Recognising the Opportunity: I Could Have Written WordPress

March 5, 2013 | Comment

Over the last few weeks I have been moving the content from one of my other sites, The Williams Database, to WordPress. This means that all my sites are now running on what I consider to be the premier content management system but if I had acted differently a few years ago that might have not been the case.

In 1996 I launched a fan site to the Williams formula one team. In those days there wasn’t much of an internet to speak of, connection speeds were slow and access was costly but it was new and great fun. … Read the rest

A Neat Idea to Stop you Standing on your Phone

March 4, 2013 | Comment

IMG_6276Here’s a neat little idea to stop you accidentally crushing your phone when it is left on the floor while charging.

This simple plastic device slips over your wall charger and has a platform that folds down onto which you can rest your phone – this is slightly angled upwards and rubberised to stop the phone slipping off if accidentally knocked.

Simple, cheap and effective.

photo… Read the rest

Hacker Monthly

February 22, 2013 | Comment

20130222-201903.jpgI have a voracious appetite for technology news which by and large is satisfied by twitter and apps such as the excellent Zite.

An even more hardcore technology news source is Hacker News. This is little more than a collection of user submitted links that are that voted up or down by other users. Eventually interesting and popular stories float to the top of the list. Unfortunately there is far too much stuff there to read it all and sometimes I just want a leisurely offline read. Enter Hacker Monthly.

Hacker Monthly is a curated version of … Read the rest

What a 5 Inch iPhone Would Look Like

February 21, 2013 | Comment

IMG_0521There are all sorts of rumours swirling around at the moment about whether Apple is going to create a larger version of the iPhone. By which I don’t mean just a stretched version (yeah iPhone 5 I am looking at you) but a properly proportioned version.

The suggestion is that later this year Apple is going to release and iPhone with a 5 inch screen. Why that size? Because its dimensions would mean that they could do so without having to change the user interface. Which is exactly what they did for the iPad Mini only in reverse. Marco Arment … Read the rest

Mailstrom

February 19, 2013 | Comment

Think it is going to be a while before my Mailstrom account is going to be ready…Mailstrom
This is what happens when you get a positive shout out from Lifehacker!… Read the rest

Using Google Docs to View PSD files

February 18, 2013 | 3 comments

Spotted this on Twitter today and thought it was a great tip for those, like myself, that occasionally get sent Photoshop images for review but don’t have Adobe’s software to open the file.

It would appear that Google Drive has the ability to read and display PSD images along with the more standard office documents.

More details from Digital Inspiration.… Read the rest

They Look the Same, Work the Same but…

February 9, 2013 | Comment

Apple ConnectorsSo these arrived in the post today – a Mini DisplayPort to VGA and a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI connector for use with my MacBook. Both have been packaged to look like their Apple equivalents and I can confirm that they certainly work like their Apple equivalents.

The difference? The Apple originals would have set me back £46.46 while these were £11.78, both prices included postage.

Pair this was a £1 HDMI cable from PoundLand and I am all set?

Is there anyone out there that could convince me that I would be better off buying the Apple originals?

 … Read the rest

Google Authenticator Bug

February 1, 2013 | 1 comment

Google AuthenticatorI am a big fan of Google’s Autheticator app which adds 2-factor authentication to a number of popular apps including Dropbox, WordPress, LastPass and, of course, Google accounts.

Since my mother-in-law’s GMail account was compromised and she wasn’t able to recover it I have considered the use of 2-factor authentication as mandatory rather than a nicety.

What this means in practice is that in order to access your account you need something that you know (the password) and something that you have (your phone). This should considerably increase your online security as if anyone does get your password they still … Read the rest