Many might see the recent annoucements by Micrsoft and Apple as a win for Micrsoft and who can argue.

The company are finally interesting again and not just from a consumer perspective but from a technical and creative perspective. The flagship product of the Windows operating system is now having to share the spotlight with Microsoft's new line of hardware products. And while it's great to see Microsoft getting that innovative edge again I don't see it as a win only for Microsoft.

Their Surface products and open sourced software are now opening another front on the war between the tech giants. For too long it's been a two-horse race between Apple and Google.

Apple's line of hardware is different from Google's and that's where I find it hard to compare the two. Apple's traditional line of computers, tablets and phones are certainly different from the Chromebook and Chromecast dongles that Google sell.

Microsoft are now creating a name for themselves as a serious contender for those looking to make a new hardware purchase. And with the hardware purchase, the software purchases will pretty much follow suit. It's a model that Apple has run for years. Build great hardware and boost sales with software and service purchases. It's now Microsoft's turn to take a stab at it.

Microsoft have turned heads with their new products, but not just from a consumer angle but from a corporate angle. I wouldn't be against the idea of a few people at Cupertino who weren't quietly surprised by the new Surface Studio. Hell, they might even like it.

And that's the win for Apple. They have a new competitor on the horizon. A new front to battle on. A new chance to innovate again.

... are the most important.

Upon a friend's recommendation we took a break last year to Aviemore. We had such a great time last year we decided to head back again this year. We managed to do a few things different this year and the scenery was wonderful as always.

My first ride round Loch an Eilein on a murky and gloomy afternoon.

A walk through the elevated trails of Landmark Adventure park.

The boys trying to spot a few red squirrels.

Another ride round Loch an Eilein. This time before the sunrise on Thursday.

Attempted a panorama shot during a ride. Turned out quite well.

Skinny tubes. Raw finish. Love it.

via Bishop Bikes

Sorry, I'm a week late with this one, but you can't rush a good fixie!

Get over to the Robin Williams bike auction and get your bid in. Some truly classic bikes!

An insane format but great fun to watch.

Seriously. Why isn't it December the 16th yet?

The last year has been a real struggle here on the blog. Inconsistent posting and a lack of direction is to blame. Or so I would think.

Over two years ago I was churning out a post a day on this blog and not just random stuff either. There was a general theme of topics around writing, technology, freelancing and a few other things. Not a day went by without hitting that publish button.

Today though it seems I've lost that daily nudge to just write.

When I was publishing daily I started to think that I needed to start scheduling posts ahead of schedule. It got me thinking about structuring my blog and managing it a bit better.

Truth is I simply made the blogging process even more complicated. It's taken me over a year to see this.

My blog is a marketing tool, but it's also my little private corner of the Internet. What should it be though?

As a personal site it should be nothing more than a scrapbook of links and posts entered around the topics that have my interest at the time.

No more scheduling of content, no more obsessing of schedules. If I want to create a site around a particular group of topics with more of a structure then I'll just create a new blog and structure my writing for that.

In the meantime though, I'm going to loose the reins of my blog and see where it takes me again. I'm just going to blog more.

Good to see technology being put to good use.

A Swiss journalist has created a Twitter bot that tracks dictators’ flights to and from Geneva, as part of a crowdsourced effort to shed light on potentially shady dealings. The bot, called GVA Dictator Alert, tracks planes registered to authoritarian governments and automatically posts their arrivals and departures to Twitter.

— This Twitter bot is tracking dictators' flights in and out of Geneva by The Verge

Naughty dictators!