After listing my iPhone 2G on Facebook marketplace I got the following a few hours later:

Do people seriously fall for this sort of scam?

Now just to think of a reply....

Picture this, you've gone camping for the weekend and your iPhone makes it through Friday, Saturday until Sunday morning when finally the battery dies. You can't make calls, send mesages, check your email, use Google Maps or navigate your way home with the compass.

Fortunately you have your iPhone charger from BudgetGadgets.com and it gives you that extra power boost needed to get you through the rest of the trip.

The charger simply plugs into the dock connector at the bottom of your iPhone or iPod and instantly your device starts to charge. The lights on the front show how much power is left  in the charger.

Once you get home the charger simply recharges from your dock connector meaning your not wasting disposible batteries.

The 1000mAh Backup Battery Power Satation is available from BudgetGadgets.com for $17.95 with free shipping. (Discounts are available for multiple items).

As a special for ImAFish visitors if you use the following coupon at checkout you can get 5% off your entire order:

PM5OFF5

We found their worldwide shipping to be fast and reliable.

www.budgetgadgets.com

On Friday I received my iPhone 3GS fresh from O2. I've had my 2G for around a year now and with my Tmobile contract expired it was the perfect time to upgrade.

Aesthetically there is not a big difference between the 3G and 3GS however the phone is a lot quicker compared to the 2G, applications load quicker, text messages and emails load instantly and moving around the interface seems a lot more smooth.

Simcity was the most power hungry application I had on my 2G and it took a mean 34 seconds to open, on the 3GS it takes a more reasonable 17 seconds making the 3GS twice as quick.

The camera is a small improvement and works slightly better in low light but is still one of the iPhones weaknesses. The upload to YouTube feature is a nice touch however I've yet to find something interesting enough to upload. 

The majority of other improvements come in the 3.0 software (rather than updated hardware) with the wide keyboard on text messaging being one of the best improvements. Copy and paste works well though is a bit fiddly. Being able to buy music, videos and apps over 3G will hurt the bank balance I'm sure.

TinyChat is a funky flash based chat room that allows you to chat, view webcams, share desktops and commnicate with a microphone.

You can invite people through email or by simply sharing your rooms URL.

Pro accounts allow you to use high quality video.

For more visit www.tinychat.com/

Happy eighth Birthday ImAFish! On this date in 2001 the first ImAFish site went live, a lot has changed since then including hundreds of blog posts, thousands of comments and hundreds of thousands of visitors!

Highlights over the past year include:

Five Essentials for Online News Sites
New Website 12 Stix Launches
My £683.78 Phone Bill!
Gordon Ramsay DONE Image Generator
My Top 10 Drupal Modules
How to Look Cool on Facebook
Why I Moderate Comments
iPhoto 09 (version 8) Review - Faces
My Top 6 Trance Podcasts
Clever, Burger King, Very Clever
My Top 10 Drupal Modules

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed and read ImAFish over the past eight years!

It's been over a year since my last trip abroad to Hong Kong and this time we decided to fly West to America! I was at school when I last went to the USA with my family and I was keen to go back to where we started that holiday - Los Angeles. I would love to say that it was the glitz and glamor that attracted me back however it was simply cheap flights and accommodation.

The flight over was rough. Only joking - this is a set from War of the World at Universal Studios.

Day 1

After a good night sleep and recovering from the flight we headed to pick up the car. We didn't know what car to expect and joked about getting something smug such as a Toyota Prius - this is what we were given. I hadn't driven an automatic car before let alone on the other side of the road however it was easy to pick up and begs the question as to why we don't all have automatic cars in the UK!

We headed straight to Hollywood, a 40min drive from LAX along roads twice as wide as what we are used to in the UK.

The Hollywood sign!

The Griffith Observatory is a great museum dedicated to space. I loved how you could weigh yourself on each planet however everything was in Imperial measurements which drove me crazy!

Amazing views over LA - I'm not sure if the haze is the weather or just smog (perhaps smug from all the hybrids).

We headed back into Hollywood to see the Kodak Theater and walk of the stars.

Day 2

On the second day we decided to visit one of LA's many theme parks, we were too old for Disney so visited Universal Studios.(When I say we are too old for Disney I mean it was a rip off to get in).

The park wasn't too busy so we managed to ride Jurassic Park about five times - I love water rides.

The studio tour took us down Wysteria Lane from Desperate Housewives - was well worth doing.

Day 3

On the third day we drove to Santa Monica to go shopping.

There is not a great deal to Photograph in Santa Monica - so here is a sign with a red light and a taxi.

We went to see the new Star Trek film whilst here - it was awesome. Its a shame that in the UK people don't scream, cheer and clap to films, makes the whole experience more exciting.

Day 4

We loved Universal Studios so much that we decided to go back again. Its clear from Universal Studios that everyone in the film industry loves everyone else, the directors love the cast, the cast love the crew who love the props people who love the wardrobe people. I'm glad we spent the second day here but it was enough ass licking for one holiday.

We sat in the 'soak' zone for the water world show thinking we would just get splashed - we were wrong. It was one of the best live shows I had seen.

I lost count how many times we rode Jurassic Park on the second day.

Day 5

If Universal Studios is for film lovers, Disney for kids then Six Flags is for crazy people who love big rides. Some of the rides such as X2 were insane, fortunately there were plenty of water rides and almost no queues.

Count the Rollercoasters! 

Day 6, 7, 8

Last time I came to the US I was too young to drink or gamble (I might have been able to buy a gun however) so we took a trip to Las Vegas. The five hour drive from LA went smoothly, especially with the cruise control set along the straight highways.

We stayed in the same hotel that I did when I came last time - Circus Circus, mainly because the rooms were only £16 per night!

Since I'd been driving so much for the rest of the holiday I'd not had a drink since the plane. You have to be 21 to drink in most parts of the US - it would suck to be a student there!

Only in Vegas would they build the Eiffel Tower!

Vegas is such as great place for photography - and erm gambling!

The lake in front of the Bellagio

The Bellagio hotel/casino.

The water show in front of the Bellagio is quite impressive.

Day 9 

The ninth day consisted of two long flights home.

It was the next day before we landed back in Manchester.

I really enjoyed my stay in America and can't wait to go back again. Really want to visit the East coast or San Francisco.

In 2003 we launched the low cost PHP/MYSQL web hosting specialist Switchweb, six years later we've decided to relaunch Switchweb with a fantastic new design, more low cost hosting and two amazing new services.

1. Online Advertising - Switchweb has a growing network of sites including ImAFish, iPod History and 12Stix, all are excellent choices for buying text link adverts. Getting higher Google ranking and page rank is increasingly important for websites which is why advertising through independent agents such as Switchweb is ever relevant.
2. Website Design - Switchweb has partnered with Shrewsbury based The Web Orchard to provide high quality web sites, content management systems and E-Commerce sites. The Web Orchard have a proven track record in delivering to customers such as Aston Martin, Honda, the YMCA and Unison.

Switchweb is the home to hundreds of websites and with its 99% up-time guarantee is the perfect choice for your website.

Packages start from just £13 per year with a domain name and provide reliable PHP/MYSQL web hosting. A full comparison of features and package.

For more visit www.switchweb.co.uk to see what we can do for your website!