free

Ovivo Mobile shuts down

Ovivo Mobile, the UK MVNO has just shut down. The Ovivo website is giving the announcement and their customers the option to get their PAC code.
The operator's unique offering was the £0 a month sim card (250 minutes, 250 texts and 500mb data) funded by mobile advertising.

Here is the announcement from the Ovivo website:

Dear OVIVO Customers,
We are very sad to announce that for reasons beyond our control, OVIVO Mobile is closing down on the evening of Wednesday 19th March 2014.
We'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support and friendship over the last two years.
To keep your OVIVO number, just fill out this form, and we’ll send you your PAC code.

PAC code request form

To request a PAC code please complete the form below. There is no need to request a PAC code if you do not wish to keep your number. We will arrange for your PAC code to arrive as quickly as possible but there is a high demand for this service.

I'm quite annoyed. Just last week I purchased a SIM card from Ovivo for £20. The SIM card was delivered today and can't be activated.
Not happening. Not happy.
If you too are an annoyed Ovivo customer, feel free to vent your anger and frustration in the comment section below.

The New Google Android Market

I've just updated the Android Market on my HTC Desire (running CyanogenMod 7.1 RC).



 The new Market application has a very Metro UI (Windows Phone 7) similar interface. I am already a fan of the Metro UI interface (you can get Launcher 7 for Android from the Market for free), so this update is well received on my phone.
Could this be an indicator of UI changes still to come in Android? Let the rumour excitement and speculation begin.

As usual, feel free to leave comments/questions at the end and Google +1 this post.

Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal - Unity

On April 28th 2011 the latest version of my most used Linux distribution was released. Version 11.04 of Ubuntu, also known as Natty Narwhal, has brought some major changes to how the main Ubuntu distribution works and in the forms it is available in.

We bid farewell to Ubuntu Netbook Edition. There is now simply Ubuntu (available in 32bit and 64bit versions) and Ubuntu Server (available in 32bit and 64bit vesions). In a way I am sad to see the Netbook Edition cease to be. Ever since the early days of netbooks I had been running Ubuntu Netbook Remixes on a first generation Acer Aspire One and on my trusty EEE PC 900A. As time went by both the interface and the features evolved as a branch of the Ubuntu Desktop Edition, experimenting with new user interfaces and optimisations for smaller screens. Interestingly many of the developments that were experimented with in Ubuntu Netbook Remixes and Editions are now features of the unified Ubuntu.

In Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal the Unity Interface (first used in Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition) is the default one. Unity is powerful desktop and netbook environment that brings consistency and elegance to the Ubuntu experience.

Unity is designed for netbooks and related touch-based devices. It includes a new panel and application launcher that makes it fast and easy to access preferred applications, such as the browser, while removing screen elements that are rarely used in mobile and netbook computing.

Unity has a vertical task management panel on the left-hand side and a menu panel at the top of the screen. Using a sidebar for task management conserves vertical screen space, which is much more valuable on a widescreen netbook. The task panel displays icons for commonly-used applications and programs that are currently running. Clicking on an icon will give the target application focus if it is already running or launch it if it is not already running. If you click the icon of an application that already has focus, Unity will activate an Expose-style view of all the open windows associated with that application.
I really am enjoying using Ubuntu with the Unity interface. I must admit that from October last year I was quite skeptical about the shift from a Gnome interface, but now that I am used to the sidebar, the instant search services and notifications I am won over. As well as the UI changes Ubuntu 11.04 brings the usual boatload of bug fixes, more hardware support and faster boot times.
You can download and try out Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal from http://www.ubuntu.com/ for free.
Feel free to leave any comments and/or questions.