Mark Embling

Backups: we all know that they're vital. Right? Backups are really really important. To that end, I've written storelet, a tiny little library for easily writing simple backup scripts using Python.

Last weekend I found myself needing to make use of the Google Spreadsheet API using a service account to manage spreadsheets belonging to users of a Google Apps domain from within a .NET application.

Recently I completed the Software as a Service course on edX (CS169.1x) and felt it might be worth sharing some thoughts about the experience, and why I think edX and others like it are game-changing.

Way way back in 2009, I decided to look into Python. For one reason or another that didn't really go any further than playing about with Fabric but I've decided once again that it is a language I'd really like to get more involved in. However when looking to start a new project in Python, there is one very big question: Python 2 or 3? Which should I focus on and use?

Recently I bought the excellent ColorSchemer Studio 2 through the Mac App Store. Put simply, the app allows creation of colour palettes using a variety of tools including a colour wheel, various schemes, mixers and more. These palettes can also be saved to files to be opened again later, however these files are stored in a proprietary binary format that no other app (to my knowledge) can read.

This time last year I posted my hardware line-up for 2011. Now we're here again at the start of 2012 I thought I'd do the same thing again. In many respects, things are not very different. However there are some changes and additions which are worth mentioning.