Notable

It's only been two days since I commented on this new app from the NHS. Maybe the communication wasn't as inaccurate as it sounded at the time. Turns out NHSX weren't aware of Apple and Google's technology when they first embarked on the project but by the time of the briefing that was given to the public, they would have been.

NHSX – the British health service's digital innovation unit – reportedly wasn't aware of Apple and Google's project before it was announced, and it now looks like the usefulness of its own app will be severely hampered or even rendered non-functional if it doesn't implement the protocol.

That's because without adhering to the Apple and Google API, a contact tracing app won't be able to access Bluetooth when it's running in the background, and would only work when the app was open and the phone unlocked.

Posted 17th Apr 2020 @ 14:00

Posted 17th Apr 2020 @ 11:30

Cadbury make some of the best chocolate we have here in the UK. Twirls, Time Out, Dairy Milk... the list of their good chocolate is endless. No longer available in the UK, my favourite Cadbury's bar of all time is the Fuse bar.

Anyway, this is a nice update to the brand. Unremarkable when you compare them side by side, but works nicely with the updated identity and packaging.

Posted 16th Apr 2020 @ 11:00

Replaces the '8' while gaining the latest chips. For $399 (£419 in the UK), that's a pretty good deal.

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 19:21

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 17:40

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 15:51

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 14:09

I was watching the daily update at the time and as usual with the current UK government, it was framed in a way in which they were taking credit for the initiative. The technology will soon be baked into the OS on our phones and from the specs, the APIs Apple and Google are putting together look very promising.

It's great news, but it wasn't communicated correctly. What if your phone cannot be updated to run the latest version when these changes are available? Android especially, which has vendor and network versions that are either slow to be updated or not updated at all.

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 12:34

Comprehensive timeline of the UK government's response to the ongoing pandemic. Pretty damning.

Posted 15th Apr 2020 @ 11:00

See here for more illustrations of the effects of social distancing.

Posted 14th Apr 2020 @ 20:08