By @edent · ebook eink hacking linux nook · 7 comments · 250 words · read ~1,573 times.
I was inspired by Matthew Petroff's Kindle Weather Display to do something similar with my old Nook Simple Touch Reader. I had planned to use a salvaged eInk screen - but the Nook STR (or NSTR from now on) is only £29 due to a massive price drop. The Glow version is a mere £69 […]
Continue reading →By @edent · chinese font fonts python unicode utf-8 · 1 comment · 450 words · read ~4,682 times.
There are loads of really delightful Simplified and Traditional Chinese True Type Fonts available on the web. There's only one issue - the file sizes are really large. In many cases, too large to effectively use as a web-font. For example, this calligraphy style font is 3.4MB. The beautiful Paper Cut Font weighs in at […]
Continue reading →By @edent · fair google hmrc justice student loans tax taxation · 5 comments · 500 words · read ~434 times.
King of Google Eric Schmidt has written in The Guardian about how unfair it is that people don't think Google pay a fair share of taxes. He makes three pretty good points. Companies only pay tax on their profits. Politicians shouldn't make laws with loopholes. International laws need harmonisation. I agree with his second two […]
Continue reading →By @edent · facebook money Social Networks · 21 comments · 550 words · read ~9,874 times.
So, Yahoo! is to buy tumblr for $1.1 BEEEEEELLION. I don't understand money. Well, specifically, I don't understand how companies are funded, classify shares, or any of that finance stuff. But, there's something which has been bothering me about the recent sale of some social media properties. According to some estimates, tumblr has 170 million […]
Continue reading →By @edent · data geeks government Open Data opentech · 4 comments · 1,800 words · read ~298 times.
Another year - another OpenTech! See blog posts from 2010 and 2011. It feels like every year the event gets bigger and better. It's still the same crowd of politically aware techies, and it still costs a ridiculously cheap fiver to come along, and the talks were of an abnormally high quality. Here are my […]
Continue reading →By @edent · doorslam mobile swearing usability ux · 3 comments · 550 words · read ~969 times.
For the last few months, I've been curating a Tumblr of a very specific annoyance. I'll let Aral Balkan take credit for inspiring me. Any modal message—full-screen or alert—that interrupts user flow to ask them to download your app suffers from #doorslam #ux antipattern. @aral First, a quick definition: In software engineering, an anti-pattern (or […]
Continue reading →By @edent · ereader hack hacking nook · 28 comments · 300 words · read ~8,590 times.
I recently picked up a new Nook. Their manufacturer is dumping stock and the prices are ridiculously cheap for an eInk touchscreen running Android. One thing that annoys me about the Nook is the fact that you have to register for a Barnes & Nobel account before you can use it. I dislike their geo-restrictive […]
Continue reading →By @edent · censorship gun gun control guns internet p2p · 2 comments · 450 words · read ~356 times.
The 3D printed gun is now a reality. I don't have access to a 3D printer - but I've downloaded the plans out of morbid curiosity. While downloading the blueprints may not be illegal, any UK citizen who made and owned such a handgun could face arrest, according to the UK's Metropolitan Police. BBC News […]
Continue reading →By @edent · app energy mobile ovo ux · 2 comments · 250 words · read ~376 times.
I've been a big fan of Ovo Energy since switching to them last year. They email me a PDF statement, pay me 3% interest on any overpayments, and have their call centre waiting times displayed prominently on their homepage. So, when they announced their new app, I was expecting something a little bit special. And […]
Continue reading →By @edent · brand gpo post office · 1 comment · 500 words · read ~365 times.
Wandering down my suburban street this morning, I noticed a manhole cover, with the initials G.P.O. carved into it. The General Post Office was the UK communications monopoly. Created by King Charles I in 1660, it remained a fixture of British life until it was abolished a mere 309 years later. The GPO ceased to […]
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