Here's a simple bash one-liner to convert mixed-case filenames into Title Case: rename 's/(\S+)/\u\L$1/g' * This forces the file extension to lower-case as well. Use rename -n to test the command without changing anything on the filesystem. (Adapted from this PerlMonks FAQ.) Background I have a bunch of inconsistently named files like: HERE COMES THE SUN.mp3 hey jude.mp3 The lOng and wiNDing Road.mp3 I want them to appear as: Here Comes The Sun.mp3 Hey Jude.mp3 The Long And Winding…
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Walking back from work yesterday, I noticed an unusual set of chuggers - those faux-cheerful folk who try to stop you in the street asking for money. They were fundraising for Unicef. Rather than handing out flyers they were carrying high-tech VR headsets! Using the headset, I was able to take a virtual tour of a Unicef aid drop. As with all 360 experiences, it takes a little getting used to - but then it is fully immersive. A minute-long video clip is more persuasive than a bit of patter …
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The ultra secure messaging app, Signal, requires a mobile phone number in order to sign up to it. This, as my friend Tom Morris, points out, is madness. People don't own mobile phone numbers. They are rented from mobile operators. Yes, you may be able to move "your" number between a limited set of providers - but it ultimately doesn't belong to you. An operator can unilaterally take your number away from you. If you move to a different country, you will almost certainly have to change your…
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Twitter has recently improved the accessibility of its site. When uploading an image, a user can add alt text - a short description of the image for people with visual impairments. Here's an example: Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentThis is a test to see if alt-text in images is searchable on Twitter.alpaca omnithorp pic.x.com/jhgcsaxpkd❤️ 1💬 0🔁 010:37 - Sun 19 February 2017 If you take a look at the HTML source, you can see that I've added a unique string as the alt text. That should make …
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I've found an interesting, but low severity, way for a malicious user to selectively deny access to specific GitHub issues and Pull Requests. This doesn't affect the whole site - just targeted pages. It doesn't require elevated permissions, nor any special skills. This is just GitHub punching itself in the face. Here's how it works. An attacker creates thousands of comments in their own repos which contain references to a specific issue or PR in an external repo. When that issue or…
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C-3P0 doesn't have a schnoz. The degloved terminator has a bleak hole where his snout should be. Both the Jetson's Rosie and Futurama's Bender are arhinotic. The robot sat in front of me was different. The RoboThespian is an imposing chunk of metal. LEDs blink as servomotors whine. The exposed wiring twists as the arms flex in a crude approximation of humanity. But the face... Oh! The face! A smoothly formed impression of a human face - cheekbones, a chin, shallow dimples for eyes. And a…
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Is email dead? I don't think so - but I know lots of people who either don't have an email account or deliberately don't check it. And why should they? Is email a requirement for modern life? All the major chat apps - WhatsApp, Line, Signal, Wire, Skype - only require a mobile phone number. Hey presto I can communicate with anyone around the world. No email required. But, suppose I wish to engage in a more public social network - can I do that without an email address? Absolutely! The…
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It is a little masochistic to dwell on one's mistakes. I doubt anyone thinks that I am perfect (not even my mother!) - but I think talking about our mistake serves a useful purpose. It's healthy for us to discuss our failings, and hopefully helps people from following in our footsteps. After last week's success with making solid apple juice, I thought I'd try my hand at "spherification". A way to make vegetarian caviar pearls. The process should be simple enough. Mix your preferred…
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Good news! is being relaunched with a slew of new features which frees it up from its previous shackles. What is .tel Your address book is probably a mausoleum - stuffed with the rotting corpses of long dead phone numbers. Perhaps you took my business card back in 2002, duly entered it on your Palm Pilot, and never spoke to me again. That address book entry has a phone number I've not used for a decade, an email address provided by a defunct start-up, and a postal address for a country I…
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