leyton.org

A good few years ago I contributed a couple of chapters to the book ‘Theory and Practice of Relational Databases’, which was the set-text for a number of university database courses. We setup a website to compliment the book for errata and so forth. I do still rather chuckle at the disgruntled student review on Amazon.

Time passes, and people move on. The book was never going to be a best-seller, but the commission – such that I get – no longer really covers maintaining the theorypractice.org domain we used, as universities change their texts and staff retire. But the book is still out there, and folk may still be looking for the content.

So this is just a public way of saying we’ve retired the website now, but you can still find the content at leyton.org/theorypractice.org should you so wish.

I use Firefox almost exclusively when I use Linux, or if I’m forced to use Windows, but the last couple of weeks I thought I’d give Firefox a proper ‘go’ and make it my default browser on my main work computer (A Mac Pro since you ask).

For whatever reason – most probably that I’d just become very used to Safari – I really struggled with Firefox. I just like Safari’s RSS implementation (and Firefox didn’t convert those bookmarks to it’s setup). I like the Safari’s reasonably quick startup time, and I like the shortcuts to the bookmark bar (option-1 opens bookmark #1). Plus Firefox’s plugins just get to be a pain with all the updates. And none of them really seemed to be a killer.

With Safari v4 coming out, I thought I’d give that a shot to see how it faired. I hate rebooting computers when adding applications (it implies too much deep integration for my tastes), Safari 4 feels faster. Bar the new tab setup (Think Chrome), I like all that seems to come with it. There are some hidden preferences that mean I can switch off the new tabs, but I’m going to see how I fare for now.

I did have a ‘moment’ when I realised 1Password didn’t work with the new version, but in perhaps one of the fastest update turnarounds I’ve seen in an application, they pushed out an update in no time, confirming that this is by far the best Mac application I’ve had the pleasure of buying. I’ve too many passwords to remember, by merit of my job, so a very secure and safe way of generating and storing them, makes a huge amount of sense.

So, Firefox on the Mac just doesn’t quite cut it for me as my main browser. It’s not about Firefox itself: It is a good browser, and I use it where I need a second browser (in my line of work, that’s quite often). It’s probably that my working habits have settled around Safari, and the Firefox User Interface just doesn’t quite work for me. I just can’t be bothered adjusting, and Firefox doesn’t have enough extra to warrant the change. It needed to be something special, and wasn’t.

A new iPhone release is a good thing, on the whole. New shiny features aplenty

But a small request to Apple: make SMS reminder notifications optional!

Like many geeks, my phone has replaced my pager. So I get notifications and warnings aplenty. And the preview is usually enough to see what it’s about so I don’t ‘acknowledge’ them. This new release insists on doing just that, and insessently (well, twice) notifies me. And gets very annoying very quickly, as I can’t distinguish a new message from a reminder.

So, Steve, an option to disable this would be very welcome. Mmmmok?

My good friend shardcore has a new project ‘retrogeek‘, and it’s well worth checking out if you ever did anything with the delights of the early 1980’s computers.

My friend shardcore offered to paint a picture for Frances and my recent wedding. Frances wasn’t so keen on the prospect, but I rather fancied seeing what would happen, so jumped at the chance at getting the shardcore treatment (How often do you get such an offer?). So without further ado here’s Richard and Marvin (2008). I’ll leave the explanation of what’s what with the picture to shardcore: he’s done a far better job than I could manage. But I’m honoured to be featured on what he describes as perhaps “the geekiest painting ever”.

The fun didn’t stop there though! After the post was submitted to boingboing.net, it then got picked up by no less than gizmodo, and the comments on both have been (mostly) enjoyable, and nice and geeky too. My server ‘dexter’ (which hosts both leyton.org and shardcore’s website) has managed to survive the ensuing load reasonably well too. It’s also getting it’s first public viewing at Brighton’s £5 app get together. I’d be there myself if I didn’t live at the other end of the country.

Anyway, hope you like the painting. I think he’s done a great job – Be sure to check out his other pieces too.

Update: The original was taken by Chameleon at a Scottish Bloggers get-together a while back.

Well, there’s nothing quite like a media storm to draw attention to the fact that your own MP has a weblog. It seems he’s been accused of calling us all miserable (link to BBC news).

You can read the article here on his weblog – I plan to do so later on. He also has a slick, but rather generic looking Labour-MP website

As a weblogger myself(!), and a constituent with no party affiliations (but plenty of opinions, as Mr Harris himself will have recently discovered after I wrote to him about 42 days detention), I plan to keep a bit more of an eye on his weblog in future. It’s certainly to be commended (especially as he’s a minister), and I certainly hope the current media storm doesn’t put him off maintaining it. If only more politicians would do so (Glasgow councillors in particular), we’d all perhaps know a tiny bit more about what our representatives think.

Today is the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Connference 2008, and the highlight of this is always the keynote from Steve Jobs, as he inevitably has product announcements. Given Apple’s innovation record, they’ve always been important in much of the tech community (where Apple has led by innovation, others have eventually followed), but since Apple entered the consumer marketplace with the iPod, and more recently the iPhone, the announcements have become even more widely watched. The event is always enjoyable given Apple’s intense secrecy (which doesn’t seem to have been particularly good this year!) about the products, Steve Jobs famous thoroughness, standard jeans-and-turtleneck outfit, and – of course – that he is a extremely accomplished speaker and presenter.

There are lots of predictions and rumours about what might be announced, but most attention is focused on the iPhone. It’s widely expected that iPhone 2.0 will be announced, and maybe even launched later this month, with the 3G technology and perhaps built-in GPS. Whilst that sounds attractive, it’s the launch of third party applications that I’m particularly excited about: Being able to run applications that help me do my job (OmniFocus for the iPhone is what I’m most excited about), and fill gaps in the toolset on the iPhone (where are calendar todo’s and central contact management?). Rumours also abound that Apple may relent at let mobile networks subsidise the iPhone, which together with 3G, could really help it’s adoption in Europe.

As for non-iPhone products, there are rumours of Mac OS X 10.6, although it seems too soon after Leopard, with no particularly key features being talked about yet. And a re-branding of Apple’s .mac, to make it focused more on the mobile user, is as overdue as it is welcome. I’ve never been particularly impressed with the pricetag or feature list of .mac, so will be intrigued to learn what they have in mind.

Certainly looking forward to it, and perhaps even watching (via the official video PodCast that now exists) the keynote on the train tomorrow morning

Because I had a nasty fall against a table when I was small, I’ve got slightly odd shaped left ear, so I frequently find that the headphones that come with personal stereos (well, iPods!) quickly get uncomfortable after an hour or so of continual use. Some years back though, I discovered the joy that was bud earphones, and having non-white leads also, I thought, would make me slightly less likely to get mugged for my 2nd Generation iPod (ie. back when they weren’t ubiquitous, and quite the mugging target).

Unfortunately, choices for bud earphones the iPhone were somewhat more limited. There was a set of bud earphones available, but as they cost over £100, they was simply waaaay over my budget. I just didn’t need them that badly. So when I read on TUAW that a cheaper product was available, I jumped at it.

The product was the ProCable In-Ear Isolation Headset for iPhone, from Radtech. The product even boasts the strapline “Comfortable and durable audiophile quality in-ear headset with Sound Valve Technology.“. For $24.99, and just shy of $10 shipping to the UK, $34.93 amounted to somewhere around £17, which was also below the customs duty level.

A bargain. Or so I thought.

Firstly, it’s worth stressing that the service I received from radtech was excellent. The package arrived in about a week. It was all very well packaged, and no problems (or charges) clearing customs. I really can’t fault them there, and I’d buy something else from them again, quite happily. It’s just that the headset itself that proved catastrophically, thoroughly and entirely awful, useless and a waste of money. That the buds didn’t quite fit in my ear was one (minor) thing. The big problem was that the sound quality is truly awful. Cheap for a reason.

I’m far from an audiophile. I know a few of these strange creatures, and I’m afraid I’ve really no interest at all in optimal room conditions, gold-plated cabling, filtered power supplies and records vs CD’s, AAC vs MP3 and so on. I just can’t tell the difference, and largely don’t care: So long as the speakers or headset I’m using sounds reasonable and has a respectable range, I’m happy.

Unfortunately I could immediately tell there was none of that with these headphones. I was listening to Arcade Fire’s stunning album “Neon Bible”, and my favourite track on the album “Intervention” makes impressive use of a powerful church organ. If you’ve not heard it, go find it on iTunes, and give it a listen. It’s one of the stand-out albums in the last few years. But with these headphones, it was, I’m afraid, pitiful. Absolutely no punch. The song sounded poor on every level. I immediately switched back to my iPhone headphones, and the difference was profound.

Others might find them fine. Perhaps you care less about the sound, or don’t use the iPhone for music as much as I do these days (twice weekly trips through to Edinburgh). They’d probably make acceptable headsets for telephone purposes. But not music.

Ironically perhaps, I’ve found I’ve subsequently got quite used to the iPhone’s bundled headphones. Whether that’s because they’ve changed the moulding from the previous iPod earphones, or that my ears have become more used to the shape, I don’t know.

In short: Avoid. Put your money elsewhere, or stick with the excellent headphones supplied with the iPhone.

Because the iPhone supplied headphones have a small but noticeable microphone, you also get to take part in the “is-that-an-iphone-or-ipod-owner”. I’m spotting them more and more, and with the 3G phone, and v2 firmware due very soon now (next week?), I’m sure we’ll see more of them on the streets. It’s still the best portable gadget I’ve ever bought.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anybody who doesn’t like the Google doodle. Whilst I frequently access Google through my browsers search widget, I still visit the website directly (often when hunting out some of Googles other services), and enjoy looking at the variations on the famous logo that draw attention to various holidays, anniversaries and festivals. Previous doodles are available for browsing if you’ve missed them. Just a bit of a shame they’re not linked to the appropriate search, as they are when they feature on the front page.

So today, one of Glasgow’s most famous sons, Charles Rennies Mackintosh features. See Google.co.uk!

I’m not always the most organised person, and recently it’s reached a point where it’s rather gotten in the way of a few things, not least the feeling of being rather overwhelmed by “stuff”. This has manifested itself most in my finding it increasingly difficult to simply ’switch off’ and unwind, without worrying about clients, projects, and so forth.

I’d picked up a copy of Getting Things Done last year, but not got around to actually, well, getting on with it. A problem deferred is a problem solved, for a while at least. But it’s all caught up with me, and Something Needed To Be Done.

Since moving to Glasgow, I’ve made conscious decisions to take up – and stick with – running and learning the piano. And it’s worked: In a few months it’ll be two years of running as a hobby (a surprise one at that; I’d thought it’d be a chore). Unfortunately, the general feeling of being overwhelmed by everything has started to get in the way of both enjoying running and the piano. I’ve not had a lesson in a while, and not done any practise either. So, my third life-style change I plan to stick by is one that I hope will actually facilitate more of the other activities, as well as giving me more time for Frances, the house, life in general, and actually enjoying myself by being able to switch off.

So today is The Day I start to put the ‘GTD’ approach in to action. Finding every pile of things (physically and on my computer) into an inbox, which I’ll then start processing. Simply writing down all the things that occur to me as I wonder about the house is already making me feel better, so I’m quite optimistic this might just work. And that’s before I’ve tackled my e-mail, much less made a decision on a piece of software to use (There are some very cool options with the Mac, and with the iPhone SDK promising even cooler stuff, it’s quite a choice).

Anyway, watch this space

Right, coffee break over with. Back to the collecting and tidying. It’s actually a lot more fun than I’d thought… But please, don’t tell my mother….