Another recent acquisition was the WeMo switch from Belkin. In essence this switch allows you to turn on or off anything plugged into it from anywhere in the world.
There is a free app available for Google or Apple devices on which you can set up various timebased rules to switch the device on or off. There is of course an override switch on the device itself, so that if you really feel the need to get up and turn it off manually then you can do that as well…
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Recently have become interested in bitcoin's, and will probably write further about it in future posts. However the thought for today is "what the hell is going on with the bitcoin price?!".
My interest started only about three weeks ago, when the price was about £90 for one bitcoin, today it is very likely to hit £180! I thought the route forward might have been bitcoin mining, but I wish I had now bought into the currency a few weeks back and just did a bit of currency trading…
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So today sees the release of Joomla 3.2. Whilst this is still a point release, Joomla 3.2 is one of the Joomla foundations largest release ever, because of the sheer number of bug fixes and new features. There have been over 1000 commits made to the code, with 50 different people contributing to the project.
Whilst bug fixes are incredibly important there are some incredible new features. More information is available in the release notes.
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My latest bit of kit is the Logitech T650, and I've been so impressed with it I thought I'd better write a short review.
This device is a trackpad intended primarily for Windows 8, but can be used with Windows 7. However the full value of the product comes out when you use it with Windows 8, because of all the other gestures that have been introduced to this version of Microsoft's operating system. Of course Windows 8.1 is supported as well.
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So Microsoft had an about face as regards releasing 8.1 early to TechNet and MSDN subscribers and made it available for download on 9th September.
I've now downloaded it and nuked my work PC so that I can get some out of the box impressions, rather than try the update route for my existing Windows 8 installation. Initial impressions are that the interface is a little more cohesive, but I'm not entirely sure that those that have been complaining about Win 8 will really be any happier.
There's the much talked about return of the start button, but this really doesn't do anything of note as it just returns you back to the 'Metro' interface. This was what happened anyway if you clicked in that region of the screen, so no real change there.
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The bigger surprise is that they are not allowing an early release to the soon to be discontinued TechNet and to MSDN, which in all honesty is a rather baffling move...
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So, I've had my latest toy delivered and it's called the Leap Motion.
What is the Leap? In the words of the manufacturer "With a wave of a hand or lift of a finger, you’re about to use your computer in a whole new way. The Leap Motion Controller senses how you move your hands the way you naturally move them. So you can point, wave, reach, and grab. Even pick something up and put it down. Just like in real life. It’s an amazing device for the things you do every day and for things you never thought you could do."
Basically, think of the film "Minority Report" where Tom Cruise interacts with a large screen by gesturing in front of it. That's kind of the gist of the device.
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