SMALL YET POWERFUL: IOMEGA SCREEENPLAY MULTIMEDIA

by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

Smaller than a lunch box and it resembles an external hard drive. But behind the size is a technology that offers a cinema effect to your flat screen TV in your own cosy living room.

A few years back, I visited a few computer stores around Sutton and Croydon. I was looking for an entertainment device that would provide an easy way of watching films or just a button only using a remote control. The device I was hunting is called screenplay multimedia that has amazing capacities. One of these is to play downloaded videos or programmes from a computer or saved to an external hard drive direct to the television. Unfortunately, my searched resulted in zippo! I was very disappointed at how substandard each gadget was that I saw and scrutinised in those techy stores.

I decided to suspend my search for awhile until my trusted and dearest friend, The Gaffer, recommended IOMEGA screenplay multimedia. He is not just a loving friend to me, he is also very reliable and up-to-date guy when it comes to technologies on the market. If he recommends a piece of technology, its either he had seen and played it before or already bought one for his own amusement at home.

IOMEGA screenplay multimedia is really the device I was looking for. I have to accept that I was a fool not to have asked him before wasting my energy and golden time on the high street. As I can't wait to see an image of the device, I visited the website of the store he told me about and found-out more about it. It has 2TB (terabytes) of built-in hard drive (which gives us huge amount of space) to save films, series of programmes, photos and also music. Aside from the hard drive, a remote control and accessories like USB cable, composite video cable and power adapter are also supplied in the package.

I was very satisfied to have received my order on time and delivering with care.

Moreover, this multimedia device is very light and only weighs 998 grams. For this reason, I find its very easy to move into my computer area- if in case I want to download more films or programmes. This is done with the use of a supplied USB Cable.

For the past years, my lifestyle in the living room is just sitting down while pressing its easy to comprehend buttons. And hey presto the magical world of the movies is just at my fingertips only!

Here are the rest of its technical details:

• Product Description: Iomega ScreenPlay MX HD Media Player - digital AV player
• Device Type: Digital AV player
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 17.8 cm x 13.3 cm x 4.1 cm
• Key Features: Digital audio player, digital photo viewer, external HDD function, digital video player
• TV Output Resolution: 1080p
• Supported Still Images Formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF
• Supported Audio Formats: WAV, WMA, AAC, PCM, Ogg Vorbis, MP3, AC-3, M4A
• Video Playback Formats: MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, WMV, MOV, AVI, VOB, RMVB, ISO, H.264, MKV
• PC Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB
• Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years warranty

THE WAYOUT CLUB AT 2AD

by:  MisS VictoriA DaviD

Almost 11 P.M...

The wild condition of the wind outside had already calmed and settled down while most streets became taciturn and dull. This was the tune of the surroundings when we stepped-out of our room and walked to The WayOut Club. But that night, it wasn’t at Crosswall!

That night, the quietness of the streets emphasized the clicking sound of my heels. It was an ear-popping sound which bounced off the walls of buildings as we passed. Each alley was cloaked in silence, enough for me to feel a little anxious. However, the street lamps as well as the other clubbers gave us a feeling of safety.

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We were almost there at the new location and could even see outside the club the resplendent lights and the colourful six foot notice board printed on canvas. We were like fireflies attracted and charmed by its glimmering portal. The new venue was called 2AD at 2 Crutched Friars, EC3N 2HT and it was at the centre of a modern low-rised building.

We entered the hallway which led us to an elevated reception area. And after paying the entrance fee, a changing room and cloakroom on the right side was visible and just waiting to be used by excited customers. It was literally a changing room especially allocated for those who want to use all their skills to make themselves even more beautiful before dashing and showing themselves on the dance floor.

We moved ahead and down a wooden staircases with a landing half way. This guided us to the underground level where we found the main venue and dance floor. At the end of the staircase, we saw a wooden cushioned sofa with a framed rectangular mirror above it and next to it was Miss Vicky Lee with a table bursting with glasses of champagne. We were greeted by her and offered a free glass of sparkling wine before entering the doorway going to the main venue. The first thing we encountered was the bar, which was already taking orders from customers.

We sat on one of their sofas and the club was very loose and relaxed. And if I'm not mistaken, there were more than 20 people at that time including us who were enjoying and observing each other.

I was new to the place and naturally, very curious. That is why, I nosed around and found out that the dance floor and the stage was placed at the far end of the room and had two types of built-in seats. To be more specific, the dance floor was on the left side of the bar and away from the other 4 sets of sofas near the doorway. I even checked the ladies toilet and was surprised to discover the extra feature inside. A huge set of wall fitted mirrors, commonly used and found in most gyms, were on the left side. Most useful and welcome for all glamorous and conscious women who love checking their selves from time to time. Actually, I was one of those women who found the mirror alluring after flushing the loo!

I went back to my seat and in less than 30 minutes, customers were arriving in flocks; some just individuals and others in boisterous groups. And that was also the time I recognized familiar faces. Amongst them was Vany Lacsamana who looked stunning in her cream coloured midi vest body con dress; approachable Isabelle Cortez who was sophisticated in her all black outfit and Jill Del Valle who wore an orange one shoulder, above - the - knee dress which made her skin tone more vibrant. Alongside were Maria Alma Mae Conde who was luminous in her Miss Sixty stripe body con mini dress.

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It didn’t end with them only as another group of lovely women appeared just before the club was becoming more crowded. Namely, Samantha Jade who looked foxy and seductive in her fringe; the modest and demure AJ Mendoza; the amusing Liandra Gandara who looked sexy in her white skinny jeans; the colourful Miss Mitchsimone Thomas who greeted me with an amiable smile and the assertive Miss Abby Tolentino.

When the clock was heading to the wee small hours, guest performers such as Miss Dee Chanelle, Alexis Mendoza and Silver Summers started to energise the dance floor. With what? Nothing else but with their own versions of reinvigorating boogie songs. They were great singers with charming voices who insisted that the crowd would sing and dance with them, while belting out on stage. All I can say was, they controlled and rocked the dance floor!

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While everybody was still perky and at their height of excitement on the dance floor, we decided to go outside for a breath of fresh air. Standing in front of the building we felt the cold early morning breeze on our skin. While we were still there, I noticed by chance that the lights from the club irradiated the dark street. The silence was broken by the chatting from other customers which disturbed the tranquillity.

We couldn't stand the cold any longer and that's the time we decided to go back downstairs to warm ourselves again. And after almost 30 minutes of enjoying to the fullest the ambiance downstairs, Ash and I went back home with big smiles on our faces.

Aside from having a great night at The WayOut Club, I loved also the new venue's arrangement of the dance floor and the centre stage. They may not be at the centre like at Crosswall but as positioned, it gave all of us who stayed mostly in front of the bar a good chance to talk without the need to maximizing our voices. The guest singers could perform making all those on the dance floor lively and active, but also we could enjoy a conversation. Which is, in my opinion, like staying in a bar or restaurant with buoyant background musics being played.

I honestly had an ecstatic time and was very pleased we planned our visit to The WayOut Club's new venue.

*All Photographs Courtesy of Ricky Dixon