Silent Development

Image To ZX Spec 1.3.3_02 Released

2012-10-30T21:55:00.000Z

Image To ZX Spec 1.3.3_02 has now been released. For a full description read more here Changes (since 1.3.3_01): Version 1.3.3_02 Fixed an image resize bug which was forcing output to 256x192. Fixed preview image flicker and preview image input-output synchronisation. Removed two video queue bottlenecks (improves video conversion speed). Removed all video pre-buffering (real time loading

Image To ZX Spec 1.3.3 Released

2012-08-09T22:51:00.001Z

Version 1.3.3_01 of Image To ZX Spec is now freely available! Image to ZX Spec is written in Java and will work on Windows, Linux (tested on Ubuntu) or any Java 6 capable operating system. Full colour conversion Image To ZX Spec is an image and video converter that can produce "Spectrumized" retro art images of any size and convert real work to use on the ZX Spectrum, an emulator as a

Downloads back online

2012-07-29T16:10:00.003Z

The site hosting is back, all downloads should be working.

Downloads Broken, Hosting Offline

2012-07-28T16:47:00.005Z

It seems like my hosting is offline, I don't know how long this will be but if it doesn't come back up sadly my most recent backup doesn't contain some of the most recent builds or source of software and this may be permanently lost. Apologies for the inconvenience - if you were after apps like Aerofoil please check the Softpedia mirror which are mentioned on the blog posts.

Image To ZX Spec 1.3.1 Released

2012-01-17T22:06:00.001Z

Version 1.3.1 of Image To ZX Spec (more details) has now been released and is freely available. Image to ZX Spec is written in Java and will work on Windows, Linux (tested on Ubuntu) or any Java 6 capable operating system. Version 1.3.1- Added Anim Gif export feature. - Updated licence/about information.Downloads:Image to ZX Spec 1.3.1 Standalone (direct download, just unzip and double click

Reebok i-Run (Reebok Pure?) - Change KPH to MPH

2011-08-14T21:16:00.010Z

The Reebok i-Run treadmill manual is poor and doesn't explain how to change the distance metric (from KPH to MPH or vice versa) and I know it's really annoying when you accidentally switch the modes during usage but can't work out how it was done (or if it was a software bug in the console). There appears to be many versions of this treadmill (and I think it's now named the Reebok Pure), at

Sinclair Spectrum +3 to Amstrad CTM644 Monitor

2011-07-19T22:40:00.009Z

I had a small amount of free time recently and rather than program I decided to hook up my old Speccy to an Amstrad CPC monitor to get an improved picture of scart quality. The old Amstrad CPC CTM 644 monitors are very cheap at car boot sales these days (if you can find them) but brilliant for retro gaming as Amigas and other computers can be connected to them. Here's a short how to on how I made

Image to ZX Spec 1.3.0_01 Released

2011-06-18T21:57:00.008Z

Update: Version 1.3.1 is now available. Version 1.3.0_01 of Image To ZX Spec (more details) has now been released and is freely available. Image to ZX Spec is written in Java and will work on Windows, Linux (tested on Ubuntu) or any Java 6 capable operating system.Changes:Version 1.3.0_01- Added support for drag and drop on Ubuntu.- Minor Ubuntu window size issue fixed. - Fixed bad line

OT: Worst (First) Bus Awards

2011-03-17T12:22:00.004Z

Brightened my day to know I'm not the only one who suffers public transport.

Image To ZX Spec 1.3.0 Released

2011-03-03T22:12:00.036Z

Update: Version 1.3.1 is now available here. Version 1.3.0(_01) of this application has now been released and is freely available.Image To ZX Spec 1.3.0 is a multi core capable image and video converter that can produce vintage computer art images (jpeg/png) of any size and can even convert work to a real ZX Spectrum (or an emulator) as a slideshow or video. This is useful to create retro 8bit

Baps Delay

2010-12-05T00:14:00.006Z

I was hitting a wall of bugs with my original version of the Baps app due to having to break requests in Bluetooth messages so I decided to re-write using streams (which is how data travels over regular network connections), which seemed like a really good idea but thanks to this 512 byte Nokia limitation/bug in JavaME it's going to take a bit longer to work around.

Bluetooth Access Point Service (Baps) Progress

2010-11-29T08:18:00.007Z

Following on from this post I'm now adding new longer status updates as new posts.The design of Baps has meant that the current implementation is mostly transparent and does not know about any of the underlying data being sent, contrasted with Hiisi which re-interpreted each http request. The benefit to my approach this is that there is less likely to be an error on my part in resending any type

Nokia 5230 and Internet over Bluetooth Software - "Baps"

2010-11-12T12:55:00.022Z

PROGRESS UPDATE 4 17/03/11:Work has stopped until I have some significantly free time. HTTP errors and traffic timeouts are causing the main problems and will require a lot more than a few hours of an evening which my other projects take, especially to make it easy for Joe User to install and configure. This is the next project on my todo list but I have a lot of other pressing things I need to

Not dead (at least not yet).

2010-10-10T09:02:00.002Z

The blog has been a bit stagnant in recent weeks (I've added a new Mozilla Firefox Persona however!) simply because I've not had the time to do much programming or reviewing. Yeah I know the secret to a successful blog is to update update update but sometimes we all need a holiday.So what's the plan? Well my work for the Christmas run is still to complete Vampire Castle (it's a cursed project

Opt out of PayPal Adchoice (UK - untested worldwide)

2010-09-14T10:31:00.014Z

PalPal's new Novermber 1st policy updates includes marketing policy changes that are very difficult to opt out of.The full back plot is below but in summary to opt out of Paypal marketing you need to visit the link below and use your Ebay account. Note this probably only works if you are in the UK and I've found no way of doing it with my Paypal account - please comment below if you do. For why

Vampire Castle Preview Minor Update

2010-07-31T12:37:00.006Z

I've been working this weekend on Vampire Castle so I've updated the preview version available to download.Changes:- Money now needed before play starts (press R button to add cash).- Money is deducted.- Fruit machines can now be completely wiped from memory to load another (but still only one machine available) - I love my fruit machine model component propagation :).- A couple of wild pointers

Three and ZTE F102 Saga: We ... haven’t altered any functionality for Skype

2010-07-10T18:29:00.012Z

UPDATE: I wrote this application as a workaround. Three it seems are changing Skype on other phones on the Three network.This is part 3, part 2 and part 1Edited to remove account specific info.I followed their instructions and it downloaded the "minimise background" version and lo and behold it still doesn't work. I'll now going to follow their official complaints procedure and if that doesn't

FreeKicker 1.0 Released

2010-07-03T12:48:00.012Z

FreeKicker is a tiny free open source Java ME application to start Skype V4 from another phone.You may need this application if you have friends who want to call you on your Java ME mobile (with Skype 4 installed) and it is currently not running, perhaps due to bugs or issues. Your friends just need to start FreeKicker and enter your phone number to "kick"* it. This will cause Skype on your phone

Update on Skype on F102 3 phone exiting when minimised

2010-06-29T09:57:00.008Z

In a break from the norm I'm posting my 3 correspondence on my blog to garner some attention, maybe you'll have some fun reading it but the real grit on what I've uncovered can also be found here on the Skype forum.My email is probably overkill and hyperbole but I was quite incensed by finding the forced upgrade deliberately prevents incoming calls when Skype is in the background and when Three's

Skype on three.co.uk 3 telecom not receiving calls

2010-06-26T08:40:00.007Z

This is Part 1 (my first email), Part 2 of this is hereI'm putting this out there to see how many other people are having a problem with the recent Skype update disconnecting when idle or not minimising meaning you can no longer receive incoming Skype calls. I sent this to three.co.uk support, lets see what I get back:Dear Sir/Madam,Since recently updating Skype on my ZTE F102 the application no

Surfing the web Sinclair ZX Spectrum style

2010-06-08T11:57:00.006Z

Recently I've integrated a Java proxy server and Image to ZX Spec to allow you to surf the web seeing every image as would be displayed on a ZX Spectrum.Of course the youtube video being low resolution doesn't really help, but look at about 2 minutes in to see the difference when I disable the proxy.I'll be releasing the proxy patches and a modified version of Image to ZX Spec that will allow you

Chinavasion's Gold Bar 16GB USB Review

2010-06-06T13:44:00.025Z

The honeymoon period:Shortly after receiving my 16GB Chinavasion Gold Bar USB Stick the other week I went about immediately using and testing it and found it wasn't very reliable. Since Chinavasion refused to publish my review I'll provide the fully damning one here. Incidentally as of the time of writing, 6/6/10, and after my quick search of reviews Chinavasion don't appear to have many (any?) 2

Supreme Commander 2 - My Epic Battle 1 vs ENTIRE ARMY

2010-05-30T11:27:00.001Z

....and I won.That was my Saturday night... nice.

New Software Thoughts

2010-05-26T12:41:00.007Z

I don't have much free time to spend on programming but when I do it's usually fixing or improving existing software. I'm at a point now where I can see the end of my current list of projects (Vampire Castle DS still to go) and have been thinking about some other new cool software to write.Here's a few ideas:Javais (Windows/Linux):A virtual butler with a British accent. Ever wanted your own

Aerofoil 1.5.1 Released (64 and 32 bit builds available)

2010-05-24T23:37:00.028Z

The award winning Aerofoil has now been updated to 1.5.1!Aerofoil extends Vista and Windows 7 notebook battery life by:Allowing you to manually disable Aero Glass.Optionally managing Aero Glass user interface.Optionally managing sound muting.Optionally managing your chosen power plans.Optionally managing Windows Sidebar.Optionally showing a quick hibernate button.Changing icon colour to show