I made a thing. On Sunday I mentioned how OpenTech always makes me feel a bit embarrassed that I’m not doing more useful stuff – particularly in the kinds of areas that OpenTech speakers care about. Usually, real life takes over before I get a chance to do anything about it and I forget about… Continue reading The Political Web
Tag: tech
OpenTech 2013
Yesterday was the (almost) annual OpenTech conference. For various reasons, the conference didn’t happen last year, so it was good to see it back this year. OpenTech is the conference where I most wish I could clone myself. There are three streams of talks and in pretty much every slot there are talks I’d like… Continue reading OpenTech 2013
MPs’ Web Sites
When I set up Planet Westminster in 2006 I thought it would be a relatively simple project to maintain. Over the years, more and more MPs would start blogs. Every couple of months I’d add the new ones and everything would be great. It hasn’t worked out like that at all. MPs’ web sites have… Continue reading MPs’ Web Sites
Gullible
Did you know that the word “gullible” doesn’t actually appear in the OED? A lot of people I know spend a lot of time poking holes in tabloid stories. It’s fun hobby for all the family. The tabloids are so bad at checking facts that it’s usually easy to find the basic flaws in things… Continue reading Gullible
Fitbit and Friends
Recently I’ve been using technology to help me lose weight. Actually, I have a bit of history of being most successful at losing weight when helped by technology – my last reasonably successful period was when the Wii Fit was launched. This time my technological friend is the Fitbit. It’s really just a supercharged pedometer.… Continue reading Fitbit and Friends
Modern Perl for Non-Perl Programmers
Normally I keep my Perl posts over on my Perl blog. But although this post is about Perl, the regular readers of my Perl blog aren’t really the target audience. That’s because I’m running a training course that is aimed at programmers who don’t use Perl. If you’re a programmer who is interested in learning… Continue reading Modern Perl for Non-Perl Programmers
Android Applications
For the last two years I’ve been using an HTC Desire. In the last few days I’ve upgraded to an HTC One X. Whilst I liked the Desire a lot, one thing that really let it down – the lack of space to install apps. I spent most of the last year with the “short… Continue reading Android Applications
Internet Security Rule One
Internet security rule one is “do not share your password with anyone”. There should be no exceptions to this rule. If anyone asks you to share your password with them, your answer should always be no. Sometimes people say “oh well, it’s only a password for [some unimportant web site] – what harm could it… Continue reading Internet Security Rule One
Tracking Packages
Last week I ordered a new laptop. Yesterday, Dell’s web site told me that it had shipped. And, an hour or so later, they gave me a link to track the delivery on the UPS web site. Now that link is fun of course. But refreshing the page dozens of times a day gets a… Continue reading Tracking Packages
Did Twitter Censor #GodIsNotGreat?
[Executive summary: Betteridge’s Law (probably) applies] The Twitter furore over the #GodIsNotGreat hash tag has pretty much died down now, but there’s one branch of the debate that is still getting comments and retweets. Here’s an example from johnwilander. #GodIsNotGreat pulled from trends because christians protest. But #ReasonsToBeatYourGirlfriend was allowed. Stay classy, @Twitter. As I… Continue reading Did Twitter Censor #GodIsNotGreat?