The new Kindle has an electronic-ink screen with 50% better contrast, and offers 20 percent faster page turns, up to one month of battery life, a twofold storage increase to 3,500 books, built-in Wi-Fi, a new graphite colour and more – all for only £149, and still with free 3G wireless – no monthly bills or annual contracts.

Amazon has also introduced a new addition to its family of portable reading devices – Kindle Wi-Fi. Readers who don’t need the convenience of free 3G wireless can now enjoy the new generation Kindle for the lower price of only £109.

And for the first time, Kindle devices are available at Amazon.co.uk. The all-new Kindle and Kindle Wi-Fi are now available for pre-order at www.amazon.co.uk/kindle3G and www.amazon.co.uk/kindleWi-Fi, and will be dispatched from the U.K. to customers from August 27.

Kindle has been the bestselling product on Amazon.com for two years running, and is also the most-wished-for and most-gifted items on the site. With the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read – not to mention the lowest prices of any e-bookstore in the UK – Amazon will launch the new UK Kindle Store on August 27. Customers will be able to choose from over 400,000 books, including New Releases and 87 of 100 Nielsen UK Bestsellers. Over 1 million free books are also available to read on Kindle.

Please click on the image for a larger version.

After downloading the 165MB File for the installer, I proceeded to install the software.

The first screen I am greeted with is;

As you can see, this is a lovely screen to be greeted with, colourful, clean and eye catching. Giving you access to simple options to Install the software, check for updates, read the user’s guide and contact their technical support team. More than I expected from the first screen.

After clicking “Install Acronis True Image Home” I was then moved along to the installer I was expecting. After clicking the next button a couple of times and agreeing to the usual license agreements, it then began to install the software.

This took some time, although I did have quite a few pieces of software running at the time, so I don’t think the problem lays with the Acronis Installer. After around 10 minutes the installer told me it was done and that the computer needed to be restarted to complete the installation. I think having to restart your computer to complete the installation of software has to be the most annoying side effect of installations. The last thing I want to be doing in the middle of the morning after opening up all the programmes I need for the day is to have to close them all down to start them all back up again.
But never mind, restart I did.

After finally getting back in to windows and opening up the programmes I needed, I double clicked on the small icon on my desktop to Run Acronis. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, maybe some annoying step by step wizard to take me through forcing me to back something up before I had explored the software. Thankfully that isn’t what happened and I was shown a rather simple and clear interface;

As you can see, pretty simple options are available with a brief description of what they do. There is also the option of checking what New Features there are. When I clicked this, I was somewhat disappointed to be shown the generic “Windows Help File” screen. I think they would have done much better with keeping with the colour scheme and style they have going on by adding in their own box with the simple list. Not an important feature I guess, just would have been nice to see.

The only other problem was with the Video tour which did not work. Clicking on the option revealed no results, or new windows so I assume that the Video Tour isn’t currently present in this Beta Version.

So onwards and upwards, I clicked on the Start application option and was given this screen next;

Again, simple options are provided with brief descriptions of their actions. So far I am really liking how clean and simple they are keeping this version. From these options I actually selected the “Email Backup” which is most important to me considering I manage a range of websites with various email addresses ranging from business to personal use. If enough people like this review, then I shall review other parts of the software.

Anyway, after clicking the Email Backup option, a new window popped up;

I like to keep myself very organised, so all of my personal emails are kept within Windows Mail, and all of my Business Emails are kept within Office Outlook. So it is nice to see that is is easy to backup all of these messages / email settings in one go by way of a selection menu. It allows you to select which Drive you would like the backup to go to (including DVD / Removable Media).

Underneath that, there is the option to make a one off backup manually or to tell the software to backup the emails on a regular schedule which could be very useful. Then there is the Backup Scheme option, allowing you to make one version and replace it with the new version each time, or to create a separate file for each new back up. Then of course we have the Backup name, which speaks for itself really.

There are so many other options available such as password protecting the file, splitting the file in to various sizes automatically to fit it on to a large range of media, validating, error handling, notifications and so on.

There is also a reset option which is always handy when you have played with a few options! As you can see, most of the tabs are closed not showing the vast range of options available because that would take a lot of screen shots ! I left these options as default settings for the first backup, and clicked the “Backup Now” button. I will however mention that if you click the arrow next to the button you are provided with the options of telling the software to create the back up in 1,2,4,6 Hours or Later which I think is a nice touch.

Next is the back up process, which completed rather quickly.

The backup completed in roughly 3 minutes which surprised me somewhat considering there is well over 7,000 emails between the email addresses. And that’s it, really easy and all done. My email’s are now backed up and safe on my J: drive. ready for when I make my next complete cock up!

If you liked this little insight into the software, then let me know as I will do a more in depth review if enough people request it!

If you like the Beta and wish to purchase Acronis software, My company is an official Acronis Software Partner and we are able to provide you with legal versions of this software, head over to Lucid Tek Studios to find out how you can purchase it today!

As you may have noticed if you had visited over the last few weeks, Maintenance Mode has been active. Some small changes have been made to the blog (mostly background) such as upgrading to latest versions of things etc.

You may also have noticed that there is a new Widget on the right hand side titled “My Daily Burn”. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, DailyBurn is the fastest-growing diet and fitness tracking site on the web.

We all want to keep track of our figures, and working behind a desk all day really doesn’t help matters. I have been exercising for quite some time now and never really recorded it. So I think it’s about time I did.

From the plugin, you will be able to watch me keep track of my Weight, Calories I have eaten and Calories I have burnt.

I will also be writing up an article on the latest Beta of Acronis True Image Home 2011. Hopefully it will be as easy and as powerful as their previous versions.

Stay tuned!

Greetings, this is my second article I’ve made so I implore your patience as I attempt to improve at this, just trying to do my ‘bit’. I previously spoke about assisting the corrupt, standing to preserve acts of exploitation. I wish to try and expand on this topic, on account of this speaking volumes for people’s state of minds and true stance/colours. The people(the nation!) Look at these acts and being humans, we do what seems to come characteristically of ourselves, we get the broad brush, we make an extremely unjust snap decision: That being a blanket judgement of the whole. Failing to look to who the fault really lays with, and then looking for the most effective solution to this problem.

I also mentioned people shyed(fear) away from the party? They also come into this as they (the nation!) play of course the upmost importance. “I cannot vote for them.” “I am worried what would truly happen if they got power.” “I am not brave enough.” Some REAL comments I recall from the 6th… They are looking at the party and judging it with the said blanket statements. So is the party to blame for the corruption? Is it to blame for those who didn’t vote? To blame for the past? Even the future? Of course not, and I will tell you this also, the blame does not lie with opposition, rivals, reds, phantoms…. What we should be looking and questioning and blaming is the “leadership” of this party. You shouldn’t have to be brave to be loyal to your country, and you certainly shouldn’t have to fear a party that is for your nation. But, sometimes parts of the machine can go wrong. That is the problem, not the whole machine, the part. The part gets replaced if it cannot be fixed, or the machine basically does not and will not work, correctly. In essence it is useless. It is simply irrational and illogical to blame the entire machine. The error should be singled out and a solution put into action.

In this situation, it is a very important and core part of the machine, The leadership part, and it should be held accountable and given no special treatment nor quarter. If it’s broke, it’s broke. A very experienced and successful leader, Dwight Eisenhower, once said: “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”

in·teg·ri·ty

–noun

1. Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3. A sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.
So leadership, what is that exactly, to take charge and control? I once thought something along those lines. However, I see that to have leadership is to set an example, to set the pace. Anyone can be a leader, you can be a leader who is abhorrent, driven by “power”, greed and ego… Or you can be a leader who is righteous. And by that I do not mean anything religious, Righteousness is akin to integrity. Upright. Moral. Honest. I spoke of how people use blanket judgements, even though it is wrong, inaccurate and by far unjust. You can see how the impressions form, when it is the very leaders of the party that set a dishonest and depraved pace. Is that leadership of righteousness? Or wickedness? To allow your ego to be at the forefront and focus over that which is right. Is not effective and good leadership. To encourage the growth of deceitfulness and to happily extort the hope of your people, your nation is not good leadership and is treason and immoral. Do we really need to spell this out? Is it that difficult to grasp the concept. Those of moral upstanding fibre are what we want, are what we NEED.

They are not afraid to be challenged, they can accept when there is a better man/woman for the job and allow with grace and dignity for them to take the mast in a humble respectful manner, as they know deep down it is what is best for this nation and their ego and their pocket has no place. Or even if that time or person has not come, they are willing and ready for that situation. They also keep communication open, they do not leave anyone behind or in the dark. They are the light that guides us on the path. They do not leave us confused and spread thin feeling our way around in darkness, while they continue to pretend everything is just fine and dandy. If they stay silent in the shadows perhaps the sheep in time will forget, then they can bring back the light? That isn’t how it is done.

So what do we want? A leader of integrity? Or of culpability? Why do I ask? Because we the people make the choice. We the people make the nation. Not just a special selection. Right now? Right this moment? Reform is needed and with the broken parts we have reform is simply not possible.

XVII

About 8,000 British troops based in Helmand province in Afghanistan are to come under the operational command of the US, the Ministry of Defence says. — BBC News

I wouldn’t want to trust the US Military with 8 of our troops under their command let alone 8,000. Your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children are now going to be put under the control of the US Military who have sustained considerably higher losses during the time of service. Is this something you want for your family?

We cannot let this continue any longer. You need to voice your opinions, they cannot disagree with us if we band together in a single, solid group.

The command of the 1,100-strong British battle group based in Sangin – an area which has seen a number of UK deaths recently – and in Kajaki will also come under US-led force from 1 June. — BBC News

And they think the US can command our troops better than we can? Laughable. I can see higher losses coming under US Command in the coming months…

Asked if the change meant Britain was effectively giving up its responsibilities and handing them over to the US, Maj Gen Messenger said that was “simply not the case”.

He said: “This is us doing exactly the same job as we have been doing up to now, under slightly different arrangements.

“The whole business of a greater American presence is a reflection of the scale of the challenges that the British have faced in Helmand.”

Greater American Presence? Well how about you offer up some more of your own men and women then, because our troops are British Troops… Not American. I for one would love to hear what the troops on the ground are saying about this right now!

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale previously reported how the recent influx of American forces meant there were now too many troops in too large a geographical area for just one command.

Well how about we just leave the damn Americans to it. They are all high and mighty about how amazing and perfect they are and should be feared. All you are America, is an over sized child having a hissy fit. You send in that many troops, then you make sure you can keep command of them.

Meanwhile, footballer David Beckham is on his way to Helmand in a surprise visit to British troops.

Oh well that will make our families feel much better about being shot at wont it. Lets send out a man that gets paid more than our servicemen and women to rub it in their faces. Excellent idea whoever thought that one up, you deserve a bloody medal.

To read the rest of the vomit inducing story, go here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8697371.stm

And just as a finishing note;

David Cameron set a deadline to bring British troops home from Afghanistan yesterday, saying he wants to enforce a pullout over the next five years with all troops gone by 2018.

You have let the Americans bully you into commanding our troops, do you really think they are going to let you pull our troops out when you bend over so easily for everything else.

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Sean Stiegmeier decided to take some time off work to visit the Iceland to see the Eyjafjallajökull volcano (Who the hell named that), and recorded one of the most beautiful Time Lapse videos I have ever seen.

The music chosen to go with it, was perfect and fitted in with every setting recorded. He is currently looking for sponsors to send him back to be able to record more of this stunning show of nature and produce more HD videos like this one.

So if you are able, please give generously at the end of this post, and now for this amazing Time Lapse video in full HD, Enjoy!

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

So I saw all of these mediocre pictures of that volcano in Iceland nobody can pronounce the name of, so I figured I should go and do better. But the flights to get over took forever as expected (somewhat). 4 days after leaving I finally made it, but the weather was terrible for another 4. Just before leaving it got pretty good for about a day and a half and this is what I managed to get.

Wish I had more time. I missed all the cool Lightning and the Lava of the first eruption. But I figure this will just be a trial run for another day.

I am of course accepting sponsors to send me back there for more please…!! haha

Music: Jónsi – Kolniður (http://jonsi.com)

Canon 5d mkII

HUGE thanks for the Motorized Dolly via MILapse (http://vimeo.com/milapse). Details are to come soon so stay tuned…

© Sean Stiegemeier

www.in-perfidia.com

I have copied some of the information out of the PDF to here to give you an idea, the section I have copied is “Who is Margaret Hodge?”

You can view a full scan of the paper here – http://margarethodge.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/sentinel.pdf

MARGARET Eve Hodge was born Margaret Oppenheimer on 8 September1944, in Cairo,Egypt. She was the daughter of a refugee multimillionaire German steel trader and his Austrian wife. After WWII, the family settled in London. Margaret Oppenheimer was educated at two independent schools – Bromley High School and Oxford High School for girls.

She then went ontothe London School of Economics. Here she obtained a third class BSc Economics degree in 1966. After leaving the London School of Economics, she worked in market research from1966-73. She was also a senior consultant for Price Waterhouse (from1992 to 1994).

DIVORCED she married Andrew Watson in 1968 . They divorced in 1978 and that same year she married Henry Egar Garfield Hodge (later Sir Henry). He was a Labour borough councilor in Islington, North London.He was also Chairman of the National Council for Civil Liberties and went on to become a High Court judge.

SEX OFFENDER Here he was known as The Hon.Mr Justice Hodge. He later became president of the Asylum And Immigration Tribunal. (In one of his rulings – in 2007 – he decided that a sex offender from Sierra Leone who admitted assaulting 11women should not be deported because it would breach his “right to a family life” under Article 8 of the EU Convention on Human Rights.)

Margaret Hodge was elected as a councilor in Islington, North London, in 1973. She rapidly rose through the ranks to become council leader in 1982. She held this position for ten years.

XVII, not so long ago started creating a Comic Book Strip based on Political Correctness gone mad. This is now the seventh cartoon in the series and the series seems to be getting more and more popular by the day with with his Poster averaging almost 80 views a day so far. Cartoon number seven touches on the story of the Trollz. For those of you who don’t know what they are, you soon will!

And to top this cartoon off, I am the presenter… Thanks XVII!!

Remember to click on the image for the original size.

XVII, not so long ago started creating a Comic Book Strip based on Political Correctness gone mad. While we are waiting for the next installment of the cartoon, XVII has seen fit to grace us with a little bit of a filler regarding “Dress Code – Do’s & Don’ts”. Enjoy and remember to leave comments and Digg,Facebook,Tweet or do whatever you need to do!

Click image to view at original resolution.

Gordon Brown has made a complete balls up of this one! If you don’t feel like watching the whole video, skip to around the 4:30 Mark. You can hear Mr Brown discussing how much of a “disaster” the whole thing was.

Keep it up Gordon, you keep sending your voters this way!