By @edent · gadget linux review usb-c · 2 comments · 500 words · read ~1,100 times.
The good folk at ChubbyCable have sent me a trio of gorgeous USB-C cables to review. If, like me, your work colleagues always "borrow" your cables never to be seen again - these are a godsend. They're available in a range of colours - you can even design your own. You'll never have to say […]
Continue reading →By @edent · MastodonAPI Social Media Social Networks · 5 comments · 350 words · read ~282 times.
One of the reasons I'm still on the original Mastodon.social instance is that I am vain. I joined shortly after the project was announced and, as a consequence, I have a "joined" date of 2016 and a user ID of under 10,0001. This doesn't make me an "elder statesman" and is rarely useful beyond bragging […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 200 words
The first section of this book are, frankly, dull. It's the sort of sneering, middle-class soap opera which leaves me cold. Entitled twats ignoring the world around them. It's a stultifying atmosphere which nearly made me stop after a few chapters. And then... It's amazing just how well that cloying sense of safety is gradually […]
Continue reading →By @edent · mastodon MastodonAPI search · 8 comments · 850 words · read ~538 times.
The latest version of Mastodon includes search functionality. It's early days, but seems to work pretty well. Here are some of the interesting things I found when using it. Search is complex - expectations I don't mean the act of searching a database - that's routine - but I mean it is socially complex. Lots […]
Continue reading →By @edent · HowTo linux mosh ssh · 2 comments · 200 words · read ~160 times.
I've recently started using Mosh. It's a clever bit of software that keeps your SSH sessions running, even if your client goes offline or changes IP address. But I find the syntax used to launch it a bit verbose and easy to forget. A typical command is something like: mosh --ssh="ssh -p 1234" myname@example.com Within […]
Continue reading →By @edent · interview retropost · 2 comments · 200 words
This blog post was written in 2023 about events in 2008. Such are the joys of time travel… In August 2008, I published a blog post about being stopped and searched by the British Transport Police as part of The War Against Terror. A journalist, Elena Favilli contacted me asking if I'd be interviewed about […]
Continue reading →By @edent · android phone · 6 comments · 650 words · read ~170 times.
I want a new phone! I went to a wedding and everyone1 had one of those new folding phones. Social marketing has done a number on me and inveigled its way into my brain. Hey, I make decent money, perhaps I'll buy one. How much could they possibly cost? About £1,700 for a Pixel Fold […]
Continue reading →By @edent · gadget oculus review vr · 1 comment · 350 words
Without a doubt, the most annoying aspect of using VR is that the equipment eats batteries. On the Oculus Quest, the headset is rechargeable via USB-C - but the controllers take plain AA batteries. By default, there's no way to recharge them 😭 So a whole industry has sprung up to fix Meta's mistakes! The […]
Continue reading →By @edent · covid19 nhsx usability ux · 2 comments · 500 words · read ~172 times.
These are notes that I wrote during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. I've published them a few years later. By now, you're probably sick and tired of shoving a swab up your nose and / or down your throat. You've grown blasé about the little medical marvel as it reacts to whatever antibodies are […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review LGBT · 1 comment · 500 words
It occurs to me that I mostly read modern books. But sometimes I dip into the classics to see what modern literature is built upon. Quentin Crisp was - depending on how you read his1 autobiography - famous for being infamous, notorious for being Proud before Pride, or an uncompromising icon of studied awfulness. The […]
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