vivweb01blog

  Smartphone/Tablet Apps – Should they be better documented ? It’s a sad fact that many of the Android and iOS apps that I’ve come across in my travels have been poorly documented and leave the novice user perplexed as to how they work…. I began to wonder why this might be the case quite soon after starting to use smartphones & tablets myself. Having authored quite a bit of software over the years (for pcs rather than mobiles), some of which was produced to support work projects and has been extensively used by professional colleagues, I had some prior knowledge of the coding process - and what goes into validating and documenting an app. This provided some insight into why developers might find it hard work to provide full instructions for their apps. It also provided some clues as to why early releases of some apps have a habit of crashing when used by the unsuspecting. I wanted to explore this a bit further, since these are both important issues to address for any app deve...

Much water has flowed under the bridge since I first published this exposé of our relationship with domestic cats. As an honorary Civil Servant, the UK's high level Downing St. representative, Larry the Cat, has, as always, figured large in decision making behind the scenes, and has displayed some frustration recently at the way things seem to be going.  Keen-eyed observers of nightly BBCTV news may have noticed  Larry making a surprise entrance through the #10 front door  in Monday evening's broadcast. The door  opened as if by magic at his approach, suggesting he was expected for an important meeting of state. It is probably no coincidence that a major decision on the fate of HS2 is in the offing. Larry is normally reticent about things political, but went on the record recently in a press interview as voicing serious concerns about the project  – you can read a summary of his interview at the end of this expose.  The rumours circulating recently that Lar...

 I first published this blog in October 2022. Since then, if anything the political wrangling has worsened, and opinion in the UK became even more polarised in the run up to the July election. Many now argue that the results suggested a voting system at odds with the will of the electorate. Time then, perhaps, for a second look at possible alternative systems.... Introduction The events of the past three years, and in particular the last few months, have shown us that UK politics have entered a state of turmoil that we haven’t seen since the 1970s. As an institution, our post-war political system has never been particularly trouble-free, and the increasingly fractious state of our world is placing ever more strain on both the system and those in charge of it. Can anything be done to improve things, and make our politics more resilient in the face of worldwide changes to come ? Why should we change anything ? Radical change in any system should always be carefully considered...