Slow Death of the Internet, Part 342

It's becoming a pain to surf the internet. You might have noticed. If not you soon will.

A typical browse from my iPad can take me through a number of increasingly frustrating steps. I start of with a google search, then I click on one of the top results. A window pops up - 'we have an iPad app for your device (exclamation mark), click my button to install'. Not going to happen, sorry. Click my button, buster.

When I get to the website a number of things can happen. Firstly the website is sure to have adverts, this seems to be the only way to 'monetize' a website these days. They can be glaringly distracting - they currently occupy the borders of some sites which really should know better. The actual website itself seems regulated to a boring window in the centre, while all sorts of flashing graphics draw me to another product that will truly enrich my life.

Or the adverts are personalized for my convenience, which usually means that the same ad pops up on a number of sites I visit. Tacky.

The amazing moving web page is currently my favourite most irritating monetize-driven device on the internet. I go to a top UK 'quality' newspaper website, I scan for the news and - the text jumps down as randomly-sized ads bully their way in at the top of the page. No-one seems to be clever enough to pre-size the ads and their positions, why would they?

Of course I find an interesting story, but click a millisecond too early/late as the text jumps down and I end up on another page, or worse an adsite. Every page on the site has this extra feature. You'd almost begin to think they want us to pay for their content, they're certainly making us suffer.

(I'm so glad that there are) 101 things you can't do with a Chromebook

I've had a (Samsung) Chromebook for a couple of weeks now, so here's an update. It's still the best word-processor out of the blocks that I've ever experienced. It's start-up speed still amazes me. I can switch on, check mail, write a blog post, then switch off in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Three if it's a really long post.

Luckily my printer is google print compliant, so no problems there, although it looks like I'll have to scan to my printer's SD card and then plug this into my Chromebook. That's a minor inconvenience, I have to admit.

The keyboard's good, the screen's fine, and the battery life is great. And yes, there are still a hundred-and-one things that I can't do with it. Hopefully things will stay that way.

Because it's the simplicity that needs to be experienced. It's very elegant, chilled even. There's a certain amount of conscious rethinking that helps get things done more efficiently. Habit pruning, you might say.

Grieving on both sides over the Thatcher years

The BBC's decision not to play 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead' on the chart show today is understandable; you have to sympathise with any grieving family and friends.

However, I think that we should remember that some of the people who will be protesting (and, yes some celebrating) the death of the Iron Lady over the coming week may well be grieving too. They may be grieving for the loss of their communities, their way of life, livelihood, and even the lives of loved ones who were destroyed during the Thatcher years. They need to be able to express their grief too.

Religious decline in Wales 2001 - 2011

Religion is some kind of a marker. Belief, tradition, gullibility - you will have your own terms. The change in religious beliefs in Wales over the last decade has been nothing short of seismic, as can be seen from the above charts. The 2011 census was taken before the Church of England's vote on women bishops, in case you were wondering.

I won't suggest that you add 'Religious belief not stated' to the 'No religion' numbers, but Christianity has taken a heavy fall no matter how you look at it.

The statistics put Wales ahead of (or behind depending on your viewpoint) the rest of the countries of the UK as they currently stand for non-religious percentages. From a land of churches and chapels, of revivals and Sunday school outings, this is a staggering shift of world view. You don't have to be a statistician to see that, should the trend continue, Christianity will soon be a minority.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v. 1.0.

My utterly top favourite computer of all time is a... Chromebook?

It'll pass, I'm sure. But once you're plugged into Google's system the multiverse seems to take on a different form entirely.

Simply stated, Google have made the device I've been looking for for years. Decades, actually.

A cheap, portable word-processor with a decent display. That's it. Everything else is a bonus, Jonas.

Ah yes, I hear you scream, but it can't do this, it can't do that. Can it? Nope. Can't... won't. But then the possibilities of what anything cannot do are enough to give anyone a headache, won't you see? My dog can't fly, my clone can't make a decent Lasagne. The possibilities of inability are endless.

But open the case, type in a few words. Just think of what it can do.

It's almost tomorrow already and I think my clone needs a cookery lesson.

A Quiet Mind

A quiet mind is something very close to my heart at the moment. About two feet, I guess. Haha.

Reading the final version of my new pocketbook 'Getting Quiet' has convinced me that if you're reading this then the book is well worth a look. The Kindle version also provides an optimum reading experience.

It's all about diverting the mind to experience reality. www.gettingquiet.com is where it is at. Here and now.

Don't press that button! Publishing my first Android game...

So 'Eek! It's a Bomb!' is ready for Android publishing. I upload the game, graphics, description, age rating etc to the Google Play Store.

A button appears; 'Publish'. What's going to happen when I click on it, I wonder?

Funnily enough, the game gets published, that's it. No waiting for approval, no committees, panels, quality control or questioning of self-worth.

It can't be that simple, can it?