By @edent · fgw trains · 4 comments · 2,000 words · read ~431 times.
Train companies in the UK are uniformly awful. Because they are privately run but endure no meaningful form of competition, we get to see just how hostile corporations are to customers when left to their own devices. I am a long-suffering passenger on First Great Western. The line between Oxford and London regularly suffers from […]
Continue reading →By @edent · api python twitter · 500 words · read ~833 times.
Twitter, as part of its never-ending quest to alienate users and appease the rich and powerful, have shut down Politwoops accounts. Politwoops monitored politicians' Twitter accounts and noted when they deleted a tweet. Most of the time deletions were done for the same reason we all deleted content - mispellings, broken links, etc - but […]
Continue reading →By @edent · android google usability · 6 comments · 650 words · read ~1,635 times.
As I get older, I begin to lose neuroplaciticy. I get angry and confused when I don't understand things. I get frustrated when I have to change my behaviour. It happens to all of us, to some extent, and it's one of the major reasons you should design your apps in a clear and consistent […]
Continue reading →By @edent · security virgin wifi · 7 comments · 850 words · read ~7,652 times.
Virgin Media, the UK's semi-national cable broadband provider, is rolling out a WiFi sharing service - although it's not quite as altruistic as it may seem. Here's the email being sent to subscribers - followed by some commentary on what this means and whether it's a good idea for you to opt-out. Let's ignore them […]
Continue reading →By @edent · electricity power USB · 7 comments · 500 words · read ~1,410 times.
My solar panels deliver pure Direct Current electricity into my house. All my house has Alternating Current circuits. Therefore, I need an inverter to change the DC to AC. This is inefficient. Most of the electronic devices I own are powered by DC. So I plug little wall-warts into the AC sockets to convert back […]
Continue reading →By @edent · google ip networks wifi · 3 comments · 350 words · read ~1,070 times.
Google have just announced their brand new WiFi router - OnHub. It promises to make WiFi connectivity a breeze, increase speeds, reduce buffering, and clean your carpets. Nestled at the bottom of the annoucement is this curious specification. That seems... low. Doesn't it? I did a quick tally of all the devices my wife and […]
Continue reading →By @edent · AI DWIM near future usability · 1 comment · 600 words · read ~670 times.
My good friend Dan Appelquist recent wrote a fascinating blog post on solipsism as a design decision. He has a set of Lifx Internet Controlled Lightbulbs. They're great fun, but have some seriously screwy ideas about how people live. One key design of the app is to allow you to automatically switch off all your […]
Continue reading →By @edent · spam twitter · 500 words · read ~1,179 times.
Journalist Dave Lee pointed out a disturbing new spear-phishing attack on Twitter. The phony account looks for people who are Tweeting their dissatisfaction with Lloyds Bank - one of the largest and oldest banks in the UK - and sends them messages urging them to log in to a fraudulent site. The tweets have some […]
Continue reading →By @edent · facebook spam · 200 words · read ~4,468 times.
Like a lot of you, my Facebook feed often fills up with dodgy adverts for discount sunglasses. In this case, Mark's account has been hacked and the spammers are tagging lots of his friends. The post then shows up on my feed as "look what your friend is up to!" Annoying. So, here's how to […]
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