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  • Ven 1:06 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Reply  

    Windows 8 Tablets Now With Added Bootloader Locks! 

    Unlike the desktop and laptop markets it seems tablets are being increasingly treated like smartphones when it comes to locking down the system.  Of course many smarphones and tablets that have locked bootloaders have been successfully busted open by community developers and hackers but when it comes to Windows 8 things are looking concerning. (More …)

     
    • Tim 1:22 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      What are ‘bootloaders’ ?

      • Ven 1:25 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Reply

        The process on a PC / tablet / phone that starts the device up and initiates the operating system. Often the bootloader can be modified or replaced to allow loading of alternative software – most commonly on Android phones and tablets to scrub off the default flavor of Android and replace it with something like Cyanogenmod of MIUI.

  • Ven 6:40 pm on July 12, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: copyright, , , , Google Plus, Mobypicture, photography, ,   

    Google+’s Photo Terms of Service (a.k.a. Picasa Web Albums) – better than Flickr not as good as Mobypicture 

    I’m something of a Terms of Service nazi when it comes to terms of service for online photo gallery systems (see my Why I Won’t Use Flickr warning). With folk getting very friendly with Google+ I figured should best glance over their terms. (More …)

     
  • Ven 2:29 pm on July 10, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , social networking   

    Dear Facebook, do not want your email 

    Facebook,

    When I signed up to you’re once genuinely interesting and good service I was required to have an email address. So I think it’s safe to say that you know I have an email account my own. Kindly explain to me why the dogs I would want to complicate my increasingly muddy online communications by adding an @facebook.com email address into this?
    (More …)

     
  • Ven 12:56 pm on May 16, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: AMOLED, Apple, DJ, iMac, iPhone4, keyboard, samsung   

    Foldable Screens, iPhone Vinyle DJ and Apple Oddities 

    Samsung have demonstrated a working foldable AMOLED screen, an iPhone has been used to use a real turnable in virtual DJing and Apple have further locked out users from new iMac hardware while also creating a keyboard that literally sucks.  Read on… (More …)

     
  • Ven 2:36 pm on May 14, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: 3DS, gaming, Nintendo   

    Still waiting on Nintendo to sort the 3DS 

    Would love to see some great 3DS games appear that will make the console worth getting but I refuse to pay top price as I’ll likely not use the 3D all that much (gimmicky and can result in headaches >_<) and the battery life is a joke.

    Really hope Nintendo sort it out. Theyve been the dominant force in handheld gaming since the dawn of portable games, for good reason, but starting to feel like they’re failing to keep up in the face of casual games on Android and iOS and the quality of developments in the pipeline for the new Sony PSP.

    Expect I’ll end up with a 3DS at some point as there will be just about enough games I’ll want to play to make it worthwhile but I’m very much more interested in non-Nintendo efforts now for the first time in a very very long time.

     
  • Ven 12:56 pm on May 12, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    QuickPress QuickTest QuickPost QuickQuick 

    Greetings all!

    After a chatter with a fine fellow currently rocking it ramen-style in Japan I have come to remember that WordPress has this groovy little QuickPost function for, well, quick posts.

    That’s about the extent of this. Nothing exciting but at least it’s a little interesting to me.

     
  • Ven 12:02 pm on April 21, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Tech Marketers / Sales Folk: It Is NOT “The Cloud” [Quickie] 

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that referring to internet based service as being in “the cloud” is insulting, unhelpful, and must be stopped.

    At best it over-simplifies the nature of online computing and prevents average users from improving their understanding and ability to fully utilise such services.  At worst undermines the work of the developers who actually make these systems fly and makes the marketers and sales folk sound like buzz-word toting parrots who lack a full understanding of the services being sold (see the ‘at best’ point above).

    So everyone, please, let’s move things forward, stop treating users like children, help them further their understanding of technology (which is good for everyone), and stop undermining the value of online services.

    </rant>

     
  • Ven 12:02 am on April 20, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Why I Won’t Use Flickr 

    As much as I would like to use Flickr to show off photo snaps like those over at ShutterCookies.co.uk however yet again unacceptable terms placed on uploaded content, i.e. your carefully crafted photos poncery, make it a no go. This is from Yahoo’s terms of service linked to from Flickr and essentially means once you’ve uploaded a photo Yahoo will forever, even after deletion (“irrevocable”), have rights to do anything they like with your works for any purpose they deem fit. Uuuum… no.

    10.3. For all other User Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo! Services, the worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable licence to use, distribute, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, publicly perform and publicly display the User Content anywhere on the Yahoo! network or in connection with any distribution or syndication arrangement with other organisations or individuals or their sites in any format or medium now known or later developed. Your User Content and any associated public user profile on the Yahoo! Services may appear on local Yahoo! sites in other countries.

    Source.

     
    • Anonymous 12:00 pm on May 5, 2011 Permalink | Reply

      Testing the new account is working well :)

    • Zomoniac 2:08 pm on July 13, 2011 Permalink | Reply

      I’ve just read the Yahoo ToS. Paying particular attention to 10.2, which says “For photos, graphics … “, and 10.3, which says “For all other User Content you submit … “, which very strongly suggests to me that 10.3 is therefore not applicable to photos, and that the section relevant to pictures (10.2), is pretty much the same as the Google terms.

      10.2. For photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo! Services, you give to Yahoo! the worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive licence to use, distribute, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, publicly perform and publicly display the User Content on the Yahoo! Services:

      a) for the purposes for which that User Content was submitted; and

      b) for the purpose of promoting the Yahoo! property to which the User Content was submitted or the Yahoo! Services anywhere on the Yahoo! network or in connection with any distribution or syndication arrangement with other organisations or individuals or their sites.

      This licence exists only for as long as you continue to include the User Content on the Yahoo! Services and will end at the time you remove, or Yahoo! removes, the User Content from the Yahoo! Services.

      10.3. For all other User Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo! Services, the worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable licence to use, distribute, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, publicly perform and publicly display the User Content anywhere on the Yahoo! network or in connection with any distribution or syndication arrangement with other organisations or individuals or their sites in any format or medium now known or later developed. Your User Content and any associated public user profile on the Yahoo! Services may appear on local Yahoo! sites in other countries.

  • Ven 6:20 pm on March 1, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: calm, , cars, driving, morons, road rage   

    Folk, it’s actually easier to drive well 

    See this guy? He's doing it wrong.

    As anyone paying attention to me on TwitBook will have noticed I’ve had some… “issues” with People recently.  A lot of this has stemmed from driving.  The last few days (noticeably more so than previous recent driving) I’ve seen some terribly, aggressive, inconsiderate and down-right dangerous driving from people of all ages, races, genders and manufacturer of car (that’s right – this isn’t an Audi / BMW driver rant!).
    What’s really getting to me is how much more effort it takes to drive in this manner.  I don’t care how urgent someone thinks their journey is I can guarantee them that it is not important enough to risk their life, my life and the life of the family in their car – OH yes, I’ve been seeing men and women with young children in their car driving in an amazingly dangerous way. (More …)
     
  • Ven 12:47 pm on February 25, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Development, Reg Ex, Regular Expressions   

    This Week in Dev: Reg Ex! 

    Reg Ex - Nerd Superpower! Click for the XKCD comic.

    This week’s big hit: Regular Expressions!  As part of an automated software update a config file needs to have a specific option listed within it.  Normally this is something we’d do manually but now it’s being rolled out to all of our deployed boxes the loving human touch needs to be replaced with cold calculating automation.

    Enter our man Reg.  Reg is a little O.C.D. and speaks a very odd language.  After a little coaxing we began to understand Reg a little more and put him to task.  Now Reg is a clever fellow but lacks common sense.  We have to spell everything out for him in great detail.  Once he’s got the idea though OH the things he can do!  He’s roaming around through config files, editing lines, adding lines, calming walking away if his services are not needed.   (More …)

     
  • Ven 12:37 pm on January 8, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Indian food, poppadoms, puppodums, spelling   

    Even Sharwoods can’t spell poppadom 

    image

    The packets themselves say “poppadoms” yet the box they’re stacked in day “puppodums”.  Madness!

     
  • Ven 8:09 pm on November 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Meet Noodle the Leopard Gecko :D 

    Noodle lives in our lounge generally enjoying calcium-dusted bugs and the heat-mat :)

     
  • Ven 10:01 pm on November 23, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , cookies, mince pies,   

    I’d have been mad not to! 

    Behold the joy of mince pie cookies! Amazing stuff, Tesco :D Bargain at 18p a pack reduced on their date. Late evening shopping for the win.


     
  • Ven 12:15 pm on November 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: fog,   

    Foggy much? [Photopost] 

    Slightly foggy today methinks :P

     
  • Ven 11:41 pm on October 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Autobot, Halloween, Pumpkin, Transformers   

    Pumpkin In Disguise 

    The brilliant pumpkin carved and given to me by Aimee :D  I’ve been incredibly impressed with it! ^__^

    Click to see full size

     
  • Ven 9:44 pm on October 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Alpha Blues Gig, Leeds Uni [Photopost] 

    Sunday night was the Alpha Blues charity gig at Leeds Uni put on by Steffi Bontoft.

    These are my snaps from the night using a shiny lens with a nice big aperture  to try and capture the feel of the event without whiting everything out with a flash.  Make sure you click the More link below to see all the photos :) (unless you came here from the Twitter / Facebook link in which case you can already see them).

    (More …)

     
  • Ven 5:42 pm on October 24, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Planning a low-power low-noise media PC – advise? 

    Starting to plan a small form factor low power drain low noise media PC so figured it’s worth while asking around the internets for advice from anyone that might have gone down this path before.

    It’ll be intended to:

    • View and record Freeview TV
    • Watch DVD / downloaded video (potentially blu-ray too but that’s a low priority right now)
    • Output full 1080p via HDMI
    • Spotify / ripped music jukebox
    • Not be used for any sort of 3D gaming (but a spot of SNES / Mega Drive emulating wouldn’t go amiss)

    It’ll need to be able to be on permanently for scheduled TV recording (or be able to come out of standby automatically to catch the show),  so low power drain is important.  So any thoughts on what I can get away with to make this all happen?  I’ve seen pretty impressive performance from Intel Atom CPUs – would that cut HD playback though?

     
  • Ven 5:56 pm on August 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Playing with a macro lens.. it’s a bee! 

    A fine fellow with a fascination with guy-liner presented me with a macro lens a while ago.  Gave it a spin around a garden on a sunny day :)

    clicketty for bigger

     
  • Ven 3:50 pm on August 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: AmeCon, AmeCon 2010, Anime, Cosplay, Manga   

    AmeCon 2010 Snaps :D 

    As promised on the AmeCon forums here’s my pics from the weekend.  Some ok snaps, lots of point-click-hope shots but hope they’re of interest to some folk :D

    If anyone spots one of themselves they particularly want get in contact and I’ll send over the high-res version.
    IMG_4340
    (More …)

     
  • Ven 2:38 pm on July 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: android, , iphone 4   

    Two iPhone 4 Tests In One Post 

    Very quick update testing both the WordPress app for the iPhone and the camera of the shiny fourth iteration of the beastie.

    Thus far I’ve been very impressed. Still very much a fan of the Android system but the over all quality of the iPhone 4 is undeniable. It’s taken them a while but I think Apple may have finally gotten it right. Of course time will tell.

    For now enjoy a dusk snap from a nearby park taken yesterday from the in-built camera :)

     
  • Ven 11:07 pm on June 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Addams Family, MC Hammer, record,   

    The Grooveyest Groove 

    My housemate, while scouring a car boot sale, happens accross a most fine and worthy find. One of MC Hammer’s finest moments: The Addams Family Groove on 12″ vinyl single. First vinyl record I’ve gained in several years and quite possibly the finest – no small achievement considering Tubular Bells and The Beatles Red & Blue albums also feature ;)

     
  • Ven 12:28 pm on June 6, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bread, , geese, , , park, pond, weather   

    Ducks Don’t Eat When It’s Not Sunny 

    I have a theory that ducks have developed the ability to draw nourishment from the very air when the sun is not shining brightly enough to entice folk to come throw them treats otherwise why else would people only go feeding them when it’s sunny?

    Read on…. (More …)

     
  • Ven 1:40 pm on June 2, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: beer, madness, Mr 70, table   

    The Tale of Mr 70 

    While enjoying some time out on the town in Leeds there was a small mater of dispute between our gathered folk and a gentleman we later have come to affectionately know as Mr 70.  To call it a territorial dispute would be, perhaps, an overstatement but none the less the Tale of Mr 70 takes many (few) twists and turns in an epic voyage of loss, rediscovery and abandonment…. read on. (More …)

     
  • Ven 5:18 pm on May 8, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: FLAC, Ogg   

    Music Sync and auto-convert (FLAC to Ogg) 

    Ever encountered the hassle of archiving music in one format but needing it in another for your portable music enjoyment?  I have and spent this afternoon sussing out the most sensible way to do it (under Windows anyway).  Read on you, like me, faff with things like FLAC but need something a little more robust for on the road… (More …)

     
  • Ven 12:38 pm on April 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: aac, cd, mp3, , , wma   

    Lunchtime Musing: CD Is My Generation’s Vinyl 

    El Reg posted a piece yesterday on the surprising health of CD sales in the growing age of online music downloads and streaming services. It’s hanging on a lot better that was thought in the face of retailers closing and the easiness of buying through services like iTunes and zapping straight into your portable music player of choice *coughSansaFuzecough*. This got me to thinking that more so than occurred to me before the CD is my generation’s Vinyl. (More …)

     
  • Ven 1:04 pm on March 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: birthday, , ice cream, , toys   

    Reasons being a ‘grown up’ is awesome 

    Kinder Egg - Chocolate AND a toy!

    1. You can buy a Kinder Egg whenever you want.

    2. Ice cream is a valid foodstuff for any meal, any time of the year.

    3. Getting new toys is no longer limited to Birthdays and Christmas

    4. Staying up as late as you like incurs the wrath of no body (except Future You the following morning).

    Throw me some other reasons – there must be more!  Commenting, as ever, is freely open :)

     
  • Ven 8:30 pm on March 26, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Dinosaurs, Grimlock, , Yoshi   

    Dino vs Dino [Photo Post] 

    He’s behind you!

     
  • Ven 7:16 pm on March 26, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Detective Mittens, ,   

    Detective Mittens [Photo Post] 

    Anyone that says Kinder Eggs have gone rubbish need fear no more!  For in a Kinder Eggs you might just find… Detective Mittens!

     
  • Ven 1:29 am on March 24, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: camcorder, digicam, Flip HD, Samsung U10   

    To Camcord or not to Camcord 

    Shiny for £100?

    When digital cameras made their baby-steps to mass market they were pretty good but a little light on some features and depth of quality. Now, of course, even a cheap digicam can take a snap that compensates for even the poorest lighting.

    I’ve been musing over the idea of getting the video equivalent of early digicams – pocket HD video recorders popularised by devices like the Flip HD. I know this line of consumer technology is in it’s youth but given that pocket camcorders are now around the £100 (such as the Samsung U10 I’ve been eyeing up) I’m thinking it might be worth a punt to see if they’re up to the chatter I hear about them.

    Figure worst case scenareo I’ll get a couple of YouTube giggles from it!

    Thoughts, comments?

     
  • Ven 9:15 pm on March 18, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: road sign, tank   

    Best Road Sign! 

    This is the best road sign I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in the UK.  Enjoy!

     
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