Yesterday, LoveFilm announced that they are changing the technology which powers their film streaming service. From early in January the existing Flash-based system will be replaced by one which uses Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. This is extremely disappointing for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there’s the immediate technological fallout. Silverlight doesn’t run on as many platforms… Continue reading LoveFilm and Silverlight
Tag: tech
Hating Gnome 3
I’ve been using Linux as my desktop operating system for about fifteen years. For most of that time I’ve used GNOME as my desktop environment. That’s longer than I ever used Windows so it’s become ingrained into the way I work. I’d guess that I’m at least 50% more efficient using GNOME than I am… Continue reading Hating Gnome 3
MPs on Twitter
Did you ever make a chance remark that plants a seed of an idea which then grabs hold of you and refuses to let you go until you’ve done something about it? That happened to me on Sunday. I was cleaning up some broken feeds on Planet Westminster when I tweeted: Cleaning up some broken… Continue reading MPs on Twitter
Free Web Advice: TalkTalk
Ten days ago I got a cold-call from TalkTalk. They called me on a number which is registered with the TPS and I have no existing business relationship with them so they should not have called that number. In this situation most people, and this includes me, will probably just be mildly rude to the… Continue reading Free Web Advice: TalkTalk
Free Web Advice: VirginMedia
I’m not a web designer, but I’ve been working in this industry since before there were web sites so I like to think I know a bit about what does and doesn’t work as far as web site usability goes. It’s mainly the stuff which doesn’t work that stands out. And there’s so much of… Continue reading Free Web Advice: VirginMedia
Social Networking 101
If you have a blog and a Twitter account then it’s nice to feed your tweets onto the front page of your blog. It can be an effective way to let your friends see what you’re saying in both places. If, however, you later delete your Twitter account then it’s probably a good idea to… Continue reading Social Networking 101
Independent URLs
Today Twitter got very excited about a story on the Independent web site. Actually, it wasn’t the story that got people excited, it was the URL that was being shared for the story. The story was some nonsense about Kate Middleton’s face being seen in a jelly bean. The URL was: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/utter-PR-fiction-but-people-love-this-shit-so-fuck-it-lets-just-print-it-2269573.html And if you… Continue reading Independent URLs
Moonfruit and Techcrunch
For the past few weeks I’ve been working with Moonfruit. They have been working to replace their rather aging web site with something that looks a lot more contemporary. Today was the day that the new version went live. And it was also the day that I got an interesting lesson in how marketing works… Continue reading Moonfruit and Techcrunch
Where’s Your Data
We hear a lot of talk about how cloud computing is the future. Those of us who still run some of our own internet infrastructure are increasingly seen as slightly eccentric and old-fashioned. Why would anyone host their own mail server when we have Gmail or run their own blog when there is WordPress or… Continue reading Where’s Your Data
Email From The PM
We’re all, no doubt, used to getting 419 scams in email. I get several a day, but they’re not often as brazen as this. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE TREASURY AND MINISTER FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. Our ref: ATM/13470/IDR Your ref:…Date: 14/09/2010 IMMEDIATE PAYMENT NOTIFICATION I am The Rt Hon David Cameron MP,Prime Minister,… Continue reading Email From The PM