Dr Laura James's writings

Undoubtedly, many readers will already know that it's challenging to make computing/electronic hardware, compared to just producing software. But I have observed a number of challenges that I would not have anticipated until I actually tried to do it myself. Disclaimer: I've met lots of lovely technical people who understand the challenges of hardware and the business world, but I have also met some arrogant and annoying people who don't, and who won't accept that they don't know everything about everything to do with technology. Luckily, they are a minority, and us hardware-aware types are tenacious and hard to put off... Firstly, when you decide to make some hardware, you need to commit some time (just as you would to write software), but you also need to set aside some funds to buy actual physical goods. (You will also need a computer for most projects, but let's assume you already have one.) In addition even though you are making hardware, you will most prob...

I've been working at AlertMe for 2.5 years now, and it's been a great ride going from a back-of-the-envelope idea (broadband home security) to a real product selling in volume to genuine customers. But I decided it was time to move on. I'm leaving AlertMe today, and will be starting a new job on Monday: a project at CARET to look at embedding emerging technology into the university (amongst other things). I'm looking forward to a fresh start in a different field; everyone I've told has been very encouraging, and I've been surprised by how many diverse folk have contacted me with suggestions of people to talk to in my new role. One benefit of a job change is a welcome chance to clear out crud from my computer, and blithely to delete emails and files I'll not need again. My desk drawers are empty now, too, and I'm hoping that in my two days of unemployment this week I will find time to go through their former contents, along with sorting out long-neglecte...

A fascinating debate last night at Wolfson about Nick Davies's new book, Flat Earth News, discussing the underbelly of UK newspaper reporting. I'll have to add it to my reading list! Photos from Michael here . I'd had a busy day, and so need longer to properly absorb the contents of the debate fully...

Snaps here .

Last weekend Michael and I were up in Disley for another NESTA Crucible workshop. The best bit was jamming on the Saturday night; first time I've played maracas in ages. Duncan Lockerby - our star fluid mechanics expert - entertained us with one of his own compositions, a delightful Newtonian song . Worth a listen, because there aren't anywhere near enough physics-themed songs in the world. Tom Webb also demonstrated extensive musical talent, but I don't have any mp3s of him to hand...

For a few days more, see the Royal Academy of Engineering on University Challenge, via iPlayer.

Little blogging of late - more of a story is told by my facebook status feed, or perhaps now twitter ... The undercover economist is a good speaker, with excellent pacing and tone; but his appearance at the Cambridge WordFest suffered a little from the classic problem of book talks, in that he didn't really have a point to get across, just a series of anecdotes. And why was he wearing a jumper with sleeves far too short for him? Birmingham Rep's "She stoops to conquer" was splendid at the Arts Theatre last week. Goldsmith's poetical intro and epilogue were revived, with his original tirade against sentimental comedy replaced with a plea for more live theatre attendance. A modern spin at the outset saw the fourth wall broken down, with a pair of ushers having a shouting match before the curtain went up, then leaping onto stage, slipping into rhyming couplets, and blending into the cast. At the end, the ushers returned, with the tongue-tied male making a Dylanesqu...

Yesterday I was at the Science Museum in London, helping out with the first FaraDay (groan), where school groups who have tried the IET Faraday activities online came together to celebrate their work, and learn about engineering advances in the field of technology for life. You can read my official report over on the Faraday blog .

Having only ever heard of the wonders of Katamari before, I'm delighted to see that there's a version coming out soon for the XBox 360. I played the demo last night, and had no idea what was going on, but it was fun, and extremely pretty. The style is psychedelic 1960s, similar to Amped3; who'd've thought that would be in this year? When I returned from holidays on Monday, my colleague Nik mentioned that he'd been up late watching the SuperBowl. I always like to keep up with the state of the art in expensive TV advertising, and as ever, you can see the ads online .

All being well, our online shop will be open on Monday. Exciting times!

Yesterday, I spotted the wonderful Cambridge Joy parkour video: It turns out that one of the stars is from the Wirral, like me! Indeed, the Wirral is evidently a hotbed of urban sports; there's also a nice YouTube video of some young skateboarders in Morrisons car park in West Kirby. These kids are just amazing.

Yesterday, Amyas let his tea get cold on his desk. I mentioned that a USB cup warmer would stop this happening; Amyas, being a sensible chap, seemed surprised that such a thing existed. Well, I knew I'd seen them somewhere, and I thought I might purchase one for fun. I looked on the internet... and there were USB cup warmers . Great. But it isn't that simple. You can pay anything from £2 to £20, it seems, for a single warmer. You can choose between silver, white, black, gold, all in different shapes and sizes. You can get a USB cup warmer with integrated 4-port USB hub. Some cup warmers come with cups. Or stainless steel cups with lids. Some are flat-topped, some have round indents, some have on-off switches and LEDs. Some - very rare, this kind - have LCD clocks and temperature readouts! Some offer 50-60C warming; some 40C to 80C, from outer edge to centre. I'm overwhelmed by the variety! I am awed that so many people should have designed these gizmos and had them manufa...

I haven't drawn anything for a very, very long time. Yesterday I sketched a bluetit, and today a robin, which I then watercoloured. I think the bluetit is better.

We talked about backup solutions for our data. Michael said that by now, 5 years ago he would have expected to give his credit card and some words to a software agent, and it would go off and find the right thing online, and a box would just show up at the house with a backup solution in it. I said that the agent would actually be off looking at kitten pictures; Joy of Tech said so in their Web N.0 predictions . Michael said he didn't know about kittens, but that some of his friends are into cat pictures with captions of the form "I am in your blah, blahhing your blah" and that these were deemed extremely funny. We had to look it up. Apparently, the concept is called Lolcatz. We found a nice, clear definition , which says: an LOLCAT is any photo of a cute cat along with an irony-free caption... An LOLCATZ is a photo similar in content, but one that captures the aggressive stupidity found in some parts of the Internet, such as 12-year-old boys who grew with the Internet t...

Michael and I had a lovely time in Paris last weekend.

AlertMe is keen to find out what our customers, and potential customers, think we should be creating in the future. Cast your vote, and leave us your thoughts, by taking our survey . (It's also a prize draw, if you need any more incentive!)

At the Silicon Valley Innovation Forum tonight (of which more later!) I met the delightful editor of Radio 4's In Business . Stephen Chilcott. He was quite rightly chuffed that more than 730,000 people downloaded the In Business podcast in September, thoroughly beating supposedly more popular shows. I've always enjoyed In Business, and wish Stephen and Peter Day continuing success with this excellent programme, which always has something new to teach me.

The Union debate last Thursday was a lively affair, with venture capitalists and other entrepreneurial types attempting to decide whether Europe, or the Valley, will be the best place to start billion dollar companies in the future. In the end I felt i had to abstain though - I can't bring myself to care much where innovation happens most. It was encouraging to see that some of the leading lights of entrepreneurship can also compose a strong speech and present it with panache, although most of the points were comical rather than intellectual. NESTA and Silicon Valley Connect had organised last night's forum in London, as part of a tour for visiting Valley luminaries. It had rather more content than the debate! (As ever, I am reminded of an old colleague of mine, who always called it the valley of the silly clones.) George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor, spoke coherently and well about the need for university and industry interaction, the importance of an encouraging tax regime,...

It's been quiet of here late, although Michael has been tracking what we've been up to quite well! Last night we saw Paul Merton at the Corn Exchange, hosting an evening of silent film comedies. The pianist accompanying the films was excellent, and the selection of comic moments from Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and more was excellent. Merton introduced the films briefly, but didn't really give enough information for me. I caught references to names and years, but not enough detail about the world of films, or the stars and directors, to feel I'd learnt anything. Still, at least the presence of a big name has some of these wonderful films in front of people again. The second half was Lloyd's splendid Safety Last , which remains an engaging story after 80-odd years.

On Monday, a lecture by Jorge Cham, who creates the wonderful Piled Higher and Deeper comics. Yesterday, a Mitch Benn gig - actually Mitch Benn and the Distractions. I hadn't really known what to expect of this, as I only really knew of Benn through the Now Show on Radio 4 . But it was wonderful - a really vibrant live performance, and some stunning funny songs, reminiscent of Weird Al (only more topical, perhaps, and certainly more British). It turns out that Mitch is from Liverpool, has an accent that fluctuates madly, and does a very fine rendition of Macbeth in the style of Eminem. Tonight, we're off to see Stardust , which I'm really looking forward to! Tomorrow, less culture, at a Web2.0 discussion meeting. No idea of what to expect there!