WhatsApp for iPad

May 28, 2025 | Comment

Well, that’s a surprise. Meta has (finally) released a version of their popular messaging app WhatsApp for the iPad. It has only taken then some 15 years to do so but I for one am glad that they have as using it in a web browser wasn’t a great experience.

In a quick test this afternoon, it worked seamlessly (as it should after a 15-year wait!), including Split View and Slide Over. I have no idea why it has taken so long to deliver, and Meta hasn’t said, but suggestions have been in the past that the end-to-end encryption … Read the rest

Ulanzi MA30 Carabiner-Mounted Phone Tripod

May 21, 2025 | Comment

I wrote recently about my disappointment regarding the credit card-sized tripod, the CardPOD, which was portable but unstable, not what you want in a tripod. Undeterred, I searched for a more suitable replacement and stumbled upon the Ulanzi MA30. I was already familiar with Ulanzi as I own some of their 52mm MagFilter Magnetic Filters.

A Different Approach

The MA30 has a lightweight, all-metal body with a premium feel to it. The feet for the tripod fold into the body and, like the CardPOD, it has a strong, Magsafe, magnetic ring to attach it to your phone. … Read the rest

Evernote Rules – an update

May 14, 2025 | Comment

Back at the beginning of April I released Evernote Rules, a play on Outlook Rules, where you can define actions that are carried out when a note is created or updated in an Evernote notebook. I have wanted this for almost as long as I have had Evernote and I finally got fed up of waiting for Evernote to implement it and wrote it myself.

As explained previously it works by receiving a webhook from Evernote every time that a note is created or updated and by reading the payload associated with that webhook you can see whether there … Read the rest

Uploading Videos with php2Bluesky

May 10, 2025 | Comment

Ever since I launched php2Bluesky a couple of years ago, I have wanted to add the ability to upload video as well as images. Initially, that wasn’t possible as Bluesky didn’t support videos, and then they did, but it wasn’t in the API. Now, however, it is all systems go, and so I have updated the library to support videos.

How to Upload a Video

First things first. In order to start uploading videos all you need to do is update the library. The way you call the library remains exactly the same, so you would do the following to … Read the rest

Decoding the Evernote Webhook

May 7, 2025 | Comment

Evernote doesn’t like you using the search functionality in the API to look for changes that occur to a note. Instead you are encouraged to get notification of changes using webhooks. This works by receiving an HTTP post from Evernote every time that a note is created or updated and by reading the payload associated with that webhook you can get some basic information on it.

What does the Webhook look like?

The very first thing to know about Evernote webhooks is that in order to receive them you need to have registered for an API key and also … Read the rest

Family History Database Searches

May 1, 2025 | Comment

Amongst all my many hobbies is researching my family history, which I have been doing on and off (well, more off actually) for the last 30 years. Over that time, how you research has changed enormously with so many records now being available online. Also, when I first started, the only way to record your information was on paper, but now there are numerous software packages that have largely replaced the need for paper.

Data Mining

The main issue with recording your family history information in a software package is that you are beholden to the developer’s choice of what … Read the rest

Adding your own resources to Scratch

April 16, 2025 | Comment

Scratch comes with a built-in library of resources that you can use in projects but they only go so far. Fortunately, it is possible to add your own backgrounds, sprites and sounds to your projects.

In this short guide we are going to be looking at how to search for and find resources such as images and sounds you or your child can use in your Scratch projects. 

You can do this with Google but we are going to be using DuckDuckGo.

What is DuckDuckGo?

DuckDuckGo is a simple and private search engine that helps you find information on … Read the rest

COLMi Smart Ring – an Update

April 9, 2025 | Comment

Not so long ago, last January in fact, I wrote about the COLMi Smart Ring, the smart ring that you can pick up on Aliexpress for about fifteen pounds. In my conclusion I wrote that “I like the design of the ring, but the quality of the finish shows where cost savings have been made to keep the price down.” Now, less than three months later, I am back as that has proved to be highly accurate.

The picture above shows my R06 smart ring after three months of use, and below it an unworn one. As you … Read the rest

Evernote Rules

April 1, 2025 | 1 comment

I have been an avid user of Evernote since July 2008 and have amassed over 53,000 notes. Over those 16 years, I have seen many changes to both Evernote the company and the client itself. The recent purchase by Bending Spoons had the potential to make or break the company but has, in my opinion, been overwhelmingly positive for Evernote (despite what the naysayers on Reddit say!).

Introducing Evernote Rules

One feature I have wanted Evernote to have is some form of automation that manipulates notes based on rules – very similar to the rules available in Outlook. After … Read the rest

Moving a WordPress Install to a New Domain

March 26, 2025 | Comment

Over the years in both my professional and personal lives I have had to move WordPress sites to new homes that required changing the domains. This has led me to develop a set of instructions that I use successfully every time I migrate.

The first warning I should give is that what follows is not the only things you have to do but it is a decent starting point.

Updating the Database

The second warning is that here be dragons. The following requires making direct changes to the WordPress database which could lead to your site no longer working. … Read the rest