David Wright's Blog

Bah I hate SEO

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2009-11-24T14:11:50Z

No I am not an SEO expert but I thought I knew a few things. But turns out I think I know bugger all. I hate artificial SEO, the stuff where you add stupid reviews to some random website about your own product. Or where you buy lots of different domains and point it to your main one. Google is dominated with the stuff. You try searching for something, like a how to do something, and all you get is someone selling you some crap. And it's always price comparison websites which is so annoying.

So anyway, why am I peeved? I created a long time ago a website devoted to free and open source software. (See what I did there? A link to my website, won't work apparently because it is hosted on the same IP as this website) Well it was a pet project, one for learning new techniques with PHP and the other because I am a proud supporter of open source software. It's all about freedom. So I wanted people to learn about some software which can be used as alternatives to commercial software and avoid resorting to pirating software. But this website only gets a few hits a day. There seems to be a lot of competition in this area.

So then I thought well I should start taking it a bit seriously. I created a free software blog to try and boost the traffic. I also wanted to try and learn to write a bit better as well as I always like to be straight to the point so thought I need to expand. Well since doing that the traffic on my website has dived completely. Why? Who knows. Maybe people don't really want free software. Or it could be my design skills are really bad. I am correcting that though. I have had a design created for me and hopefully a logo to go with it.

So why have I written this? Well in some desperation that the search engines will pick up the blog link and spider it. For some reason my own personal website gets more hits and there is nothing of value here?!?!!?

Free music via Spotify

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2009-09-10T17:00:00Z

In case you didn't know Spotify is a free online music library which streams live to you computer or now Android based mobile phones and the IPhone. It has quite a wide range of music from old to new and many types from folk music, country music to heavy metal, doom metal and industrial and electro to name some.

I heard about Spotify quite a long time ago by general web browsing and I heard it mentioned on the Gadget Show, the one where they were doing a Twitter Vs Facebook get together thing. I have just recently decided to give it ago as I was skeptical about it...and thought it wouldn't work on Linux as well as not cater for my (ahem) music tastes.

However I read the Spotify FAQ pages and was quite pleasantly suprised. The FAQ pages said that it will work on Linux but via WINE, which isn't too bad. Would love to see a native Linux version though.

Continue reading "Free music via Spotify"

Looking for a free copy of 3DMagix?

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2009-06-11T15:57:23Z

3DMagix is now free

Sorry; sarcastic alert, knocked this up in a hurry:

Are you looking for an Advanced 3D Animation Studio Software similar to 3D Max Computer Animation to download?

3D Magix can now be downloaded for free. Because 3DMagix has helped so many people Create Cutting-Edge Animations From The Comfort Of Their Own Home it has been decided to release 3DMagix for free

3DMagix Creation Studio Suite

"Easily The Most Powerful 3D Creation Software On The Planet!"

3DMagix has so many features it's too much to list them all here are features of the latest 3DMagix

3DMagix is also fake - Blender 3D is not

For anyone wondering, this is just my response to this post at BlenderNation about some idiot selling Blender as their own work. Blender 3D is a great, free and fully opensource project for creating and animating in 3D, as well as a billion other things.

Being Human, no not me but the brilliant tv show on BBC3

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2009-03-06T11:05:28Z

Make Human from the BBC.

From left to right; George, Annie and Mitchell

I just wanted to quickly write about the brilliant program Being Human on BBC 3 on Sundays at 9pm. I can't believe I have not come across anybody who has been watching it. So far it has been quite a roller coaster of a ride. It's a mix of drama and comedy and is bloody fantastic.

In case you are not aware Being Human, created by Toby Whithouse, is about a werewolf, vampire, and a ghost (George, Mitchell and Annie) sharing a house in Bristol. In it's basic form it is about 3 characters who are having to come to terms with what they are and struggling to live normal as lives as they can.

It might sound a bit weird when trying to describe it. Luckily it's not a British version Angel or Buffy, like that awful program on ITV where they have Philip Glenister in a stupid role. Being Human is almost Underworld like with it's vampires vs werewolves theme but that's where the comparison stops. For a start the vampires can walk around during the day and are in quite responsible roles, such as the police and the funeral parlour acting as a front for vampire meetings. George and Mitchell both work as porters in a local hospital. It is typically British and quite stylised.

In fact the only thing the overall story reminds me of is I Am Legend, the book not the film, where the humans are wiped out and replaced with vampires instead. But overall the theme is about the three main characters trying to deal with their 'curses' in their daily lives. It has it's laugh out loud moments, heroic moments where you are urging the characters on and it also has its quite dark moments.

Check out Being Human on BBC, it is really good and a second series has been finalised.

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-12-15T21:46:42Z

Walk Alone

I took my 1982 Series E Nikon 50mm 1.8 with me on a walk with the kids and came up with this photo. I quite like it. Although quite frustratingly I didn't spot the telegraph pole. Ah well you live and learn. Magenta was in a bad mood and wondered off in a huff.

This was run through UFRaw for the RAW conversion and then converted to black and white using the GIMP. I also added a slight vignette but I didn't have the patience to make it any better.

Let me know what you think.

Linux Holding Kids Back

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-12-11T13:00:00Z

This has to be the funniest thing I have read in relation to Linux, a teacher claims Linux is not free and possibly illegal. The teacher discovered a student showing off a laptop with Linux installed and giving away free copies and then made her ignorant claims about Linux.

My two kids aged 7-10 years old don't use Windows at home. They know more about computers now than anyone of their ages who use Windows. Just as I did when I was a kid and had an 8bit computer which helped and encouraged my understanding of computers. Then Windows came along and destroyed this by hiding the computer away from the user and not supplying tools to do anything with the computer. For example if you wanted to become a programmer on my Amstrad CPC it came with Locomotive Basic and the ability to write machine code and it also had CPM operating system. With Windows you get nothing, unless you fork out for it, although to be fair you can now get Visual Basic and C# now. But with Linux I can load up my software management software, select a category, for example Development and then choose a language of choice. This could be PHP (my career option), C, C++, Mono (for .net and c# development on other systems than Windows), Ruby, Java and any relevant IDE to help develop with.

My kids are also experimenting with graphics software and doing really well with the likes of Blender 3D and Inkscape. My son has been creating his own comics and has been showing so much imagination.

So this is holding them back apparantly........

Eve Online Running in Linux With Compiz Enabled

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-11-21T18:12:49Z

Eve Online so far has been quite an amazing experience and no major crashes using Linux. Also as a test I enabled Compiz and there were no problems. Compiz basically enabled 3D effects on your desktop. For instance windows explode when closed or wobble when moved. All pure eye candy but still good to show off.

I had Eve running for 4 hours non stop. Eve Online is also very good for making nice wallpaper. Something I don't normally do. So I thought I'd share the results.

Continue reading "Eve Online Running in Linux With Compiz Enabled"

Is Windows ready for the desktop?

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-11-19T13:05:00Z

Sorry I just had to ask this question. I think I have seen a similar titled article in the past but this is mine and is my opinion so argue the toss but you won't change me.

It's no secret I am a Linux user. I have been aware of the name Linux since windows 3.1. I read a little column in .EXE Magazine in 1994 and it always intrigued me. But back then internet access was pretty much non existent in the UK save for BBS systems so getting hold of it would have been no go. Apart from which it was pretty much useless for the average person, although I was a good programmer back then.

After writing my last entry with eye candy in 3D desktops it made me think more. This article is best treated as the opposite view of a regular Windows user using Linux. Also before I get harrassed Linux is actually called GNU/Linux but I am not going to repeat that everytime so from here on Linux actually means a distribution based on the GNU/Linux kernel. Linux is actually a GNU project. GNU/Linux really means the Linux kernel, the actual operating system. But most people, incorrect or not, refer to Linux as the complete package of the operating system, the window manager, desktop environment and applications that run on top of it. This is also how I will also incorrectly refer to it. For more information see GNU.org website.

Continue reading "Is Windows ready for the desktop?"

Another reason why I prefer Linux

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-10-25T20:31:28Z

All right I admit this is pure eye candy but it looks so cool. I have been using Linux in one form or another since 1996 and started using it exclusively as my desktop since September 2nd 2002. Yes I can pin point the date as that was my ill fated decision to become self employed, At the time I needed to use legal software and Linux had everything I needed. A free office suite in the form of OpenOffice, an accounts package and a PHP/HTML/CSS development environment.

However since then, what is known as Linux has come a long way. I am currently using Fedora 9. It suits my needs perfectly. But just recently I have been playing around with 3D desktop settings provided by Compiz, 3D compositing window manager. I thought I would share a couple of screenshots I took. Both are from using a plugin called Expo. It takes the virtual windows on the desktop, zooms out and puts each desktop next to each other. Complete with reflections and a slight curve.

Two movies simultaneously in a 3d space.

This first one I was just testing the limits. Here two movies are playing full screen, one in each virtual desktop. Yes I know it's completely pointless but then again so is Windows Vista yet people actually 'BUY' that. What's cool about this is whilst the movies are playing the reflections are also kept updated too,

World of Goo running via WINE and placed on a virtual desktop.

This next screen shot is showing a really cool game I have been waiting anxiously for called World Of Goo. It's a brilliant game and has been given awards. Please buy this game to support indie game development. It's only £12. It will be available on Nintendo's Wii as well.

Anyway, this again is showing the game playing in real time with reflections. I suppose again it's not practical but it could be useful if you have multiple applications running and you want to switch to the one you want. This works by moving the mouse to the top left and the screen zooms out to show all desktops. All you have to do is double click the window you want.

So there you go. People are quite shallow and eye candy is what marketing is all about.

Wacky Jacqui made me laugh!!!

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-10-16T13:46:12Z

I just had to point this out as it made me laugh and realise I am obviously not the only one concerned with the mental state of our own Home Secretary, Jaqui Smith.

The Register has an article about the demise of a 'yoof' website which was designed to get the opinions of the 'yoof' of the nation's opinion on ID cards. Here is the link and title: Wacky Jacqui's yoof ID site goes silent

Rebound back to health

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-09-21T17:00:00Z

For the last few years I know I have been getting out of shape. As a programmer most of my activity is in front of a screen. I recently went to Edinburgh where most of it is walkable. I also took the opportunity to climb up Scotts Monument to see an amazing view. Then if that wasn't knackering enough I had to rush up Princes Street which is a mile long. It was at that point I realised I need to get back into shape. I was a sweaty mess and I didn't like it. Although as a family we go out to lots of places like Dartmoor it, hasn't boosted my fitness.

A few years a go I bought a Gazelle Air Walker endorsed by someone called Tony Little. I used it a few times. It was big bulky and I hardly felt I was doing anything. I now have a large bulky coat/clothes/junk hanger in the hallway! I kept meaning to use it but it's just so much hassle for little gain.

However a friend recently gave me something much more useful and I am now a massive advocate. Although I did complain about having more junk.

Continue reading "Rebound back to health"

Stephen Fry wishes GNU a happy 25th Birthday

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-09-05T10:28:10Z

Not only is Stephen Fry a top all round intelligent bloke, he is also a supporter of free software. And being as intelligent as he is appreciates what it means to society as a whole.

For more information visit http://www.gnu.org/fry/ . Here is his birthday message and for those who don't know I'll leave it to Mr. Fry to explain;

Google Lively 3d live Chat rooms hit the spot

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-09-04T17:00:00Z

Lively Website

I have tried out quite a few chat rooms over the years from plain text to isometric and some 3d ones. With the exception of the text based systems, none of the alternative chat systems seemed to be easy to use.

Most of the chat systems I looked at always seemed too fiddly or slow, or full of 'yoof' who skipped English lessons. I have also tried Second Life and tried to like it but it is just full of morons, to be quite frank. I don't want to be discover my inner 'furry' or some hidden transexual...no comments please. I don't want to be a shop keeper who hangs around all day waiting for some one to virtually buy something. Honestly, the first time I tried second life someone appeared and tried to sell me stuff. I asked him about it and seriously that is what he spent his Saturdays doing. Oh and I certainly don't want to get involved in virtual sex. Honestly for those who have never tried it, real sex is great and you can burn calories.

One thing Second Life has going for it is it's economy which you can make real money and it's level of customisation. You can make your own objects and clothes inside Second Life. Can't fault that.

So why am I writing about Google's Lively? Well so far personally this has to be the best I have used in terms of practicality. It just works. Admittedly it is beta and has a few flaws. The one thing I liked the most is you create your own rooms and that's it. There is no world as such. Just you and your room. You can add objects to the room to make it more interesting. Things like tables, chairs and lamps can be put down and moved around. You can also add projectors and TV's which can stream YouTube movies live. Excellent. Also you can hang picture frames and link to external images, such as Picassa. I linked to my Flickr gallery though.

Currently it's not possible to create you own content and rooms but that is something planned for the future. From what I can tell you will be able to use Google's SketchUp to design a room. This is quite handy as it's easy to use. Content will be able to be created from a variety of 3D applications.

From a chat point of view it is pretty good. What made me laugh a lot when I invited a friend into my newly built room was the ability to interact with another Avatar. For instance punching and kicking or holding hands and patting on the back. Brilliant. The text appears as bubbles above the head of the avatars. This is ok but I found it a little awkward to see when the side bar was open and trying to move my avatar around to see them. Having said that Avatar control is simple. You can double click on a space and your avatar just appears there. No messing around walking to the spot

What's more interesting about Lively is that rooms have been designed to be embedded into a website. This means you can have your own personal space, my test room is below. In order to enter a room you will need to install a small plugin for your browser but shouldn't take more than a minute. Each room has it's own url and I believe it's possible to make objects in a room a link to another room so you can build up a network of rooms. By making it more personal for me has made it more useful and fun. I can invite my friends to my own space instead of turning up in one giant venue. Having said that there are plenty of public rooms available on Lively's website. There are plenty of cafes and bars for example.

Another great touch is the use of emoticons and IRC style / commands. For instance typing ";-)" makes your avatar wink, ":-P" sticks tongue out, typing LOL and your avatar laughs, ROTFL and your avatar rolls on the floor laughing. To quickly use animations you can type it's name. For example typing /wave, /bow, /flirt will make your character perform those actions. Absolutely brilliant.

So as you can tell I am quite excited by it. But what's in it for Google? Well if you read all the above then you will notice how many Google products I mentioned. All this personal information being in the hands of one company could be slightly worrying. How much you trust Google is a matter of personal taste but linking all these products in and you can't help thinking 'How cool!'.

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The Great Supermarket Scam

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-04-23T10:27:00Z

Update 28 April 2008: I would like to add that with one point to me it appears I am not alone in my thoughts regarding price fixing: OFT in new supermarket crackdown

It's been pointed out to me that I have been very angry recently so excuse the tone in this little ~~write up~~ rant. But it's not really surprising with the state of this country. You're not even allowed to be proud to be a white heterosexual male. It's ok to have gay days or black music only clubs. Banks have been ripping me off for years. Go to prison and you have a great time. If you're foreign, commit crime and then get a threat of deportation then you get human fucking rights lawyers sort it out. This labour government has been screwing the country over for the last 10 years. I didn't vote these lunatics in. But I digress.

My recent bout of anger has come from the fact that not only are foreigners, banks and the government ripping me off, so are supermarkets. It's obvious the cost of living has increased over the last year or two, quite dramatically. Petrol prices are up and food prices are up. So, along with many people at the moment, I re-assessed where our finances are being hit. Apart from the usual petrol, electric, gas, water and council tax it seems the culprit is actually food. For the last 7 years or so my partner and I have been shopping at Tesco. We bought into the idea of earning points on that little card so we could get more deals and points towards shopping, or indeed a 'free' shop later on. But that has pretty much ended.

I was a supporter of Tesco. It is one of the few British success stories. I'm a patriotic Brit, no that doesn't mean I am racist. I was proud of a British company actually being successful. But having looked at where our money is going it seems a lot is on our food budget. I'm not fat although I eat more than I should. We survived on a quarter of what our combined income was 7 years ago. See a pattern in there anywhere?
Continue reading "The Great Supermarket Scam"

First Plymouth Photography Group Meeting

nospam@example.com (Dave) — 2008-04-01T12:58:31Z

Sun rays near Prince Town

Now that I am getting better at my photography I thought it would be nice to meet up with fellow 'togs. I hang around in a Facebook group for photographers in Plymouth setup by Andy Laidlaw, a Plymouth based photographer. He had arranged the first Plymouth (Facebook) Photography Group meeting on Sunday, 30th March 2008.

The idea was to meet up at the Plume of Feathers at Princetown for lunch and drinks. Only a few turned up in the end but we had good fun. Howard Nowlan also joined along with Kat and Pete Welsh. After the introductions we set off on a journey of photo taking mayhem. Well not quite but it was fun. Pete had a top secret location in mind so we all followed in a convoy through narrow winding roads. Andy had to keep stopping, I thought he needed to keep using the bathroom at first. But not quite, his keen photographer's eye kept seeing things to snap.

Back from their walk. From left to right; Howard, Kat and Andy

We eventually arrived at our destination which was a nice woodland area with a river running through it and a nice picturesque bridge over it. I shan't be divulging the location.

Pete at work.

With the weather being perfect for once we all set off on our own agendas. I kind of snapped randomly really. Watching Pete at work was quite good as I picked up a couple of tips. Pete has a great portfolio and definitely a good eye. Whilst Howard and Andy had modelling in mind, after all Kat was there.

Well seeing as I had brought my family we soon had to leave as the kids had school then next day. But seeing as The Plume of Feathers was on the way we thought we would avoid cooking at home and have dinner there. As usual it was great. It's not often I don't finish a meal.