Me being grumpy and stupid again. I have an IP Camera on my LAN, I want to connect to it via HTTPS. I can't. Why is that? Why do this? I have a username and password to access my IP camera. And my TV. And my lightbulbs. And all my networked gadgets. If I try to enter the passwords on a modern browser, I get this error message: It is now an accepted fact that data should be encrypted…
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When I was a small child, I took an IQ test. One of the first questions I stumbled on was "A piece of candy costs 25¢. Jonny has a dime. How many nickels does he need to buy the candy?" My 7-year old brain popped. WTAF is a nickel? Or a dime for that matter? We don't have those coins in my country! We don't spend in ¢ either. There was no way to get around the cultural knowledge required by the t…
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You may not realise it, but bandwidth is expensive. It costs you time, money, and battery power whenever you download a file larger than it needs to be. That's why I've become a little bit obsessed with SVG - Scalable Vector Graphics. They're the closest thing to magic that the web has when it comes to image compression. Let me show you what I mean. This is the standard Twitter Logo. It's 512 …
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Way back in 2006, I got my first projector - a 720p model for a few hundred quid. Even after all these years, there's still something magical about watching a movie on a humongous screen. But projectors are still wildly expensive and out of reach for most people. Aren't they? DBPower have sent me their RD810 projector to review. It costs £60. That's not a typo. Sixty Quid. Let's get two …
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(…all analogies break down eventually…) On receiving a new credit card, there are two kinds of people in this world: OMG! FREE MONEY! SPEND IT ALL!!!!! This is a tool which can be used appropriately to make my life better. The first set of people quickly hit the limit of the card and are often reduced to making minimum repayments. This can then trap them in a lifetime of debt. Seriously, bor…
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A few more photos from my trip to Beijing. During my trip, I took a quick excursion to the Temple of Heaven. I decided to take a selfie with this delightful water fountain. But there was something bothering me. I could hear... something... What's that? Zoom! Enhance! RUN AWAY! …
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Here's a weird market gap. Most modern phones use USB-C to charge. Increasingly, they forego a headphone jack in favour of using Bluetooth. Peachy! But all of the Bluetooth headphones that I can find are charged via Micro USB. Which is bloody annoying! I want to charge my phone, laptop, camera, games console, and headphones from the same charger. Even looking at the wholesalers on Ali…
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The inimitable Jess Rose interviewed me for her Pursuit Podcast - talking about the Unicode Power Symbol proposal. We talked about how to subvert bureaucracy, building a team of supporters, adding new stuff to Unicode, and recognising that you're a background character in most people's lives. Bit of a ramble, but jolly good fun. Sketchnotes by the exquisitely talented Kate Holden. Find out…
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I've blogged before about how backward the Co-op bank is - sadly, they've not improved in the last few years. I needed to close down my business bank account. I hopped on to online banking, provided all my details, went through 2FA with a physical token, remembered my mother's maiden name and began searching the site. There was no way to close the account. Oh well, I guess I'll give them a…
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A few years ago, I added WiFi to my Roomba using a 3rd party add-on. Sadly, it looks like Thinking Cleaner, the company which created the WiFi unit is no longer manufacturing them. But in their latest firmware release, they added a fun new option - the ability to make your Roomba sing! Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentI've hacked @edent_roomba to obey its true master.(You'll want the volume up …
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It's my birthday! As is customary, here's my year in review. See 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010. At the risk of tempting fate, I've had an extremely good year! I've survived a year in a new job - working at GDS to implement Open Standards. As part of that, I got to fulfil a long-held ambition to visit Beijing. I also visited the Isle of Man (a first for me) and Rome (a welcome return). A…
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After seeing my review of the LG 360 camera, the good folks at PowerAdd sent me their competitor to see what I thought. This sponsored post is a showdown between the two cameras. The PowerAdd is half the cost of the LG, but what's the quality like? Tech Specs Before we dive in to the photos and videos, let's see how they compare on raw numbers. PowerAdd LG Video Resolution …
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