Google+'s Broken Name Policy - Again!


Google saying the name isn't available.

Many years ago, I worked with a chap known only as D.C. That's how he introduced himself, that's how people referred to him, that was his name. Eventually, I asked him what his real name was - and why he preferred "D.C." He replied "David Copeland". For those of you in America - imagine someone being named "Tim McVeigh", or "Ted Kaczynski" I don't think that anyone seriously thought that he was the same person who committed those atrocities and, for all I know, he changed his name long…

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What's Up With BBM's Android Reviews?


So, after much delay, and many technical difficulties, BlackBerry have finally launched their BBM app on Android. Whenever I launch an app on Android, I'm immediately inundated with emails from companies promising me thousands of 5* reviews for only a few hundred dollars. I've never taken up their offer - it's unethical, probably illegal, and usually very obvious when a company has purchased their reviews. As noted by journalist Matt Baxter-Reynolds, something fishy is going on with BBM's…

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Should Journalists Bother Checking Sources?


Journalist reposting a fake tweet about Fukushima.

OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!111!! (Subsequently deleted but still available at Fadah Jassem's tweet) Let's take a look at the article and see if we can determine if this is a trustworthy source... Hmmm... I see "9/11 Truth", "Bilderberg", "Chemtrails" right next to the image. There's a conspiracy corner in the top right. We haven't even got below the fold yet. Now, that's not to say that sites like these don't occasionally break news - but I'm not sure I'd rely on it for accuracy. The …

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3D Printing at Over The Air


Various pieces of 3D printed gadgets.

This is a necropost - resurrected from the now defunct blog of a previous employer. We had an amazing time at Over The Air 2013. We’ve teamed up with ThingMaker to digitally scan attendees. Our long term aim is to release on GitHub a collection of faces which artists and game designers can re-use. The definite highlight was scanning Annie, one of the veterans of Bletchley Park. Our thanks also to Faberdashery who were able to supply us with filament for the 3D printer in exactly the r…

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