Getting & using data from OpenWeatherMap

It is easy to get local or international weather data (such as current temperature, humidity, wind speed & so on) using the OpenWeatherMap API.

 

This could be very useful to me as part of my bird box project for 2015.

But my immediate concern involves our central heating system, and how to determine the local weather conditions.

Wheezy & Jessie, more than just a Toy Story.

I've just updated Raspbian on a RaspberryPi....it took hours!

But this wasn't just a routine apt-get update & upgrade, it was a move from Debian Wheezy to Jessie.

So all of my applications where updated, in addition to the operating system and many configuration files.

It shouldn't be this difficult to watch 4OD

With Homeland series 4 currently running on Channel 4, we recently missed an episode due to other commitments.

No Problem! Just browse to 4OD and catch up.

Unfortunately it just wasn't that easy.

WMI, VB.classic & Excel

On this blog, posts about Microsoft software are as rare as Rocking Horse sh manure. But I have to get my hands dirty for a few hours each week, in my part-time network support job.

Although VB.classic (aka VB6) was replaced many years ago by VB.net, it lives on in the form of VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).

And if I need to gather information about networked Windows computers, I like to write VB code within Excel, and draw on the power of WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

PHP Image Creation on RaspberryPi

PHP can harness the power of the GD Graphic Library, allowing the generation and manipulation of images.

You can create images based upon simple lines, rectangles, arcs and circles, as well an manipulating existing graphics files.

So I recently took my first steps in creating images in PHP on a RaspberryPi.

LibreCAD: "A picture is worth a thousand words"

While I'm not sure about the official exchange rate, it certainly helps to use both sketches and formal drawings to help understand concepts, and also to plan & execute projects.

Open source applications such as LibreOffice Draw and LibreCAD can be valuable tools when working on DIY projects.

I normally begin the planning process of a new home project with some kind of a sketch.

The New RaspberryPi B+

I feel like the last kid on the block to get one of these new Pi models.

But here are a few comments and observations on the latest product from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

This is my 7th Pi which now includes models A, B rev 1, B rev 2 & B+.

RaspberryPi inputs: to poll or to interrupt?

One of the best features of the RaspberryPi is the GPIO (General Purpose Inputs & Outputs).

Reading the input levels on the GPIO is pretty easy, especially using Gordon's wiringPi library.

But you need to think carefully about how best to do this in the software for your chosen project.

RaspberryPi Web server: GPIO access

Controlling the RaspberryPi GPIO remotely, over a network or across the internet, seems like an interesting trick.

I copied some code from the net and gave it a try, but unfortunately it didn't want to play.

So I went back to basics and created my own simple test routine.