Category Archives: Hardware

Top 10 Dos and Don’ts of Google Glass

With Google Glass becoming more widely available, at least in its developmental form, here’s a list of top tips, learned from practical – and sometimes painful – experience …

OK, so you’ve given in to the hype and got your hands on a Google Glass set.  Now, what are you going to do with it?  Well, whether you just intend to have fun or you’ve serious development in mind, here are a few pointers for getting the best from the kit … and avoiding the worst:

FIVE DON’Ts

  1. Never take the set of the box unless you’re fully clothed. (This has to be top of the list. With technology that can accidentally take a photo with a wink and post it online with a cough, you have to be very careful.)
  2. Don’t tell anyone you’ve got one. (Well, not many people anyway. Apart from the increased risk of getting it pinched, you’ll be constantly pestered by people wanting to ‘have a go’.  If you are prepared to loan it out, refer everyone to rule 1: remember, it’ll probably be your accounts things appear on.)
  3. Don’t put it on in public if you’re the slightest bit shy. (Most people still haven’t seen Glass in the flesh so you’re bound to get a large number staring at you pretty quickly.)
  4. Give Google Glass a miss if you’re remotely prone to headaches. (For some people, the problem seems to go away after a time but for many it doesn’t.)
  5. Glass might not work for you if you’re short-sighted. (You may only see a blur. Somewhat surprisingly, long-sighted people don’t seem to have much of a problem.)

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Shazam for People?

When Shazam first arrived on the scene, it was pretty amazing stuff; now, we rather take it for granted.  But could the same idea soon work for people?

We know the scenario … You’re in a bar or a shop or listening to the radio or TV … or … just about anything really … and you hear a song that you either like or think you recognise or both … but you don’t know what it is.  Frustrating, isn’t it?  At least it was until music identification services such as Shazam first appeared.  After that, no worries; simply allow your mobile to listen to the music for a few seconds, search the central database and, after a few more seconds, it reports back to you with full details of the name, artist and origin.  It might even link you to a central library where you can find more of the same or possibly buy it.

Simple enough; but, might the same principle one day work for people?  It’s really not that hard to imagine …

Picture1Accessible text version of photo

Then: “Ah, but this is only the free stuff.  If you’re prepared to pay, I can tell you a lot more about him … “

It sounds like a science fiction ‘Big Brother for Everyone’ nightmare scenario.  But could it happen?  If so, how soon? Continue reading


‘Things’ Ain’t What They Used to Be

(or “Is ‘Everything’ Going to be OK?”)

A very brief note, this one, along the lines of, “Why do we always over-hype ideas?  Even the good ones?”

So is it the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) or the ‘Internet of Everything’ (IoE)?  Or are they different things?  If so, what’s the difference?

Well, we’ve been talking about the IoT for some time now.  And it certainly seems to some that the IoE is just a better-sounding name for it.  Cisco though seem to have other ideas.  Here, “Cisco Senior Vice President Rob Soderbery explains how technology transitions like the Internet of Things are enabling the Internet of Everything to revolutionize industries and create value.”  Any idea what that actually means?  Nope, thought not. Continue reading


A Christmas Cracker Algorithm!

T’is the season to be jolly … and silly.  So here’s a seasonal and jolly silly example of why it’s hard to implement high-level languages efficiently.  Liberties are taken with the hardware/software relationship in some parts of the analogy but, hey, it’s Christmas!

Let’s write an algorithm for pulling a Christmas cracker …

  • Buy a box of crackers and bring home
  • Take a cracker out of the box
  • Get two people to hold an end each
  • Pull in opposite directions
  • Have fun with what’s inside
  • Clear up the mess

That’s probably going to be enough detail for most people (and more than enough for some).  However, if you’re the one that’s been entrusted with the initial purchase or the child told to do the clearing up, you might want a bit more to go on; what’s actually involved in that bit?  And who are the ‘two people’ anyway?  OK then, if needed, we can easily expand this a touch …

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