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A talk i did on massive-git at the London Node User Group.
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HTML5 PDF Viewer
Just finished some tinkering with NodeJS. Pretty Damn Fine is basically google docs viewer but the text extraction works properly!
I’ll clean this up if anybody is interested, it should be pretty easy to setup on your own site.
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SVG for Electronics Design Automation
I’m currently exploring the idea of using the widely supported SVG standard as a file format for Electronics Design Automation data. There are a plethora of propriety and some open formats for printed circuit board design data. There have also been attempts in the past to create a universal standard, which pretty much failed.
After a decade on the sidelines SVG is now becoming universally supported via the browser and represents a great opportunity for the EDA industry to convene around a common standard.
I’ve started to hand craft some schematic symbol representations in SVG, take a look at the repo here; Svgparts . I see no reason why PCB footprints can’t be given the same treatment and eventually the entire schematic and PCB layout.
I have some disruptive uses for this idea, please do get in touch to discuss further.
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DittoKey Launched!
—edit—For TC—
Game changing application DittoKey launched today, completely overshadowing last weeks http://colour.com announcement. Sources close to the team report that they pre-emptively refused a $42m convertible note led by Sequoia, who in a face saving move deny all knowledge, muttering something about deal-flow…
Regardless it’s generally agreed here that the life of your average door key owning human fundamentally changed today.
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Check it out, might save you a half an hour that you can put to use doing something fun!
p.s keys are just the start!
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Personal Area Social Networking
A much better term than ‘elastic networking’ coined by http://colour.com !
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How To Find A Designer
Like most developers by I’m slightly baffled by the design process. I find it easy to recognise and appreciate good design, I think that’s an inherent human trait but actually creating great design from a world of infinite possibilities is a real talent. In the software and especially web business we are pushing pixels for money so the importance of great design can’t be underestimated.
I’ve had very limited success with crowed sourced design from Elance, 99 Designs and crowdSPRING, treating designers as a commodity is a big mistake.
I’ve been having a lot more success with this method;
1. Sign up for ImageSpark and download the Firefox upload tool. This allows you to right click on images and upload them to your personal library.
2. Spend some time browsing Dribbble for designs that you like and fit the aesthetic that you are looking for. When you find a Dribbble that you like right click and save to ImageSpark.
3. Go into ImageSpark and create a MoodBoard for your project.
4. Go back into Dribbble and make a list of the top 3 designers that feature in your Moodboard.
Now the last and most important step;
5. Treat the designers with respect and craft a personal email to the first person on your list. Say what you like about their design ethic, tell them a bit about your project and link them to your moodboard. Hopefully you can then establish a relationship and get to work on the project. If for whatever reason you cant find a way to work together then move down your list.
In summary your going to have to put some work in and not just treat design as an afterthought!
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iPhone 5 NFC, What Will Your App Do?
It’s pretty much a dead cert that the iPhone 5 is going to feature near field communications technology. There are a few silicon providers in this space, all with very similar offerings. For example NXP already has some design in’s with the PN544;
http://www.nxp.com/acrobat_download2/literature/9397/75016890.pdf
so you can pretty much anticipate the capabilities before the new iPhone ships.
So what’s your app going to do? I would advise staying away from anything to do with mobile payments unless you happen to be the CEO of a Fortune 100 company. There are however a wealth of systems currently in production using the ISO 18092 and related standards. Perhaps you could develop the Oyster card app and quickly flip it to Transport For London before they get around to producing their own.
Let the scramble begin!
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The Game Mechanic Of Programming
I’ve always found programming to be quite addictive, there’s a whole bunch of different game mechanics going on there. I love the term Blissful_Productivity coined by the Gamify guys it’s pretty much another term for ‘Flow’ or ‘Being In The Zone’ but has a nicer ring to it. That’s at the core of what attracts people to any sort of creative endeavour, the ability to loose yourself in the project.
