside the application, a link is provided to allow the listener to directly purchase the material via partner retailers.
Spotify History
Spotify has been developed since 2006 by a team at Spotify AB, Stockholm, Sweden. The company Spotify was founded by Daniel Ek, former CTO of Stardoll, and Martin Lorentzon, co-founder of TradeDoubler, in Stockholm. The headquarters are located in London and research and development is located in Stockholm. Spotify currently has more than one million users.
Spotify was launched for public access on 7 October 2008. While free accounts still remained available by invitation only in order to manage the growth rate of the service, the launch meant that paid subscriptions were opened to everyone. At the same time, Spotify also announced licencing deals with many major music labels.
The first step towards opening free accounts for public without invitation was taken on 10 February 2009 when Spotify opened for free registration in the UK
You can find out more about Spotify by visting http://www.spotify.com/en
There is a 'Free' sign up option, or users can pay £9.99 a month for ad free use.
Last year, I did the 13.1 mile half marathon from Newcastle to South Shields, better known as the Great North Run.
It was a fantastic experience, the atmosphere was electric and the crowds were all simply amazing and although my feet were very sore the next day, I enjoyed every single moment of it!
Thanks to a lot of good friends, I managed to raise £400 for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Trust.
This year, the race is in September and I'm raising as much as I possibly can for a charity called Tiny Lives (http://www.tinylives.org.uk) who help seriously ill & premature babies. I'm hoping to raise £500 (or more!) this year.
I know times are hard at the moment, but if you are able to donate to Tiny Lives, you can do so by either clicking the Just Giving widget that you can see in the right hand side bar, or you can visit www.justgiving.com/jaybranch. It's quick, easy and secure!
The run itself is on Sunday September the 20th and is broadcast on BBC One from 9am till 1.30pm. It's gonna be a great day!
I'll give you all a wave !! :)
Now, back to training!!! I'll blog more later!
Jay
Newly released patent applications from Microsoft have sparked speculation that it is to unveil a Wii remote rival at the E3 expo in Los Angeles. An application was filed in 2007 for a motion controller, dubbed Magic Wand, that interacts with "a collection of sensors".
Microsoft says it will not "comment on speculation" about a possible launch. Gavin Ogden, from gaming site http://www.c&vg.com/ told the BBC that Microsoft needed to "jump on the motion sensor bandwagon". "We thought they were going to show something off at the E3 Expo in 2007 - some sort of waggle stick - but nothing materialised," he said. "I have no doubt they are going to try and do something, although it remains to be seen how they do it."
Biometrics
The patent application also describes "biometric sensors" that would examine "fingerprint, hand geometry, hand vein pattern, palm pattern, and grip configuration" along with "facial thermogram, a facial feature, a retinal feature, or an iris feature".
"There was talk, a long time ago, about mapping people's faces on to characters," said Mr Ogden. "However, there were concerns that people would stick real faces on it - such as Gordon Brown - and then spend all day shooting them. The world wasn't ready for that."
At the beginning of May, Microsoft's boss, Steve Ballmer, gave a speech to the Dallas Regional Chamber and was quoted as saying: "Pay attention to the stuff we're announcing in the next month on Xbox."
So the industry will be waiting to see if Microsoft comes up with any surprises at the Los Angeles expo in June.
The much-anticipated handset will cost $199.99 (£129), after a rebate, and buyers must take out a two-year contract when signing up.
Palm said it expected the phone to be available nationwide at launch and has signed up four stores to put the gadget on their shelves.
Well,
Last month, I received an e-mail from Julie Strietelmeir, owner of The Gadgeteer (http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/) and after a few e-mails, made me a member of her gadget review team!
I'm VERY pleased to be part of Julie's review team and hope to start and do some hands on product reviews very soon.
Check out http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/ for reviews on the latest gadgets around!!
Jay
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