Robert Leverington

Today me and seven others completed our Duke of Edinborough Award bronze assessment expedition, to say the least I’m knackered and sun burnt.

While there should have been about fourteen of us, several had dropped out leaving just eight participants (so we went in a single group, rather than two or three); this made the experience more enjoyable as the two teachers supervising the event could spend more time with us rather than rushing between groups. In principal the activities we had to undertake should not have been difficult, but it is inevitable that on occasions some groups might get lost - this proved the case for us, and was very tiring. Firstly we encountered a very overgrown woods, this was virtually impossible to navigate and set us back about an hour (as well as causing quite a few stings and cuts); we also ended up in a farm and could not find our way out. On the first day we ended up spending a whopping nine hours walking (although this included breaks), rather than the six we were meant to; this was mainly attributed to not having a clear goal (we were walking a circuit, rather than a linear point-to-point route), this became evident when on the second day we had a much clearer destination (heading back to the school, from the campsite), so travelled far faster than expected.

Certain aspects of the trek were enjoyable - mostly the bits where we weren’t walking, such as cooking our food and sitting around the camp fire together - but overall I found the weekend fairly melancholic, perhaps attributed to the sheer amount of time spent walking. The practise was much more fun in terms of the activities we did, but this time the two supervising teachers were limited as to how involved they could get. Another factor was the landscape, on both days it felt as if we were travelling through field after field, and the views themselves weren’t remarkable.

The award has been quite a mission for me, I found it difficult to find things to do for my skill and service, and in the end my chronic hayfever got the better of me. It would be nice to do the silver award, but I’m not strong enough emotionally to undertake such a long and draining task again. I enjoy camping, but clearly this is not for me.

A while ago I posted about the Apple iPhone 3G and how disappointed I was with it.  Well, it seams that various facts were overlooked by me.  It turns out that O₂ will be releasing a “Pay and Go” package for the iPhone, this means that many of the issues are no longer true. One thing that I will be looking forward to hearing about are the costs, while I am aware of the prices being dramatically reduced in the US, I wonder if such a price drop will be experienced here in the UK - and if it will be equally great.

Once again, my sincerest apologies for coming to an opinion without knowing all the facts; thank you Apple and O₂ for making this wise decision.

I’ve used eBay for quite a long time, mainly due to the fact it is virtually the only auction site that has a large enough user base to be effective. But, for much of its existence, development has been sub-par. The site often lacked cross-browser compatibility, had an archaic look to it, and had questionable policies; while small improvements are being made here and there - little substantial work has ever been undertaken.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I find a new interface to the search mechanism. Without a doubt it looks modern and trendy, but usability appears to have been sacrificed greatly. It is now very difficult to differentiate between individual results, and between the pieces of information presented. Another feature that has disappeared is the quick tab to get between “Auction”, “Buy it Now”, and “Both” - instead it is hidden in a nasty search refinement menu. Narrowing results to “Buy it Now” is one of eBay’s key features, and is now very time consuming to access - the tab will sorely be missed.

It is my opinion that competition in the auction field is needed, this would stimulate development by eBay, and would also provide fair pricing and policies to consumers. Unfortunately, due to eBay’s apparent monopoly, this is unlikely to happen in the near future without substantial involvement by a competition body - either here, in Europe, or in the US.

This morning was my first mathematics exam, it had been rescheduled for about twenty-six of us since our GCSE Physics exam was taking place immediately after the original slot - so would have put a lot of strain on us to perform well. It was the non-calculator past-paper and went, I think, rather well. The questions themselves weren’t very challenging and they hour and a half given was more than enough time to complete it. What stood out most about the exam, however, was the behaviour of certain pupils and how the invigilators responded to it.

The child development exam was also being sat at the same time as ours (it was the only remaining one and a half hour slot that could be used), one boy who had taken it was behaving in a silly manner, and eventually had his paper taken off him. A girl also got the hiccups. Both occasions prompted a response from other people taking exams; several people smirked at the first incident, followed by the majority of participants turning around (nearly everyone had finished so there wasn’t much to keep one occupied) when the latter occured.

At the end of the exam one of the invigilators (I believe the ‘cheif’ one) told us all, in a very stern way, that the behaviour had been utterly unacceptable, and in a real exam would not be tolerated. Fortunately this was simply a streaming and diagnostic exam, so disqualification itself was not imposed; but regardless, such rules are quite harsh.

It is my understanding that most of the regulations imposed upon candidates are designed to prevent cheating, as apposed to anything else. By no stretch of the imagination can I imagine smiling to be a symptom of this, in fact, it is rarely even disturbing to other candidates. While turning around can be an issue, the occasional glance never did anyone much harm. The same goes for mobile phones going off, providing they are not answered (or read) the most they cause is a minor commotion that can quickly be resolved. In any case I believe it is quite unfair that any of said incidents should result in disqualification, and cancellation of all your qualifications, there are far more serious things this punishment should be reserved for.

I have long been a fan of everything Apple, their style far outweighs that of any other major company in the technology industry, and their workmanship sets an industry standard. Currently I have an iPod nano, but after it got put through the wash I considered getting an iPod touch. An iPhone would have been better for me (I need a new phone anyway) but the latest iPhone costs nearly a hundred pounds more than the touch and, unless you get in unlocked (which costs money as well), it is tied into a contract.

Yesterday Apple announced the next itteration of the iPhone. It had a huge array of improvements, and the price reduction was unbelivable - until you read the small print, that is. The iPhone now has an activation system so you have to buy an eighteen month contract with the local vendor (O₂ in my case), and the contract itself is more expensive than before - presumably to make up the lowered cost of the device itself. This makes it even more of a turn off than previously. One would have thought they might consider that perhaps more customers will appear if they made it available on all networks with pay as you go too?

For now I won’t be getting either, my nano magically started working again after a few weeks (even though both the battery and back light were both non-functional after removing it from the washing machine). Even if I was still left with having to fork out for a replacement, having to pay for the iPod touch software upgrades would be very off-putting.