Robert A. Uhl

iAudio an alternative to the iPod?

I just read an article about iAudio, a portable little audio player which — unlike the iPod — might be worth owning. It uses a real AA battery, not some expensive proprietary failure-prone one; it plays unencumbered audio formats like Ogg Vorbis; it has a little FM tuner. The iAudio might be the player for me. 4 February 2018: I did end up getting one, and I really liked it. There’s a newer version available, too. Read more →

Does microwaved water harm plants?

A school-child watered houseplants with water heated to boiling either by a stove or a microwave, then cooled. It turns out that the plant fed microwaved water did dramatically less than that with the stove-heated water. A proper scientific study would be useful, though — this one hardly qualifies. 04 February 2018: updated URL Read more →

Does microwaved water harm plants?

A school-child watered houseplants with water heated to boiling either by a stove or a microwave, then cooled. It turns out that the plant fed microwaved water did dramatically less than that with the stove-heated water. A proper scientific study would be useful, though — this one hardly qualifies. 04 February 2018: updated URL Read more →

Computer games, then & now

Found some comparison screenshots of video games from twenty years ago and today. Pretty impressive how much graphics have improved! I didn’t realise that games were this good — I might need to get a system one of these days. Read more →

Computer games, then & now

Found some comparison screenshots of video games from twenty years ago and today. Pretty impressive how much graphics have improved! I didn’t realise that games were this good — I might need to get a system one of these days. Read more →

The little coder’s predicament

A blogger named ‘why the lucky stiff’ argues that we need more little languages for kids to play with. When we were young, every computer system had an included programing language which let one play around. I myself was inspired by the Basic available for our TI-99/4a; it’s no doubt a large part of the reason that I’m now a software developer. But most devices these days lack such accessible tools, and hence kids are much less likely to get drawn into programming. Read more →

The little coder’s predicament

A blogger named ‘why the lucky stiff’ argues that we need more little languages for kids to play with. When we were young, every computer system had an included programing language which let one play around. I myself was inspired by the Basic available for our TI-99/4a; it’s no doubt a large part of the reason that I’m now a software developer. But most devices these days lack such accessible tools, and hence kids are much less likely to get drawn into programming. Read more →

Are you a dummy for betas?

The Guardian (yes, their politics are execrable) has an article about the explosion in beta software these days which is quite good. Read more →

Are you a dummy for betas?

The Guardian (yes, their politics are execrable) has an article about the explosion in beta software these days which is quite good. Read more →

DRM hurts battery life

From C|Net comes news that digital restrictions management hurts audio player battery life. Yet another reason to avoid it. Read more →