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Author Archives: Sam Dutton
The BBC, Glow and jQuery
The BBC’s JavaScript library Glow 2 ‘is no longer in active development. We are currently researching and developing a BBC JavaScript library that uses jQuery for its core DOM manipulation functionality.’ Continue reading
Additional methods for JavaScript Array
Additions to the JavaScript Array prototype making it easier to work with numeric arrays. Continue reading
Kenneth Tynan prophesies CGI
Kenneth Tynan, in his diary entry for 20 July 1972, prophesies a form of cinema remarkably like feature-length computer-generated animation. If only he’d lived to see Toy Story! Continue reading
jQuery debugging tips
Some gotchas to avoid when coding with jQuery. Continue reading
Brain control interfaces: the Emotiv EPOC headset
I used to think that sooner or later we’d get rid of clunky computer input devices and use ‘thought control’ instead. It seems crazy that we’re still wiggling mice and pecking away at keyboards. Now I’m not so sure. Today … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged bci, brain control interface, emotiv, emotiv epoc, Interface
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HTML 5 video — now with tracks
Ian Hickson has added the timed track spec to the draft HTML standard. This will provide a simple, standardised way to add timed auxiliary content to video — such as subtitles and descriptions — but also enables cues for arbitrary timed metadata. Continue reading
Posted in HTML, Uncategorized, WHATWG
Tagged HTML, HTML 5, HTML 5 track, HTML 5 video, HTML track element, html5, Ian Hickson, track element, WHATWG
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iPad first impressions
The first thing I thought when I tried out the iPad — what if I dropped it? But is this the ‘kitchen’ device? Continue reading
Why we need better IT teaching for girls
Virtually all tech company directors and executives are men. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Eliza lives!
IKEA’s lovely assistant Anna is a bit like the original Eliza computer program, only Swedish. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Wolfram Alpha: don’t ask the wrong questions
The Wolfram Alpha ‘knowledge engine’ has great potential, but as yet it’s a bit disappointing: US-centric and effective only in specific, limited domains. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Treat Yourself Right
The UK National Health Service resorts to strange 21st century clip art in its new Treat Yourself Right campaign. Continue reading
Bad language must be punished
It’s time to get tough on the jive-talking jargonistas and lecture-circuit logopaths who persist in ****ing up the Queen’s (or President’s) English. Continue reading
20 ways to debug Qt signals and slots
Below are some suggestions for troubleshooting signals and slots in the Qt C++ library. 1. Check for compiler warnings about non-existent signals and/or slots. 2. Use break points or qDebug to check that signal and slot code is definitely reached: – the … Continue reading
Worse than slow
Computers used to be slow*. Now they’re unresponsive. Computer boffins have a word for it: latency. This is the delay between doing something (clicking the Submit button) and getting a response (‘Thanks for your order’). Latency can interrupt your flow … Continue reading
Posted in Google Chrome, Usability, Windows
Tagged Eudunda, Firefox, Google Chrome, IBM System/370, latency
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Chrome is quite good
The Google Chrome browser is a pretty good start at taking over the world. Continue reading
Great Interface Mysteries #1: unresizable dialog boxes
Many dialog boxes should be resizable, but often (especially in Windows) they’re not. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Usability, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows XP
Tagged Interface, UI, Usability, Windows, Windows XP
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Why is Find & Replace so hard?
What is it about Find & Replace? Noone seems to get it right, and Visual Studio 2005 is one of the worst culprits. Continue reading
Posted in IDE, Visual Studio
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Python is (not) better than C++
Python is a great programming language, but it’s being sold for the wrong reasons. In particular, it’s often compared favourably with C/C++. Continue reading
