Steve Litchfield

One feature of the Android world over the last five years has been the reverse engineering of Google's first party Camera application, pre-installed in the company's Pixel devices. Popularly known as ' GCam ', the resulting application includes all the multi-frame tricks that Google developed for its Google Glass project, wherein an ostensibly terribly low end camera could produce good results. By combining results intelligently from many captured frames, noise is reduced, detail is enhanced, and so on. Available for free download in many places online, version by version, but start here , GCam can bring extra dimensions to low end camera modules in phones even today, though as the hardware has become better then the 'gap' between manufacturer and GCam results has become smaller and smaller. In my case, I was thinking about using a GCam port on my 2021 Microsoft  Surface Duo 2 , whose main camera is impressive for its size and considering that it's primarily...

(Lifted from one of my own reviews on AAM and kept here for safe-keeping and reference!) At its heart though, and simplifying slightly, 'Type C' is just a hardware standard - the mechanical jack, and pin layout. The hardware is rated up to 100Gb/s for data and up to 100W for power, though this of course depends on the implementation and quality of cabling used. Type C: is reversible, so works either way 'up' supports USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard protocols (a protocol is a set of rules for what happens when certain signals and voltages are seen on certain pins) supports third-party protocols in 'Alternate Mode' (see below), depending on the hardware involved allows devices to negotiate and choose an appropriate level (Volts, Amps) of power  ( Image from  Microchip )   VBUS (Voltage bus) and GND (Ground) are power lines, obviously. Of note is that VBUS isn't always carrying 5V - the USB protocols allow this to be negotiated upwards if n...

Yes, yes, the number of things you want to get done each day is legendary. And possibly growing. Work stuff, home stuff, family stuff. OK, for the first, you probably want a formal list and app and oversight, and so on. Making sure everything's done to a deadline. but for the others, home and family? Sometimes a list is just a little over the top. Plus you have to keep it up to date and that can be a hassle. So I have a compromise that I swear by. And it's very, very simple. A way to be more efficient without getting distracted in getting through your chores and tasks is to focus one step ahead. Here's how it works. While doing a specific job, you have the next one in mind too. And when you get round to that one, you have the one after that in mind. And so on. What this achieves is: You don't get distracted while doing the first task since you're aware of 'what's next' (yes, another West Wing reference!) Hopefully the next task has some commonality with...

I was reminded the other day of a saga from the early 1990s. I was the system manager of a microVAX 'mainframe' (with about 20 terminals around the office) in an engineering firm. And I did some programming to fill in the time, creating tools, but that's another story for another blog entry... Here's the set-up. We were moving offices, about ten miles, and it was up to me to arrange for all the IT equipment to be moved safely. I wanted to put the only fragile bits (mainly the microVAX itself, which was the size of a large suitcase) in my car, wrapped in a duvet, but was told I had to do things officially and the company would pay the experts, in this case DECMove (DEC was a computer company that made the microVAX). (archive snap of a microVAX, from ) So, I contacted DECMove and everything was booked in, at horrible cost (I think many thousands of pounds, in 1990's money, so tens of thousands today).  They arrived on time, I'd already disconnected everything (and...

(From my own post over at AAWP , but compacted, tweaked and preserved here for interest and posterity. Related articles still link back to AAWP, which is still online as I write this.) There's (or 'there was', looking back in 2023!) so much to like about Windows Phone in terms of hardware options, interface, and ecosystem, that you might be surprised, in hindsight, that it failed so badly - in relative terms, compared to Android and iOS. There's no one single reason for this - rather many reasons, with cumulative effect, over the best part of a decade. Here's my - rather damning - list. 1. Too late, too slow Microsoft and Symbian (along with Palm and Blackberry) were smartphone pioneers, of course. I still remember handling the first 'XDA' running Windows Mobile, and recognising that this was the future. That was in 2002, with 'large' touchscreen, a full five years before the iPhone was even announced. So there was momentum on Microsoft's side...

You may well be fairly happy with the audio output (speakers and headphones) on your existing Android phone. Or, like me, you may welcome an extra step up. Perhaps more bass/punch, clearer treble, or perhaps just a volume boost overall. Now, there have been various 'boost' utilities for Android in the past and they've been a bit patchy in how well they work. But Wavelet, discovered by Ted Salmon back in 2021, is a whole different kettle of fish, in that it works supremely well, with extra bass, clarity, and volume,   BUT has a very confusing interface. Which is why a brief tutorial is in order. The steps come from Ted in bullet point form, but expanded by me here and with screenshots, which will hopefully help. By the way, ignore the 'headphone specific' text in the app's title - it works perfectly well for speakers too. In fact, by definition, I'd say that it's really ONLY for speakers, since with headphones you've usually got plenty of natural i...

This was first published by me back in AAM days but I needed the functionality and couldn't for the life of me remember how it was accessed, so... here we go again! One of my favourite things a smartphone can do is help me go to sleep when my mind is whirling. Now, this isn't a new concept in smartphones, since there are third party applications for all mobile platforms that play, for example, the sound of rainfall, the ocean, a bubbling stream, and so on. The idea is to mask out other sounds that might distract you from sleep and it works really, really well. Bringing me to this simple 'how to', highlighting that Apple has (quietly)  added basic 'background sounds' into its latest iOS 15  - for free, and for everyone. Now there are some limitations - there are only three such sound streams (other than white noise), though doubtless more will follow in time. And there's no auto-shutoff, so the water sound effects will play until you, presumably, wake up. ...

I cannot understand how most people get through the day without a penknife of some kind. Half a dozen times a day I reach for mine, permanently carabinered to my belt and tucked into my trouser back pocket, to access scissors, knife, screwdriver, or whatever. So many gadgets, so many uses.   This post, anyway, is about my latest Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, the 'Tinker', thirty-odd quid at Amazon UK . Now, before you say that this is a lot of money, the knives shown here are, from left to right: the aforementioned 4-layer Tinker, bought in the last few weeks (see below for what it has) my original 4-layer Victorinox knife, from the early 1980s. So it's now over 40 years old and still fully functional. The only reason I don't still use it is that the keyring/carabiner attachment point got mangled when doing some DIY - so it's now my backup 'briefcase'/car knife.  my second knife, bought around 2000, and slightly slimmer with 3 layers. It's now 22 years o...

This one took a little lateral thinking but seems obvious in hindsight. Shortly after getting my MacBook, I noticed that every now and then the screen brightness started pulsing. Bright then dimmer, rinse and repeat. Discussion online suggested that this was a) rare and b) a premonition of a hardware failure to come.  Both of which may be true. But I did notice that the pulsing only happened when on mains power and only after a while, or when coming back to the laptop after it had been left on charge. So it was definitely power-related. What if... the pulsing was Apple's way of saying 'the battery is now fully charged, why not disconnect it to save power and to preserve battery longevity'? What indeed. And viewed in this light it does make sense. And perfectly fits the facts. So when the screen is pulsing, I disconnect the Type C charge lead and use on  battery for the next few days until I deem a top-up is needed. Solved. The curious thing though... is that no one else has...

(Republished from my own article on the All About servers , archived for posterity) So yes a bit of an experiment. Writing about the laptop in your pocket ON a laptop in my pocket. In this case the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. No corrections or additions were made on any other device. It has been the dream of every mobile enthusiast for three decades to have a workable laptop, for Office, email, and so on, in a pocketable form. Think Psion, think Nokia Communicators. This is the latest attempt, in 2022!  I have to start with typing speed, since the reduced size and glass experience will be the bottleneck for some people. Both factors affect input speed, of course, though I'd estimate that I get about 70% of my normal input speed, using four fingers rather than the usual six or eight. On a full size laptop keyboard I type at about 40 words per minute, allowing for corrections/backspacing as I go along (I'm a stickler for not having to go back to fix things later!) On the small gla...

Back in the day - well, June 2021, 18 months ago, I attempted a comparative review of (arguably) the big four mobile flight simulators . ( Archived here , if AAM goes down.) They were: Aerofly FS 2021 (now 22, of course!), Infinite Flight , Rortos RFS , and X-Plane 11 (now 12!). They're in the app store for both Android and iOS, though I've been testing them again, with 18 months of updates, on the iPhone 14 Pro Max - a larger screen is recommended for flight sim games, of course. And it's at this point that I'd like to summarise my summary - my ratings and review commentary haven't really changed since the original article. Except that each product has expanded its resources, to encompass more scenery, more airports, more traffic, and so on. So all simulators have got slightly better. And slightly worse, in that the free versions have less resources, mind you (Aerofly excepted). And I'm italicising slightly because that's the key word, in that I can, a...

This may be a UK phenomenon. I'm really not sure. I call it 'Garden Centre Economics', or GCE for short. Garden centres here do sell loads of plants and garden tools, hoses, sheds, and so on. All well and good. But they also sell the relatively mundane, for example bars of 'interesting' (i.e. different) chocolate, jars of locally produced honey, cuddly toys, and essentially lots of things that you might consider as gifts for others. Again, nothing wrong with all this, though the notable thing is the price hikes involved. Garden centre acreage is expensive, as are the large heated halls and plush indoor carpets, so you're paying more to help keep them in business. After all, you browse their shelves and tables looking for presents and you're happy to pay more for the convenience of finding interesting gifts all in the one place. As an example of the economics of a typical garden centre and these gifts, let's look at two examples: 100g bar of flavoured dar...

We do live in an era of pain relief for everything - and this is usually good. Migraine? Recovering from an operation? Tooth decay and waiting for a dentist appointment? Take some relief and you'll survive. And this is all good and necessary. But I wanted to share my thoughts on back pain - which is so common these days and with which I'm suffering right now - and for which I have some specific thoughts. You see, pain is the body's way of telling you that something's wrong. It's great to have this warning system in the case of the back and it's multitude of muscles, but unlike with other pain, I firmly believe that pain relief medicines should be a last resort... In my case, every time I move I'm aware of nagging pains in my lower back, a specific site and probably a specific muscle. The pain is my body telling me 'Be careful'. And so I am. Getting up carefully, sitting down ditto. Rising in the morning slowly and gently, and so forth.  Injurymap , ...

In recent years I've had several occasions when I've had to drive to pick something up or drop someone off (and so on) deep in the heart of a city that I've never been to before. And I've managed it with minimal fear and dread. You see, I've a pathological fear of unknown and complex city layouts - one way streets, four-lane-wide junctions, and so on. Plus so, so much traffic. And back in the 1980s, when I learned to drive, through the 1990s and through most of the 2000s, this was the status quo. I just wouldn't dare drive into such an environment, even with a passenger with 'road atlas' and 'A-Z' street map. Way too stressful and possibly dangerous. The early 2000s saw a variety of 'mapping' systems, including my own Mapper software, for Psion palmtops and Nokia communicators, then commercial software such as Autoroute Express and Sygic, but it was Nokia buying up Smart2Go in 2007 and rebranding it Nokia Maps and available to all of it...