15.3.11

Quick time to market with DTSTTCPW

We are developing all our products using this development philosophy with the caveat that we then “refactor mercilessly”. So far this has helped us to deliver key application features in record time. The success of this approach relies in having the discipline to rapidly payoff the technical debt that inevitably accrues.

And of course as with everything – context matters. Simplicity is relative.

reCaptcha

Is pure genius and makes you think about how the solution to one problem, Spambots, can provide valuable commercial opportunities in another totally unrelated area. Great idea! But do the deciphered publications end up in the public domain or will Google charge us for this material?

Integration of reCaptcha is quick and painless, so we are adding it to all our online form submission workflows.

Just Tether It

So my mobile phone provider says I can eat as much data as I like on the current tariff; the truth of the matter is that I don’t really surf the web whilst I am out and about. At the end of my billing period I have tonnes of unused bandwidth. Luckily I have managed to download a USB tethering utility, PdaNet, that allows me to use my phone as a wi-fi hotspot via USB cable. Sweet. Let the feasting begin…

13.3.11

Fleet Management Platform codenamed Z-Track now in development

Zainco Ventures is developing a fleet management and asset tracking platform,  Z-track , aimed at providing deep integration with back office systems. The first beta release is planned for Q3 2011.

Chisamba order confirmed

After a difficult trading period in February, business is definitely picking up. Zainco Ventures has been engaged again by the Food Reserve Agency to help with the movement of 300 metric tonnes of vital grain stocks. This is a ringing endorsement of the services provided by the company. Last year Zainco Ventures helped the Zambian government to move over 4000 metric tonnes of grain to safe storage.

With a forecast yield of 2.8 million metric tonnes in the 2010/11 agriculture season, we will definitely be busy.

Reviewing the £100 Android tablet

There is a tablet for almost any budget. My tablet arrived 1 week ago and since then I have been evaluating the wowPad.

I have successfully upgraded the firmware using a download from the internet. Everything works as it should.

The camera is low spec, but this is to be expected for a budget tablet.

Overall – I am quite impressed with device. Would I buy more units? Definitely yes!