The right tools for the job, or clothes :)

I was invited for a job interview this week, but this wasn’t just any usual interview like the last one I had at some two bob company, this was a job I really wanted as a senior IT Support Engineer for a big company in central London.

I knew that I had the interview a couple of weeks ago so I had plenty of time to prepare myself; in fact I had too much time to think about it to be honest. I was as nervous as a kitten J I wanted to  look my best so I made a conscious effort to get dressed for success, first impressions are so important now and I was more worried about this aspect then I was about the inevitable two hour ‘technical grilling’ the senior staff were preparing for me.

I decided that because this was such an important occasion, I would seek some third party advice. Family was a consideration but I decided against this because at the end of the day I needed someone to be honest and not just tell me what I wanted to hear.  So where do you turn if you want a bit on impartial advice? The answer was in good old Google…

I started by looking for a Personal Shopper in London. To my surprise there a glut of people out there offering the service, especially in the capital. I knew it would be expensive but on this one occasion I thought ‘bugger it’, what harm could it do anyway?

It was a real eye opener for me and the experience completely changed my perspective on not just what I should wear, but how I how I should use body language to my advantage. This particular personal shopper experience was all about wearing the right clothes to make a positive first impression. The garments that we selected not only make me look the part, but they made me feel a lot more confident in myself and I think that this really shone through in the interview. My personal shopper gave me some excellent tips on using positive body language and how it can make all the difference, which I believe it did.

By the way, for anyone that is interest I did end up getting the job I always wanted. I start in October and I am really looking forward to getting stuck in. Maybe I can give my new colleagues some fashion tips as well

Got my new Macbook Pro laptop today!!

I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it!!! (sorry).

I got my new Mac book Pro today, 5 years after buying my old faithful G4 laptop. I will miss the old girl, but times have changed and technology has moved on with my little G4 struggling to keep up with the latest software applications.

Not that I am complaining, I’ve had more them my monies worth from the machine and even old Macs seem to hold their price pretty well so she is going on eBay at the weekend (sigh). So what one am I getting I hear you cry? Well I am going for the 17″ stupidly expensive version, in my defence I am using my laptop a lot now so I have decided to go with something that has a bigger screen, I will keep it for years anyway, have I justified it to myself enough yet? To be honest with you,  I work for an IT Support company so I should own a decent bit of kit really…

The screen is GORGOUS, it runs at 1920 x 1200 and the latest HD stuff looks jaw dropping on this screen, Apple always provide great quality monitors and this screen is no exception. Simply stunning I tell you. Performance is FAST, with load up and shut down times incredibly quick.

I am using Photoshop CS4 on this machine and it handles it with ease, with hi res images shooting all over the place in no time at all. Snow leopard is a joy to use with some nice cosmetic touches as well as some welcome changes to apps such as QuickTime and iTunes, the exchange compatibility is a big help aswell.

On the whole I know it’s expensive but it’s a great bit of kit. If you want a quality laptop thats built to last then I seriously suggest you take a look at one of these.

Just bought my new Sega Dreamcast display pod!!

I just bought something I always wanted today. After 2 years of searching for a good one, I finally managed to get a Sega Dreamcast display pod!!

All the people that know me also know about my extensive video game collection and my unhealthy obsession with collecting videogames. But as a massive dreamcast fan, this was always the piece I wanted but had a major problem getting. So here she is in all her glory;

The Dreamcast is getting on a bit now, so Finding one of these bad boys is tougher then ever. In the end I managed to get one from good old eBay (who I dispise as a seller but love as a buyer) from a very nice gentleman based in Kent. It was a bit of a treck but she was well worth it.

I did underestimate the size however and we had to hang the base out the back of our Transit Connect. The Dreamcast Banner at the top disconnects so that saved us a foot but it was still tight and the back doors had to be tied together with rope

After a very steady drive down the M25 we finally manged to make it home. Let me tell you that these pods are a lot heavier then you may think, the whole thing is made of solid metal and it took 2 of us to lift it in and out of the van.

Condition for her age is good. There are a few marks here and there but you have to appreciate this was built to be a demonstration unit so you are never going to find one in A1 condition.

The monitor is a standard CRT TV that sits on a metal stand that slants at a forward angle. Next month the CRT will be replaced by a LCD monitor.

The Dreamcast sits on a metal plate with folks that slide into the feet of the Dreamcaast holding it in place.Controllers are held in place by metal clutches, you can remove the controllers but they are held in place by some weird screws that I have never seen before. If anyone has any ideas where I could find a screwdriver for these then I would appreciate it (I will post a picture later).

The Dreamcast sign is lit up by a florescent tube which can be change quite easily. You can also turn this on and off by disconnecting a switch at the back.

The display pod now sits pride of place in my games room thank you for looking at my blog entry.

Hosted Desktop services from the cloud with Our IT Department Hosted. The company that kindly lent me a van to pick it up

Is the new Google Operating system going to change things?

Now that Google has announced a new operating system, will there be a shift in power??

So far, Google has a very good track record when it comes to creating products; obviously they are the number one search engine in the world. Secondly, they have produced a fantastic search engine browser in the shape of Google chrome, and in my opinion it is sad that it really hasn’t taken off like it should have done, but it is part of the bigger picture.

Thirdly, their android mobile phone software is a fantastic open source alternative to apples iPhone software. It really is a slick interface that is mightily impressive as anyone who has used it can confirm. 

So all of the above bodes well for a new operating system. According to the Google blog, the OS will be released next year in the form of a netbook os which is based on a UNIX platform but after that nothing has been confirmed. One thing is for sure, if Google are serious about supplying an alternative to Windows, then they will need to invest a lot of time and effort into supplying a decent alternative.

Microsoft has become a monopoly and people are starting to tire of them and their bloatware that has taken over the world. The IT Support Company I work for has many clients that would love an alternative to the overpriced, underdeveloped excuse that was Vista and I second their opinion.

Let’s hope that the financial might of Google can get all the hardware companies onside. Let’s hope they can break the monopoly and put some real competition on the high street.