The Bradnam Blog

3 Sep 2010

Revealed: the real designers of the new gray interface to iTunes 10

Color is futile. All OS X apps will be assimilated!

2 Sep 2010

The evolution of the iPod nano

via youtube.com

4 Aug 2010

Some possible headlines for tech writers covering the demise of Google Wave

Google Wave is no more. Many tech writers and bloggers will be sharpening their digital pencils, ready to write that killer article about the slow fade into obscurity of a star that once burned so brightly. Here are some suggested headlines:

Not waving but drowning - an end to Google Wave

Waving goodbye - an end to Google Wave

Software giant wavers - an end to Google Wave

The wave breaks - an end to Google Wave

No longer making waves - an end to Google Wave

Software gets waved aside - an end to Google Wave

Google waves the flag of surrender - an end to Google Wave

Shockwave - an end to Google Wave

No longer on the same wavelength - an end to Google Wave

Collapse of the wave function - an end to Google Wave

Update - August 5th

Another blog has collected some real titles from articles about Google Wave and have also included a couple more of their own invention. Guess I missed some good ones.

3 Aug 2010

Please don't read this

This is a test, a little psychological play thing. I'm just curious as to how many people will proceed with reading this even though I have (kindly) asked that you refrain from doing so. Most people will come across a link to this blog post from an automated tweet and therefore will see nothing more than the following text:

Please don't read this http://post.ly/q31E

And yet...and yet you are here, reading these very words which I asked you not to read. You disregarded my instructions and if you are still reading this then you have thrown caution to the wind and are willing to risk the possible destruction of your computer in order to see what I had to say (have you people never heard of clickjacking?). From a psychological viewpoint, you might be interested to know that you are now a victim of my (successful) attempt at using the Pique Technique. I have sixty-seven other posts on this blog and I will be curious to see how many hits this post receives compared to an 'average' post (whatever that is).

Of course it is entirely possible that the brave souls who have clicked on the link to arrive here actually know me (at least in a virtual way) and therefore trust that I would not do something so malicious as to cause them (or their computer/internet device) any harm. However, who is to say that I am not a sleeper agent that has been recently 'activated' to carry out a mission of inflicting chaos and mayhem on an unsuspecting world? Okay folks, here is your final test. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will find three words waiting for you. However, I strongly suggest with all of the urgency that I can muster, that you DO NOT READ THOSE THREE WORDS! I can take no liability for what damage, psychological or otherwise, may arise from the reading of those three words. These three words have been carefully chosen for their potential to cause grave offense and so I will end this post by once again urging you that you should not, under any circumstances, scroll down to the bottom of this post to read those three words.

Moist muffin flaps.

2 Aug 2010

Wittering and Twittering - the growth of my two Twitter accounts

Today I hit 200 followers on my secondary twitter account (@7T1). Woot! This account is not yet a year old and was started in order to keep some separation between the different things that I tweet about. In a nutshell, the @7T1 account is for science and technology related stuff. This includes a lot of stuff about gadgety subjects such as Apple and Android, but also coverage of another of my pet subjects: Unix and Perl. In contrast, my main twitter account (@kbradnam) is really for everything else. In particular, I tweet quite a lot about the lovely town where I live. As the following graph shows, my main account has been growing at almost twice the rate as my secondary account.

I'm okay with that because I probably tweet twice as much with my @kbradnam hat on as I do when using my @7T1 account. Notice also that the growth of @7T1 has been much smoother than @kbradnam. I'm not quite sure why this is. I imagine that twitter is getting a bit better at blocking spam-related accounts these days and maybe they have fewer large-scale purges of dubious accounts. If you look at the early growth of @kbradnam, you will see that it flatlines for a little while before growing again. This period coincided with the month that I gave up using twitter and facebook. This suggests that you need to keep on tweeting to gain followers.

There is some, but not too much, overlap between the followers of these accounts. Using the twtrfrnd.com site, I can see that there are 58 people who follow both accounts. This means I have a net following of 704 users. This still wouldn't change my position in the list of Top Davis Twitter Users though. Having two accounts can sometimes be a pain as a) I sometimes post from the wrong account and b) there are some tweets which I think would appeal to the demographics of both accounts. I try to not cross-post to both accounts at once, but very occasionally I will do so.

Thanks to everyone who follows me (either version of me that is). I hope that at least some of my tweets are found to be informative and/or entertaining. If my tweeting 'career' were to come to a sudden end (perhaps due to a bizarre gardening accident), I think that I could rest easy knowing that at least I gave the world #cheesenews.

24 Jul 2010

Mixing ecosystems: life in an Apple and Android world - Part 2: Productivity apps

In an ideal world, I would like access to all of my stuff, anywhere, anytime. By 'stuff', I mean any file or piece of data on my computer that has any degree of importance or usefulness in day-to-day life. This ranges from short text notes, to a variety of PDFs and document files, all the way up to large datasets (including music and photo libraries). As flash memory continues to become available in ever larger sizes (e.g. 128 GB USB drives), the prospect of putting very large datasets on devices such as cell phones and iPods becomes more and more realistic. In many cases, bandwidth and data transfer speeds are the most limiting factors.

I imagine that many people do not feel a need to have any sort of management system in place for their data. Just put files on the desktop, all of your bookmarks in one browser, and make copious use of Post-it notes (real or virtual) for everything else. This is probably good enough for many people but not for me. If I want to realize my ideal world scenario then I will have to use specific applications to help me achieve that goal.

As I spend most days working at my MacBook, this is clearly the first port of call for where I will deposit all of my stuff. However, I also have an older iBook and I sometimes use other macs at work. In addition to this, I own an iPod touch as well as a Nexus One and I may well end up owning an iPad. It's not impossible that the future will see me using Linux or Windows machines. So in an ideal world, any stuff that I need to get at, should ideally be able to sync between devices like so:

Is such a mutli-device, cross-platform data-syncing nirvana achievable for all of my various files, bookmarks, and notes? Or is this what old IT professionals tell their children in order to help them sleep at night "One day son, you will be able to sync your music between iTunes and Android...one day". The role of the cloud is important not only as a central hub for all syncing transactions (though obviously Macs and PCs can do two-way syncing directly to devices such as iPods), but the cloud is also another point of access to your data. If I was involved in a bizarre gardening accident which just so happened to destroy all of my computers and handheld gadgets, I would ideally like to fire up a web browser on a friend's computer and still be able to access all of my stuff.

In the past, I managed a lot of my stuff using a simple combination of Bare Bones Yojimbo and Apple's iDisk. The iDisk was used for various documents (presentations, spreadsheets etc) and other large-ish files (>10 Mb) but I used Yojimbo to store pretty much everything else (notes, PDFs, bookmarks, serial numbers, and various clip art and other small images). Even at $39, it's a great app because it is very cleanly laid out and very intuitive to use. It also makes it very easy to get data in and out of the app. Sadly though it's one main weakness is that is very much a Mac-specific application. There is no native web interface (though you can try the 3rd party Webjimbo software) and it not easy to sync the database to other Macs (though this is possible). A recent update did offer the ability to export your Yojimbo Library to a HTML version which could be viewed on devices such as my Nexus One. However, this is read-only data and you still have to manually sync the HTML version to other devices. So Yojimbo fails in this one aspect, but if you plan on mostly working on a single Mac computer, then I highly recommend it. I'll come on to how I replaced Yojimbo in a minute.

Originally I was quite happy using iDisk to sync data between multiple Macs, and the iOS mobile application gave me a degree of access when away from the computer. However, after suffering from a spate of iDisk syncing problems I started migrating my iDisk data over to the excellent Dropbox application. This adds a single 'Dropbox' folder into your home directory, the contents of which are automatically synced online and with any other Dropbox clients you have. I can't sing the praises of this software enough. It's free (though you can also pay for extra storage space). It supports all of the platforms shown above (how often do you find software for Windows, Mac, and Linux?) and it has clients for iOS devices and Android. Wow. It also is very fast and efficient at syncing data (it makes iDisk syncing look positively clunky). It gets even better because you can share folders with other Dropbox users and also access all of your data through the web interface. The icing on the cake is that Dropbox allows you to retrieve older versions of files, including files that you have deleted. I should also add that the team behind Dropbox seem to be constantly working on adding new features. Yay for Dropbox! I now use it extensively at home and work, and it's where I store all of my PDFs and Office/iWork documents. I am seriously considering paying in the future to increase my capacity because my current limit of 3 GB means that I clearly can't use Dropbox for all of my files.

So Dropbox has taken care of some of my 'everything, everywhere' problem, at least for small to medium sized files. But what about all of the other stuff that I was previously using Yojimbo for? Well, I did flirt briefly with Evernote. This app is similar to Yojimbo but it also has clients for Windows, iOS devices, and Android. It's also free and has a web interface too. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about the UI that I don't really like. It doesn't feel how a proper Mac app should feel like (whereas Yojimbo does).

Instead I moved all of my text notes, bookmarks, and serial numbers from Yojimbo into an app called Notational Velocity. This is a very simple, but powerful, note manager app, and you can choose to sync your notes with the Simplenote service or with Dropbox. Syncing with Simplenote means that you can then access your notes via the web or through other Simplenote clients (I'm currently trying to decide between the mNote and SolidNote clients on Android). For short text notes, this means I can now view, create, and edit notes from just about anywhere. Notational Velocity is a very well designed application and appears almost deceptively simple. But this narrow focus is its strength. Wish I had discovered this app sooner.

The final piece of my data jigsaw puzzle is an application called Springpad. This is relatively new, but seems to be gaining ground quickly. It fills in the middle ground of tracking things which aren't quite notes (though it can store notes as well) and aren't quite files (though it can also store files). Springpad does not have desktop clients, instead you access it via the web or from an iOS or Android device. You can use Springpad to store details of favorite places (bars, restaurants etc), films, CDs, recipes, contacts, wines, the list goes on and on. It doesn't just let you store things, it can be used as part of a Getting Things Done (GTD) system (supports lists, tagging, alerts, reminders etc). The mobile apps let you take pictures of items, scan barcodes, or just add locations based on things that are 'near you'. It is also a bit like Evernote in that it has an intelligent web clipper which grabs content from web pages and sends it straight to Springpad.

If you add an item using the Springpad web interface, then as soon as you start typing the name, Springpad automatically suggests matching titles as you type. Matches can be from existing items in your library, but more impressive is its real time matching of items from certain internet sources. E.g. if you started typing 'To Kill a Mockingbird' you will be offered matches from Amazon and Netflix as you type, as well matches to similar items in other Springpad users' libraries (but only if they have made them public).

However, the killer feature of Springpad (to me anyway) is that after adding the basic details of something, Springpad then adds lots of 'value added' data. E.g. if I add 'Toy Story 3' to my Springpad library and then click on the item, I can then see details of local showings of that film, click on an Amazon link, add to my Netflix queue, watch the trailer, or read reviews. Pretty cool. Likewise if you add an album, then you may see details of whether that band or artist is currently on tour. Add the name of a restaurant and Springpad automatically adds its address, a Google map, and reviews from Yelp. In a way I've only begun to scratch at the surface of some of the things you can do with Springpad. It's still maturing as a service, and there are a lot of things I think it could improve on, but I'm confident that the developers are taking steps in the right direction.

If you want to know more about Springpad, here's a good overview video:

So there you have it. With a combination of Dropbox, Simplenote, and Springpad, I have pretty much constant access to (nearly) all of the things that I might ever need to know or look up. And I'm pretty much covered even if I have to switch platforms to a Linux PC or Windows. I guess cross-platform interoperability is the new lingua franca of the tech world.

19 Jul 2010

A selection of favorite photos from five and half years in Davis

No particular theme. Just twenty-two photos taken from downtown Davis, the campus, and surrounding area. Enjoy.

Click here to download:

A_selection_of_favorite_photos.zip (2718 KB)

18 Jul 2010

First ever attempts at home made jam

In this week's organic veg box we received a pound or so of Santa Rosa plums from Reedley, CA. I'm not much of a fan of fresh fruit, but the newsletter that the farm provides had a recipe for plum jam, so I thought I would give it a go. I had never made jam before so this was all unchartered territory for me. But it seemed quite straightforward: boil chopped plums with sugar, raisins, orange and lemon for 20 minutes or so, add some some chopped walnuts and voila! Sterilizing the jars was slightly more of a hassle than I imagined but not too bad. The trickiest part of the whole operation was when I was using one hand to try to take a picture with my cell phone of my other hand ladling jam into the jar. The result was almost two jars of jam (slightly less than I had imagined) and after 24 hours of standing still, we just had our first tasting. It tastes delicious and jam making may well be making a return appearance in our kitchen whenever we next receive a lot of fruit in our box.

Click here to download:

First_ever_attempts_at_home_ma.zip (938 KB)

15 Jul 2010

An exclusive look at how Apple will 'fix' the iPhone 4

Two weeks ago Apple took their first steps in damage limitation over the growing backlash over the now infamous Death Grip problem. Initially they acknowledged a software problem that was responsible for the iPhone 4 not showing the correct signal strength, but claimed that all phones suffer a loss in signal when held. However, this was not been enough to quell the storm, and after Consumer Reports decided that they could not recommend the new iPhone, Apple has decided to announce an iPhone 4 press conference that will take place tomorrow. Such an event is without precedent in Apple's history and many speculators have been wondering what Apple will say or do to address the problem. I can now exclusively reveal that after weeks of brainstorming, Apple's top engineers have come up with the following solution which they are calling a 'High contrast, adhesive-based, instructional messaging system'. You and I might know them as 'warning stickers':

These adhesive labels will be supplied, at no cost, to all customers who have already purchased an iPhone 4 and will be offered as an additional extra to future customers for a modest charge of $0.99. Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, is expected to tell the gathered media tomorrow that these stickers...ahem, I mean the high contrast, adhesive-based, instructional messaging system will deliver an unparalleled visual feedback mechanism which if used properly will deliver increased signal strength whilst leaving the iPhone's sleek form factor unchanged. It is also expected that senior vice president of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, will appear in a video wearing a grey T-shirt and gesticulating wildly with his hands, while very possibly using the word 'magical'.

14 Jul 2010

My Life Revisited. Part 10: 1977 (bonus video edition)

If we go back some thirty-three years to the 7th of June, 1977, we find the UK strangely united behind our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. That was the day that on which the country celebrated her Silver Jubilee, marking the occasion of twenty-five years on the throne. As I recall it was a national holiday and people across the country held street parties to celebrate Her Majesty's special day. It seems strange, thinking back, that this was a time when our monarchy was still held in high regard, and with a fair degree of affection. The subsequent decades put an end to that with a never-ending series of royal scandals, though it was touching to see some reverence for the Queen restored by the time of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. I guess it's not inconceivable that she will be around to celebrate a 75th (diamond?) anniversary in 2027!

Like many households, we too took part in a Silver Jubilee party, hosted by our neighbors in their back garden. Another neighbor captured some of the 'festivities' on video (on Super 8 film I believe). At that time in the UK, video cameras were kind of a big deal. I don't think i ever saw anyone else with any sort of portable video recorder for another ten years or so. As it was, I didn't get to see this footage until some 25 years or so later, when my neighbors received a copy of the clip on VHS tape and they then converted it into a digital format. Take a look at the video...

(download)

Featured in this video are my parents and my two brothers, along with our neighbors and their two kids. I'm the one in the turquoise colored top. Tony (the neighbors son and the youngest person in the video) remains one of my best friends, and as he was born in the house that features in the video, I can say that I have literally known him for all of his life. Note the presence of bunting and home-made hats, all in the Union Jack colors of red, white, and blue. Also note the entertainments: the classic garden game of 'reel-the-thing-in-between-your-legs' and 'negotiate-hat-obstacle-course-on-stilts'. i guess this is what we had to do to amuse ourselves while waiting for Nintendo to invent the GameBoy.

The sad aspect of watching this video is that my father died of a brain tumor about six years after it was filmed. I'm glad to have this video as this is probably the only time in his life that he was ever captured on film. How times change. Kids growing up today will no doubt discover that their life-on-film starts from the time their parents make YouTube videos from their sonogram. I guess it is only fitting that I end a Silver Jubilee video with an appropriate message of God save the Queen.