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    <title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
    <subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle>
    <updated>2026-10-19T09:00:07Z</updated>
    <rights>© Terence Eden. 🄯 CC BY. See https://shkspr.mobi/blog/copyright-and-copyleft/</rights>
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    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Gadget Review: Mokin 17 Port USB-C Tower ★★☆☆☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76136</id>
        <updated>2026-10-19T09:00:07Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-22T11:34:36Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Mokin"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="USB-C"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a beast.    This is the MODK2403 - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want and has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.  Errr… What?  OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.    On to the ports:   Triple display   Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort  4x U…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/">&lt;p&gt;The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a &lt;em&gt;beast&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/product-shot.webp" alt="Photo of the front and back of the hub." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the &lt;a href="https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd"&gt;MODK2403&lt;/a&gt; - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Errr… What?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/All-the-ports.webp" alt="All the ports." width="1024" height="771" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On to the ports:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Triple display

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4x USB-A

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2x 2.0 480Mbps, 1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2x USB-C

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C PD input

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;100W&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C to host computer

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C to C cable included&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ethernet port

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;SD and microSD&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3.5m Audio Jack&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Suction cup&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Yup! At the bottom of the tower is a silicone surround which allows it to firmly plant on any flat surface. It's strong enough to take any gentle nudges without toppling over, but easy enough to lift off if you need to move the unit.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/suction.webp" alt="A square suction cup." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; cheeky to describe this as 17 ports. The two DisplayPorts are tied to the HDMI ports - so you can only have 3 screens active at a time, not five. But as each screen can do 4K @ 60Hz, I'll let it slide.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="screen"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#screen"&gt;Screen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's a black and white screen included which can show you a bunch of information. Tap the power-button on top to cycle between them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Which ports are connected:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Whats-plugged-in.webp" alt="A list of ports. Some are illuminated." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Screen resolution of attached devices:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Displayinfo.webp" alt="Screen resolution, size, and refresh rate." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Total power draw:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/what-watts.webp" alt="A weird smiley face showing 49 Watts." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;WiFi set up:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-Info.webp" alt="WiFi Info." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wait? What! If you connect to the hub's WiFi, you get this set-up screen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-setup.webp" alt="A long settings screen to allow WiFi and set various options." width="504" height="1344" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Once it is connected, it'll show you the weather in your area:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Weather-no-location.webp" alt="Weather and time." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm not &lt;em&gt;entirely&lt;/em&gt; convinced about whether that's useful. Although you can change the units from ℉ to ℃, and show or hide your area, there's no other customisation available. No 24 hour clock, no date formatting, nothing. There's also no privacy policy or indication of which weather provider it is connecting to.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The screen switches off after a few minutes - so it isn't a constant distraction. Tapping the top button turns it on again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Double-pressing the power-button switches the external monitors off. Which is useful for privacy I guess?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="linux-info"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#linux-info"&gt;Linux Info&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Worked perfectly with my Linux laptop. I drove two external screens via DisplayPort, a bunch of USB peripherals, Ethernet, etc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A full read-out gives:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;0bda:8153 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
0bda:0411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Hub
2109:0822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.1 Hub
2109:8822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB Billboard Device
0020:0b21 Generic AB13X USB Audio
0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device
0bda:5411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5411 Hub
1a86:8095 QinHeng Electronics USB Hub
303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit
2109:2822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="speed"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#speed"&gt;Speed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have 1Gbps broadband, and I was able to get 850Mbps through the Mokin's Ethernet port. That's pretty much what I'd expect.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Copying files via USB-C to a Pixel phone topped out at about 200MBps, which was a little underwhelming, but fast enough for my needs. I tried a variety of cables, including the bundled one.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="sound"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#sound"&gt;Sound&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The AB13X USB Audio presents as both analogue and S/PDIF. There was no meaningful difference between the two in terms of sound quality. There was minimal hum on output when nothing was being played.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="wifi-and-security"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#wifi-and-security"&gt;WiFi and Security&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm slightly uneasy about the built-in WiFi connection this hub offers. It is primarily used for showing the weather on screen, but it can also be used to upload new firmware.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Worryingly, it has a weak default password set - &lt;code&gt;mokin123&lt;/code&gt;. I think that might be &lt;a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-protect-consumers-from-cyber-criminals-come-into-force-in-the-uk"&gt;against the law&lt;/a&gt;. The password can be changed by the user - but I wonder how many people will bother?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When I mentioned this to Mokin, they replied:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;After the initial password is set, the user can change the password themselves rather than continuing to use a fixed default password.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't think that's good enough to protect users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, the SSID can be hidden and is randomised, but I wonder if that's suitable defence against a determined hacker?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm glad that the unit doesn't hijack the Ethernet connection - but who knows what a future firmware update might do.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's also a &lt;code&gt;303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit&lt;/code&gt; exposed on the hub. I tried connecting to it with &lt;code&gt;esptool&lt;/code&gt; and the hub crashed! I had to pull out the power to get it to restart. I'm not smart enough to probe it further, but I can't help wondering why it is there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, there's a mysterious &lt;code&gt;0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device&lt;/code&gt;. I thought that was used for blanking the external screens when the power-button is double-pressed, but that didn't register on &lt;code&gt;evtest&lt;/code&gt;. So what is it for? I don't like the idea of a random Human Interface Device (usually a keyboard or mouse) being attached to my computer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I spoke to Mokin about it and they said:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;our technical manager confirmed that these two entries are reserved for future firmware updates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Personally, I would expect these to be disabled if they aren't going to be used.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="privacy"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#privacy"&gt;Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With any device which connects to the Internet, you have to be concerned about what data it is collecting, storing, and transmitting. I asked Mokin if they had a privacy policy related to their weather service. They said:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is no need to worry about your personal or location information being uploaded or stored remotely. The relevant user information is stored locally on the device.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The weather/location information is provided through Google services, and no personal information is uploaded or stored by us. Therefore, there should be no privacy or data security concern from our side.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't find that terribly convincing. At the very least they should tell users who their weather provider is and what their privacy says.  I assume that the device is doing a GeoIP lookup before sending the request to Google - again, that should be explained to users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've no evidence that the hub is collecting data about what is attached and then sending it off somewhere - but without a privacy policy from Mokin, who can say?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="cracking-it-open"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#cracking-it-open"&gt;Cracking It Open&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The suction cup at the bottom is only lightly glued on and peeled off easily. Underneath are four screws.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Bottom-Screws.webp" alt="Four cross head screws." width="512" height="531" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The base removes easily, exposing the three circuit boards.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Internal-guts.webp" alt="Two circuit boards with a middle board and some wires." width="2048" height="1824" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a close up:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/guts.webp" alt="Close up of the circuits." width="2048" height="1798" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I couldn't easily get them out, and the front plastic was held on securely. I'm sure it would be possible to snap off, but I didn't want to damage it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="price-and-final-thoughts"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#price-and-final-thoughts"&gt;Price and Final Thoughts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's usually about &lt;a href="https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd"&gt;£90 from the manufacturer&lt;/a&gt; or around &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B08w3yaiS"&gt;£70 from Amazon&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can get a basic hub for less than half that price - but what you're paying for here having &lt;em&gt;all the ports&lt;/em&gt;. It's an attractive package, well designed, quiet, and unobtrusive.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The screen is moderately useful - being able to see which ports are in use was handy, as was seeing the total power draw. The screen debugging was also handy. I'm not that interested in the weather, but I can see how it would be helpful as a single-use screen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have significant concerns about the always-on WiFi, especially given its easy to guess password. I've contacted the manufacturer to see if anything can be done about that but they don't seem interested in fixing it. The lack of privacy policy is also worrying.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, the HID and JTAG are also something I wouldn't expect to see on a hub like this. Ideally they should be disabled if not in use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In terms of ports and performance, this can't be beat. But I would be reluctant to connect it to my home WiFi network.&lt;/p&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Quackery - A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-quackery-a-brief-history-of-the-worst-ways-to-cure-everything-by-lydia-kang/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74296</id>
        <updated>2026-09-27T21:29:18Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-20T11:34:35Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="medicine"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.  Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It&#039;s fun the whole way through, although …]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-quackery-a-brief-history-of-the-worst-ways-to-cure-everything-by-lydia-kang/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/9781523501854.webp" alt="Book cover." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-74298"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It's fun the whole way through, although sometimes at the expense of people who perhaps didn't know better than to trust charlatans.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One thing that is constantly brought back is how it can be hard to determine what &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; patent nonsense and what is a &lt;i lang="la"&gt;bone fide&lt;/i&gt; cure:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Prevent blood clotting: Extract mucus from the intestinal membranes of slaughtered pigs or from the lungs of slaughtered cows. Inject. (heparin)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Is that any more believable than injecting goat testicles to cure impotence?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It also brings to light how squeamish we can be, especially when faced with unusual medical procedures:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;We borrow other people’s wombs for surrogacy. And yet, plenty of people squirm at the idea of breastmilk banks. We are a society of contradictions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The eBook is &lt;em&gt;beautifully&lt;/em&gt; formatted. For once, images are in-line with the text! Usually in books of this sort, publishers treat the eBook like a mass-market paperback and stick the illustrations at the end.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It ends rather abruptly, after taking us through light, electricity, colour therapy, animal magnetism, and a couple of dozen other "cure-alls"&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sadly, there are no references or footnotes. While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the claims, for a book about scientific misinformation and malpractice, I'd've expected a way to find out more information.&lt;/p&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Una Watch TOTP - MFA on your wrist!]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76104</id>
        <updated>2026-10-12T10:48:42Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-18T11:34:08Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="c++"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Let&#039;s get this out of the way first - this is a terrible idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I&#039;ve built a watch app which will display them. That&#039;s really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they&#039;re clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/">&lt;p&gt;Let's get this out of the way first - this is a &lt;em&gt;terrible&lt;/em&gt; idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I've built a watch app which will display them. That's really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they're clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret which powers the code generation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You should absolutely not do this and, if you ignore my warnings, you should only do this for codes which aren't critical to your security.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! If this is your first time - hello! This content is only available to sophisticated nerds who read my HTML comments.

You know what? I *do* use this. I have a low-ish security account which constantly needs my MFA number. Sometimes I can't be bothered unlocking my phone to get it. Of course, on my wrist I save it under a different name. Perhaps I'm an idiot for doing so, but sometimes convenience wins.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in my other blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In my defence, an attacker would still need my username and password to make any use of these codes - but please don't trust your security to my deranged witterings.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="what-it-looks-like"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#what-it-looks-like"&gt;What It Looks Like&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MFA.webp" alt="My wristwatch showing &amp;quot;HSBC MFA Code 751646&amp;quot;. Don't worry, this isn't my real code. OR IS IT?!?!" width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="prior-art"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#prior-art"&gt;Prior Art&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure many other people have done this. Indeed, three years ago I built &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/07/an-eink-wrist-mounted-totp-generator/"&gt;An eInk, Wrist-Mounted, TOTP Generator&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Wrist-TOTP.jpg" alt="A chunky wristwatch showing the time and a selection of 6 digit codes and their corresponding entities." width="1024" height="1024" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-service"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-service"&gt;The Service&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is in my &lt;code&gt;Service.cpp&lt;/code&gt; - as you can see, it's pretty simple. This won't let you add in hundreds of codes - you get one and that's it. There's no countdown when a code is about to expire, so I recommend waiting until a new one pops up before you start typing it in.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'll be candid, I haven't used C++ properly since university - and that was in the last century. I've mostly just cut things out to see what breaks. Feel free to educate me on the correct idiomatic code.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to set your own secret in here.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-cpp"&gt;//  Standard includes.
#include "Service.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp"

//  Needed for PureTOTP.
#include &amp;lt;iostream&amp;gt;
#include "TOTP.h"

#include &amp;lt;string&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;sstream&amp;gt;

//  What this Glance can do.
Service::Service(SDK::Kernel &amp;amp;kernel)
    : mKernel(kernel)
    , mGlanceUI()
    , mGlanceTitle()
    , mGlanceValue()
{}

void Service::createGuiControls()
{
    //  Set the main title in the Glance.
    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)
        .setText("HSBC MFA Code")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);

    //  Set the default text for the value.
    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceValue.pos({ 20, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_YELLOW_DARK)
        .setText( "Waiting for update" )
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
}

void Service::glanceUpdate()
{
    //  Set the Base32 encoded secret (all uppercase).
    std::string secret = "QWERTYUIOP";
    //  Generate the code based on the Unix timestamp right now.
    const std::time_t t = std::time(0);
    std::string code = TOTP::GenerateTOTP( 6, 30, TOTP::HMAC_SHA1, secret, t );

    std::ostringstream ss;
    ss &amp;lt;&amp;lt; t;

    //  Convert the string to char* and display it as the value.
    mGlanceValue.print( code.c_str() ); 

    //  Show the Unix time to check the timezone is correct.
    // mGlanceTitle.print( ss.str().c_str() );
}

//  No service.
Service::~Service(){}

//  When this glance is opened.
void Service::run()
{
    while (true) {
        SDK::MessageBase *msg;
        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {
            continue;
        }

        switch (msg-&amp;gt;getType()) {
            //  The Glance has started.
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:
                if (configGui()) {
                    createGuiControls();
                } else {
                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);
                }
                break;
            //  The Glance has been stopped.
            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:
                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                return;
                break;

            //  Every second, perform an action.
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:
                onGlanceTick();
                break;

            default:
                break;
        }

        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
    }
}

void Service::onGlanceTick()
{
    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {
        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
            upd-&amp;gt;name           = APP_NAME;
            upd-&amp;gt;controls       = mGlanceUI.data();
            upd-&amp;gt;controlsNumber = static_cast&amp;lt;uint32_t&amp;gt;(mGlanceUI.size());
            upd.send(100);
        }

        mGlanceUI.setValid();
    }
    glanceUpdate();
}

bool Service::configGui()
{
    bool status = false;
    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
        if (gc.send(100) &amp;amp;&amp;amp; gc.ok()) {
            if (gc-&amp;gt;maxControls &amp;gt;= 3) {
                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc-&amp;gt;width);
                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc-&amp;gt;height);
                status = true;
            }
        }
    }
    return status;
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-library"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-library"&gt;The Library&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are dozens of C++ libraries for RFC 6238 generation. I ended up using &lt;a href="https://github.com/Einztein/PureTOTP"&gt;PureTOTP&lt;/a&gt; as it didn't require any external dependencies and was only two files.  As I only needed SHA1 TOTP codes, I stripped out a bunch of functionality which was unnecessary for me. Similarly, I only wanted to generate 6 digit codes with a 30 second period - so took out anything which did more than that.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've tidied up the code and comments where I can. The original was MIT Licenced - so this is as well.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are two parts to this. First, the header&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;// TOTP.h
//
#pragma once
#include &amp;lt;string&amp;gt;
class TOTP
{
public:
    const static int HMAC_SHA1 = 20;    //  Length of HMAC.

    static std::string GenerateTOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret);
    static std::string GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret, int specTime);

    TOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret): digit(digit), refreshSeconds(refreshSeconds), algorithm(algorithm), secret(secret) {}
    TOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret): digit(6), refreshSeconds(30), algorithm(HMAC_SHA1), secret(secret) {}

    std::string currentTOTP();

private:
    int digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm;

    std::string secret;
};
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Next is the standalone library which does the TOTP generation, &lt;code&gt;TOTP.cpp&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-cpp"&gt;// TOTP.cpp
//
#include "TOTP.h"
#include &amp;lt;vector&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;stack&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;queue&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;sstream&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;iomanip&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;cstdint&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;cstring&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;array&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;stdexcept&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;algorithm&amp;gt;
using namespace std;

struct JEVP_MD
{
    enum Kind {
        SHA1
    };

    Kind kind;
    int  md_size;
    int  block_size;
};

static inline uint32_t rotl32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; n) | (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; (32 - n)); }
static inline uint32_t rotr32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; n) | (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; (32 - n)); }
static inline uint64_t rotr64(uint64_t x, uint64_t n) { return (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; n) | (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; (64 - n)); }

static uint32_t load_be32(const unsigned char* p)
{
    return (uint32_t(p[0]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 24) |
           (uint32_t(p[1]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 16) |
           (uint32_t(p[2]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt;  8) |
            uint32_t(p[3]);
}

static void store_be32(uint32_t v, unsigned char* p)
{
    p[0] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 24) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[1] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 16) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[2] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt;  8) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[3] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;( v        &amp;amp; 0xFF);
}

static void store_be64(uint64_t v, unsigned char* p)
{
    p[0] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 56) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[1] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 48) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[2] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 40) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[3] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 32) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[4] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 24) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[5] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 16) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[6] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt;  8) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[7] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;( v        &amp;amp; 0xFF);
}

static vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; sha1_hash(const unsigned char* data, size_t len)
{
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; msg(data, data + len);
    uint64_t              bit_len = static_cast&amp;lt;uint64_t&amp;gt;(len) * 8;

    msg.push_back(0x80);
    while ((msg.size() % 64) != 56) msg.push_back(0x00);

    unsigned char lenbuf[8];
    store_be64(bit_len, lenbuf);
    msg.insert(msg.end(), lenbuf, lenbuf + 8);

    uint32_t h0 = 0x67452301;
    uint32_t h1 = 0xEFCDAB89;
    uint32_t h2 = 0x98BADCFE;
    uint32_t h3 = 0x10325476;
    uint32_t h4 = 0xC3D2E1F0;

    for (size_t chunk = 0; chunk &amp;lt; msg.size(); chunk += 64)
    {
        uint32_t w[80];
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 16; ++i)
            w[i] = load_be32(&amp;amp;msg[chunk + i * 4]);
        for (int i = 16; i &amp;lt; 80; ++i)
            w[i] = rotl32(w[i - 3] ^ w[i - 8] ^ w[i - 14] ^ w[i - 16], 1);

        uint32_t a = h0, b = h1, c = h2, d = h3, e = h4;

        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 80; ++i)
        {
            uint32_t f, k;
            if (i &amp;lt; 20)
            {
                f = (b &amp;amp; c) | ((~b) &amp;amp; d);
                k = 0x5A827999;
            }
            else if (i &amp;lt; 40)
            {
                f = b ^ c ^ d;
                k = 0x6ED9EBA1;
            }
            else if (i &amp;lt; 60)
            {
                f = (b &amp;amp; c) | (b &amp;amp; d) | (c &amp;amp; d);
                k = 0x8F1BBCDC;
            }
            else
            {
                f = b ^ c ^ d;
                k = 0xCA62C1D6;
            }

            uint32_t temp = rotl32(a, 5) + f + e + k + w[i];

            e = d;
            d = c;
            c = rotl32(b, 30);
            b = a;
            a = temp;
        }

        h0 += a;
        h1 += b;
        h2 += c;
        h3 += d;
        h4 += e;
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; out(20);
    store_be32(h0, &amp;amp;out[ 0]);
    store_be32(h1, &amp;amp;out[ 4]);
    store_be32(h2, &amp;amp;out[ 8]);
    store_be32(h3, &amp;amp;out[12]);
    store_be32(h4, &amp;amp;out[16]);
    return out;
}

static const JEVP_MD g_sha1   = {JEVP_MD::SHA1, 20, 64};

const JEVP_MD* JEVP_sha1() { return &amp;amp;g_sha1; }

unsigned char* JHMAC(const JEVP_MD* JEVP_MD, const void* key, int key_len, const unsigned char* data, size_t data_len, unsigned char* md, unsigned int* md_len)
{
    if (!JEVP_MD || !key || key_len &amp;lt; 0 || !data)
        return nullptr;

    static thread_local unsigned char static_md[64];

    if (!md)
        md = static_md;

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; key_block(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size, 0);
    const unsigned char*  key_bytes = static_cast&amp;lt;const unsigned char*&amp;gt;(key);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; real_key;
    if (key_len &amp;gt; JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size)
    {
        real_key = sha1_hash(key_bytes, static_cast&amp;lt;size_t&amp;gt;(key_len));
        std::copy(real_key.begin(), real_key.end(), key_block.begin());
    }
    else
    {
        std::copy(key_bytes, key_bytes + key_len, key_block.begin());
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; ipad(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size);
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; opad(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size);
    for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size; ++i)
    {
        ipad[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(key_block[i] ^ 0x36);
        opad[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(key_block[i] ^ 0x5C);
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; inner;
    inner.reserve(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size + data_len);
    inner.insert(inner.end(), ipad.begin(), ipad.end());
    inner.insert(inner.end(), data, data + data_len);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; inner_hash = sha1_hash(inner.data(), inner.size());

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; outer;
    outer.reserve(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size + inner_hash.size());
    outer.insert(outer.end(), opad.begin(), opad.end());
    outer.insert(outer.end(), inner_hash.begin(), inner_hash.end());

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; final_hash = sha1_hash(outer.data(), outer.size());

    std::memcpy(md, final_hash.data(), final_hash.size());
    if (md_len) *md_len = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned int&amp;gt;(final_hash.size());

    return md;
}

//  Base32 decoding table.
/* clang-format off */
const int base32_reverse_map[128] =
{
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 15
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 31
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 47
//      (49)   2    3    4    5    6    7  (56)
    255, 255,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 63
// (64)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O
    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 79
//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z  (91)
    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 95
// (96)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O  // lower case instead
    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 111
//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z (123)                     // lower case instead
    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255  // 127
};
/* clang-format on */

//  Base32 decoding function.
vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; base32_decode(const string&amp;amp; base32)
{
    queue&amp;lt;int&amp;gt; q_rev;
    for (const char&amp;amp; c : base32)
    {
        if (c &amp;lt;= 49 || (c &amp;gt;= 56 &amp;amp;&amp;amp; c &amp;lt;= 64) || (c &amp;gt;= 91 &amp;amp;&amp;amp; c &amp;lt;= 96) || c &amp;gt;= 123)
        { //    Illegal lower case will be treat as upper case thanks to base32_reverse_map.
            if (c == '=') break;
        }
        else
        {
            q_rev.push(base32_reverse_map[(int)c]); //  Get integers of base32.
        }
    }
    queue&amp;lt;bool&amp;gt; q_bin;
    while (!q_rev.empty()) //   Transform the integers into bits and queue them up.
    {
        int now = q_rev.front(); // Get a integer from queue.
        q_rev.pop();
        stack&amp;lt;bool&amp;gt; sb;
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 5; i++) //  Push the bits of this integer into stack
        {                           //  5 bits into 1 group
            sb.push(now &amp;amp; 1);       //  Push the last bit of this integer into stack.
            now &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 1;              //  Flush the last bit.
        }
        while (!sb.empty()) //  Flush the bits of this integer into binary queue.
        {
            q_bin.push(sb.top()); //    Pop bits from stack into binary queue.
            sb.pop();
        }
    }
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; uc;
    while (!q_bin.empty()) //   Transform the bits into bytes.
    {
        int thehex = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 8; i++) //  Read a byte from the bits queue.
        {
            if (q_bin.empty())
            {                     //    If the bits queue is empty now,
                thehex &amp;lt;&amp;lt;= 8 - i; //    set 0 on the last bits of a byte.
                break;
            }
            thehex &amp;lt;&amp;lt;= 1;                 //    Make the space for the new bit.
            thehex |= (int)q_bin.front(); //    Push this bit into byte.
            q_bin.pop();
        }
        uc.push_back((unsigned char)thehex);
    }

    if (uc.back() == 0) uc.pop_back();     //   TOTP may abandon last zero.
    if (uc.size() % 2 != 0) uc.pop_back(); //   TOTP may abandon odd res.
    return uc;
}

//  Get Unix Time.
time_t getUnixTime()
{
    return time(0);
}

//  Calculate the TOTP time signature.
time_t getTimeSign(int refreshPeriod, time_t specUnixTime)
{
    time_t outTime = specUnixTime / refreshPeriod;
    return outTime;
}

//  Transform time_t aka &amp;lt;long long&amp;gt; to bytes.
vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; llong2bytes(time_t tt)
{
    uint64_t value = static_cast&amp;lt;uint64_t&amp;gt;(tt);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; bytes(8);

    for (int i = 7; i &amp;gt;= 0; --i)
    {
        bytes[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(value &amp;amp; 0xFF);
        value &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 8;
    }

    return bytes;
}

//  Fast Exponentiation algorithm.
unsigned fastpow(unsigned base, unsigned index)
{
    if (index == 0) return 1;
    unsigned t = 1;
    while (index != 0)
    {
        if (index &amp;amp; 1) t *= base;
        index &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 1;
        base *= base;
    }
    return t;
}

//  Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.
std::string hash_to_TOTP(const unsigned char* hmac, unsigned int length, int digit)
{
    int offset = hmac[length - 1] &amp;amp; 0x0F;

    uint32_t bin_code = ((hmac[offset]     &amp;amp; 0x7F) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 24) |
                        ((hmac[offset + 1] &amp;amp; 0xFF) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 16) |
                        ((hmac[offset + 2] &amp;amp; 0xFF) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 8)  |
                        ( hmac[offset + 3] &amp;amp; 0xFF);

    uint32_t mod = 1;
    for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; digit; ++i) mod *= 10;

    uint32_t otp = bin_code % mod;

    std::ostringstream oss;
    oss &amp;lt;&amp;lt; std::setw(digit) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; std::setfill('0') &amp;lt;&amp;lt; otp;
    return oss.str();
}

std::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret)
{
    return GenerateTOTP(6, 30, HMAC_SHA1, secret, getUnixTime());
}

std::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret, int specTime)
{
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; h_msg = llong2bytes(getTimeSign(refreshSeconds, specTime)); //    Get current time signature and transform time_t aka &amp;lt;long long&amp;gt; to bytes.
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; h_key = base32_decode(secret); // Transform base32 encoded secret key to decoded bytes.

    unsigned char* out_hmac = new unsigned char[algorithm]; //  Perform openssl function to calculate HMAC-SHA1 hash.
    unsigned int   out_hmac_length;
    const JEVP_MD* emd;
    emd = JEVP_sha1();
    JHMAC(emd, h_key.data(), (int)h_key.size(), h_msg.data(), (int)h_msg.size(), out_hmac, &amp;amp;out_hmac_length);

    string fine = hash_to_TOTP(out_hmac, out_hmac_length, digit);
    delete[] out_hmac;

    return fine; // Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.
}

std::string TOTP::currentTOTP()
{
    return GenerateTOTP(digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm, secret, getUnixTime());
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76104&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#comments" thr:count="4"/>
        <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/feed/atom/" thr:count="4"/>
        <thr:total>4</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Are You *Really* The Doctor? by Matthew Hutchinson ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-are-you-really-the-doctor-by-matthew-hutchinson/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76754</id>
        <updated>2026-10-17T11:26:13Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-17T11:34:57Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="NHS"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="racism"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[A few months ago, I went to see Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC - it&#039;s about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.  Much like Adam Kay&#039;s &#34;This Is Going To Hurt&#34;, this is part…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-are-you-really-the-doctor-by-matthew-hutchinson/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/are-you-really-the-doctor.avif" alt="Book cover featuring a pair of crossed plasters in a dark brown colour." width="200" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few months ago, I went to see &lt;a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vbxx"&gt;Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC&lt;/a&gt; - it's about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Much like &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/01/book-review-this-is-going-to-hurt/"&gt;Adam Kay's "This Is Going To Hurt"&lt;/a&gt;, this is part biography, part rant about the NHS, and part humorous look at what it takes to be a modern doctor. Hutchinson's book has rather less gallows humour and rather more racism.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The problems of racial inequality in the NHS aren't just focussed on patients; they're also reflected in the way staff are treated. Rather than just recounting all the abuse he's been subject to, the book takes a good look at the actual statistics. Of course, this makes for slightly grim reading at times, so the frequent injections of humour are most welcome.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The UK quite often seems in the shadow of larger cultures. As the book points out:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;This same issue is understudied in the UK – to the point where the absence of research is glaring. While we are clearly not just a little America, we aren’t so different that we can be confident we’re not replicating the same here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Because of that, at times the book does feel a little bit like the "&lt;a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/we-have-food-at-home"&gt;we have [racism] at home&lt;/a&gt;" meme.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's an almost relentlessly cheery irreverence to some of the issues - but what else can you do? Sometimes it takes a good dose of comedy to cut through the bleakness. There's a slight streak of ageism within the book - especially when it comes to older doctors trying to use new technology. Although, to be fair, that was also my experience when working at NHSX. There are some people within the system who are desperate for it to remain preserved in aspic as even minor improvements are a threat to their position in the hierarchy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A minor grumble, the problem I have with books like this - and with &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/05/review-the-secret-barrister/"&gt;The Secret Barrister&lt;/a&gt; - is that a lot of the moaning about how hard it is to become a professional doctor / lawyer just generates a giant shrug from me. Every piece of medical media in the last 50 years talks about how bone-crunchingly hard it is. All I can think of is "none of this should be coming as a surprise to you!" Should it be easier (and less sleep depriving) to be a doctor? Sure! But given it isn't, perhaps dial down on the clichés of how uniquely awful your &lt;em&gt;chosen&lt;/em&gt; career is.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The book isn't just a list of complaints, of course, everything is backed up with statistics (although unreferenced). Thankfully, the book ends with some practical suggestions of how the NHS can improve. It would certainly be interesting to read a version of this from 2046 to see how much has changed - given the improvements already bearing fruit, I'd hope that the UK health service would become much less racist over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76754&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>2</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Africa Is Not A Country - Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin ★★★★⯪]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72594</id>
        <updated>2026-10-04T21:30:46Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-16T11:34:14Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="africa"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[It&#039;s hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.  It starts in the best way possible:  [Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree,…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/9781473593435-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover showing the various countries of Africa." width="326" height="500" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72595"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It starts in the best way possible:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;[Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree, or the relationship between the donkey and the ant that surprisingly speaks to grand gestures of valour. Sign it off: Ancient African proverb]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How many times have you seen that? Think about all the tropes played out in every Hollywood movie set vaguely in Africa - would you accept the same stereotypes about &lt;em&gt;your&lt;/em&gt; continent?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And yet, it does rely a little too much about &lt;em&gt;internalised&lt;/em&gt; stereotypes:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;The point is: there are a lot of people in Lagos. None of them are shy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there's at least one introvert in Lagos who cringes every time people expect them to be boisterous!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The horrors and complexities of colonisation and its aftermath are on display for all to see. In many way, much like cryptobros discovering why banking regulations exist, some African countries are speed-running Europe's history of bloody internecine warfare and mad kings. A predilection that some parts of Europe (and America) are still struggling to move past.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think it could have benefited from just a few maps or illustrations. I also found some of the language a little… infantilising? The way he capitalises certain phrases like "These Powerful Men In The Capital" felt to me a little out of place. That said, there's some excellent caustic humour and some quite beautiful prose.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In the end, it shows that while Africa is not a country, the stories are often of different countries tackling the same problems in the same ways. [Insert something about everyone's hearts beating to the rhythm of an African drum, while an elephant wanders into an impossibly huge sunset.]&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72594&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/#comments" thr:count="0"/>
        <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/feed/atom/" thr:count="0"/>
        <thr:total>0</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[The Internet of Very Cheap Things]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75776</id>
        <updated>2026-09-27T21:28:30Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-14T11:34:08Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Internet Of Things"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="IoT"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="SmartHome"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Twelve years ago, I was complaining that IoT devices were too expensive.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.  While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore&#039;s Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.  This blog posts compares today&#039;s prices with those from a little …]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/">&lt;p&gt;Twelve years ago, I was &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/09/the-internet-of-expensive-things/"&gt;complaining that IoT devices were too expensive&lt;/a&gt;.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore's Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This blog posts compares today's prices with those from a little over a decade ago. Some of the changes are startling, others less so. I'm basing the prices on what a customer can easily get today from Amazon. Yes, AliExpress is cheaper - but delivery takes and age and returns are a faff. Also, I get delicious affiliate revenue when you click the links which allows me to buy more tech crap to review. Everyone's a winner!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to cool people who read HTML comments.

Part of this post is me justifying to myself that ****maybe**** it is OK to spend some money on some fancy new gadgets. I'm lucky that companies occasionally send me stuff to review - but there are only so many thermal cameras a boy can eat, you know?

Running this blog is lots of fun - but the steady drip of affiliate revenue is a great motivator. It isn't life-changing sums, but it helps pay for hosting etc - so I don't feel /too/ guilty for shoving those Amazon links in everywhere.

While you're here, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;h2 id="door-window-sensors"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#door-window-sensors"&gt;Door / Window Sensors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't know how many doors and windows you have in your property - we have about fifteen, not including internal doors and cupboards. Back then a single sensor cost around £30. Today you can get &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B02mpa9ff"&gt;Zigbee door sensors&lt;/a&gt; for between £15 - £30 &lt;em&gt;for a pack of four&lt;/em&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Prices are at least quartered. Do you &lt;em&gt;need&lt;/em&gt; a sensor on every cupboard door or drawer? It is useful to be able to check your phone to see if the toilet seat is up or down? These are reaching the price where you might as well hook them up to anything.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="lightbulbs"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#lightbulbs"&gt;Lightbulbs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hue's WiFi lightbulbs were about fifty-quid each. Again, count the number of lights you need in your home and run to your bank-manager for an overdraft!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Today, &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B09UCBQh1"&gt;Hue Bulbs are about £16 each&lt;/a&gt;. That's a pretty steep drop. If you want generic &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B042fOMp3"&gt;Zigbee Bulbs&lt;/a&gt; you can expect to pay a tenner each. That's down to a fifth of the price from 2014. If you're happy buying from AliExpress, they're usually under a fiver.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="smart-electrical-sockets"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#smart-electrical-sockets"&gt;Smart Electrical Sockets&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's useful to be able to remotely control a power socket. It used to be the case they'd cost £30 per plug. Nowadays &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B06WYAKty"&gt;smart plugs are about £7.50&lt;/a&gt;. These ones come with energy monitoring and will easily integrate with HomeAssistant and other smarthome controllers.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's still a limit to the things which can be directly controlled from a socket. That said, I'm love my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/11/building-an-alexa-powered-electric-blanket/"&gt;IoT Electric Blanket&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="bluetooth-finders"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#bluetooth-finders"&gt;Bluetooth Finders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The dream is to have a magic tag stuck on everything you might lose. Back in 2014, we thought iBeacons / Eddystones would win out. Sadly that dream died and instead we're stuck with proprietary "Find My" networks from Google and Apple.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The iBeacons were about a tenner each back then. &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0ehVOGpF"&gt;Today they're £5 - £10 each&lt;/a&gt; depending on the features you want. That's still not cheap enough to attach to every sock - but there's no excuse for losing your keys, wallet, bag, or spouse again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly they don't use an open standard, so you'll need a Google or Apple account to use them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="nfc-tags"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#nfc-tags"&gt;NFC Tags&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I still prefer QR codes (free!) to NFC, but I concede they do have their uses. Their capacity and features are much the same as they were a decade ago, but prices have dropped from about 75p per tag &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B09WNLkdw"&gt;down to about 10p-20p per tag&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At that price, it's just about cheap enough to stick them in every book you own or sew them into all your underpants. Quite &lt;em&gt;why&lt;/em&gt; you'd want to do that is left as an exercise for the reader.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="internet-fridge"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#internet-fridge"&gt;Internet Fridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You know what, I didn't bother looking at the actual cost of an Internet Fridge all those years ago. But earlier this year I got a WiFi enabled tumble dryer. It was as cheap as all the other models and means I can shout "ALEXA! MAKE DRY!" then receive a notification from HomeAssistant when the dry is fully maked.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I hope my next fridge comes with a sensor that alerts me if the door is left open or the freezer is getting too warm. That would be handy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0eRlU9jW"&gt;cost of an ESP32&lt;/a&gt; is basically a rounding error for most large appliances, especially when bought in bulk. If it uses electricity, it is probably trivial to add WiFi and Bluetooth.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-next"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#whats-next"&gt;What's Next?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's probably a realistic limit to how low prices can go while the products still remain safe and durable. For smaller items that appears to be between a fiver in bulk direct from China to about a tenner sourced from a mainstream UK supplier.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For domestic appliances, there doesn't seem to be any significant extra cost. Take a look at these &lt;a href="https://markselectrical.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/heat-pump?sort=price"&gt;heat pump tumble dryers&lt;/a&gt; - even the cheapest of them comes with an app.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are a few bits of my home which haven't yet been given their own IP address - although they're mostly towards the mechanical side of things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Locks

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;There are some &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0gkcYQHT"&gt;smart-locks for doors&lt;/a&gt;. I've not seen any for windows. I'm not sure how well I'd trust their security.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Opening / Closing Mechanisms

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;It's a cold day, how do I get my windows to automatically close? Would involved either running wiring everywhere or constantly recharging batteries.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Drawing Curtains

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B01XlBC1d"&gt;These do exist&lt;/a&gt;! But are mainly for blinds. Again, power requirements make this a bit more difficult.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cooking

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have a &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/03/receive-push-notifications-from-your-rice-cooker/"&gt;smart rice cooker&lt;/a&gt;. For everything else, I have to rely on an Alexa beep-detector to know when my kitchen needs attention.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Water Pipes

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I already have a basic leak detector and a smart meter for gas / electric. How about &lt;a href="https://watergate.ai/"&gt;a smart water meter&lt;/a&gt;? Not sure I want to start sawing into my plumbing though!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h2 id="but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1"&gt;But I Don't Want To Live In A Smarthome 😡&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Literally no one is forcing you. If you don't want your TV to spy on you, it'll work just fine if you don't connect it to your WiFi.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you like getting out of bed to make sure you switched off the downstairs lights, that option is still available to you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no law which says you have to connect your solar panels to the web - but I like seeing exciting graphs each day.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I cannot pre-heat my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/04/toilet-review-better-bathrooms-_27403/"&gt;smart toilet seat&lt;/a&gt;, nor can I change the bidet's water pressure from my phone. That's &lt;em&gt;probably&lt;/em&gt; a good thing?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But I &lt;em&gt;like&lt;/em&gt; gadgets! Sure, some of them are crappy - but I find it fun to get them working with HomeAssistant. Might they get hacked and send all my data to Arstotzka? Meh, they're all on a separate LAN and are connected to things which are unlikely to burn down my house. Might I wake up one day and find that the machine has stopped and my ability to draw my own curtains has atrophied? That's a chance I'm willing to take.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The practical advantage I get from being about to check my security cameras on my phone from the other side of the planet is worth the theoretical risks.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I wonder what other domestic gadgetry will fall prey to the irresistible lure of cheap connectivity?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75776&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>7</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: The Thousand Deaths of Romeo and Juliet - Caroline Finch ★★★★★]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-the-thousand-deaths-of-romeo-and-juliet-caroline-finch/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76683</id>
        <updated>2026-10-13T10:00:03Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-13T11:34:37Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="NetGalley"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="shakespeare"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn&#039;t literally true, but it is literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross&#039;d lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?  The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable.…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-the-thousand-deaths-of-romeo-and-juliet-caroline-finch/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/randj.webp" alt="Book cover." width="200" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn't literally true, but it &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross'd lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable. You've probably watched Romeo sup poison a hundred times. It is &lt;em&gt;inevitable&lt;/em&gt; that Juliet will take her own life in response. Horrific! Yet, not only do you refuse to look away, you gleefully seek it out for another viewing. There's a reason why Tony and Maria cannot escape their destinies in West Side Story - something more than fate is pushing them onto a path that will accept no deviation. The only way through is, of course, death.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Thousand Deaths starts slowly - the first "act" felt like an excuse to retell the classic tale in a new setting. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and it is suffused with lovely writing - but it felt a bit "so what?"&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And then they die.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As the acts progress and they get closer to the their thousandth death the pace picks up. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, packed with allusions and references for the careful reader (more on that later). The story is heartbreaking - as well you know - and the author has the perfect knack of keeping her characters on just the right side of histrionics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'd sort of classify this as &lt;em&gt;almost&lt;/em&gt; romantasy. There's an undercurrent of sci-fi and fantasy which can't be ignored - but you can also hear the stirring of the violins in the background. Our hero and heroine come together and are violently broken apart for our insatiable entertainment. Do we care about whether that's good for them? What does it feel like to be a Mercutio forever used as a pawn-sacrifice? Does Tybalt resent his forcible reincarnation into a perpetual baddie? Are we culpable for insisting that they strut upon an endless stage just so we can wipe tears from our eyes?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The book builds to a fine crescendo. It is heartfelt and &lt;em&gt;utterly&lt;/em&gt; tragic. The ending will, I suspect, divide people. I found it mostly satisfactory and completely in keeping with the rest of the story.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One final thing - the end notes are &lt;em&gt;superb&lt;/em&gt;. They go through all the references you might have missed, explain where certain phrases came from, and point the curious reader to the books which were an inspiration. Too many authors treat their literary allusions as a precious puzzle and jealously guard them. I'm delighted that Caroline Finch is generous enough to share her secrets with us.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Many thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. The book will be released in 2027 - I strongly recommend putting it on your pre-order list.&lt;/p&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[I paid people to try and follow my README]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/i-paid-people-to-try-and-follow-my-readme/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76333</id>
        <updated>2026-10-10T07:24:50Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-11T11:34:39Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityBot"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityPub"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="developers"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain&#039;t no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That&#039;s no way to treat our users.  I naïvely believe there&#039;s a better way. As I&#039;ve written before, you should sit down and actually test your …]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/i-paid-people-to-try-and-follow-my-readme/">&lt;p&gt;Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain't no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That's no way to treat our users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I naïvely believe there's a better way. As I've written before, you should sit down and &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; test your readme&lt;/a&gt;. Spin up a fresh Virtual Machine, go through what you've written, and see if it makes sense.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But it is &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; hard to ignore your own biases. Of course you know that certain commands require &lt;code&gt;sudo&lt;/code&gt; and obviously when you wrote &lt;code&gt;-foo&lt;/code&gt; you meant &lt;code&gt;--foo&lt;/code&gt; and everyone knows that you have to reboot afterwards.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How do you get rid of those biases? I paid people!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/"&gt;NLnet grant application for ActivityBot&lt;/a&gt;, I said I wanted to test the install experience with real users and I was prepared to pay them €25 for an hour of their time. I stuck out the call on Mastodon, gathered a few people, and had a video call with them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The format was simple. I explained that I was looking for feedback on the first-run experience. I knew that it wasn't perfect and actively wanted constructive criticism. I asked the volunteer to share their screen and, crucially, to speak aloud. Tell me what they were doing. What they didn't understand, what confused them, what delighted them, what frustrated them, etc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I took notes by hand (fuck feeding the machine) and spent several hours being told what incorrect assumptions I'd made.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Amongst the highlights I discovered were:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The link to the demo tool was wrong.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Some people read a README in the terminal.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What does it actually mean to rename a file?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How do you rename a hidden file?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Should a demo tool be available on the web or just the user's local machine?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Why does some text explicitly need to be quoted and some not?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;My jokes aren't funny and are actively confusing.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Some of the technical terminology needed explaining.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The ordering of the different sections was confusing.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I hadn't actually explained what the software would do.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A whole section which was technically interesting to me was utterly confusing to everyone else.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Not all web servers use permissions in the same way.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And on it went!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After each session I updated the README based on what people found difficult, then I re-tested it with the next person.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In total, I paid out around €150 to have a bunch of people criticise me to my face. Hey, cheaper than therapy, right?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know someone is going to say "why not just ask an LLM to simulate a range of users?" The answer is very simple - I want to speak to real people. People are brilliant! They can make you laugh, you can see their cat when it wanders on to the call, they bring a unique perspective to the problem, and they're really happy when you give them a €25 voucher. Some will gladly do it for free and make &lt;em&gt;you&lt;/em&gt; happy!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--👋👋👋👋👋👋👋 Welcome to Comment Club! Shhhh! Only cool people can read this bit of the post.

I did have a serious think about using an LLM for this. Ethics aside (and you can never really put ethics aside) I just didn't feel like I could trust their judgement. I get the argument that it is not much different from using a spellcheck - but I fundamentally don't want to feed the beast.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

Be seeing you 👌👁
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When I was doing technical writing for GOV.UK, all my beautiful prose was given a second-eye by another human. They eviscerated all my flowery phrases and turned the document into something more readable. They were the ones who caught the mistakes that no spell chequer could. They were able to have a proper conversation with me. More importantly, I could &lt;em&gt;hear&lt;/em&gt; the frustration in their voice - that's the thing which lets you know a mistake needs to be corrected.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't claim that &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/blob/main/README.md?ref_type=heads"&gt;ActivityBot's README&lt;/a&gt; is now perfect - far from it - but it is now demonstrably easier to follow. Developers need to talk to &lt;em&gt;real&lt;/em&gt; people. You don't have to pay them if you can't afford it - but find a few people who will talk aloud while they try to follow your instructions. I guarantee you that your README will become much better for it.&lt;/p&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Some quick thoughts on Unit Testing ActivityPub]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75774</id>
        <updated>2026-10-10T12:01:12Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-10T11:34:15Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityBot"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityPub"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PHP"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;ll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of &#34;Test Driven Development&#34;. I&#039;m much more of a &#34;telnet into production and damn the consequences&#34; kind of guy. Look, it&#039;s much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.  The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:   Feed a function some data See how it responds   Send it good data and if it returns…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/">&lt;p&gt;I'll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of "Test Driven Development". I'm much more of a "telnet into production and damn the consequences" kind of guy. Look, it's much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Feed a function some data&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;See how it responds&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Send it good data and if it returns "true" the test passes. Send it bad data and make sure it returns false. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/"&gt;NLnet funded work on ActivityBot&lt;/a&gt;, I'm writing some proper tests for my bot framework. I am hopeful that some of them will be useful to other projects doing similar things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are four major classes of tests - here are the problems I've found while writing them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="basic-text-validation"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#basic-text-validation"&gt;Basic text validation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A basic test might be how to validate that an ActivityPub username is valid. Typically it would be something like &lt;code&gt;@edent@mastodon.social&lt;/code&gt; - what assumptions do we make with that? It starts with an &lt;code&gt;@&lt;/code&gt; and has another &lt;code&gt;@&lt;/code&gt; somewhere in it, dividing into two parts, the user and the server.  The server has to be a valid domain name - but that can include non-ASCII Internationalised Domain Names and Emoji domains.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What about the user part? Is it just A-Z and 0-9? Can it have dots? What about apostrophes like an email address?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Basically, how easy is it find the specifications for all the various component parts of ActivityPub? Not very!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="message-validation"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#message-validation"&gt;Message validation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What does a &lt;a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7033/"&gt;WebFinger response&lt;/a&gt; look like? Which parts are mandatory and what values can they contain?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With any message that your project generates, how can you be sure that other ActivityPub servers will understand it?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, when we receive a follow message from an external server, what should it look like?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are some &lt;a href="https://github.com/steve-bate/fediverse-jsonschema"&gt;JSON Schemas&lt;/a&gt; which can be used to validate some type of messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But, again, there are &lt;em&gt;many&lt;/em&gt; scattered specifications.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="signature-verification"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#signature-verification"&gt;Signature verification&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've written about before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/a-reasonably-practical-guide-to-validating-rfc-9421-http-signatures-for-activitypub-in-php/"&gt;HTTP Signatures are difficult&lt;/a&gt;. There are two main problems. The first is verifying signatures.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In order to do that, you need to gather a bunch of signatures and then find a way to replay them into the test. So I'm in the process of saving signatures which I can then share with others.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The second problem is &lt;em&gt;generating&lt;/em&gt; signatures.  Sure, you can run tests on the signatures - but there's only one &lt;em&gt;real&lt;/em&gt; way to test whether they're acceptable…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="communicating-with-others"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#communicating-with-others"&gt;Communicating with others&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Passing tests means nothing if you can't communicate with others and they can't communicate with you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some tests are easier than others. Sending a signed request should be easy and repeatable. But receiving messages isn't easily automated. It requires being able to control an external server and asking that to send messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With the &lt;a href="https://docs.joinmastodon.org/client/intro/"&gt;Mastodon API&lt;/a&gt; it is possible to make requests which will interact with your server - but only if it is a &lt;em&gt;public&lt;/em&gt; server.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="putting-it-all-together"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#putting-it-all-together"&gt;Putting it all together&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm putting &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests?ref_type=heads"&gt;all my tests online&lt;/a&gt;. I'm also sharing a &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests/headers?ref_type=heads"&gt;collection of messages and signatures&lt;/a&gt; which you can use in your tests.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'd love to know if you find them useful.&lt;/p&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Concert Review: London Voices - Video Games Go Choral ★★★★☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/concert-review-london-voices-video-games-go-choral/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76517</id>
        <updated>2026-10-09T17:02:16Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-09T11:34:09Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gaming"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gig"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[London&#039;s musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.  The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an a cappella…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/concert-review-london-voices-video-games-go-choral/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Video_Games_Go_Choral.webp" alt="A choir stands in front of a video game background." width="256" height="256" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;London's musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an &lt;i lang="it"&gt;a cappella&lt;/i&gt; chorus absolutely soar.  The choir of London Voices have sung on &lt;a href="https://www.london-voices.com/films-gaming"&gt;just about every movie you've watched and game you've played&lt;/a&gt; - so they're no stranger to more modern compositions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The programme strictly alternated between songs from popular games are some more traditional verses. As a tone-deaf musical ignoramus, I found some of the pieces hard to distinguish from each other and, perhaps, just a little repetitive. Delightfully, the choir is generous with its solos. Far too often these events have one main star while everyone else glares daggers at them. Here it seemed quite the opposite, with a range of voices brought to the forefront.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Parts of the programme are a little odd. While Pilentze Pee is an incredible song and sung extremely well, I don't think there's much to tie it to The Wind Waker. Of course, the highlight was a cheeky rendition of "Still Alive" from Portal. An excellent arrangement sung with joy and gusto.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;An eclectic and interesting event, marred only by the uncomfortable pews of the church. Truly we must suffer for other people's art!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe title="London Voices: Video Games Go Choral Trailer" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WfhgC6G9EIg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Theatre Review: Hay Fever at Wyndham's Theatre ★★★★⯪]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75989</id>
        <updated>2026-10-08T11:49:33Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-08T11:34:40Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;m a theatrical cheapskate. I&#039;m on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I&#039;ll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I&#039;ll splash out and pay full price.  When the email landed…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/">&lt;p&gt;I'm a theatrical cheapskate. I'm on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I'll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I'll splash out and pay full price.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When the email landed in my inbox that Richard E. Grant (!!) and Christine Baranski (!!!) would be performing Noël Coward's Hay Fever, I booked instantly. Yes, it's nice to see up-and-coming stars playing in a grimy basement, but sometimes you want 100% star power burning up the stage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--  
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
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I'm trying to work out how many Doctors Who I've seen on stage or met. Apparently I saw Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge when I was a wee lad. I met Tom Baker at a signing. I've twice seen Paul McGann (including once *as* The Doctor). I saw David Tennant in the Scottish Play. Matt Smith and I attended UEA at the same time so I *guess* we probably bumped in to each other in the drama studio or pub. I saw Jodie Whittaker in Duchess of Malfi. And now I've seen Richard E. Grant who is canonically both the 9th and 10th Doctor.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
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3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

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TTFN.
 --&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hayfever.webp" alt="Richard E. Grant and Christine Baranski." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It was magnificent. The script stills draws gasps of outrage from the audience. The zingers ping around the stage. Baranski's matriarch channels her inner diva and dominates the stage while Lucy Karczewski subtlety undercuts all the pomposity thrown around.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The whole cast is superb, although perhaps a little under-rehearsed. The script is so tight that the few slips there were put a little brake on the frenetic pace. The set, costuming, and directorial deviations from the script are all perfectly in service of merriment.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know the play is over a century old (!) but the wit is timeless. In a West End awash with Serious Plays dealing with Important Issues, it is delightfully refreshing to see something so silly and inconsequential. There's no deep trauma or challenging material, just the fascination of watching truly appalling manners. About the only content warning needed is for the copious smoking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There is some interesting metatextuality having Sandy and Jackie played by non-white actors. Are the Bliss family so unbearably rude to them out of racism? It's certainly one reading of the script - and some of the lines certainly hint in that direction - but it could equally be their social standing which the Blisses find so distasteful. That's about as close as the production gets to modern social commentary.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I wanted light-hearted fluff performed by A-List actors - Hay Fever delivers just that. Noël Coward has an immortal ability to collapse an audience into helpless giggles, ably assisted by Emily Burns' inspired direction.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/#pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;Pre-show and Post-show&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/"&gt;I've written about before&lt;/a&gt;, when people are paying West End prices, they deserve to feel like they're a valued guest - not cattle to be farmed.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the run up to the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/"&gt;Race For Space concert&lt;/a&gt; I attended the week before, I got regular emails letting me know about the performance, how excited the band were, and the like. Despite paying considerably more for a ticket, Wyndham's didn't send me anything. If I didn't have a reminder in my diary, I would have forgotten this show existed. I'm not saying I want a bombardment of emails - but a few messages to build excitement wouldn't go amiss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wyndham's Theatre is old - from an age where no one ever contemplated going to the loo, apparently. The gents are paltry and, to be frank, stank. The seating was well raked, allowing brilliant views - although the seats themselves were a bit tired and uncomfortable. Unlike other theatres, there was free WiFi which was good enough for uploading the obligatory selfie.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pre-curtain there was period appropriate music. Charmingly the "please turn off your phones" announcement was &lt;em&gt;also&lt;/em&gt; period appropriate. Much nicer than being shouted at by ushers. A special shout out to the glorious fire curtain - I won't spoil the surprise 😄&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The programme was not too expensive at a fiver and full of content - rather than the usual explosion of adverts. Oddly, the theatre was also selling Hay Fever merchandise. I'm not sure how many people are desperate for a souvenir magnet of the cast…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wyndham's certain do more than the base minimum - and it is a pity that is so notable. A pair of tickets in the stalls cost the same as a &lt;em&gt;year&lt;/em&gt; of Netflix. Yes, seeing the stars in person is magical, and live theatre is exciting, and a laughing crowd elevates your enjoyment - but the toilets at home are nicer and the snacks are cheaper. Theatres need to deliver much more if they want to keep attracting new audiences.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75989&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>1</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Una Watch - SDK and Writing Your First App]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76095</id>
        <updated>2026-10-17T10:10:32Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-06T11:34:25Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="c++"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="programming"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I don&#039;t know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I&#039;ve said before you need to actually test your readme.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.  So here&#039;s how to go from zero to your first &#34;Hello, World!&#34; Glance app with the minimum of fuss.  This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.  …]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/">&lt;p&gt;I don't know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I've said before &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/"&gt;you need to &lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; test your readme&lt;/a&gt;.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So here's how to go from zero to your first "Hello, World!" Glance app with the minimum of fuss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="prerequisites"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#prerequisites"&gt;Prerequisites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This installs most of the tools you will need:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git python3 python3-pip cmake build-essential
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="stm32cubeclt"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#stm32cubeclt"&gt;STM32CubeCLT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Visit &lt;a href="https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html"&gt;https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html&lt;/a&gt; and download the Linux version of the tool. Inexplicably, you need to give your email address. I recommend giving a disposable one from &lt;a href="https://10minutemail.com/"&gt;https://10minutemail.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After downloading, unzip the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the command line, &lt;code&gt;cd&lt;/code&gt; into the directory containing the unzipped file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;chmod +x stm32cubeclt_*.sh
sudo ./stm32cubeclt_*.sh
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to agree to their licence. Just hit &lt;code&gt;y&lt;/code&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That installs everything in &lt;code&gt;/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to make that available to your PATH.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;export PATH="/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH"
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="clone-the-repo"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#clone-the-repo"&gt;Clone the repo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to copy &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/"&gt;the Una SDK&lt;/a&gt;. I keep my git repos in &lt;code&gt;~/git/&lt;/code&gt; - you will need the location of the directory later.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd ~/git/
git clone git@github.com:UNAWatch/una-sdk.git
cd una-sdk/
git submodule update --init ThirdParty/lvgl
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then update all the Python dependencies.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;export UNA_SDK="$PWD"
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
python3 -m pip install -r "$UNA_SDK/Utilities/Scripts/app_packer/requirements.txt"
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="check-it-has-all-worked"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#check-it-has-all-worked"&gt;Check it has all worked&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Paste this into your terminal. Check for any errors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;which arm-none-eabi-gcc || true
which cmake || true
which make || true
which python3 || true
python3 -m pip --version
arm-none-eabi-gcc --version || true
cmake --version || true
make --version || true
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="build-the-demo-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-the-demo-app"&gt;Build the demo app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If all of the above has worked, you should be able to build the demo app with:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd /tmp
mkdir -p MyAlarm
cp -r "$UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/Alarm/"* MyAlarm
mkdir -p MyAlarm/build
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -S MyAlarm/Software/Apps/Alarm-CMake -B MyAlarm/build
cmake --build MyAlarm/build
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="make-it-permanent"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#make-it-permanent"&gt;Make it permanent&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Store the paths permanently. If you put cloned the Una SDK to somewhere other than &lt;code&gt;~/git/&lt;/code&gt; you'll need to edit this next bit of code:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;echo 'export UNA_SDK="$HOME/git/una-sdk"' &amp;gt;&amp;gt; ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH="/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH"' &amp;gt;&amp;gt; ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="build-a-glance-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-a-glance-app"&gt;Build a Glance app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the moment, the only way to build a GUI app is using the Windows only (Booooo!) TouchGFX&lt;sup id="fnref:windoze"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fn:windoze" class="footnote-ref" title="Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow LVGL which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find." role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;. So, instead, we'll make a "Hello World" glance. All it will do is draw some text.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The &lt;code&gt;GlanceFloors&lt;/code&gt; demo app is the simplest one to copy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/
cp -r  GlanceFloors/ GlanceHello
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Use an IDE or a text editor to open up the new GlanceHello directory.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Rename the directory &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake/&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Edit the file &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/CMakeLists.txt&lt;/code&gt; - specifically the &lt;code&gt;# App configuration&lt;/code&gt; section.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Change the &lt;code&gt;APP_NAME&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Change the &lt;code&gt;APP_USER_NAME&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;Hello&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For a demo, you can leave the &lt;code&gt;DEV_ID&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;APP_ID&lt;/code&gt; as their default values.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="minimum-viable-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#minimum-viable-app"&gt;Minimum viable app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to edit two more files.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Header/Service.hpp&lt;/code&gt; remove the following lines:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-CPP"&gt;SDK::Sensor::Connection mSensorFloors;
uint32_t                mFloorsValue;
bool                    mDataReceived;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then save the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Edit &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Source/Service.cpp&lt;/code&gt; and replace its entire contents with this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-CPP"&gt;#include "Service.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp"

Service::Service(SDK::Kernel &amp;amp;kernel)
    : mKernel(kernel)
    , mGlanceUI()
    , mGlanceTitle()
    , mGlanceValue()
{}

Service::~Service(){}

void Service::run()
{
    while (true) {
        SDK::MessageBase *msg;
        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {
            continue;
        }

        switch (msg-&amp;gt;getType()) {

            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:
                if (configGui()) {
                    createGuiControls();
                } else {
                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);
                }
                break;

            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:
                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                return;
                break;

            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:
                onGlanceTick();
                break;

            default:
                break;
        }

        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
    }
}

void Service::onGlanceTick()
{
    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {
        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
            upd-&amp;gt;name           = APP_NAME;
            upd-&amp;gt;controls       = mGlanceUI.data();
            upd-&amp;gt;controlsNumber = static_cast&amp;lt;uint32_t&amp;gt;(mGlanceUI.size());
            upd.send(100);
        }

        mGlanceUI.setValid();
}
}

bool Service::configGui()
{
    bool status = false;
    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
        if (gc.send(100) &amp;amp;&amp;amp; gc.ok()) {
            if (gc-&amp;gt;maxControls &amp;gt;= 3) {
                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc-&amp;gt;width);
                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc-&amp;gt;height);
                status = true;
            }
        }
    }
    return status;
}

void Service::createGuiControls()
{
    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)
        .setText("Hello, World!")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceValue.pos({ 0, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_WHITE)
        .setText("I know C++")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Save the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="compile-it"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#compile-it"&gt;Compile it&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the command line&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -S . -B build
cmake --build build
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It should finish with a success message of &lt;code&gt;[100%] Built target GlanceHelloApp&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="copying-it-to-your-watch"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#copying-it-to-your-watch"&gt;Copying it to your watch&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Plug your watch into your computer with a USB-C cable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;On your computer, open the watch's filesystem.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Open the &lt;code&gt;Apps&lt;/code&gt; directory.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Create a new directory.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Name the new directory with the string of characters from the &lt;code&gt;APP_ID&lt;/code&gt; which is set in &lt;code&gt;CMakeLists.txt&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The app is stored in &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Output/&lt;/code&gt; and will be called &lt;code&gt;Hello_1.5.0-rc5.uapp&lt;/code&gt; or similar.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Copy the &lt;code&gt;.uapp&lt;/code&gt; file from your computer to the directory you just created on the watch.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Eject the watch.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Unplug the cable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Restart the watch by pressing the "Up" button until you get to "Power Off", then press "Select", then press "Select" again.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Turn the watch on by holding down "Select".&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Once the watch has fully restarted, press the "Down" button until you see the "Hello" glance.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If it has worked, you should see something like this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cpp.webp" alt="A watch displaying &amp;quot;Hello World&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;I know C++&amp;quot;. The latter if off centre because I don't know C++." width="1926" height="2048" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hurrah! Treat yourself to a beer 🍻&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:windoze"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow &lt;a href="https://lvgl.io/"&gt;LVGL&lt;/a&gt; which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fnref:windoze" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76095&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[[RSS Club] Changes to the RSS and Atom feeds]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76276</id>
        <updated>2026-10-04T19:41:02Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-05T11:34:03Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="RSS Club"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!  A few weeks ago I accidentally broke some of your feed readers. I was using &#60;![CDATA[ … ]]&#62; blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?  Anyway, if you&#039;ve a mind to, I&#039;d b…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/">&lt;p&gt;&lt;mark&gt;This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!&lt;/mark&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few weeks ago I accidentally &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/rss-club-sorry-for-breaking-your-feed-readers/"&gt;broke some of your feed readers&lt;/a&gt;. I was using &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;![CDATA[ … ]]&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Anyway, if you've a mind to, I'd be grateful if you &lt;a href="https://edent.tel/"&gt;let me know&lt;/a&gt; if this post does anything "weird" with your reader&lt;sup id="fnref:weird"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fn:weird" class="footnote-ref" title="I mean weirder than my usual stuff!" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This text should be &lt;strong&gt;bold&lt;/strong&gt; but this text &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;should not&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
And what about comments? Say, comments would be a nifty place to hide bonus content eh? 😉
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This text should be escaped &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;marquee&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; and should not cause your reader to scroll.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is an image of a mushroom cloud:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg" alt="A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb." width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the escaped version &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg" alt="A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb." width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter" /&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This should just be an ampersand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;&amp;amp;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And this should be ampersand, amp, and semicolon:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;&amp;amp;amp;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a video embed that I like:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe title="The Rolling Stones - Mr Charm (Official Video)" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3e5LxvRZjVw?start=1&amp;amp;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there's all sorts of other odd stuff I could add, but this'll be a good start.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With thanks to &lt;a href="https://waspdev.com/articles/2026-05-11/avoid-using-cdata-in-rss"&gt;Suren Enfiajyan's article for the guidance&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:weird"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I mean weirder than my usual stuff!&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fnref:weird" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76276&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#comments" thr:count="0"/>
        <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/feed/atom/" thr:count="0"/>
        <thr:total>0</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[My Pitch for the New Season of Doctor Who]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72702</id>
        <updated>2026-09-27T21:28:57Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-04T11:34:50Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Doctor Who"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[With the news that the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who, I thought I&#039;d write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I&#039;ve based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.  Do we really need another Spider-Man origin…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/">&lt;p&gt;With the news that &lt;a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/doctor-who-invitation-to-tender-september-2026/"&gt;the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who&lt;/a&gt;, I thought I'd write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I've based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do we really need another Spider-Man origin story? No. Do we need the umpteenth remake of "The Italian Job"? Boring! Why don't producers take a film which was &lt;em&gt;nearly&lt;/em&gt; a hit and see if a better director, crew, and cast can make it into something magical?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Let's apply the same thinking to Doctor Who.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.

This is a very silly post born out of some late night chats. To be honest, it has probably already been done in one of the Big Finish stories - but I don't have time to listen to all those. Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the (eventual) new series will be like.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My pitch is simple - remake some of the original stories which were let down by shoddy effects, naff music, indifferent direction, and hammy acting. There are loads of great stories which are stretched too thin over six episodes with clunky cliffhangers. So let's give them a fresh lick of paint, trim each story down to two episodes, and give them modern direction&lt;sup id="fnref:Whooooo"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fn:Whooooo" class="footnote-ref" title="To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:
&gt; Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use…" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One story from each of the original Doctors' run. But here's the twist - there's a different actor playing The Doctor for each story! The Doctor's companion stays the same throughout. As the ~14 episodes play out, The Doctor gradually becomes aware that some malevolent force is compelling them to relive their previous adventures.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Very roughly, this is what I'd do:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Web Planet - with Patrick Stewart as The Doctor. Imagine proper CGI ants! Menoptra floating through the air! It's fair to say &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/09/review-doctor-who-the-web-planet/"&gt;I disliked the original version&lt;/a&gt;, but it is easy to imagine how it &lt;em&gt;could&lt;/em&gt; work.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Fury From The Deep - with Miranda Hart. A fine story but with so-so delivery. The environmental angle would resonate well today.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Invasion of the Dinosaurs - with Sean Pertwee. Look, who else are you going to get to play him? The original story is probably the epitome of shoddy FX work! Everyone loves dinosaurs and having them rampage around the UK (rather than a spaceship) would be thrilling.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Talons of Weng-Chiang  - with Benedict Wong. Is it possible to rewrite this to be less racist? There's a great story to be told, but the original suffers from "yellowface".&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Earthshock - with Riz Ahmed. Time to get in a "classic baddie" with the Cybermen running rampage on a ship.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At this point, The Doctor realises who has been driving him through his past lives. Forcing him to confront his sins. Sending him mad through endless regenerations.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Adric.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Someone, or some&lt;em&gt;thing&lt;/em&gt;, has resurrected Adric. His "noble sacrifice" was little more than a suicide attempt after the relentless bullying by The Doctor and his companions. Driven to vengeance, he is determined to keep The Doctor trapped in a never-ending cycle of death and destruction.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol start="6"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Twin Dilemma - with Michaela Coel. A hugely problematic and violent story. As The Doctor realises her companion is a villain, can she keep her reactions under control? Should she?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Survival - with Alex Horne. The Doctor has to face not The Master but a furious Adric hellbent on purging the Universe of the Time Lords. All the strands of the previous stories come together in an epic climax.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Get J. Michael Straczynski to run the thing, a bunch of chiptune/electronica/glitch musicians to give each episode a unique sound, and - crucially - show it in autumn/winter. There's no point having scary sci-fi on when it is bright outside and people want to go out and play. This needs to be hug-your-mum-for-warmth-not-because-you're-scared TV.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Right, I'm off to the Beeb to deliver the pitch! TTFN.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:Whooooo"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use them, but we will want to begin to get an understanding of the original characters, aliens and themes that producers wish to bring to the show and are keen not to be overly reliant on existing Doctor Who lore. We are looking for a new perspective that ensures Doctor Who remains relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring for both long-standing fans and new audiences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fnref:Whooooo" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72702&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#comments" thr:count="9"/>
        <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/feed/atom/" thr:count="9"/>
        <thr:total>9</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Gadget Review: Una Watch ★★★★☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76031</id>
        <updated>2026-10-01T07:47:47Z</updated>
        <published>2026-10-02T11:34:48Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;ve never been a huge fan of smart watches. My £16 smartwatch is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there&#039;s no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the eInk Watchy which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch.  So why did I pick up the Una Watch?  Firstly, the Una Watch is …]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/">&lt;p&gt;I've never been a huge fan of smart watches. My &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/"&gt;£16 smartwatch&lt;/a&gt; is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there's no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/06/review-watchy-an-eink-watch-full-of-interesting-compromises/"&gt;eInk Watchy&lt;/a&gt; which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/11/disassembling-the-mykronoz-zewatch-smart-watch/"&gt;MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So why did I pick up the Una Watch?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Firstly, the Una Watch is designed in Scotland &lt;del&gt;from girders&lt;/del&gt;, and it's always nice to support local businesses.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Secondly, as a &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/im-a-usb-c-maximalist/"&gt;USB-C Maximalist&lt;/a&gt; I want gadgets which can plug in to the same cables as all my other toys. No magnetic pucks here!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Thirdly, it is (almost) &lt;a href="https://unawatch.com/pages/open-source"&gt;completely open source&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, it is repairable. You can easily unscrew it to replace the components. As my cheap smartwatch's dial has died after 12 months of use, that's a pretty compelling proposition!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Let's put it through its paces!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="first-impressions"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#first-impressions"&gt;First Impressions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I bought mine second hand (yay for sustainability) and it arrived with a flat battery. The first charge from 0-100% took a little over an hour. My USB-C power monitor showed it taking in about 5V and 0.17 amps.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Charging.webp" alt="Power monitor showing 0.84W." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It happily charged from a PD plug, but didn't get any faster than about 0.84W. Basically, I can fully charge it on most public transport in London.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The time seemed accurate, there were options to play about with, the vibrations for notifications were easy to feel. There is an option to make it beep with every button press - I turned that off sharpish!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="disclaimer"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#disclaimer"&gt;Disclaimer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I am &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/"&gt;a smartwatch power user&lt;/a&gt;. I'm not using this to minutely track all my exercise or calculate if my heart is going to explode.  I don't need cm level precision of my GPS. I didn't sync this with Strava or anything else.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="apps"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#apps"&gt;Apps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The official Android app (which, sadly, isn't Open Source) worked fine on GrapheneOS. It found the watch, updated its GPS almanac, and let me browse the app store &amp;amp; install apps. Obviously early days, but there are a variety of community developed apps to play with.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/apps.webp" alt="List of apps." width="504" height="728" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly the watch needs to be restarted after every app is installed - but that only take a handful of seconds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Restart-watch.webp" alt="Message telling me the watch needs to restart." width="504" height="640" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are some &lt;em&gt;strange&lt;/em&gt; error messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/error-message.webp" alt="birthday must be a valid ISO 8601 date string country must be a valid ISO31661 Alpha2 code." width="504" height="426" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That isn't the sort of message which should be shown to users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But, on the plus side, you can install Doom!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Doom.webp" alt="App store listing showing Doom on the watch." width="504" height="550" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-screen"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#the-screen"&gt;The Screen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Oddly for a modern smartwatch, the screen stays on &lt;em&gt;all the time!&lt;/em&gt; But this isn't some power-hungry OLED, nor is it static eInk. Instead it is a &lt;a href="https://www.andersdx.com/memory-in-pixel-displays/"&gt;memory in pixel&lt;/a&gt; display - black background with orange, blue, and white pixels.  The backlight remains off most of the time and is easy enough to see in daylight. It is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; reflective - but not too bad.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Reflective.webp" alt="Watch showing notifications, there is a bit of a reflection." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Note the &lt;code&gt;??&lt;/code&gt; on the notifications - more on that later.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, there's no "raise wrist to light" option. You have to interact with the watch to get the screen on. The accelerometer should allow this functionality - so perhaps it just needs to be activated in the firmware? It is bright enough to see in the dark, but not so bright it will dazzle you or people nearby.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no touchscreen - instead there are four buttons around the face. Up, down, select, back. I did find myself repeatedly jabbing at the screen to no avail.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So, to light it, press the back button or hold one of the other buttons.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The colour scheme is pleasant enough. I miss having a full colour display so I can see a photo of my wife whenever I glance at the screen. But the low power usage can't be argued with.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="notifications"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#notifications"&gt;Notifications&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I couldn't get notifications working at first. The app just refused to let me toggle them on. Eventually I found an app in the app-store which claimed to enable them. That didn't work either.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Unpairing, repairing, and reinstalling the app made them spring to life.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no notification history. Once you've clicked to read it, that's it. Gone forever. Considering this has 4GB storage, that's an odd decision.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some of the notifications were slightly corrupt - showing question marks in place of (I assume) esoteric Unicode.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Question-Mark-notification.webp" alt="A notification on screen with a question mark before the user's name." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no way to customise the vibrate pattern - so everything "feels" the same on your wrist.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the moment, the Una Watch sends &lt;em&gt;every&lt;/em&gt; notification to your phone. You can't tell it to ignore certain WhatsApp groups, or only allow text messages from your spouse.  The only way to get fine-grained notifications is with a third-party app like…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="gadgetbridge"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#gadgetbridge"&gt;Gadgetbridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You're not tied to the official app. &lt;a href="https://gadgetbridge.org/gadgets/wearables/una/"&gt;Gadgetbridge support is excellent&lt;/a&gt;. There are a few things missing (you can't install apps or set alarms) - but if you want to measure your heart rate, send notifications, etc you'll be fine.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="linux-compatibility"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#linux-compatibility"&gt;Linux Compatibility&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Una Watch plugs in to USB-C and shows up as 3.5GB of exFAT formatted storage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Una-Filesystem.webp" alt="Filesystem view showing various JSON files." width="500" height="649" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can manually edit the JSON files if you like. I think you can copy off your workout data. Or you can just use it as portable storage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Under &lt;code&gt;lsusb&lt;/code&gt; it describes itself as &lt;code&gt;0483:52a4 STMicroelectronics UNA Watch&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="battery-life"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#battery-life"&gt;Battery Life&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After a full day of use the battery was at around 95% - that was with a bit of GPS, several notifications, heart rate monitoring, step counting, and a bunch of fiddling. With more GPS use, that's going to be heavier on the battery.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But the joy of USB-C is that I can thwack in the same cable as I use for all my other gadgets. I can even plug it into my phone and leach a bit of power from there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="development"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#development"&gt;Development&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The watch comes will a full &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk"&gt;Open Source SDK&lt;/a&gt; including lots of assets. There are several tutorials and a friendly community board.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Of course, everything has to be done in C++ - an accurs'd language which I learned in the last century and wish I'd forgotten.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, the &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/blob/main/Docs/sdk-setup.md"&gt;TouchGFX GUI designer&lt;/a&gt; only works in Windows.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm going to try to build my own watch faces and a few niche apps.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="downsides"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#downsides"&gt;Downsides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are a few things this watch &lt;em&gt;doesn't&lt;/em&gt; do - some of these may be deal-breakers for you, but weren't for me.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No payments. There's no tap-to-pay, NFC, or anything like that.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No microphone. You cannot speak into your Una Watch or take calls on it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No speaker. There's a little buzzer which can make squeaks and squawks - but you won't be playing your music through it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;While the apps and SDK are fully open, the firmware isn't (yet).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Can't reply to notifications.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No maps or directions (yet).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Step counter only shows the full day - no hour-by-hour view.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some of these things can and will be fixed in software. Others are limitations of the hardware.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="final-thoughts"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#final-thoughts"&gt;Final Thoughts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Una Watch has dropped in price to £180. I grabbed mine 2nd hand from eBay for £120. At either price, it's decent value &lt;em&gt;if&lt;/em&gt; you're happy to play with alpha / beta quality technology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you're a serious athlete, you'll probably want a more expensive and polished experience. If you are tied into the Apple or Google ecosystems, you'll probably want one of their watches.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you like tinkering, want to experiment with new technology, or simply want to support a British company trying to build something open - then this is the watch for you. Yes, there are some rough edges, but I fundamentally believe that technology should be Open Source, repairable, and give control to its users.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76031&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>4</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Are you a smartwatch "power user"?]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74267</id>
        <updated>2026-09-28T09:40:08Z</updated>
        <published>2026-09-30T11:34:26Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="android"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadgets"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="usability"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[What do you use your smartwatch for?  A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He&#039;d ignored me when I said I had a non-Google watch.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/">&lt;p&gt;What do you use your smartwatch for?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He'd ignored me when I said I had &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/"&gt;a non-Google watch&lt;/a&gt;.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and contactless payments. He looked a bit crestfallen at his impromptu user-research participant and somewhat dismissively sneered, "Well, you're not exactly a power user, are you?"&lt;/p&gt;

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Honestly, this guy was *such* an arse. Really spoiled an otherwise lovely party. Like, I don't mind talking about people's work - but it seemed that was the only thing he was interested in talking about. He also seemed genuinely offended that I'd bought a non-Google watch and didn't want to hear why I liked it. Oh well, his loss!

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Keep looking out for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm trying to imagine what being a "power user" of a watch is like. Can anyone enlighten me?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think smart-watches are much like Alexa. What the user &lt;em&gt;wants&lt;/em&gt; to do with it is almost totally at odds with what the company is selling. Alexæ are mostly kitchen timers, song players, and light switches. No one is a "power user" constantly installing skills and using it for anything which increases the product team's engagement metrics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The same is probably true of watches. Alerts are nifty - but cumbersome for replies. The health stuff is useful - but only for a subset of users. Seeing the time is great - but if the battery lasts less than a week, who wants to keep that screen on?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;People use watches because they are moderately more convenient to carry than the giant phones we have nowadays.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Back when mobile phones were new, exciting, and made a feature of being tiny, I was working for a network operator and trying to come up with reasons for people to use our brand-new 3G network. All the research we had showed that people used their phones for exactly three things:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Voice calls&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Text messages&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A third thing&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That "3rd thing" was varied. For some it was playing snake, for others it was a calendar, and a few took photos. But almost no-one used their phone beyond the basics. They weren't investigating the sub-menus, nor were they using most of their device's capability unless it was heavily advertised to them (ringtones, basically).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It took the industry a &lt;em&gt;huge&lt;/em&gt; amount of effort to get people to actually use their phones for more than calls and texts. Part of that was bigger screens with enticing icons (&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/04/give-customers-an-elevator-pitch-for-your-app/"&gt;although users will always be reluctant to click mysterious icons&lt;/a&gt;). Another part was that phones became genuinely useful. But perhaps the biggest change, I think, is that phones became &lt;em&gt;easy to use&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Watches have tiny screens. You can only get a few words of a message on there. Icons are tiny and hard to reliably tap. Swiping away at your wrist or fiddling with a crown is a faff. Talking into your wrist makes you look like a prat. Interacting with a smartwatch is &lt;strong&gt;annoying&lt;/strong&gt;. Why would anyone want to spend more time using it than is strictly necessary?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there are some people out there browsing the web on their wrist, and sending endless voice-notes to their AI assistant, and setting up complex travel plans by tapping their nose on the screen, and installing new watch faces which always point to the nearest Dignitas clinic, and seeing what their heart-rate did during that last run, and tracking whether their menstrual cycle is synced to the phases of the moon, and hoping that tripping on the stairs didn't send an alert to the emergency services, and whatever else the team has cooked up to show that they're still innovating.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But I'll bet those "power users" are vastly outnumbered by people who are using a smartwatch for the limited set of actions which are useful to them; not to the manufacturer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perhaps the real power users have is the power to use a device on their own terms?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74267&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>32</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Bobiverse Books 1-3 by Dennis E. Taylor ★★★☆☆]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/book-review-bobiverse-books-1-3-by-dennis-e-taylor/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73671</id>
        <updated>2026-09-26T12:28:34Z</updated>
        <published>2026-09-28T11:34:52Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of Dungeon Crawler Carl, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It&#039;s campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.    Bob&#039;s brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/book-review-bobiverse-books-1-3-by-dennis-e-taylor/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bobiverse.webp" alt="Book covers for the Bobiverse series." width="275" height="225" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-73672"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/book-review-dungeon-crawler-carl-by-matt-dinniman/"&gt;Dungeon Crawler Carl&lt;/a&gt;, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It's campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.&lt;/p&gt;

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I kinda hate how quickly I devoured these books. They're sort of like a bowl of bland potato snacks which, nevertheless, you find yourself emptying into your gullet. There are so many *good* sci-fi books that I have no idea why I fixated on these? 

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1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Bob's brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a spaceship to strange new worlds, put right what once went wrong, and hoping The Force will be with him, always. Oh, and he repeatedly clones himself. Creating a universe populated with Bobs (a "Bobiverse" if you will)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's your standard "only I, a slightly geeky guy with lots of pop-culture knowledge, can save the world" fare which is beloved by slightly geeky guys everywhere who think they're smarter than all those normies just because they can recite the list of Hugo winners alphabetically.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Like &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/09/what-i-read-on-my-holidays/"&gt;Ready Player One&lt;/a&gt; it throws in as many quips and catchphrases as the plot will bear. Unlike Cline's work, it never really commits to them, so you end up with a scattering of Monty Python, Star Wars, and the X-Files without an overall theme developing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And, in keeping with Andy Weir's The Martian, it's all just one guy sciencing the shit out of the problem. Except that lots of the science is sort of hand-waved away with "and then I 3D printed a thing".&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similar to both those books is an almost total lack of female characters. The ones that are in the first two are either plot-points or harridans. By the third there's a love interest who is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; more rounded, and a couple of other incidentals, but offset against yet another woman who just can't appreciate the "genius" of Bob.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's all good page turning fun other than the fact that Bob is a &lt;em&gt;total&lt;/em&gt; cretin. He begins a slow descent into fascist dictator and barely even comments on it. He spies, carries out extra-judicial killings, and meddles in politics to his own advantage. At no point does the text ever really engage with the fact that &lt;strong&gt;Bob is a monster&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The character rarely reflects on whether his behaviour meets the moral standard he expects of others. He bemoans the aliens who are destroying entire ecosystems while simultaneously wiping out whole species himself. At times he is a conniving bully and reacts badly to anyone who pushes back against the ineffable will of Bob.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The jumping back-and-forth between the different Bobs is a bit frustrating, a bit like flicking between TV channels. I wish each story strand were allowed some space to develop - but instead it's one chapter of this planet, then one chapter of another, before (eventually) circling back.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, &lt;a href="http://dennisetaylor.org/wheres-the-whatever-version/#WhereEpub"&gt;the books are only available on Amazon Kindle&lt;/a&gt;. They're not on any other platform or library. I'm grateful to the friend who lent me their copies. I binged the first three but, without any indication that Bob will mature as a character or face a reckoning for his egregious actions, that's where I stopped.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73671&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>2</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Gig Review: Public Service Broadcasting's Race For Space at Alexandra Palace ★★★★⯪]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75993</id>
        <updated>2026-09-27T09:05:44Z</updated>
        <published>2026-09-27T11:34:08Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gig"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ahhh! PSB&#039;s RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.    For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/">&lt;p&gt;Ahhh! PSB's RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/On-Stage.webp" alt="The band on stage with giant projections behind them." width="2048" height="1542" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest singers, and 360° video projection,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Laser-Display.webp" alt="Flight controls projected above the audience." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Oh, also a disco Sputnik flying over the crowd!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Disco-Sputnik.webp" alt="A large model Sputnik covered in lights." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Simply magical! As were the indoor fireworks.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Fireworks.webp" alt="Sparks shooting upwards from the stage." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I might quibble a little with their song choices (no Gagarin!) but hearing the crowd repeatedly scream "GO!" was magnificent.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ally Pally isn't a raked venue, so the video projection of the band was most welcome. An excellent gig in a splendid location.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/#pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;Pre-show and Post-show&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've written about before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/"&gt;the art of the Pre-Show and Post-Show&lt;/a&gt; is vital for getting people to pay for events outside of their homes. Right now I can stream all the music in the world for a year for about the same price as a couple of gig tickets.  Why should I freeze my arse off outside, paying stupid money for mass-produced lager, when I could be at home?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;PSB kept up a constant stream of emails talking about the gig. Not an overwhelming amount, just letting people peek behind the curtain of organising it, giving helpful information about logistics, and letting us know about merchandise which was available.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Crucially, they also gave us stage timings for them and their support act! How many times have you turned up on time to a gig only to spend an hour listening to some crap DJ before the crew even started setting up the stage? PSB treat their fans with respect.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ally Pally isn't a venue I've been to before. It was well laid out with decent toilet provision - including a big block of portaloos at the back of the hall. The beer prices weren't ruinous, but I kind of resented paying £15 for a veggie hotdog and a handful of chips.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some venues seem to think that screaming at punters to open their bags will make for an enjoyable visit. Here the security staff were polite and not overly officious. Water bottles were allowed in with a cheery wave.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Post show - although the train stations are downhill, there were several buses waiting to take punters directly back. That's a perfect way of treating guests at your venue - ensuring that they get home safe and sound.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75993&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
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        <thr:total>7</thr:total>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[No errors, no warnings, no gods, no masters - HTML Purity is a Fetish]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74960</id>
        <updated>2026-09-26T12:24:48Z</updated>
        <published>2026-09-26T11:34:02Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HTML"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="WebDev"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[&#34;The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn&#039;t just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax.&#34;    Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/">&lt;p&gt;"The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn't just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax&lt;sup id="fnref:soz"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:soz" class="footnote-ref" title="With the appropriate amount of apologies to James Nicoll" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;."&lt;/p&gt;

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Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.

Am I being too harsh in calling technical purity a fetish? I don't think so. But I guess I would say that wouldn't I? My Kink *Is* My Kink And That's OK.

Don't forget, the three rules of comment club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the pacific bits you got the jist &amp;amp; the splelling &amp;amp; grandma dont mattr to much.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;HTML is much the same. You can write utterly malformed, derranged, non-standards complaint HTML and most browsers will just say "Yeah, sure, whatever dawg!" and render it adequately. Take a look at the source code for &lt;a href="https://www.todepond.com/"&gt;TodePond&lt;/a&gt; - a lovely website but some of the most abused HTML I've seen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's a brilliant blog post by Jens Oliver Meiert which looks at whether HTML validity is seen as a priority for major sites. Basically, no.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s time for the annual analysis of how much of the HTML code in the field is error-free and valid. The short version: 1% of the most-frequented sites on this planet uses valid HTML—and 99% don’t.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://meiert.com/blog/html-conformance-2026/"&gt;2 of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;iS ThAt A pRoBlEm????&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My site is proudly HTML Valid. Run it through the &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/nu/?doc=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2F"&gt;HTML Validator&lt;/a&gt; or the &lt;a href="https://validator.schema.org/#url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog"&gt;Schema.org Validator&lt;/a&gt; and you'll see that it is &lt;em&gt;fucking perfect!&lt;/em&gt; Same with my &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed"&gt;RSS Feed&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed%2Fatom"&gt;Atom Feed&lt;/a&gt;. Not so much as an advisory bit of info, a couched warning, or a sternly worded suggestion&lt;sup id="fnref:4now"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:4now" class="footnote-ref" title="At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃" role="doc-noteref"&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Every last bit pure and holy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Of course, syntactically valid HTML is neither necessary nor sufficient for any purpose.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML doesn't imply that a site is accessible (although, I'm proud to say mine meets or exceeds all WCAG guidance&lt;sup id="fnref:wcag"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:wcag" class="footnote-ref" title="Again, it is possible to make something pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess." role="doc-noteref"&gt;2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML doesn't guarantee that the information it contains is accurate&lt;sup id="fnref:purrrrrfect"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:purrrrrfect" class="footnote-ref" title="Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate." role="doc-noteref"&gt;3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML, at best, merely &lt;em&gt;implies&lt;/em&gt; that the author gives a damn about such things. Much like &lt;a href="https://knolling.org/"&gt;Knolling&lt;/a&gt;, it leaves a suggestion that order is preferable to chaos&lt;sup id="fnref:knoll"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:knoll" class="footnote-ref" title="Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato." role="doc-noteref"&gt;4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is said that one of the reasons HTML succeeded is that it is lax about validation. Most programming languages will shit the bed if you dare to leave out so much as a single semicolon. The compiler wails can be heard throughout the land.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;By contrast, HTML is designed to be sympathetic to the frailty of the human mind. "Oh, you didn't close an element? Well, you opened a new one which I guess implies the same thing. Did you forget the correct syntax? Never mind - it'll be our little secret."&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That's why &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/the-web-runs-on-tolerance/"&gt;XHTML failed&lt;/a&gt; - the browser would literally refuse to render a page if it didn't meet the spec. Who can be bothered with that?! HTML just lets you get on with things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've mentioned before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/05/postels-law-also-applies-to-human-communication/"&gt;humans don't write or speak in Backus–Naur form&lt;/a&gt;. Our ideas are loosely expressed in a floating grammar which lends itself to paradoxical impossibilities and logical tautologies. And yet most of us can still parse &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence"&gt;weird sentences&lt;/a&gt; without too much effort.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But most computer languages are different. It might be obvious to you that &lt;code&gt;if (x = 42)&lt;/code&gt; means "compare the value of x to 42" - but what the computer sees is "if assign x the value of 42". Within computing our code needs to be &lt;em&gt;rigorously formal&lt;/em&gt; and any syntax errors will lead to show-stopping bugs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Imagine if every time a human wrote &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_ite_domum"&gt;&lt;i lang="la"&gt;Romanes eunt domus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt; the world simply crashed. It would be intolerable.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;HTML is more like a human language than a computing language. You can understand human speech over a crackly phone line in a foreign accent - Web Browsers understand CP-1252 encoded text with bizarre syntax errors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If it is OK to write bad HTML, why do some of us fetishise "pure" HTML?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think it comes down to an ingrained belief that it is polite to reduce ambiguity. It is nice to be precise&lt;sup id="fnref:100"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:100" class="footnote-ref" title="I will grant you, there's also a strain of 100% Completionist which compels me to get &amp;quot;top score&amp;quot; on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity." role="doc-noteref"&gt;5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;. It reduces the cognitive burden on anyone (or anything) which reads what we have written. We are holding up our end of the social contract by producing something unadulterated and easy to comprehend. It reduces the likelihood of different browsers rendering things differently but, almost on a cellular level, we &lt;em&gt;feel&lt;/em&gt; that &lt;strong&gt;things must be done properly&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The browser doesn't care about your inability to follow standards. But you should have some fucking self-respect and do it anyway.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:soz"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With the appropriate amount of apologies to &lt;a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll"&gt;James Nicoll&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:soz" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:4now"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:4now" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:wcag"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Again, it is possible to make something &lt;a href="https://www.matuzo.at/blog/building-the-most-inaccessible-site-possible-with-a-perfect-lighthouse-score/"&gt;pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:wcag" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:purrrrrfect"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:purrrrrfect" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:knoll"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:knoll" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:100"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I will grant you, there's also a strain of &lt;a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HundredPercentCompletion"&gt;100% Completionist&lt;/a&gt; which compels me to get "top score" on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:100" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74960&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#comments" thr:count="2"/>
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <author>
            <name>Terence Eden</name>
            <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
        </author>
        <title type="html"><![CDATA[Some thoughts on HTML's proposed previewsrc attribute]]></title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/"/>
        <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75856</id>
        <updated>2026-09-25T09:25:33Z</updated>
        <published>2026-09-24T11:34:54Z</published>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HTML"/>
        <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="standards"/>
        <summary type="html"><![CDATA[One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard &#60;video&#62; element.  An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an…]]></summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/">&lt;p&gt;One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;img&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element before the &lt;code&gt;src=&lt;/code&gt; attribute has loaded. So why not standardise on &lt;code&gt;previewsrc=&lt;/code&gt;? There's an &lt;a href="https://patrickbrosset.com/articles/2026-09-22-blurry-before-beautiful-image-previews-for-the-web/"&gt;excellent explainer on Patrick Brosset's blog&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I instinctively like the idea - if only to simplify source code and reduce JS usage. But I do have some concerns which &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1401"&gt;I've shared with the team&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-the-user-need"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-user-need"&gt;What's The User Need?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the thing I always bang on about when I'm discussing standards. Additions to HTML should primarily benefit end users, not developers.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do end users want this? Is there a bunch of research that shows normal people are confused that they don't see a preview image? Do they recoil in fear and distress while waiting for a full resolution picture to appear?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When people see a blurry or blocky image, do they understand that they need to wait for the full thing - or do they assume their computer is broken?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Microsoft has a bazillion dollars - it can afford to spend a few thousand on interviewing some real users and mapping out what they're likely to want from this.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-the-developer-need"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-developer-need"&gt;What's The Developer Need&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I begrudgingly admit that developers need love too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments. 

I was going to make a Sam Fox "Naughty Girls Need Love Too" joke here - but thought it was a bit niche. Anyway, take a listen to the sound of the eighties! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXEN57rFnIM

Now you've read this, you can follow the three rules of comment club…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
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Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What are the pain points of the current implementations? Is it hard to dynamically generate multiple images? Is the syntax hard to use? Do blurs slow down the page?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Again, MS needs to pony up some cash to talk to developers. At the very least run a survey of all existing websites in the BING! database and see what they use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="alt-text"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#alt-text"&gt;Alt Text&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When an image doesn't load, or loads slowly, a user will normally be shown some alt text - like this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="http://example.test/unicorn.avif" alt="Terence Eden riding a pink unicorn. Rainbows shoot out of his fingers while the unicorn's horn glows an iridescent octarine against the starry sky." width="256" height="256" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Is that more or less useful than this?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/unicorn.webp" alt="A very blurry image of possibly a Unicorn. Original Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay." width="256" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Accessibility isn't just for people with visual impairments!  This is &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1408"&gt;an issue I've raised with them&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="naming-things-is-hard"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#naming-things-is-hard"&gt;Naming Things Is Hard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've written before about &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/10/the-usability-of-html-elements/"&gt;the usability of HTML elements&lt;/a&gt;. Some of the newer ones like &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;picture&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; have very poorly named attributes in my opinion.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One alternative for &lt;code&gt;previewsrc&lt;/code&gt; is &lt;code&gt;poster&lt;/code&gt;. That would match with the &lt;code&gt;poster&lt;/code&gt; attribute on the &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element. They both show a preview image before the main content is loaded.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Given their functionality is identical, I think it makes sense for them to have the same name. You wouldn't expect to see &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video horizontal="1920" vertical="1080"&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; would you? No. That's why they use the same &lt;code&gt;width&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;height&lt;/code&gt; attributes as images.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="closing-remarks"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#closing-remarks"&gt;Closing Remarks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20%22image%20preview%22"&gt;several interesting objections and discussions on the GitHub repo&lt;/a&gt;. I'm delighted that this is being talked about in the open, rather than just being presented as a &lt;i lang="fr"&gt;fait accompli&lt;/i&gt; (remember &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/introducing-the-new-html-element-welcome/"&gt;the toast proposal&lt;/a&gt;?).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I said, I genuinely think that there's a useful idea in here. But after writing all of this, I &lt;em&gt;think&lt;/em&gt; it would be better and simpler for developers to use progressive images rather than overload HTML with a new attribute.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If website owners can't be bothered to save progressive images, I don't see why they'd bother to create a separate preview image.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Keeping preview images in sync with their full images is also likely to be a problem.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you think I'm wrong, &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/ImagePreview/explainer.md"&gt;read the explainer and then chat with Microsoft&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
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	<title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
	<subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle>

	<updated>2026-10-19T09:00:07Z</updated>

	<rights>© Terence Eden. 🄯 CC BY. See https://shkspr.mobi/blog/copyright-and-copyleft/</rights>

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		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Gadget Review: Mokin 17 Port USB-C Tower ★★☆☆☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76136</id>
		<updated>2026-10-19T09:00:07Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-22T11:34:36Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Mokin" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="USB-C" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a beast.    This is the MODK2403 - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want and has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.  Errr… What?  OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.    On to the ports:   Triple display   Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort  4x U…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/">&lt;p&gt;The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a &lt;em&gt;beast&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/product-shot.webp" alt="Photo of the front and back of the hub." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the &lt;a href="https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd"&gt;MODK2403&lt;/a&gt; - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Errr… What?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/All-the-ports.webp" alt="All the ports." width="1024" height="771" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On to the ports:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Triple display

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4x USB-A

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2x 2.0 480Mbps, 1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2x USB-C

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C PD input

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;100W&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C to host computer

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;USB-C to C cable included&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ethernet port

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1Gbps&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;SD and microSD&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3.5m Audio Jack&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Suction cup&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Yup! At the bottom of the tower is a silicone surround which allows it to firmly plant on any flat surface. It's strong enough to take any gentle nudges without toppling over, but easy enough to lift off if you need to move the unit.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/suction.webp" alt="A square suction cup." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; cheeky to describe this as 17 ports. The two DisplayPorts are tied to the HDMI ports - so you can only have 3 screens active at a time, not five. But as each screen can do 4K @ 60Hz, I'll let it slide.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="screen"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#screen"&gt;Screen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's a black and white screen included which can show you a bunch of information. Tap the power-button on top to cycle between them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Which ports are connected:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Whats-plugged-in.webp" alt="A list of ports. Some are illuminated." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Screen resolution of attached devices:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Displayinfo.webp" alt="Screen resolution, size, and refresh rate." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Total power draw:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/what-watts.webp" alt="A weird smiley face showing 49 Watts." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;WiFi set up:
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-Info.webp" alt="WiFi Info." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wait? What! If you connect to the hub's WiFi, you get this set-up screen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-setup.webp" alt="A long settings screen to allow WiFi and set various options." width="504" height="1344" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Once it is connected, it'll show you the weather in your area:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Weather-no-location.webp" alt="Weather and time." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm not &lt;em&gt;entirely&lt;/em&gt; convinced about whether that's useful. Although you can change the units from ℉ to ℃, and show or hide your area, there's no other customisation available. No 24 hour clock, no date formatting, nothing. There's also no privacy policy or indication of which weather provider it is connecting to.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The screen switches off after a few minutes - so it isn't a constant distraction. Tapping the top button turns it on again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Double-pressing the power-button switches the external monitors off. Which is useful for privacy I guess?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="linux-info"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#linux-info"&gt;Linux Info&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Worked perfectly with my Linux laptop. I drove two external screens via DisplayPort, a bunch of USB peripherals, Ethernet, etc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A full read-out gives:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;0bda:8153 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
0bda:0411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Hub
2109:0822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.1 Hub
2109:8822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB Billboard Device
0020:0b21 Generic AB13X USB Audio
0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device
0bda:5411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5411 Hub
1a86:8095 QinHeng Electronics USB Hub
303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit
2109:2822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="speed"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#speed"&gt;Speed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have 1Gbps broadband, and I was able to get 850Mbps through the Mokin's Ethernet port. That's pretty much what I'd expect.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Copying files via USB-C to a Pixel phone topped out at about 200MBps, which was a little underwhelming, but fast enough for my needs. I tried a variety of cables, including the bundled one.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="sound"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#sound"&gt;Sound&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The AB13X USB Audio presents as both analogue and S/PDIF. There was no meaningful difference between the two in terms of sound quality. There was minimal hum on output when nothing was being played.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="wifi-and-security"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#wifi-and-security"&gt;WiFi and Security&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm slightly uneasy about the built-in WiFi connection this hub offers. It is primarily used for showing the weather on screen, but it can also be used to upload new firmware.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Worryingly, it has a weak default password set - &lt;code&gt;mokin123&lt;/code&gt;. I think that might be &lt;a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-protect-consumers-from-cyber-criminals-come-into-force-in-the-uk"&gt;against the law&lt;/a&gt;. The password can be changed by the user - but I wonder how many people will bother?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When I mentioned this to Mokin, they replied:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;After the initial password is set, the user can change the password themselves rather than continuing to use a fixed default password.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't think that's good enough to protect users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, the SSID can be hidden and is randomised, but I wonder if that's suitable defence against a determined hacker?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm glad that the unit doesn't hijack the Ethernet connection - but who knows what a future firmware update might do.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's also a &lt;code&gt;303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit&lt;/code&gt; exposed on the hub. I tried connecting to it with &lt;code&gt;esptool&lt;/code&gt; and the hub crashed! I had to pull out the power to get it to restart. I'm not smart enough to probe it further, but I can't help wondering why it is there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, there's a mysterious &lt;code&gt;0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device&lt;/code&gt;. I thought that was used for blanking the external screens when the power-button is double-pressed, but that didn't register on &lt;code&gt;evtest&lt;/code&gt;. So what is it for? I don't like the idea of a random Human Interface Device (usually a keyboard or mouse) being attached to my computer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I spoke to Mokin about it and they said:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;our technical manager confirmed that these two entries are reserved for future firmware updates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Personally, I would expect these to be disabled if they aren't going to be used.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="privacy"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#privacy"&gt;Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With any device which connects to the Internet, you have to be concerned about what data it is collecting, storing, and transmitting. I asked Mokin if they had a privacy policy related to their weather service. They said:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is no need to worry about your personal or location information being uploaded or stored remotely. The relevant user information is stored locally on the device.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The weather/location information is provided through Google services, and no personal information is uploaded or stored by us. Therefore, there should be no privacy or data security concern from our side.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't find that terribly convincing. At the very least they should tell users who their weather provider is and what their privacy says.  I assume that the device is doing a GeoIP lookup before sending the request to Google - again, that should be explained to users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've no evidence that the hub is collecting data about what is attached and then sending it off somewhere - but without a privacy policy from Mokin, who can say?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="cracking-it-open"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#cracking-it-open"&gt;Cracking It Open&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The suction cup at the bottom is only lightly glued on and peeled off easily. Underneath are four screws.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Bottom-Screws.webp" alt="Four cross head screws." width="512" height="531" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The base removes easily, exposing the three circuit boards.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Internal-guts.webp" alt="Two circuit boards with a middle board and some wires." width="2048" height="1824" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a close up:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/guts.webp" alt="Close up of the circuits." width="2048" height="1798" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I couldn't easily get them out, and the front plastic was held on securely. I'm sure it would be possible to snap off, but I didn't want to damage it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="price-and-final-thoughts"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#price-and-final-thoughts"&gt;Price and Final Thoughts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's usually about &lt;a href="https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd"&gt;£90 from the manufacturer&lt;/a&gt; or around &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B08w3yaiS"&gt;£70 from Amazon&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can get a basic hub for less than half that price - but what you're paying for here having &lt;em&gt;all the ports&lt;/em&gt;. It's an attractive package, well designed, quiet, and unobtrusive.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The screen is moderately useful - being able to see which ports are in use was handy, as was seeing the total power draw. The screen debugging was also handy. I'm not that interested in the weather, but I can see how it would be helpful as a single-use screen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have significant concerns about the always-on WiFi, especially given its easy to guess password. I've contacted the manufacturer to see if anything can be done about that but they don't seem interested in fixing it. The lack of privacy policy is also worrying.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, the HID and JTAG are also something I wouldn't expect to see on a hub like this. Ideally they should be disabled if not in use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In terms of ports and performance, this can't be beat. But I would be reluctant to connect it to my home WiFi network.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76136&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>4</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Quackery - A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-quackery-a-brief-history-of-the-worst-ways-to-cure-everything-by-lydia-kang/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74296</id>
		<updated>2026-09-27T21:29:18Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-20T11:34:35Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="medicine" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.  Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It&#039;s fun the whole way through, although …]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-quackery-a-brief-history-of-the-worst-ways-to-cure-everything-by-lydia-kang/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/9781523501854.webp" alt="Book cover." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-74298"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It's fun the whole way through, although sometimes at the expense of people who perhaps didn't know better than to trust charlatans.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One thing that is constantly brought back is how it can be hard to determine what &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; patent nonsense and what is a &lt;i lang="la"&gt;bone fide&lt;/i&gt; cure:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Prevent blood clotting: Extract mucus from the intestinal membranes of slaughtered pigs or from the lungs of slaughtered cows. Inject. (heparin)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Is that any more believable than injecting goat testicles to cure impotence?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It also brings to light how squeamish we can be, especially when faced with unusual medical procedures:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;We borrow other people’s wombs for surrogacy. And yet, plenty of people squirm at the idea of breastmilk banks. We are a society of contradictions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The eBook is &lt;em&gt;beautifully&lt;/em&gt; formatted. For once, images are in-line with the text! Usually in books of this sort, publishers treat the eBook like a mass-market paperback and stick the illustrations at the end.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It ends rather abruptly, after taking us through light, electricity, colour therapy, animal magnetism, and a couple of dozen other "cure-alls"&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sadly, there are no references or footnotes. While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the claims, for a book about scientific misinformation and malpractice, I'd've expected a way to find out more information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74296&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>1</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Una Watch TOTP - MFA on your wrist!]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76104</id>
		<updated>2026-10-12T10:48:42Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-18T11:34:08Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="c++" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Let&#039;s get this out of the way first - this is a terrible idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I&#039;ve built a watch app which will display them. That&#039;s really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they&#039;re clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/">&lt;p&gt;Let's get this out of the way first - this is a &lt;em&gt;terrible&lt;/em&gt; idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I've built a watch app which will display them. That's really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they're clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret which powers the code generation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You should absolutely not do this and, if you ignore my warnings, you should only do this for codes which aren't critical to your security.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! If this is your first time - hello! This content is only available to sophisticated nerds who read my HTML comments.

You know what? I *do* use this. I have a low-ish security account which constantly needs my MFA number. Sometimes I can't be bothered unlocking my phone to get it. Of course, on my wrist I save it under a different name. Perhaps I'm an idiot for doing so, but sometimes convenience wins.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in my other blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In my defence, an attacker would still need my username and password to make any use of these codes - but please don't trust your security to my deranged witterings.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="what-it-looks-like"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#what-it-looks-like"&gt;What It Looks Like&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MFA.webp" alt="My wristwatch showing &amp;quot;HSBC MFA Code 751646&amp;quot;. Don't worry, this isn't my real code. OR IS IT?!?!" width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="prior-art"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#prior-art"&gt;Prior Art&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure many other people have done this. Indeed, three years ago I built &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/07/an-eink-wrist-mounted-totp-generator/"&gt;An eInk, Wrist-Mounted, TOTP Generator&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Wrist-TOTP.jpg" alt="A chunky wristwatch showing the time and a selection of 6 digit codes and their corresponding entities." width="1024" height="1024" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-service"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-service"&gt;The Service&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is in my &lt;code&gt;Service.cpp&lt;/code&gt; - as you can see, it's pretty simple. This won't let you add in hundreds of codes - you get one and that's it. There's no countdown when a code is about to expire, so I recommend waiting until a new one pops up before you start typing it in.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'll be candid, I haven't used C++ properly since university - and that was in the last century. I've mostly just cut things out to see what breaks. Feel free to educate me on the correct idiomatic code.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to set your own secret in here.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-cpp"&gt;//  Standard includes.
#include "Service.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp"

//  Needed for PureTOTP.
#include &amp;lt;iostream&amp;gt;
#include "TOTP.h"

#include &amp;lt;string&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;sstream&amp;gt;

//  What this Glance can do.
Service::Service(SDK::Kernel &amp;amp;kernel)
    : mKernel(kernel)
    , mGlanceUI()
    , mGlanceTitle()
    , mGlanceValue()
{}

void Service::createGuiControls()
{
    //  Set the main title in the Glance.
    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)
        .setText("HSBC MFA Code")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);

    //  Set the default text for the value.
    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceValue.pos({ 20, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_YELLOW_DARK)
        .setText( "Waiting for update" )
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
}

void Service::glanceUpdate()
{
    //  Set the Base32 encoded secret (all uppercase).
    std::string secret = "QWERTYUIOP";
    //  Generate the code based on the Unix timestamp right now.
    const std::time_t t = std::time(0);
    std::string code = TOTP::GenerateTOTP( 6, 30, TOTP::HMAC_SHA1, secret, t );

    std::ostringstream ss;
    ss &amp;lt;&amp;lt; t;

    //  Convert the string to char* and display it as the value.
    mGlanceValue.print( code.c_str() ); 

    //  Show the Unix time to check the timezone is correct.
    // mGlanceTitle.print( ss.str().c_str() );
}

//  No service.
Service::~Service(){}

//  When this glance is opened.
void Service::run()
{
    while (true) {
        SDK::MessageBase *msg;
        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {
            continue;
        }

        switch (msg-&amp;gt;getType()) {
            //  The Glance has started.
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:
                if (configGui()) {
                    createGuiControls();
                } else {
                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);
                }
                break;
            //  The Glance has been stopped.
            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:
                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                return;
                break;

            //  Every second, perform an action.
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:
                onGlanceTick();
                break;

            default:
                break;
        }

        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
    }
}

void Service::onGlanceTick()
{
    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {
        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
            upd-&amp;gt;name           = APP_NAME;
            upd-&amp;gt;controls       = mGlanceUI.data();
            upd-&amp;gt;controlsNumber = static_cast&amp;lt;uint32_t&amp;gt;(mGlanceUI.size());
            upd.send(100);
        }

        mGlanceUI.setValid();
    }
    glanceUpdate();
}

bool Service::configGui()
{
    bool status = false;
    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
        if (gc.send(100) &amp;amp;&amp;amp; gc.ok()) {
            if (gc-&amp;gt;maxControls &amp;gt;= 3) {
                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc-&amp;gt;width);
                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc-&amp;gt;height);
                status = true;
            }
        }
    }
    return status;
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-library"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-library"&gt;The Library&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are dozens of C++ libraries for RFC 6238 generation. I ended up using &lt;a href="https://github.com/Einztein/PureTOTP"&gt;PureTOTP&lt;/a&gt; as it didn't require any external dependencies and was only two files.  As I only needed SHA1 TOTP codes, I stripped out a bunch of functionality which was unnecessary for me. Similarly, I only wanted to generate 6 digit codes with a 30 second period - so took out anything which did more than that.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've tidied up the code and comments where I can. The original was MIT Licenced - so this is as well.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are two parts to this. First, the header&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;// TOTP.h
//
#pragma once
#include &amp;lt;string&amp;gt;
class TOTP
{
public:
    const static int HMAC_SHA1 = 20;    //  Length of HMAC.

    static std::string GenerateTOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret);
    static std::string GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret, int specTime);

    TOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret): digit(digit), refreshSeconds(refreshSeconds), algorithm(algorithm), secret(secret) {}
    TOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret): digit(6), refreshSeconds(30), algorithm(HMAC_SHA1), secret(secret) {}

    std::string currentTOTP();

private:
    int digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm;

    std::string secret;
};
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Next is the standalone library which does the TOTP generation, &lt;code&gt;TOTP.cpp&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-cpp"&gt;// TOTP.cpp
//
#include "TOTP.h"
#include &amp;lt;vector&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;stack&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;queue&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;sstream&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;iomanip&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;cstdint&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;cstring&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;array&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;stdexcept&amp;gt;
#include &amp;lt;algorithm&amp;gt;
using namespace std;

struct JEVP_MD
{
    enum Kind {
        SHA1
    };

    Kind kind;
    int  md_size;
    int  block_size;
};

static inline uint32_t rotl32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; n) | (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; (32 - n)); }
static inline uint32_t rotr32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; n) | (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; (32 - n)); }
static inline uint64_t rotr64(uint64_t x, uint64_t n) { return (x &amp;gt;&amp;gt; n) | (x &amp;lt;&amp;lt; (64 - n)); }

static uint32_t load_be32(const unsigned char* p)
{
    return (uint32_t(p[0]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 24) |
           (uint32_t(p[1]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 16) |
           (uint32_t(p[2]) &amp;lt;&amp;lt;  8) |
            uint32_t(p[3]);
}

static void store_be32(uint32_t v, unsigned char* p)
{
    p[0] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 24) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[1] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 16) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[2] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt;  8) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[3] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;( v        &amp;amp; 0xFF);
}

static void store_be64(uint64_t v, unsigned char* p)
{
    p[0] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 56) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[1] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 48) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[2] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 40) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[3] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 32) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[4] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 24) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[5] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt; 16) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[6] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;((v &amp;gt;&amp;gt;  8) &amp;amp; 0xFF);
    p[7] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;( v        &amp;amp; 0xFF);
}

static vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; sha1_hash(const unsigned char* data, size_t len)
{
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; msg(data, data + len);
    uint64_t              bit_len = static_cast&amp;lt;uint64_t&amp;gt;(len) * 8;

    msg.push_back(0x80);
    while ((msg.size() % 64) != 56) msg.push_back(0x00);

    unsigned char lenbuf[8];
    store_be64(bit_len, lenbuf);
    msg.insert(msg.end(), lenbuf, lenbuf + 8);

    uint32_t h0 = 0x67452301;
    uint32_t h1 = 0xEFCDAB89;
    uint32_t h2 = 0x98BADCFE;
    uint32_t h3 = 0x10325476;
    uint32_t h4 = 0xC3D2E1F0;

    for (size_t chunk = 0; chunk &amp;lt; msg.size(); chunk += 64)
    {
        uint32_t w[80];
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 16; ++i)
            w[i] = load_be32(&amp;amp;msg[chunk + i * 4]);
        for (int i = 16; i &amp;lt; 80; ++i)
            w[i] = rotl32(w[i - 3] ^ w[i - 8] ^ w[i - 14] ^ w[i - 16], 1);

        uint32_t a = h0, b = h1, c = h2, d = h3, e = h4;

        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 80; ++i)
        {
            uint32_t f, k;
            if (i &amp;lt; 20)
            {
                f = (b &amp;amp; c) | ((~b) &amp;amp; d);
                k = 0x5A827999;
            }
            else if (i &amp;lt; 40)
            {
                f = b ^ c ^ d;
                k = 0x6ED9EBA1;
            }
            else if (i &amp;lt; 60)
            {
                f = (b &amp;amp; c) | (b &amp;amp; d) | (c &amp;amp; d);
                k = 0x8F1BBCDC;
            }
            else
            {
                f = b ^ c ^ d;
                k = 0xCA62C1D6;
            }

            uint32_t temp = rotl32(a, 5) + f + e + k + w[i];

            e = d;
            d = c;
            c = rotl32(b, 30);
            b = a;
            a = temp;
        }

        h0 += a;
        h1 += b;
        h2 += c;
        h3 += d;
        h4 += e;
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; out(20);
    store_be32(h0, &amp;amp;out[ 0]);
    store_be32(h1, &amp;amp;out[ 4]);
    store_be32(h2, &amp;amp;out[ 8]);
    store_be32(h3, &amp;amp;out[12]);
    store_be32(h4, &amp;amp;out[16]);
    return out;
}

static const JEVP_MD g_sha1   = {JEVP_MD::SHA1, 20, 64};

const JEVP_MD* JEVP_sha1() { return &amp;amp;g_sha1; }

unsigned char* JHMAC(const JEVP_MD* JEVP_MD, const void* key, int key_len, const unsigned char* data, size_t data_len, unsigned char* md, unsigned int* md_len)
{
    if (!JEVP_MD || !key || key_len &amp;lt; 0 || !data)
        return nullptr;

    static thread_local unsigned char static_md[64];

    if (!md)
        md = static_md;

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; key_block(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size, 0);
    const unsigned char*  key_bytes = static_cast&amp;lt;const unsigned char*&amp;gt;(key);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; real_key;
    if (key_len &amp;gt; JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size)
    {
        real_key = sha1_hash(key_bytes, static_cast&amp;lt;size_t&amp;gt;(key_len));
        std::copy(real_key.begin(), real_key.end(), key_block.begin());
    }
    else
    {
        std::copy(key_bytes, key_bytes + key_len, key_block.begin());
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; ipad(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size);
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; opad(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size);
    for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size; ++i)
    {
        ipad[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(key_block[i] ^ 0x36);
        opad[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(key_block[i] ^ 0x5C);
    }

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; inner;
    inner.reserve(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size + data_len);
    inner.insert(inner.end(), ipad.begin(), ipad.end());
    inner.insert(inner.end(), data, data + data_len);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; inner_hash = sha1_hash(inner.data(), inner.size());

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; outer;
    outer.reserve(JEVP_MD-&amp;gt;block_size + inner_hash.size());
    outer.insert(outer.end(), opad.begin(), opad.end());
    outer.insert(outer.end(), inner_hash.begin(), inner_hash.end());

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; final_hash = sha1_hash(outer.data(), outer.size());

    std::memcpy(md, final_hash.data(), final_hash.size());
    if (md_len) *md_len = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned int&amp;gt;(final_hash.size());

    return md;
}

//  Base32 decoding table.
/* clang-format off */
const int base32_reverse_map[128] =
{
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 15
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 31
    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 47
//      (49)   2    3    4    5    6    7  (56)
    255, 255,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 63
// (64)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O
    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 79
//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z  (91)
    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 95
// (96)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O  // lower case instead
    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 111
//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z (123)                     // lower case instead
    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255  // 127
};
/* clang-format on */

//  Base32 decoding function.
vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; base32_decode(const string&amp;amp; base32)
{
    queue&amp;lt;int&amp;gt; q_rev;
    for (const char&amp;amp; c : base32)
    {
        if (c &amp;lt;= 49 || (c &amp;gt;= 56 &amp;amp;&amp;amp; c &amp;lt;= 64) || (c &amp;gt;= 91 &amp;amp;&amp;amp; c &amp;lt;= 96) || c &amp;gt;= 123)
        { //    Illegal lower case will be treat as upper case thanks to base32_reverse_map.
            if (c == '=') break;
        }
        else
        {
            q_rev.push(base32_reverse_map[(int)c]); //  Get integers of base32.
        }
    }
    queue&amp;lt;bool&amp;gt; q_bin;
    while (!q_rev.empty()) //   Transform the integers into bits and queue them up.
    {
        int now = q_rev.front(); // Get a integer from queue.
        q_rev.pop();
        stack&amp;lt;bool&amp;gt; sb;
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 5; i++) //  Push the bits of this integer into stack
        {                           //  5 bits into 1 group
            sb.push(now &amp;amp; 1);       //  Push the last bit of this integer into stack.
            now &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 1;              //  Flush the last bit.
        }
        while (!sb.empty()) //  Flush the bits of this integer into binary queue.
        {
            q_bin.push(sb.top()); //    Pop bits from stack into binary queue.
            sb.pop();
        }
    }
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; uc;
    while (!q_bin.empty()) //   Transform the bits into bytes.
    {
        int thehex = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; 8; i++) //  Read a byte from the bits queue.
        {
            if (q_bin.empty())
            {                     //    If the bits queue is empty now,
                thehex &amp;lt;&amp;lt;= 8 - i; //    set 0 on the last bits of a byte.
                break;
            }
            thehex &amp;lt;&amp;lt;= 1;                 //    Make the space for the new bit.
            thehex |= (int)q_bin.front(); //    Push this bit into byte.
            q_bin.pop();
        }
        uc.push_back((unsigned char)thehex);
    }

    if (uc.back() == 0) uc.pop_back();     //   TOTP may abandon last zero.
    if (uc.size() % 2 != 0) uc.pop_back(); //   TOTP may abandon odd res.
    return uc;
}

//  Get Unix Time.
time_t getUnixTime()
{
    return time(0);
}

//  Calculate the TOTP time signature.
time_t getTimeSign(int refreshPeriod, time_t specUnixTime)
{
    time_t outTime = specUnixTime / refreshPeriod;
    return outTime;
}

//  Transform time_t aka &amp;lt;long long&amp;gt; to bytes.
vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; llong2bytes(time_t tt)
{
    uint64_t value = static_cast&amp;lt;uint64_t&amp;gt;(tt);

    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; bytes(8);

    for (int i = 7; i &amp;gt;= 0; --i)
    {
        bytes[i] = static_cast&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt;(value &amp;amp; 0xFF);
        value &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 8;
    }

    return bytes;
}

//  Fast Exponentiation algorithm.
unsigned fastpow(unsigned base, unsigned index)
{
    if (index == 0) return 1;
    unsigned t = 1;
    while (index != 0)
    {
        if (index &amp;amp; 1) t *= base;
        index &amp;gt;&amp;gt;= 1;
        base *= base;
    }
    return t;
}

//  Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.
std::string hash_to_TOTP(const unsigned char* hmac, unsigned int length, int digit)
{
    int offset = hmac[length - 1] &amp;amp; 0x0F;

    uint32_t bin_code = ((hmac[offset]     &amp;amp; 0x7F) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 24) |
                        ((hmac[offset + 1] &amp;amp; 0xFF) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 16) |
                        ((hmac[offset + 2] &amp;amp; 0xFF) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 8)  |
                        ( hmac[offset + 3] &amp;amp; 0xFF);

    uint32_t mod = 1;
    for (int i = 0; i &amp;lt; digit; ++i) mod *= 10;

    uint32_t otp = bin_code % mod;

    std::ostringstream oss;
    oss &amp;lt;&amp;lt; std::setw(digit) &amp;lt;&amp;lt; std::setfill('0') &amp;lt;&amp;lt; otp;
    return oss.str();
}

std::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(const std::string&amp;amp; secret)
{
    return GenerateTOTP(6, 30, HMAC_SHA1, secret, getUnixTime());
}

std::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string&amp;amp; secret, int specTime)
{
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; h_msg = llong2bytes(getTimeSign(refreshSeconds, specTime)); //    Get current time signature and transform time_t aka &amp;lt;long long&amp;gt; to bytes.
    vector&amp;lt;unsigned char&amp;gt; h_key = base32_decode(secret); // Transform base32 encoded secret key to decoded bytes.

    unsigned char* out_hmac = new unsigned char[algorithm]; //  Perform openssl function to calculate HMAC-SHA1 hash.
    unsigned int   out_hmac_length;
    const JEVP_MD* emd;
    emd = JEVP_sha1();
    JHMAC(emd, h_key.data(), (int)h_key.size(), h_msg.data(), (int)h_msg.size(), out_hmac, &amp;amp;out_hmac_length);

    string fine = hash_to_TOTP(out_hmac, out_hmac_length, digit);
    delete[] out_hmac;

    return fine; // Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.
}

std::string TOTP::currentTOTP()
{
    return GenerateTOTP(digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm, secret, getUnixTime());
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76104&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
					<link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#comments" thr:count="4" />
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			<thr:total>4</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Are You *Really* The Doctor? by Matthew Hutchinson ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-are-you-really-the-doctor-by-matthew-hutchinson/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76754</id>
		<updated>2026-10-17T11:26:13Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-17T11:34:57Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="NHS" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="racism" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A few months ago, I went to see Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC - it&#039;s about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.  Much like Adam Kay&#039;s &#34;This Is Going To Hurt&#34;, this is part…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-are-you-really-the-doctor-by-matthew-hutchinson/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/are-you-really-the-doctor.avif" alt="Book cover featuring a pair of crossed plasters in a dark brown colour." width="200" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few months ago, I went to see &lt;a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vbxx"&gt;Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC&lt;/a&gt; - it's about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Much like &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/01/book-review-this-is-going-to-hurt/"&gt;Adam Kay's "This Is Going To Hurt"&lt;/a&gt;, this is part biography, part rant about the NHS, and part humorous look at what it takes to be a modern doctor. Hutchinson's book has rather less gallows humour and rather more racism.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The problems of racial inequality in the NHS aren't just focussed on patients; they're also reflected in the way staff are treated. Rather than just recounting all the abuse he's been subject to, the book takes a good look at the actual statistics. Of course, this makes for slightly grim reading at times, so the frequent injections of humour are most welcome.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The UK quite often seems in the shadow of larger cultures. As the book points out:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;This same issue is understudied in the UK – to the point where the absence of research is glaring. While we are clearly not just a little America, we aren’t so different that we can be confident we’re not replicating the same here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Because of that, at times the book does feel a little bit like the "&lt;a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/we-have-food-at-home"&gt;we have [racism] at home&lt;/a&gt;" meme.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's an almost relentlessly cheery irreverence to some of the issues - but what else can you do? Sometimes it takes a good dose of comedy to cut through the bleakness. There's a slight streak of ageism within the book - especially when it comes to older doctors trying to use new technology. Although, to be fair, that was also my experience when working at NHSX. There are some people within the system who are desperate for it to remain preserved in aspic as even minor improvements are a threat to their position in the hierarchy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A minor grumble, the problem I have with books like this - and with &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/05/review-the-secret-barrister/"&gt;The Secret Barrister&lt;/a&gt; - is that a lot of the moaning about how hard it is to become a professional doctor / lawyer just generates a giant shrug from me. Every piece of medical media in the last 50 years talks about how bone-crunchingly hard it is. All I can think of is "none of this should be coming as a surprise to you!" Should it be easier (and less sleep depriving) to be a doctor? Sure! But given it isn't, perhaps dial down on the clichés of how uniquely awful your &lt;em&gt;chosen&lt;/em&gt; career is.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The book isn't just a list of complaints, of course, everything is backed up with statistics (although unreferenced). Thankfully, the book ends with some practical suggestions of how the NHS can improve. It would certainly be interesting to read a version of this from 2046 to see how much has changed - given the improvements already bearing fruit, I'd hope that the UK health service would become much less racist over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76754&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>2</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Africa Is Not A Country - Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin ★★★★⯪]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72594</id>
		<updated>2026-10-04T21:30:46Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-16T11:34:14Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="africa" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It&#039;s hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.  It starts in the best way possible:  [Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree,…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/9781473593435-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover showing the various countries of Africa." width="326" height="500" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72595"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It starts in the best way possible:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;[Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree, or the relationship between the donkey and the ant that surprisingly speaks to grand gestures of valour. Sign it off: Ancient African proverb]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How many times have you seen that? Think about all the tropes played out in every Hollywood movie set vaguely in Africa - would you accept the same stereotypes about &lt;em&gt;your&lt;/em&gt; continent?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And yet, it does rely a little too much about &lt;em&gt;internalised&lt;/em&gt; stereotypes:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;The point is: there are a lot of people in Lagos. None of them are shy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there's at least one introvert in Lagos who cringes every time people expect them to be boisterous!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The horrors and complexities of colonisation and its aftermath are on display for all to see. In many way, much like cryptobros discovering why banking regulations exist, some African countries are speed-running Europe's history of bloody internecine warfare and mad kings. A predilection that some parts of Europe (and America) are still struggling to move past.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think it could have benefited from just a few maps or illustrations. I also found some of the language a little… infantilising? The way he capitalises certain phrases like "These Powerful Men In The Capital" felt to me a little out of place. That said, there's some excellent caustic humour and some quite beautiful prose.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In the end, it shows that while Africa is not a country, the stories are often of different countries tackling the same problems in the same ways. [Insert something about everyone's hearts beating to the rhythm of an African drum, while an elephant wanders into an impossibly huge sunset.]&lt;/p&gt;
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			<thr:total>0</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Internet of Very Cheap Things]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75776</id>
		<updated>2026-09-27T21:28:30Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-14T11:34:08Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Internet Of Things" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="IoT" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="SmartHome" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Twelve years ago, I was complaining that IoT devices were too expensive.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.  While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore&#039;s Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.  This blog posts compares today&#039;s prices with those from a little …]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/">&lt;p&gt;Twelve years ago, I was &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/09/the-internet-of-expensive-things/"&gt;complaining that IoT devices were too expensive&lt;/a&gt;.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore's Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This blog posts compares today's prices with those from a little over a decade ago. Some of the changes are startling, others less so. I'm basing the prices on what a customer can easily get today from Amazon. Yes, AliExpress is cheaper - but delivery takes and age and returns are a faff. Also, I get delicious affiliate revenue when you click the links which allows me to buy more tech crap to review. Everyone's a winner!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to cool people who read HTML comments.

Part of this post is me justifying to myself that ****maybe**** it is OK to spend some money on some fancy new gadgets. I'm lucky that companies occasionally send me stuff to review - but there are only so many thermal cameras a boy can eat, you know?

Running this blog is lots of fun - but the steady drip of affiliate revenue is a great motivator. It isn't life-changing sums, but it helps pay for hosting etc - so I don't feel /too/ guilty for shoving those Amazon links in everywhere.

While you're here, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;h2 id="door-window-sensors"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#door-window-sensors"&gt;Door / Window Sensors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't know how many doors and windows you have in your property - we have about fifteen, not including internal doors and cupboards. Back then a single sensor cost around £30. Today you can get &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B02mpa9ff"&gt;Zigbee door sensors&lt;/a&gt; for between £15 - £30 &lt;em&gt;for a pack of four&lt;/em&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Prices are at least quartered. Do you &lt;em&gt;need&lt;/em&gt; a sensor on every cupboard door or drawer? It is useful to be able to check your phone to see if the toilet seat is up or down? These are reaching the price where you might as well hook them up to anything.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="lightbulbs"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#lightbulbs"&gt;Lightbulbs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hue's WiFi lightbulbs were about fifty-quid each. Again, count the number of lights you need in your home and run to your bank-manager for an overdraft!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Today, &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B09UCBQh1"&gt;Hue Bulbs are about £16 each&lt;/a&gt;. That's a pretty steep drop. If you want generic &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B042fOMp3"&gt;Zigbee Bulbs&lt;/a&gt; you can expect to pay a tenner each. That's down to a fifth of the price from 2014. If you're happy buying from AliExpress, they're usually under a fiver.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="smart-electrical-sockets"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#smart-electrical-sockets"&gt;Smart Electrical Sockets&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's useful to be able to remotely control a power socket. It used to be the case they'd cost £30 per plug. Nowadays &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B06WYAKty"&gt;smart plugs are about £7.50&lt;/a&gt;. These ones come with energy monitoring and will easily integrate with HomeAssistant and other smarthome controllers.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's still a limit to the things which can be directly controlled from a socket. That said, I'm love my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/11/building-an-alexa-powered-electric-blanket/"&gt;IoT Electric Blanket&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="bluetooth-finders"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#bluetooth-finders"&gt;Bluetooth Finders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The dream is to have a magic tag stuck on everything you might lose. Back in 2014, we thought iBeacons / Eddystones would win out. Sadly that dream died and instead we're stuck with proprietary "Find My" networks from Google and Apple.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The iBeacons were about a tenner each back then. &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0ehVOGpF"&gt;Today they're £5 - £10 each&lt;/a&gt; depending on the features you want. That's still not cheap enough to attach to every sock - but there's no excuse for losing your keys, wallet, bag, or spouse again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly they don't use an open standard, so you'll need a Google or Apple account to use them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="nfc-tags"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#nfc-tags"&gt;NFC Tags&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I still prefer QR codes (free!) to NFC, but I concede they do have their uses. Their capacity and features are much the same as they were a decade ago, but prices have dropped from about 75p per tag &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B09WNLkdw"&gt;down to about 10p-20p per tag&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At that price, it's just about cheap enough to stick them in every book you own or sew them into all your underpants. Quite &lt;em&gt;why&lt;/em&gt; you'd want to do that is left as an exercise for the reader.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="internet-fridge"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#internet-fridge"&gt;Internet Fridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You know what, I didn't bother looking at the actual cost of an Internet Fridge all those years ago. But earlier this year I got a WiFi enabled tumble dryer. It was as cheap as all the other models and means I can shout "ALEXA! MAKE DRY!" then receive a notification from HomeAssistant when the dry is fully maked.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I hope my next fridge comes with a sensor that alerts me if the door is left open or the freezer is getting too warm. That would be handy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0eRlU9jW"&gt;cost of an ESP32&lt;/a&gt; is basically a rounding error for most large appliances, especially when bought in bulk. If it uses electricity, it is probably trivial to add WiFi and Bluetooth.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-next"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#whats-next"&gt;What's Next?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's probably a realistic limit to how low prices can go while the products still remain safe and durable. For smaller items that appears to be between a fiver in bulk direct from China to about a tenner sourced from a mainstream UK supplier.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For domestic appliances, there doesn't seem to be any significant extra cost. Take a look at these &lt;a href="https://markselectrical.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/heat-pump?sort=price"&gt;heat pump tumble dryers&lt;/a&gt; - even the cheapest of them comes with an app.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are a few bits of my home which haven't yet been given their own IP address - although they're mostly towards the mechanical side of things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Locks

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;There are some &lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B0gkcYQHT"&gt;smart-locks for doors&lt;/a&gt;. I've not seen any for windows. I'm not sure how well I'd trust their security.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Opening / Closing Mechanisms

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;It's a cold day, how do I get my windows to automatically close? Would involved either running wiring everywhere or constantly recharging batteries.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Drawing Curtains

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://link.amazon/B01XlBC1d"&gt;These do exist&lt;/a&gt;! But are mainly for blinds. Again, power requirements make this a bit more difficult.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cooking

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have a &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/03/receive-push-notifications-from-your-rice-cooker/"&gt;smart rice cooker&lt;/a&gt;. For everything else, I have to rely on an Alexa beep-detector to know when my kitchen needs attention.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Water Pipes

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I already have a basic leak detector and a smart meter for gas / electric. How about &lt;a href="https://watergate.ai/"&gt;a smart water meter&lt;/a&gt;? Not sure I want to start sawing into my plumbing though!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h2 id="but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1"&gt;But I Don't Want To Live In A Smarthome 😡&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Literally no one is forcing you. If you don't want your TV to spy on you, it'll work just fine if you don't connect it to your WiFi.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you like getting out of bed to make sure you switched off the downstairs lights, that option is still available to you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no law which says you have to connect your solar panels to the web - but I like seeing exciting graphs each day.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I cannot pre-heat my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/04/toilet-review-better-bathrooms-_27403/"&gt;smart toilet seat&lt;/a&gt;, nor can I change the bidet's water pressure from my phone. That's &lt;em&gt;probably&lt;/em&gt; a good thing?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But I &lt;em&gt;like&lt;/em&gt; gadgets! Sure, some of them are crappy - but I find it fun to get them working with HomeAssistant. Might they get hacked and send all my data to Arstotzka? Meh, they're all on a separate LAN and are connected to things which are unlikely to burn down my house. Might I wake up one day and find that the machine has stopped and my ability to draw my own curtains has atrophied? That's a chance I'm willing to take.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The practical advantage I get from being about to check my security cameras on my phone from the other side of the planet is worth the theoretical risks.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I wonder what other domestic gadgetry will fall prey to the irresistible lure of cheap connectivity?&lt;/p&gt;
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			<thr:total>7</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: The Thousand Deaths of Romeo and Juliet - Caroline Finch ★★★★★]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-the-thousand-deaths-of-romeo-and-juliet-caroline-finch/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76683</id>
		<updated>2026-10-13T10:00:03Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-13T11:34:37Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="NetGalley" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="shakespeare" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn&#039;t literally true, but it is literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross&#039;d lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?  The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable.…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-the-thousand-deaths-of-romeo-and-juliet-caroline-finch/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/randj.webp" alt="Book cover." width="200" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn't literally true, but it &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross'd lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable. You've probably watched Romeo sup poison a hundred times. It is &lt;em&gt;inevitable&lt;/em&gt; that Juliet will take her own life in response. Horrific! Yet, not only do you refuse to look away, you gleefully seek it out for another viewing. There's a reason why Tony and Maria cannot escape their destinies in West Side Story - something more than fate is pushing them onto a path that will accept no deviation. The only way through is, of course, death.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Thousand Deaths starts slowly - the first "act" felt like an excuse to retell the classic tale in a new setting. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and it is suffused with lovely writing - but it felt a bit "so what?"&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And then they die.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As the acts progress and they get closer to the their thousandth death the pace picks up. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, packed with allusions and references for the careful reader (more on that later). The story is heartbreaking - as well you know - and the author has the perfect knack of keeping her characters on just the right side of histrionics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'd sort of classify this as &lt;em&gt;almost&lt;/em&gt; romantasy. There's an undercurrent of sci-fi and fantasy which can't be ignored - but you can also hear the stirring of the violins in the background. Our hero and heroine come together and are violently broken apart for our insatiable entertainment. Do we care about whether that's good for them? What does it feel like to be a Mercutio forever used as a pawn-sacrifice? Does Tybalt resent his forcible reincarnation into a perpetual baddie? Are we culpable for insisting that they strut upon an endless stage just so we can wipe tears from our eyes?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The book builds to a fine crescendo. It is heartfelt and &lt;em&gt;utterly&lt;/em&gt; tragic. The ending will, I suspect, divide people. I found it mostly satisfactory and completely in keeping with the rest of the story.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One final thing - the end notes are &lt;em&gt;superb&lt;/em&gt;. They go through all the references you might have missed, explain where certain phrases came from, and point the curious reader to the books which were an inspiration. Too many authors treat their literary allusions as a precious puzzle and jealously guard them. I'm delighted that Caroline Finch is generous enough to share her secrets with us.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Many thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. The book will be released in 2027 - I strongly recommend putting it on your pre-order list.&lt;/p&gt;
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			<thr:total>0</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[I paid people to try and follow my README]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/i-paid-people-to-try-and-follow-my-readme/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76333</id>
		<updated>2026-10-10T07:24:50Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-11T11:34:39Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityBot" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityPub" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="developers" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain&#039;t no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That&#039;s no way to treat our users.  I naïvely believe there&#039;s a better way. As I&#039;ve written before, you should sit down and actually test your …]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/i-paid-people-to-try-and-follow-my-readme/">&lt;p&gt;Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain't no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That's no way to treat our users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I naïvely believe there's a better way. As I've written before, you should sit down and &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; test your readme&lt;/a&gt;. Spin up a fresh Virtual Machine, go through what you've written, and see if it makes sense.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But it is &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; hard to ignore your own biases. Of course you know that certain commands require &lt;code&gt;sudo&lt;/code&gt; and obviously when you wrote &lt;code&gt;-foo&lt;/code&gt; you meant &lt;code&gt;--foo&lt;/code&gt; and everyone knows that you have to reboot afterwards.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How do you get rid of those biases? I paid people!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/"&gt;NLnet grant application for ActivityBot&lt;/a&gt;, I said I wanted to test the install experience with real users and I was prepared to pay them €25 for an hour of their time. I stuck out the call on Mastodon, gathered a few people, and had a video call with them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The format was simple. I explained that I was looking for feedback on the first-run experience. I knew that it wasn't perfect and actively wanted constructive criticism. I asked the volunteer to share their screen and, crucially, to speak aloud. Tell me what they were doing. What they didn't understand, what confused them, what delighted them, what frustrated them, etc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I took notes by hand (fuck feeding the machine) and spent several hours being told what incorrect assumptions I'd made.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Amongst the highlights I discovered were:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The link to the demo tool was wrong.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Some people read a README in the terminal.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What does it actually mean to rename a file?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How do you rename a hidden file?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Should a demo tool be available on the web or just the user's local machine?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Why does some text explicitly need to be quoted and some not?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;My jokes aren't funny and are actively confusing.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Some of the technical terminology needed explaining.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The ordering of the different sections was confusing.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I hadn't actually explained what the software would do.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A whole section which was technically interesting to me was utterly confusing to everyone else.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Not all web servers use permissions in the same way.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And on it went!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After each session I updated the README based on what people found difficult, then I re-tested it with the next person.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In total, I paid out around €150 to have a bunch of people criticise me to my face. Hey, cheaper than therapy, right?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know someone is going to say "why not just ask an LLM to simulate a range of users?" The answer is very simple - I want to speak to real people. People are brilliant! They can make you laugh, you can see their cat when it wanders on to the call, they bring a unique perspective to the problem, and they're really happy when you give them a €25 voucher. Some will gladly do it for free and make &lt;em&gt;you&lt;/em&gt; happy!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--👋👋👋👋👋👋👋 Welcome to Comment Club! Shhhh! Only cool people can read this bit of the post.

I did have a serious think about using an LLM for this. Ethics aside (and you can never really put ethics aside) I just didn't feel like I could trust their judgement. I get the argument that it is not much different from using a spellcheck - but I fundamentally don't want to feed the beast.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

Be seeing you 👌👁
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When I was doing technical writing for GOV.UK, all my beautiful prose was given a second-eye by another human. They eviscerated all my flowery phrases and turned the document into something more readable. They were the ones who caught the mistakes that no spell chequer could. They were able to have a proper conversation with me. More importantly, I could &lt;em&gt;hear&lt;/em&gt; the frustration in their voice - that's the thing which lets you know a mistake needs to be corrected.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don't claim that &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/blob/main/README.md?ref_type=heads"&gt;ActivityBot's README&lt;/a&gt; is now perfect - far from it - but it is now demonstrably easier to follow. Developers need to talk to &lt;em&gt;real&lt;/em&gt; people. You don't have to pay them if you can't afford it - but find a few people who will talk aloud while they try to follow your instructions. I guarantee you that your README will become much better for it.&lt;/p&gt;
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			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Some quick thoughts on Unit Testing ActivityPub]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75774</id>
		<updated>2026-10-10T12:01:12Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-10T11:34:15Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityBot" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="ActivityPub" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PHP" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;ll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of &#34;Test Driven Development&#34;. I&#039;m much more of a &#34;telnet into production and damn the consequences&#34; kind of guy. Look, it&#039;s much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.  The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:   Feed a function some data See how it responds   Send it good data and if it returns…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/">&lt;p&gt;I'll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of "Test Driven Development". I'm much more of a "telnet into production and damn the consequences" kind of guy. Look, it's much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Feed a function some data&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;See how it responds&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Send it good data and if it returns "true" the test passes. Send it bad data and make sure it returns false. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of my &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/"&gt;NLnet funded work on ActivityBot&lt;/a&gt;, I'm writing some proper tests for my bot framework. I am hopeful that some of them will be useful to other projects doing similar things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are four major classes of tests - here are the problems I've found while writing them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="basic-text-validation"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#basic-text-validation"&gt;Basic text validation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A basic test might be how to validate that an ActivityPub username is valid. Typically it would be something like &lt;code&gt;@edent@mastodon.social&lt;/code&gt; - what assumptions do we make with that? It starts with an &lt;code&gt;@&lt;/code&gt; and has another &lt;code&gt;@&lt;/code&gt; somewhere in it, dividing into two parts, the user and the server.  The server has to be a valid domain name - but that can include non-ASCII Internationalised Domain Names and Emoji domains.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What about the user part? Is it just A-Z and 0-9? Can it have dots? What about apostrophes like an email address?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Basically, how easy is it find the specifications for all the various component parts of ActivityPub? Not very!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="message-validation"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#message-validation"&gt;Message validation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What does a &lt;a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7033/"&gt;WebFinger response&lt;/a&gt; look like? Which parts are mandatory and what values can they contain?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With any message that your project generates, how can you be sure that other ActivityPub servers will understand it?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similarly, when we receive a follow message from an external server, what should it look like?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are some &lt;a href="https://github.com/steve-bate/fediverse-jsonschema"&gt;JSON Schemas&lt;/a&gt; which can be used to validate some type of messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But, again, there are &lt;em&gt;many&lt;/em&gt; scattered specifications.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="signature-verification"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#signature-verification"&gt;Signature verification&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've written about before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/a-reasonably-practical-guide-to-validating-rfc-9421-http-signatures-for-activitypub-in-php/"&gt;HTTP Signatures are difficult&lt;/a&gt;. There are two main problems. The first is verifying signatures.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In order to do that, you need to gather a bunch of signatures and then find a way to replay them into the test. So I'm in the process of saving signatures which I can then share with others.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The second problem is &lt;em&gt;generating&lt;/em&gt; signatures.  Sure, you can run tests on the signatures - but there's only one &lt;em&gt;real&lt;/em&gt; way to test whether they're acceptable…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="communicating-with-others"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#communicating-with-others"&gt;Communicating with others&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Passing tests means nothing if you can't communicate with others and they can't communicate with you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some tests are easier than others. Sending a signed request should be easy and repeatable. But receiving messages isn't easily automated. It requires being able to control an external server and asking that to send messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With the &lt;a href="https://docs.joinmastodon.org/client/intro/"&gt;Mastodon API&lt;/a&gt; it is possible to make requests which will interact with your server - but only if it is a &lt;em&gt;public&lt;/em&gt; server.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="putting-it-all-together"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#putting-it-all-together"&gt;Putting it all together&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm putting &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests?ref_type=heads"&gt;all my tests online&lt;/a&gt;. I'm also sharing a &lt;a href="https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests/headers?ref_type=heads"&gt;collection of messages and signatures&lt;/a&gt; which you can use in your tests.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'd love to know if you find them useful.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75774&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Concert Review: London Voices - Video Games Go Choral ★★★★☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/concert-review-london-voices-video-games-go-choral/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76517</id>
		<updated>2026-10-09T17:02:16Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-09T11:34:09Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gaming" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gig" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[London&#039;s musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.  The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an a cappella…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/concert-review-london-voices-video-games-go-choral/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Video_Games_Go_Choral.webp" alt="A choir stands in front of a video game background." width="256" height="256" class="alignleft"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;London's musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an &lt;i lang="it"&gt;a cappella&lt;/i&gt; chorus absolutely soar.  The choir of London Voices have sung on &lt;a href="https://www.london-voices.com/films-gaming"&gt;just about every movie you've watched and game you've played&lt;/a&gt; - so they're no stranger to more modern compositions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The programme strictly alternated between songs from popular games are some more traditional verses. As a tone-deaf musical ignoramus, I found some of the pieces hard to distinguish from each other and, perhaps, just a little repetitive. Delightfully, the choir is generous with its solos. Far too often these events have one main star while everyone else glares daggers at them. Here it seemed quite the opposite, with a range of voices brought to the forefront.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Parts of the programme are a little odd. While Pilentze Pee is an incredible song and sung extremely well, I don't think there's much to tie it to The Wind Waker. Of course, the highlight was a cheeky rendition of "Still Alive" from Portal. An excellent arrangement sung with joy and gusto.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;An eclectic and interesting event, marred only by the uncomfortable pews of the church. Truly we must suffer for other people's art!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe title="London Voices: Video Games Go Choral Trailer" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WfhgC6G9EIg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
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			<thr:total>0</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Theatre Review: Hay Fever at Wyndham's Theatre ★★★★⯪]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75989</id>
		<updated>2026-10-08T11:49:33Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-08T11:34:40Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;m a theatrical cheapskate. I&#039;m on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I&#039;ll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I&#039;ll splash out and pay full price.  When the email landed…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/">&lt;p&gt;I'm a theatrical cheapskate. I'm on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I'll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I'll splash out and pay full price.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When the email landed in my inbox that Richard E. Grant (!!) and Christine Baranski (!!!) would be performing Noël Coward's Hay Fever, I booked instantly. Yes, it's nice to see up-and-coming stars playing in a grimy basement, but sometimes you want 100% star power burning up the stage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--  
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This snippet of bonus content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.

I'm trying to work out how many Doctors Who I've seen on stage or met. Apparently I saw Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge when I was a wee lad. I met Tom Baker at a signing. I've twice seen Paul McGann (including once *as* The Doctor). I saw David Tennant in the Scottish Play. Matt Smith and I attended UEA at the same time so I *guess* we probably bumped in to each other in the drama studio or pub. I saw Jodie Whittaker in Duchess of Malfi. And now I've seen Richard E. Grant who is canonically both the 9th and 10th Doctor.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
 --&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hayfever.webp" alt="Richard E. Grant and Christine Baranski." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It was magnificent. The script stills draws gasps of outrage from the audience. The zingers ping around the stage. Baranski's matriarch channels her inner diva and dominates the stage while Lucy Karczewski subtlety undercuts all the pomposity thrown around.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The whole cast is superb, although perhaps a little under-rehearsed. The script is so tight that the few slips there were put a little brake on the frenetic pace. The set, costuming, and directorial deviations from the script are all perfectly in service of merriment.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know the play is over a century old (!) but the wit is timeless. In a West End awash with Serious Plays dealing with Important Issues, it is delightfully refreshing to see something so silly and inconsequential. There's no deep trauma or challenging material, just the fascination of watching truly appalling manners. About the only content warning needed is for the copious smoking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There is some interesting metatextuality having Sandy and Jackie played by non-white actors. Are the Bliss family so unbearably rude to them out of racism? It's certainly one reading of the script - and some of the lines certainly hint in that direction - but it could equally be their social standing which the Blisses find so distasteful. That's about as close as the production gets to modern social commentary.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I wanted light-hearted fluff performed by A-List actors - Hay Fever delivers just that. Noël Coward has an immortal ability to collapse an audience into helpless giggles, ably assisted by Emily Burns' inspired direction.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/#pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;Pre-show and Post-show&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/"&gt;I've written about before&lt;/a&gt;, when people are paying West End prices, they deserve to feel like they're a valued guest - not cattle to be farmed.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the run up to the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/"&gt;Race For Space concert&lt;/a&gt; I attended the week before, I got regular emails letting me know about the performance, how excited the band were, and the like. Despite paying considerably more for a ticket, Wyndham's didn't send me anything. If I didn't have a reminder in my diary, I would have forgotten this show existed. I'm not saying I want a bombardment of emails - but a few messages to build excitement wouldn't go amiss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wyndham's Theatre is old - from an age where no one ever contemplated going to the loo, apparently. The gents are paltry and, to be frank, stank. The seating was well raked, allowing brilliant views - although the seats themselves were a bit tired and uncomfortable. Unlike other theatres, there was free WiFi which was good enough for uploading the obligatory selfie.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pre-curtain there was period appropriate music. Charmingly the "please turn off your phones" announcement was &lt;em&gt;also&lt;/em&gt; period appropriate. Much nicer than being shouted at by ushers. A special shout out to the glorious fire curtain - I won't spoil the surprise 😄&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The programme was not too expensive at a fiver and full of content - rather than the usual explosion of adverts. Oddly, the theatre was also selling Hay Fever merchandise. I'm not sure how many people are desperate for a souvenir magnet of the cast…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wyndham's certain do more than the base minimum - and it is a pity that is so notable. A pair of tickets in the stalls cost the same as a &lt;em&gt;year&lt;/em&gt; of Netflix. Yes, seeing the stars in person is magical, and live theatre is exciting, and a laughing crowd elevates your enjoyment - but the toilets at home are nicer and the snacks are cheaper. Theatres need to deliver much more if they want to keep attracting new audiences.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75989&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>1</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Una Watch - SDK and Writing Your First App]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76095</id>
		<updated>2026-10-17T10:10:32Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-06T11:34:25Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="c++" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="programming" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I don&#039;t know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I&#039;ve said before you need to actually test your readme.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.  So here&#039;s how to go from zero to your first &#34;Hello, World!&#34; Glance app with the minimum of fuss.  This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.  …]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/">&lt;p&gt;I don't know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I've said before &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/"&gt;you need to &lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; test your readme&lt;/a&gt;.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So here's how to go from zero to your first "Hello, World!" Glance app with the minimum of fuss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="prerequisites"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#prerequisites"&gt;Prerequisites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This installs most of the tools you will need:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git python3 python3-pip cmake build-essential
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="stm32cubeclt"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#stm32cubeclt"&gt;STM32CubeCLT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Visit &lt;a href="https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html"&gt;https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html&lt;/a&gt; and download the Linux version of the tool. Inexplicably, you need to give your email address. I recommend giving a disposable one from &lt;a href="https://10minutemail.com/"&gt;https://10minutemail.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After downloading, unzip the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the command line, &lt;code&gt;cd&lt;/code&gt; into the directory containing the unzipped file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;chmod +x stm32cubeclt_*.sh
sudo ./stm32cubeclt_*.sh
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to agree to their licence. Just hit &lt;code&gt;y&lt;/code&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That installs everything in &lt;code&gt;/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to make that available to your PATH.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;export PATH="/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH"
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="clone-the-repo"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#clone-the-repo"&gt;Clone the repo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to copy &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/"&gt;the Una SDK&lt;/a&gt;. I keep my git repos in &lt;code&gt;~/git/&lt;/code&gt; - you will need the location of the directory later.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd ~/git/
git clone git@github.com:UNAWatch/una-sdk.git
cd una-sdk/
git submodule update --init ThirdParty/lvgl
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then update all the Python dependencies.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;export UNA_SDK="$PWD"
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
python3 -m pip install -r "$UNA_SDK/Utilities/Scripts/app_packer/requirements.txt"
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="check-it-has-all-worked"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#check-it-has-all-worked"&gt;Check it has all worked&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Paste this into your terminal. Check for any errors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;which arm-none-eabi-gcc || true
which cmake || true
which make || true
which python3 || true
python3 -m pip --version
arm-none-eabi-gcc --version || true
cmake --version || true
make --version || true
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="build-the-demo-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-the-demo-app"&gt;Build the demo app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If all of the above has worked, you should be able to build the demo app with:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd /tmp
mkdir -p MyAlarm
cp -r "$UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/Alarm/"* MyAlarm
mkdir -p MyAlarm/build
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -S MyAlarm/Software/Apps/Alarm-CMake -B MyAlarm/build
cmake --build MyAlarm/build
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="make-it-permanent"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#make-it-permanent"&gt;Make it permanent&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Store the paths permanently. If you put cloned the Una SDK to somewhere other than &lt;code&gt;~/git/&lt;/code&gt; you'll need to edit this next bit of code:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;echo 'export UNA_SDK="$HOME/git/una-sdk"' &amp;gt;&amp;gt; ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH="/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH"' &amp;gt;&amp;gt; ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;h2 id="build-a-glance-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-a-glance-app"&gt;Build a Glance app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the moment, the only way to build a GUI app is using the Windows only (Booooo!) TouchGFX&lt;sup id="fnref:windoze"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fn:windoze" class="footnote-ref" title="Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow LVGL which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find." role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;. So, instead, we'll make a "Hello World" glance. All it will do is draw some text.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The &lt;code&gt;GlanceFloors&lt;/code&gt; demo app is the simplest one to copy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/
cp -r  GlanceFloors/ GlanceHello
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Use an IDE or a text editor to open up the new GlanceHello directory.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Rename the directory &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake/&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Edit the file &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/CMakeLists.txt&lt;/code&gt; - specifically the &lt;code&gt;# App configuration&lt;/code&gt; section.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Change the &lt;code&gt;APP_NAME&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Change the &lt;code&gt;APP_USER_NAME&lt;/code&gt; to &lt;code&gt;Hello&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For a demo, you can leave the &lt;code&gt;DEV_ID&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;APP_ID&lt;/code&gt; as their default values.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="minimum-viable-app"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#minimum-viable-app"&gt;Minimum viable app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will need to edit two more files.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Header/Service.hpp&lt;/code&gt; remove the following lines:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-CPP"&gt;SDK::Sensor::Connection mSensorFloors;
uint32_t                mFloorsValue;
bool                    mDataReceived;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then save the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Edit &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Source/Service.cpp&lt;/code&gt; and replace its entire contents with this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-CPP"&gt;#include "Service.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp"
#include "SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp"

Service::Service(SDK::Kernel &amp;amp;kernel)
    : mKernel(kernel)
    , mGlanceUI()
    , mGlanceTitle()
    , mGlanceValue()
{}

Service::~Service(){}

void Service::run()
{
    while (true) {
        SDK::MessageBase *msg;
        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {
            continue;
        }

        switch (msg-&amp;gt;getType()) {

            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:
                if (configGui()) {
                    createGuiControls();
                } else {
                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);
                }
                break;

            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:
            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:
                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
                return;
                break;

            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:
                onGlanceTick();
                break;

            default:
                break;
        }

        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);
    }
}

void Service::onGlanceTick()
{
    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {
        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
            upd-&amp;gt;name           = APP_NAME;
            upd-&amp;gt;controls       = mGlanceUI.data();
            upd-&amp;gt;controlsNumber = static_cast&amp;lt;uint32_t&amp;gt;(mGlanceUI.size());
            upd.send(100);
        }

        mGlanceUI.setValid();
}
}

bool Service::configGui()
{
    bool status = false;
    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg&amp;lt;SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig&amp;gt;(mKernel)) {
        if (gc.send(100) &amp;amp;&amp;amp; gc.ok()) {
            if (gc-&amp;gt;maxControls &amp;gt;= 3) {
                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc-&amp;gt;width);
                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc-&amp;gt;height);
                status = true;
            }
        }
    }
    return status;
}

void Service::createGuiControls()
{
    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)
        .setText("Hello, World!")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();
    mGlanceValue.pos({ 0, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })
        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)
        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_WHITE)
        .setText("I know C++")
        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);
}
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Save the file.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="compile-it"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#compile-it"&gt;Compile it&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the command line&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-bash"&gt;cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -S . -B build
cmake --build build
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It should finish with a success message of &lt;code&gt;[100%] Built target GlanceHelloApp&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="copying-it-to-your-watch"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#copying-it-to-your-watch"&gt;Copying it to your watch&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Plug your watch into your computer with a USB-C cable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;On your computer, open the watch's filesystem.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Open the &lt;code&gt;Apps&lt;/code&gt; directory.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Create a new directory.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Name the new directory with the string of characters from the &lt;code&gt;APP_ID&lt;/code&gt; which is set in &lt;code&gt;CMakeLists.txt&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The app is stored in &lt;code&gt;GlanceHello/Output/&lt;/code&gt; and will be called &lt;code&gt;Hello_1.5.0-rc5.uapp&lt;/code&gt; or similar.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Copy the &lt;code&gt;.uapp&lt;/code&gt; file from your computer to the directory you just created on the watch.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Eject the watch.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Unplug the cable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Restart the watch by pressing the "Up" button until you get to "Power Off", then press "Select", then press "Select" again.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Turn the watch on by holding down "Select".&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Once the watch has fully restarted, press the "Down" button until you see the "Hello" glance.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If it has worked, you should see something like this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cpp.webp" alt="A watch displaying &amp;quot;Hello World&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;I know C++&amp;quot;. The latter if off centre because I don't know C++." width="1926" height="2048" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hurrah! Treat yourself to a beer 🍻&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:windoze"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow &lt;a href="https://lvgl.io/"&gt;LVGL&lt;/a&gt; which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fnref:windoze" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76095&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>0</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[[RSS Club] Changes to the RSS and Atom feeds]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76276</id>
		<updated>2026-10-04T19:41:02Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-05T11:34:03Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="RSS Club" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!  A few weeks ago I accidentally broke some of your feed readers. I was using &#60;![CDATA[ … ]]&#62; blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?  Anyway, if you&#039;ve a mind to, I&#039;d b…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/">&lt;p&gt;&lt;mark&gt;This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!&lt;/mark&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few weeks ago I accidentally &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/rss-club-sorry-for-breaking-your-feed-readers/"&gt;broke some of your feed readers&lt;/a&gt;. I was using &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;![CDATA[ … ]]&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Anyway, if you've a mind to, I'd be grateful if you &lt;a href="https://edent.tel/"&gt;let me know&lt;/a&gt; if this post does anything "weird" with your reader&lt;sup id="fnref:weird"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fn:weird" class="footnote-ref" title="I mean weirder than my usual stuff!" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This text should be &lt;strong&gt;bold&lt;/strong&gt; but this text &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;should not&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
And what about comments? Say, comments would be a nifty place to hide bonus content eh? 😉
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This text should be escaped &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;marquee&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; and should not cause your reader to scroll.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is an image of a mushroom cloud:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg" alt="A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb." width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the escaped version &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg" alt="A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb." width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter" /&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This should just be an ampersand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;&amp;amp;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And this should be ampersand, amp, and semicolon:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code class="language-_"&gt;&amp;amp;amp;
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a video embed that I like:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe title="The Rolling Stones - Mr Charm (Official Video)" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3e5LxvRZjVw?start=1&amp;amp;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there's all sorts of other odd stuff I could add, but this'll be a good start.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With thanks to &lt;a href="https://waspdev.com/articles/2026-05-11/avoid-using-cdata-in-rss"&gt;Suren Enfiajyan's article for the guidance&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:weird"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I mean weirder than my usual stuff!&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fnref:weird" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76276&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>0</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[My Pitch for the New Season of Doctor Who]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72702</id>
		<updated>2026-09-27T21:28:57Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-04T11:34:50Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Doctor Who" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[With the news that the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who, I thought I&#039;d write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I&#039;ve based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.  Do we really need another Spider-Man origin…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/">&lt;p&gt;With the news that &lt;a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/doctor-who-invitation-to-tender-september-2026/"&gt;the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who&lt;/a&gt;, I thought I'd write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I've based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do we really need another Spider-Man origin story? No. Do we need the umpteenth remake of "The Italian Job"? Boring! Why don't producers take a film which was &lt;em&gt;nearly&lt;/em&gt; a hit and see if a better director, crew, and cast can make it into something magical?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Let's apply the same thinking to Doctor Who.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.

This is a very silly post born out of some late night chats. To be honest, it has probably already been done in one of the Big Finish stories - but I don't have time to listen to all those. Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the (eventual) new series will be like.

Anyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My pitch is simple - remake some of the original stories which were let down by shoddy effects, naff music, indifferent direction, and hammy acting. There are loads of great stories which are stretched too thin over six episodes with clunky cliffhangers. So let's give them a fresh lick of paint, trim each story down to two episodes, and give them modern direction&lt;sup id="fnref:Whooooo"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fn:Whooooo" class="footnote-ref" title="To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:
&gt; Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use…" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One story from each of the original Doctors' run. But here's the twist - there's a different actor playing The Doctor for each story! The Doctor's companion stays the same throughout. As the ~14 episodes play out, The Doctor gradually becomes aware that some malevolent force is compelling them to relive their previous adventures.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Very roughly, this is what I'd do:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Web Planet - with Patrick Stewart as The Doctor. Imagine proper CGI ants! Menoptra floating through the air! It's fair to say &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/09/review-doctor-who-the-web-planet/"&gt;I disliked the original version&lt;/a&gt;, but it is easy to imagine how it &lt;em&gt;could&lt;/em&gt; work.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Fury From The Deep - with Miranda Hart. A fine story but with so-so delivery. The environmental angle would resonate well today.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Invasion of the Dinosaurs - with Sean Pertwee. Look, who else are you going to get to play him? The original story is probably the epitome of shoddy FX work! Everyone loves dinosaurs and having them rampage around the UK (rather than a spaceship) would be thrilling.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Talons of Weng-Chiang  - with Benedict Wong. Is it possible to rewrite this to be less racist? There's a great story to be told, but the original suffers from "yellowface".&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Earthshock - with Riz Ahmed. Time to get in a "classic baddie" with the Cybermen running rampage on a ship.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At this point, The Doctor realises who has been driving him through his past lives. Forcing him to confront his sins. Sending him mad through endless regenerations.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Adric.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Someone, or some&lt;em&gt;thing&lt;/em&gt;, has resurrected Adric. His "noble sacrifice" was little more than a suicide attempt after the relentless bullying by The Doctor and his companions. Driven to vengeance, he is determined to keep The Doctor trapped in a never-ending cycle of death and destruction.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol start="6"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Twin Dilemma - with Michaela Coel. A hugely problematic and violent story. As The Doctor realises her companion is a villain, can she keep her reactions under control? Should she?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Survival - with Alex Horne. The Doctor has to face not The Master but a furious Adric hellbent on purging the Universe of the Time Lords. All the strands of the previous stories come together in an epic climax.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Get J. Michael Straczynski to run the thing, a bunch of chiptune/electronica/glitch musicians to give each episode a unique sound, and - crucially - show it in autumn/winter. There's no point having scary sci-fi on when it is bright outside and people want to go out and play. This needs to be hug-your-mum-for-warmth-not-because-you're-scared TV.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Right, I'm off to the Beeb to deliver the pitch! TTFN.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:Whooooo"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use them, but we will want to begin to get an understanding of the original characters, aliens and themes that producers wish to bring to the show and are keen not to be overly reliant on existing Doctor Who lore. We are looking for a new perspective that ensures Doctor Who remains relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring for both long-standing fans and new audiences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fnref:Whooooo" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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			<thr:total>9</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Gadget Review: Una Watch ★★★★☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76031</id>
		<updated>2026-10-01T07:47:47Z</updated>
		<published>2026-10-02T11:34:48Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="UnaWatch" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#039;ve never been a huge fan of smart watches. My £16 smartwatch is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there&#039;s no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the eInk Watchy which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch.  So why did I pick up the Una Watch?  Firstly, the Una Watch is …]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/">&lt;p&gt;I've never been a huge fan of smart watches. My &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/"&gt;£16 smartwatch&lt;/a&gt; is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there's no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/06/review-watchy-an-eink-watch-full-of-interesting-compromises/"&gt;eInk Watchy&lt;/a&gt; which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/11/disassembling-the-mykronoz-zewatch-smart-watch/"&gt;MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So why did I pick up the Una Watch?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Firstly, the Una Watch is designed in Scotland &lt;del&gt;from girders&lt;/del&gt;, and it's always nice to support local businesses.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Secondly, as a &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/im-a-usb-c-maximalist/"&gt;USB-C Maximalist&lt;/a&gt; I want gadgets which can plug in to the same cables as all my other toys. No magnetic pucks here!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Thirdly, it is (almost) &lt;a href="https://unawatch.com/pages/open-source"&gt;completely open source&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, it is repairable. You can easily unscrew it to replace the components. As my cheap smartwatch's dial has died after 12 months of use, that's a pretty compelling proposition!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Let's put it through its paces!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="first-impressions"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#first-impressions"&gt;First Impressions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I bought mine second hand (yay for sustainability) and it arrived with a flat battery. The first charge from 0-100% took a little over an hour. My USB-C power monitor showed it taking in about 5V and 0.17 amps.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Charging.webp" alt="Power monitor showing 0.84W." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It happily charged from a PD plug, but didn't get any faster than about 0.84W. Basically, I can fully charge it on most public transport in London.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The time seemed accurate, there were options to play about with, the vibrations for notifications were easy to feel. There is an option to make it beep with every button press - I turned that off sharpish!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="disclaimer"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#disclaimer"&gt;Disclaimer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I am &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/"&gt;a smartwatch power user&lt;/a&gt;. I'm not using this to minutely track all my exercise or calculate if my heart is going to explode.  I don't need cm level precision of my GPS. I didn't sync this with Strava or anything else.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="apps"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#apps"&gt;Apps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The official Android app (which, sadly, isn't Open Source) worked fine on GrapheneOS. It found the watch, updated its GPS almanac, and let me browse the app store &amp;amp; install apps. Obviously early days, but there are a variety of community developed apps to play with.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/apps.webp" alt="List of apps." width="504" height="728" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly the watch needs to be restarted after every app is installed - but that only take a handful of seconds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Restart-watch.webp" alt="Message telling me the watch needs to restart." width="504" height="640" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are some &lt;em&gt;strange&lt;/em&gt; error messages.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/error-message.webp" alt="birthday must be a valid ISO 8601 date string country must be a valid ISO31661 Alpha2 code." width="504" height="426" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That isn't the sort of message which should be shown to users.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But, on the plus side, you can install Doom!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Doom.webp" alt="App store listing showing Doom on the watch." width="504" height="550" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;h2 id="the-screen"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#the-screen"&gt;The Screen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Oddly for a modern smartwatch, the screen stays on &lt;em&gt;all the time!&lt;/em&gt; But this isn't some power-hungry OLED, nor is it static eInk. Instead it is a &lt;a href="https://www.andersdx.com/memory-in-pixel-displays/"&gt;memory in pixel&lt;/a&gt; display - black background with orange, blue, and white pixels.  The backlight remains off most of the time and is easy enough to see in daylight. It is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; reflective - but not too bad.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Reflective.webp" alt="Watch showing notifications, there is a bit of a reflection." width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Note the &lt;code&gt;??&lt;/code&gt; on the notifications - more on that later.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, there's no "raise wrist to light" option. You have to interact with the watch to get the screen on. The accelerometer should allow this functionality - so perhaps it just needs to be activated in the firmware? It is bright enough to see in the dark, but not so bright it will dazzle you or people nearby.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no touchscreen - instead there are four buttons around the face. Up, down, select, back. I did find myself repeatedly jabbing at the screen to no avail.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So, to light it, press the back button or hold one of the other buttons.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The colour scheme is pleasant enough. I miss having a full colour display so I can see a photo of my wife whenever I glance at the screen. But the low power usage can't be argued with.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="notifications"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#notifications"&gt;Notifications&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I couldn't get notifications working at first. The app just refused to let me toggle them on. Eventually I found an app in the app-store which claimed to enable them. That didn't work either.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Unpairing, repairing, and reinstalling the app made them spring to life.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no notification history. Once you've clicked to read it, that's it. Gone forever. Considering this has 4GB storage, that's an odd decision.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some of the notifications were slightly corrupt - showing question marks in place of (I assume) esoteric Unicode.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Question-Mark-notification.webp" alt="A notification on screen with a question mark before the user's name." width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's no way to customise the vibrate pattern - so everything "feels" the same on your wrist.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the moment, the Una Watch sends &lt;em&gt;every&lt;/em&gt; notification to your phone. You can't tell it to ignore certain WhatsApp groups, or only allow text messages from your spouse.  The only way to get fine-grained notifications is with a third-party app like…&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="gadgetbridge"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#gadgetbridge"&gt;Gadgetbridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You're not tied to the official app. &lt;a href="https://gadgetbridge.org/gadgets/wearables/una/"&gt;Gadgetbridge support is excellent&lt;/a&gt;. There are a few things missing (you can't install apps or set alarms) - but if you want to measure your heart rate, send notifications, etc you'll be fine.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="linux-compatibility"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#linux-compatibility"&gt;Linux Compatibility&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Una Watch plugs in to USB-C and shows up as 3.5GB of exFAT formatted storage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Una-Filesystem.webp" alt="Filesystem view showing various JSON files." width="500" height="649" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can manually edit the JSON files if you like. I think you can copy off your workout data. Or you can just use it as portable storage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Under &lt;code&gt;lsusb&lt;/code&gt; it describes itself as &lt;code&gt;0483:52a4 STMicroelectronics UNA Watch&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="battery-life"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#battery-life"&gt;Battery Life&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After a full day of use the battery was at around 95% - that was with a bit of GPS, several notifications, heart rate monitoring, step counting, and a bunch of fiddling. With more GPS use, that's going to be heavier on the battery.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But the joy of USB-C is that I can thwack in the same cable as I use for all my other gadgets. I can even plug it into my phone and leach a bit of power from there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="development"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#development"&gt;Development&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The watch comes will a full &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk"&gt;Open Source SDK&lt;/a&gt; including lots of assets. There are several tutorials and a friendly community board.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Of course, everything has to be done in C++ - an accurs'd language which I learned in the last century and wish I'd forgotten.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, the &lt;a href="https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/blob/main/Docs/sdk-setup.md"&gt;TouchGFX GUI designer&lt;/a&gt; only works in Windows.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm going to try to build my own watch faces and a few niche apps.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="downsides"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#downsides"&gt;Downsides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are a few things this watch &lt;em&gt;doesn't&lt;/em&gt; do - some of these may be deal-breakers for you, but weren't for me.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No payments. There's no tap-to-pay, NFC, or anything like that.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No microphone. You cannot speak into your Una Watch or take calls on it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No speaker. There's a little buzzer which can make squeaks and squawks - but you won't be playing your music through it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;While the apps and SDK are fully open, the firmware isn't (yet).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Can't reply to notifications.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;No maps or directions (yet).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Step counter only shows the full day - no hour-by-hour view.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some of these things can and will be fixed in software. Others are limitations of the hardware.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="final-thoughts"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#final-thoughts"&gt;Final Thoughts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Una Watch has dropped in price to £180. I grabbed mine 2nd hand from eBay for £120. At either price, it's decent value &lt;em&gt;if&lt;/em&gt; you're happy to play with alpha / beta quality technology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you're a serious athlete, you'll probably want a more expensive and polished experience. If you are tied into the Apple or Google ecosystems, you'll probably want one of their watches.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you like tinkering, want to experiment with new technology, or simply want to support a British company trying to build something open - then this is the watch for you. Yes, there are some rough edges, but I fundamentally believe that technology should be Open Source, repairable, and give control to its users.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76031&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>4</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Are you a smartwatch "power user"?]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74267</id>
		<updated>2026-09-28T09:40:08Z</updated>
		<published>2026-09-30T11:34:26Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="android" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadgets" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="usability" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="watch" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[What do you use your smartwatch for?  A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He&#039;d ignored me when I said I had a non-Google watch.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/">&lt;p&gt;What do you use your smartwatch for?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He'd ignored me when I said I had &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/"&gt;a non-Google watch&lt;/a&gt;.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and contactless payments. He looked a bit crestfallen at his impromptu user-research participant and somewhat dismissively sneered, "Well, you're not exactly a power user, are you?"&lt;/p&gt;

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Honestly, this guy was *such* an arse. Really spoiled an otherwise lovely party. Like, I don't mind talking about people's work - but it seemed that was the only thing he was interested in talking about. He also seemed genuinely offended that I'd bought a non-Google watch and didn't want to hear why I liked it. Oh well, his loss!

OK, the three rules of comment club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
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Keep looking out for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm trying to imagine what being a "power user" of a watch is like. Can anyone enlighten me?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think smart-watches are much like Alexa. What the user &lt;em&gt;wants&lt;/em&gt; to do with it is almost totally at odds with what the company is selling. Alexæ are mostly kitchen timers, song players, and light switches. No one is a "power user" constantly installing skills and using it for anything which increases the product team's engagement metrics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The same is probably true of watches. Alerts are nifty - but cumbersome for replies. The health stuff is useful - but only for a subset of users. Seeing the time is great - but if the battery lasts less than a week, who wants to keep that screen on?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;People use watches because they are moderately more convenient to carry than the giant phones we have nowadays.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Back when mobile phones were new, exciting, and made a feature of being tiny, I was working for a network operator and trying to come up with reasons for people to use our brand-new 3G network. All the research we had showed that people used their phones for exactly three things:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Voice calls&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Text messages&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A third thing&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That "3rd thing" was varied. For some it was playing snake, for others it was a calendar, and a few took photos. But almost no-one used their phone beyond the basics. They weren't investigating the sub-menus, nor were they using most of their device's capability unless it was heavily advertised to them (ringtones, basically).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It took the industry a &lt;em&gt;huge&lt;/em&gt; amount of effort to get people to actually use their phones for more than calls and texts. Part of that was bigger screens with enticing icons (&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/04/give-customers-an-elevator-pitch-for-your-app/"&gt;although users will always be reluctant to click mysterious icons&lt;/a&gt;). Another part was that phones became genuinely useful. But perhaps the biggest change, I think, is that phones became &lt;em&gt;easy to use&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Watches have tiny screens. You can only get a few words of a message on there. Icons are tiny and hard to reliably tap. Swiping away at your wrist or fiddling with a crown is a faff. Talking into your wrist makes you look like a prat. Interacting with a smartwatch is &lt;strong&gt;annoying&lt;/strong&gt;. Why would anyone want to spend more time using it than is strictly necessary?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I'm sure there are some people out there browsing the web on their wrist, and sending endless voice-notes to their AI assistant, and setting up complex travel plans by tapping their nose on the screen, and installing new watch faces which always point to the nearest Dignitas clinic, and seeing what their heart-rate did during that last run, and tracking whether their menstrual cycle is synced to the phases of the moon, and hoping that tripping on the stairs didn't send an alert to the emergency services, and whatever else the team has cooked up to show that they're still innovating.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But I'll bet those "power users" are vastly outnumbered by people who are using a smartwatch for the limited set of actions which are useful to them; not to the manufacturer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perhaps the real power users have is the power to use a device on their own terms?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74267&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Bobiverse Books 1-3 by Dennis E. Taylor ★★★☆☆]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/book-review-bobiverse-books-1-3-by-dennis-e-taylor/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73671</id>
		<updated>2026-09-26T12:28:34Z</updated>
		<published>2026-09-28T11:34:52Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of Dungeon Crawler Carl, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It&#039;s campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.    Bob&#039;s brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/book-review-bobiverse-books-1-3-by-dennis-e-taylor/">&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bobiverse.webp" alt="Book covers for the Bobiverse series." width="275" height="225" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-73672"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/book-review-dungeon-crawler-carl-by-matt-dinniman/"&gt;Dungeon Crawler Carl&lt;/a&gt;, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It's campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.&lt;/p&gt;

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I kinda hate how quickly I devoured these books. They're sort of like a bowl of bland potato snacks which, nevertheless, you find yourself emptying into your gullet. There are so many *good* sci-fi books that I have no idea why I fixated on these? 

You are required to obey the three rules of comment club - which are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Bob's brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a spaceship to strange new worlds, put right what once went wrong, and hoping The Force will be with him, always. Oh, and he repeatedly clones himself. Creating a universe populated with Bobs (a "Bobiverse" if you will)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's your standard "only I, a slightly geeky guy with lots of pop-culture knowledge, can save the world" fare which is beloved by slightly geeky guys everywhere who think they're smarter than all those normies just because they can recite the list of Hugo winners alphabetically.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Like &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/09/what-i-read-on-my-holidays/"&gt;Ready Player One&lt;/a&gt; it throws in as many quips and catchphrases as the plot will bear. Unlike Cline's work, it never really commits to them, so you end up with a scattering of Monty Python, Star Wars, and the X-Files without an overall theme developing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And, in keeping with Andy Weir's The Martian, it's all just one guy sciencing the shit out of the problem. Except that lots of the science is sort of hand-waved away with "and then I 3D printed a thing".&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Similar to both those books is an almost total lack of female characters. The ones that are in the first two are either plot-points or harridans. By the third there's a love interest who is &lt;em&gt;slightly&lt;/em&gt; more rounded, and a couple of other incidentals, but offset against yet another woman who just can't appreciate the "genius" of Bob.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's all good page turning fun other than the fact that Bob is a &lt;em&gt;total&lt;/em&gt; cretin. He begins a slow descent into fascist dictator and barely even comments on it. He spies, carries out extra-judicial killings, and meddles in politics to his own advantage. At no point does the text ever really engage with the fact that &lt;strong&gt;Bob is a monster&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The character rarely reflects on whether his behaviour meets the moral standard he expects of others. He bemoans the aliens who are destroying entire ecosystems while simultaneously wiping out whole species himself. At times he is a conniving bully and reacts badly to anyone who pushes back against the ineffable will of Bob.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The jumping back-and-forth between the different Bobs is a bit frustrating, a bit like flicking between TV channels. I wish each story strand were allowed some space to develop - but instead it's one chapter of this planet, then one chapter of another, before (eventually) circling back.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Annoyingly, &lt;a href="http://dennisetaylor.org/wheres-the-whatever-version/#WhereEpub"&gt;the books are only available on Amazon Kindle&lt;/a&gt;. They're not on any other platform or library. I'm grateful to the friend who lent me their copies. I binged the first three but, without any indication that Bob will mature as a character or face a reckoning for his egregious actions, that's where I stopped.&lt;/p&gt;
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			<thr:total>2</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Gig Review: Public Service Broadcasting's Race For Space at Alexandra Palace ★★★★⯪]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75993</id>
		<updated>2026-09-27T09:05:44Z</updated>
		<published>2026-09-27T11:34:08Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gig" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Review" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ahhh! PSB&#039;s RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.    For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/">&lt;p&gt;Ahhh! PSB's RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/On-Stage.webp" alt="The band on stage with giant projections behind them." width="2048" height="1542" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest singers, and 360° video projection,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Laser-Display.webp" alt="Flight controls projected above the audience." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Oh, also a disco Sputnik flying over the crowd!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Disco-Sputnik.webp" alt="A large model Sputnik covered in lights." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Simply magical! As were the indoor fireworks.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Fireworks.webp" alt="Sparks shooting upwards from the stage." width="2048" height="1152" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I might quibble a little with their song choices (no Gagarin!) but hearing the crowd repeatedly scream "GO!" was magnificent.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ally Pally isn't a raked venue, so the video projection of the band was most welcome. An excellent gig in a splendid location.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/#pre-show-and-post-show"&gt;Pre-show and Post-show&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've written about before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/"&gt;the art of the Pre-Show and Post-Show&lt;/a&gt; is vital for getting people to pay for events outside of their homes. Right now I can stream all the music in the world for a year for about the same price as a couple of gig tickets.  Why should I freeze my arse off outside, paying stupid money for mass-produced lager, when I could be at home?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;PSB kept up a constant stream of emails talking about the gig. Not an overwhelming amount, just letting people peek behind the curtain of organising it, giving helpful information about logistics, and letting us know about merchandise which was available.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Crucially, they also gave us stage timings for them and their support act! How many times have you turned up on time to a gig only to spend an hour listening to some crap DJ before the crew even started setting up the stage? PSB treat their fans with respect.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ally Pally isn't a venue I've been to before. It was well laid out with decent toilet provision - including a big block of portaloos at the back of the hall. The beer prices weren't ruinous, but I kind of resented paying £15 for a veggie hotdog and a handful of chips.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some venues seem to think that screaming at punters to open their bags will make for an enjoyable visit. Here the security staff were polite and not overly officious. Water bottles were allowed in with a cheery wave.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Post show - although the train stations are downhill, there were several buses waiting to take punters directly back. That's a perfect way of treating guests at your venue - ensuring that they get home safe and sound.&lt;/p&gt;
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			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[No errors, no warnings, no gods, no masters - HTML Purity is a Fetish]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74960</id>
		<updated>2026-09-26T12:24:48Z</updated>
		<published>2026-09-26T11:34:02Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HTML" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="WebDev" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[&#34;The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn&#039;t just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax.&#34;    Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/">&lt;p&gt;"The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn't just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax&lt;sup id="fnref:soz"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:soz" class="footnote-ref" title="With the appropriate amount of apologies to James Nicoll" role="doc-noteref"&gt;0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;."&lt;/p&gt;

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Am I being too harsh in calling technical purity a fetish? I don't think so. But I guess I would say that wouldn't I? My Kink *Is* My Kink And That's OK.

Don't forget, the three rules of comment club are…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the pacific bits you got the jist &amp;amp; the splelling &amp;amp; grandma dont mattr to much.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;HTML is much the same. You can write utterly malformed, derranged, non-standards complaint HTML and most browsers will just say "Yeah, sure, whatever dawg!" and render it adequately. Take a look at the source code for &lt;a href="https://www.todepond.com/"&gt;TodePond&lt;/a&gt; - a lovely website but some of the most abused HTML I've seen.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There's a brilliant blog post by Jens Oliver Meiert which looks at whether HTML validity is seen as a priority for major sites. Basically, no.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s time for the annual analysis of how much of the HTML code in the field is error-free and valid. The short version: 1% of the most-frequented sites on this planet uses valid HTML—and 99% don’t.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://meiert.com/blog/html-conformance-2026/"&gt;2 of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;iS ThAt A pRoBlEm????&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My site is proudly HTML Valid. Run it through the &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/nu/?doc=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2F"&gt;HTML Validator&lt;/a&gt; or the &lt;a href="https://validator.schema.org/#url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog"&gt;Schema.org Validator&lt;/a&gt; and you'll see that it is &lt;em&gt;fucking perfect!&lt;/em&gt; Same with my &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed"&gt;RSS Feed&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed%2Fatom"&gt;Atom Feed&lt;/a&gt;. Not so much as an advisory bit of info, a couched warning, or a sternly worded suggestion&lt;sup id="fnref:4now"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:4now" class="footnote-ref" title="At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃" role="doc-noteref"&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Every last bit pure and holy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Of course, syntactically valid HTML is neither necessary nor sufficient for any purpose.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML doesn't imply that a site is accessible (although, I'm proud to say mine meets or exceeds all WCAG guidance&lt;sup id="fnref:wcag"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:wcag" class="footnote-ref" title="Again, it is possible to make something pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess." role="doc-noteref"&gt;2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML doesn't guarantee that the information it contains is accurate&lt;sup id="fnref:purrrrrfect"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:purrrrrfect" class="footnote-ref" title="Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate." role="doc-noteref"&gt;3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perfect HTML, at best, merely &lt;em&gt;implies&lt;/em&gt; that the author gives a damn about such things. Much like &lt;a href="https://knolling.org/"&gt;Knolling&lt;/a&gt;, it leaves a suggestion that order is preferable to chaos&lt;sup id="fnref:knoll"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:knoll" class="footnote-ref" title="Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato." role="doc-noteref"&gt;4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is said that one of the reasons HTML succeeded is that it is lax about validation. Most programming languages will shit the bed if you dare to leave out so much as a single semicolon. The compiler wails can be heard throughout the land.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;By contrast, HTML is designed to be sympathetic to the frailty of the human mind. "Oh, you didn't close an element? Well, you opened a new one which I guess implies the same thing. Did you forget the correct syntax? Never mind - it'll be our little secret."&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That's why &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/the-web-runs-on-tolerance/"&gt;XHTML failed&lt;/a&gt; - the browser would literally refuse to render a page if it didn't meet the spec. Who can be bothered with that?! HTML just lets you get on with things.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I've mentioned before, &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/05/postels-law-also-applies-to-human-communication/"&gt;humans don't write or speak in Backus–Naur form&lt;/a&gt;. Our ideas are loosely expressed in a floating grammar which lends itself to paradoxical impossibilities and logical tautologies. And yet most of us can still parse &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence"&gt;weird sentences&lt;/a&gt; without too much effort.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But most computer languages are different. It might be obvious to you that &lt;code&gt;if (x = 42)&lt;/code&gt; means "compare the value of x to 42" - but what the computer sees is "if assign x the value of 42". Within computing our code needs to be &lt;em&gt;rigorously formal&lt;/em&gt; and any syntax errors will lead to show-stopping bugs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Imagine if every time a human wrote &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_ite_domum"&gt;&lt;i lang="la"&gt;Romanes eunt domus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt; the world simply crashed. It would be intolerable.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;HTML is more like a human language than a computing language. You can understand human speech over a crackly phone line in a foreign accent - Web Browsers understand CP-1252 encoded text with bizarre syntax errors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If it is OK to write bad HTML, why do some of us fetishise "pure" HTML?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I think it comes down to an ingrained belief that it is polite to reduce ambiguity. It is nice to be precise&lt;sup id="fnref:100"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:100" class="footnote-ref" title="I will grant you, there's also a strain of 100% Completionist which compels me to get &amp;quot;top score&amp;quot; on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity." role="doc-noteref"&gt;5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;. It reduces the cognitive burden on anyone (or anything) which reads what we have written. We are holding up our end of the social contract by producing something unadulterated and easy to comprehend. It reduces the likelihood of different browsers rendering things differently but, almost on a cellular level, we &lt;em&gt;feel&lt;/em&gt; that &lt;strong&gt;things must be done properly&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The browser doesn't care about your inability to follow standards. But you should have some fucking self-respect and do it anyway.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"&gt;
&lt;hr aria-label="Footnotes"&gt;
&lt;ol start="0"&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:soz"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With the appropriate amount of apologies to &lt;a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll"&gt;James Nicoll&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:soz" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:4now"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:4now" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:wcag"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Again, it is possible to make something &lt;a href="https://www.matuzo.at/blog/building-the-most-inaccessible-site-possible-with-a-perfect-lighthouse-score/"&gt;pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:wcag" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:purrrrrfect"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:purrrrrfect" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:knoll"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:knoll" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li id="fn:100"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I will grant you, there's also a strain of &lt;a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HundredPercentCompletion"&gt;100% Completionist&lt;/a&gt; which compels me to get "top score" on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:100" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink"&gt;↩︎&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74960&amp;amp;HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager"&gt;</content>
		
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			<thr:total>2</thr:total>
			</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Terence Eden</name>
							<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
						</author>

		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Some thoughts on HTML's proposed previewsrc attribute]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/" />

		<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75856</id>
		<updated>2026-09-25T09:25:33Z</updated>
		<published>2026-09-24T11:34:54Z</published>
		<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HTML" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="standards" />
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard &#60;video&#62; element.  An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an…]]></summary>

					<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/">&lt;p&gt;One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;img&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element before the &lt;code&gt;src=&lt;/code&gt; attribute has loaded. So why not standardise on &lt;code&gt;previewsrc=&lt;/code&gt;? There's an &lt;a href="https://patrickbrosset.com/articles/2026-09-22-blurry-before-beautiful-image-previews-for-the-web/"&gt;excellent explainer on Patrick Brosset's blog&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I instinctively like the idea - if only to simplify source code and reduce JS usage. But I do have some concerns which &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1401"&gt;I've shared with the team&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-the-user-need"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-user-need"&gt;What's The User Need?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the thing I always bang on about when I'm discussing standards. Additions to HTML should primarily benefit end users, not developers.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do end users want this? Is there a bunch of research that shows normal people are confused that they don't see a preview image? Do they recoil in fear and distress while waiting for a full resolution picture to appear?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When people see a blurry or blocky image, do they understand that they need to wait for the full thing - or do they assume their computer is broken?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Microsoft has a bazillion dollars - it can afford to spend a few thousand on interviewing some real users and mapping out what they're likely to want from this.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="whats-the-developer-need"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-developer-need"&gt;What's The Developer Need&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I begrudgingly admit that developers need love too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- 
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Welcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments. 

I was going to make a Sam Fox "Naughty Girls Need Love Too" joke here - but thought it was a bit niche. Anyway, take a listen to the sound of the eighties! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXEN57rFnIM

Now you've read this, you can follow the three rules of comment club…

1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.
2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.
3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi

Keep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃

TTFN.
--&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What are the pain points of the current implementations? Is it hard to dynamically generate multiple images? Is the syntax hard to use? Do blurs slow down the page?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Again, MS needs to pony up some cash to talk to developers. At the very least run a survey of all existing websites in the BING! database and see what they use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="alt-text"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#alt-text"&gt;Alt Text&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When an image doesn't load, or loads slowly, a user will normally be shown some alt text - like this:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="http://example.test/unicorn.avif" alt="Terence Eden riding a pink unicorn. Rainbows shoot out of his fingers while the unicorn's horn glows an iridescent octarine against the starry sky." width="256" height="256" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Is that more or less useful than this?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/unicorn.webp" alt="A very blurry image of possibly a Unicorn. Original Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay." width="256" class="aligncenter"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Accessibility isn't just for people with visual impairments!  This is &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1408"&gt;an issue I've raised with them&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="naming-things-is-hard"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#naming-things-is-hard"&gt;Naming Things Is Hard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I've written before about &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/10/the-usability-of-html-elements/"&gt;the usability of HTML elements&lt;/a&gt;. Some of the newer ones like &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;picture&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; have very poorly named attributes in my opinion.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One alternative for &lt;code&gt;previewsrc&lt;/code&gt; is &lt;code&gt;poster&lt;/code&gt;. That would match with the &lt;code&gt;poster&lt;/code&gt; attribute on the &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; element. They both show a preview image before the main content is loaded.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Given their functionality is identical, I think it makes sense for them to have the same name. You wouldn't expect to see &lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;video horizontal="1920" vertical="1080"&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; would you? No. That's why they use the same &lt;code&gt;width&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;height&lt;/code&gt; attributes as images.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2 id="closing-remarks"&gt;&lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#closing-remarks"&gt;Closing Remarks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20%22image%20preview%22"&gt;several interesting objections and discussions on the GitHub repo&lt;/a&gt;. I'm delighted that this is being talked about in the open, rather than just being presented as a &lt;i lang="fr"&gt;fait accompli&lt;/i&gt; (remember &lt;a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/introducing-the-new-html-element-welcome/"&gt;the toast proposal&lt;/a&gt;?).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I said, I genuinely think that there's a useful idea in here. But after writing all of this, I &lt;em&gt;think&lt;/em&gt; it would be better and simpler for developers to use progressive images rather than overload HTML with a new attribute.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If website owners can't be bothered to save progressive images, I don't see why they'd bother to create a separate preview image.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Keeping preview images in sync with their full images is also likely to be a problem.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you think I'm wrong, &lt;a href="https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/ImagePreview/explainer.md"&gt;read the explainer and then chat with Microsoft&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
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      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76136",
      "title": "Gadget Review: Mokin 17 Port USB-C Tower ★★☆☆☆",
      "description": "The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a beast.    This is the MODK2403 - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want and has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.  Errr… What?  OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.    On to the ports:   Triple display   Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort  4x U…",
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      "updated": "2026-10-19T09:00:07.000Z",
      "content": "<p>The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a <em>beast</em>.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/product-shot.webp\" alt=\"Photo of the front and back of the hub.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>This is the <a href=\"https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd\">MODK2403</a> - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want <em>and</em> has an LCD monitor for showing the weather.</p>\n\n<p>Errr… What?</p>\n\n<p>OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/All-the-ports.webp\" alt=\"All the ports.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>On to the ports:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Triple display\n\n<ul>\n<li>Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>4x USB-A\n\n<ul>\n<li>2x 2.0 480Mbps, 1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>2x USB-C\n\n<ul>\n<li>1x 3.0 5Gbps, 1x 3.1 10Gbps</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>USB-C PD input\n\n<ul>\n<li>100W</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>USB-C to host computer\n\n<ul>\n<li>USB-C to C cable included</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Ethernet port\n\n<ul>\n<li>1Gbps</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>SD and microSD</li>\n<li>3.5m Audio Jack</li>\n<li>Suction cup</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Yup! At the bottom of the tower is a silicone surround which allows it to firmly plant on any flat surface. It's strong enough to take any gentle nudges without toppling over, but easy enough to lift off if you need to move the unit.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/suction.webp\" alt=\"A square suction cup.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>It is <em>slightly</em> cheeky to describe this as 17 ports. The two DisplayPorts are tied to the HDMI ports - so you can only have 3 screens active at a time, not five. But as each screen can do 4K @ 60Hz, I'll let it slide.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"screen\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#screen\">Screen</a></h2>\n\n<p>There's a black and white screen included which can show you a bunch of information. Tap the power-button on top to cycle between them.</p>\n\n<p>Which ports are connected:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Whats-plugged-in.webp\" alt=\"A list of ports. Some are illuminated.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Screen resolution of attached devices:\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Displayinfo.webp\" alt=\"Screen resolution, size, and refresh rate.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\"></p>\n\n<p>Total power draw:\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/what-watts.webp\" alt=\"A weird smiley face showing 49 Watts.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\"></p>\n\n<p>WiFi set up:\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-Info.webp\" alt=\"WiFi Info.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\"></p>\n\n<p>Wait? What! If you connect to the hub's WiFi, you get this set-up screen.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WiFi-setup.webp\" alt=\"A long settings screen to allow WiFi and set various options.\" width=\"504\" height=\"1344\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Once it is connected, it'll show you the weather in your area:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Weather-no-location.webp\" alt=\"Weather and time.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>I'm not <em>entirely</em> convinced about whether that's useful. Although you can change the units from ℉ to ℃, and show or hide your area, there's no other customisation available. No 24 hour clock, no date formatting, nothing. There's also no privacy policy or indication of which weather provider it is connecting to.</p>\n\n<p>The screen switches off after a few minutes - so it isn't a constant distraction. Tapping the top button turns it on again.</p>\n\n<p>Double-pressing the power-button switches the external monitors off. Which is useful for privacy I guess?</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"linux-info\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#linux-info\">Linux Info</a></h2>\n\n<p>Worked perfectly with my Linux laptop. I drove two external screens via DisplayPort, a bunch of USB peripherals, Ethernet, etc.</p>\n\n<p>A full read-out gives:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-_\">0bda:8153 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter\n0bda:0411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Hub\n2109:0822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.1 Hub\n2109:8822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB Billboard Device\n0020:0b21 Generic AB13X USB Audio\n0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device\n0bda:5411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5411 Hub\n1a86:8095 QinHeng Electronics USB Hub\n303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit\n2109:2822 VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"speed\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#speed\">Speed</a></h2>\n\n<p>I have 1Gbps broadband, and I was able to get 850Mbps through the Mokin's Ethernet port. That's pretty much what I'd expect.</p>\n\n<p>Copying files via USB-C to a Pixel phone topped out at about 200MBps, which was a little underwhelming, but fast enough for my needs. I tried a variety of cables, including the bundled one.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"sound\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#sound\">Sound</a></h2>\n\n<p>The AB13X USB Audio presents as both analogue and S/PDIF. There was no meaningful difference between the two in terms of sound quality. There was minimal hum on output when nothing was being played.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"wifi-and-security\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#wifi-and-security\">WiFi and Security</a></h2>\n\n<p>I'm slightly uneasy about the built-in WiFi connection this hub offers. It is primarily used for showing the weather on screen, but it can also be used to upload new firmware.</p>\n\n<p>Worryingly, it has a weak default password set - <code>mokin123</code>. I think that might be <a href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-protect-consumers-from-cyber-criminals-come-into-force-in-the-uk\">against the law</a>. The password can be changed by the user - but I wonder how many people will bother?</p>\n\n<p>When I mentioned this to Mokin, they replied:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>After the initial password is set, the user can change the password themselves rather than continuing to use a fixed default password.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't think that's good enough to protect users.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, the SSID can be hidden and is randomised, but I wonder if that's suitable defence against a determined hacker?</p>\n\n<p>I'm glad that the unit doesn't hijack the Ethernet connection - but who knows what a future firmware update might do.</p>\n\n<p>There's also a <code>303a:1001 Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit</code> exposed on the hub. I tried connecting to it with <code>esptool</code> and the hub crashed! I had to pull out the power to get it to restart. I'm not smart enough to probe it further, but I can't help wondering why it is there.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, there's a mysterious <code>0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID Device</code>. I thought that was used for blanking the external screens when the power-button is double-pressed, but that didn't register on <code>evtest</code>. So what is it for? I don't like the idea of a random Human Interface Device (usually a keyboard or mouse) being attached to my computer.</p>\n\n<p>I spoke to Mokin about it and they said:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>our technical manager confirmed that these two entries are reserved for future firmware updates.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Personally, I would expect these to be disabled if they aren't going to be used.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"privacy\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#privacy\">Privacy</a></h2>\n\n<p>With any device which connects to the Internet, you have to be concerned about what data it is collecting, storing, and transmitting. I asked Mokin if they had a privacy policy related to their weather service. They said:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>There is no need to worry about your personal or location information being uploaded or stored remotely. The relevant user information is stored locally on the device.</p>\n\n<p>The weather/location information is provided through Google services, and no personal information is uploaded or stored by us. Therefore, there should be no privacy or data security concern from our side.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't find that terribly convincing. At the very least they should tell users who their weather provider is and what their privacy says.  I assume that the device is doing a GeoIP lookup before sending the request to Google - again, that should be explained to users.</p>\n\n<p>I've no evidence that the hub is collecting data about what is attached and then sending it off somewhere - but without a privacy policy from Mokin, who can say?</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"cracking-it-open\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#cracking-it-open\">Cracking It Open</a></h2>\n\n<p>The suction cup at the bottom is only lightly glued on and peeled off easily. Underneath are four screws.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Bottom-Screws.webp\" alt=\"Four cross head screws.\" width=\"512\" height=\"531\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>The base removes easily, exposing the three circuit boards.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Internal-guts.webp\" alt=\"Two circuit boards with a middle board and some wires.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1824\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Here's a close up:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/guts.webp\" alt=\"Close up of the circuits.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1798\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>I couldn't easily get them out, and the front plastic was held on securely. I'm sure it would be possible to snap off, but I didn't want to damage it.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"price-and-final-thoughts\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-mokin-17-port-usb-c-tower/#price-and-final-thoughts\">Price and Final Thoughts</a></h2>\n\n<p>It's usually about <a href=\"https://mokinglobal.com/products/mokin-17-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-for-triple-monitors-with-smart-lcd\">£90 from the manufacturer</a> or around <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B08w3yaiS\">£70 from Amazon</a>.</p>\n\n<p>You can get a basic hub for less than half that price - but what you're paying for here having <em>all the ports</em>. It's an attractive package, well designed, quiet, and unobtrusive.</p>\n\n<p>The screen is moderately useful - being able to see which ports are in use was handy, as was seeing the total power draw. The screen debugging was also handy. I'm not that interested in the weather, but I can see how it would be helpful as a single-use screen.</p>\n\n<p>I have significant concerns about the always-on WiFi, especially given its easy to guess password. I've contacted the manufacturer to see if anything can be done about that but they don't seem interested in fixing it. The lack of privacy policy is also worrying.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, the HID and JTAG are also something I wouldn't expect to see on a hub like this. Ideally they should be disabled if not in use.</p>\n\n<p>In terms of ports and performance, this can't be beat. But I would be reluctant to connect it to my home WiFi network.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76136&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "gadget",
          "term": "gadget",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Mokin",
          "term": "Mokin",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Review",
          "term": "Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "USB-C",
          "term": "USB-C",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74296",
      "title": "Book Review: Quackery - A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang ★★★⯪☆",
      "description": "This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.  Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It's fun the whole way through, although …",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-quackery-a-brief-history-of-the-worst-ways-to-cure-everything-by-lydia-kang/",
      "published": "2026-10-20T11:34:35.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-27T21:29:18.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/9781523501854.webp\" alt=\"Book cover.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-74298\">\n\n<p>This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money.</p>\n\n<p>Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It's fun the whole way through, although sometimes at the expense of people who perhaps didn't know better than to trust charlatans.</p>\n\n<p>One thing that is constantly brought back is how it can be hard to determine what <em>is</em> patent nonsense and what is a <i lang=\"la\">bone fide</i> cure:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Prevent blood clotting: Extract mucus from the intestinal membranes of slaughtered pigs or from the lungs of slaughtered cows. Inject. (heparin)</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Is that any more believable than injecting goat testicles to cure impotence?</p>\n\n<p>It also brings to light how squeamish we can be, especially when faced with unusual medical procedures:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>We borrow other people’s wombs for surrogacy. And yet, plenty of people squirm at the idea of breastmilk banks. We are a society of contradictions.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>The eBook is <em>beautifully</em> formatted. For once, images are in-line with the text! Usually in books of this sort, publishers treat the eBook like a mass-market paperback and stick the illustrations at the end.</p>\n\n<p>It ends rather abruptly, after taking us through light, electricity, colour therapy, animal magnetism, and a couple of dozen other \"cure-alls\"</p>\n\n<p>Sadly, there are no references or footnotes. While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the claims, for a book about scientific misinformation and malpractice, I'd've expected a way to find out more information.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74296&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Book Review",
          "term": "Book Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "medicine",
          "term": "medicine",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76104",
      "title": "Una Watch TOTP - MFA on your wrist!",
      "description": "Let's get this out of the way first - this is a terrible idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I've built a watch app which will display them. That's really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they're clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/",
      "published": "2026-10-18T11:34:08.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-12T10:48:42.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Let's get this out of the way first - this is a <em>terrible</em> idea!  I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I've built a watch app which will display them. That's really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they're clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret which powers the code generation.</p>\n\n<p>You should absolutely not do this and, if you ignore my warnings, you should only do this for codes which aren't critical to your security.</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! If this is your first time - hello! This content is only available to sophisticated nerds who read my HTML comments.\n\nYou know what? I *do* use this. I have a low-ish security account which constantly needs my MFA number. Sometimes I can't be bothered unlocking my phone to get it. Of course, on my wrist I save it under a different name. Perhaps I'm an idiot for doing so, but sometimes convenience wins.\n\nAnyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in my other blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>In my defence, an attacker would still need my username and password to make any use of these codes - but please don't trust your security to my deranged witterings.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"what-it-looks-like\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#what-it-looks-like\">What It Looks Like</a></h2>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MFA.webp\" alt=\"My wristwatch showing \"HSBC MFA Code 751646\". Don't worry, this isn't my real code. OR IS IT?!?!\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<h2 id=\"prior-art\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#prior-art\">Prior Art</a></h2>\n\n<p>I'm sure many other people have done this. Indeed, three years ago I built <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/07/an-eink-wrist-mounted-totp-generator/\">An eInk, Wrist-Mounted, TOTP Generator</a>.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Wrist-TOTP.jpg\" alt=\"A chunky wristwatch showing the time and a selection of 6 digit codes and their corresponding entities.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<h2 id=\"the-service\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-service\">The Service</a></h2>\n\n<p>This is in my <code>Service.cpp</code> - as you can see, it's pretty simple. This won't let you add in hundreds of codes - you get one and that's it. There's no countdown when a code is about to expire, so I recommend waiting until a new one pops up before you start typing it in.</p>\n\n<p>I'll be candid, I haven't used C++ properly since university - and that was in the last century. I've mostly just cut things out to see what breaks. Feel free to educate me on the correct idiomatic code.</p>\n\n<p>You will need to set your own secret in here.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-cpp\">//  Standard includes.\n#include \"Service.hpp\"\n#include \"SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp\"\n#include \"SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp\"\n\n//  Needed for PureTOTP.\n#include <iostream>\n#include \"TOTP.h\"\n\n#include <string>\n#include <sstream>\n\n//  What this Glance can do.\nService::Service(SDK::Kernel &kernel)\n    : mKernel(kernel)\n    , mGlanceUI()\n    , mGlanceTitle()\n    , mGlanceValue()\n{}\n\nvoid Service::createGuiControls()\n{\n    //  Set the main title in the Glance.\n    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();\n    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })\n        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)\n        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)\n        .setText(\"HSBC MFA Code\")\n        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);\n\n    //  Set the default text for the value.\n    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();\n    mGlanceValue.pos({ 20, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })\n        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)\n        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_YELLOW_DARK)\n        .setText( \"Waiting for update\" )\n        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);\n}\n\nvoid Service::glanceUpdate()\n{\n    //  Set the Base32 encoded secret (all uppercase).\n    std::string secret = \"QWERTYUIOP\";\n    //  Generate the code based on the Unix timestamp right now.\n    const std::time_t t = std::time(0);\n    std::string code = TOTP::GenerateTOTP( 6, 30, TOTP::HMAC_SHA1, secret, t );\n\n    std::ostringstream ss;\n    ss << t;\n\n    //  Convert the string to char* and display it as the value.\n    mGlanceValue.print( code.c_str() ); \n\n    //  Show the Unix time to check the timezone is correct.\n    // mGlanceTitle.print( ss.str().c_str() );\n}\n\n//  No service.\nService::~Service(){}\n\n//  When this glance is opened.\nvoid Service::run()\n{\n    while (true) {\n        SDK::MessageBase *msg;\n        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {\n            continue;\n        }\n\n        switch (msg->getType()) {\n            //  The Glance has started.\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:\n                if (configGui()) {\n                    createGuiControls();\n                } else {\n                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);\n                }\n                break;\n            //  The Glance has been stopped.\n            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:\n                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n                return;\n                break;\n\n            //  Every second, perform an action.\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:\n                onGlanceTick();\n                break;\n\n            default:\n                break;\n        }\n\n        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n    }\n}\n\nvoid Service::onGlanceTick()\n{\n    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {\n        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg<SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate>(mKernel)) {\n            upd->name           = APP_NAME;\n            upd->controls       = mGlanceUI.data();\n            upd->controlsNumber = static_cast<uint32_t>(mGlanceUI.size());\n            upd.send(100);\n        }\n\n        mGlanceUI.setValid();\n    }\n    glanceUpdate();\n}\n\nbool Service::configGui()\n{\n    bool status = false;\n    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg<SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig>(mKernel)) {\n        if (gc.send(100) && gc.ok()) {\n            if (gc->maxControls >= 3) {\n                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc->width);\n                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc->height);\n                status = true;\n            }\n        }\n    }\n    return status;\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"the-library\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-totp-mfa-on-your-wrist/#the-library\">The Library</a></h2>\n\n<p>There are dozens of C++ libraries for RFC 6238 generation. I ended up using <a href=\"https://github.com/Einztein/PureTOTP\">PureTOTP</a> as it didn't require any external dependencies and was only two files.  As I only needed SHA1 TOTP codes, I stripped out a bunch of functionality which was unnecessary for me. Similarly, I only wanted to generate 6 digit codes with a 30 second period - so took out anything which did more than that.</p>\n\n<p>I've tidied up the code and comments where I can. The original was MIT Licenced - so this is as well.</p>\n\n<p>There are two parts to this. First, the header</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-_\">// TOTP.h\n//\n#pragma once\n#include <string>\nclass TOTP\n{\npublic:\n    const static int HMAC_SHA1 = 20;    //  Length of HMAC.\n\n    static std::string GenerateTOTP(const std::string& secret);\n    static std::string GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string& secret, int specTime);\n\n    TOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string& secret): digit(digit), refreshSeconds(refreshSeconds), algorithm(algorithm), secret(secret) {}\n    TOTP(const std::string& secret): digit(6), refreshSeconds(30), algorithm(HMAC_SHA1), secret(secret) {}\n\n    std::string currentTOTP();\n\nprivate:\n    int digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm;\n\n    std::string secret;\n};\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Next is the standalone library which does the TOTP generation, <code>TOTP.cpp</code></p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-cpp\">// TOTP.cpp\n//\n#include \"TOTP.h\"\n#include <vector>\n#include <stack>\n#include <queue>\n#include <sstream>\n#include <iomanip>\n#include <cstdint>\n#include <cstring>\n#include <array>\n#include <stdexcept>\n#include <algorithm>\nusing namespace std;\n\nstruct JEVP_MD\n{\n    enum Kind {\n        SHA1\n    };\n\n    Kind kind;\n    int  md_size;\n    int  block_size;\n};\n\nstatic inline uint32_t rotl32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x << n) | (x >> (32 - n)); }\nstatic inline uint32_t rotr32(uint32_t x, uint32_t n) { return (x >> n) | (x << (32 - n)); }\nstatic inline uint64_t rotr64(uint64_t x, uint64_t n) { return (x >> n) | (x << (64 - n)); }\n\nstatic uint32_t load_be32(const unsigned char* p)\n{\n    return (uint32_t(p[0]) << 24) |\n           (uint32_t(p[1]) << 16) |\n           (uint32_t(p[2]) <<  8) |\n            uint32_t(p[3]);\n}\n\nstatic void store_be32(uint32_t v, unsigned char* p)\n{\n    p[0] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 24) & 0xFF);\n    p[1] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 16) & 0xFF);\n    p[2] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >>  8) & 0xFF);\n    p[3] = static_cast<unsigned char>( v        & 0xFF);\n}\n\nstatic void store_be64(uint64_t v, unsigned char* p)\n{\n    p[0] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 56) & 0xFF);\n    p[1] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 48) & 0xFF);\n    p[2] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 40) & 0xFF);\n    p[3] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 32) & 0xFF);\n    p[4] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 24) & 0xFF);\n    p[5] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >> 16) & 0xFF);\n    p[6] = static_cast<unsigned char>((v >>  8) & 0xFF);\n    p[7] = static_cast<unsigned char>( v        & 0xFF);\n}\n\nstatic vector<unsigned char> sha1_hash(const unsigned char* data, size_t len)\n{\n    vector<unsigned char> msg(data, data + len);\n    uint64_t              bit_len = static_cast<uint64_t>(len) * 8;\n\n    msg.push_back(0x80);\n    while ((msg.size() % 64) != 56) msg.push_back(0x00);\n\n    unsigned char lenbuf[8];\n    store_be64(bit_len, lenbuf);\n    msg.insert(msg.end(), lenbuf, lenbuf + 8);\n\n    uint32_t h0 = 0x67452301;\n    uint32_t h1 = 0xEFCDAB89;\n    uint32_t h2 = 0x98BADCFE;\n    uint32_t h3 = 0x10325476;\n    uint32_t h4 = 0xC3D2E1F0;\n\n    for (size_t chunk = 0; chunk < msg.size(); chunk += 64)\n    {\n        uint32_t w[80];\n        for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i)\n            w[i] = load_be32(&msg[chunk + i * 4]);\n        for (int i = 16; i < 80; ++i)\n            w[i] = rotl32(w[i - 3] ^ w[i - 8] ^ w[i - 14] ^ w[i - 16], 1);\n\n        uint32_t a = h0, b = h1, c = h2, d = h3, e = h4;\n\n        for (int i = 0; i < 80; ++i)\n        {\n            uint32_t f, k;\n            if (i < 20)\n            {\n                f = (b & c) | ((~b) & d);\n                k = 0x5A827999;\n            }\n            else if (i < 40)\n            {\n                f = b ^ c ^ d;\n                k = 0x6ED9EBA1;\n            }\n            else if (i < 60)\n            {\n                f = (b & c) | (b & d) | (c & d);\n                k = 0x8F1BBCDC;\n            }\n            else\n            {\n                f = b ^ c ^ d;\n                k = 0xCA62C1D6;\n            }\n\n            uint32_t temp = rotl32(a, 5) + f + e + k + w[i];\n\n            e = d;\n            d = c;\n            c = rotl32(b, 30);\n            b = a;\n            a = temp;\n        }\n\n        h0 += a;\n        h1 += b;\n        h2 += c;\n        h3 += d;\n        h4 += e;\n    }\n\n    vector<unsigned char> out(20);\n    store_be32(h0, &out[ 0]);\n    store_be32(h1, &out[ 4]);\n    store_be32(h2, &out[ 8]);\n    store_be32(h3, &out[12]);\n    store_be32(h4, &out[16]);\n    return out;\n}\n\nstatic const JEVP_MD g_sha1   = {JEVP_MD::SHA1, 20, 64};\n\nconst JEVP_MD* JEVP_sha1() { return &g_sha1; }\n\nunsigned char* JHMAC(const JEVP_MD* JEVP_MD, const void* key, int key_len, const unsigned char* data, size_t data_len, unsigned char* md, unsigned int* md_len)\n{\n    if (!JEVP_MD || !key || key_len < 0 || !data)\n        return nullptr;\n\n    static thread_local unsigned char static_md[64];\n\n    if (!md)\n        md = static_md;\n\n    vector<unsigned char> key_block(JEVP_MD->block_size, 0);\n    const unsigned char*  key_bytes = static_cast<const unsigned char*>(key);\n\n    vector<unsigned char> real_key;\n    if (key_len > JEVP_MD->block_size)\n    {\n        real_key = sha1_hash(key_bytes, static_cast<size_t>(key_len));\n        std::copy(real_key.begin(), real_key.end(), key_block.begin());\n    }\n    else\n    {\n        std::copy(key_bytes, key_bytes + key_len, key_block.begin());\n    }\n\n    vector<unsigned char> ipad(JEVP_MD->block_size);\n    vector<unsigned char> opad(JEVP_MD->block_size);\n    for (int i = 0; i < JEVP_MD->block_size; ++i)\n    {\n        ipad[i] = static_cast<unsigned char>(key_block[i] ^ 0x36);\n        opad[i] = static_cast<unsigned char>(key_block[i] ^ 0x5C);\n    }\n\n    vector<unsigned char> inner;\n    inner.reserve(JEVP_MD->block_size + data_len);\n    inner.insert(inner.end(), ipad.begin(), ipad.end());\n    inner.insert(inner.end(), data, data + data_len);\n\n    vector<unsigned char> inner_hash = sha1_hash(inner.data(), inner.size());\n\n    vector<unsigned char> outer;\n    outer.reserve(JEVP_MD->block_size + inner_hash.size());\n    outer.insert(outer.end(), opad.begin(), opad.end());\n    outer.insert(outer.end(), inner_hash.begin(), inner_hash.end());\n\n    vector<unsigned char> final_hash = sha1_hash(outer.data(), outer.size());\n\n    std::memcpy(md, final_hash.data(), final_hash.size());\n    if (md_len) *md_len = static_cast<unsigned int>(final_hash.size());\n\n    return md;\n}\n\n//  Base32 decoding table.\n/* clang-format off */\nconst int base32_reverse_map[128] =\n{\n    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 15\n    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 31\n    255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 47\n//      (49)   2    3    4    5    6    7  (56)\n    255, 255,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 63\n// (64)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O\n    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 79\n//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z  (91)\n    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, // 95\n// (96)   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O  // lower case instead\n    255,   0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, // 111\n//   P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z (123)                     // lower case instead\n    15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255  // 127\n};\n/* clang-format on */\n\n//  Base32 decoding function.\nvector<unsigned char> base32_decode(const string& base32)\n{\n    queue<int> q_rev;\n    for (const char& c : base32)\n    {\n        if (c <= 49 || (c >= 56 && c <= 64) || (c >= 91 && c <= 96) || c >= 123)\n        { //    Illegal lower case will be treat as upper case thanks to base32_reverse_map.\n            if (c == '=') break;\n        }\n        else\n        {\n            q_rev.push(base32_reverse_map[(int)c]); //  Get integers of base32.\n        }\n    }\n    queue<bool> q_bin;\n    while (!q_rev.empty()) //   Transform the integers into bits and queue them up.\n    {\n        int now = q_rev.front(); // Get a integer from queue.\n        q_rev.pop();\n        stack<bool> sb;\n        for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) //  Push the bits of this integer into stack\n        {                           //  5 bits into 1 group\n            sb.push(now & 1);       //  Push the last bit of this integer into stack.\n            now >>= 1;              //  Flush the last bit.\n        }\n        while (!sb.empty()) //  Flush the bits of this integer into binary queue.\n        {\n            q_bin.push(sb.top()); //    Pop bits from stack into binary queue.\n            sb.pop();\n        }\n    }\n    vector<unsigned char> uc;\n    while (!q_bin.empty()) //   Transform the bits into bytes.\n    {\n        int thehex = 0;\n        for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) //  Read a byte from the bits queue.\n        {\n            if (q_bin.empty())\n            {                     //    If the bits queue is empty now,\n                thehex <<= 8 - i; //    set 0 on the last bits of a byte.\n                break;\n            }\n            thehex <<= 1;                 //    Make the space for the new bit.\n            thehex |= (int)q_bin.front(); //    Push this bit into byte.\n            q_bin.pop();\n        }\n        uc.push_back((unsigned char)thehex);\n    }\n\n    if (uc.back() == 0) uc.pop_back();     //   TOTP may abandon last zero.\n    if (uc.size() % 2 != 0) uc.pop_back(); //   TOTP may abandon odd res.\n    return uc;\n}\n\n//  Get Unix Time.\ntime_t getUnixTime()\n{\n    return time(0);\n}\n\n//  Calculate the TOTP time signature.\ntime_t getTimeSign(int refreshPeriod, time_t specUnixTime)\n{\n    time_t outTime = specUnixTime / refreshPeriod;\n    return outTime;\n}\n\n//  Transform time_t aka <long long> to bytes.\nvector<unsigned char> llong2bytes(time_t tt)\n{\n    uint64_t value = static_cast<uint64_t>(tt);\n\n    vector<unsigned char> bytes(8);\n\n    for (int i = 7; i >= 0; --i)\n    {\n        bytes[i] = static_cast<unsigned char>(value & 0xFF);\n        value >>= 8;\n    }\n\n    return bytes;\n}\n\n//  Fast Exponentiation algorithm.\nunsigned fastpow(unsigned base, unsigned index)\n{\n    if (index == 0) return 1;\n    unsigned t = 1;\n    while (index != 0)\n    {\n        if (index & 1) t *= base;\n        index >>= 1;\n        base *= base;\n    }\n    return t;\n}\n\n//  Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.\nstd::string hash_to_TOTP(const unsigned char* hmac, unsigned int length, int digit)\n{\n    int offset = hmac[length - 1] & 0x0F;\n\n    uint32_t bin_code = ((hmac[offset]     & 0x7F) << 24) |\n                        ((hmac[offset + 1] & 0xFF) << 16) |\n                        ((hmac[offset + 2] & 0xFF) << 8)  |\n                        ( hmac[offset + 3] & 0xFF);\n\n    uint32_t mod = 1;\n    for (int i = 0; i < digit; ++i) mod *= 10;\n\n    uint32_t otp = bin_code % mod;\n\n    std::ostringstream oss;\n    oss << std::setw(digit) << std::setfill('0') << otp;\n    return oss.str();\n}\n\nstd::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(const std::string& secret)\n{\n    return GenerateTOTP(6, 30, HMAC_SHA1, secret, getUnixTime());\n}\n\nstd::string TOTP::GenerateTOTP(int digit, int refreshSeconds, int algorithm, const std::string& secret, int specTime)\n{\n    vector<unsigned char> h_msg = llong2bytes(getTimeSign(refreshSeconds, specTime)); //    Get current time signature and transform time_t aka <long long> to bytes.\n    vector<unsigned char> h_key = base32_decode(secret); // Transform base32 encoded secret key to decoded bytes.\n\n    unsigned char* out_hmac = new unsigned char[algorithm]; //  Perform openssl function to calculate HMAC-SHA1 hash.\n    unsigned int   out_hmac_length;\n    const JEVP_MD* emd;\n    emd = JEVP_sha1();\n    JHMAC(emd, h_key.data(), (int)h_key.size(), h_msg.data(), (int)h_msg.size(), out_hmac, &out_hmac_length);\n\n    string fine = hash_to_TOTP(out_hmac, out_hmac_length, digit);\n    delete[] out_hmac;\n\n    return fine; // Calculate TOTP according to RFC standard.\n}\n\nstd::string TOTP::currentTOTP()\n{\n    return GenerateTOTP(digit, refreshSeconds, algorithm, secret, getUnixTime());\n}\n</code></pre>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76104&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "c++",
          "term": "c++",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "HowTo",
          "term": "HowTo",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "UnaWatch",
          "term": "UnaWatch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "watch",
          "term": "watch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76754",
      "title": "Book Review: Are You *Really* The Doctor? by Matthew Hutchinson ★★★⯪☆",
      "description": "A few months ago, I went to see Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC - it's about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.  Much like Adam Kay's \"This Is Going To Hurt\", this is part…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-are-you-really-the-doctor-by-matthew-hutchinson/",
      "published": "2026-10-17T11:34:57.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-17T11:26:13.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/are-you-really-the-doctor.avif\" alt=\"Book cover featuring a pair of crossed plasters in a dark brown colour.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft\">\n\n<p>A few months ago, I went to see <a href=\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vbxx\">Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC</a> - it's about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse.</p>\n\n<p>Much like <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/01/book-review-this-is-going-to-hurt/\">Adam Kay's \"This Is Going To Hurt\"</a>, this is part biography, part rant about the NHS, and part humorous look at what it takes to be a modern doctor. Hutchinson's book has rather less gallows humour and rather more racism.</p>\n\n<p>The problems of racial inequality in the NHS aren't just focussed on patients; they're also reflected in the way staff are treated. Rather than just recounting all the abuse he's been subject to, the book takes a good look at the actual statistics. Of course, this makes for slightly grim reading at times, so the frequent injections of humour are most welcome.</p>\n\n<p>The UK quite often seems in the shadow of larger cultures. As the book points out:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>This same issue is understudied in the UK – to the point where the absence of research is glaring. While we are clearly not just a little America, we aren’t so different that we can be confident we’re not replicating the same here.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Because of that, at times the book does feel a little bit like the \"<a href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/we-have-food-at-home\">we have [racism] at home</a>\" meme.</p>\n\n<p>There's an almost relentlessly cheery irreverence to some of the issues - but what else can you do? Sometimes it takes a good dose of comedy to cut through the bleakness. There's a slight streak of ageism within the book - especially when it comes to older doctors trying to use new technology. Although, to be fair, that was also my experience when working at NHSX. There are some people within the system who are desperate for it to remain preserved in aspic as even minor improvements are a threat to their position in the hierarchy.</p>\n\n<p>A minor grumble, the problem I have with books like this - and with <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/05/review-the-secret-barrister/\">The Secret Barrister</a> - is that a lot of the moaning about how hard it is to become a professional doctor / lawyer just generates a giant shrug from me. Every piece of medical media in the last 50 years talks about how bone-crunchingly hard it is. All I can think of is \"none of this should be coming as a surprise to you!\" Should it be easier (and less sleep depriving) to be a doctor? Sure! But given it isn't, perhaps dial down on the clichés of how uniquely awful your <em>chosen</em> career is.</p>\n\n<p>The book isn't just a list of complaints, of course, everything is backed up with statistics (although unreferenced). Thankfully, the book ends with some practical suggestions of how the NHS can improve. It would certainly be interesting to read a version of this from 2046 to see how much has changed - given the improvements already bearing fruit, I'd hope that the UK health service would become much less racist over time.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76754&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Book Review",
          "term": "Book Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "NHS",
          "term": "NHS",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "racism",
          "term": "racism",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72594",
      "title": "Book Review: Africa Is Not A Country - Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin ★★★★⯪",
      "description": "It's hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.  It starts in the best way possible:  [Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree,…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-africa-is-not-a-country-breaking-stereotypes-of-modern-africa-by-dipo-faloyin/",
      "published": "2026-10-16T11:34:14.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-04T21:30:46.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/9781473593435-jacket-large.webp\" alt=\"Book cover showing the various countries of Africa.\" width=\"326\" height=\"500\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-72595\">\n\n<p>It's hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa.</p>\n\n<p>It starts in the best way possible:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>[Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree, or the relationship between the donkey and the ant that surprisingly speaks to grand gestures of valour. Sign it off: Ancient African proverb]</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>How many times have you seen that? Think about all the tropes played out in every Hollywood movie set vaguely in Africa - would you accept the same stereotypes about <em>your</em> continent?</p>\n\n<p>And yet, it does rely a little too much about <em>internalised</em> stereotypes:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The point is: there are a lot of people in Lagos. None of them are shy.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>I'm sure there's at least one introvert in Lagos who cringes every time people expect them to be boisterous!</p>\n\n<p>The horrors and complexities of colonisation and its aftermath are on display for all to see. In many way, much like cryptobros discovering why banking regulations exist, some African countries are speed-running Europe's history of bloody internecine warfare and mad kings. A predilection that some parts of Europe (and America) are still struggling to move past.</p>\n\n<p>I think it could have benefited from just a few maps or illustrations. I also found some of the language a little… infantilising? The way he capitalises certain phrases like \"These Powerful Men In The Capital\" felt to me a little out of place. That said, there's some excellent caustic humour and some quite beautiful prose.</p>\n\n<p>In the end, it shows that while Africa is not a country, the stories are often of different countries tackling the same problems in the same ways. [Insert something about everyone's hearts beating to the rhythm of an African drum, while an elephant wanders into an impossibly huge sunset.]</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72594&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "africa",
          "term": "africa",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Book Review",
          "term": "Book Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75776",
      "title": "The Internet of Very Cheap Things",
      "description": "Twelve years ago, I was complaining that IoT devices were too expensive.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.  While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore's Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.  This blog posts compares today's prices with those from a little …",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/",
      "published": "2026-10-14T11:34:08.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-27T21:28:30.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Twelve years ago, I was <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/09/the-internet-of-expensive-things/\">complaining that IoT devices were too expensive</a>.  Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver.</p>\n\n<p>While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore's Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry.</p>\n\n<p>This blog posts compares today's prices with those from a little over a decade ago. Some of the changes are startling, others less so. I'm basing the prices on what a customer can easily get today from Amazon. Yes, AliExpress is cheaper - but delivery takes and age and returns are a faff. Also, I get delicious affiliate revenue when you click the links which allows me to buy more tech crap to review. Everyone's a winner!</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to cool people who read HTML comments.\n\nPart of this post is me justifying to myself that ****maybe**** it is OK to spend some money on some fancy new gadgets. I'm lucky that companies occasionally send me stuff to review - but there are only so many thermal cameras a boy can eat, you know?\n\nRunning this blog is lots of fun - but the steady drip of affiliate revenue is a great motivator. It isn't life-changing sums, but it helps pay for hosting etc - so I don't feel /too/ guilty for shoving those Amazon links in everywhere.\n\nWhile you're here, the three rules of Comment Club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<h2 id=\"door-window-sensors\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#door-window-sensors\">Door / Window Sensors</a></h2>\n\n<p>I don't know how many doors and windows you have in your property - we have about fifteen, not including internal doors and cupboards. Back then a single sensor cost around £30. Today you can get <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B02mpa9ff\">Zigbee door sensors</a> for between £15 - £30 <em>for a pack of four</em>!</p>\n\n<p>Prices are at least quartered. Do you <em>need</em> a sensor on every cupboard door or drawer? It is useful to be able to check your phone to see if the toilet seat is up or down? These are reaching the price where you might as well hook them up to anything.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"lightbulbs\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#lightbulbs\">Lightbulbs</a></h2>\n\n<p>Hue's WiFi lightbulbs were about fifty-quid each. Again, count the number of lights you need in your home and run to your bank-manager for an overdraft!</p>\n\n<p>Today, <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B09UCBQh1\">Hue Bulbs are about £16 each</a>. That's a pretty steep drop. If you want generic <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B042fOMp3\">Zigbee Bulbs</a> you can expect to pay a tenner each. That's down to a fifth of the price from 2014. If you're happy buying from AliExpress, they're usually under a fiver.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"smart-electrical-sockets\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#smart-electrical-sockets\">Smart Electrical Sockets</a></h2>\n\n<p>It's useful to be able to remotely control a power socket. It used to be the case they'd cost £30 per plug. Nowadays <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B06WYAKty\">smart plugs are about £7.50</a>. These ones come with energy monitoring and will easily integrate with HomeAssistant and other smarthome controllers.</p>\n\n<p>There's still a limit to the things which can be directly controlled from a socket. That said, I'm love my <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/11/building-an-alexa-powered-electric-blanket/\">IoT Electric Blanket</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"bluetooth-finders\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#bluetooth-finders\">Bluetooth Finders</a></h2>\n\n<p>The dream is to have a magic tag stuck on everything you might lose. Back in 2014, we thought iBeacons / Eddystones would win out. Sadly that dream died and instead we're stuck with proprietary \"Find My\" networks from Google and Apple.</p>\n\n<p>The iBeacons were about a tenner each back then. <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B0ehVOGpF\">Today they're £5 - £10 each</a> depending on the features you want. That's still not cheap enough to attach to every sock - but there's no excuse for losing your keys, wallet, bag, or spouse again.</p>\n\n<p>Annoyingly they don't use an open standard, so you'll need a Google or Apple account to use them.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"nfc-tags\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#nfc-tags\">NFC Tags</a></h2>\n\n<p>I still prefer QR codes (free!) to NFC, but I concede they do have their uses. Their capacity and features are much the same as they were a decade ago, but prices have dropped from about 75p per tag <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B09WNLkdw\">down to about 10p-20p per tag</a>.</p>\n\n<p>At that price, it's just about cheap enough to stick them in every book you own or sew them into all your underpants. Quite <em>why</em> you'd want to do that is left as an exercise for the reader.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"internet-fridge\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#internet-fridge\">Internet Fridge</a></h2>\n\n<p>You know what, I didn't bother looking at the actual cost of an Internet Fridge all those years ago. But earlier this year I got a WiFi enabled tumble dryer. It was as cheap as all the other models and means I can shout \"ALEXA! MAKE DRY!\" then receive a notification from HomeAssistant when the dry is fully maked.</p>\n\n<p>I hope my next fridge comes with a sensor that alerts me if the door is left open or the freezer is getting too warm. That would be handy.</p>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B0eRlU9jW\">cost of an ESP32</a> is basically a rounding error for most large appliances, especially when bought in bulk. If it uses electricity, it is probably trivial to add WiFi and Bluetooth.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"whats-next\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#whats-next\">What's Next?</a></h2>\n\n<p>There's probably a realistic limit to how low prices can go while the products still remain safe and durable. For smaller items that appears to be between a fiver in bulk direct from China to about a tenner sourced from a mainstream UK supplier.</p>\n\n<p>For domestic appliances, there doesn't seem to be any significant extra cost. Take a look at these <a href=\"https://markselectrical.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/heat-pump?sort=price\">heat pump tumble dryers</a> - even the cheapest of them comes with an app.</p>\n\n<p>There are a few bits of my home which haven't yet been given their own IP address - although they're mostly towards the mechanical side of things.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Locks\n\n<ul>\n<li>There are some <a href=\"https://link.amazon/B0gkcYQHT\">smart-locks for doors</a>. I've not seen any for windows. I'm not sure how well I'd trust their security.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Opening / Closing Mechanisms\n\n<ul>\n<li>It's a cold day, how do I get my windows to automatically close? Would involved either running wiring everywhere or constantly recharging batteries.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Drawing Curtains\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://link.amazon/B01XlBC1d\">These do exist</a>! But are mainly for blinds. Again, power requirements make this a bit more difficult.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Cooking\n\n<ul>\n<li>I have a <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/03/receive-push-notifications-from-your-rice-cooker/\">smart rice cooker</a>. For everything else, I have to rely on an Alexa beep-detector to know when my kitchen needs attention.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Water Pipes\n\n<ul>\n<li>I already have a basic leak detector and a smart meter for gas / electric. How about <a href=\"https://watergate.ai/\">a smart water meter</a>? Not sure I want to start sawing into my plumbing though!</li>\n</ul></li>\n</ul>\n\n<h2 id=\"but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/the-internet-of-very-cheap-things/#but-i-dont-want-to-live-in-a-smarthome-%f0%9f%98%a1\">But I Don't Want To Live In A Smarthome 😡</a></h2>\n\n<p>Literally no one is forcing you. If you don't want your TV to spy on you, it'll work just fine if you don't connect it to your WiFi.</p>\n\n<p>If you like getting out of bed to make sure you switched off the downstairs lights, that option is still available to you.</p>\n\n<p>There's no law which says you have to connect your solar panels to the web - but I like seeing exciting graphs each day.</p>\n\n<p>I cannot pre-heat my <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/04/toilet-review-better-bathrooms-_27403/\">smart toilet seat</a>, nor can I change the bidet's water pressure from my phone. That's <em>probably</em> a good thing?</p>\n\n<p>But I <em>like</em> gadgets! Sure, some of them are crappy - but I find it fun to get them working with HomeAssistant. Might they get hacked and send all my data to Arstotzka? Meh, they're all on a separate LAN and are connected to things which are unlikely to burn down my house. Might I wake up one day and find that the machine has stopped and my ability to draw my own curtains has atrophied? That's a chance I'm willing to take.</p>\n\n<p>The practical advantage I get from being about to check my security cameras on my phone from the other side of the planet is worth the theoretical risks.</p>\n\n<p>I wonder what other domestic gadgetry will fall prey to the irresistible lure of cheap connectivity?</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75776&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "gadget",
          "term": "gadget",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Internet Of Things",
          "term": "Internet Of Things",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "IoT",
          "term": "IoT",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "SmartHome",
          "term": "SmartHome",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76683",
      "title": "Book Review: The Thousand Deaths of Romeo and Juliet - Caroline Finch ★★★★★",
      "description": "The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn't literally true, but it is literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross'd lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?  The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable.…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/book-review-the-thousand-deaths-of-romeo-and-juliet-caroline-finch/",
      "published": "2026-10-13T11:34:37.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-13T10:00:03.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/randj.webp\" alt=\"Book cover.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft\">\n\n<p>The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn't literally true, but it <em>is</em> literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross'd lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo?</p>\n\n<p>The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable. You've probably watched Romeo sup poison a hundred times. It is <em>inevitable</em> that Juliet will take her own life in response. Horrific! Yet, not only do you refuse to look away, you gleefully seek it out for another viewing. There's a reason why Tony and Maria cannot escape their destinies in West Side Story - something more than fate is pushing them onto a path that will accept no deviation. The only way through is, of course, death.</p>\n\n<p>The Thousand Deaths starts slowly - the first \"act\" felt like an excuse to retell the classic tale in a new setting. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and it is suffused with lovely writing - but it felt a bit \"so what?\"</p>\n\n<p>And then they die.</p>\n\n<p>As the acts progress and they get closer to the their thousandth death the pace picks up. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, packed with allusions and references for the careful reader (more on that later). The story is heartbreaking - as well you know - and the author has the perfect knack of keeping her characters on just the right side of histrionics.</p>\n\n<p>I'd sort of classify this as <em>almost</em> romantasy. There's an undercurrent of sci-fi and fantasy which can't be ignored - but you can also hear the stirring of the violins in the background. Our hero and heroine come together and are violently broken apart for our insatiable entertainment. Do we care about whether that's good for them? What does it feel like to be a Mercutio forever used as a pawn-sacrifice? Does Tybalt resent his forcible reincarnation into a perpetual baddie? Are we culpable for insisting that they strut upon an endless stage just so we can wipe tears from our eyes?</p>\n\n<p>The book builds to a fine crescendo. It is heartfelt and <em>utterly</em> tragic. The ending will, I suspect, divide people. I found it mostly satisfactory and completely in keeping with the rest of the story.</p>\n\n<p>One final thing - the end notes are <em>superb</em>. They go through all the references you might have missed, explain where certain phrases came from, and point the curious reader to the books which were an inspiration. Too many authors treat their literary allusions as a precious puzzle and jealously guard them. I'm delighted that Caroline Finch is generous enough to share her secrets with us.</p>\n\n<p>Many thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. The book will be released in 2027 - I strongly recommend putting it on your pre-order list.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76683&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Book Review",
          "term": "Book Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "NetGalley",
          "term": "NetGalley",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "shakespeare",
          "term": "shakespeare",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76333",
      "title": "I paid people to try and follow my README",
      "description": "Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain't no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That's no way to treat our users.  I naïvely believe there's a better way. As I've written before, you should sit down and actually test your …",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/i-paid-people-to-try-and-follow-my-readme/",
      "published": "2026-10-11T11:34:39.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-10T07:24:50.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Developers suck at writing documentation. We like to say RTFM but often there ain't no FM to R. At best we have a half-arsed collection of notes, some obsolete tips, and a link to a desolate forum full of people asking the same questions again and again. That's no way to treat our users.</p>\n\n<p>I naïvely believe there's a better way. As I've written before, you should sit down and <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/\"><em>actually</em> test your readme</a>. Spin up a fresh Virtual Machine, go through what you've written, and see if it makes sense.</p>\n\n<p>But it is <em>really</em> hard to ignore your own biases. Of course you know that certain commands require <code>sudo</code> and obviously when you wrote <code>-foo</code> you meant <code>--foo</code> and everyone knows that you have to reboot afterwards.</p>\n\n<p>How do you get rid of those biases? I paid people!</p>\n\n<p>As part of my <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/\">NLnet grant application for ActivityBot</a>, I said I wanted to test the install experience with real users and I was prepared to pay them €25 for an hour of their time. I stuck out the call on Mastodon, gathered a few people, and had a video call with them.</p>\n\n<p>The format was simple. I explained that I was looking for feedback on the first-run experience. I knew that it wasn't perfect and actively wanted constructive criticism. I asked the volunteer to share their screen and, crucially, to speak aloud. Tell me what they were doing. What they didn't understand, what confused them, what delighted them, what frustrated them, etc.</p>\n\n<p>I took notes by hand (fuck feeding the machine) and spent several hours being told what incorrect assumptions I'd made.</p>\n\n<p>Amongst the highlights I discovered were:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The link to the demo tool was wrong.</li>\n<li>Some people read a README in the terminal.</li>\n<li>What does it actually mean to rename a file?</li>\n<li>How do you rename a hidden file?</li>\n<li>Should a demo tool be available on the web or just the user's local machine?</li>\n<li>Why does some text explicitly need to be quoted and some not?</li>\n<li>My jokes aren't funny and are actively confusing.</li>\n<li>Some of the technical terminology needed explaining.</li>\n<li>The ordering of the different sections was confusing.</li>\n<li>I hadn't actually explained what the software would do.</li>\n<li>A whole section which was technically interesting to me was utterly confusing to everyone else.</li>\n<li>Not all web servers use permissions in the same way.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>And on it went!</p>\n\n<p>After each session I updated the README based on what people found difficult, then I re-tested it with the next person.</p>\n\n<p>In total, I paid out around €150 to have a bunch of people criticise me to my face. Hey, cheaper than therapy, right?</p>\n\n<p>I know someone is going to say \"why not just ask an LLM to simulate a range of users?\" The answer is very simple - I want to speak to real people. People are brilliant! They can make you laugh, you can see their cat when it wanders on to the call, they bring a unique perspective to the problem, and they're really happy when you give them a €25 voucher. Some will gladly do it for free and make <em>you</em> happy!</p>\n\n<!--👋👋👋👋👋👋👋 Welcome to Comment Club! Shhhh! Only cool people can read this bit of the post.\n\nI did have a serious think about using an LLM for this. Ethics aside (and you can never really put ethics aside) I just didn't feel like I could trust their judgement. I get the argument that it is not much different from using a spellcheck - but I fundamentally don't want to feed the beast.\n\nAnyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nBe seeing you 👌👁\n-->\n\n<p>When I was doing technical writing for GOV.UK, all my beautiful prose was given a second-eye by another human. They eviscerated all my flowery phrases and turned the document into something more readable. They were the ones who caught the mistakes that no spell chequer could. They were able to have a proper conversation with me. More importantly, I could <em>hear</em> the frustration in their voice - that's the thing which lets you know a mistake needs to be corrected.</p>\n\n<p>I don't claim that <a href=\"https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/blob/main/README.md?ref_type=heads\">ActivityBot's README</a> is now perfect - far from it - but it is now demonstrably easier to follow. Developers need to talk to <em>real</em> people. You don't have to pay them if you can't afford it - but find a few people who will talk aloud while they try to follow your instructions. I guarantee you that your README will become much better for it.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76333&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "ActivityBot",
          "term": "ActivityBot",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "ActivityPub",
          "term": "ActivityPub",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "developers",
          "term": "developers",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75774",
      "title": "Some quick thoughts on Unit Testing ActivityPub",
      "description": "I'll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of \"Test Driven Development\". I'm much more of a \"telnet into production and damn the consequences\" kind of guy. Look, it's much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.  The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:   Feed a function some data See how it responds   Send it good data and if it returns…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/",
      "published": "2026-10-10T11:34:15.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-10T12:01:12.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I'll be radically honest here - I never really got the idea of \"Test Driven Development\". I'm much more of a \"telnet into production and damn the consequences\" kind of guy. Look, it's much more fun and my cardiologist recommends severe shocks every now and again.</p>\n\n<p>The essence of unit testing is pretty simple:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Feed a function some data</li>\n<li>See how it responds</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Send it good data and if it returns \"true\" the test passes. Send it bad data and make sure it returns false. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.</p>\n\n<p>As part of my <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/\">NLnet funded work on ActivityBot</a>, I'm writing some proper tests for my bot framework. I am hopeful that some of them will be useful to other projects doing similar things.</p>\n\n<p>There are four major classes of tests - here are the problems I've found while writing them.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"basic-text-validation\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#basic-text-validation\">Basic text validation</a></h2>\n\n<p>A basic test might be how to validate that an ActivityPub username is valid. Typically it would be something like <code>@edent@mastodon.social</code> - what assumptions do we make with that? It starts with an <code>@</code> and has another <code>@</code> somewhere in it, dividing into two parts, the user and the server.  The server has to be a valid domain name - but that can include non-ASCII Internationalised Domain Names and Emoji domains.</p>\n\n<p>What about the user part? Is it just A-Z and 0-9? Can it have dots? What about apostrophes like an email address?</p>\n\n<p>Basically, how easy is it find the specifications for all the various component parts of ActivityPub? Not very!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"message-validation\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#message-validation\">Message validation</a></h2>\n\n<p>What does a <a href=\"https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7033/\">WebFinger response</a> look like? Which parts are mandatory and what values can they contain?</p>\n\n<p>With any message that your project generates, how can you be sure that other ActivityPub servers will understand it?</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, when we receive a follow message from an external server, what should it look like?</p>\n\n<p>There are some <a href=\"https://github.com/steve-bate/fediverse-jsonschema\">JSON Schemas</a> which can be used to validate some type of messages.</p>\n\n<p>But, again, there are <em>many</em> scattered specifications.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"signature-verification\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#signature-verification\">Signature verification</a></h2>\n\n<p>As I've written about before, <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/a-reasonably-practical-guide-to-validating-rfc-9421-http-signatures-for-activitypub-in-php/\">HTTP Signatures are difficult</a>. There are two main problems. The first is verifying signatures.</p>\n\n<p>In order to do that, you need to gather a bunch of signatures and then find a way to replay them into the test. So I'm in the process of saving signatures which I can then share with others.</p>\n\n<p>The second problem is <em>generating</em> signatures.  Sure, you can run tests on the signatures - but there's only one <em>real</em> way to test whether they're acceptable…</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"communicating-with-others\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#communicating-with-others\">Communicating with others</a></h2>\n\n<p>Passing tests means nothing if you can't communicate with others and they can't communicate with you.</p>\n\n<p>Some tests are easier than others. Sending a signed request should be easy and repeatable. But receiving messages isn't easily automated. It requires being able to control an external server and asking that to send messages.</p>\n\n<p>With the <a href=\"https://docs.joinmastodon.org/client/intro/\">Mastodon API</a> it is possible to make requests which will interact with your server - but only if it is a <em>public</em> server.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"putting-it-all-together\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/some-thoughts-on-unit-testing-activitypub/#putting-it-all-together\">Putting it all together</a></h2>\n\n<p>I'm putting <a href=\"https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests?ref_type=heads\">all my tests online</a>. I'm also sharing a <a href=\"https://gitlab.com/edent/activity-bot/-/tree/main/tests/headers?ref_type=heads\">collection of messages and signatures</a> which you can use in your tests.</p>\n\n<p>I'd love to know if you find them useful.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75774&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "ActivityBot",
          "term": "ActivityBot",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "ActivityPub",
          "term": "ActivityPub",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "PHP",
          "term": "PHP",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76517",
      "title": "Concert Review: London Voices - Video Games Go Choral ★★★★☆",
      "description": "London's musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.  The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an a cappella…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/concert-review-london-voices-video-games-go-choral/",
      "published": "2026-10-09T11:34:09.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-09T17:02:16.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Video_Games_Go_Choral.webp\" alt=\"A choir stands in front of a video game background.\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" class=\"alignleft\">\n\n<p>London's musical entertainment scene has something for everyone - from long-running blockbuster shows to no-name bands in dingy basements. Somewhere in the middle is monophonic plainchant versions of the Halo theme sung in a church.</p>\n\n<p>The acoustics at St Martin in the Field are echoey. That makes it rather hard to hear the amplified announcement to turn off our phones, but makes an <i lang=\"it\">a cappella</i> chorus absolutely soar.  The choir of London Voices have sung on <a href=\"https://www.london-voices.com/films-gaming\">just about every movie you've watched and game you've played</a> - so they're no stranger to more modern compositions.</p>\n\n<p>The programme strictly alternated between songs from popular games are some more traditional verses. As a tone-deaf musical ignoramus, I found some of the pieces hard to distinguish from each other and, perhaps, just a little repetitive. Delightfully, the choir is generous with its solos. Far too often these events have one main star while everyone else glares daggers at them. Here it seemed quite the opposite, with a range of voices brought to the forefront.</p>\n\n<p>Parts of the programme are a little odd. While Pilentze Pee is an incredible song and sung extremely well, I don't think there's much to tie it to The Wind Waker. Of course, the highlight was a cheeky rendition of \"Still Alive\" from Portal. An excellent arrangement sung with joy and gusto.</p>\n\n<p>An eclectic and interesting event, marred only by the uncomfortable pews of the church. Truly we must suffer for other people's art!</p>\n\n<iframe title=\"London Voices: Video Games Go Choral Trailer\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/WfhgC6G9EIg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"></iframe>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76517&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "gaming",
          "term": "gaming",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "gig",
          "term": "gig",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Review",
          "term": "Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75989",
      "title": "Theatre Review: Hay Fever at Wyndham's Theatre ★★★★⯪",
      "description": "I'm a theatrical cheapskate. I'm on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I'll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I'll splash out and pay full price.  When the email landed…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/",
      "published": "2026-10-08T11:34:40.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-08T11:49:33.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I'm a theatrical cheapskate. I'm on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I'll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I'll splash out and pay full price.</p>\n\n<p>When the email landed in my inbox that Richard E. Grant (!!) and Christine Baranski (!!!) would be performing Noël Coward's Hay Fever, I booked instantly. Yes, it's nice to see up-and-coming stars playing in a grimy basement, but sometimes you want 100% star power burning up the stage.</p>\n\n<!--  \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This snippet of bonus content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.\n\nI'm trying to work out how many Doctors Who I've seen on stage or met. Apparently I saw Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge when I was a wee lad. I met Tom Baker at a signing. I've twice seen Paul McGann (including once *as* The Doctor). I saw David Tennant in the Scottish Play. Matt Smith and I attended UEA at the same time so I *guess* we probably bumped in to each other in the drama studio or pub. I saw Jodie Whittaker in Duchess of Malfi. And now I've seen Richard E. Grant who is canonically both the 9th and 10th Doctor.\n\nAnyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n -->\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hayfever.webp\" alt=\"Richard E. Grant and Christine Baranski.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>It was magnificent. The script stills draws gasps of outrage from the audience. The zingers ping around the stage. Baranski's matriarch channels her inner diva and dominates the stage while Lucy Karczewski subtlety undercuts all the pomposity thrown around.</p>\n\n<p>The whole cast is superb, although perhaps a little under-rehearsed. The script is so tight that the few slips there were put a little brake on the frenetic pace. The set, costuming, and directorial deviations from the script are all perfectly in service of merriment.</p>\n\n<p>I know the play is over a century old (!) but the wit is timeless. In a West End awash with Serious Plays dealing with Important Issues, it is delightfully refreshing to see something so silly and inconsequential. There's no deep trauma or challenging material, just the fascination of watching truly appalling manners. About the only content warning needed is for the copious smoking.</p>\n\n<p>There is some interesting metatextuality having Sandy and Jackie played by non-white actors. Are the Bliss family so unbearably rude to them out of racism? It's certainly one reading of the script - and some of the lines certainly hint in that direction - but it could equally be their social standing which the Blisses find so distasteful. That's about as close as the production gets to modern social commentary.</p>\n\n<p>I wanted light-hearted fluff performed by A-List actors - Hay Fever delivers just that. Noël Coward has an immortal ability to collapse an audience into helpless giggles, ably assisted by Emily Burns' inspired direction.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"pre-show-and-post-show\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/theatre-review-hay-fever-at-wyndhams-theatre/#pre-show-and-post-show\">Pre-show and Post-show</a></h2>\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/\">I've written about before</a>, when people are paying West End prices, they deserve to feel like they're a valued guest - not cattle to be farmed.</p>\n\n<p>On the run up to the <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/\">Race For Space concert</a> I attended the week before, I got regular emails letting me know about the performance, how excited the band were, and the like. Despite paying considerably more for a ticket, Wyndham's didn't send me anything. If I didn't have a reminder in my diary, I would have forgotten this show existed. I'm not saying I want a bombardment of emails - but a few messages to build excitement wouldn't go amiss.</p>\n\n<p>Wyndham's Theatre is old - from an age where no one ever contemplated going to the loo, apparently. The gents are paltry and, to be frank, stank. The seating was well raked, allowing brilliant views - although the seats themselves were a bit tired and uncomfortable. Unlike other theatres, there was free WiFi which was good enough for uploading the obligatory selfie.</p>\n\n<p>Pre-curtain there was period appropriate music. Charmingly the \"please turn off your phones\" announcement was <em>also</em> period appropriate. Much nicer than being shouted at by ushers. A special shout out to the glorious fire curtain - I won't spoil the surprise 😄</p>\n\n<p>The programme was not too expensive at a fiver and full of content - rather than the usual explosion of adverts. Oddly, the theatre was also selling Hay Fever merchandise. I'm not sure how many people are desperate for a souvenir magnet of the cast…</p>\n\n<p>Wyndham's certain do more than the base minimum - and it is a pity that is so notable. A pair of tickets in the stalls cost the same as a <em>year</em> of Netflix. Yes, seeing the stars in person is magical, and live theatre is exciting, and a laughing crowd elevates your enjoyment - but the toilets at home are nicer and the snacks are cheaper. Theatres need to deliver much more if they want to keep attracting new audiences.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75989&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Theatre Review",
          "term": "Theatre Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76095",
      "title": "Una Watch - SDK and Writing Your First App",
      "description": "I don't know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I've said before you need to actually test your readme.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.  So here's how to go from zero to your first \"Hello, World!\" Glance app with the minimum of fuss.  This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.  …",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/",
      "published": "2026-10-06T11:34:25.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-17T10:10:32.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I don't know why hardware manufacturers find it so hard to write decent documentation. As I've said before <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/how-to-actually-test-your-readme/\">you need to <em>actually</em> test your readme</a>.  The Una Watch development instructions are scattered across a bunch of different files.</p>\n\n<p>So here's how to go from zero to your first \"Hello, World!\" Glance app with the minimum of fuss.</p>\n\n<p>This all assumes a fairly modern Debian / Ubuntu / Pop OS Linux.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"prerequisites\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#prerequisites\">Prerequisites</a></h2>\n\n<p>This installs most of the tools you will need:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">sudo apt update\nsudo apt install -y git python3 python3-pip cmake build-essential\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"stm32cubeclt\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#stm32cubeclt\">STM32CubeCLT</a></h2>\n\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html\">https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeclt.html</a> and download the Linux version of the tool. Inexplicably, you need to give your email address. I recommend giving a disposable one from <a href=\"https://10minutemail.com/\">https://10minutemail.com/</a></p>\n\n<p>After downloading, unzip the file.</p>\n\n<p>On the command line, <code>cd</code> into the directory containing the unzipped file.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">chmod +x stm32cubeclt_*.sh\nsudo ./stm32cubeclt_*.sh\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>You will need to agree to their licence. Just hit <code>y</code>.</p>\n\n<p>That installs everything in <code>/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/</code></p>\n\n<p>You will need to make that available to your PATH.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">export PATH=\"/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH\"\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"clone-the-repo\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#clone-the-repo\">Clone the repo</a></h2>\n\n<p>You will need to copy <a href=\"https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/\">the Una SDK</a>. I keep my git repos in <code>~/git/</code> - you will need the location of the directory later.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">cd ~/git/\ngit clone git@github.com:UNAWatch/una-sdk.git\ncd una-sdk/\ngit submodule update --init ThirdParty/lvgl\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Then update all the Python dependencies.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">export UNA_SDK=\"$PWD\"\npython3 -m pip install --upgrade pip\npython3 -m pip install -r \"$UNA_SDK/Utilities/Scripts/app_packer/requirements.txt\"\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"check-it-has-all-worked\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#check-it-has-all-worked\">Check it has all worked</a></h2>\n\n<p>Paste this into your terminal. Check for any errors.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">which arm-none-eabi-gcc || true\nwhich cmake || true\nwhich make || true\nwhich python3 || true\npython3 -m pip --version\narm-none-eabi-gcc --version || true\ncmake --version || true\nmake --version || true\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"build-the-demo-app\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-the-demo-app\">Build the demo app</a></h2>\n\n<p>If all of the above has worked, you should be able to build the demo app with:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">cd /tmp\nmkdir -p MyAlarm\ncp -r \"$UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/Alarm/\"* MyAlarm\nmkdir -p MyAlarm/build\ncmake -G \"Unix Makefiles\" -S MyAlarm/Software/Apps/Alarm-CMake -B MyAlarm/build\ncmake --build MyAlarm/build\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"make-it-permanent\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#make-it-permanent\">Make it permanent</a></h2>\n\n<p>Store the paths permanently. If you put cloned the Una SDK to somewhere other than <code>~/git/</code> you'll need to edit this next bit of code:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">echo 'export UNA_SDK=\"$HOME/git/una-sdk\"' >> ~/.bashrc\necho 'export PATH=\"/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.22.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:$PATH\"' >> ~/.bashrc\nsource ~/.bashrc\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2 id=\"build-a-glance-app\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#build-a-glance-app\">Build a Glance app</a></h2>\n\n<p>At the moment, the only way to build a GUI app is using the Windows only (Booooo!) TouchGFX<sup id=\"fnref:windoze\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fn:windoze\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow LVGL which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>. So, instead, we'll make a \"Hello World\" glance. All it will do is draw some text.</p>\n\n<p>The <code>GlanceFloors</code> demo app is the simplest one to copy.</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/\ncp -r  GlanceFloors/ GlanceHello\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Use an IDE or a text editor to open up the new GlanceHello directory.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Rename the directory <code>GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/</code> to <code>GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake/</code></li>\n<li>Edit the file <code>GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceFloors-CMake/CMakeLists.txt</code> - specifically the <code># App configuration</code> section.</li>\n<li>Change the <code>APP_NAME</code> to <code>GlanceHello</code></li>\n<li>Change the <code>APP_USER_NAME</code> to <code>Hello</code></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>For a demo, you can leave the <code>DEV_ID</code> and <code>APP_ID</code> as their default values.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"minimum-viable-app\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#minimum-viable-app\">Minimum viable app</a></h2>\n\n<p>You will need to edit two more files.</p>\n\n<p>In <code>GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Header/Service.hpp</code> remove the following lines:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-CPP\">SDK::Sensor::Connection mSensorFloors;\nuint32_t                mFloorsValue;\nbool                    mDataReceived;\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Then save the file.</p>\n\n<p>Edit <code>GlanceHello/Software/Libs/Source/Service.cpp</code> and replace its entire contents with this:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-CPP\">#include \"Service.hpp\"\n#include \"SDK/Messages/CommandMessages.hpp\"\n#include \"SDK/Messages/MessageGuard.hpp\"\n\nService::Service(SDK::Kernel &kernel)\n    : mKernel(kernel)\n    , mGlanceUI()\n    , mGlanceTitle()\n    , mGlanceValue()\n{}\n\nService::~Service(){}\n\nvoid Service::run()\n{\n    while (true) {\n        SDK::MessageBase *msg;\n        if(!mKernel.comm.getMessage(msg)) {\n            continue;\n        }\n\n        switch (msg->getType()) {\n\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_START:\n                if (configGui()) {\n                    createGuiControls();\n                } else {\n                    mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n                    mKernel.sys.exit(0);\n                }\n                break;\n\n            case SDK::MessageType::COMMAND_APP_STOP:\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_STOP:\n                mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n                return;\n                break;\n\n            case SDK::MessageType::EVENT_GLANCE_TICK:\n                onGlanceTick();\n                break;\n\n            default:\n                break;\n        }\n\n        mKernel.comm.releaseMessage(msg);\n    }\n}\n\nvoid Service::onGlanceTick()\n{\n    if (mGlanceUI.isInvalid()) {\n        if (auto upd = SDK::make_msg<SDK::Message::RequestGlanceUpdate>(mKernel)) {\n            upd->name           = APP_NAME;\n            upd->controls       = mGlanceUI.data();\n            upd->controlsNumber = static_cast<uint32_t>(mGlanceUI.size());\n            upd.send(100);\n        }\n\n        mGlanceUI.setValid();\n}\n}\n\nbool Service::configGui()\n{\n    bool status = false;\n    if (auto gc = SDK::make_msg<SDK::Message::RequestGlanceConfig>(mKernel)) {\n        if (gc.send(100) && gc.ok()) {\n            if (gc->maxControls >= 3) {\n                mGlanceUI.setWidth(gc->width);\n                mGlanceUI.setHeight(gc->height);\n                status = true;\n            }\n        }\n    }\n    return status;\n}\n\nvoid Service::createGuiControls()\n{\n    mGlanceTitle = mGlanceUI.createText();\n    mGlanceTitle.pos({ kTitleX, kTitleY }, { kTitleW, kTitleH })\n        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)\n        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_TEAL)\n        .setText(\"Hello, World!\")\n        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);\n    mGlanceValue = mGlanceUI.createText();\n    mGlanceValue.pos({ 0, kValueY }, { 200, kValueH })\n        .font(GlanceFont_t::GLANCE_FONT_POPPINS_SEMIBOLD_20)\n        .color(GlanceColor_t::GLANCE_COLOR_WHITE)\n        .setText(\"I know C++\")\n        .alignment(GlanceAlignH_t::GLANCE_ALIGN_H_CENTER);\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Save the file.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"compile-it\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#compile-it\">Compile it</a></h2>\n\n<p>On the command line</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-bash\">cd $UNA_SDK/Examples/Apps/GlanceHello/Software/App/GlanceHello-CMake\ncmake -G \"Unix Makefiles\" -S . -B build\ncmake --build build\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>It should finish with a success message of <code>[100%] Built target GlanceHelloApp</code></p>\n\n<h2 id=\"copying-it-to-your-watch\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#copying-it-to-your-watch\">Copying it to your watch</a></h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Plug your watch into your computer with a USB-C cable.</li>\n<li>On your computer, open the watch's filesystem.</li>\n<li>Open the <code>Apps</code> directory.</li>\n<li>Create a new directory.</li>\n<li>Name the new directory with the string of characters from the <code>APP_ID</code> which is set in <code>CMakeLists.txt</code></li>\n<li>The app is stored in <code>GlanceHello/Output/</code> and will be called <code>Hello_1.5.0-rc5.uapp</code> or similar.</li>\n<li>Copy the <code>.uapp</code> file from your computer to the directory you just created on the watch.</li>\n<li>Eject the watch.</li>\n<li>Unplug the cable.</li>\n<li>Restart the watch by pressing the \"Up\" button until you get to \"Power Off\", then press \"Select\", then press \"Select\" again.</li>\n<li>Turn the watch on by holding down \"Select\".</li>\n<li>Once the watch has fully restarted, press the \"Down\" button until you see the \"Hello\" glance.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If it has worked, you should see something like this:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cpp.webp\" alt=\"A watch displaying \"Hello World\" and \"I know C++\". The latter if off centre because I don't know C++.\" width=\"1926\" height=\"2048\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Hurrah! Treat yourself to a beer 🍻</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr aria-label=\"Footnotes\">\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:windoze\">\n<p>Just after I wrote this, the SDK was updated to allow <a href=\"https://lvgl.io/\">LVGL</a> which should work on Linux. There's no documentation for it yet that I could find. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/una-watch-sdk-and-writing-your-first-app/#fnref:windoze\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76095&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "c++",
          "term": "c++",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "HowTo",
          "term": "HowTo",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "programming",
          "term": "programming",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "UnaWatch",
          "term": "UnaWatch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76276",
      "title": "[RSS Club] Changes to the RSS and Atom feeds",
      "description": "This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!  A few weeks ago I accidentally broke some of your feed readers. I was using <![CDATA[ … ]]> blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?  Anyway, if you've a mind to, I'd b…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/",
      "published": "2026-10-05T11:34:03.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-04T19:41:02.000Z",
      "content": "<p><mark>This content is exclusive to RSS and Atom subscribers. It is not on the web. Shhhhh!</mark></p>\n\n<p>A few weeks ago I accidentally <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/rss-club-sorry-for-breaking-your-feed-readers/\">broke some of your feed readers</a>. I was using <code><![CDATA[ … ]]></code> blocks in the feed. That allows me to put in raw HTML without the need for escaping. Unfortunately, some feed readers unescaped text which should have remained escaped. Confusing, innit?</p>\n\n<p>Anyway, if you've a mind to, I'd be grateful if you <a href=\"https://edent.tel/\">let me know</a> if this post does anything \"weird\" with your reader<sup id=\"fnref:weird\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fn:weird\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"I mean weirder than my usual stuff!\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>This text should be <strong>bold</strong> but this text <code><strong>should not</strong></code>.</p>\n\n<!-- \nAnd what about comments? Say, comments would be a nifty place to hide bonus content eh? 😉\n-->\n\n<p>This text should be escaped <code><marquee></code> and should not cause your reader to scroll.</p>\n\n<p>This is an image of a mushroom cloud:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg\" alt=\"A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb.\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>This is the escaped version <code><img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/atomic-bomb-2621291_640.jpg\" alt=\"A glowing red mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb.\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" class=\"aligncenter\" /></code></p>\n\n<p>This should just be an ampersand:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-_\">&\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>And this should be ampersand, amp, and semicolon:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-_\">&amp;\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Here's a video embed that I like:</p>\n\n<iframe title=\"The Rolling Stones - Mr Charm (Official Video)\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/3e5LxvRZjVw?start=1&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"></iframe>\n\n<p>I'm sure there's all sorts of other odd stuff I could add, but this'll be a good start.</p>\n\n<p>With thanks to <a href=\"https://waspdev.com/articles/2026-05-11/avoid-using-cdata-in-rss\">Suren Enfiajyan's article for the guidance</a>.</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr aria-label=\"Footnotes\">\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:weird\">\n<p>I mean weirder than my usual stuff! <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/rss-club-changes-to-the-rss-and-atom-feeds/#fnref:weird\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76276&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "RSS Club",
          "term": "RSS Club",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72702",
      "title": "My Pitch for the New Season of Doctor Who",
      "description": "With the news that the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who, I thought I'd write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I've based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.  Do we really need another Spider-Man origin…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/",
      "published": "2026-10-04T11:34:50.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-27T21:28:57.000Z",
      "content": "<p>With the news that <a href=\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/doctor-who-invitation-to-tender-september-2026/\">the BBC are tendering for a new series of Doctor Who</a>, I thought I'd write down what I want from the show. This is, to be fair, pure fan-service wankery with zero chance of being made. I've based it on the oft-made observation that Hollywood is obsessed with remaking successful films rather than trying to remake unsuccessful ones.</p>\n\n<p>Do we really need another Spider-Man origin story? No. Do we need the umpteenth remake of \"The Italian Job\"? Boring! Why don't producers take a film which was <em>nearly</em> a hit and see if a better director, crew, and cast can make it into something magical?</p>\n\n<p>Let's apply the same thinking to Doctor Who.</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.\n\nThis is a very silly post born out of some late night chats. To be honest, it has probably already been done in one of the Big Finish stories - but I don't have time to listen to all those. Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the (eventual) new series will be like.\n\nAnyway, the three rules of Comment Club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>My pitch is simple - remake some of the original stories which were let down by shoddy effects, naff music, indifferent direction, and hammy acting. There are loads of great stories which are stretched too thin over six episodes with clunky cliffhangers. So let's give them a fresh lick of paint, trim each story down to two episodes, and give them modern direction<sup id=\"fnref:Whooooo\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fn:Whooooo\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:\n> Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use…\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>One story from each of the original Doctors' run. But here's the twist - there's a different actor playing The Doctor for each story! The Doctor's companion stays the same throughout. As the ~14 episodes play out, The Doctor gradually becomes aware that some malevolent force is compelling them to relive their previous adventures.</p>\n\n<p>Very roughly, this is what I'd do:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The Web Planet - with Patrick Stewart as The Doctor. Imagine proper CGI ants! Menoptra floating through the air! It's fair to say <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/09/review-doctor-who-the-web-planet/\">I disliked the original version</a>, but it is easy to imagine how it <em>could</em> work.</li>\n<li>Fury From The Deep - with Miranda Hart. A fine story but with so-so delivery. The environmental angle would resonate well today.</li>\n<li>Invasion of the Dinosaurs - with Sean Pertwee. Look, who else are you going to get to play him? The original story is probably the epitome of shoddy FX work! Everyone loves dinosaurs and having them rampage around the UK (rather than a spaceship) would be thrilling.</li>\n<li>The Talons of Weng-Chiang  - with Benedict Wong. Is it possible to rewrite this to be less racist? There's a great story to be told, but the original suffers from \"yellowface\".</li>\n<li>Earthshock - with Riz Ahmed. Time to get in a \"classic baddie\" with the Cybermen running rampage on a ship.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>At this point, The Doctor realises who has been driving him through his past lives. Forcing him to confront his sins. Sending him mad through endless regenerations.</p>\n\n<p>Adric.</p>\n\n<p>Someone, or some<em>thing</em>, has resurrected Adric. His \"noble sacrifice\" was little more than a suicide attempt after the relentless bullying by The Doctor and his companions. Driven to vengeance, he is determined to keep The Doctor trapped in a never-ending cycle of death and destruction.</p>\n\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li>The Twin Dilemma - with Michaela Coel. A hugely problematic and violent story. As The Doctor realises her companion is a villain, can she keep her reactions under control? Should she?</li>\n<li>Survival - with Alex Horne. The Doctor has to face not The Master but a furious Adric hellbent on purging the Universe of the Time Lords. All the strands of the previous stories come together in an epic climax.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Get J. Michael Straczynski to run the thing, a bunch of chiptune/electronica/glitch musicians to give each episode a unique sound, and - crucially - show it in autumn/winter. There's no point having scary sci-fi on when it is bright outside and people want to go out and play. This needs to be hug-your-mum-for-warmth-not-because-you're-scared TV.</p>\n\n<p>Right, I'm off to the Beeb to deliver the pitch! TTFN.</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr aria-label=\"Footnotes\">\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:Whooooo\">\n<p>To be 100% clear, I know this is never going to happen. The BBC's tender document specifically says:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Iconic, established villains are a mainstay of the series over 60 years and we invite you to use them, but we will want to begin to get an understanding of the original characters, aliens and themes that producers wish to bring to the show and are keen not to be overly reliant on existing Doctor Who lore. We are looking for a new perspective that ensures Doctor Who remains relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring for both long-standing fans and new audiences.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/my-pitch-for-the-new-season-of-doctor-who/#fnref:Whooooo\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72702&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Doctor Who",
          "term": "Doctor Who",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=76031",
      "title": "Gadget Review: Una Watch ★★★★☆",
      "description": "I've never been a huge fan of smart watches. My £16 smartwatch is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there's no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the eInk Watchy which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch.  So why did I pick up the Una Watch?  Firstly, the Una Watch is …",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/",
      "published": "2026-10-02T11:34:48.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-01T07:47:47.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I've never been a huge fan of smart watches. My <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/\">£16 smartwatch</a> is basically fine, but the OS is closed source and there's no way to add new functionality.  Previously I had the <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/06/review-watchy-an-eink-watch-full-of-interesting-compromises/\">eInk Watchy</a> which was a pain to use and really poorly designed.  Even back in 2014 I was bemoaning the design compromises in the <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/11/disassembling-the-mykronoz-zewatch-smart-watch/\">MyKronoz ZeWatch Smart Watch</a>.</p>\n\n<p>So why did I pick up the Una Watch?</p>\n\n<p>Firstly, the Una Watch is designed in Scotland <del>from girders</del>, and it's always nice to support local businesses.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, as a <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/im-a-usb-c-maximalist/\">USB-C Maximalist</a> I want gadgets which can plug in to the same cables as all my other toys. No magnetic pucks here!</p>\n\n<p>Thirdly, it is (almost) <a href=\"https://unawatch.com/pages/open-source\">completely open source</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, it is repairable. You can easily unscrew it to replace the components. As my cheap smartwatch's dial has died after 12 months of use, that's a pretty compelling proposition!</p>\n\n<p>Let's put it through its paces!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"first-impressions\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#first-impressions\">First Impressions</a></h2>\n\n<p>I bought mine second hand (yay for sustainability) and it arrived with a flat battery. The first charge from 0-100% took a little over an hour. My USB-C power monitor showed it taking in about 5V and 0.17 amps.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Charging.webp\" alt=\"Power monitor showing 0.84W.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>It happily charged from a PD plug, but didn't get any faster than about 0.84W. Basically, I can fully charge it on most public transport in London.</p>\n\n<p>The time seemed accurate, there were options to play about with, the vibrations for notifications were easy to feel. There is an option to make it beep with every button press - I turned that off sharpish!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"disclaimer\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#disclaimer\">Disclaimer</a></h2>\n\n<p>I am <em>not</em> <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/\">a smartwatch power user</a>. I'm not using this to minutely track all my exercise or calculate if my heart is going to explode.  I don't need cm level precision of my GPS. I didn't sync this with Strava or anything else.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"apps\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#apps\">Apps</a></h2>\n\n<p>The official Android app (which, sadly, isn't Open Source) worked fine on GrapheneOS. It found the watch, updated its GPS almanac, and let me browse the app store & install apps. Obviously early days, but there are a variety of community developed apps to play with.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/apps.webp\" alt=\"List of apps.\" width=\"504\" height=\"728\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Annoyingly the watch needs to be restarted after every app is installed - but that only take a handful of seconds.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Restart-watch.webp\" alt=\"Message telling me the watch needs to restart.\" width=\"504\" height=\"640\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>There are some <em>strange</em> error messages.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/error-message.webp\" alt=\"birthday must be a valid ISO 8601 date string country must be a valid ISO31661 Alpha2 code.\" width=\"504\" height=\"426\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>That isn't the sort of message which should be shown to users.</p>\n\n<p>But, on the plus side, you can install Doom!</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Doom.webp\" alt=\"App store listing showing Doom on the watch.\" width=\"504\" height=\"550\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<h2 id=\"the-screen\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#the-screen\">The Screen</a></h2>\n\n<p>Oddly for a modern smartwatch, the screen stays on <em>all the time!</em> But this isn't some power-hungry OLED, nor is it static eInk. Instead it is a <a href=\"https://www.andersdx.com/memory-in-pixel-displays/\">memory in pixel</a> display - black background with orange, blue, and white pixels.  The backlight remains off most of the time and is easy enough to see in daylight. It is <em>slightly</em> reflective - but not too bad.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Reflective.webp\" alt=\"Watch showing notifications, there is a bit of a reflection.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Note the <code>??</code> on the notifications - more on that later.</p>\n\n<p>Annoyingly, there's no \"raise wrist to light\" option. You have to interact with the watch to get the screen on. The accelerometer should allow this functionality - so perhaps it just needs to be activated in the firmware? It is bright enough to see in the dark, but not so bright it will dazzle you or people nearby.</p>\n\n<p>There's no touchscreen - instead there are four buttons around the face. Up, down, select, back. I did find myself repeatedly jabbing at the screen to no avail.</p>\n\n<p>So, to light it, press the back button or hold one of the other buttons.</p>\n\n<p>The colour scheme is pleasant enough. I miss having a full colour display so I can see a photo of my wife whenever I glance at the screen. But the low power usage can't be argued with.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"notifications\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#notifications\">Notifications</a></h2>\n\n<p>I couldn't get notifications working at first. The app just refused to let me toggle them on. Eventually I found an app in the app-store which claimed to enable them. That didn't work either.</p>\n\n<p>Unpairing, repairing, and reinstalling the app made them spring to life.</p>\n\n<p>There's no notification history. Once you've clicked to read it, that's it. Gone forever. Considering this has 4GB storage, that's an odd decision.</p>\n\n<p>Some of the notifications were slightly corrupt - showing question marks in place of (I assume) esoteric Unicode.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Question-Mark-notification.webp\" alt=\"A notification on screen with a question mark before the user's name.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>There's no way to customise the vibrate pattern - so everything \"feels\" the same on your wrist.</p>\n\n<p>At the moment, the Una Watch sends <em>every</em> notification to your phone. You can't tell it to ignore certain WhatsApp groups, or only allow text messages from your spouse.  The only way to get fine-grained notifications is with a third-party app like…</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"gadgetbridge\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#gadgetbridge\">Gadgetbridge</a></h2>\n\n<p>You're not tied to the official app. <a href=\"https://gadgetbridge.org/gadgets/wearables/una/\">Gadgetbridge support is excellent</a>. There are a few things missing (you can't install apps or set alarms) - but if you want to measure your heart rate, send notifications, etc you'll be fine.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"linux-compatibility\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#linux-compatibility\">Linux Compatibility</a></h2>\n\n<p>The Una Watch plugs in to USB-C and shows up as 3.5GB of exFAT formatted storage.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Una-Filesystem.webp\" alt=\"Filesystem view showing various JSON files.\" width=\"500\" height=\"649\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>You can manually edit the JSON files if you like. I think you can copy off your workout data. Or you can just use it as portable storage.</p>\n\n<p>Under <code>lsusb</code> it describes itself as <code>0483:52a4 STMicroelectronics UNA Watch</code></p>\n\n<h2 id=\"battery-life\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#battery-life\">Battery Life</a></h2>\n\n<p>After a full day of use the battery was at around 95% - that was with a bit of GPS, several notifications, heart rate monitoring, step counting, and a bunch of fiddling. With more GPS use, that's going to be heavier on the battery.</p>\n\n<p>But the joy of USB-C is that I can thwack in the same cable as I use for all my other gadgets. I can even plug it into my phone and leach a bit of power from there.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"development\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#development\">Development</a></h2>\n\n<p>The watch comes will a full <a href=\"https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk\">Open Source SDK</a> including lots of assets. There are several tutorials and a friendly community board.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, everything has to be done in C++ - an accurs'd language which I learned in the last century and wish I'd forgotten.</p>\n\n<p>Annoyingly, the <a href=\"https://github.com/UNAWatch/una-sdk/blob/main/Docs/sdk-setup.md\">TouchGFX GUI designer</a> only works in Windows.</p>\n\n<p>I'm going to try to build my own watch faces and a few niche apps.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"downsides\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#downsides\">Downsides</a></h2>\n\n<p>There are a few things this watch <em>doesn't</em> do - some of these may be deal-breakers for you, but weren't for me.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>No payments. There's no tap-to-pay, NFC, or anything like that.</li>\n<li>No microphone. You cannot speak into your Una Watch or take calls on it.</li>\n<li>No speaker. There's a little buzzer which can make squeaks and squawks - but you won't be playing your music through it.</li>\n<li>While the apps and SDK are fully open, the firmware isn't (yet).</li>\n<li>Can't reply to notifications.</li>\n<li>No maps or directions (yet).</li>\n<li>Step counter only shows the full day - no hour-by-hour view.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Some of these things can and will be fixed in software. Others are limitations of the hardware.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"final-thoughts\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/10/gadget-review-una-watch/#final-thoughts\">Final Thoughts</a></h2>\n\n<p>The Una Watch has dropped in price to £180. I grabbed mine 2nd hand from eBay for £120. At either price, it's decent value <em>if</em> you're happy to play with alpha / beta quality technology.</p>\n\n<p>If you're a serious athlete, you'll probably want a more expensive and polished experience. If you are tied into the Apple or Google ecosystems, you'll probably want one of their watches.</p>\n\n<p>If you like tinkering, want to experiment with new technology, or simply want to support a British company trying to build something open - then this is the watch for you. Yes, there are some rough edges, but I fundamentally believe that technology should be Open Source, repairable, and give control to its users.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=76031&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "gadget",
          "term": "gadget",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Review",
          "term": "Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "UnaWatch",
          "term": "UnaWatch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "watch",
          "term": "watch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74267",
      "title": "Are you a smartwatch \"power user\"?",
      "description": "What do you use your smartwatch for?  A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He'd ignored me when I said I had a non-Google watch.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/are-you-a-smartwatch-power-user/",
      "published": "2026-09-30T11:34:26.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-28T09:40:08.000Z",
      "content": "<p>What do you use your smartwatch for?</p>\n\n<p>A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between someone on the Pixel Watch team and a woman I know. He was quizzing her at a party about her Pixel watch and what features she used. He'd ignored me when I said I had <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/i-bought-a-16-smartwatch-just-because-it-used-usb-c/\">a non-Google watch</a>.  She thought for a moment and said, other than telling the time, all she used were pretty much the step counter and contactless payments. He looked a bit crestfallen at his impromptu user-research participant and somewhat dismissively sneered, \"Well, you're not exactly a power user, are you?\"</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments. \n\nHonestly, this guy was *such* an arse. Really spoiled an otherwise lovely party. Like, I don't mind talking about people's work - but it seemed that was the only thing he was interested in talking about. He also seemed genuinely offended that I'd bought a non-Google watch and didn't want to hear why I liked it. Oh well, his loss!\n\nOK, the three rules of comment club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep looking out for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>I'm trying to imagine what being a \"power user\" of a watch is like. Can anyone enlighten me?</p>\n\n<p>I think smart-watches are much like Alexa. What the user <em>wants</em> to do with it is almost totally at odds with what the company is selling. Alexæ are mostly kitchen timers, song players, and light switches. No one is a \"power user\" constantly installing skills and using it for anything which increases the product team's engagement metrics.</p>\n\n<p>The same is probably true of watches. Alerts are nifty - but cumbersome for replies. The health stuff is useful - but only for a subset of users. Seeing the time is great - but if the battery lasts less than a week, who wants to keep that screen on?</p>\n\n<p>People use watches because they are moderately more convenient to carry than the giant phones we have nowadays.</p>\n\n<p>Back when mobile phones were new, exciting, and made a feature of being tiny, I was working for a network operator and trying to come up with reasons for people to use our brand-new 3G network. All the research we had showed that people used their phones for exactly three things:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Voice calls</li>\n<li>Text messages</li>\n<li>A third thing</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>That \"3rd thing\" was varied. For some it was playing snake, for others it was a calendar, and a few took photos. But almost no-one used their phone beyond the basics. They weren't investigating the sub-menus, nor were they using most of their device's capability unless it was heavily advertised to them (ringtones, basically).</p>\n\n<p>It took the industry a <em>huge</em> amount of effort to get people to actually use their phones for more than calls and texts. Part of that was bigger screens with enticing icons (<a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/04/give-customers-an-elevator-pitch-for-your-app/\">although users will always be reluctant to click mysterious icons</a>). Another part was that phones became genuinely useful. But perhaps the biggest change, I think, is that phones became <em>easy to use</em>.</p>\n\n<p>Watches have tiny screens. You can only get a few words of a message on there. Icons are tiny and hard to reliably tap. Swiping away at your wrist or fiddling with a crown is a faff. Talking into your wrist makes you look like a prat. Interacting with a smartwatch is <strong>annoying</strong>. Why would anyone want to spend more time using it than is strictly necessary?</p>\n\n<p>I'm sure there are some people out there browsing the web on their wrist, and sending endless voice-notes to their AI assistant, and setting up complex travel plans by tapping their nose on the screen, and installing new watch faces which always point to the nearest Dignitas clinic, and seeing what their heart-rate did during that last run, and tracking whether their menstrual cycle is synced to the phases of the moon, and hoping that tripping on the stairs didn't send an alert to the emergency services, and whatever else the team has cooked up to show that they're still innovating.</p>\n\n<p>But I'll bet those \"power users\" are vastly outnumbered by people who are using a smartwatch for the limited set of actions which are useful to them; not to the manufacturer.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps the real power users have is the power to use a device on their own terms?</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74267&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "android",
          "term": "android",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "gadgets",
          "term": "gadgets",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "usability",
          "term": "usability",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "watch",
          "term": "watch",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73671",
      "title": "Book Review: Bobiverse Books 1-3 by Dennis E. Taylor ★★★☆☆",
      "description": "Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of Dungeon Crawler Carl, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It's campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.    Bob's brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/book-review-bobiverse-books-1-3-by-dennis-e-taylor/",
      "published": "2026-09-28T11:34:52.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-26T12:28:34.000Z",
      "content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bobiverse.webp\" alt=\"Book covers for the Bobiverse series.\" width=\"275\" height=\"225\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-73672\">\n\n<p>Like sticky popcorn, this is a moreish but ultimately unsatisfying set of stories. After I flamed out of <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/book-review-dungeon-crawler-carl-by-matt-dinniman/\">Dungeon Crawler Carl</a>, someone suggested I try this series. I can see why! It's campy sci-fi fun, with enough tropes to keep you chuckling and enough tension to keep you turning the pages.</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments. \n\nI kinda hate how quickly I devoured these books. They're sort of like a bowl of bland potato snacks which, nevertheless, you find yourself emptying into your gullet. There are so many *good* sci-fi books that I have no idea why I fixated on these? \n\nYou are required to obey the three rules of comment club - which are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>Bob's brain is uploaded to a computer post-mortem. Awoken in a dystopian future, he has to pilot a spaceship to strange new worlds, put right what once went wrong, and hoping The Force will be with him, always. Oh, and he repeatedly clones himself. Creating a universe populated with Bobs (a \"Bobiverse\" if you will)</p>\n\n<p>It's your standard \"only I, a slightly geeky guy with lots of pop-culture knowledge, can save the world\" fare which is beloved by slightly geeky guys everywhere who think they're smarter than all those normies just because they can recite the list of Hugo winners alphabetically.</p>\n\n<p>Like <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/09/what-i-read-on-my-holidays/\">Ready Player One</a> it throws in as many quips and catchphrases as the plot will bear. Unlike Cline's work, it never really commits to them, so you end up with a scattering of Monty Python, Star Wars, and the X-Files without an overall theme developing.</p>\n\n<p>And, in keeping with Andy Weir's The Martian, it's all just one guy sciencing the shit out of the problem. Except that lots of the science is sort of hand-waved away with \"and then I 3D printed a thing\".</p>\n\n<p>Similar to both those books is an almost total lack of female characters. The ones that are in the first two are either plot-points or harridans. By the third there's a love interest who is <em>slightly</em> more rounded, and a couple of other incidentals, but offset against yet another woman who just can't appreciate the \"genius\" of Bob.</p>\n\n<p>It's all good page turning fun other than the fact that Bob is a <em>total</em> cretin. He begins a slow descent into fascist dictator and barely even comments on it. He spies, carries out extra-judicial killings, and meddles in politics to his own advantage. At no point does the text ever really engage with the fact that <strong>Bob is a monster</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>The character rarely reflects on whether his behaviour meets the moral standard he expects of others. He bemoans the aliens who are destroying entire ecosystems while simultaneously wiping out whole species himself. At times he is a conniving bully and reacts badly to anyone who pushes back against the ineffable will of Bob.</p>\n\n<p>The jumping back-and-forth between the different Bobs is a bit frustrating, a bit like flicking between TV channels. I wish each story strand were allowed some space to develop - but instead it's one chapter of this planet, then one chapter of another, before (eventually) circling back.</p>\n\n<p>Annoyingly, <a href=\"http://dennisetaylor.org/wheres-the-whatever-version/#WhereEpub\">the books are only available on Amazon Kindle</a>. They're not on any other platform or library. I'm grateful to the friend who lent me their copies. I binged the first three but, without any indication that Bob will mature as a character or face a reckoning for his egregious actions, that's where I stopped.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73671&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "Book Review",
          "term": "Book Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Sci Fi",
          "term": "Sci Fi",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75993",
      "title": "Gig Review: Public Service Broadcasting's Race For Space at Alexandra Palace ★★★★⯪",
      "description": "Ahhh! PSB's RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.    For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/",
      "published": "2026-09-27T11:34:08.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-27T09:05:44.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Ahhh! PSB's RFS! A delightfully indulgent soundscape of melodic wonder, performed here on its 10th (ish) anniversary. Is it really nostalgia if an album is only a decade old? It feels like it has been in the air forever.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/On-Stage.webp\" alt=\"The band on stage with giant projections behind them.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1542\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>For something which is seemingly made up of samples, it would have been easy for them to half-arse it and basically just play the CD. Instead we got a full band, guest singers, and 360° video projection,</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Laser-Display.webp\" alt=\"Flight controls projected above the audience.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Oh, also a disco Sputnik flying over the crowd!</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Disco-Sputnik.webp\" alt=\"A large model Sputnik covered in lights.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Simply magical! As were the indoor fireworks.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Fireworks.webp\" alt=\"Sparks shooting upwards from the stage.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>I might quibble a little with their song choices (no Gagarin!) but hearing the crowd repeatedly scream \"GO!\" was magnificent.</p>\n\n<p>Ally Pally isn't a raked venue, so the video projection of the band was most welcome. An excellent gig in a splendid location.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"pre-show-and-post-show\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/gig-review-public-service-broadcastings-race-for-space-at-alexandra-palace/#pre-show-and-post-show\">Pre-show and Post-show</a></h2>\n\n<p>As I've written about before, <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/the-art-of-the-pre-show-and-post-show/\">the art of the Pre-Show and Post-Show</a> is vital for getting people to pay for events outside of their homes. Right now I can stream all the music in the world for a year for about the same price as a couple of gig tickets.  Why should I freeze my arse off outside, paying stupid money for mass-produced lager, when I could be at home?</p>\n\n<p>PSB kept up a constant stream of emails talking about the gig. Not an overwhelming amount, just letting people peek behind the curtain of organising it, giving helpful information about logistics, and letting us know about merchandise which was available.</p>\n\n<p>Crucially, they also gave us stage timings for them and their support act! How many times have you turned up on time to a gig only to spend an hour listening to some crap DJ before the crew even started setting up the stage? PSB treat their fans with respect.</p>\n\n<p>Ally Pally isn't a venue I've been to before. It was well laid out with decent toilet provision - including a big block of portaloos at the back of the hall. The beer prices weren't ruinous, but I kind of resented paying £15 for a veggie hotdog and a handful of chips.</p>\n\n<p>Some venues seem to think that screaming at punters to open their bags will make for an enjoyable visit. Here the security staff were polite and not overly officious. Water bottles were allowed in with a cheery wave.</p>\n\n<p>Post show - although the train stations are downhill, there were several buses waiting to take punters directly back. That's a perfect way of treating guests at your venue - ensuring that they get home safe and sound.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75993&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "gig",
          "term": "gig",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "Review",
          "term": "Review",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74960",
      "title": "No errors, no warnings, no gods, no masters - HTML Purity is a Fetish",
      "description": "\"The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn't just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax.\"    Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/",
      "published": "2026-09-26T11:34:02.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-26T12:24:48.000Z",
      "content": "<p>\"The problem with defending the purity of the HyperText Markup Language is that HTML is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. The standard doesn't just borrow concepts from better languages; on occasion, HTML has pursued other programming languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new syntax<sup id=\"fnref:soz\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:soz\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"With the appropriate amount of apologies to James Nicoll\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>.\"</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments.\n\nAm I being too harsh in calling technical purity a fetish? I don't think so. But I guess I would say that wouldn't I? My Kink *Is* My Kink And That's OK.\n\nDon't forget, the three rules of comment club are…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>Englitch is an pretty goode langwidge. even you no grok all the pacific bits you got the jist & the splelling & grandma dont mattr to much.</p>\n\n<p>HTML is much the same. You can write utterly malformed, derranged, non-standards complaint HTML and most browsers will just say \"Yeah, sure, whatever dawg!\" and render it adequately. Take a look at the source code for <a href=\"https://www.todepond.com/\">TodePond</a> - a lovely website but some of the most abused HTML I've seen.</p>\n\n<p>There's a brilliant blog post by Jens Oliver Meiert which looks at whether HTML validity is seen as a priority for major sites. Basically, no.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>It’s time for the annual analysis of how much of the HTML code in the field is error-free and valid. The short version: 1% of the most-frequented sites on this planet uses valid HTML—and 99% don’t.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://meiert.com/blog/html-conformance-2026/\">2 of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML</a></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>iS ThAt A pRoBlEm????</p>\n\n<p>My site is proudly HTML Valid. Run it through the <a href=\"https://validator.w3.org/nu/?doc=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2F\">HTML Validator</a> or the <a href=\"https://validator.schema.org/#url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog\">Schema.org Validator</a> and you'll see that it is <em>fucking perfect!</em> Same with my <a href=\"https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed\">RSS Feed</a> and <a href=\"https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshkspr.mobi%2Fblog%2Ffeed%2Fatom\">Atom Feed</a>. Not so much as an advisory bit of info, a couched warning, or a sternly worded suggestion<sup id=\"fnref:4now\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:4now\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃\" role=\"doc-noteref\">1</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>Every last bit pure and holy.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, syntactically valid HTML is neither necessary nor sufficient for any purpose.</p>\n\n<p>Perfect HTML doesn't imply that a site is accessible (although, I'm proud to say mine meets or exceeds all WCAG guidance<sup id=\"fnref:wcag\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:wcag\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"Again, it is possible to make something pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">2</a></sup>).</p>\n\n<p>Perfect HTML doesn't guarantee that the information it contains is accurate<sup id=\"fnref:purrrrrfect\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:purrrrrfect\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">3</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>Perfect HTML, at best, merely <em>implies</em> that the author gives a damn about such things. Much like <a href=\"https://knolling.org/\">Knolling</a>, it leaves a suggestion that order is preferable to chaos<sup id=\"fnref:knoll\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:knoll\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">4</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>It is said that one of the reasons HTML succeeded is that it is lax about validation. Most programming languages will shit the bed if you dare to leave out so much as a single semicolon. The compiler wails can be heard throughout the land.</p>\n\n<p>By contrast, HTML is designed to be sympathetic to the frailty of the human mind. \"Oh, you didn't close an element? Well, you opened a new one which I guess implies the same thing. Did you forget the correct syntax? Never mind - it'll be our little secret.\"</p>\n\n<p>That's why <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/the-web-runs-on-tolerance/\">XHTML failed</a> - the browser would literally refuse to render a page if it didn't meet the spec. Who can be bothered with that?! HTML just lets you get on with things.</p>\n\n<p>As I've mentioned before, <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/05/postels-law-also-applies-to-human-communication/\">humans don't write or speak in Backus–Naur form</a>. Our ideas are loosely expressed in a floating grammar which lends itself to paradoxical impossibilities and logical tautologies. And yet most of us can still parse <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence\">weird sentences</a> without too much effort.</p>\n\n<p>But most computer languages are different. It might be obvious to you that <code>if (x = 42)</code> means \"compare the value of x to 42\" - but what the computer sees is \"if assign x the value of 42\". Within computing our code needs to be <em>rigorously formal</em> and any syntax errors will lead to show-stopping bugs.</p>\n\n<p>Imagine if every time a human wrote <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_ite_domum\"><i lang=\"la\">Romanes eunt domus</i></a> the world simply crashed. It would be intolerable.</p>\n\n<p>HTML is more like a human language than a computing language. You can understand human speech over a crackly phone line in a foreign accent - Web Browsers understand CP-1252 encoded text with bizarre syntax errors.</p>\n\n<p>If it is OK to write bad HTML, why do some of us fetishise \"pure\" HTML?</p>\n\n<p>I think it comes down to an ingrained belief that it is polite to reduce ambiguity. It is nice to be precise<sup id=\"fnref:100\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fn:100\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"I will grant you, there's also a strain of 100% Completionist which compels me to get \"top score\" on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">5</a></sup>. It reduces the cognitive burden on anyone (or anything) which reads what we have written. We are holding up our end of the social contract by producing something unadulterated and easy to comprehend. It reduces the likelihood of different browsers rendering things differently but, almost on a cellular level, we <em>feel</em> that <strong>things must be done properly</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>The browser doesn't care about your inability to follow standards. But you should have some fucking self-respect and do it anyway.</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr aria-label=\"Footnotes\">\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:soz\">\n<p>With the appropriate amount of apologies to <a href=\"https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll\">James Nicoll</a> <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:soz\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:4now\">\n<p>At the time of writing. Who knows what batshit bugs I'll accidentally include in the future 🙃 <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:4now\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:wcag\">\n<p>Again, it is possible to make something <a href=\"https://www.matuzo.at/blog/building-the-most-inaccessible-site-possible-with-a-perfect-lighthouse-score/\">pass automated testing while still being an accessibility mess</a>. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:wcag\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:purrrrrfect\">\n<p>Although, of course, everything you read in this site is 100% accurate. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:purrrrrfect\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:knoll\">\n<p>Or some horrifying psychological issue. Potato / Tomato. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:knoll\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:100\">\n<p>I will grant you, there's also a strain of <a href=\"https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HundredPercentCompletion\">100% Completionist</a> which compels me to get \"top score\" on all the benchmarks. But that's just pure vanity. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/no-errors-no-warnings-no-gods-no-masters-html-purity-is-a-fetish/#fnref:100\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74960&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "HTML",
          "term": "HTML",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "WebDev",
          "term": "WebDev",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=75856",
      "title": "Some thoughts on HTML's proposed previewsrc attribute",
      "description": "One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard <video> element.  An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an…",
      "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/",
      "published": "2026-09-24T11:34:54.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-09-25T09:25:33.000Z",
      "content": "<p>One of the great things about modern HTML is that it tries to standardise stuff that developers are already doing. If there are a myriad ways of, for example, loading video onto a page - then browsers and other interested parties should work out how to make a standard <code><video></code> element.</p>\n\n<p>An interesting new proposal has been brought forth by Microsoft. There are a dozen ways to show a preview of an <code><img></code> element before the <code>src=</code> attribute has loaded. So why not standardise on <code>previewsrc=</code>? There's an <a href=\"https://patrickbrosset.com/articles/2026-09-22-blurry-before-beautiful-image-previews-for-the-web/\">excellent explainer on Patrick Brosset's blog</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I instinctively like the idea - if only to simplify source code and reduce JS usage. But I do have some concerns which <a href=\"https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1401\">I've shared with the team</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"whats-the-user-need\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-user-need\">What's The User Need?</a></h2>\n\n<p>This is the thing I always bang on about when I'm discussing standards. Additions to HTML should primarily benefit end users, not developers.</p>\n\n<p>Do end users want this? Is there a bunch of research that shows normal people are confused that they don't see a preview image? Do they recoil in fear and distress while waiting for a full resolution picture to appear?</p>\n\n<p>When people see a blurry or blocky image, do they understand that they need to wait for the full thing - or do they assume their computer is broken?</p>\n\n<p>Microsoft has a bazillion dollars - it can afford to spend a few thousand on interviewing some real users and mapping out what they're likely to want from this.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"whats-the-developer-need\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#whats-the-developer-need\">What's The Developer Need</a></h2>\n\n<p>I begrudgingly admit that developers need love too.</p>\n\n<!-- \n👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋\nWelcome to Comment Club! This content is only available to people who read my HTML comments. \n\nI was going to make a Sam Fox \"Naughty Girls Need Love Too\" joke here - but thought it was a bit niche. Anyway, take a listen to the sound of the eighties! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXEN57rFnIM\n\nNow you've read this, you can follow the three rules of comment club…\n\n1. You must not tell anyone about Comment Club - let them find out about it themselves.\n2. You *must* add some Comment Club Content to at least one of your blog posts. Doesn't have to be much, just a little note will do.\n3. You should drop an email to anyone whose comments you've read. Start by sending me a friendly message at comment.club@shkspr.mobi\n\nKeep your eyes peeled for more comments in future blog posts 😃\n\nTTFN.\n-->\n\n<p>What are the pain points of the current implementations? Is it hard to dynamically generate multiple images? Is the syntax hard to use? Do blurs slow down the page?</p>\n\n<p>Again, MS needs to pony up some cash to talk to developers. At the very least run a survey of all existing websites in the BING! database and see what they use.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"alt-text\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#alt-text\">Alt Text</a></h2>\n\n<p>When an image doesn't load, or loads slowly, a user will normally be shown some alt text - like this:</p>\n\n<img src=\"http://example.test/unicorn.avif\" alt=\"Terence Eden riding a pink unicorn. Rainbows shoot out of his fingers while the unicorn's horn glows an iridescent octarine against the starry sky.\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Is that more or less useful than this?</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/unicorn.webp\" alt=\"A very blurry image of possibly a Unicorn. Original Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay.\" width=\"256\" class=\"aligncenter\">\n\n<p>Accessibility isn't just for people with visual impairments!  This is <a href=\"https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1408\">an issue I've raised with them</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"naming-things-is-hard\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#naming-things-is-hard\">Naming Things Is Hard</a></h2>\n\n<p>I've written before about <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/10/the-usability-of-html-elements/\">the usability of HTML elements</a>. Some of the newer ones like <code><picture></code> have very poorly named attributes in my opinion.</p>\n\n<p>One alternative for <code>previewsrc</code> is <code>poster</code>. That would match with the <code>poster</code> attribute on the <code><video></code> element. They both show a preview image before the main content is loaded.</p>\n\n<p>Given their functionality is identical, I think it makes sense for them to have the same name. You wouldn't expect to see <code><video horizontal=\"1920\" vertical=\"1080\"></code> would you? No. That's why they use the same <code>width</code> and <code>height</code> attributes as images.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"closing-remarks\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/some-thoughts-on-htmls-proposed-previewsrc-attribute/#closing-remarks\">Closing Remarks</a></h2>\n\n<p>There are <a href=\"https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20%22image%20preview%22\">several interesting objections and discussions on the GitHub repo</a>. I'm delighted that this is being talked about in the open, rather than just being presented as a <i lang=\"fr\">fait accompli</i> (remember <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/introducing-the-new-html-element-welcome/\">the toast proposal</a>?).</p>\n\n<p>As I said, I genuinely think that there's a useful idea in here. But after writing all of this, I <em>think</em> it would be better and simpler for developers to use progressive images rather than overload HTML with a new attribute.</p>\n\n<p>If website owners can't be bothered to save progressive images, I don't see why they'd bother to create a separate preview image.</p>\n\n<p>Keeping preview images in sync with their full images is also likely to be a problem.</p>\n\n<p>If you think I'm wrong, <a href=\"https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/ImagePreview/explainer.md\">read the explainer and then chat with Microsoft</a>.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=75856&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Terence Eden",
          "email": null,
          "url": "https://edent.tel/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "label": "HTML",
          "term": "HTML",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        },
        {
          "label": "standards",
          "term": "standards",
          "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}