Book Review users · 1 comment · 150 words
A practical book for practitioners and non-practitioners alike interested in better service delivery, this book is the definitive new guide to designing services that work for users. My former colleague Lou has written a marvellous book. It reminds me of the great “Simplicity” by Edward de Bono – it’s a series of short chapters, interspersed with large-print summaries. I regard it as essential …
Continue reading →gadget nfc review rfid · 4 comments · 1,050 words · Viewed ~251 times
I've spent most of the last decade ranting against NFC. QR Codes are almost always superior to NFC. QR codes hold more data, are extremely cheap, and easy to spot. NFC tags are limited in size, expensive, and have no universally recognised icon. Oh, and NFC doesn't work if it's stuck on a metal surface! So, I've been sent 20 NTAG 215s to review. First thing's first, these cost a pound each! …
Continue reading →laptop stickers · 250 words · Viewed ~379 times
This Tweet went unexpectedly viral! Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentNew blog post!I've built a physical <blink> tag!shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/05/b…Please forgive me 😁 pic.x.com/a7bjpxmbfj❤️ 785💬 44🔁 011:24 - Thu 21 May 2020 Buy them! So I bought 200 of them for use as laptop stickers. I have an understanding wife. After some feedback from the sticker experts at TwenT3 - I redesigned them to be gr…
Continue reading →blacklivesmatter ShakeRace shakespeare · 500 words
For a blog called "shkspr.mobi", I don't blog enough about Shakespeare. Sorry! The brilliant thing about Shakespeare is its versatility. You can do almost anything with it. Mess around with genders, set it in space, make a puppet show. It all just works. Perhaps you've seen a gender-flipped version of one of the minor history plays set in Wales against the Miners' Strike and it was proper…
Continue reading →HowTo Open Source plugin WordPress · 150 words
If you have the Akismet spam plugin for WordPress, you'll be familiar with this problem. When your mouse pointer goes over any URL, you get a large website preview taking over parts of your screen. I asked for a way to turn this off and I'm happy to say the developers listened! Sadly, there's no tickbox option, only a WordPress filter so you'll have to add the following scrap of code to your…
Continue reading →5T android oneplus · 3 comments · 250 words · Viewed ~219 times
Back in November 2017, I treated myself to my first new phone in ages - the OnePlus 5T. I was pretty excited! This week, 928 days after I bought it, OnePlus pushed an upgrade to Android 10! Back in 2011, I was moaning that Sony Ericsson didn't even support their phones for a year. How times have changed! Android devices aren't yet at the longevity of the iPhone, and they're still a long…
Continue reading →Book Review · 150 words
My friend Owen recommended this book - and as it was only 99p, I thought I'd give it a go. It's a sprawling urban fantasy - with an unwieldy cast of characters. It is suffused with atmosphere, palace intrigue, and a strong sense of decay and decrepitude. I'm usually a sucker "history + magic" books - but this was a bit unrelenting, and almost devoid of joy. It has an unsatisfying end - like…
Continue reading →ASMR beard review · 7 comments · 300 words
I am not a fashion blogger. The last time I did anything interesting to my hair, I did not enjoy it. But lockdown has meant my beard hasn't been shorn in three months. So when I was offered a beard styling product to review, how could I refuse?! It's around £16 on Amazon. I've no idea whether that's a reasonable price or not. There are two heat settings, a poorly translated user manual, and …
Continue reading →Open Source rant · 22 comments · 1,100 words · Viewed ~17,504 times
This a rant, written at midnight, after battling software errors. Set your profanity filters accordingly. I despair over the state of software engineering - specifically, stability. We seem to have lost the understanding that computers are there to do the hard work for us. And I don't think we ever believed in a user-centred approach to developer tools. The last time I developed an Android app…
Continue reading →WeekNotes work · 3 comments · 350 words
Last Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK. The Tuesday was a "Privilege Day" - a day off for Civil Servants for the Queen's birthday. Thursday was my wife's birthday - which I had booked off ages ago. So I decided to cash in my TOIL and take Wednesday and Friday as holidays as well. Including weekends, that made for nine days off in the glorious British sunshine. Stuck at home, sure, but nine…
Continue reading →gadget MSH-87PD review USB usb-c ylpower · 1 comment · 400 words · Viewed ~257 times
My quest to move my entire life to USB-C continue. Headphones, laptops, Switch, phone, eReader - all taking the same power port. Bliss! But that means I need more USB-C chargers. This is the YLpower 87W USB-C Charger. First off, 87? What? The USB-C port is capable of 85 Watts - enough for even the most demanding laptop. The USB-A port supplies the remaining 2 Watts. Perfectly fine for most…
Continue reading →art emotions laptop · 2 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~314 times
I have a vivid memory of my school days. I'd completed a pencil sketch in art class. For once, I was impressed with my dexterity. Then the teacher demanded that I colour it in. I was terrified that I would ruin it. I begged to use the photocopier - but to no avail. So the drawing remained uncoloured. I've been like that ever since. I have a crippling fear of doing something artistic which cannot …
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