Darren Straight's Blog

ICT Enthusiast and photographer.

By - Darren Straight

O2 Xda Orbit 2 Review

Last month I was contacted by Steve Cater who works at vccp as part of O2’s Marketing Team. He asked me whether I would be interested in trialling one of O2’s new phones in a seeding program, similar to that of the O2 cocoon seeding program which gave developers and technology lovers a chance to trial the phone. The idea sounded

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program Growing

Microsoft has announced that the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program is experiencing strong growth and is now supporting over 50 emerging businesses. Launched in October 2007, the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program is designed to help startups accelerate both software development and market visibility through customized engagement plans consisting of access to premier support staff, software licenses and subscriptions, new technologies, and/or

By - Darren Straight

Windows Live Messenger Mobile 30 Day Trial?

Just signed into Windows Live Messenger for Mobile this morning and recieved the following prompt: Hello! Starting today, your 30 day trial period begins. By selecting OK you acknowledge that your use of Windows Live services continues to be subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement. Data charges from your mobile operator, including roaming fees may apply for using

By - Darren Straight

Microsofts DesignIT competition 2008

For those unfamiliar with this exciting competition, the concept is simple! Microsoft are offering IT Professionals the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and creativity by transforming the technical infrastructure of a charity of their choice or tackle one of the problems put forward by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Leonard Cheshire Disability, Global Action Plan

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Acquires MultiMap

Microsoft has acquired Multimap, one of the United Kingdom’s top 100 technology companies and one of the leading online mapping services in the world. The acquisition will hopefuly give Microsoft a powerful new location and mapping technology to complement existing offerings such as Virtual Earth, Live Search, Windows Live services, MSN and the aQuantive advertising platform, with future integration potential for

By - Darren Straight

Facebook opens platform to other social networks

Online social network site Facebook has now opened up its developer platform to other social networking sites. The move comes in response to criticism that developers wouldn’t create applications for Facebook because the website is too “closed” to be an effective market, and sets up a potential clash between Facebook’s now open platform and OpenSocial, the open development platform initiative Google

By - Darren Straight

Threadless T-Shirts still only accepts Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Damn it, I’ve seen 3 Threadless T-Shirts I want to buy, but can’t due to Threadless still only accepting Visa, Mastercard or American Express Cards for payment. I really can’t wait until the day that changes, I would love it if I could pay via some other form of payment like Switch/Maestro/Solo or even PayPal. But until then I’ll guess I’ll

By - Darren Straight

The Voice of the London Underground is silenced!

Emma Clark, known to many as the voice of the London Underground due to having voiced most of the in-train and station announcements for the tube, has recently been fired after telling the Mail on Sunday that she thought the transit network was dreadful. “The thought of being stuck in the Tube with strangers for minutes on end and having to listen to

By - Darren Straight

Free Microsoft Exam SCCM 2007

Microsoft is apparently looking for beta test takers for the SCCM 2007 exam. (This is the product that replaces SMS 2003.) The following code below will allow you to take the exam once free of charge. If you pass you will receive credit toward the new Microsoft certifications MCTS and MCITP. If you fail, you can re-take the exam once