Apparently next month will see the 25th birthday of .com.

It is hard to believe it has been going that long, but the first .com domain name was apparently registered in March 1985.

How things have changed.

I remember starting my first job on a local newspaper - we had one computer that was connected to the internet and you had to pay for a hotmail account - therefore nobody actually had one. We relied on fax machines and if you wanted to do any research you had to use a thing called a library.

Going back even further to when I was at university (1993-1996) we had some computers in the library that allowed you to look up books, but some clever IT students I knew had managed to link up Doom at the IT department - a group of us used to sneak over there at 10pm and play for hours!

This of course was when a PlayStation 1 would set you back over £500 and its graphics were thought of as cutting edge.

The pace of change is quite frightening and is pretty difficult to keep up with at times. I wonder where on earth we will be in the next 25 years?

That is if the world doesn't end in 2012.

February 4, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't normally like bringing politics into my blog because it is such a touchy subject.

The papers are screaming today about how the wealthy people who fall into this government 's punitive 50p tax bracket are looking at tax avoidance schemes.

Crikey - really?

I thought they would all roll over and happily give away half their earnings without so much as a murmur.

Having to give half your wages away each month in tax is hardly an incentive to aspire to a higher level is it? Or even stay in this country.

What the politicians don't seem to realise is that there is always going to be an unfair distribution of wealth in this country - taxing people to the hilt is not the answer as ultimately the money they spend will benefit the poorer population at some point - failing that it will end up in the politician's back pockets.

There has to be a better policy out there that finds some common ground somewhere along the way.

This is such a short sighted policy and so badly thought out - it is bound to all end in tears.

In the meantime it is the people on average and lower incomes that suffer the most.

February 2, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill Gates has announced that he will be pledging over $10bn this decade to help struggling countries vaccinate their children.

According to a Sky News article the Gates Foundation will spend the money over the next 10 years to help save the lives of over seven million children.

Contrast this with these so called 'celebrities' - who just look for more and more ways to make money, and grab freebies left, right and centre, giving very little back. They are a selfish, self-obsessed breed that think they have the God-given right to everything on a silver plate. Most of them are talentless nobodies who have had a huge run of luck and were in the right place at the right time.

It is so refreshing to see someone with this amount of money, willing to share their wealth and actually make a difference in the world.

Whatever anyone thinks of Microsoft, Bill Gates is someone to admire.

January 29, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think I want one!
In fact I definitely want one!
I have been toying with the idea of buying an iPhone for a while now, but I might just save my pennies and invest in this technology instead (I will give it a while to become more established in the market first).
My iPod is like a life support system for my daily commute - I just cannot cope without it, so I dread to think how attached I will become to the iPad.
I saw the launch on BBC News last night and couldn't help noticing how ill Steve Jobs is looking - I hope he is on the mend.

January 28, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

So farewell then, the recession.

Or is it?

The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in Q4 2009 for the first time in six quarters, according to the Office of National Statistics' latest data.

Now I'm not a fan of dampening down excitement - but one quarter of extremely weak growth does not a recovery make. Not the last time I looked anyway.

What annoys me is the screaming headlines from the national media, which helped drag us down into the gloom and doom with all its scaremongering about the 'credit crunch' last year.

"Recession over, it's official"! They all cry.

Talk to the hand.

Things may well be on the up, but personally I think we are still in for a hard slog for the next six months, and there is no guarantee that we will not hit the famous double dip that economists have been predicting.

I think we should start to feel more positive, but maybe not get out all the bunting and party bags straight away.

January 26, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to say I am still in two minds about Facebook.

On one hand - social networking is a great tool and one that CRN is fully embracing - but the level of information contained on this site is quite frightening.

People, especially younger people stick all their personal information up there such as parties, when they are going on holiday, when their parents are away etc, which could (and does) cause problems if the information falls into the wrong hands.

Employers are also looking at potential job candidate's Facebook profiles to see whether they would be suited to a job or not, although I understand this is not supposed to happen - it still does.

I was at a wedding this weekend (fantastic wedding - congrats again Kate and Mike!) and within a few hours a load of pictures were up on Facebook - one a particularly embarrassing one of me dancing with a bridegroom-shaped balloon ('nuff said).

That kind of stuff I don't mind at all (honest guv!) - but Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff are posing quite a problem according to research out today. Allegedly, according to information acquired through a Freedom of Information request to the MoD, staff have leaked sensitive information via Facebook 16 times in the last 18 months.

If that sort of information falls into the wrong hands, there are severe implications for national security.

It doesn't really fill you with confidence does it?

January 25, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hats off to former C2000 marketing guru Gill Buley, who has set up a charity in member of fellow Come Dine with Me contestant Spencer Uren.

The pair became firm friends after appearing on Channel 4's popular programme where five strangers take it in turns to cook each other a meal and then score each other's efforts. The lucky winner pockets £1,000 cash.

But sadly, Spencer, who wanted to win to raise money for his sister who was suffering from cancer at the time, found himself a victim of this terrible disease a few weeks later and sadly lost his battle.

Gill, who won the programme and kindly split her winnings with Spencer, is now looking to raise £250,000 for Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in Spencer's memory - to help support the hospital's cancer services.

C2000 is supporting its former employee by running a series of promotions starting in February to help raise money and Gill has asked me to ask the channel to dig deep and help her reach her target.

Donations can be made via the site - Come Dine For Spencer - and you can also find out more about this poignant story.

The programme is currently being aired on Channel 4 this week - but the whole week's programme is repeated on More4 on Sunday. I'll definitely be watching with a box of tissues to hand.

January 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, Kraft has finally got its way and bullied Cadbury into selling up. My hearty congratulations to Kraft - NOT.

That is the end of Cadbury as we know it. A fine iconic UK brand that is now going to be part of an American-owned megalith that will mess with the taste and turn it into another one of its plastic-tasting products.

It will be a sad day to watch the company broken up, manufacturing moved elsewhere, corners cut in ingredients to save money for shareholders, and ultimately sales nosediving as the Brits boycott the products out of anger.

Well done to the shareholders for selling out - I hope they enjoy the extra money.

I think it is a real shame that all the once great British institutions have now been sold off - what exactly is there left of our heritage to be proud of?

Not a lot.

At least they have done me a favour - as I will certainly not buy Cadbury anymore once the deal is fully signed and sealed so my aim of cutting down chocolate consumption will at least be stuck to.

January 19, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

So we have endured the constant flow of snow-related press releases and yes, we at CRN have even written a couple of stories about how the snow has affected the channel.

But now we need to be prepared for flooding caused by melting snow and burst pipes, and businesses must ensure they have a proper backup and recovery system in place, otherwise they risk losing vital business critical data - etc etc.

Something tells me that the majority of news releases about the having the right system in place will come from disaster recovery specialists who just happen to have the right solution to cure all worries. Amazing!

I personally am building an Arc in my back garden and carefully gathering local Leicestershire animals together in pairs in preparation for this epic flooding we are going to get.

On a serious note though - there is an awful lot of frozen water out there so I suppose it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.

January 15, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stuck record time again I think.

As I say every year - CRN does NOT have a forward features list, an editorial calendar or any other group of words used to basically describe a features list.

Please, please don't send me emails asking me to send it to you becuase I am now just going to ignore them.

Sorry to appear rude - but I seem to explain the same thing year in, year out and I have so much more to do than constantly explain the same point.

For those wanting an explanation - because we are a weekly title and pagination is never set in stone, it is very difficult to stick to planned editorial and also we prefer the more ad hoc approach where features will be based on recent news or industry trends.

I hope this helps.

Also while I am on the subject of bugbears - can everyone please note that my name is SARA, not SARAH. The amount of emails I get where people have typed my email address correctly and then started it "Hi Sarah" makes me want to cry.

Thanks. Soapbox is now put away.

January 13, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)