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Move on, move on...

Change is the only constant. I left Oracle in the Autumn and joined a small start up here in the Bay Area.  I'm moving some of my posts from the Oracle blogs site - as I don't know what the expiration policy is on those items - but I find those items useful reminders of what we in software should always be mindful of - whether we design, create, test, sell or implement software.

Popular posts from this blog

How to get the BBC iPlayer running when you live outside of the UK

(subtext: Get the World's most famous detective on your favourite browser)

The new series of Sherlock has started on the BBC. If you live outside of the UK and you are too impatient to wait for your local TV content provider to host it for you - then fear not !! These simple instructions will get you up and running. In addition to the iPlayer you can access most of the other UK TV channels using the same method. Note: you can use the same method to access content in other countries - such as Hulu in the U.S.

How it works:  In simple terms, the BBC iPlayer, like other players, perform a check to determine whether your internet access is originating from the UK.  So the trick is to ensure that your access to the BBC website will originate from the UK.



First you are going to use a free piece of open source software that was designed to keep your internet access anonymous. You will add a setting that will ensure that the software makes use of servers in the UK whenever making requests…
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Create an Alexa Skill for your Amazon Alexa or Echo Dot

So you've bought an Alexa Dot and you want to create your own voice app - but you are wondering how difficult is it to build, how do you build the app and how much will it cost to run?  If you have basic programming skills then building the application is really easy. If you have written a function or script in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets - then you can build an Alexa voice app. I'm providing all the basic stuff you need to get started ...

Note: This post is not intended to give you an exhaustive guide to building a skill. Instead it aims to give you the overview to get up and running quickly. Amazon provides a build-it-yourself walkthrough (here), samples (here) and a free course on Udemy (here).  I recommend starting with the free course then following the walkthrough.

How much does it cost ? It costs nothing to build and run a simple Alexa app. $0 / £0 / €0.  Zero.  Furthermore the app is hosted on Amazon's cloud, it's secure, load balanced and managed for you …
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Use a Beacon to check in guests and share Emergency info

I had to put together a simple demo that uses a beacon to check in a visitor and share Emergency information, such as Fire Exits in the building, with the user .
(Note: this isn't the best way to check in a guest - but this was the request).

Most beacon demos require some native coding - but this approach favours configuration over coding so that you can get a concept working quickly before spending time on a native app.

What you will need
1. A Google account
2. A Beacon - I used a beacon from Bluecats (https://bluecats.com/)
3. Any iOs device (OS 8+) or Android Device with Google Chrome installed

How it works
You will set up the Beacon set up to emit a static URL using the Eddystone protocol.
The URL will navigate the user to a Google Web Form. You can use any URL (your own website if you want) but it must be using HTTPS.

Any device with BLE support, with an appropriate receiving app, will pick up the URL.  But therein lies the problem ! Most guests will not have the native app and…
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