Now fibre is impending I picked up a new Apple TV, this one is a 32GB 4K version.

I’ve got a 15MB (on a good day) so until I get my promised 70-80MB I’ll report back on how I get on.

I’ve been blogging since 2008 across several different platforms and here in 2017 I’m back where I started - Wordpress.

For about 5 years I’ve been a satisfied Squarespace user but over the last few months they have not catered for my needs so decided to leave.

Here’s why I left Squarespace

• Lack of attention on iOS apps; slow to update to the latest technologies of the latest iOS version and hardware (such as new screen resolutions)
• They cater to photography; a very heavy focus on promoting and providing templates to photographers, it's not a blogging friendly platform
• Integration; more integration options on Wordpress thanks to the development community
• Polished iOS blogging experience on Wordpress ; I prefer using the app than the site

So as a blogger focusing on text rather than images and is also iOS first I feel that Squarespace is leaving me behind. Wordpress fulfils all of my iOS and template needs as a text based blogger.

I’ve shared my favourite things so here are my biggest letdowns.

• Star Wars Battlefront II : I don't think I need to highlight the loot crate situation that highlighted EA's greed to everyone. Yes, this was a big reason but also the first person mode in game felt broken. Confusing customisation and weird UX just made it feel like a rushed game with no love gone into it. I'm glad the community stood up together against EA and although in game purchases are turned off for now it's still a poorer game than the first Battlefront (which I'm still playing and having fun with).
• Formula 1 2017 : I love my F1 games and I had high hopes coming off the 2016 version. Well the 2017 version reuses most of the assets and ultimately feels like the same game. The physics and driving still feels good but the graphics just don't come near to the competition. People looks strange and the constant screen tearing reminds me of a 10 year old game. I'll pick up when it's £10, that's all it's worth.
• Sony 4K HDR TV : This was a pricey TV that suffered from lack of support from Sony to keep Android optimised and up to date. Everything felt slow, confusing and too many steps to do anything. The picture was ok but the OS just meant for a bad experience.
• iOS 11 : So many little niggles for me from a UX and UI perspective. Bugs everywhere and even on an iPhone X it feels sluggish at times. It's been a bad year for Apple in software and I'm hoping all of the lessons taken from 2017 will improve things in 2018.
• VW Golf GTE : I wanted to love my new car but now I'm a few months in I really don't like the VW hybrid implementation. I'm finding that for local miles it's great, if I have a charge I'll be good on electric. Unfortunately my job requires doing a lot of motorway driving, this isn't good for a hybrid. Even with a full battery (around 20 miles) I'm getting 40MPG. On a low battery it can be as low as 25MPG on a long run (200 miles). I really want to love hybrid but for me based on the VW experience I'll be going all electric with a Tesla Model 3 or petrol for my next car.
• Sonos Play 1 : Sounds good but for me the implementation ruins the experience. The app is slow to respond and when using Apple Music it gets bogged down if you have a lot of music. Streaming is pretty solid in terms of play time after hitting play within the app and drop outs however. I'll be looking at selling and getting a HomePod as soon as I can.

Here are my letdowns, what are some of yours?

Thought I’d share some of my favourite things from 2017. No particular categories just anything that gave me some joy this year.

• Thor Ragnarok : Up there with The Last Jedi as my favourite film of the year and along with Guardians of the Galaxy one of my favourite Marvel films so far.
• Star Wars, The Last Jedi : Very polarising film based on public opinion but on second watching it cemented it as one of my favourite Star Wars films. It plays with some of the rules of the universe, has lots of shocking moments and takes old characters in interesting new ways.
• Stranger Things Season 2 : One of the most original, compelling and well acted TV series of the last 10 years in my opinion. Season 1 was amazing, season 2 took up it up a notch.
• Nintendo Switch : My gadget of the year, goes everywhere with me. Bought on day 1 of release and played almost every day since. Just wish the older games were out so that I could relive the NES and SNES days.
• Zelda Breath of the Wild : What can I say, not been this drawn into a game like this since the original uncharted. It feels like being inside something like middle earth and I think I put almost 100 hours into it. I don't think I've ever been this obsessed with a game in my life.
• GT Sport : Always been a fan of Gran Turismo since the original PlayStation. This new 4K HDR version feels like I've come back home. Loads of cars, loads of single player challenges and a cracking online option.
• Lego BB-8 : Hands down my favourite bit of Lego I've done all year and a must for any Star Wars fan.
• Sphero R2-D2 : If you can pick this up for under £100 then it's a must, again if you are a Star Wars fan.
• iPad Pro 10.5" : Apple have made some good hardware this year but my pick has to be the new iPad Pro. Paired with the Smart Keyboard cover and Pencil it is easily my favourite "computer " Apple has ever made. As with my Nintendo Switch it goes everywhere with me.
• LG B7 OLED : Dropping our Sony with Android and grabbing this webOS enabled LG is one of the best decisions I've made all year. The quality of OLED blows me away every time I watch it and HDR adds a 3D quality you have to see rather than me try to describe.
• Apple AirPods: I know they technically didn't come out this year but that's when I've been using them. Easy to set up, use across devices and design to easily make them my favourite headphones of all time. I still think they look a little funny but I'll take it over wires dangling and getting caught on things.

So here’s some of my favourite things this year, what are some of yours?

There’s been a lot said in the press and on social media after Apple admitted they slow down hardware with less than optimal batteries.

It’s now resulted in them publicly apologising and reducing the cost of their battery replacement service.

I’m left thinking do I still trust them?

Well, in a nutshell yes.

They stated a while ago that they would be making changes in iOS to address random shutdowns and it would be mad for them to purposely slow down older hardware. A portion of the users slowed down would surely switch to Android.

They failed big time in their communications this time around and hope they learn a hard lesson. The perception that they slow down older hardware to make you buy new is going to haunt them for at least 5 years.

This on top of other software problems isn’t good reading for Apple in 2017. I’m hoping they put a lot of effort into their software in 2018.

I still trust Apple above any other technology company with my data and trust they are making the software decisions based on current hardware limitations.

I tend to get a couple of Lego Star Wars kits a year, when I saw the BB-8 larger model it had to go on my wish list. Well I must have been good because Santa brought me one this year.

This kit is one of the more tricky I’ve done and requires a bit of forcing! The main body is held together by an elastic band until you get all of the sides on so be prepared for some swearing.

Assembly took about 4 hours at a relaxed pace and aside from the above it’s a pretty easy one.

I’d guess that anyone over the age of 10 will be ok with this but might need a hand with the centre section of the body.

Once assembled it had a moving head and lighter opening. You control these via either side, spinning the disc on each side will move the mechanism inside to make the magic happen.

This is the first Lego I’ve had with a display stand. It’s actually pretty great and comes with a mini fig you can put just in front of your full sized model.

So overall if you are any kind of Star Wars fan then this is a must buy. As a Lego collector it’s not a complicated build so best if you are a fan of BB-8.

I’ve owned the PSVR since launch and now we are over 9 months on I wanted to share my thoughts on whether it was a good purchase and if it’s worth investing in yourself.

Spoiler: it’s not worth the investment.

When it launched and for quite a few weeks afterwards I was loving playing job simulator and demoing it to visitors. I then started to notice very little being added to the catalog with VR support.

With the exception of Resident Evil there wasn’t anything worth buying. Loading the store and trying to find VR games got a little demoralising and now PSVR has dropped in importance on the front page.

This coupled with the feeling that no games makers are embracing the platform has me worrying for its future.

The only game on the horizon that makes me excited is Ace Combat but I’ll get motion sickness. I’ve found slower paced VR games sit better with me .

I’m left with a device that’s sole purpose is to play job simulator.

Sony haven’t invested the time and money it takes to get game developers on board and take it seriously. Unfortunately like a lot of Sony projects I feel this is destined for the scrap heap.

Ambitious and a groundbreaking price for the technology but I feel strongly that it’s not living up to it’s promise and one to avoid.

I may look back on this post with embarrassment in a few years but I’m confident in saying VR just isn’t mainstream enough.

I’ve been typing on keyboards for as long as I can remember (ZX Spectrum was my first computer if you are interested!) and it’s all catching up on me as I get older. I have experienced shoulder, hand and wrist pain over the years of working on a computer for 8 hours a day and wanted to share how the iPad has been helping me to manage this.

If you have been following me for a while you will know that I am a big advocate of using an iPad to get your work done and with the incoming iOS 11 update it’s an even more important time to start to look at if you can alter your work habits.

I’ve found using an iPad Pro as my daily machine for writing and as a supplement to my 9-5 machine to really improve how I use a computer and thus having a positive impact on my RSI issues.

THE 9-5

In my day job I am at a standard Dell laptop but supplementing this with my iPad has made a difference to how I’m sat and my posture throughout the day. I use my iPad for all my notes and sketches in the day (I’m in meetings at least 2 hours a day). Using the iPad encourages me to change my position, allows me to stand up and walk around and change my hand position.

WRITING

90% of what I do on this site is produced on the iPad and Apple Pencil. Using this combination allows me to change my sitting position, use the on screen keyboard, the smart keyboard cover and the pencil for navigation - basically it gives me loads of flexibility.

I also find that I enjoy using the pencil for navigation as a way to take a break from typing and walking around with it allows me to give my shoulders a rest.

SO DOES IT ACTUALLY HELP?

Unscientifically for me - yes.

I find that the iPad forces me to change my position and with the pencil on hand to navigate with it gives my wrists a much needed rest. It’s important to point out that regular rests (every 30 mins or so), even if it’s just standing and sitting again is important anyway and having an iPad on hand to use especially in the day job forces me to break my laptop typing and use something else.

Get up, walk around with the iPad and make the most of this amazing technology we have at our fingertips.

I’ve had about 2 hours with the Sphero R2-D2 so wanted to share a few of my thoughts on using it so far. (For context I already own the Sphero BB-8 and am using on iOS).

• The box is beautifully made and the unboxing experience is a step up from BB-8
• Couldn't see any instructions in my box
• Comes with micro USB to charge
• Has a charge indicator on the droid, this is great
• Having sounds coming from Artoo is great, BB-8 doesn't
• On board LED lights are great and he looks just like the movies
• Easier to control than BB-8
• More predefined actions at the tap of a single button

In short, I love this new Sphero. It’s a must for any Star Wars fan if you can get it under £100.

I love Lego, especially Star Wars ones and I was so pleased to receive the new BB-8. These come with the minifig and a stand to display it all.

I’m looking forward to the build and I’ll report back on it with a full review.

I saw my second viewing of The Last Jedi yesterday, this time with my daughter. It felt even more like a Star Wars film to me this time.

I enjoyed it first time around but was conflicted about a few parts. Having had this second viewing, taking more in and seeing my daughters reaction I have to admit that it’s it up there with my favourites in the franchise.

I watched Return of the Jedi in the cinema when I was a kid and this feels a lot like that. Cool planets, space battles, creatures and a couple of good baddies.

I think some people are picking apart the mythology a little too much. I just sat back and enjoyed it for what it is - a Star Wars movie.

I should preface this to say I’m a massive geek for Star Wars but I do like what Rian Johnson has done with the storyline, breaking away from the Skywalker family.

I love this movie.

As we’ve already talked about 2017 was a mixed year for Apple. Moving into 2018 it’s a good opportunity to think about what I’d like to see in 2018.

iPhone lineup

Between iPhone 8 and X Apple have had mixed reactions from the public. The 8 isn’t different enough and the X is too expensive. Personally I’d love to see how many iPhone SE and 7 models have been sold since the 8 and X were released, it may surprise you. I feel that they have sold rather well. I know a new line up has been rumoured already but here goes what I’d like to see

• A new 4.7" LCD that goes edge to edge, which replaces the current SE
• The current 8 gets replaced with an edge to edge 5.8" LCD
• Plus model dropped
• The current iPhone X gets a price reduction with 128GB storage option
• A new 6.5" OLED iPhone X to satisfy the current Plus owners
• All models except the SE have a dual lens camera
• All models have FaceID
• All models start at 64GB and offer 128GB

Thoughts?

iPad lineup

The current line up is solid, I don’t think we’ll see much on the iPad front aside internal bumps. No edge to edge design needed or FaceID this year I feel.

I’d like to see dual lens on the iPad Pro and FaceID but I don’t see it happening this year.

Mac

As someone that using a Mac maybe 20% of the time it’s a hard one.

I’d say improved keyboards on The MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Deliver on your promise of a new modular Mac Pro.

Wearables

I wear my Apple Watch everyday and love it, don’t see where the hardware can improve at this point.

I’d like to see improvements in software

• Third party watch faces
• Improved proactive health detection

Services

iCloud is pretty solid for me so mine is more around consolidation. Roll video into Apple Music or create a new video streaking app. Stop the bloat on iTunes and finally split it up.

Create a new Amazon Prime like service where you pay once and get all of the services in one package.

Software

Improvements to core Apple apps such as Reminders, Calendar and Mail. They are unusable for when you want to get things done and I often use a third party app such as Fantastical.

Consistency, this is something that should be top of Apple’s list when it comes to software improvements. I am a bit sick of Apple’s own apps all having their own personality rather than a consistent approach. For example Music has the new larger header style but Reminders has the older list view that is inconsistent. Please Apple chose one style and stick to it.

If you have been following me you’ll know that this week I made the switch to Wordpress from Squarespace. I wanted to start to share my experience of doing this, especially coming from an already established blog and platform.

One of the reasons I switched was Squarespace’s lack of commitment to iOS. The site editing didn’t work well in Safari and their iOS apps were slow to update.

The first thing I noticed switching over was the iOS app was supported on the latest hardware. So they look great on both my 10.5” iPad Pro and iPhone X.

At the time of writing the Squarespace app still doesn’t support the new screen on the X.

Next thing I noticed was how well laid out the iPhone app was. It’s easy to see stats, separate drafts, scheduled and published and adding images works every time (unlike the Squarespace app).

So if like me you are an iOS first user then for me Wordpress is the only choice.

It’s a not so well kept secret that Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean here in the U.K. was used in The Force Awakens. At the time it was obviously hush hush but now it’s been out for a while it’s common knowledge that it was shot there.

It’s also rumoured to be one of the places Tolkien took inspiration from for middle earth.

Specifically Maz’s home planet of Takodana.

I live about an hour away and visit there a few times a year, it’s such a magical place to visit and like nowhere else you’ll visit.

It’ll take a few hours to get in there and wander around, remembering to take in the food at the cafe.

If you’re visiting the U.K. (and a Star Wars and Lord of the Rings) fan check it out.

After a trip to the Apple store I’ve been turned onto Lightroom on iOS.

First go at editing something from the weekend.

I have to admit, when I saw the second Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer I got worried. It was for one reason, The Porg.

What changed my mind though was seeing my daughters reaction to it, she was laughing out loud. That made me sit back and enjoy it along with her. I have to not look at them from my older perspective but the joy I got from seeing characters at Jabba’s palace when I was the same age watching Return of the Jedi at the cinema.

That’s a major lesson I’ve taken from The Last Jedi, I really enjoyed it and it let me be a kid again like when I saw the originals.

There are some great scenes with the Porg, I’m especially fond of Chewbacca (my favourite character) having a BBQ outside of the Falcon. I won’t ruin the scene for you but it’s one of my favourites in the franchise.

I know the bulk of people will believe that Disney forced Rian Johnson’s hand in making something marketable but I read that he himself created them after seeing the puffin on the Island whilst shooting. I want to be optimistic and believe that this is in fact true.

So, some people are going to hate them and others love them. I love them and am glad that they were included in this movie.

It emerged yesterday that Apple have implemented methods in iOS to slow down devices with less than optimal batteries. When thinking about this more I had to ask myself if I was ok with this.

I honestly believe they have the right intention but have executed it in the wrong way.

It totally makes sense for them to help users get the most out of old devices but slowing down a device you paid for without a notification is wrong.

Apple needs to move quick and ship an update and revised statement. All I’m going to get asked and see reported in mainstream media is that Apple is slowing down devices to make you buy new ones.

Based on my use of older devices I think this is being done to iPad’s too. I have a second generation Mini that with latest updates had become almost unusable.

I want Apple to either ship a battery health app or integrate this into iOS.

All it needs is an indicator and notification to allow users to check on the health of their battery. When it needs to slow the device down it lets you know.

What disappoints me is that Apple, by not communicating this looks like it’s tried to get away with something.

They deserve all the negative press they get on this one.

It’s been a mixed year for Apple, some great new hardware intermingled with some embarrassing software cock ups, here’s my highs and lows following Apple this year.

iPad Pro 10.5”

My favourite Apple product I’ve been using all year. As you know if you’ve been following me I love using iOS, I prefer it to using my Mac these days. I really liked my 12.9” iPad Pro with it’s pencil support and professional apps. But it always felt too big, sometimes embarrassingly so. When using in client meetings I’d always get comments on it, “wow, what’s that??”.

So, when Apple announced the 10.5” I immediately jumped on it. I picked up a Smart Keyboard cover and it’s been my go to device for the last six months.

For me it really does balance portability with power perfectly.

iPhone X

I was sceptical about the X, with it’s higher price and strange screen design I wasn’t sold. I waited it out but some freelancing work came in that gave me the opportunity to try one so I did.

I’ve been using one for almost a month and am sold. As a 7 and 7 plus owner my dream was to get the bigger screen and better camera in a smaller body, the X gives me this. Having portrait and zoom mode available to me whenever I want it has been great and something I always wished I had when using my 7. I’d take my DSLR everywhere and whilst the X isn’t a match for my Canon it gets me almost there and it’s something I can pocket.

I’ve been using it naked as Jony Ive intended and along with the jet black 7 it’s the best feeling iPhone that I’ve used since the iPhone 3G (still my favourite design).

I won’t go too much into it here as I have other posts planned on my time with the X.

AirPods

A classic Apple product, does something much better than the competition. I’m constantly amazed by the range on them and the ease of pairing is unparalleled. It took me a while to get them in stock but since owning them I’ve used them everyday.

I still think they look a little strange but wouldn’t trade them to go back to wires.

They are also good value for money when compared to the rest of the market I feel, there’s nothing like them out there.

iOS 11

iOS 11 brought a lot of changes to iPad (for the better) but also a lot of bugs. In fact I’m still recommending unless you have an iPhone 8 or later don’t even upgrade.

It’s not until I got an iPhone X that I’ve been happy on iOS 11. On my 7 it lags, I run into random crashes on Apple apps and overall it just feels like it’s beta.

On the iPad it’s turned it into a much more productive product for me. Side by side apps and drag and drop have made things like putting email into my to do system a breeze.

I really wish Apple had forked the iPad version properly though and created an iPadOS. iOS 10 was solid and iOS 11 on iPhone introduces new bugs, such as the weather widget never updating correctly.

Overall iOS 11 has been a negative though for me this year.

Software quality

A major negative for me this year. Between allowing root access with no password on macOS and all of the little user interaction bugs (auto replace it with I.T.) on iOS Apple have had it all.

Apple need to go back to basics and either improve QA or rebuild it.

I’d also like to see more of a focus on looking after its radar bug reporting system. I don’t even raise bugs anymore as I feel they get ignored.

This is my main negative on Apple this year.

What are your thoughts on Apple in 2017?

Watch for my “What I want from Apple in 2018” post coming soon.

With every new Star Wars movie I’ve gotten into the habit of buying two books

• The visual dictionary
• The art of Star Wars

I enjoyed both books for The Force Awakens so picked up The Visual Dictionary on Amazon for £11.99.

These books are a great reference if you want to know a bit more about the characters, vehicles, weapons and worlds. The great part about them is that they show characters that appeared in the background and smaller parts. One that I was keen on was the commander of the dreadnought at the beginning of the movie.

They are full of rich images showing costume design and details that you just can’t get from watching the movie alone. For each of the images you’ll find accompanying text descriptions showing details of a costume or item in a scene.

One difference with TLJ (The Last Jedi) vs TFA (The Force Awakens) is it doesn’t seem so rich, it’s also thinner. I’m not sure if that’s because we know more of the characters or there’s less background stuff going on.

A larger portion of the book is around the casino based planet, a lower point of the movie for me. So, apart from reading about a few characters flipped straight past (it’s a bit prequel for me).

So, at £11.99 it’s on the expensive side. Wait until after Christmas and pick up when it gets to £5.99 or less.

I’ve had the chance to play with the iPhone X for a couple of months and wanted to do a series on my experiences using it day to day. We had some good snow here in the UK and thought it would be a good place to start. These are all shot on the iPhone X with no editing, I’m pretty impressed.

[gallery columns=“5” ids=“92,94,96,98”]

At last…

Since Disney picked some of Fox along with it came a raft of Marvel characters such as Deadpool and the X-Men. As a bit of an X-Men fan it got me thinking about the state of the existing film series and whether they could get a reboot.

Let’s be honest there hasn’t been a good one since the second movie. The possibility of seeing them done justice and a possible tie into Infinity War Part 2 sounds great to me.

There is such a diverse set of characters in the X-Men universe that they could be the next launch pad for a series of movies. Personally I’d be ok with Capt and Iron Man taking a break to focus on Spider-Man, an X-Men solo film and a couple of independent character ones (Nightcrawler or Gambit anyone?).

Personally I think that we’ll see a new X-Men movie announced within the next 2 years.

First off, I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I’ve grown up with it, it’s always been there. I’m the generation that grew up with watching New Hope and Empire Strikes back on VHS then Return of the Jedi in the cinema.

I didn’t get on well with the prequels and this new trilogy always had me nervous until I watched it myself.

When I saw The Force Awakens it was a huge relief, it’s a great Star Wars movie.

As the title states this isn’t a spoiler fest, just my honest view on The Last Jedi.

First off, don’t expect Empire Strikes Back. It’s something else, unique and fits in well after Force Awakens. Some would say it’s too unique, it’s a very divisive movie based on what I’ve seen. Some love it, others hate it.

For me, it felt like a Star Wars film. Yes, there is a lot going on but it very much fits into the trilogy.

I enjoyed almost all of it, there is one thread of the story that could have been shortened a bit but it doesn’t take anything away from the overall feel of the movie.

After almost a week of watching it I’m still thinking about it, question that are still unanswered and new ones raised.

Thumbs up from me.

I’ve decided to leave my old blog at Squarespace and start something new over here on Wordpress.  There are several reasons for this

• Wordpress is more iOS friendly and shows commitment to keeping their apps updated (especially as I go more iOS native)
• Blogging is better, yes there are more templates and options for a mainly text blogger like me
• It's good to make a fresh start sometimes

I’ve gotten to a point where I cannot support myself on my writing alone so finding a more affordable, more expansive platform was a must for me

In conjunction with stopping over at LJPUK.COM I am planning on a few more creative projects that I’ll share on here when the time is right. In short this new blog is going to be more than just tech, I’ll talk more on my workflows etc.. but also sharing my thoughts on movies and my photography.

Thanks to those that have followed me on my journey and continue to follow me on this new project.

I’m feeling a little abandoned by Squarespace (as a blogger) at the moment. All of their new templates and focus seem to be on serving the business market rather than individual bloggers.

Their apps are also very slow to update, especially their blogging app.

That’s one of the reasons I’m writing this from an iPhone X with an updated Wordpress app.

I pay a good amount of money monthly to run my Squarespace site and not feeling I’m getting the value for money I think I deserve.