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Review of StickNFind – How not to launch a product

By Alex  /  Development

I recently “backed” a crowd funded project on Indiegogo called Stick ‘n Find.

I won’t bore you with the details, but basically they’re stickers that you can stick to stuff (such as keys, wallet, etc…. all the things I usually misplace) and then use an app that points you in the right direction.

Anyway, after eventually receiving my stickers (packed in cheap looking cardboard box, I might add, but I’ll let that one slide) I was keen to try it out.

Searched high and low on Google Play for the app:
Nowhere to be seen.

Checked out the comments on their Facebook page, LOTS of people asking “Where’s the android app”
Oh wait. There isn’t one.

Then, an update.
There’s an Android app.

145

Carplan – Kleen Air review

By Alex  /  Personal

I have a BMW 330d (E46 – 2005)
About a year ago, I noticed that if I turned off the Aircon (but left the fan running), a musty, damp smell would seep through the vents, filling the car with unpleasant aroma.

This meant that I either had to have the Aircon running all the time, or be too hot.

After some google searching of similar problems, I bought a can of Carplan Kleen Air from eBay (£6.95 delivered)

Following the simple instructions on the can, I left the can discharging for around 10-15 minutes, with the aircon on re-circulate.
After this time, I took the (now empty) can out, and turned the aircon off.

Driving home later, I noticed that the once damp, musty smell had almost disappeared!

I think I’ll repeat the process once more (buying another can soon) just to get rid of the last of the smells.

Update

A couple of weeks later, the smell is still better than it once was, however is returning.
Will repeat the process at the end of the summer, and see how it goes then!

145

Eco-Disc Stuck In Slot Loading Drive

By Alex  /  Uncategorized  /  1 Response

AVG kindly provided us with an Eco-Disc of their software – so we began installing it on one of our Dell XPS laptops – with a slot loading drive.

Everything worked fine, until it came to eject it – or at least try to!
Because the CD’s are so thin, there isn’t enough thickness for the rollers to push it out of the drive.

After a bit of Googling, it seems we are not alone – Macs are having the same problem with these Eco-Discs.

They do seem to work fine in standard tray loading drives however.

The Eco-Disc is a nice idea, and I’m all for “helping the environment” etc…. but not at the cost of replacing my CD/DVD drive!

145

Iberostar Punta Cana – Dominican Republic

By Alex  /  Travel

The bus took around half an hour from the airport, and drove us straight to the hotel.

First impressions were good – nicely kept gardens,  people working on them etc…

After arriving at the lobby, we were given little envelopes with our towel cards, door keys (swipe cards) and instructed to stick stickers that were inside the envelopes on our cases.

We were told that things in the mini bar were included! what a bonus! We’ll see at the end of the week though I guess.

We were also told that the safety deposit box would cost $2 a day… not a lot of money, however I’d expect the use of this to be included in a supposedly 5* hotel?

Also, the “introduction meeting” it was announced, would be at 9am the next morning, in the lobby. Early start, then.

We then found our way to our room (5275)

Here’s what we found:

 

[pics coming soon]

 

The bed was huge! And very comfy.
Decent sized bath and shower, and our balcony overlooked the gardens. Very nice.

Now, if only the weather wasn’t so shit, it would be perfect!

However, 2 small things:

  1. The TV doesn’t work
  2. The bathroom door – once closed, it’s very difficult to open! Essentially, you’re locked in!

Surely, these things will be easy to fix.

As always, when arriving at hotels of this size (and it is huge) we then walked around it, checking it out. Checked out the beach, pool area etc…