Technical & Software Blog – ssims.co.uk

I’d just like to make a mini-rant about a news item today stating that buy-to-rent landlords are suffering in the recession. I question the accuracy of this statement when you look at the cost of renting student houses. I understand that some amateur property developers might not be doing so well at the moment, but [...]

Well it’s all over now, the results are in and I’d feel a little out of my depth to comment on the direction of politics in the UK and our share of EU seats, so this is just a quick post to point out the rather well presented BBC web apps used to illustrate the [...]

Unfortunately the deadline for registering to vote by proxy has passed, and it’s quite likely I’ll be at my university address and so unable to vote this year. I’m not sure I can really justify the petrol money to travel back home simply to vote, although I have considered it. There’s a definate sense that [...]

This is a very quick post to extoll the virtues of charity shops, as it seems these days either people are genuinely more generous about what they donate or simply don’t have to time to sift the wheat from the chaff. On a wander through the town with my girlfriend I found a copy of a [...]

This is a mild rant relating to a blog article I read today that criticised the J2EE web platform. I have no problem with criticism of the downsides of any form of technology, however in my opinion their comments were largely based on misconceptions about the platform and how to best employ it in building [...]

Having just written a rather lengthy text-rich post I realise now how useful a tablet PC would be. I’ve always thought touch screen and tablets to be somewhat of a gimmick in terms of practical day-to-day usage, I’m a firm believer in the pen and paper method of writing quick notes and diagrams. Why bother doing [...]

This next article is an attempt at providing a balanced, albeit personal, overview of the latest trends in software design. In the article I outline some terms commonly used in the software development industry and I discuss the necessity of specific development practices and software design in general: Software buzz words and development methodologies

If you want an example of an excellent presentation layer and user interface, you have to look no further than liveplasma.com. I remember someone recommending it to me years ago as a way to find similar/associated bands and artists. What’s great about it is the visual map that it provides. You enter your desired search [...]