My new Nokia N96 (yes, and then they immediately released the N97!) may not be as intuitive as the iPhone but is packed with far more features and is so much more open to exploration that it’s a keeper. Not only that but clever @LonelyBob gave me some help last night to fix a problem … Continue reading How to watch videos on a Nokia smartphone
Like-minded people + good drink & food = good times!
Currently enjoying a wonderful evening with fellow Tokyo tech-heads. Two things of note: 1. There isn’t a Japanese equivalent to CES or other big conference. Is this because there’s no interest, no-one has tried it or simply because it would be so popular there’s nowhere big enough to hold it? 2. Personal servers are the … Continue reading Like-minded people + good drink & food = good times!
How to do alphanumeric validation with PHP
Hardly worth a whole blog post but it may help somebody… is_numeric() is the function to use for validating numeric-only user input with PHP but unfortunately there is no is_alphanumeric(). Or so I thought. Meet ctype_alnum() Here’s an example of its usage: if (ctype_alnum($_POST['username'])) { echo "Thanks - that's a good username."; } else { … Continue reading How to do alphanumeric validation with PHP
Unix Ware – Freshness with no leaks!
One of the things I love about living in Japan is the surprises it throws your way. Take this recent discovery, for example. I never thought I’d get excited about food containers but, well, wouldn’t you?
Free online web development checkers
Inspired by a forum post I came across the other day I’ve compiled a list of free online checkers/validators for web developers. Please let me know if you’re aware of others. (Updated 16th September 2010) (X)HTML validator.w3.org/ – The daddy of validators and your first port of call validator.nu/ – Maybe your second port of … Continue reading Free online web development checkers
How to input Japanese in Opera on Linux
UPDATE: As of 2010, Ubuntu and Fedora both use iBus and I must say this is a great addition to the IME landscape. This is my new recommendation. Like many Linux users I’ve never really had much luck with SCIM and Opera but I’m pleased to say I’ve finally found a solution: use UIM. I’ve … Continue reading How to input Japanese in Opera on Linux
Watching videos on the Wii
Continuing with the Wii theme, I found out how to convert videos so they can be viewed on the Nintendo Wii. The Wii can show videos in two ways: Flash videos viewed online in the Opera browser. AVI files viewed from a memory card in the photo channel. I looked into the AVI method as … Continue reading Watching videos on the Wii
Widgets on the Wii
Just a quick note that may help widget developers. The problem:Your widget may work well on mobile and desktop and in the widget emulator, but the version of Opera used on the Wii is a very different beast and the emulator does not reflect its quirks. Not only that, you can’t download or transfer your … Continue reading Widgets on the Wii
Thinking outside the box, inside a box
Not technology-related but I actually had a pleasant experience while being dragged into a cosmetics shop yesterday. I tend to get turned off by the overpowering smelly stuff and fake tans of the staff, but this particular shop (a branch of Lush) had something special – popcorn! Alas, it wasn’t for eating but rather for … Continue reading Thinking outside the box, inside a box
Debug menu, where have you been all my life?!
By accident, I came across a feature today which has pretty much made Firefox redundant for me. I’m sure I’m not alone in reverting to Firefox occasionally for one or two key features that don’t exist in Opera (or at least I haven’t found them yet). The Web Developer toolbar was my addictive feature but … Continue reading Debug menu, where have you been all my life?!
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