I get a lot of random Twitter DMs from attractive women who are desperate to make friends with me. I usually report the obvious spammers. But a few weeks ago, one nearly slipped through the net. The woman was wearing a military uniform - a proper one, not a sexy Hallowe'en costume - and was asking a fairly sensible question of me. But something didn't sit right. Usually, these accounts have…
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Way back in the mists of time, the UK had a Cable TV service called Rediffusion. It had a long and noble history, but has been defunct for the best part of 40 years. All technology leaves scars on the landscape. And Rediffusion was so popular, that it had junction boxes built into the walls of houses. When we moved into our new London home, I spotted this junction box hidden behind a plant pot. …
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I can't think of a concise way of wording this. I have three monitors. Each has the same resolution - 1920x1080px. But each one has a different physical size - 61 cm monitor, 39 cm laptop, and 48 cm monitor. Here's my problem. When I move a window from one screen to another, the window changes size. It contains the same number of pixels, but it has different physical dimensions. Here's one…
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I wrote this before the pandemic. I chickened out of publishing it because I was working for NHSX at the time. Some of these things have come to pass. Some are yet to come. I'll never forget the look of horror on my professor's face when I told him I didn't think his university course was good value for money. I was in the first cohort of UK students paying tuition fees. A massive £1,000 per …
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Most human societies have rituals. One popular ceremony is of the young person being made a member of the tribe. For some, it is at the start of life - a Baptism or Christening. For others, it is when the child becomes an adult - Bar Mitzvah or Ritusuddhi. Most societies have marriage ceremonies - to mark the transition into a new stage of life. Houses are blessed, leaving for university…
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A few years ago, Johannes Haushofer published a CV of failures. In it, he lists all the grants he wasn't awarded, positions he didn't get, papers rejected. I think that people need to be more open about failure. None of us are perfect - despite what our social media presence says - and all of us suffer rejection. But, by being open and honest about it, we make it easier for others to realise…
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It has been four years since Unicode officially accepted our Power Symbols proposal into the standard. Now I’m delighted to announce that users on iOS 14 are finally able to use the full set of Power Symbols. ⏻ ⏼ ⭘ ⏽ ⏾ They’re available to use in the browser, in emails, and messages. Here’s how they look, in both dark and light mode: Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentAnyone with iOS 14 able to …
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We're all stuck on endless video calls now, right? So it behoves you to share your face in the highest resolution possible. Because your colleagues deserve to see your wrinkles. Most laptops have pathetic 720p webcams built in. Which is weird, because even the most basic smartphone has a front-facing camera capable of 4K photos. Some can even do 4K video. The good folks at INDMEM have sent me a …
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A little under a year ago, I got a Boyue Likebook Ares eReader. I use it most days. Recently, I noticed a yellowing discolouration around the edge of the screen. I've boosted the contrast of those images. It's the sort of thing the human eye can detect under decent light, but cameras struggle with. At night, it isn't noticeable. But in daylight, the yellowing discolouration is pretty…
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The Web Planet puts the first Doctor and his companions in the middle of a war between two alien races - the moth-like Menoptra and a hostile race of ant creatures known as Zarbi - for possession of the planet Vortis. With the help of a grub-esque people called the Optera, the Doctor discovers the Zarbi's hidden weapon; the seductively voiced spider creature the Animus, which plans to ensnare…
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I've built myself a framed set of imaginary software. This is not available to buy in the shops. Mostly because some of the artwork is not my copyright. All the parts are listed if you want to build it yourself. Parts Floppy Disks Printer Labels Frame Background As part of my Floppy Disk Walkman project, I asked my friends to send me a couple of floppies. Alistair and @gas_liverpool both…
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A man living in a futuristic sterile colony begins to question his circumscribed existence when his friend is chosen to go to the Island, the last uncontaminated place on earth. Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Never Let Me Go" is a profound meditation on the nature of love, and whether clones can ever be considered truly human. It asks us deep questions about medical ethics and our responsibilities…
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