Drawings in Google Docs

March 31, 2009 | 1 comment

Google has added a drawing option to it’s Docs applications so now you can insert simple diagrams into documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

To insert a new drawing select Drawing from the Insert menu and a new window pops-up over the document (see left). This is the same for all application types.

You are then free to draw using any combination of lines (both straight and free form), text and a series of predefined shapes (see below). You can do all the sorts of things that you would expect to be able to do such as change the colour of the … Read the rest

WIRED – UK

March 28, 2009 | 2 comments

I have always been more of a magazine than book reader but these days there is only one magazine that I read on a regular basis and that is WIRED. It covers technology issues in an engaging and interesting way. All the articles are readable whether they are about green issues, gadgets or films.

For the last few years I have been picking up copies either when I have been stateside or from WH Smiths. Problem is that it is an expensive read costing about £4.50. I have toyed with subscribing but while it would cost only $10 if … Read the rest

Zumodrive and Windows Live Writer

March 26, 2009 | 2 comments

I have been using Windows Live Writer for blogging for quite a while now and really prefer it to the online interface provided by WordPress. Of course one of WLW’s strengths is that you can work on posts off line ready for posting when it is appropriate. In my case I have scraps of posts waiting for me to finish them off and post them.

Another thing that I need to be able to do is work on posts on both my home machine and my laptop. This implies being able to synchronise between both machines – something that … Read the rest

Mobile Madness

March 24, 2009 | Comment

Until very recently I had a mobile phone provided by the company that I worked for. When I left I reverted back to a personal phone I had with a t-mobile u-fix deal. Unfortunately this is a pay-as-you-go/contract hybrid and quickly proved to be costly as I was toping up every few days, No problem I thought, I will move on to a contract.

A call to t-mobile quickly showed that was going to be more difficult than I expected. If I wanted to move onto a contract from PAYG I would need to extend my existing u-fix contract by … Read the rest

Ammat Consulting

March 23, 2009 | Comment

I am pleased to be able to announce that I have now setup my own business, Ammat Consulting, offering strategic consultancy and tactical support to software companies of all sizes. This business makes use of the over 20 years I have in both software development and running of software based businesses.

The website was launched this week which gives further details of the services on offer. You can visit the site here http://www.ammatconsulting.com.

I have already secured a number of clients but still have some time available. If you think that I may be able to help you … Read the rest

Zumodrive

March 21, 2009 | 3 comments

There are a number of online storage companies popping up and I have covered Dropbox, Box and Skydrive previously. Now there is a new player, Zumodrive, offering something that sets it apart from the rest.

On the face of it the service is similar to the others: a (small, 2gb) amount of free online storage that you can access from your Windows, Mac or iPhone devices or via a web interface. However, where Zumodrive differs is in how it is presented on the host machine. So on my laptop ZumoDrive appears a a removable storage device on drive … Read the rest

Laice itsaKey USB

March 19, 2009 | Comment

Here’s a neat idea and one that I am amazed that no-one has thought of before. It’s a USB flash drive in the shape of a key. For years flash drive manufacturers have been making USB devices that are made of cheap plastic that breaks off when you try and attach it to a key ring or has no loop at all meaning it just gets tossed in the bottom of a bag to be lost or forgotten.

Priced at a reasonable £16 for the 4gb version and £26 for the 8gb I think they are great. My only question … Read the rest

Apple iPhone 3.0

March 18, 2009 | Comment

So yesterday Apple announced v3 of their iPhone OS in a ‘Jobs-free’ presentation. There was much excitement and speculation on the net before the announcement about what this revision would contain. The smart money was on cut & paste finally making an appearance and it did. This is one of those features that I rarely use on a mobile device but really miss it when it is not there. The video below from the BBC shows this in action – not quite the simplicity of select ctrl+c, followed by ctrl+v but not too bad.

Other things making an appearance … Read the rest

Quick Reference Cards

March 17, 2009 | Comment

Looking for technical information? The the web is a great place to start but there is just so much out there, where do you begin? Also sometimes it is nice to have an offline copy to refer to.

Today I stumbled upon a great site that has collected together a whole load of technical resources to download, somewhat imaginatively title The Quick Reference Site it has a collection of both quick reference guides and ebooks. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have been update in quite a while but there is still plenty there to get your teeth into.

If you … Read the rest

What the Font?

March 16, 2009 | Comment

This must be one of my favourite sites at the moment – what the font. It allows you to upload an image that contains some text. The site then uses character recognition to match your text against a database of fonts and tells you which are the closest matches. It works well, particularly when the characters in the images are of a reasonable size.

I originally thought that that this would only be of limited use on an infrequent basis but I have found myself using it regularly. I have never made a note of the fonts used in … Read the rest