Category: Life

Random thoughts on life

  • Wireless CarPlay Adapter Options

    Wireless CarPlay Adapter Options

    Last year I reviewed a cheap Wireless CarPlay Adapter. It’s still going strong and in another car to what I started with.

    One of the lesser explored options is that you can access a web panel, via it’s own Wi-Fi signal, where you can find assorted settings and even a firmware update feature.

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  • WordPress plugin development: Solution to “Malformed tag detected” error

    WordPress plugin development: Solution to “Malformed tag detected” error

    Look, day-to-day, I do not use SVN. It’s not a tool of choice, so I make my life easier by using the excellent app Versions to manage my WordPress.org SVN access for my WordPress plugins. I drag and drop the changes and all is good.

    However, i recently started getting this message when trying to create my tags folder…

    Subversion error occurred

    Commit blocked by pre-commit hook (exit code 1) with output:

    Malformed tag detected, It looks like you’re creating a tag without a readme file present.

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  • Ordering a new iPhone with Apple’s Upgrade Programme

    Ordering a new iPhone with Apple’s Upgrade Programme

    Not many people realise it’s even a thing but in the UK you can get a minty-fresh iPhone every year as part of Apple’s own iPhone Upgrade Programme. You pay a set amount every month and, with that, you can upgrade every 11 months (let’s be honest, you’ll do it every year when the new version of the phone comes out) and you get AppleCare+ included as well. You never have to worry about battery life again.

    I’ve been on it for about 8 years now and, every year without fail, it’s a major PITA.

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  • Using AI to assist with WordPress plugin development

    Using AI to assist with WordPress plugin development

    For the first time I’ve used AI to assist with an update to one of my WordPress plugins. I learnt a lot using it, the conclusions for which I want to share today.

    But first, let’s understood what I was using it for.

    I had some changes to make to the plugin in question, ShareOpenly, but nothing I was rushing to do. They were minor enhancements but ones that would take quite a bit of time to achieve for relatively minimal results. Instead, I wanted to see if I could use AI to analyse my code and the related README and suggest changes – not adding new features, but enhancing the existing code in terms of reliability, accessibility, security and performance.

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  • The plugins I use on this site – the what and the why

    The plugins I use on this site – the what and the why

    This is a snapshot, at time of writing, of what plugins I’m using on my site. And this will vary from one month to the next. I’ve grouped them appropriately too and given an explanation as to what it does for my site and, where appropriate, some additional notes about usage, performance, etc.

    For some other context, this is my personal site and is not a money maker. There are some affiliate links on it, but these are rare. As a result, all the plugins I use are free.

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