Review Corner: RAVPower RP-UC07 4‑Port USB Charger

As a geek, I used to struggle with the problem of charging multiple USB devices. Then I became a mobile app developer, and the situation got about eight times worse. I’ve tried to make things tidier here and there, but I still have a plethora of multi-sockets and wall warts around the place, and they’re […]
Anker Kindle Paperwhite Case Review
My elderly Kindle “Keyboard” started having battery issues just before a recent trip to Crete, so I nipped into John Lewis and picked up a shiny new second generation Kindle Paperwhite. I didn’t want to fork out for an expensive cover while I was there, though, so I used a Jiffy bag to protect the […]
New Toy

I think I first heard about the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens from Marco Arment. Wherever I heard about it, I’m glad I did. Mine arrived in the post this morning, so I slipped this lightweight, ultra-small prime onto my 60D and headed out to take a few test shots. So far, I’d say it’s […]
Obsolete Paper

It’s Spring. Or it feels like it, anyway. So I’m pruning my (paper book) library, picking out anything from the shelves that I’ll never read again, or that has no sentimental value, and chucking it into a cardboard box to be taken to a charity shop. Sadly, though, there are some books that shouldn’t even […]
Trace/BPT trap: 5 when accessing SystemVersion.plist in Mavericks
If you’re reading this blog entry because you’re a subscriber, I’d stop now and skip this one. Unless you’re extremely geeky. This is more of a public service announcement to anyone who’s installed OSX 10.9 and Xcode 5, and finds themselves oddly unable to compile even the simplest program using the command-line tools, from gcc […]