feminism · 8 comments · 950 words · Viewed ~1,754 times
You may not have read the book Are Women Human?" Don't worry - neither have I. But the book sits on my shelf staring maliciously at me. The précis is simple: "Human Rights" prevent slavery, promote equal treatment, etc. Women are sold into slavery, are discriminated against, etc. Therefore, women aren't human. I'm a reformed 21st century kind of guy. I believe in treating women …
Continue reading →Adobe android BBC flash iplayer mobile · 3 comments · 400 words · Viewed ~401 times
Two years ago, a bunch of smart people told the BBC that its plans to build iPlayer for Android on Adobe Flash was nuts. We argued loudly, passionately, deployed logic and reason, and provided specific technical details. Naturally, we were ignored. Sure, Flash was only on a few high end devices now, but the BBC were confident that Flash would be soon be available on all Android devices and our …
Continue reading →beard hair me · 4 comments · 500 words · Viewed ~678 times
I've never been good at growing facial hair. When I was at university, I tried growing a beard for a play I was in. The play was a resounding success - my beard was not. Thin, straggly, patchy, and itchy. At the aftershow party, I put the beard's fate to a vote. All the men in the cast voted to keep my rugged pursuit of manliness. All the women voted to destroy the womp-rat nestling on my…
Continue reading →engagement engagement economy mobile qrpedia · 1 comment · 800 words · Viewed ~223 times
I was recently interviewed in The Guardian talking about the use of mobile phone in cultural institutions - museums, libraries, galleries, etc. I was talking about the QRpedia project I co-founded. During the course of the interview, a phrase fluttered into my head - "The Engagement Economy." It wasn't a phrase I'd heard before - although Jane McGonigal wrote an excellent paper in 2008 with…
Continue reading →games microsoft portal Star Wars usability xbox · 2 comments · 1,750 words · Viewed ~607 times
After an entertaining discussion at BarCamp Berkshire about video games, I decided to treat myself to an Xbox 360. After several happy years with a Nintendo Wii, I was keen to see what the new state of the art was. I picked the current top pick console and, I must say, while the games are great the console is somewhat of a disappointment. I picked the limited edition Xbox 360 320GB Star Wars…
Continue reading →inmobi o2 personal telefonica · 3 comments · 300 words · Viewed ~324 times
Sixteen months ago, I climbed a rattly staircase behind a restaurant to a fairly typical "start-up loft". My first taste of InMobi. I was enthralled! I've spent the last year driving the developer relationship process in the company, watching as we've grown from 15 people in a small room to 70 people in swanky London offices on the Strand. InMobi has sent me all over the world - South Africa, …
Continue reading →carl thomson church discrimination politics twitter woking · 5 comments · 400 words · Viewed ~464 times
Regular readers will know that I think Woking Council's subsidy of curchgoers is ridiculous, illegal, and unfair. It's an issue I've raised with local councillor Carl Thomson in writing and on Twitter. A few days ago I entered into a discussion with him online about the issue. He has since deleted the tweets. But, as we know, the Internet has a long memory - so here they are. I've reordered a …
Continue reading →3g hacking internet linux Raspberry Pi USB · 142 comments · 650 words · Viewed ~251,621 times
This is a bit of a brain dump of how I got a 3G USB dongle working on the Raspberry Pi. Following on from getting the Raspberry Pi to send SMS. That's The Power Of Love The first thing to say is use a powered USB hub! I had lots of problems getting the modem working when it was plugged directly into the Pi. A 3G signal takes more power than the Pi's USB sockets can supply. In the above…
Continue reading →credit card fraud scam sms tropo twilio voice · 2 comments · 1,150 words · Viewed ~796 times
I recently read about an innovative telephone call scam. A scammer rings the mark and asks for her credit card details. If the mark refuses, the scammer tells her to hang up the phone, then dial 999 and ask for "Sergeant Scammer of the Fraud Squad". The mark does so, and is connected to what they assume is the emergency services. However, because the scammer hasn't hung up at their end, the…
Continue reading →hackday homeless wdif · 1 comment · 800 words · Viewed ~207 times
I had a great time at the Homeless Hackday. This is a belated write up, because I wanted to let a few thoughts peculate. The Problem There has been a worrying rise in the number of people rough sleeping - especially in the capital. There are a number of charities and Government departments which are available to help people who are homeless. They wanted a smartphone app / mobile web site…
Continue reading →authentec hardware linux Open Source thinkpad ubuntu · 36 comments · 200 words · Viewed ~2,500 times
Last year, I wrote about how Authentec wouldn't support their fingerprint readers on Linux. I've been chatting to the good folk at Authentec, and they've agreed to release the specification documents! So if you want to code up an interface for the AES2810 or AES2550 you can! A word of note, the best way to get the latest version of these documents is to register for the Authentec Developer…
Continue reading →advertising mobile qr · 7 comments · 250 words · Viewed ~355 times
I did something decidedly analogue yesterday; I withdrew cash from a machine. I know, I know, I should have used my NFC enabled smartphone - or my chip & pin card. But it turns out most cab drivers prefer cash. On the screen was one of those ghastly animated adverts. Rather than selling me a mortgage or loan, it was advertising a fast food chain. The ad concluded by telling me to download the…
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