A grumpy look at using a Yubico Neo NFC on Ubuntu & Android


YubiKey Neo - a thumb sized USB device - on cardboard backing

Twenty One. I have 21 accounts which use Two-Factor Authentication. I use the Authy app to manage them all, but it is still a pain to scroll through and find the exact 2FA token I need. Encouraged by my friend Tom Morris's blog post, I picked up a YubiKey NEO for £50. It implements the FIDO U2F standard. Sadly, the YubiKey is substandard and frustrating to use. Here's what I found. First …

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An Animation of Every Emoji


A friendly looking chicken stares at you

The Video Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentEVERY EMOJI! pic.x.com/2fcuqwu67c❤️ 1,306💬 54🔁 020:09 - Tue 24 October 2017 Download the WEBM version (19MB). The Process Mostly notes to myself, but I thought you lot might be interested 🙂 Get Every Emoji from Twemoji Twitter maintain the Twemoji Project - it contains high quality SVGs of every emoji. They generously make them available under CC-BY…

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What if a Fidget Spinner… but for phones?


An iPhone with a ring shaped stand stuck to the back

OK, this might be the weirdest, most zeitgeisty thing I've ever been asked to review! I mean, it is literally exactly what you think it is. A device to turn your expensive smartphone into a penny-ante plastic gizmo. Oh, and there's an app! This is the preposterously named Ring Spinner (stop snickering at the back)! If you are overcome with desire to spin your ring (stop it) you can pick them…

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Review: Guzzl Box


treats inside a box - some jars, boxes, and slabs of chocolate

I've never been a big fan of subscription boxes. They always seem to deliver too much (who uses that many toothbrushes a month?!?!) or the quality is too variable. That said, I was intrigued by the offer of a bunch of British delicacies delivered to my gaping mouth every month. Kate@katebevanReplying to @edent@edent The idea is apparently that it's a surprise, tho choc, nice charcuterie,…

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Review: Goolrc T47 Drone


Case open - all the bits layed out

This T47 drone was provided to me by RC Moment to review. A tiny, hand held drone, with blinkenlights, and SELFIE MODE! The 720p camera can record video as it flies, or turn around and snap a photo of you. It also has a range of SnapChat-style filters. Not bad for something costing £40. The motors and propellers fold away into the body of the drone - making it less prone to damage in …

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Review: Accessibility for Everyone


Accessibility for Everyone book cover

My mate Laura has written a book! She has very kindly sent me a review copy ahead of its release. The first thing to mention is that this is not a technical manual. There's the odd smattering of HTML in there - but this book is much more focussed on why accessibility matters and how to implement an accessibility positive culture - rather than which specific tags to use in your code. This is…

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Hackaday UK Unconference #HackadayUncon


A photosphere showing the inside of a performance theatre. People are chatting with each other

A quick round up of the fascinating talks at the Hackaday London Unconference. This was a slight twist on the usual unconference format. There was only one room - so it was a single track event. There were three invited speakers who had presentations of 15 minutes - everyone else pitched for 7 minute slots. The organisers chose the running order. A twist on the usual unconference, but it worked …

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Review: IR Dome USB WebCam - perfect for Raspberry Pi


Close up on camera lens, sensor, and IR LEDs

The good folk at Ailipu Technology have sent me a fist-sized USB camera to review. This is a cheap and simple way to get external video into a home server like a Raspberry Pi. This is the, slightly cumbersomely named, elp-usb100w05mt-dl36. What's in the box? The USB cable is around 5 metres long, and is wired into the camera. Four screws and rawlplugs are also included. Why? Because there…

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LG 360 Camera Review


A distorted image

I've just bought an LG 360 - at £150, it's one of the cheapest dual lens cameras on the market. This an excellent bit of kit. Easy to use, impressive results, and an app which works pretty well. A single click button to take photos and videos, recording audio in surround sound, and perfect for uploading to Facebook or YouTube. Unlike most of the kit I review, I paid for this myself. I have no …

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Import Images From A Migrated WordPress


The Logo for WordPress.

Here's how to solve a common WordPress problem. I want to re-import all my blog's images into the media library. I've moved my blog to a new host - but kept the same domain name. I started with a new WordPress install, the uploads folder still has all my images, but WordPress can't see them. None of the plugins I found worked with huge amounts of images spread across multiple directories. One …

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A USB Charger That Goes Up To 11 10


The good folks at Ntonpower have sent me this utterly ridiculous, and fantastically over-powered USB charger. It has ten frickin' ports each one capable of delivering 2.4 amps. So, what's it like? Straight up, it looks like a plastic toast rack. It's a chunky beast, but surprisingly lightweight. You won't have trouble lifting it, but it stays firmly in place. Round the other side are 10 USB …

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Mapping in HTML - a proposal for a new element


Two men are confused by a paper map

This is a sketch of a proposal for a new HTML element to simplify displaying maps on a website. I'd like your comments and criticisms before I submit it. This is born out of my frustration of using different JavaScript mapping solutions - my phone has a mapping app, why do I need to share my location with a website and their mapping provider? At the moment, if I want to use Google Maps, or…

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