The Story Goes ... - Craig David

I am reviewing the album The Story Goes ... by Craig David which is an excellent album. I want to mention there's an excellent piece on him at wikipedia which I read for help doing this post. Craig was born in Southampton, England in 1981 and came to prominence when he was featured on the single Re-Re-Rewind by Artful Dodger in 1999. Several No 1 singles followed in Britain. Probably his biggest hit is Seven Days. He has worked with a lot of people including Sting & Tinchy Strider. The Story Goes ... was his 3rd album released in 2006 and he had a Top 3 single with All The Way. He has been nominated for 12 Brits & 2 Grammy's. His dad was in a reggae band and his parents separated whilst he was very young and he was brought up by his mother. All the tracks are pretty good on the album which is a gentle kind of pop.

Digital and Multimedia Forensic Evidence

The book I read to research this post was Handbook of Digital and Multimedia Forensic Evidence by John J Barbara which is an excellent book. This book is a collection of essays on digital forensics edited by John. There is often confusion over the meaning of certification and accredition. Certification is when a worker gains a qualification to help him do his job. Accredition is when a laboratory passes an inspection that allows it to do its work. It's often assessed on things like the workers qualifications, their practises and their equipment. Nowadays devices are getting smaller and the amount of storage is ever increasing. Things like micro SD cards are easy to conceal and easy to miss in a search. There is a constant battle between the technology of prosecuting villians and the various technologies of concealment. The forensic investigator needs to be abreast of both types of technology. Criminals often use things like smartphones and tablets. They also often use encryption. These technologies are also spawning a whole host of new crimes from phishing to downloading child porn. The latter is a multi million dollar industry. Many peer 2 peer sites like the now defunct limeware have child porn but there are also dedicated sites that charge large fees. Much of this can be traced back to organised crime often in foreign countries. In america the standard punishment if you download it is 5-10 years in prison and if you manufacture it is 15 years upwards.

Forensic Uses of Digital Imaging

The book I read to research this post was Forensic Uses of Digital Imaging by John C Russ which is an excellent book. Digital imaging is often used in films and what many people don't realise is often building a set is impractical & too expensive so the actors perform in front of blue screens and the background is added digitally. Also when you see a weatherperson on television they're standing in front of a blue screen and things like the map and weater symbols are added digitally. Some people think you can add a background to a photo in something like photoshop and nobody can tell the difference and you can maybe falsely incriminate someone in this way. In reality it maybe possible but would be very difficult and would require a very skilled person to do it. If you changed the background in a photo there would almost certainly be clues to indicate this had happened. A program like 3d studio max might be able to do this job but it would take someone with great skill to pull it off. Digital imaging is used in gathering evidence at the scene of a crime. One issue is do you compress photos to send them by email and almost if they were relied on in court they would be thrown out. Another issue is guaranteeing the photos haven't been tampered with and one method is to copy them onto film and another is to store them on cdr along with a serial number. Basically both of them are a write once media. Another issue is taking a poor quality photo and extracting details from it. The enhanced picture can look very different to the original and it can be very difficult to prove its accuracy. The technique often involves blurring some parts with a gaussian blur and enhancing other parts which is probably best left to a professional.

Simply Deep - Kelly Rowland

I am reviewing the album Simply Deep by Kelly Rowland which is very good. The 2 best tracks are Stole which made No 2 in the british charts & Dilemma which was a duet with Nelly & was a No 1. Kelly used to be in Destiny's Child & at one time looked like she was going to have quite a successful solo career. Beyonce also was in the same group. Of late she's been quiet hit wise which does seem a shame. The style of music is probably soul with a little bit of rap & dance for good measure. All the tracks on this album are fairly good & she has either cowritten or written all the songs.

Bargains on Amazon.co.uk

I have become a new seller on Amazon.co.uk & am selling stuff under the name David Roberts Technology. I haven't any ratings from satisfied customers yet but I am the cheapest on the site for these items.
A light chaser controls disco lights & this item is sold in Maplin for £25.00
Light Chaser CT4003M £16.00 + p+p £4.39 this item is new.
Book secondhand A History of Kidderminster by Nigel Gilbert £8.00 + p+p £2.80
 Book secondhand  Windows Server 2008 Networking & Network Access Protection £12.00 + p+p £2.80
Training DVD/ROM Total Training Dreamweaver 8 £15.00 + p+p £4.07 - secondhand dvd/rom
Secondhand book Digital Home Technology Integrator All in One Exam Guide 2nd edition £14.00 + p+p £2.80
Secondhand blu ray Kylie Minogue - Kylie X 2008 region free £4.00 + p+p £1.26
Secondhand blu ray Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour blu ray + cd region free £3.00 + p+p £1.26
Secondhand book British Airways, Its Aircraft, History & Liveries £8.00 + p+p £2.80
Secondhand DVDs Swedish Series with subtitles Wallander films 8-13 £18.00 + £1.26
Secondhand DVDs Exile BBC series £5.10 + £1.26
Incidently I am only posting in the UK. As I sell more stuff I'll list it on this blog.

About A Boy - Badly Drawn Boy

I am reviewing the soundtrack About A Boy by Badly Drawn Boy which is very good. You can see the review for their first album which is also on this site just search for Badly Drawn Boy. Their music is best described as ambient & About A Boy based on the best selling novel was one of the biggest british movies of its year. It starred Hugh Grant, Toni Colette & Rachel Weiz & an upcoming star Nicholas Hoult. He would eventually find fame in the tv series Skins. Much of the film is about the relationship between Grant & Hoult. It's a comedy. It's the kind of album that's ideal to listen to while you're working. It reminds me a little bit of the french group Air of which I am also a big fan.

British Airways

The book I read to research this post was British Airways by Keith Gaskell which is an excellent book which I bought from a carboot sale. This book was written around 2000 so hasn't got the latest information ie it doesn't mention anything about the legal situation and battle between Virgin Atlantic & BA & Lord Kings subsequent departure. It is however a good history record upto that point. British Airways was a nationalised company that was made up from the merger of British European Airways & British Overseas Air Corporation which were both already nationalised. British Caledonian Airways was formed to give BA some competition which was considered essential. The british airlines had been among the first to have jet airliners in the form of the DeHavilland Comet & later BA would lead the way by having Concorde & I have done a post on Concorde on this site. A lot of the BA fleet would consist of various forms of Boeings who led the world in passenger aircraft construction. At the time of the merger much of the fleet was british aircraft which had been purchased patriotically but was now unecomical, also much of it was aged. In particularly 747s were used on the atlantic routes where more passengers could be ferried more economically than before. Also on routes to America that weren't so popular Tristars were used. At one point some of less popular flights from London to Los Angeles required a smaller plane than a 747 but the Tristar didn't have the range so they did a deal with Air New Zealand to cover these flights with DC10s. A lot of British Airways has consisted of using partners & sometimes they have had to form subsidiaries for flights such as those from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. At one point they used Chinook helicopters on that route but they were expensive and gas gusslers so were retired a few years later.

Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars

I am reviewing the album Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars which is very good. The best track is Locked Out Of Heaven. It's a kind of mix of pop & dance music. I know in Britain Bruno is very popular & he has had several No 1 singles & this album is currently No 1. I think maybe he thinks his music is a little unusual hence the name of the album & the cover of a gorilla playing with a jukebox although there is a track called Gorilla. He has cowritten all the tracks on the album. It's the kind of album you would play at a party & all the tracks are pretty good.

Industrial Network Security

The book I read to research this post was Industrial Network Security by Eric D Knapp which is an excellent book. If you have a job connected with computer security this is definitely the sort of book you should be reading. This book explains the various options connected with hardening your network and focuses mainly on windows. If you have any vulnerabilities on your network you should either generally download a patch if available, or remove the service or isolate the computer. You should make a list of what you are protecting and include what the result of damage might be. Nuclear Power Stations in America and this books takes an american viewpoint, have 5 layers of protection typically. This means you have to enter 5 strong passwords, all different. Each layer offers a slightly different type of protection and combined they conform to the rules governing Nuclear Power Stations. They will also have a whitelist listing who can use which server and any software on there. A Nuclear Power Station is an extreme example but you must consider what needs the most protection & you must also make sure it's affordable. Another thing is you shouldn't have people going in sensitive areas with smartphones or flashdrives. It's amazing how lax many companies in Britain are on that line. You should either block or remove any unused USB ports. A lot of espionage is done by disgruntled employees and you should limit what they have access to, to what is essential for them to do their job.

The Beatles - The Beatles

I am reviewing the album The Beatles - The Second Album by The Beatles which is excellent. It contains the No 1 single She Loves You & many classic tracks like Mr Postman & Roll Over Beethoven. Mr Postman was covered by The Carpenters & was a huge hit for them. I think the Beatles reached their peak around 1967 and I think were trying to establish themselves with this album. It's not as good as some of their later stuff but probably more commercial. Apparently John Lennon claimed he smoked cannabis in the toilets at Buckingham Palace when he when he went there to receive an award from the Queen. I saw a documentary in which they interviewed Paul MacCartney & he said it's untrue and they were terrified of doing anything wrong whilst there. Also The Beatles have had more No 1 albums in Britain than any other pop act.

Bright Idea - Orson

I am reviewing the album Bright Idea by Orson which is very good. The title track and No Tomorrow are fantastic and the latter was a No 1 single in Britain. All the tracks are quite good. There music has a complicated arrangement and a polished feel. They remind me of groups like Semisonic. I think this is the kind of music you would play whilst getting ready to go clubbing. I don't think they had many hits at least in Britain but I think they're quite underrated.

Google Adwords

The book I read to research this post was Winning Results With Google Adwords by Andrew Goodman which is an excellent book which I bought from a secondhand bookshop. The name of the company Google started as a bit of a joke and comes from the word Googol which is a number that consists of a one followed by 100 noughts. In keeping with this the Google headquarters is called the Googleplex & a Googolplex is a number that consists of a one followed by a googol noughts & is widely regarded as the biggest number in existence. One thing Google exemplify is they work hard and play hard. Sergey Brin often plays street hockey and he is one of the owners of Google. Employees at Google frequently play sport together. Adwords has been quite a success story. Overture had a head start on Google but by late 2004 Google were way ahead in terms of businesses signed. The idea that you have a search engine that does your search but has a reserved space where companies can advertise and either pay per click or impression upto an agreed amount is a simple one but Google thought of it first. One problem in any search engine is what do you do with businesses that don't sign up. Google still displays them but pride of place goes to paying customers. Companies have to bid for the slots on Google Adwords and in addition Google has a network of sites they can advertise on like Blogger. Before using Google Adwords you should know how much you are paying per customer ie if you run an advert for $420 and you get 10 customers you are getting 1 customer per $42 dollars spent. Don't forget not everyone who clicks on your advert will necessarily buy it for a variety of reasons ie they might be a competitors. You can however analyse your data and can report any inconsistencies to Google. Google has purchased Ouverture which made a high end web analytics platform so it looks like they'll incorporate that into Google Web Analytics. A final mention is Google often launch betas of products you can try at http://labs.google.com This is called Google Labs and is worth checking out.

Blue Lines - Massive Attack

I am reviewing the album Blue Lines by Massive Attack which is an excellent album. I remember in a magazine called mixmag they did a chart of the best dance albums, it was a long time ago but this album was No 1 just beating one of Public Enemy's albums. If you're wondering why it's called Blue Lines it's because the album cover featured a dangerous chemical warning sign which in the one corner says blue lines. When this album came out they called themselves Massive because they thought Massive Attack was inapropriate due to the Falklands that was going on at that time. They are from Bristol & the original line up featured Tricky & Shara Nelson who would go on to have successful solo careers. Tricky was nominated for the Mercury for his first solo album & was one of the favourites to win it. The album is very much club music and was ahead of its time & the best track and probably the best they ever did was Unfinished Sympathy which was also a Top 10 single.

OK Computer - Radiohead

I am reviewing the album OK Computer by Radiohead which is excellent. This album is without doubt their masterpiece. It's mainly about the shallowness of modern life. The best track which is the best track they ever did was Karma Police and is about how bad things you do have a habit of haunting you & causing problems in the future. Another excellent track is Fitter Happier which is about how people start things like health regimes thinking they will make them more happy & that isn't always the result. Actually talking about how shallow the digital age is a friend said to me that the next trend in social networking will be people getting fed up with it and taking up hobbies instead. I must admit I find things like facebook and twitter a bit tedious. I think their biggest hit was Street Spirit which made No 5 in Britain. They have also been nominated numerous times for Best Group at the Brits but never won. There music is both rock and alternative music and is quite experimental.

Permission to Land - The Darkness

I am reviewing the album Permission to Land by The Darkness which is an excellent album. I think they are from somewhere in the Anglia area & they're a rock group. One rare achievement they did was winning a load of awards at the Brits. The only other rock group I can think of who won the Brit for Best Group was Dire Straits who won it twice. Normally the awards tend to go to either dance music or alternative music acts. The best track on the album is I Believe in a Thing Called Love which is a bit of an anthem. Also they did a wonderful xmas song the title of which I can't remember and sadly that's not on this album but it's the best song they ever did.

Achtung Baby - U2

I am reviewing the album Achtung Baby by U2 which is an excellent album. In case you are wondering they are named after the U2 spyplane. The album came out at the time the Berlin Wall was coming down hence the use of the german word achtung which means be careful. This album features their first british No 1 The Fly & most peoples favourite U2 track One which was only a top 10 hit in britain. For much of the 80's & 90's they were the biggest group in the world & were huge in America. This album made No 1 briefly in Britain but was kept off the No 1 much of the time by Queen's Greatest Hits pt 2 in the wake of Freddie Mercury's premature death from AIDS. This is one of U2's finest albums nonetheless. The style of music is defintely rock. Also an interesting fact is Bono's biggest influence is Radiohead even though U2 were around long before them. Bono also has a fantastic voice.

Dance Again - Jennifer Lopez

I am reviewing Dance Again the greatest hits album by Jennifer Lopez which is very good. The best track is My love don't cost a thing which was No 1 in Britain. Most of the songs are quite good. I remember Jenny won the FHM award for most beautiful woman probably about 15 years ago and she still looks nice. I also saw an interview where she said she would have to do something creative if she wasn't a singer and actress and would maybe be a fashion designer if she did another career. There was some controversy over whether she hung around with street gangs which the song Jenny From the Block implied. Apparently she's from a middle class background but the song has got a nice tune. The music on the album is mostly a mixture of dance and pop with a little bit of rap. She has also got a really nice voice.

Right Place Right Time - Olly Murs

I am reviewing the album Right Place Right Time by Olly Murs which is an excellent album. A lot of you might be unfamiliar with Olly because he won a talent show in Britain so obviously he's big in the UK but I don't know about in other countries. Last week this album displaced Rihanna from the No 1 spot on the album chart. I think it deserved to get to No 1, all the tracks are good and the best one is Army of Two. He has cowritten most of the songs on this album & I must admit it's better than his last album. The music is a mixture of dance music and pop music. Flo Rida features on the one track and there all quite catchy.

Unapologetic - Rihanna

I am reviewing the album Unapologetic by Rihanna which is excellent. This is her 7th album in 7 years and was No 1 a couple of weeks ago although only for 1 week. The best tracks are the No 1 single Diamonds & a track called What Now which I'm sure is a potential No 1. All the tracks are pretty good. I am sure the title is connected to the controversy about her staying in touch with Chris Brown despite there being physical abuse in what was their relationship. I'm not going to comment on that. I think the best song she ever did was Under My Umbrella which is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Finally she's very pretty and has a fantastic voice.

Drama - Jamelia

I am reviewing the album Drama by Jamelia which is very good. The album is a mixture of R & B, soul & rap. I think Jamelia is from Birmingham which is where I live. All the tracks are pretty good and the best track is Money which I think was quite a big hit in Britain. I think her best song ever was Superstar which I think got to No 2 in the british singles chart. I think this is the kind of album to play at a party or maybe if you invited a few friends around your house.

Using Linux With AWS

The book I read to research this post was AWS Computing Basics With Linux which is a very good book which was a free download from kindle. Linux is open source and is available in many versions, most of which are free. It has a couple of drawbacks however which are it isn't as user friendly as Windows & also there aren't that many people who are highly trained in Linux. The latter can result in a huge repair bill if something goes wrong on a Linux server. Amazon simplify things by letting you use their web services. Only certain versions of Linux are compatible with AWS. If you're running a website you may need Apache which is a webserver. If you are using a database MySQL is the standard one to work with Linux. If you are designing a website the most popular open source options are Woodpress, Joomla & Drupal. Before buying any software to supplement your network on AWS it's worth checking what services AWS offer. This book is only intended as an introduction & although it tells you how to set everything up I think you need to supplement your information finding from other sources. There is quite a big store of free ebooks on AWS which are free to download from kindle.

Nokia Lumia 800

I bought a Nokia Lumia 800 with windows phone 8 today & I read the manual & thought I'd do a post on it. It has only just been released & what influenced my buying decision is they say windows phone is easier to use than other smartphone operating system. It's a touch phone & to turn it on you tap the screen and hold your finger down for a moment. To select something you tap the screen. It contains a virtual screen that you must scroll around by dragging you finger across the screen to access off screen stuff. You pinch or unpjnch your fingers across the screen to zoom in or out. It has what they call the metro which replaces the start button and is the main reason they say this the biggest upgrade to windows 8 since windows 95.

Using AWS With Windows

The book I read to research this post was AWS Computing Basics for Microsoft Windows. When you consider the cost of buying a server and the other paraphenalia you need for a network what amazon are offering in terms of having a cloud server and paying a subscription is good value. Currently services like EC2 or elastic compute cloud require Windows Server 2008 and of course the other software you intend to run. A lot of the other amazon cloud services can be used instead of some of the other software though. A lot of people use the amazon cloud to run a website. I think linux is a more viable alternative although then you need employees qualified in linux. If you are running a website you may use IIS or internet information server which is free and does the same job as apache. If you are running several servers you can run several machine instances and can configure rules for when a new machine instance is opened. A lot of this book is tutorials for when you set up windows server with AWS. A lot of people nowadays use a free open source CMS or content management system to create a website. Dotnetnuke or wordpress is a good choice. Wordpress has only fairly recently come in a windows version.

Please Please Me - The Beatles

I am reviewing the album Please Please Me by The Beatles which is an excellent album. The 2 best tracks are probably the title track & the cover version of Baby it's You which is much better than the original. I also really like I Saw Her Standing There which was covered by Tiffany. Not many people realise that Love Me Do only made No 16 in the british singles charts. The title track then made No 2 & then they had a string of number ones. This was their first album. Acker Bilk with Stranger on a Shore was the first british artist to have a No 1 in America but the Beatles paved the way for an english invasion of the US pop charts.

Singles - The Smiths

I am reviewing the greatest hits album Singles by The Smiths which is one of the best albums I have ever heard. Their music is alternative music & they were very popular in the 80's in Britain. Morissey their lead singer writes pessimistic lyrics with lashings of black humour. The best track on this album is Sheila Take A Bow which was a top 10 single in Britain although my favourite track ever by Morissey is Suedehead. A friend told me Morissey suffers with depression which probably accounts for his lyrics. He had a successful solo career and moved to Los Angeles and was apparently popular with the Latin Community. Johnny Marr who cowrote many of The Smiths later joined the supergroup Electronics which included both Pet Shop Boys and other celebrities.

Touch - Amerie

I am reviewing the album Touch by Amerie which is very good. It's dance music and the songs are quite uptempo. The best tracks are 1 Thing & Touch. 1 Thing was quite a big hit single. This album came out in 2005. It's the kind of album you could play at a party & there is a good alternate version of 1 Thing featuring Eve.

Let's Talk About Love - Celine Dion

I am reviewing the album Let's Talk About Love by Celine Dion which is an excellent album. The best tracks are the title track & a cover version of When I Need You the Leo Sayer song. All the tracks are very good. Celine also has a great voice. I think the best track she ever did was Think Twice which was No 1 for 7 weeks in Britain. An interesting fact is she won the eurovision song contest a long time ago representing Switzerland. Also she sung the title track to the Disney film Beauty & the Beast. She's french canadian & I think she's married to her manager. She has released several french language albums.

A Hard Days Night - The Beatles

I am reviewing the album A Hard Days Night by The Beatles which is an excellent album. I think The Beatles are the best pop act of all time. This album came out at a time when they were establishing themselves as a pop act & isn't as good as some of their later. Nonetheless every track on this album has finely crafted lyrics. I saw an interview with Paul Macartney in which he said it was untrue that there was rivalry between The Beatles & The Rolling Stones & they made sure they didn't release their singles at the same time so that each of them had a chance of getting to No1. The best track on this album is the title track. I also really like Tell Me Why & Any Time At All. It also contains the huge hit Can't Buy Me Love which was one of the most successful singles ever in Britain.

Take Me Home - One Direction

I am reviewing the album Take Me Home by One Direction which is a very good album. I think One Direction are a british boy band & they are very popular in the UK. The cover has them climbing over a red telephone box which I think must be in a studio. If they did that for real they'd probably get arrested. All the tracks on the album are pretty good & most are quite uptempo. There's also a couple of gentle ballads.