There's one of those "I've come up with a perfect analogy for life" blog posts going around. It's sort of like those stock photos with an "inspirational" quote on it - but in long form. Apparently, Your Life Is Tetris. Stop Playing It Like Chess. It's all vaguely plausible, life-lessony, woo - which tries to map one person's journey onto a greater human experience. Frankly, it's unmitigated…
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(Trigger Warning - violent swearing and criticism of your employer / focus of your fanboi-ism.) Google knows me. I've been using Google since long before they were fashionable. I have a Gmail account (in my name), YouTube (also in my name), an Android developer account (name and bank details), Play account (name, credit card, and PayPal), and I've successfully reported security bugs to them. …
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Another in my occasional series on the usability of toilets! It's hard wandering around seeing the mistakes which are made by designers. Perhaps it's poor keming on fonts, or a hotel room light switch which makes no sense, or - in my case - bogs. Lots of toilets incorporate a "dual flush." Press one button to unleash a deluge sufficient to sink all but the hardiest of bowel-movements, press a…
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I can only assume that on their first day at Google, new employees are given their Android phone, a ChromeBook, a self-driving car, and complementary Laser Eye Surgery. That's my theory on some of the problems besetting Android's Lollipop release. I've ranted about Lollipop before, and now I'd like to point out two particular problems. All of these tests were performed on a Nexus 4 running…
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I was listening to a podcast recently which was kind enough to mention one of my blog posts. The presenter said: ...and you should Google for this, because I'm really not sure how to pronounce this. Is it shu-huk-spur? dot mobby? Le sigh! It's a conversation I have most weeks when I'm on the phone to someone - usually a call centre - and they ask for my email address. "Sierra Hotel Kilo…
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RFID is like cold fusion. It will revolutionise everything - and it's only five years away! Terence Eden And, much like cold fusion, NFC will permantently be just around the corner. It's been "The Year of NFC" since 2008. Just like it was in 2009 and in 2010. Today the news came that Google may be abandoning QR codes in favour of NFC for its business places service. I think this is a mistake …
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It emerged this morning that the Guardian newspaper has realised that the way it writes is unsuitable for the web. Source: Guardian Newspaper, 18/11/2011, page http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mind-your-language/2011/feb/18/mind-your-language-day-date-time By using non-specific language, I have introduced a degree of ambiguity which makes it hard for reader - both in the present day and the…
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(Yes, the title is link bait.) Sony Ericsson have announced that their Xperia X10 range of Android handset won't be updated to the latest version of Android. They'll be stuck on Android 2.1 with no hope for any bug fixes. As I discussed last year in "The Future of Android - And How To Stop It" there is a fundamental tension between users, manufacturers, Mobile Networks, and Google when it…
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The life of a vegetarian isn't always an easy one. I'm aware that I'm lucky enough to live in a society which is broadly accepting of my dietary preferences - which is what makes it all the more annoying when a company which should know better cocks up. Twice. This has been sent to Virgin Atlantic's complaints team. Dear Sir, I realise that it's a standing joke to complain about the quality…
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