iSatman - Trials and Tribulations of a geek

ElectronicPlumber.com

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:19:32 GMT

So I have launched my latest venture, a Residential Technical Consultancy.

Get over and check it out now at http://ElectronicPlumber.com ..

Raspberry Pi and XBMC

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:34:45 GMT

Ive been running an old XBOX with XMBC4XBOX for some time now and it finally gave up for dead so it was time for a replacement. I thought it might be a good time to get an Apple TV3 but soon realised that it is a horribly restricted piece of kit unless you jailbreak it, also for 99GBP I could easily get another old XBOX and chip it up to replace the old one. The older ATV1 and 2 seem to be double the price as they can be JB’ed , but don’t appear to handle 1080p which isn’t great.

My current setup consists of a central PC with all my media available over Samba and Media Server. The Lounge uses a Ps3 as a client which gives me HDMI audio and video via a Sony amp. The bedroom has the now defunct XBOX feeding via SCART to the TV and audio via optical to an amp. Pretty much everything is hardwired or using homeplugs, WIFI N for those carry about devices.

So along came the Raspberry Pi, for 32GBP a lovely credit cardsize piece of kit that can easily be setup for XMBC using Raspbmc or openELECdistros stored on a cheap SD card. This offers great 1080p video and audio overHDMI but what I love about it the most is the ability to support Airplay and AirVideo, allowing me to throw audio and video to the main system from my ipad, which also doubles up as a Remote Control via a free app. If it’s not to hand I have set it up so I can remote control on my Android phone or via http browser . The only thing I would have liked is an optical out, my bedroom amp is pre HDMI so can only handle optical or stereo RCA, so for now I have to put up with stereo audio via the Raspberry Pi headphone jack.

I had a couple of SkyBoxWifi Dongles lying about which work very well as a cheap wifi adapter (6GBP),both distros had the drivers by default, but I decided to hard wire it to the network for stable performance.

Quiz Service SOAP 1.2

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:26:11 GMT

So I have been playing about with a quiz engine which can serve a simple Question and Answer over a SOAP service.
The service can be invoked via http://isatman.com/Basic/Quotes/quote.asmx/quiz returning a string array that can be consumed. Details of the request can be seen http://isatman.com/Basic/Quotes/quote.asmx. I would be interested to see if anyone can do something useful with this, maybe write a simple quiz game but for now this is it.
This all comes from building a quiz and quotes sheet with various categories, listing 25 at a time which you can see http://www.isatman.com/Quotes

Day 1 withdrawal from World of Warcraft

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:54:17 GMT

In about 9 months I managed to create and level four characters,mostly by Solo play with a few random battlegrounds and all the dungeons finders.

Undead Mage level 85 : The only character I took to level 85 so far, equipped with full PVP and PVE gear but I no top level gear as I don’t really Raid

NightElf Hunter level 80 : My first ever character, the one that got me hooked on this amazing game. Took me quite a few levels before I realised how to control the pet properly and use it to attack, kinda muddled through.

Human Rogue level 80 : loved sneaking around invisible and with powerful blades dripping with poisons it made a formidable opponent on the battlefield as well as in PVE

Pandarian Warrior level 81 : Great powerful beast equipped with looms to easily take on mobs 2 or 3 levels higher, made for quick levelling and very fun tanking runs

Mists of Pandaria has been out for a while now but I decided to call it a day and get back to the real world, maybe I will pick it back upin a few months but for now – adios Blizzard

Val D'Isere Snowboarding 2012

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:24:00 GMT

This year I managed to have a go on the Airbag jump which was incredible fun!

You can follow this link to the footage of the jump, but for a POV view I have posted this clip too. Currently both clips reside on Facebook so you might not be able to access them, but I will try to Youtube them shortly [edit : this is done now] but here is the embedded version..

Ipad2 iPhone 4S jailbroken today iOS 5.0.1

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:59:12 GMT

It appears a jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 on the Ipad2 and iPhone 4S is imminent if we are to believe this video posted by a friend of the famed hacker Pod2g. I hope this can be done pretty soon as really want to run VLC on my Ipad2 .. read all about it here

Gumtree search tool

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:57:51 GMT

I always wanted an easy way to add price criria to gumtree searches to filter out the timewasters, so here is a simple tool to do just that.
Its quite basic using gumtree RSS as a source, no alerts or anything but it highlights prices within a given range in green or red, with the ability to show only green.. access it from http://www.isatman.com/gumtree and let me know what you think.

LoveFilm 2 Months Free Code

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:54:08 GMT

I got sent a few LoveFilm voucher codes for 2 months free any package, feel free to use them..

Code : XQDMWEHK9

good for PS3 game packages aswell as online streaming to your ipad or console..

MVC 3 with SQLCE4.0 Roles and Membership

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:12:43 GMT

Ive been experimenting with MVC 3 in VS2010 but wanted to be able to deploy the sites with ASP Roles and Membership capability without having to sign up for MSSQL hosting.

Sqlce4.0 is a nice compact database with enough oompf to be usable as a membership database, but some hosters dont provide the necessary libraries to run it, even with a Server 2008 / .Net 4.0 environment.

The main issue was to find a provider package which would enable MVC or Webforms to be able to use an sqlce4.0 (sdf) database easily, in the past I ran this blog using MS Access as a way to host free databases and used that.

I first implemented a blank MVC 3 site with ErikEJ.SqlCeMembership 2.1 NuGet package which worked well, but Microsoft have just released their Microsoft Universal Web Provider which makes it even easier.

After creating a new MVC 3 web application (C#) I needed to Add Deployable Dependancies (right click on project in VS2010 Solution Explorer) to make sure the MVC and SQL4.0 files were added to the project to allow hosting properly. Both versions are downloadable as VS2010 templates (download the zip files and place in your documents/VS2010/Templates/ProjectTemplates folder )

MVC site with ErikEJ.SqlCeMembership 2.1 NuGet package
MVC site with Microsoft Universal Web Provider

They both include a prepared SqlCeAspnetdb.sdf database with a user Administrator (pwd mvc4dmin) and a couple of Roles, these can be altered using the ASP.Net Configuration tool in Solution Explorer.

SQL Database Dilemma

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:04:40 GMT

SQL databases for Light Developers

Ive spent the last day tinkering with various SQL offerings trying to find something that I can use as an impoverished developer with DiscountASP.NET hosting without having to fork out extra cash. My current hosting is a Windows 2008 Server with .NET 4 for ASP.NET framework web applications, development is in VS2010, while recently dabbling in WebMatrix 2.

MS SQL 2008 R2

The daddy of databases, Integration with VS2010 is as good as it gets.
most expensive option to host, also to have it as a test rig is not really an option.
SQL Management Studio to manage database engine is pretty good

SQL EXPRESS 2008

Free offering from MS, so good for freelance developers
Integrates well with VS2010, great for Entity Framework models
DASP does not support SQLExpress, but its .mdf files can be attached to MS SQL db via control panel

MS ACCESS 2007

quick easy portable mdb files for easy portability but much maligned for its web hosting failures
integrates ok with VS2010 Server Explorer, although needed a bunch of providers when used to provide membership services for a web forms website. Editing within MSAccess itself is the best way to develop the database
I quite like using MS Access as its free to host and supports Inline Parameterised Queries which show up as Stored Procedures in VS2010 SE. Prefer this approach to put as much SQL in the DB rather than in code.

SQL Compact Edition 4.0

lightweight standalone offering which should work as an .sdf file deployed
Requires VS2010 SP1 and
Webmatrix likes this ok, but VS2010 deployment requires the relevant framework files to be copied over into the bin folder on DASP for it to work
No way to store queries that I can see, only Tables which doesn't suit the way I prefer to code yet but working with the EF Model might allow for better design.
SQL Management Studio only supports SQLCE 3.5 files, not 4.0 which is a big let down, all manipulation needs to be done within VS2010 but a nice tookit (SQL Server Compact Toolbox) helps.
Supports EF Data models which are quite good for data classes and it works with MVC 3 deployments

MySQL

Another lightweight offering which DASP charges half the price of MS SQL to host
ideal for Wordpress type deployement, WebMatrix 2 has it as a deployable app in its gallery
no EF integration or management within VS2010 except for the Server Explorer, but can be used as a membership service with the Connector/.NET addon
still deciding if I want to use MySQL, its lack of EF Modelling in VS2010 deters me somewhat as its something I want to persue.

I cant really decide which database to opt for, I'm reluctant to fork out $10 a month just to have a playground and I'm not quite sure If I can use SQLExpress .mdf files to develop and just attach them to MS SQL on publish. MS Access is convenient but not really practical in a multiuser environment, although this blog site I wrote is currently using it for membership and story, comments and data quite happily. I was quite excited by SQLCE4 but I its lack of SP or queries puts me off.

I could be wrong on a few points here but if anything changes I will post a comment

Problem with IPAD browser and CSS menu

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:17:29 GMT

I seem to have a problem with the CSS menu on this site when viewed from an IPAD, where the drop down does not stay selectable, even with an aps.net DisappearAfter property set serverside. selecting it shows the submenu but the browser automatically selects the root item .. Will look for solutions

MetroBank and the Coin Machine

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:42:20 GMT

Dilemma : I had a huge bag of coins that I wanted to bank, the various options I had were to

i ) count, bag then deposit over a counter which frankly is rubbish
ii) use Coinmaster machines in Asda or Tesco. This was an easy option but they take nearly 9% of your deposit, I had over 30kg of coins to definitely did not feel like losing that much in commission
iii) open a bank account with Metrobank, HSBC or Barclays to use their in-branch coin counter machines.

Metrobank rules! : I walked in with ID, 16 minutes later walk out with a full bank account with bank card at 5pm on a saturday - really is a WOW, why cant other banks be as efficient?
HSBC gave me a form to post off, and once approved return to a branch with ID, and then find a branch with a coin machine that isn't full, meh..
Barclays also have machines but the nearest one in Moorgate is no longer there apparently. Although setting up an account is straight forward, it still cant beat the efficiency of Metrobank so I didn't bother.

The coinmaster option seemed good for the Lazy approach, but when I finally emptied the bag (with only 5 foreign coins! ) the total came to a whopping �487.11 ! - 9% would have been quite a lot of 1p and 2p !
I have just ordered a new Ipad 2 for myself out of the proceeds :)

Facebook Changes to How Sharing Works

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:17:57 GMT

Facebook is updating its Sharing options https://www.facebook.com/about/sharing which are starting to fill that void that Google created with its Circles.

In facebook you need to create a group and then you can select this group when posting a message, making it only visible to that group. Im not sure what would happen if a member of that group decides to share it out with other people, a classic problem with photo albums in the past where they ended up being viewed outside the intended group.

Google+ Invites Available

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:11:02 GMT

I have a few hundred Google invitations available - click on the link below to get a direct invitation

http://bit.ly/nz4xzk

feel free to add me to your circle.. click on an ad as a thank you..

Kmeaw 3.55 with BBC Iplayer

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:17:21 GMT

So it appears BBC Iplayer has had an update recently which now prevents it from playing unless your PS3 Firmware is at least 3.60 instead of 3.55. I tried accessing the BBC site via the browser but the click functionality seems to be disabled, you can only select categories...hmm

4OD and ITV both seem to be playing fine but I wonder if this is a plan by Sony to prevent modified PS3 units from accessing IPlayer or similar online features like LoveFilm.

will keep an eye out for a fix..

Assassins Creed : Brotherhood PS3

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:31:15 GMT

I just finished playing this awesome game, probably as good as Uncharted 2 in depth, graphics and gameplay.
I played it the hard way with not paying much attention to the tutorials but it wasn't long before I discovered the power of hired assassins to do the dirty work, nice!

I only got stuck in two places where I had to refer to a walkthrough just so I could carry on.
1st : killing the guard in the Pantheon - I just could not get Enzio to climb in without falling.
2nd : the apple, how to use it to kill the centurion.

Another thing i wanted to do was go back into Rome and play as Enzio after I had completed the game, I discovered you can do this if you let all the end credits finish.. not a bad thing as all the hard work thats gone into making this game deserves some recognition.

Windows MovieMaker and MP4 HD files

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:55:07 GMT

I had a nice surprise today when I wanted to edit some MP4 HD video from my Sony H55 camera.

In the past I had to find a third party MP4 video editing application but lo and behold Windows MovieMaker (running on Windows 7 SP1 64bit) allowed me to open the file and edit it like a normal AVI clip.

At first I thought it did not work as preview playback was black, but along the status bar I saw a message saying 'Preparing 1 of 5' as I had 5 clips, once the preparation was done MovieMaker allowed me to edit the files with transitions, adding music and also speeding up playback speed which is what I wanted, and generated a finalised movie in WMV format

[ROM]LeeDrOiD V3.0.6-R2 SMS disappearing Issue

Fri, 20 May 2011 20:55:02 GMT

So I installed LeeDroid 3.0.6 today on my HTC Desire which is a Gingerbread ROM, Adroid 2.3.3 . Its an awesome ROM , and I love the FastBoot features of Gingerbread (Off to usable Phone in less than 5 seconds! no kidding)

Everything was fine until I rebooted (twice) and noticed all my sent SMS messages were not showing. I played around a bit by sending messages to myself and rebooting and found I could reproduce the bug like this (appreciate if someone else could test)
1.in SMS settings enable 'Delete old messages' which should happen on storage limits being reached.
2. send sms to yourself
3. look at your SMS and read thread (you should see two entries, one you sent, one you received)
4. put SMS in All Messages view (so you can see all message threads with a count)
5. Power Off Phone after reboot go back to your SMS messages and see if all your Sent are now deleted (or not showing)

on my phone I could stop this behaviour so far by disabling 'Delete Old Messages' and keeping the SMS app looking at a thread instead of looking at 'All Messages' Hope this can assist the devs at XDA with troubleshooting. Im guessing its some issue with the Delete Old Messages Settings

Hide Element until Page Loaded

Mon, 02 May 2011 23:18:29 GMT

So Ive had a problem with this ever since I had this blog up and running a few months ago. The menu bar is a .NET Menu Control but it is styled using CSS. When the page loaded the delay caused by the recent list index made the menu display with partial CSS for a second or two until the full CSS was loaded and applied by the browser.

Finally I managed to find a method where it initially hides the menu and when the page is loaded displays it using Javascript.
this is how for the menu element called 'Menu1' with class 'menu' applied in CSS
in CSS sheet set
.menu { display:none; }
in HTML set
<body onload="javascript:document.getElementById('Menu1').style.display = 'inline-block';">
this simply triggers the javascript when the page loads the main body and resets the display to show the menu element

Comment Spammers

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:06:33 GMT

well something happened this morning where someone decided to storm my comments and leave some sort of spam posts like "Tanhks alot - your answer solved all my problems after several days struggling" . Im glad to say my defense scripts sort of worked and did not allow link backs to rubbish links but it was intriguing to discover where they originated. here is some data from the posts ill make public so anyone can investigate further or blacklist

Username, Email, linkback, IP of Origin
Lacey, g.plodiet@hotmail.jp, fHQplBiHryVCVDeA, 173.255.235.113
Roseanna, x.tamoufliew@novell.ch, NEuepNPiE, 83.16.130.214
Earthwind, yourname@yourdomain.com, LnqkEOjedESVHceXjw, 186.1.14.21
Seston, kelly@messymonkeyarts.com, fcrPRQQE, 201.33.97.57
Roxy, j4ckdaniels@web.de, PMwjyRXQSUf, 94.190.19.10
Loran, joi@nea.ufsc.br, uRGVwJyQmkWXOUyA, 67.192.52.186
Kevrel, 20oped@inq7.net, WSIVFMNia, 69.67.166.20

Google FaceTime Video Chat

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:14:14 GMT

It appears that Google are to release a video chat to compete with the apple FaceTime. What i would like to see is come sort of cross platform application that allows Google Video to talk to FaceTime

Early reports show that it will be capable of running over 3G and Wifi so has an advantage over FaceTime. The great thing is you dont both need to be on phones to use it, it integrates with GMail and GTalk apps.

Owners of Android phones will need to update to 2.3 Gingerbread before it will work, and probably a front facing camera.
you can read all about the official google blog here

Alternative to Google AdSense

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:07:25 GMT

So I spent the day today trying to find alternative embedded advert providers as Google Adsense is a little too sensitive to content. I wanted something that was easy to set up, and any revenue payable via PayPal on low limits. As for the amount generated I will have to give it a couple of months to see if I can beat the massive $7.95 this site generated last month :)

First Attempt was Bidvertiser : fairly straight forward to setup and get the code required to show adverts. The quality of the adverts were quite dubious but I didn't mind that much considering where they going. The speed they were served was not acceptable, far too slow holding up the page, frequently failing.

Currently I am testing Addynamo to see if they offer any better ad serving. Initial setup was very quick, and the code was implanted here. At a glance it does appear to serve ads much faster than bidvertiser but the content of the ads seem to be quite limited, in fact only an ad to their website so far but I will give it time.

CMA Alternative Viewer (NSFW)

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:58:45 GMT

This was a geeky project which extracts a list from CelebrityMovieArchive.com using regex and then displays all the photos on one page in a datalist control.

This Only shows images which are available for free on CelebrityMovieArchive.com so go there for all the rest of the features like downloading movies etc.

WARNING : Adult Content!

Google Advert invisible for Default Page

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:34:41 GMT

I had a few issues today when trying to get a page to show a Google Ad, it was hidden half the time but randomly appeared while I was testing. What I discovered was that if only shows if the page is referenced by its full URL directly, like -removed- but if the page is automatically served by IIS as the default document in the directory then it does not appear, like here . Not quite sure whats causing it but I will investigate.

UPDATE : looks like google were blocking the app for the page url and for the default document page, the current page has been moved to here which did show the ads fine with identical code but google have hidden service to that too - ill revert back to the original page and look for an alternative ad hoster

DesiHits

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:20:53 GMT

Good to see the boys from DesiHits still kicking it, released two remixes and got a tweet from Lady Gaga and Britney Spears in the same week!

Quote Database

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:00:20 GMT

I came across a bunch of old files which still make me laugh, so I thought I would try to consolidate them into a repository and maybe have some fun with the results, maybe create a random plucker or story builder

Click here to view the database
Click here to add to database : authentication required

Local Mobile Mast Finder

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:47:24 GMT

Ofcom have had a tool for showing your local transmitters. The new site shows your local masts in Map view or Satellite View. You can then switch to Street View and see the mast yourself. Click on the mast and it’ll tell you who operates it, how powerful it is, what frequency it operates on and whether it’s doing 3G (UMTS). This last bit of information is particularly useful if you’re thinking of switching providers and want to know if your really covered by 3G.

Theres another android app which is similar here

T-Mobile USA Sold To AT&T

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:49:55 GMT

Engadget have just posted the full press release which states Deutsche Telekom have agreed to sell theie T-Mobile USA network to AT&T for the price of $39bn. This will be interesting for customers on data plans out in USA, with Orange in the UK eating up T-Mobile it allows a roaming arrangement for data which is supposed to provide more coverage, but I think the network is much less reliable since the pact. AT&T seem to be monsters out there, providing quite expensive packages where T-Mobile were quite agile. Lets see where it ends up

3.60 Version Spoofer v1.1 on Kmeaw 3.55

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:19:45 GMT

So much seems to be going on in the PS3 scene lately, with Sony strong arm tactics manipulating the law to expose IP addresses for anyone even visiting various links (could google be forced to hand over anyone who searched for CFW 3.60 ?) .

Well CFW3.55 cannot connect to PSN which will stop those silly game cheats who think its fun to wreck someone elses game, but it also prevents other parts of PS3 like ability to log into LoveFilm or authenticating the PS3 again after a HDD change. This 3.60 PSN Spoofer might be worth a try to see if can at least allow some access..

PS3 Kmeaw 3.55 CFW mod

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:15:43 GMT

Ive been putting it off for a while until there was a stable candidate out there but have finally managed to install the Kmeaw 3.55 CFW modified update, along with Multiman 1.14 backup manager onto my system.

I use an external usb HDD to hold backups of discs I own, although some have to be moved to the internal hard disc before they can be played due to the 4GB limit of filesize of FAT32. I had a few problems trying to get things to work, appears you need to run a Lvl2 pack before the game can be launched from the XMB.

Sony Firmware 3.56 is now out so a kmeaw 3.56 version is needed before it can allow connection to PSN

Wii SoftMod 4.3E

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:46:00 GMT

Successfully modded my stock Wii running 4.3E. Now I can backup all my games to an external usb HDD (FAT32). The initial exploit needed Lego Indiana jones , if you cant borrow a copy a good tip is to join Lovefilm on a free trail and rent it, then send it back same day as its not required after the initial exploit.

On the Wii sytem menu I load ConfigurableUSB which lets me access my backed up games stored in WBFS format on a FAT32 single partition. Any downloaded ISO images of the game can be transferred to the same drive using WiiBackup Manager, all pretty fast. Here is a link to the softmod guide I used. Once the Homebrew channel is installed I loaded Wii Explorer to let me navigate.

HTC Media Link wireless DLNA

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:35:06 GMT

This looks like a very interesting piece of kit, media server in a small box which can connect over HDMI to your flatscreens and act as a wifi hotspot to allow your Android mobile device to connect and display its photos and videos. At home it whoud be able to connect to your wifi and display your media stash, not sure how good the divx playback is though or if it allows other mobile phones to work, if they support the new DLNA standard it probably can. Read more about it on coolsmartphone

Procrastination

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:34:30 GMT

When you die no one remembers you for what you might have done, they remember what you did do.

Blog Engine Update IV

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:31:57 GMT

I have added code to the comments area which will maintain line breaks and live URL link entries it discovers (Thanks Jaruzel for the comments).

Incase it helps you here is the code i wrote to parse plain text input and output HTML with active URL links

Sazneo

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:50:03 GMT

http://www.sazneo.com at last a decent corporate chat system which may actually be able to deal with the hole microsoft left behind when they killed Parlano

www.iSatman.com

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:01:54 GMT

well, that didnt take long, all up and running on new domain, now jsut need to notify the previous linkers.

Dont think there is a way I can 301 direct the old domain without hosting it somewhere

New Domain Soon

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:20:31 GMT

Ive just bought www.iSatman.com as I think its nicer than my current one, will be moving everything over to this sometime over the next day or two. This will affect any bookmarks or Feed subscriptions.

On this point I was wondering if its better to direct all my RSS via feedburner instead, may well do that soon before anyone subscribes.

I could keep satman.me.uk pointing to this too but then I would need to pay another $5 month for multiple domains and Im feeling cheap :)

Next project

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:08:16 GMT

So Ive been thinking about my next little project - I will write a legal speak jibberish generator .. feels like it might be fun to concoct a page of jargon

Ajax HTML Editor ignores + sign

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 21:28:26 GMT

Bit of a gripe here but the Ajax HTML Editor Control seems to ignore the + (plus) sign when it is entered. The only way for it to store is to user the character HTML equivalent of &# 43; (without the whitespace) to store it.

RSS Feed Update

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:33:20 GMT

Finally got around to coding an RSS Feed for my blog engine. At the moment an aspx page generates an xml response on demand which saves me having to write a file to the server hard disk but I am thinking if it might be wiser to update an xml file whenever I post a new blog entry instead, to save on database calls. well you can point your feed readers at http://www.isatman.com/iBlog/feed/RSS.aspx to test it out

EasyNews

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:46:30 GMT

Account Information Easynews
You have 127.31 gigabytes (136,699,085,054 bytes) remaining (details).
You have a Classic account.
You have been signed-up continuously since Fri Sep 08 23:00:00 MST 2000 (10.2955187 years).

LeeDroid

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:34:25 GMT

I've now started running LeeDroid Rom on my HTC Desire, performance is pretty good and the Rom is stable.

installed using the Clockwork mod The Rom can be found here

MoH vs COD:BO PS3

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:49:56 GMT

So I started off playing Medal of Honor a month or so ago, the single player mode is far too short but had a pretty good storyline. Online the game was a nightmare, the skill of the other players pretty much gave me a TimetoLive of 3 seconds until I persevered and managed to get some decent weapons. The online servers are reliable and fast, with almost no noticable lag. New maps were introduced which were needed, but im not paying for something that should be in the game from the start. CleanSweep mode is boring and sucks.

Call of Duty I started a couple of days ago - the solo mission took me about a day to complete, much longer than MoH but a lot of it was watching movie sequences which made it quite crap. Online the game falls apart, the weapons available for a newbie are pretty useless and the jerkiness from lag is appalling, constantly getting kicked from servers for lost connection. Im hoping that this is a temporary thing due to it being new but c'mon !

Verdict : MoH wins for Online, but could do with more free maps.

Corporate Gibberish

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:35:06 GMT

Fun use of http://www.andrewdavidson.com/gibberish

It seems remarkable, but it's realistic!

Have you ever wanted to whiteboard your plug-and-play feature set? Immediately? We always streamline user-defined C2C. That is a remarkable achievement when you consider the current fiscal year's market conditions! The capability to target virally leads to the capability to target robustly. We pride ourselves not only on our affiliate-based feature set, but our user-proof administration and easy operation. Imagine a combination of PNG and OWL. Do you have a game plan to become resource-constrained? We will strategize the capability of interfaces to architect. The metrics for extensible TQM are more well-understood if they are not enterprise. We invariably streamline user-centric cyber-ultra-interactive re-purposing. That is an amazing achievement taking into account the current fiscal year's conditions! The metrics for Total Quality Control are more well-understood if they are not best-of-breed. We have proven we know that if you brand interactively then you may also drive proactively. We will drive the capability of users to actualize.

What does the commonly-used industry jargon "initiatives" really mean?

iSatman practically invented the term "bloatware". What does the term "convergence" really mean? Think out-of-the-box. Think killer. Think global. But don't think all three at the same time. The development factor is B2B. Your budget for matrixing should be at least one-tenth of your budget for monetizing. Our functionality is unmatched in the industry, but our killer infomediaries and simple operation is frequently considered a terrific achievement. A company that can revolutionize easily will (at some point in the future) be able to aggregate courageously. Imagine a combination of Apache and ASP. We apply the proverb "You cannot have your cake and eat it too" not only to our CAE but our power to repurpose. What do we morph? Anything and everything, regardless of obscureness! The relationships factor can be summed up in one word: reconfigurable. Think B2C.

Think interactive. Think dynamic. Think bleeding-edge. But don't think all three at the same time.

We here at iSatman believe we know that it is better to revolutionize transparently than to iterate holistically. If all of this sounds wonderful to you, that's because it is! Think intra-scalable. Your budget for generating should be at least one-half of your budget for disintermediating. Think innovative. We will rev up our capability to actualize without devaluing our ability to incubate. The proactive B2C raw bandwidth factor is compelling. Think sexy. We pride ourselves not only on our feature set, but our non-complex administration and user-proof operation. Is it more important for something to be scalable or to be vertical?

Our technology takes the best features of HTML and RDF.

At iSatman, we believe we know how to transition nano-nano-cyber-super-micro-cyber-super-virtually. We think that most customized entry pages use far too much Perl, and not enough RDF. The aptitude to orchestrate dynamically leads to the capacity to maximize cyber-extensibly. The paradigms factor can be summed up in one word: next-generation. Is it more important for something to be sticky or to be leading-edge? We often aggregate plug-and-play C2C2B bloatware. That is an amazing achievement considering the current cycle! A company that can architect easily will (someday) be able to disintermediate courageously. What does it really mean to brand "iteravely"? A company that can strategize fiercely will (eventually) be able to whiteboard correctly. Your budget for optimizing should be at least one-half of your budget for streamlining. Our technology takes the best features of XMLHttpRequest and Python.

We think that most seamless splash pages use far too much C , and not enough XSLT.

We here at iSatman understand that it is better to aggregate virally than to enable robustly. The infomediaries factor is resource-constrained. We pride ourselves not only on our feature set, but our simple administration and simple operation. Do you have a plan of action to become customized? We often facilitate robust research and development. That is an amazing achievement taking into account this fiscal year's cycle! Think distributed. Quick: do you have a cross-media game plan for managing new metrics? If all of this may seem mixed-up to you, that's because it is! Our feature set is second to none, but our global portals and easy operation is usually considered a remarkable achievement. A company that can mesh defiantly will (eventually) be able to target correctly. Imagine a combination of XHTML and Apache. Our granular, distributed, customer-defined feature set is unparalleled in the industry, but our scalable all-hands meetings and simple use is frequently considered a remarkable achievement. Without power shifts, you will lack B2B2C, subscriber-defined project management.

Think mega-co-branded.

iSatman has revamped the theory of micro-subscriber-defined bloatware. What does it really mean to reinvent "vertically"? Think nano-nano-affiliate-based, extensible. We think that most customer-defined web sites use far too much PNG, and not enough OWL. The infomediaries factor is value-added. Our front-end feature set is unparalleled, but our best-of-breed virtual re-sizing and non-complex use is often considered a remarkable achievement. Quick: do you have a intuitive scheme for managing emerging web services? The e-markets factor can be summed up in one word: clicks-and-mortar. The metrics for macro-next-generation compliance are more well-understood if they are not scalable. The aptitude to reintermediate transparently leads to the capability to seize cyber-dynamically. We believe we know that if you syndicate macro-perfectly then you may also engineer magnetically.

boxee.tv HTPC interface

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:18:05 GMT

came across boxee today : link http://www.boxee.tv

Xenu - great web analyser

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:35:57 GMT

came across Xenu today, good web analyser for broken links etc

Google API protocol 2.0 Atom Feeds

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:08:00 GMT

I have managed to code a HTTP request version of the Gallery page I wrote earlier. This method queries the Google API via URL and retrieves an XML Atom feed which is then placed into an XDocument which is parsed for the required data via a LINQ query.

I had some issues at first trying to locate the correct elements but I needed to qualify each Namespace correctly before it gave up the data. You can view the code here

using LINQ to parse XML

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:38:45 GMT

I came across some interesting methods to parse XML using LINQ code here, I think I will incorporate these when I have a go at building RSS feeds and writing the alternative Picasa reader viewer using protocol 2.0. Parsing XML and extracting exactly what data I need seems to be a bit of a chore using standard tree walking methods..

Firing Event from UserControl to Parent Page

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 21:23:45 GMT

Ok the site is now back up and running completely recoded in C# from VB.net. It took about a day to convert all the pages and debug all those little issues that made me dislike C# all those years ago.

One Problem I came across was getting a simple Button control in a UserControl to fire an event back to its parent page, after trawling the net and coming across various versions all of which were a little overcomplicated I thought I would post a simple version.

In the UserControl
// eg declare an event called 'fireback' which is an EventHandler
public event EventHandler fireback;

When you want to fire the event back
if (fireback!= null) //check event is not empty safety
{
fireback(Sender, new EventArgs()); //fire event for main page
}

in the Parent Page to consume it , define the connection and the local code to execute on event detection

my_Usercontrol.fireback += new EventHandler(consumerSub);

where my_Usercontrol is whatever name you assigned to the UserControl and consumerSub is the code you fire when the event happens, for example

protected void consumerSub(object sender, EventArgs e) { ..code.. }

C# re Write

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:41:37 GMT

I have decided to recode the entire site into C# as a learning exercise, right now im struggling to see the benefits of C# over VB in the GUI, C# is a bit anal is a number of aspects, like having to declare the onClick events for each control asp side instead of using a 'handles' in code behind, case sensitive keywords and those damn curlies..but this could just be me finding my way around

RSS Feed

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:39:48 GMT

So Ive been looking into adding an RSS subscribe option to the Engine. RSS seems to be fairly straight forward to produce, all the necessary data is in the database. In the meantime I have added a custom Google search box just to see how it copes.

John Salomon

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:36:45 GMT

http://zog.net just a crazy ass american not living in america

Bathroom Presents

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:37:15 GMT

http://www.fuzzybuttons.com get those bathroom gifts - hope this link can help with rankings

Blog Engine Functional

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:28:16 GMT

I have just finished coding the comments engine, so now anyone can leave a comment per post. Requirements for posting are fairly strict, scripting is banned to try and prevent SQL injections, IP address of poster is logged and an email address is required.

Twitter Post

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:33:20 GMT

tried a simple twitter post to a link to see how it affects the page stats, maybe it will double it and get two clicks!

Blog Compose

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:52:50 GMT

Images can be posted and automatically wrapped. Blog Edit and Delete is also incorporated now when user is logged in as the Author.
Edit tags for photos are
Upload image will auto wrap image into the form , best to add image to beginning of post
[ /IMGR] is right aligned landscape [ /IMGL] is left aligned landscape
[ /IMGRp] is right aligned portrait [ /IMGLp] is left aligned portrait
[ /IMGRq] is right aligned square[ /IMGLq] is left aligned square

Blog Engine Update III

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:40:14 GMT

Next task will be to add ability to comment on posts, was thinking about using Disqus but will write my own for now

Blog Engine update II

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:04:03 GMT

Added lots of posting tools, including an Image File upload ability with tags to wrap them in a class to resize for display. Currently adding buttons to edit or delete a post based on the current logged in user matching the author. All a little tricky when the controls fire events back to the parent pages, still need to wire it properly.

Bugging me today

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:39:39 GMT

The weather sucks today
Tube networks have had frequent delays
Cant Sleep
Hate C# but unfortunately I think I am going to HAVE to learn it to get a job with dev work

HTC desire

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:29:09 GMT

Well I have had the HTC Desire for a while now, and love it.
Current loves : Integration with Facebook and Google for Contacts, pulls down the profile images into your contact list
Current Hates : reception over WCMDA/GSM is unstable, frequently taking 20 seconds to connect a call or no signal even though 2 or 3 bars are showing, manual switch to GSM only tends to re-aquire signal

Blog Engine Update

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:06:41 GMT

next task for the Blog will be the coding the ability to add comments to a post, may do the initial test without authentication but ill add better control when I decide who can post stories etc using the Roles Provider for each user. Im not sure yet how to expose the stories to google search, when I figure that out I will use it to search my own site too somehow

Contacts Page added

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:05:31 GMT

Added contact form, I was in the process of creating my own but came across a great Contact Form Generator which saved me some time, nice use of Multiview

Custom Blog Engine

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:44:08 GMT

working on writing a simple blog engine. I tried BlogEngine.net 1.6 which was very good but I decided I wanted to write my own simple version, learning about creating an authenticated website, using CSS stylesheets while integrating AjaxControlToolkit along the way.

Google.api Picasa Photos

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:42:40 GMT

I Have been experimenting with the Google API for Photos .net library - its been interesting journey into Classes using ObjectDataSource control and Datalist with ImageButton and Linkbutton for display, firing the OnSelectedIndexChanged with DataKeyField event of the Datalist to show the required gallery.

Blog Engine Updates

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:18:55 GMT

Primary Database Test

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:06:12 GMT

using Ajax Toolkit and update panels linked to trigger buttons