By @edent · Apple bug email security · 3 comments · 500 words · read ~302 times.
As with most tasks in life, there are two paths you can go by - the easy way, or the right way. Sadly, many of us choose the easy way which, in the long run, means more work for us all. Take, for example, the seemingly dull task of email unsubscription. A developer wants to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · hacking law mobile politics weeting · 2 comments · 550 words · read ~173 times.
I don't usually get involved in legal blogging. I am not a lawyer, and I find the finicky details somewhat hard to follow. That said, I do appreciate how (most) judges in the UK write their judgements in a relatively clear and unambiguous manner. Jack of Kent today pointed out the recent judgement on Operation […]
Continue reading →By @edent · data influence klout personal yammer · 22 comments · 300 words · read ~23,009 times.
Sites like Klout and Kred are perfect examples of social media frippery. A vaguely plausible "score" that you can use to justify your "investment" in tweeting all day long. When they're used as a silly little badge, or an informal competition with friends, they're a (mostly) harmless way of gamification. Of continual annoyance is the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Python Pals · 150 words · read ~149 times.
I've spent the last few months sporadically writing stories to help young people code. I've now placed the four Python Pals stories up on GitHub. Here's how you can help. Write your own story and contribute it to the GitHub site (or send it directly to me). Read the stories and let me know how […]
Continue reading →By @edent · google maps mobile usability · 4 comments · 350 words · read ~274 times.
There gets a stage in every large company's lifecycle when there are too many people working on a single project. This usually manifests itself in strange internal struggles over the heart of a product as different teams compete for their "vision" to succeed. What often happens is that the user is forgotten and a manager, […]
Continue reading →By @edent · chinese Open Source shakespeare · 1 comment · 450 words · read ~231 times.
I'm very pleased to announce the launch of 莎士比亚.org - beautiful and readable copies of Shakespeare plays in Chinese. If you would like to help, the text is available on GitHub for people to correct. Why? I've long held a fascination with Shakespeare - hence the name of this website. At university I studied Mandarin […]
Continue reading →By @edent · games hack hacks interactive fiction mobile sms text twilio zork · 2 comments · 700 words · read ~11,910 times.
Remember text adventures, eh? They were pretty nifty! "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike" >Go East "You have been eaten by a Grue. A dwarf starts singing about gold" Smashing! Just like the pictures are better on the radio, so the graphics are immeasurably superior when they're in your head. […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bitcoin mobile money payment qr · 4 comments · 350 words · read ~436 times.
BitCoin and other crypto-currencies are gaining popularity at the moment - but I remain firmly convinced that they're too hard for the average person to use. I have, however, watched with interest as an ecosystem grows around them. In particular, I like the way The Pirate Bay (and others) have used QR codes to facilitate […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 100 words · read ~155 times.
Earlier this year, I pointed out that Media Discovery (New Web Ltd) is encouraging blogs to run paid for advertorials, without disclosing to their readership that the content is an advert. This appeared to be in breach of the advertising industry's code of practice. I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority who have confirmed that […]
Continue reading →By @edent · blogging meta stats · 50 words
It's only a silly number - and not a very accurate one - but it makes me happy. Thank you for reading - it has truly been my pleasure to write for you.
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