One Billion Errors

April 10, 2009 | 4 comments

So Apple are running a competition at the moment to celebrate them (almost) reaching a billion downloads from the App Store. All you need do is download an application to be entered into a prize draw that would see you winning a $10,000 iTunes cards amongst other things.

For those that don’t have a compatible device (and for legal reasons I suspect) Apple have provided a page on their website where you can enter for free without downloading an app.

Being too lazy to go and get my Touch from the other room this is the route I chose to … Read the rest

ZumoDrive for iPhone

April 9, 2009 | Comment

I have spoken about ZumoDrive a couple of times already (here and here) but that has always been about the desktop app. Now there is an iPhone/iPod Touch client available that allows access when you don’t have you desktop/laptop access.

Zumodrive bills itself as a way of having additional storage available on devices that are traditionally limited, such as Netbooks. I guess that is true providing you have a deep enough wallet to be able to afford the storage – it wouldn’t take long to pay for a portable harddrive for example. However, that would be missing some … Read the rest

Errors with Google Docs Offline

April 2, 2009 | Comment

While doing some research for my post on Google Docs’ drawing feature I tried to enable the offline feature, something that had worked perfectly on my previous laptop. The process got right through to the very end before displaying the following error message:

“An error occurred while updating software.Failed to update software for the applications”

I re-tried a few times and even gave it a go on Internet Explorer rather than Firefox to see if that resolved the issue but with no luck. So in the end I did a search of the web see if anyone else had the … Read the rest

Drawings in Google Docs

March 31, 2009 | 1 comment

Google has added a drawing option to it’s Docs applications so now you can insert simple diagrams into documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

To insert a new drawing select Drawing from the Insert menu and a new window pops-up over the document (see left). This is the same for all application types.

You are then free to draw using any combination of lines (both straight and free form), text and a series of predefined shapes (see below). You can do all the sorts of things that you would expect to be able to do such as change the colour of the … Read the rest

WIRED – UK

March 28, 2009 | 2 comments

I have always been more of a magazine than book reader but these days there is only one magazine that I read on a regular basis and that is WIRED. It covers technology issues in an engaging and interesting way. All the articles are readable whether they are about green issues, gadgets or films.

For the last few years I have been picking up copies either when I have been stateside or from WH Smiths. Problem is that it is an expensive read costing about £4.50. I have toyed with subscribing but while it would cost only $10 if … Read the rest

Zumodrive and Windows Live Writer

March 26, 2009 | 2 comments

I have been using Windows Live Writer for blogging for quite a while now and really prefer it to the online interface provided by WordPress. Of course one of WLW’s strengths is that you can work on posts off line ready for posting when it is appropriate. In my case I have scraps of posts waiting for me to finish them off and post them.

Another thing that I need to be able to do is work on posts on both my home machine and my laptop. This implies being able to synchronise between both machines – something that … Read the rest

Mobile Madness

March 24, 2009 | Comment

Until very recently I had a mobile phone provided by the company that I worked for. When I left I reverted back to a personal phone I had with a t-mobile u-fix deal. Unfortunately this is a pay-as-you-go/contract hybrid and quickly proved to be costly as I was toping up every few days, No problem I thought, I will move on to a contract.

A call to t-mobile quickly showed that was going to be more difficult than I expected. If I wanted to move onto a contract from PAYG I would need to extend my existing u-fix contract by … Read the rest

Ammat Consulting

March 23, 2009 | Comment

I am pleased to be able to announce that I have now setup my own business, Ammat Consulting, offering strategic consultancy and tactical support to software companies of all sizes. This business makes use of the over 20 years I have in both software development and running of software based businesses.

The website was launched this week which gives further details of the services on offer. You can visit the site here http://www.ammatconsulting.com.

I have already secured a number of clients but still have some time available. If you think that I may be able to help you … Read the rest

Zumodrive

March 21, 2009 | 3 comments

There are a number of online storage companies popping up and I have covered Dropbox, Box and Skydrive previously. Now there is a new player, Zumodrive, offering something that sets it apart from the rest.

On the face of it the service is similar to the others: a (small, 2gb) amount of free online storage that you can access from your Windows, Mac or iPhone devices or via a web interface. However, where Zumodrive differs is in how it is presented on the host machine. So on my laptop ZumoDrive appears a a removable storage device on drive … Read the rest

Laice itsaKey USB

March 19, 2009 | Comment

Here’s a neat idea and one that I am amazed that no-one has thought of before. It’s a USB flash drive in the shape of a key. For years flash drive manufacturers have been making USB devices that are made of cheap plastic that breaks off when you try and attach it to a key ring or has no loop at all meaning it just gets tossed in the bottom of a bag to be lost or forgotten.

Priced at a reasonable £16 for the 4gb version and £26 for the 8gb I think they are great. My only question … Read the rest