Oli Trenouth

Setting Sail Across the C

I’m a Microsoft developer. There, I said it. I’ve grown up in a world of BASIC, from the early days of QuickBASIC through to VB.NET today. It’s a fantastic, easy going world to live in – particularly since .NET – as everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is laid out for you. As a development environment, it’s so easy to get started – and often leaves you thinking “surely it’s not that simple?!” after writing a single line of code. (more…)

By Oli Trenouth, ago

iPhone 3.0 and Google Calendars (Updated)

Hello again. I’m back … and we’re back on the topic of calendars!

UPDATE! – I’ve added a separate article looking at the far simpler sync options for iOS 4. If you’re still using iPhone OS 3.X, then read on – otherwise click here for the updated how-to.

You may recall a few months ago I wrote an article on how I’ve solved my multiple calendar problem, in an attempt to separate my work life (and diary) from my personal one. One of the sticking points at the end of that solution was that I couldn’t sync my Google calendars with my iPhone over the air, so ended up using the Google calendar web-app for the iPhone. This was “ok”, but it wasn’t the neat all-in-one solution I was looking for.

However, on the 17th of June Apple release the iPhone 3.0 operating system, and the good news is that is supports CalDAV. Hurray! (more…)

By Oli Trenouth, ago

Video encoding strategy for all Apple devices

I’ve had an Apple TV for a number of years, along with an iPod Touch and now (finally!) and iPhone. Before I had any of those things I made a conscious decision to transfer all my CD’s to iTunes and change the way I manage and access my music. This was clearly a success, as I can’t remember the last time I got one of my CD’s out of its case, (come to think of it, I can’t even remember where my CDs are!).

This setup was ideal. The music was wherever I wanted it to be: Streamed through the Apple TV, played off a PC or laptop, or copied to my iPhone. This got me thinking, “why can’t I do the same with my DVDs?”. With the cost of storage being so low I bought myself a 2Tb Lacie drive with that very same thought in mind. (more…)

By Oli Trenouth, ago

WordPress: Moving to a New Server

Got a WordPress blog? Thinking of moving to a new server or host?

I’ve recently moved from a basic hosting package to a VPS, and part of the move involved migrating this website (a WordPress-powered blog) with all it’s essentials intact. I’d not done this before so I relied heavily on advice from the interweb to help me along the way. The trouble is I couldn’t find a single solution that worked for me 100%, so I thought it may be helpful to detail my experiences here. (more…)

By Oli Trenouth, ago

Spotify

I remember a number of years ago that “Internet Radio” was all the rage. Without having to spend upwards of £300 on a new “digital” radio, you could easily tune into radio from around the world. I remember spending warm, sunny summer’s days living in the cottage with live radio from the Bahama’s blasting out into the garden ;o)

But then Internet radio started to die. The music industry, as if noticing these services for the first time, decided that they wanted a bigger slice of the pie. They got that bigger slice, but in the process killed many of the smaller radio stations that provided the attraction in the first place. (more…)

By Oli Trenouth, ago