Computer

OxiPNG and Pngout

One thing that had stuck with me from reading Coding Horror, is that you can increase the speed of your website with free bandwidth. In fairness, it’s not free bandwidth, it’s reducing the file size of the files that you’re hosting, so it’s faster to download. The Zopfli article above is the more recent one - the first was regarding pngout (article). Both pngout and zopfli can reduce the size of files - specifically in this case, PNG files.

Windows PowerToys

Microsoft are making use of their purchase of Github to host the source for their ongoing work in to Powertoys. PowerToys is a collection of applications that perform a range of different tasks that users may need to undertake regularly. There’s an Image Resizer that hooks in to the right click menu, there’s fancy zones, which expands upon Windows snap, by adding zones to snap to. However, the big draw for me is PowerToys Run.

Auf Wiedersehen Dropbox

So, a few years back, I almost moved away from Dropbox. In fact, I generally got away without using Dropbox at all, which worked out nicely. However, I went back and for a while, I’ve also had Dropbox lurking away on my system. That is until today where I fell foul of the three device limit. On the free, basic tier, Dropbox only permits three devices to be used. This hadn’t effected me, as for the past year and a bit, I had my personal account linked to my Pro, office account.

Apple Watch Background

Apple Watch Faces I’ve been playing around with some Apple Watch faces recently - normally I would use a Modular Infographic face or at least one with a number of complications. However, I saw this one which I thought was a bit of fun. As I’m going through a Star Wars phase again at the minute, I thought this was a good one. I found the original artist here where you can download the image yourself.

Issues With MacOS

Lately I’ve been running in to issues with macOS that I can’t seem to resolve and it’s beginning to annoy me no end. Startup I’d been running in to startup issues for a week or so - the Mac would boot up and I would see the Apple logo on screen with the loading bar. However, the screen would then go blank and I would only see the mouse cursor if I wriggled it.

PhotoSync, Photos and iCloud

I’ve been a fan of PhotoSync for a while now - I purchased the iOS version in May 2018, so I’ve been using it for 2 years. I’ve also purchased the Android version and it’s one of the key apps I’ve used regularly. Prior to finding it, I’d been using Dropbox to save a copy of my photos off my phone. This worked well, and the only reason I changed to PhotoSync was that I could choose different locations to send data (i.

PDF Expert vs PDF XChange

I work in engineering - one of the main formats that gets shared around a lot is the humble PDF. It often means that you can view exactly what the other person sees without the hassle of sharing additional items - I’m thinking CAD files here, where an architect may include a lot of references to external files within the CAD file that matches what the architect uses on the system, but won’t be installed in the same location or at all, on the clients machine.

Cheap Mechanical Keyboard

Cheap Mechanical Keyboard So I’ve been a fan of mechanical keyboards for a while - I’ve purchased a number of the years. The best one that I’ve used to date is the Matias Tactile Pro but that died after a few years of use, but I’ve also tried some of the other ones on the market. I didn’t really have a preference in terms of switches, but I’d tried the Matias ones, and quite liked them.

iPad Magic Keyboard

iPad Magic Keyboard I tried using the keyboard and mouse with my iPad for a while to see how the iPad could cope with being a laptop replacement. I concluded that I wouldn’t get the Magic Keyboard. However, here I am, typing this blog post on it. Many people have already written reviews, so I’m a bit late to the game - they’ve pretty much given their opinion on it, and there isn’t a huge amount more I could add.

Keyboard and Mouse with the iPad

Keyboard and Mouse with the iPad So, I’ve been playing around with the keyboard and mouse for the iPad Pro after Apple brought out the support for it in iPad OS 13.4. I’ve been using the Filco 2 Tenkeyless Convertible keyboard and a Logitech MX Master mouse and have been using it on and off over the past week or so. The whole intention of this is to consider if it’s worth purchasing the £300 iPad Magic with a touchpad keyboard for the iPad.