Shark of Mirkwood - Web design, gadget info, hacking, and more.

Connor Leigh-Smith’s technology blog on web design; making money online; help, tips & hacking for iPods, iPhones & other gadgets… and much more!

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‘Unique Bloq Designs’ 1st year anniversary blog contest.

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.25.08 under Uncategorized

Hey,

Just found another contest

UBD (Unique Blog Designs) are offering an 8GB iPod Touch and a total of 4 ‘UBD Citrus’ themes, for simply posting a comment on their blog and/or writing about it on your own blog or website. This is to advertise/celebrate their 1st year!

You get 1 entry for commenting on the contest’s blog entry, and another 5 for writing about the competition and linking to it.

Here is the link to the contest: Unique Blog Designs 1st Anniversary.

Thanks

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Flashmint offering $100 to $800 in Blog Contest

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.23.08 under Contests/Competitions, Web design & development

Alright, I’m a bit late, but I just found out that Flashmint have been holding a contest to see who can design the best Wordpress theme for their blog.
The winner gets $500, and their theme will be used for the blog.

Also, you can get up to $300 for simply advertising Flashmint. Just post a link on your website or blog, and the site that brings most visitors to the Flashmint site gets $300.
Runners up get $200 and $100, respectfully.

Flash Mint – a leader in Flash Designs area – arranges a contest for bloggers and designers with $1000 fund. Find out the details.

Well, I’ve done my part by advertising it here, and if I have time, I’ll design a theme for them

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Tutorial - How to make a Userbar for signatures in Adobe Fireworks

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.21.08 under Tutorials, comedy

I already made a tutorial on making user bars in Photoshop, but now here’s one for those people that prefer using Fireworks. Fireworks is a lot simpler than Photoshop, and I prefer it for doing easy tasks like this.

As I mentioned before, I’m using the CS3 (Creative Suite 3) on a Mac, so using the program might be a little different for you, but it will mostly be the same, and it’ll still be easy to follow.

Here we go…

Alright, first of all, open a new file in Fireworks (you should know how to do this ;))
Draw a rectangle using the Rectangle Tool, that measures 350 pixels by 20 pixels, like this:

Change it to whatever colour you want. I’ll use a gradient, so the rectangle fades from blue to green:

Here is the rectangle now

You need to apply an effect that puts faint diagonal lines across the rectangle. This makes it look more ‘glassy’, and is very easy to do.
Simply select the rectangle, and in the toolbar at the bottom, find the ‘Texture’ option, and change it to ‘Line-Diag 1′:

Now your rectangle will look a little bit more 3D:

To make it look glossy, you have to put a white oval with a gradient over the rectangle.
Make a circle the same size as the rectangle (350×20px), and fill it white (with no outline). Move it up, so that the bottom half of the oval covers the top half of the rectangle:

Now, change the gradient of the oval. Give it a linear gradient, and use the settings below:
Both ends need to be white, but one end is just more transparent than the other.

The part shown in red needs to have to Opacity changed to 10.

By now, your userbar should look something like this:

Using the Text tool, you can put some text into the user bar, and you can also add a small image if you like. It also looks better with an outline, which is added by making another rectangle the same size as the original, with no fill and a black outline.

Thanks for reading, and if you need any help, feel free to leave a comment

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GCSE Exam results

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.21.08 under Random Stuff

Like many people in the country today, I got my GCSE results

I didn’t get anything in the post, so I checked online, and thought I’d post my results here:

I guess I did pretty well overall

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iPod with (dead) stuck pixel replaced by Apple for free :D

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.19.08 under iPod/iPhone

As you might know if you have been reading this blog for a while, I got a free iPod Touch from Freepay.

However, my iPod had a very noticeable bright red dead stuck pixel right in the middle of it, which was annoying when I was watching movies. So, after a few months (yeah, I’m kinda lazy at times) I decided to contact Apple and get them to fix or repair the iPod Touch. Here, I am posting the steps I took to get the iPod replaced and how long it all took.

Firstly, I went to the UK Apple site, and found this page. I typed in the details it asked for (iPod’s Serial Number and my country). After that, I was told the status of my warranty - thankfully the iPod came with a year of free warranty.

After clicking on ‘Request online service’, I got to the part that said ‘Choose your service options’ - simply a few questions I had to answer about the problem with my iPod. I chose the correct options, and wrote a small explanation at the end (including what I had already done to try an solve the problem).

This was all done on the 9th August.

After this, I got an email explaining that the repair would probably be covered by the warranty, and that I would receive packaging in the post, that I would use to send my iPod to Apple.
Surely enough, 2 days later, I got a box in a bag from UPS. I put my iPod in the box, and used the UPS website to schedule a collection time for them to come and take my iPod back. They came the next day, on the 12th August.

After 2 days of missing my iPod, and wishing I could have it back, I got another email from Apple, saying that they had received my iPod Touch, and that they would notify me when the repair was complete. Within 24 hours, I got yet another email saying that they had replaced my iPod, and had sent it back to me. I should allow 2 working days for it to reach me.

Here’s a screen shot of my repair status:

Just 1 working day later, a UPS van pulled up outside our house, with a brand new iPod Touch for me!

So, all in all, I got a brand new iPod Touch within 4 working days of sending it off, and all just because of 1 single dead pixel :
Apple’s support system is great!
I have already jailbroken my iPod again, and am using all the apps I had before

Here is a pic of my new iPod just out of it’s packaging:

So, I hope if any of you have a problem with your iPod Touch or iPhone, you’ll get in contact with Apple and get it sorted out as quickly as I did

Thanks for reading!

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Jake and Amir

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.14.08 under comedy

I’ve been watching the Collegehumor podcast videos for quite a while now, and I just found a website by Jake and Amir, from CollegeHumor, of their own hilarious videos.

Here are a couple of their (IMO) best videos from their site, enjoy!:

They have a lot more great videos on their website, Jake and Amir Dot Com.

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Disclosure Policy

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.14.08 under About

Just though I’d say that I’ve written a disclosure policy for the site, on advertising and sponsored posts.

The policy can be found here, or you can read it below:

This policy is valid from 14 August 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact Connor Leigh-Smith (connorbob21@gmail.com).

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

This is just to make it clear that a few of the posts on the site are paid for, but I will never write about anything I do not believe in.

Thanks

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Rapidshare.com download links - .ipa Apps from the App Store, for iPod touch or iPhone

[ 5 Comments ] Posted on 08.13.08 under iPod/iPhone

I already posted a guide on putting apps into your iPod Touch or iPhone, and I put a list of apps on the guide.
However, a lot of the links I posted there are now dead, so here is a RapidShare folder full of Apps. I will still be adding more to the list, but right now there are about 65 apps there.

Link to the guide on putting apps into iPhone/iPod Touch

Click here to go straight to the download folder full of apps on Rapidshare.com.

Below is a list of direct links to the apps. They aren’t sorted in any way, and you have to look at the URLs to see which link is for each app. Soon I will sort them out for you

(copy & paste links to download)

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057243/WhackGroundHog_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057244/Wee_Spider_Solitaire_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057245/VNC_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057247/Tuner_Internet_Radio_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057248/TouchScan_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137057249/Touch4_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137036453/2_Across_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137036454/3-D_Vector_Pong_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137036455/300_Bowl_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137036456/Air_Hockey_Fingertip_Sports_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137036459/aSleep_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136995495/Serpents_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136992642/Radius_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136992699/Recorder_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136993377/Scrabble_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136988112/iBeer_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136988658/Ikanoid_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989244/iMilk_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989252/iNetwork_Test_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989311/iRSS_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989388/iXpenseIt_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989540/Koi_Pond_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/138228059/Teleport_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989605/Labyrinth_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989653/Lumen_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989720/MagicPad_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989763/MLB_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989796/NetShare_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136989887/Ninja_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136990753/OmniTuner_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991139/PaperFootball_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991186/PhotoBucket_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991271/Picoli_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991279/PicVault_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991362/PocketMoney_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136991397/Poker_Timer_Dealer_Button_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136985846/DisneysAllStarCards_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136986847/Galcon_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136986872/G-Spot_CRACKED_.ip

http://rapidshare.com/files/136986963/IAmRich_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136981005/BreakClassic_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136981112/Bubble_Level_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136981140/Caravan_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136981384/Carrom_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136982920/Chimps_Ahoy__CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136983351/ColorTilt_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136983576/ColumnsDeluxe_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136983709/Comic_Touch_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136983790/Converter_CRACKED_.i

http://rapidshare.com/files/136984076/Cubes_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136984255/CubicMan_Deluxe_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136985064/Dice_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136980814/Boom__CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136980667/BookShelf_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136344985/MobileInstallation

http://rapidshare.com/files/136858807/allRadio_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136859900/azRSS_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136979857/Blackjack_21_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/136979887/BlogWriter_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137127927/Space_Monkey_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137801218/Chess_Classics_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137795493/Dynolicious_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137795049/Suduko_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137793828/SpeedDial_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137792117/South_Park_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/137791392/Sextuple_Word_Challenge_CRACKED_.ipa

http://rapidshare.com/files/139984353/Bejeweled2_CRACKED_.ipa

Thanks for reading. I am still uploading more apps and will upload this post when I’m done. If you find a dead link, or want another app, leave a comment, and I’ll do my best :

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Going for Gold! With bet365.

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.12.08 under Random Stuff

The Olympics have started, and what better way to celebrate it than a series of events from bet365 Casino? Here is their press release:

As the world gathers for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Casino at bet365 is marking this great occasion with their own incredible £50,000 Going For Gold promotion.

Over the course of the Olympic Games there are 20 exciting Going for Gold events taking place at bet365 where players can compete for both cash prizes and medals. The more medals that you win, the higher up the leaderboard you are placed and greater your chance of winning the top prizes.

In each event, the top 100 players will each win a medal. The first 15 players will receive a Gold medal, the next 35 players will win a Silver medal and the next 50 will be rewarded with a Bronze medal. At the end of the competition, players will be awarded cash prizes according to their final position on the leaderboard and their status in the bet365 VIP Royalty Scheme.

“We’re aiming to emulate the spirit and excitement of the Olympic Games with this promotion” explains Tom Galanis, Casino Marketing Manager at bet365. “Here anyone from many nations is welcome to participate and compete for the glory of victory. Everyone has a chance of winning a medal plus the opportunity to win one of our great cash prizes.”

As well as the Going For Gold promotion which runs from the 9th to the 24th of August, there are many other reasons to visit the Casino at bet365. These include progressive jackpots on the slots worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, the thrill of live dealer Blackjack and Roulette, an excellent Royalty Scheme and a wealth of information to help improve your game.

So whether you’re Going for Gold this August or just want to experience heart pounding fun at one of the best casinos on the internet, remember that there’s always something for everyone in the Casino at bet365.

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Thorin’s Company LotR minis, by Shark of Mirkwood

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.11.08 under The Lord of the Rings

Just installed an image gallery to the site, and thought I might as well upload some of my recent minis that I’ve painted and show them off to y’all

These are the dwarves from Thorin’s Company, in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, I think they’re pretty cool

I converted them from Games Workshop’s Dwarf Rangers and painted them a while back for a competition, here are some pics:
(Click on the thumbnails to see the actual image, and from there you can see them in full size)

[Show as slideshow]