Jon Jolly

I found this great cartoon on someecards.com that sums up my part-time business: puredisco.

So a while back I bought these expensive noise cancelling earphones with the different buds on the end which you use to fit your ear perfectly. I was listening to my iPod on the train up to London this morning when my phone rang. As I pulled the ‘phones out of my ears to answer the call, I realised that the changeable bud had come off my left ear and was firmly stuck right inside!

Running late for my meeting, I went straight there and spent most of the day in mild discomfort trying to adapt to being partially deaf while working out if I was actually shouting at people when I opened my mouth. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone there.

I ended up going to Boots, buying some tweezers (along with some manly aftershave so I didn’t seem too odd) and then carefully fishing in my ear until I managed to liberate the little rubber bung. It took a long time. From now on, I’m carrying a full vanity case with me - or maybe just using the earphones that came with the iPod. I haven’t decided yet.

Just before we went on holiday, Kirsty and I took advantage of an Apple Back-to-school promotion and bought a Macbook for her and a new iPod Nano for me. Then while on holiday, I picked up one of those Nike+ for iPod sensors in the hope that I might actually use it to start getting fit again. Having got home I put the sensor in my non-Nike shoes, plugged in the iPod and off I went.

So far this week, I’ve been out every day for a short run and really surprised myself by covering 2.3 miles on the second day and 2.4 on the third averaging about 20 minutes! My target is now to work up to a 5 mile run.

Apart from listening to music while running and having audible feedback about time and distance covered, what I really love about the Nike+ sensor is the website where you can view all your runs, track your progress, map where you’ve been and plenty more. I’m finding it a great incentive to try and better myself.

At the moment I’m sticking to going out after dark to try and avoid seeing anyone while I look like an asthmatic beetroot, but if I improve enough I may actually be comfortable in going out in daylight!

Is this the new true video ipod? I certainly hope so!

The rumours have been going round for a week or so now and were first posted on the Think Secret website. Basically, Apple are expected to launch a full-screen video ipod within the next few months. If true, perhaps the most excitable feature on these new ipods will be the ‘virtual click-wheel’ that appears when you touch the screen. It’s expected to work in the same way as the current mechanical click wheel on ipods.

To add further weight to the rumour, tech site The Register uncovered designs for the virtual clickwheel in a recent Apple patent application to the US Patent Office.

Click the links to read the full story. I’m certainly excited!

Well only a year after I bought my top-of-the-range 40GB ipod, apple have not only gone colour, but video too! Bigger screens, thinner bodies and lighter as well. Also itunes 6 supports video downloads so you can buy episodes of TV shows like Lost, music videos and short movies to fill up the 30GB and 60GB hard drives…

The new ipod nano’s were announced today and they are sooo sweeeet! Colour screen, new features and amazingly small. It’s just a shame they’re only doing 2 and 4GB versions. Check it out here