For the last few years, I've been using Y-Cam security cameras to guard my home. I've stuck a couple up around the house. I can monitor what's happening, get email alerts when movement is detected, and can stream the video to my phone. The latest versions also upload photos and videos directly to my server so - in the event that they detect anything interesting, I have a backed up copy. They …
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Earlier this year, I blogged about seeing these QR codes appearing on some train tickets. The campaign itself wasn't that great - a poor call-to-action and a decidedly mobile-unfriendly site - but I was interested in how many people had scanned them. Thanks to bit.ly's practice of exposing everyone's statistics, we can see exactly how well this campaign did. Wow! Twenty-five thousand…
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Can you spot anything interesting on this poster? Yes, there in the corner - living in blissful harmony are a QR code and an NFC tag. There's an excellent call-to-action which even works for people without either a QR reader or NFC scanner. The destination is this mobile friendly landing page. Of course, you should still boycott Nestle due to their contributing to the unnecessary death…
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I usually admire The Guardian's technology coverage (not least because they occasionally feature me!) but their latest article - The success of smartphones comes at a price - is ridiculously bad. It posits three arguments. More people are using smartphones to access the Internet than ever before. Smartphones are heavily locked down. Mobile Operators are "corporate control-freaks". …
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Yesterday afternoon, I received a call from an unknown number. I answered it, and a heavily accented voice said "Hello, can I speak to mister..." there was a pause while she tried to figure out the intricacies of my surname, "Ehdan?" I asked who was calling, and she said, "I am calling from American Express with important information about your card. Please can I take you through security?" …
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It occurred to me that I've been very lucky in my computing career. I had parents who encouraged my love of technology, who were able to teach me BASIC, and buy my brother and I our first computer when we were still quite young. That old BBC Micro served me well and helped springboard me to where I am today. I think it's time for all of us in the technology industry to encourage young people to…
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Friend, colleague, and fellow geek, Sam Machin has introduced me to the wonders of the OBDII port! Essentially, OBD (On Board Diagnostics) is a port which is found on every car produced since the late 1990s. It allows garages to see all sorts of diagnostic information about your car, its engine, and all other manner of petrol-headed goodness. It's designed to be easily accessible and conform to…
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Last year, Liz and I took the plunge and had Solar Panels installed on the house we rent out. I've been tracking their progress, and so now it's time for our yearly update. We based our estimations on the Europa Solar Calculator which estimated that they would generate around 2,700 kWh per year. Annoyingly, we haven't been able to hook the panels up to the Internet, so I can't get daily…
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A few months ago, my friend Adam Cohen-Rose told me that Surrey Libraries were looking for a volunteer to help teach coding to kids. Adam Cohen-Rose@adamcohenrosehey @edent Surrey Library Service in Woking is looking for a @CodeClub volunteer… know anyone? codeclub.org.uk/getting-starte…❤️ 0💬 0🔁 009:44 - Fri 31 August 2012 So, after a few months of negotiations, demonstrations, CRB checks, and c…
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There are few occupations that are as open, where the barrier to entry is as low as it is in web design and development. If you have the ability, and are willing to learn, you can get started without a formal education or having to pay for college courses. Most of what you need to know can be found free of charge online. Rachel Andrew on The Pastry Box Project I remember being at OpenTech in…
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Since taking a job at Telefonica I've had a fairly dramatic change of lifestyle. Namely - I now have a car. This car is red I learned to drive pretty much as soon as I hit 17. Within a few months, I had passed my driving test (first time!) and so I took to the road. That last year of sixth-form before university I drove my batterd old Peugeot to death. I remember driving my friends everywhere…
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Last year (also during NaBloPoMo) I was enthusing about the literary card game Ex Libris. The only trouble with the game, in my opinion, are the limited numbers of cards available in the set. Much like Trivial Pursuit - once you've gone through them a few times the game is exhausted. I had planned on creating my own unofficial cards - but copyright law put the kibosh on that. Luckily, the…
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