Author Archives: Joseph Southan

About Joseph Southan

Full stack software engineer. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSouthan.

Sony end production of the Floppy Disk

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 floppydisk

As the title says, Sony have finally ended production of the ever wonderful 3.5 inch Floppy disk.

 

I well remember the days of only being able to carry ~1.5MB of data around with me. Just look how far technology has come, I can carry 4GB in my pocket on a card many times smaller than the floppy disk. And for something that was developed in the 1970s to still have the popularity it does today is great.

 

Suddenly, a Wikipedia quote:

A floppy disk is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible ("floppy") magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell.

[Wikipedia]

From: Telegraph

HTC Desire – First thoughts

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Well there we have it, my new phone is in fact the HTC Desire.

htc-desire

This nifty little device is one of the most powerful phones on the market and runs the up and coming Android OS [2.1]. It carries a speedy 1Ghz Snapdragon processor allowing for smooth and crisp navigation in the operating system, and for fast programs. Also, it has a 3.7′ OLED display, creating vibrant and colour rich pictures. Also featured on the device is a 5 Megapixel camera that takes rather good photos for a mobile phone.

Some specs for your viewing pleasure:

  • Screen    3.7-inch 480×800 AMOLED touchscreen
  • Camera    5 Megapixel autofocus with LED flash
  • Operating system    Android 2.1
  • Input    Dual-touch with HTC Sense interface
  • CPU    Qualcomm QSD 8250 (Snapdragon), 1 Ghz
  • Memory    512 MB flash, 576 MB RAM

A very powerful phone if I do say so myself. The Application Store (Market) included on all Android devices contains plenty of apps to entice and waste your time. The form factor of the device is very elegant and streamlined. Some may think its a bulky and heavy phone however, the Desire doesn’t feel heavy in the hand compared to my old Nokia N95 8GB but its weight makes it feel solid. Speaking of solid, the build quality of the phone is tip top, although the way the back panel clicks in and out of place makes it feel a bit like it could break.

 

Overall I’m very impressed with my phone and will continue to test it out.

New features – Facebook like and Disqus

Featured Articles SouthanUK General No Comments

What’s all this you say? Well Southanuk today has some new features that should make your stay much more inviting and interactive.

 

Facebook’s new “Like” button

fblike

As announced by Facebook at the recent F8 conference in the USA, the new like button can be easily added to web pages and adds instant integration with the ever popular social networking site.

 

 

 

I found it very easy to integrate indeed as per so:

  • Add an instance of Facebook’s Javascript SDK to your website’s source code. Ensure you have an application ID from Facebook also or the button will not work.
  • Generate your like button here and click “Get Code” and select the XFBML version and copy the code.
  • Then simply add the button code where you want in your site’s source code and you’re done!
    • [Wordpress blogs] instead of putting in a URL, add the following into your loop:
<fb:like href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" layout="standard" show_faces="false" width="xxx" action="like" font="segoe ui" colorscheme="light" />

 

As you can see, very easy indeed.

 

Disqus Comment Plugin

disqus

Finally, the latest addition to the site is the very versatile, Disqus commenting system.

 

I felt that my old plugin I used was too bulky and was rather unessacary for just simple commenting. People don’t want to have an account for every site they visit, so allowing them to use their current Facebook, Twitter or OpenID accounts means less time registering. You don’t even need one of those accounts as posts can still be done via Guest with no account whatsoever.  Try it out next time you fancy having a little comment.

 

Stay tuned for more updates via following me on Twitter @fatjoe151

GEF #16: 2010 London Marathon

Google Earth Friday No Comments

This Friday, the spotlight is on London for the Virgin 2010 London Marathon. [I thought it was the Flora London Marathon… Must have run out of money]

 

This year is set for a scorcher… by UK standards, at a balmy 22 °C, lets hope that none of the runners get heatstroke now (!)

Now follows the all knowing Wikipedia, with its weekly quote:

The London Marathon is a road  marathon that has been held each year in London since 1981, usually in April. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money, as the Virgin London Marathon. Previously the event was sponsored by Flora (from 1996 to 2009) . The 2010 London Marathon will be held on Sunday 25 April.

[Wikipedia]

Download the file – (Only once! It will update every Friday)

Make sure you have Google Earth

GEF #15: Icelandic Volcano

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This week its the troublesome volcano found in the rather memorably named Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.

As most of you should know, this volcano’s ash has steadily been creeping over the whole of North Europe spreading its ashy goodness across it, closing airports and causing travel chaos for a wide number of people.

Airport authorities and other people in the know seem to think everything will be back to normal by Sunday/Monday but due to this being a volcano and the meddlesome nature of the winds above the UK and Northern Europe, it may be even longer, not that school kids are complaining mind you…

 

A delicious Wikiquote for you:

The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were a series of major volcanic  events that occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Seismic activity started at the end of 2009, and led to a volcanic eruption on 20 March 2010. A later eruption from 14 April 2010 led to widespread disruption of air travel in Europe from 15 April, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers.

[Wikipedia]

Download the file – (Only once! It will update every Friday)

Make sure you have Google Earth

GEF #14: General Election 2010

Google Earth Friday No Comments

This week is the place that all the parties are tying to get their hands on; 10 Downing Street

Everyone knows this is the official residence of the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom and has been for many years. Don’t forget to vote for the most sutible person for the job, more on this later when I have a bit more time. Keep 6th May in your diaries!

 

And of course one cannot forget this weeks mandatory Wikiquote:

10 Downing Street (Colloquially known in the United Kingdom as “Number 10”) is the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury and hence Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The headquarters of Her Majesty’s Government, it is situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London.

[Wikipedia]

Sorry about the lack of a post last week, with my exams coming up updating the site is going to be difficult, however, I’ll make some time later.

GEF #13: Australian Grand Prix

Google Earth Friday No Comments

This week the chosen place is the Australian F1 circuit, commonly known as Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.

 

Don’t forget tomorrow is the qualifying session for the Grand Prix lets see if Hamilton can make it into pole position again. He sure made it into pole position in the papers with his antics yesterday. Lets hope Button wins some races soon.

Download the file – (Only once! It will update every Friday)

Make sure you have Google Earth

Dancing bees

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Good day fair people! This is mostly a rant post so feel free to skip it, moan at it, print it off and use it as kindling, you know.

<rant>

I spent the good part of an hour listening to a man rant on about how bees like to dance in the direction in which the food was found. Not putting the man’s work down or anything but please, I know about that and have done since I was a little kid. Also, an hour of rambling about the dances they do… or don’t do for that fact, takes it out of you. I feel I wasted the best part of an hour that I won’t get back anytime soon. With the foreboding exams coming up I could have used this time to prepare my notes, study or do anything apart from learning about bees. And the best part is, there’s another lecture next week too(!)

</rant>

That’s all in the way of ranting at this precise moment.

Other things shall be left to another post for another time. Good luck to all revising for exam and whatnot. Boo to irrelevant lectures.