There’s no doubting that the PS Vita is a very powerful and well designed piece of technology, but I can’t help think that this could be the last handheld portable gaming devices that will be created. Mobile phone gaming is so popular and cheap it will make it very hard for the Sony PS Vita to be a success, and if it’s not a huge success Im not sure where the next PSP/VITA/3DS/DS device will come from?

Recently the Nintendo 3DS reported sales have been disappointing, nowhere near the original DS sales. Im not sure if the technology is partly to blame? The dual screen 3D was always very gimmicky to me (Not to mention migraine inducing!!) but I think it goes deeper than that.

The Rise of the mobile casual gamer.

Maybe the rise of Mobile gaming was more to blame? Games are cheap, some very excellent games can be purchased for as little as £0.69 (some are free relying on in app purchases if you want to ‘cheat’). Handheld console games cost £15 – £40 each, well outside the impulse purchase costs of most people, hopefully you will get a deeper more immersive game with this sort of investment, but if your just looking for a distraction for 15 minutes whilst on a train/bus it’s an expensive way to pass the time.

So, Im not going to buy one?

Im still very much on the fence if I want one, I love gaming and find it more and more difficult to find the time to sit in front of a console/pc to play them, maybe a portable device will fill the gap?

I commute so I do game on my iPhone occasionally but find anything other than casual gaming to be near impossible to play well owning to the poor controls afforded by software trying to emulate buttons on a touchscreen!

FACT: Gaming on the Vita will be better than a gaming on a mobile owing to a better input system (Analogue sticks + Real buttons v Touch screen)

So the Vita would be good for me during my commute, but…. it’s an extra device to carry, it’s +£300 (when you add a game and memory card), new games will be expensive and the battery life is reported as just ‘ok’  at around 4 – 5 hours. Some big negatives, but Im still not 100% put off!

Related articles

• PS Vita set for launch on Wednesday – but will it sell? (digitaltrends.com)
• Future slipping out of their hands (speedcommunications.com)
• The PS Vita Will Be Sony’s Last Portable (slashgear.com)

Imagine this, Im sitting at my laptop and my mind is with me. It’s not shooting off in random directions whenever something bubbles up through my concouisness reminding me to do something. Why? Im certain that everything I need to do today/this week has been captured into my ‘trusted system’ so I can turn my brain away from needing to remember things and towards more productive tasks. Whenever something does come about  that I’d like to do, as for example this morning as I realised the kids are out of toothpaste as our toothpaste had walked into their bathroom, I stopped what I was doing and made a quick note in Wunderlist (Our Supermarket shopping list) It took a few seconds and then it was wiped from my mind.

Then as walking from the station this morning I thought it would be a good idea to email the owners of the holiday cottage we are renting next Monday to advise them of our late arrival time, a quick squeeze of my iPhone microphone and a little chat to Siri ‘Remind me to email Toad Hall cottages next monday’ was all it took to add this to my Omnifocus inbox (Omnifocus being my main list making software) ready to be scheduled when I next sort through my inbox.

I know that to some this amount of control may seem anal to many people, but after watching my partner chastised herself 3 mornings running for not sending a belated birthday card there is no way I’m going back to trusting my memory to remember everything as It’s not very good at remembering things!

If you think this sort of approach could work for you it’s really easy to start, the geek or non geek way!

None Geek way.

Invest in a pocket notebook, whenever anything needs to be done, capture it. Right there and then. Do so knowing that you can’t complete the task right now but reading your notebook at a later date you can schedule things that you need to accomplish in your diary.

The Geek way.

Beginners can’t go far wrong than signing up for Wunderlist to capture their tasks. It’s available on PC, Mac, iPhone and Android (Blackberry also I think?) and they all sync nicely together. You can schedule due dates in the app itself. It’s free too!

Review your lists often.

In this basic setup all you need to do is capture everything that pops into your head and then review your lists in what I call a morning review. A quick scan of your list will enable you to schedule what needs to be done.

Advanced Todo Lists, GTD.

I use the GTD ‘Getting Things Done‘ principles of task management which is a more advanced way of structuring your todo lists and it’s the obvious stepping stone when you feel comfortable capturing all of your task. I would recommend the GTD book by David Allen as the perfect place to continue your study into developing your productivity skills, and of course my website www.GTDWizard.com. Davids book covers using Pen and Paper and some technology systems also, it will teach you some great skills in managing your life!

Getting Things Done: How to achieve stress-free productivity: The Art of Stress-free Productivity

Related articles

• GTD Apps, just how much do they really cost? (gtdwizard.com)
• A Software Experiment (macstories.net)

Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life [Kindle Edition]

Ive been thinking of buying a book on minimalism for a few months and this one came recommended but was a little expensive when it was originally released. However it’s now dropped in price to £5.22 for the Kindle version which seems great value! Hopefully with my Mindfulness meditation with a dash of minimalism I can continue my journey in finding more calmness, peace, happiness and joy… simples!

Winchester visit.

Louise and I spent most of the day in Winchester, a lovely walk around the walled city and visit to a Vintage Fair in the guild hall. There were some amazingly dressed people, some in fully 40′s 50′s and 60′s things and some with hints of these past times in their appearance. They all looked amazing. (Nearly purchased a nice bag…. nearly!!) Day was finished off with a tour of the National Trust Mill and a cream cake! I do enjoy my QRT (Quality Recovery Time) makes life all the more fun!

Related articles

• Day tripping to Winchester (roundaboutlondon.wordpress.com)

1 Netbook and 2 iPads, a small price to pay for 15 minutes of peace when the Grandchildren visit! It does amaze me how comfortable they all are with technology, it is a worry when I see all the icons ‘giggling’ in delete app mode but as long as I remember to turn on the restrictions before they arrive I can relax a little more!

No post tonight, a family curry was needed at one of the best curry places I’ve enjoyed. We did enjoy Alex’s ‘duck’ or ‘swan’ or ‘Alien’ napkin….

I must have walked past this building +300 times on my way to and from work, and only recently noticed that in a previous life it was called a General Lying-in Hospital which I can only imagine was created for Students who sought treatment for their inability of getting out of bed! ;)

I’ve just uploaded one of more recent iPhone photo’s to depixtions.com for inclusion in camera phone gallery on the 13th March in Orlando Florida which is a shame as I would of loved to attend! I’ve looked at a few on the website and there’s some really original pieces of work there.

Earning some Kama

My photo will be printed and displayed in the gallery, then sold (Hopefully!) with all proceeds going to the New Hope For Kids charity.

Enter yourself.

If you use Instagram (or Camera+) on your iPhone you can submit your favorite photo also (1 day left though!) The photo has to be taken on a smart phone, in square format and only use your smartphone software to enhance the photo. Full details can be found on the depixtions website.

My entry.

I went for this recent photo and titled it ‘Alien Bubbles’ I hope it will stand out a little from the other entries and that it may even make people stop and have a good look at it as they  try and work out what it is. (It’s a paper weight!)

Related articles

• Depixtion’s Camera Phone Art Show (thedailycity.com)
• Camera Phone Love (thenyegotist.com)

Just time between cooking some nice steaks and consuming a nice bottle of Sancerre and only enough time to post a picture of Louise’s Valentines card from her secret admirer… (Well not that secret…)

Related articles

• Valentines Cards for Geeks (geekergosum.com)

‘When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.’
William Arthur Ward

Busy day, brain meltdown…. but an enlightening quote to end my day. (That and some mindful mediation before bed!)

Fringe, Lie to Me, Lost, Heroes, Mentalist, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly and comedy’s  Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl… the list does go on!

So there’s a new franchise starting tomorrow night that has perked my interest Grimm. Another supernatural drama that I hope I’ll enjoy as all the much as all the other US TV things I like!

It’s on Watch channel Monday night at 21:00 if your interested.

Related articles

• Grimm (lifesmaze.wordpress.com)
• Watch Grimm Season One Episode 1: Pilot Free Online Streaming (socyberty.com)