Twit2MSN Version 1.3a

I’m pleased to announce that work on the next iteration of Twit2MSN is well under way, with a couple of the major issues already addressed, and hopefully all of the high/critical priority issues being sorted for the final version.

For a preview (alpha status), you can download the appropriate files from http://code.google.com/p/twit2msn/source/browse/#svn/branches/1-3 and then compile into a .plsc file as described in the Messenger+ scripting API.

I’m looking for a dedicated bunch of beta testers – drop me a email if you’re interested!

What would Baden-Powell say?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1199191/Beer-cross-dressing-racy-dating-games-Scouts-trip-What-Baden-Powell-say.html

This article, headlining on the Daily Mail tomorrow I believe, has particularly annoyed me this evening.

From my experience, this kind of event happens pretty much every night on university campuses up and down the country without making headline news – just because this happened to be an official gathering of Scout Network members makes it wrong? Everyone at the event had to be over 18, all licensing laws were adhered to, no-one started smashing up a kebab shop afterwards. The only damage caused was a few dead brain cells!

I don’t have a particularly strong view on posting such photos on Facebook – but I presume they were posted with some privacy, which the Daily Mail has now breached by publishing them in a national newspaper. Those people did not ask to have their photo plastered on Facebook, nor was permission sought (a grey area), but using these as published material attributing the source to ‘Facebook’ is very very dodgy practice.

A comment from a parent cited in the article also pissed me off

The father of one of the revellers said: 'It's really let their image down so badly, the fact there's a seedy side to scouting. I can't believe HQ didn't put a stop to this whole sorry mess.'

I think that is put into perspective by one of the comments left on the article

Looks like a great party. I never knew Scouts were so "with it!" Where can I join?

18-25 year olds don’t necessarily want to spend every night “gathering round the campfire and singing Ging Gang Goolie” – Scout Network wouldn’t exist if that’s all we did! That said though – the Mail didn’t notice the photos published on the MAD UK website of people – wait for it – gathering around the campfire and singing Ging Gang Goolie!! Do your research!

The best comment so far sums up my argument completely…

They are young people enjoying themselves. What is wrong with that?

I await a response from Gilwell with bated breath – I hope they don’t cower down under media pressure, and instead defend what Scouting is all about – letting us “take acceptable risks and think for themselves” (Official Scout Association description)

My take on the iPhone 3GS

First of all, this is not a particularly informed review. I do not own one of these devices currently, I’m basing my opinion on third party reviews and Apples’ keynote address on the 3GS.

The one thing that strikes me about this whole launch is the amount of hype Apple are creating about the 3.0 software – but overlapping this with the launch of the 3GS. For instance, things like Spotlight search and the new Messages app feature center-stage on the Apple website promoting the 3GS, but these are available on 3G and even 2G iPhones!! That said, the features 3.0 brought to my phone have been sadly disappointing. The vast increases in SDK capabilities haven’t been taken up by developers at all (may do another post on this some time) for whatever reason, and I’m yet to use Spotlight in a ‘non-test’ capacity. The messages app is all well and good – but when I tried to send a contact to a friend of mine, it came out as rubbish. I know there’s not a standard for such messages across phones, but that sort of invalidates the point of having such capabilities!

Voice control is all well and good, I’ve not seen many reviews of this feature out in the wild, so I can’t really pass judgement on that. The addition of a magnetometer within the 3GS will be a huge feature. I personally try to get out and about doing some Geocaching, and hopefully the Groundspeak iPhone application will be updated to allow use of this compass to make seeking caches even easier with an iPhone.

However, the simple addition of video recording (and increase in camera quality) is just about enough to sell me on the 3GS. I’ve whinged about the quality of the existing camera until I’m blue in the mouth – but still I use it for all my day-to-day shooting! People are much more likely to be carrying a mobile phone than a full camera when they need it most. Apple have pulled some really good moves in this hardware update, and I for one am on the end of the hook – I want it!

Twit2MSN Version 1.2

I’ve dedicated this evening to getting the new version of my Twitter/MSN integration script working – and I am pleased to announce that it is now out of the door and in the hands of the good people at Messenger+.

The details on the update can be found on the project page, with the changelog, download details, and the source code.

My next project will be doing some more work on the website, adding my own blogging system rather than using Blogger (so I can host comments etc), as well as releasing fbCal into the wild.

Might do some revision as well at some point… would be good if I did pass my first year!

UPDATE: Oops! That'll teach me for seeding out updates at odd hours of the morning! The latest version is now 1.2.1, fixing the bug causing the script to not start the updating process. New script has been sent for approval - hopefully 1.2 will never be released into the database if the update is seen in time!

The Ethics of Scraping

I’ve recently been given a commission to do a piece of coding involving grabbing information from another website and displaying it in a different manner. Obviously I won’t say much more about the brief – don’t want to annoy the customer or expose myself!

The brief got me wondering – how legal is it to grab content from another website? I guessed it was probably another one of the ‘grey areas’ that surround the internets at the moment, however another issue concerned me slightly more… how ethical was it? My script essentially steals information from a website for use in other ways, that the original publisher has no control over. Since the website in question publishes no open API or content feeds for this purpose, surely they mustn’t want this information being scraped from them? The website being scraped is essentially just a collection of many different items, published by their own individual owners. Do they want the information scraped and re-published?

I’ve heard of another case from a friend (again, won’t get into details) whereby a company is keeping a tight fist around its data. This is sort of understandable, but again the website in question is aggregating many different peoples data. Is the website being anti-competitive  by not releasing APIs?

I will sleep better once this script is out of development and off my server – I know I wouldn’t like it if someone else was doing this to my website! However – the customer is always right, and I won’t disappoint!

To kill a… Fiat Punto?!

Picture the scene, me driving happily up the M6 on Friday evening on my way to the Network Gathering in Windermere this weekend, when all of a sudden – disaster strikes!

*Dun dun dunnnnn*

Warning lights on the dashboard, engine starts to make funny noises, so I pull over into the Lancaster services. And then the car dies. Turn the key: nada. Its deceased… steam pouring from under the bonnet.

Some very kind gentlemen offers to lend me a hand pushing the car (I was blocking the slipway!) when to my embarrassment – the Highway Patrol pull up! Being pushed into a parking spot followed by a jeep with lots of flashing lights on… nice.

Anyway, 40 minutes later the AA pull up, the guy shoves some water into the engine, and off I toddle again. Make it about 2 miles down the road when it happens again! This time he decides its the head gasket that has gone, so off I go again, only this time being towed!

Arrive back in Poynton late on Friday night, and end up abandoning the car in the seediest part of Poynton Industrial Estate because the sodding garage is locked up for the weekend!

Cut to today, car goes into garage, I get told it’ll cost £550 to repaid. Plus the insurance is due up – another £1100. Bye bye all my money for uni for next term!

Skype for iPhone released

Skype have just launched their official iPhone client in the UK! Woop!

My first reaction was definitely one of ‘wow’ – the interface is slick, and a quick phone call to their ‘test service’ (didn’t want to wake anyone!) revealed the call quality to be excellent, although it seemed that a little part of my test message was dropped.

Only problem I can see with it is the lack of cell network support, I’d really like to be able to make calls on the go without having Wi-Fi nearby. Other ‘nice to have’ would be the use of background processing on the iPhone, but that is Apples’ fault obviously. Maybe push notifications could be used somehow in this app? We shall wait and see…