Writing ... or Just Practicing?
Random disconnected diatribes of a documentation engineer
Over-egging the Curator's View
At one time you had to work in a museum to be a curator, but the wonders of information technology...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 09/21/2013
Patternal Conflict
No, this post isn't about parental difficulties and I didn't spell "paternal" wrong in the title,...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 09/15/2013
Watch or Glass? Or Both?
My rather staid daily newspaper occasionally makes an attempt to be cool and trendy by squeezing an...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 09/08/2013
Ultra Paranoid Computing
Much as I complain about some TV documentaries being dumbed down (for example, showing a clip of an...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 08/31/2013
More Night-time Wildlife
As summer continues to exhibit its typical level of weather unpredictability here in Ye Olde...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 08/25/2013
The Little Bang Theory?
According to a news item this week it seems that both CBS television and the City of London may need...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 08/17/2013
Soft Drink Cans and a Man Named Norman
So I finally got round to reading Bill Bryson's book "A Short History of Nearly Everything". OK, so...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 08/11/2013
Learning to Walk Again
This week has been an interesting combination of learning and re-acquaintance opportunities....
Author: Alex Homer Date: 08/04/2013
Monkeys, Castles, Seals, and the Seaside
With our Big Data guide now finished (at least for the preview release) I managed to grab a few days...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 07/20/2013
An Insight Into The Future Of Data Analysis?
It seems like everything is "HD" these days. Your laptop has a "high density" plastic case, your car...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 07/06/2013
Inverted Charting
So I considered naming this week's post "Climb Up On My Roof Sunny Boy", but I'd probably get sued...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 06/30/2013
Clock This Writer
It's easy to imagine that the computer is a recent invention. A search of the web reveals a host of...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 06/16/2013
A Very Short Financial Honeymoon
It comes as a bit of a shock when you phone your bank with a routine enquiry, only to be told that...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 06/09/2013
Touch, But Don't Look
So my Windows 8 adventure has been terminated after only a brief foray into the delights of the new...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 06/02/2013
Evolution Through Technology Selection
You have to wonder whether the increasing use of tablet computers and touchscreens means we'll soon...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 05/04/2013
Taming Microsoft Media Center
So I'm still fighting to keep Media Center as the main TV system here at chez Derbyshire, despite...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 04/28/2013
The Windows Server Update Service That Doesn't
One of the great things about being a technology pessimist is that you don't suffer that sinking...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 04/20/2013
Highly Distributed Insights
Why would you want to use a "Big Data" solution? It's a question that we've been trying to answer in...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 04/14/2013
You've Got To Pick A Tablet Or Two
So we've gone from a tabletless state to a twin fondleslab-equipped household in a little under two...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 04/06/2013
Matrices or Mattresses?
Nobody could accuse me of being posh, and compared to most of the developers I work with here at...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 03/31/2013
No Network? Forget It
Sometimes I think I'm the only person who takes Wi-Fi security seriously. Unlike all of my...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 03/24/2013
Big Data, Big Guidance Problem
You'd think that, after all the years I've been writing guidance for Microsoft technologies and...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 03/10/2013
Talk To The Mouse 'Cos The Keyboard Ain't Listening
So it's true. Senility had obviously settled in and my addled brain can no longer maintain even the...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 03/02/2013
Is it a Scenario? Is it a Case Study? No, it's an Opportunity
A few influential people in our little world of Developer Guidance here are Microsoft have recently...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 02/23/2013
Just Press F1!
I'm increasingly seeing how big the disconnect is between people who use computers occasionally just...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 02/17/2013
UPS I Did It Again
There's something rather disturbing about sitting on the sofa looking at a large brown water stain...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 02/10/2013
In Search of the Mysterious Yellow Wire
Thankfully I don't get many desperate requests for computer-related assistance from friends and...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 02/03/2013
Do Only Old People Buy Bicycles?
Some years ago I was forcefully introduced to the concept of statistical quality control, where the...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 01/26/2013
Hey, You, Get Offa My Pictures Folder!
It's amazing how often you get the feeling with computers that someone has virtually trampled on...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 01/19/2013
A Database By Any Other Name...
Some friends have just adopted a rather cute ginger cat and decided to name it Juno, perhaps after...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 01/13/2013
This Year I'll Do It Myself
So it's New Year resolution time again, and it's pretty clear after many previous unsuccessful...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 01/06/2013
What Color Is Your Field?
So, at last, we're done. After fighting with multiple new versions of the Windows Azure SDK, updated...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 12/23/2012
UPS Outside Your Head
Does lateral thinking mean you need to look outside your own head instead of just accepting the most...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 12/16/2012
Sitting Comfortably On The Cloud
It's been four months since I moved all my websites to the Windows Azure Web Sites platform, so...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 12/02/2012
It's Not Intellectual Property - It's Just Cupboards!
It's been a very long time since I exercised my DIY skills fitting out a kitchen and a bathroom...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 10/28/2012
Do I Want A Flash(ed) Router?
It's easy to forget just how much modern devices depend on software. OK, so it's pretty obvious that...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 10/21/2012
I Bet They Wish They'd Called It Facebooc
Some days it would be nice if things just did what you expected. Like music coming out of your MP3...
Author: Alex Homer Date: 10/07/2012