BBC Interview dma legal sms spam · 250 words
Earlier this week I appeared on BBC Radio 4's "You And Yours" to talk about the scourge of SMS Spam. You can listen to it on their website - or, if it has expired, I've grabbed an audio clip for your listening pleasure. 🔊 💾 Download this audio file. I've asked the Direct Marketing Associate to create a "Do Not Text" list - so that people can opt-out of spam SMS. They already opera…
Continue reading →ge2015 twitter vote · 3,600 words · Viewed ~826 times
Here's a very silly idea. Can we use the number of followers each candidate has to predict who will win the election? No, probably not - but let's give it a try anyway, eh? Hypothesis Support on Twitter - as measured by the number of followers - is a reasonable predictor of electoral success. It is likely that the incumbent MP will have a large number of followers - having been in the public …
Continue reading →dma ico pecr sms spam · 9 comments · 2,100 words · Viewed ~4,541 times
This is a cautionary tale of how my personal details have been repeatedly sold and resold by a British network of spammers - each of them turning a blind eye to the provenance of their data. I'm calling on the Direct Marketing Association to create a universal opt-out file - just like they do with junk mail and nuisance calls - to prevent people receiving spam via SMS. Like lots of people, I…
Continue reading →IoT ir review sponsored · 11 comments · 1,400 words · Viewed ~18,718 times
In the glorious future, every device you own will have WiFi connectivity. With a tap on your app, you'll be able to switch on your TV, dim your lights, and set the air-conditioner to "frosty". We're not quite there yet - we live in a world where even the newest fangled kit relies on technology from the 1970. Yes, I'm talking about Infra-Red. Good old IR has been around for ages - you're bound …
Continue reading →broadband isp virgin · 3 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~338 times
Earlier this week, I noticed that Virgin Media had upgraded my 152Mbps service to a whopping 322Mbps. Sadly, it was fairly short-lived - but here's what I can tell you about it. Using my SamKnows monitoring box, I'm able to see regular snapshots of my broadband performance. My 152Mbps service is usually rock solid - there's very little variation in its performance. Last week, however, it shot …
Continue reading →ge2015 green labour politics · 1 comment · 700 words · Viewed ~765 times
The Labour candidate I wanted to vote for just lied straight to my face. So I'm backing his Green opponent. Last night I attended a local hustings for the General Election. The two candidates I was most interested to hear from were Andrew Smith (Labour) and Ann Duncan (Green). The Tory candidate pulled out due to a family emergency, and UKIP didn't bother to show up. The LibDem candidate…
Continue reading →solar · 350 words · Viewed ~941 times
The headlines were clear - Upcoming solar eclipse to wreak havoc on Germany's solar power output screamed the headlines. Although the reality was slightly more prosaic. Although it's only one data point, I'd like to show you what happened to our solar panels during the eclipse. The full day graph shows a clear dip during the eclipse. As the eclipse drew closer, my minute by minute tracker…
Continue reading →android car dashcam gadgets review · 29 comments · 2,100 words · Viewed ~8,026 times
Last year, during Britain's windy season, my car was struck by a tree. I say struck. I saw it teeter and made the wise decision to accelerate through it as it fell on top of me! Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentSlightly more detail of the tree what fell on me. pic.x.com/5fgi1zhyln❤️ 0💬 1🔁 009:55 - Tue 21 October 2014 It wasn't quite as dramatic as some of the footage you see from Russian driver…
Continue reading →oxford presentations science · 1,050 words · Viewed ~363 times
A couple of weeks ago, I was a finalist at FameLab Oxford. I won the "Audience Choice" award - and was placed in the "Wildcard" category for a place at the National Final :-) Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentOMG! Just won the audience vote at the #FameLab final. Thanks guys ☺#ScienceFTW pic.x.com/bwwqgk7unc❤️ 5💬 2🔁 020:48 - Fri 06 March 2015 If you're thinking of entering a local FameLab compet…
Continue reading →2 comments · 700 words · Viewed ~267 times
I remember the first time I saw a Swastika in India. It was gaudy red, painted on the back of a dusty yellow moped. The driver wore a helmet, but the woman riding pillion had only her sari to protect her head. India is different. The rules of the road are different. The languages are different. The colours, spices, and clichés are different. Over there, the स्वस्तिक is a symbol of auspiciou…
Continue reading →email guardian hacking pgp security · 2 comments · 650 words · Viewed ~2,896 times
I had dinner with the outgoing editor of The Guardian the other night. Clever chap, sure he'll go far in life. The Guardian is very hot on security. Many of their writers have PGP keys which they publicly advertise. In theory, that's great (complaints about PGP notwithstanding) - but the reality shows just how tricky it is to act in a security conscious manner. Have a look at Alan's Twitter…
Continue reading →graph python spam twitter · 13 comments · 600 words · Viewed ~51,537 times
Recently I've been plagued with Tweets saying that I'm "trending in London." As flattering as that is, it's not true. There appears to be a network of Twitter bots which are randomly repeating other people's tweets, ripping off avatars and bios, and generally causing a nuisance. Looking at the users' Twitter name, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that "ekip_uhokoqeq" and…
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