After 7 months in my first job I was soon able to buy what I have always wanted, My own home cinema system. I have always been really interested movies and home cinema but never had the cash to buy my own kit. After lots of research I soon muddled together my “Kit List”. A list of all the things is was going to buy. First i decided to start with the TV, figured seeing as the rest of the system would revolve around it I may as well start there. Not long later I decided to get the AV receiver and front speakers then I just had to polish it off with the centre speaker and rears. Click on the image above to view a slide show.
The Exact Kit List….
- TV: Samsung 42” HD (720p / 1080i) PS42Q97HDX Plasma TV
- Stand: Optimum P900B
- Stand: Generic 4 tier black glass AV component rack
- AV Receiver: Onlyo TXSR605
- Front Speakers: Mordaunt Shrort 902i
- Rear Speakers: Mordaunt Shrort 903i
- Centre Speaker: Mordaunt Shrort 905i
- Sub Woofer: Mordaunt Shrort 309i
- Sky +
- Xbox 360
- Windows Media Centre PC
For those interested I wanted to ensure that each device was used to its fullest. The details below outline how it was connected up..
- Xbox: Connected to amp via component (video) and Optical (for Dolby Digital playback).
- Sky+: Connected directly to the TV via “Monster” scart cable. For audio, optical connected to the amp for output via the speakers.
- Amp: Connected to the TV via Cambridge Audio premium HDMI cable
Future Plans
Over the next couple of weeks (if the Mrs lets me) I plan on upgrading the Sky+ box to SkyHD. This will enable me to get rid of the scart cable and run the HD video through the amp not to mention being able to watch Lost in HD !
I also plan on getting a Playstation 3 for Blue Ray DVD playback. Now that the format war is over i can finally make a decision and from what i have read the Playstation 3 is pretty much the best BD player currently on the market for the price (not to mention being able to play games).
Another purchase that i just have to make soon is the LG Harmony remote controls. These littles babies allow me to control ALL devices through a single device instead of having 12 remotes sat next to me on the sofa.
March 22nd, 2008
Well, Forgive me for writing this post a little late. I have finally been able to set aside some time to create some posts for the Blog. After 5 miserable years of “The Castle School” and then one major reality check of working for Millets you wander where life is taking you. But then the best decision i ever made, to go back to SCAT (Somerset College of Arts and Technology) and pursue a career in IT. During my time at SCAT i was given the confidence, knowledge and determination to excel in my studies and i enjoyed every dam second of it. I was taught by many great people during my time there especially Sam Batten and Mike Marshall who tragically passed away during the end of my final year at SCAT. These people put so much effort into everything they did and really encouraged me to “want” to do well and not to settle for just OK.Once i completed the BTEC 1st Diploma in IT i was really keen to climb as high as i could and by this time realised that i enjoyed learning about IT just as much as messing around on internet. I was encouraged by Mike to do the BTEC National Diploma in Computer Science which was the next progressive step and was a 2 year course. I personally found the BTEC National Diploma a great success. The modules taught were very interesting and ranged from database development to advanced networking. I managed to finish the course at the top of the class scoring a distinction in every module (such a competitive geek !). Towards the end of the course it was time for University Applications and Sam said that i really should apply. Up until then the thought of going to uni never once crossed my mind as was always told at school that only the kids in the top sets were going to be good enough for university and my final GCSE grades were not exactly amazing but Sam said i should still apply… so i did.
Choosing which course to study at Uni was difficult because i was very passionate about Web Development at that time but also really enjoyed Networking due to its sheer complexity. In the end i decided to apply for networking courses at various universities up and down the country. At this point i still wasn’t really getting my hopes up because deep down i still didn’t think i would get into any. Once all the replies came back i was astonished to find that i was excepted into all 6 of the institutions that i applied too. In the end it was Plymouth that took my fancy and enlisted on the BSc (Hons) Computer Systems and Networks course. This was a 4 year degree that had a mandatory year industry placement. I felt this was the right course for me as i was able to gain valuable work experience as well as a formal qualification.
Seeing as this post is turning into abit of an epic all i will say about my experience at Uni is “AMAZING”. It was by far the best years of my life. There were real highs and lows, some serious hard work and some serious good nights out. For my industrial placement year i worked for a global blue chip company which gave me a real valuable insight to working in the IT industry. The final year of the degree was a real epic i don’t really remember sleeping all that much due to the amount of work that was required. It was really intense but at the same time really good.
Well, Once the project was done (see Mydocr related posts) and the exams were out of the way it was time to say good bye to the Plymouth coastline and return back to Taunton and await my results. After about 4 weeks the results popped through the letterbox, i had never been so scared in my life lolol. I ripped open the envelope and looked at the top of the page.. “Awarded: First Class Honours“…after 1 dodgy year in retail, 3 years of college and 4 years of uni I DID IT !!!!!! a first class honours degree in Computer Systems and Networks. Nothing could have described that feeling i got when i realised that i had achieved exactly what i set out to do, it was fantastic. Unfortunately i couldn’t take all the credit, if it wasn’t for my good mates, amazing girlfriend and parents i wouldn’t have got even close.
On July 18th 2007 i once again visited Plymouth for my graduation ceremony to celebrate the end of Uni with my friends and family. As for what happens next…ill save that for another post.
I hope you don’t think i am a loser for writing this post but i really wanted to say it. To anyone out there going through the same sorts of doubt as i did just believe in yourself and go for it. If i was to give any advice i think i would say remember to try to surround yourself with good people and don’t listen to teachers when they say that GCSE’s are the most important things in the world and without them you wont amount to anything. There are a million ways of accomplishing the same goals, just find the right path for you and work your nuts off.
February 24th, 2008
Just a quick post, Its the new year and we all thought it was about time that we spent some time away from the PC and play some good old 5-a-side football. The idea is that it will give us all the chance to release some steam and get the worries of uni life out of our heads for an hour or so at least. We were blessed to have Rupert as the resident camera man so sit back and enjoy some of the action. All of the vids can be found here.
February 9th, 2007
The Mydocr will be the project that I am undertaking as part of my final year at university. The project has already begun the research stages and it’s expected to be completed around Easter time of 2007. The purpose of this page is to outline the project and provide updates of the project to whoever is interested.
The aim of this is to get users involved in the project early on so then requirements and feedback can be gathered. The project can then be steered in the direction of what the end users want. I believe that this is a major step forward in applications development as usual development life cycles often leave end user feedback until the final stages of the project. This way end users will have the opportunity to tell me early on what they want and expect. Fellow developers can offer advice and guidance into making this project a success.
What is MyDocr ?
The area that I am exploring is document collaboration within corporate and non-corporate projects. Within corporate environments document management systems are usually used to provide controlled collaboration and security over documentation within projects. These systems are often expensive and over complicated. Some companies are realising the potential of web based applications and the advantages these systems can have over a thin / thick client application.
Ok, so large companies have the money to afford such large sophisticated document management systems but what about smaller non corporate environments, academics or anyone for that matter? What about a few students working on a project together? Who controls the documentation? What if two people are working on the same thing at the same time and efforts are duplicated? These are issues that im only too familiar with.
So with this is mind, with sufficient research, analysis and design I propose to implement a web application that will reside on the public domain. This application will be a service for users. A service where a project however big or small can sign up, log in and store project documentation with security, control and full collaboration with its project members. This system will have many features that should prevent people ever having issues with document collaboration again. Below lists a few of the proposed features…
- Check in / check out documentation
- Securely upload documents that can be accessed anywhere in the world
- Document locking – to stop more than one person checking out the same document.
- Project managers will have full control over documentation and the project members
- Reporting controls to view who is working on what.
The real focus on this system is the design and functionality. The system will be built using standard compliant code and will be available to everyone, according to new accessibility legislation. The system will utilise technologies such as AJAX to deliver a feature rich user experience. And will be powered by the awesome open source capabilities of MySQL.
Ok that’s all im going to say for now; updates of the projects progress will be available shortly including any written documentation and example code. Please give me your thoughts and feelings about the proposed system. Together a community can be formed to enable the success of this project making it strong from the ground up.
November 22nd, 2006
Previous Posts
