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Happy 17th birthday Will!

Richard — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:46:53 +0000

I first met William about twelve years ago, when I first went to Canberra with Brenda to visit her family. I think it was on my second visit he was really, really sick with the flu, which he very kindly passed on to us. I (jokingly!) had a go at him about it, and made him cry. Felt terrible at the time, but in hindsight I'm sure it was just the flu and nothing to do with remorse. I don't have any pics of then, but here for posterity are some of the earliest I do have.

Happy birthday!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Richii

So witty

Richard — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:04:12 +0000

Those Sydney types are hilarious!

Posted via email from Richii

iPad vs laptop for a weekend away

Richard — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:14:17 +0000

We spent the weekend in Sydney to catch a couple of shows at the Opera House. Before leaving I agonized over leaving the laptop at home and trying to survive with just an iPad. At the last minute I decided to travel light and leave the laptop.

For the most part it actually worked out really well!

I got the 3G version of the iPad, and the always-on Internet access was really useful. Even better is the fact that the 3G includes a GPS receiver, perfect for use with the Maps application for finding our way around.

I made sure I picked up the camera connection kit. Although my camera uses Compact Flash, I actually use SD cards in an adapter, perfect for use with the iPad and camera kit. I was initially very impressed that it could download and display the raw files from my SLR, but then disappointed that when emailing it would send the entire NEF file. Changing the camera to record both raw and jpeg sorted that out.

Overall I’d say that yes, for basic use I can now survive without the laptop, at least for a short trip.

Posted via email from Richii

At the market

Richard — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:13:04 +0000

Can’t keep her away from the books.

Posted via email from Richii

A weekend away with just an iPad – can I survive?

Richard — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:22:10 +0000

We’ve popped up to Sydney this weekend for Graphic at the Opera House. In the interests of traveling light I’ve left the laptop at home, and am going to see if I can survive on just the iPad. So far, so good; even managed to get some work done on it!

Posted via email from Richii

Why I’m not going to use Skype any more

Richard — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:54:28 +0000

I've been a Skype user for years, pretty much since it first hit the world. Think way back in the day, before it was a standard feature of laptops to have internal microphones and webcams, when you had to have a microphone connected via the audio-in jack on an add-in sound card. And on the whole, I've been pretty happy with it. My wife and daughter both use it, relatives and friends both interstate and overseas. I have used it to keep in touch with work colleagues all over the world. We have an unlimited calling subscription with an inbound call number, a little box that connects to a cordless phone, and a WiFi Skype phone that lives in my travel bag. And I'm going to ditch it all.

I've been a little annoyed over the years that Skype insists on using a proprietary protocol for their voice traffic. It's a pain to manage and secure, and makes interoperability with other systems difficult. I've put up with it because the up-side has been usually no need to configure routers or firewalls on the basis that it just works.

I was really annoyed when they announced that Skype-to-Skype calls made over a 3G data connection on the iPhone would be charged via SkypeOut credit. Not really a big deal, as I'd usually be on a WiFi network when wanting to use that kind of thing, but annoyed because the claim was always that Skype-to-Skype calls would always be free. It was the principle of the thing.

I've also been really, really annoyed that the two phone numbers associated with my subscription (an inbound call number, and a so-called "Skype-to-go" number, that allows me to dial-in from anywhere and have the call forwarded at Skype rates to anywhere in the world) seem to keep changing. This is a real pain, as it means you can't just hand out the number and expect it to work; you have to keep checking to make sure it hasn't been changed on you.

The final nail is the email I just received telling me I should start using my Skype-to-go number. To make things easy they included the number in the email. For some reason, this number has now moved from Melbourne to Sydney. Go figure.

It's now at the point that I simply cannot rely on anything to do with this service. I'm going to migrate all my VoIP services to a SIP service, from a provider who actually treats the phone as something important. I'll be able to use any number of interoperable pieces of hardware and software to make it all work in the way I want and need it to. And, more importantly, I'll be able to give someone a phone number and be comfortable that it will still work tomorrow.

Posted via email from Richii

A sign that the coffee is terrible

Richard — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:19:53 +0000

Posted via email from Richii

iPhone all fixed!

Richard — Thu, 27 May 2010 06:37:01 +0000

Thanks to the express repair services at http://www.ipodrecovery.com.au my phone is a good as new. Check them out for all your clumsiness-related repair needs!

Posted via email from Richii

Why you shouldn’t drop your iPhone onto a concrete surface

Richard — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:14:17 +0000

This is why you shouldn't leave your phone in a shallow pocket as you get out of the car. Still works fine, although I am continually scared I'm going to cut my finger to shreds when I do the "slide-to-unlock" thing. Maybe I should get one of those Korean sausages to use as a stylus.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Richii

All systems go at AusCERT 2010!

Richard — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:01:50 +0000

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Zscaler Australia & New Zealand