Random Thoughts

Apple Subtly Change Keyboard Experience in OS X Lion

Drew — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:53:56 +0000

We’ve all been there, you have the Mac keyboard in front of you and suddenly you hear the beep-beep-beep as it tries to enter a thousand Xs into the Finder as you accidentally press the key. Well not in OS X Lion. Go on try it. Press and hold a key. No auto repeat.

However, [...]

Turn Any Web App Into An OS X App With Fluid

Drew — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:54:39 +0000

More and more of what we do these days is via the web, from Google Mail to Salesforce there are apps for pretty much any task. Living in the browser is fine but I tend to have a lot of tabs open and sometimes it is nice to just launch an app for a specific [...]

Photos Roundup

Drew — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:35:13 +0000

I’ve uploaded several albums to Flickr and didn’t get around to updating the blog to reflect that. So here in one go is a bit of a catch up.

First off, a few photos from a weekend break in Cumbria.

Next up some photos from in and around Runnymede, site of the signing of [...]

Secure iPad/iPhone Usage on Insecure WiFi

Drew — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 11:24:51 +0000

When I opted for an iPad I chose the 3G version so that I could use it when away from WiFi but as useful as this is it is still bound by caps on usage and can be variable in coverage. The other day I was at an event and had these issues so checked [...]

Aweditorium for iPad is Awesome for music

Drew — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:07:01 +0000

Aweditorium is a free app for the iPad which is designed to allow you to find indie music. If you are thinking meh then let me tell you that this app does this in an awesome, immersive and gorgeously presented way.

When you download and start it up you are presented with a [...]

Who needs iTunes for The Beatles when you can hear them in the medium of Ukulele?

Drew — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:26:30 +0000

So this week the Beatles finally came to iTunes. Meh. If you want the real Beatles then look no further than The Beatles Complete on Ukulele. Genius.

paper.li – Catch up on your Twitter feed

Drew — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:14:53 +0000

Twitter is great but I can't watch it all day every day and so I've known for a while that I've been missing things. For much of this it isn't an issue, Twitter is largely transient after all, but there is a lot of content from the people I follow that is of interest and [...]

Posterous – The one blog to feed them all

Drew — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:42:31 +0000

Posterous is a site that has been around for a while but may have passed people by. In simple terms it is a blogging tool but what sets it apart is that it is designed to be as simple to get posts up as possible. With that in mind the default way to post is [...]

Photos from Norfolk

Drew — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:01:58 +0000

Just had a short break in and around Thetford in Norfolk and have created the obligatory Flickr album.

The album can be found here.

Hatfield Forest

Drew — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:54:16 +0000

A new Flickr album of a walk around Hatfield Forest. This is a contradictory place with lots of peaceful woods to explore including deer (sadly despite seeing elegant Stag didn’t get a photo as it went into the thick undergrowth very quickly) but borders Stansted Airport so plans take off and land on the edge [...]

Gapminder World – Data Visualisation Tool

Drew — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:24:50 +0000

Gapminder World is a fantastic resource. In a nutshell it is a huge repository of world trend data covering a massive range of subjects. To cite some of the examples from the home page;

Wealth & Health of Nations CO2 emissions since 1820 Who has most internet users? Is child mortality falling? Where is HIV [...]

Attenborough Nature Reserve

Drew — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:35:21 +0000

New Flickr album of a walk around the Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottingham. A really pleasant place and only a handful of miles from Nottingham city centre.

Album is here.

Photos from a passing through Cambridgeshire

Drew — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:18:09 +0000

Two new sets of photos taken from a couple of National Trust places in Cambridgeshire as I travelled back from Essex.

Gallery from Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill can be seen here.

Gallery from Houghton Mill is here.

[...]

Using OpenID from Your Own Domain

Drew — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:12:21 +0000

I’ve recently added OpenID support to my WordPress installations via a plugin. This allows anyone with an OpenID to log in and set up a profile using an existing provider such as Google,Yahoo etc rather than having to remember yet another username/password combination.

However the one problem I have had using OpenID is that [...]

Carsington Water Photos

Drew — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:02:11 +0000

Went for a walk around Carsington Water today. Carsington is a reservoir in Derbyshire (near Ashbourne) run by Severn Trent. The site has some really nice walks, all well signposted and it’s easy to combine them with other freely available instructions on the internet to take in some of the local villages as well [...]

What Motivates Us At Work?

Drew — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:32:32 +0000

I’ve read research along these lines before but this is a really nice way of illustrating the findings relating to what motivates us to work. The results surprise many but should be mandatory reading for anyone who manages others.

[...]

Rufford Abbey and The Workhouse Photos

Drew — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:08:38 +0000

Goose from Rufford Abbey

Up on Flickr now are two sets of photos taken from a trip around Nottinghamshire.

The first batch are from the English Heritage site Rufford Abbey (and the park around it) including a walk around the lake.

The second is from The Workhouse which is a National Trust property in [...]

Pictures from Calke Abbey

Drew — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:04:21 +0000

Another Piggy Originally uploaded by drewkeavey

Calke Abbey in Derbyshire is a National Trust property that is unique in that far from being a place that has been renovated it has been restored back to the eccentric ramshackle creation of the former owners. A couple of elements stand out, pigs and stuffed birds. [...]

Map A SkyDrive Folder In Windows via Office 2010

Drew — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:28:15 +0000

DISCLAIMER: What I’m about to describe is tortuous and potentially useless but I use it and I even give an easier alternative so there .

Google tend to get most of the buzz (no pun intended) around the “Cloud” and Microsoft tend to be seen as a company who are being dragged kicking and [...]

Hubble 20th Aniversary Google Earth Tour

Drew — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:29:51 +0000

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Hubble telescope Google has put together a file with a short 5 minute Google Earth tour of some of the iconic images gathered over the years. It relies on a version of Google Earth with the Sky mode but any recent version should have that. The tour has [...]