Welcome to my little place on the web.

I'm a software developer and occasionally when time allows, I like to blog about my various coding project here. I also like to tinker with home automation, retro gaming and more.

I have also shared some of my software, which I hope may be of use to others. It's on my software page.

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Dave Dangerous hits the Google Play Store

My first full featured game is now in the Google play store. Join Dave in his quest to save his beautiful girlfriend, Daphne, from the clutches of Evil Steve! Fight through 40 levels of nostalgic platform mayhem. It's free and it's available on Android. Click the image below to be directed to the Google play store.

davedangerous.jpg

Well, for something that was origina... read more

Use OneDrive? Don't forget to opt-in to keep your 15 Gigabyte storage

It's been a bit hectic over the last few months. So much so that I have not had any time to keep my blog updated. I'm hoping this will change soon, as I should have some exciting updates on my android game developments.

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This post if just a quick reminder for anyone that uses OneDrive. Microsoft have decided to restrict your OneDrive storage from 15 to 5 Gigabyte. You can stop this happening if you opt-in to keep the 15 Gigabyte by heading over to the onedrive url below. This offer is valid until the end of January.... read more

Windows 10 free upgrade still not showing up? This trick will help!

Have you reserved your copy of Windows 10, but not received it yet? Are you stuck on the 'We're validating Windows 10 for your PC' message?

Windows 10 Free Upgrade Validating Image

This is the largest software roll out in Microsoft's history, and because of this they are being a little cautious by staggering the installs. Microsoft still recommend that you wait for the upgrade notification, but I'm getting impatient after 3 months! So if you're the same, here is a little trick to force the upgrade.

Run regedit to ... read more

DIY Apple Mac Mini stand

Bit of an unusual article today. If you follow my blog, you will know that I bought a Mac Mini a few months ago. Over the last few days I have been trying to pickup the elusive Ikea Napkin holder. It makes a great vertical stand for the Mac, for less than two pounds! But seems to be near impossible to pickup anywhere. So I have made my own version...

... read more

Another week, another app on Google Play, meet TREX

Just a short entry today. A few days ago, I was having internet problems, and by accident I managed to press the space bar on the 'you are offline' page in chrome. To my amazement that cute little retro dinosaur came to life and became a great little addictive game!

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After a bit of investigation I discovered this easter egg was added to Chrome earlier this year. As the source code is all open source, over in the Chromium repositories. I got the javascript and created a simple Android application using a webview. You will need to be running... read more

World Weather Online plugin for HouseBot updated to version 1.0.4

Just made an update to the World Weather Online plugin for HouseBot.

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Thanks to some investigation from TonyG over on the HouseBot forums, it come to light that the api key version has changed on the website, and breaks the plugin. The new v2 key uses a new URL and the response XML is different.

Because of this I have updated the code to support both v1 and v2 api's. So if you're still using the old api key, there is no need to upgrade, however you can if you want.

Head over to the s... read more

Can't believe I did it!

Well after 35 years of never touching anything Apple, I have finally got a Mac. Getting seriously into mobile development, it has made me realise that for iOS apps I'm really going to need a Mac. I started going down the route of VMWare on my Windows box, but finally decided to bite the bullet and get a Mac.

So... here it is, a bottom of the range i5 Mac Mini. So far I have installed Xcode. Still lots to learn as the whole thing is so alien to me!

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#coding #ios #mobile

First mobile app Profit Accumulator in the Play Store!

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote a post. Most of my evenings have been busy with a website a friend told me about called Profit Accumulator. It's a great a site, with lots of videos that explain how to do matched betting. This is not gambling. It's a system where you place bets on all outcomes, so you can't lose. You then do the same with the free bet and pocket the money! It's all legal and completely tax free! I have been doing it for over a month, following the member offers, and made over £1,000. If you're in the UK, I would recommend you sign-up for the free membership and make an easy &poun... read more

USB motion sensor to wake Kitchen touchscreen using a Arduino and PIR

Now that I have the touch screen fitted in the Kitchen, I needed a convenient way to wake the tablet. I was hoping that just swiping the screen would wake it up, but unfortunately not.

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After a little bit of internet searching, I came across a blog entry on dotmana.com. The site goes through the steps to create a motion detector to wake the screen, using a Arduino and PIR sensor. This was almost perfect, except it ... read more

Kitchen touch screen fitted

It's been a few months since my post about the custom bezel arriving in the post. Today it's finally all fitted. Another project done!! Pictures below.

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I'm very pleased with the outcome, and very relieved I didn't cut the wrong size hole and have to re-buy the cupboard door! Over the next few weeks I will be finalising the software and getting my HouseBot software remote to fit the new larger screen resolution. Below are some more photo's taken while cutting and fitting.

... read more

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