I want to be able to send someone a package containing a Python script and the bare minimum for them to run that script on Windows. In Perl, this is quite easy, I believe you can just send your script with perl.exe. This is how I did it in Python. Continue reading »

I’m really impressed with Flipboard, an app which really uses the capabilities of the iPad to deliver a novel and compelling reading experience. It manages to make your facebook and twitter feeds look like they were designed by a skilled magazine layout editor. I can see it being controversial as it also strips out all the adds. Makes me glad to be an “elitist” iPad owner.

I just scared the heebee-jeebees out of myself by innocently trying to use a shortcut in eclipse to copy a line into the clipboard. Instead, it turned my whole screen upside down! As a commenter on stackoverflow said:

Presumably flipping your screen upside down is not something you want to do often (unless you’re a vampire/bat).

Quite right.
In the end I found exactly what I was looking for in google code.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a flawless Operating System upgrade. Windows 7 was no exception. After endless reboots and failures, I gave up in the early hours of Saturday night (yes, I was having that much fun). In the morning with a clear head, I found the right google search, enabled SATA AHCI, disabled USB at during one of the reboots, and hey presto – success.

Why did I install Windows 7? Well, not just to get the shiney window borders, it was mainly to try and help my PC come out of sleep. Fail. Still doesn’t work. As a last resort, I grit my teeth, pull on the rubber gloves, and upgrade the BIOS. Yup, that was the problem <groan>.

First impressions? Shiney, a bit more usable, and wierdly, everything seems bigger; I think that’s because of the chunkey borders. Now, on with the install… <deep breath>.

I’m a bit of a Google fan, so I installed their latest operating system in a VM. I downloaded the torrent (Virgin Media seem to be blocking your web access for even a legal bittorrent download), and with a few mouse clicks it was up and running. Here’s a screenshot…

There’s not much to say about it really – it looks like the Chrome browser, and that’s pretty much the whole OS. It should boot in seven seconds and will only run on special hardware, slightly larger than a netbook.

…by rechargeable batteries. And this guy has lots of use for rechargeable batteries.

There was an interesting piece in E&T this month about the invention of the CCD, which we rely on every time we use a digital camera. It turns 40 this week. Apparently Willard Boyle was asked by his manager to “Come up with something different”. So he and George Smith had a chat. Within an hour they had come up with a device which would hold charge within a cell and then…

An hour or so later, they were deciding what to call it. The online histories make it seem like a film script: “It’s got charge. And we’re moving the charge around by coupling potential wells,” said Smith; “Let’s call it a charge coupled device,” said Boyle.

They didn’t mess around once they’d come up with the idea, either…

“In less than a week, masks were made and devices were fabricated and tested”

I’ve not blogged for a while, so here’s an update on all the random stuff going on in my head and life – well some of it,  anyway.

Thursday night we went to see Little Sister at the Hare and Hounds.  Apparently they now practice is bursts of a week, because one of them lives in Wales and one in Copenhagen.  This must have had been a good week, because their new stuff was great.  The opener had an Indian feel, after which they continued to work their way around the world’s folk music via Wales and Southern America.  One of the most striking aspects of the four girl group is not just their harmonising, or the range of instruments that they play, but the great big harp that sits on the stage, looming like a Renaissance sculpture while the support acts play.  Unfortunately, the sound often gets lost on pub stages, but the soundcheck had obviously been successful, so Sammy Fox’s glissandi were able to beautifully counterpoint the accordion.

This weekend @katieday is down in Bristol doing something related to interactive gaming that I’ve been struggling to explain to people, so in the meantime I’ve been getting to grips with Reaktor from Native Instruments. This program lets you create synthesizers and audio effects by stringing together blocks. I’ve been meaning to get back into effect design since my final year project at University, a DSP board connected to a MFC C++ program which would let you genetically evolve audio effects. Nowadays, these things are much easier to do, though you can still make something look absolutely horrible…

Goodbye old blog theme, hello new blog theme. This new look blog isn’t just a skin change, things have changed behind the scenes too. The old articles are now available at archive.edshome.co.uk. The old site was made with a CMS called Drupal, which I philosophically agree with, but for blogging (and much else), WordPress is quietly taking over the world, so I thought I’d let the tide sweep me out to sea. Hopefully the warm comfortable fur of WordPress will draw me in to posting more. I’ve adapted this blog theme myself, based on one called Bluebird, with inspiration from greyscalegorilla.com. As for the content of the posts, don’t expect much to change, there will still be lots of incoherent rambling on subjects with which I have no authority; don’t take anything too seriously. I’ve also stuck a twitter gadget at the side. Please subscribe, though, because it’s much easier that way. The link is here.

The picture at the top is me taking a picture of me in Morocco with an Olympus Trip.