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  • Pod Point: An at-home EV charger

    Pod Point: An at-home EV charger

    A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I’d bought a Mazda MX-30 R-EV. It’s not a full EV, but a plug-in hybrid, albeit one that go 50 miles on battery alone and the petrol engine is just used as a generator.

    As part of the sweetener from Mazda I was offered a home charger for half the usual price. Considering installing one of these generally adds to the value of your home, it would seem rude not to.

    The Pod Point Solo 3 was the option available to me (there is a 3S but this is intended for those that have solar panels on their home) and it was installed quickly, cleanly and efficiently. But, a couple of months later, how am I getting on with it?

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  • Using ChatGPT for my latest WordPress plugin

    Using ChatGPT for my latest WordPress plugin

    I’m, generally, pretty agnostic about the use of AI, particularly LLMs – I believe they should be used thoughtfully, rather than just for the sake of it.

    For a few years now I’ve been looking to create a plugin that automagically tidies up the WP Admin menus (in fact, I mentioned it at last year’s WCEU talk), but assorted technical problems have slowed down progress. But I’m determined to crack it and, as part of a review of how it’s going to work, I’m looking to implement some ChatGPT functionality into it (but only as an option). In this post I’m going to explain what it does and it how it achieves it.

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  • How to fix “Not your AirPods”

    How to fix “Not your AirPods”

    If you’re rocking an iPhone and a neat pair of AirPods, one of the cool things is how they automatically connect each time you need to use them. But, sometimes, this appears to go wrong and, suddenly, your AirPods will pretend not to know you. Here I’m going to share a quick fix for this.

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  • Improve your WordPress login security

    Improve your WordPress login security

    I’m a regular advocate of simple solutions to WordPress solution – enforcing 2FA, applying login limits, etc., rather than moving your login screen or various other practices which have dubious advantages.

    Today I have another idea to share, which was suggested by a WordPress VIP customer, and it’s such a simple but effective idea – prevent login by email address.

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  • EKIY A1 Mini Carplay Wireless Review

    EKIY A1 Mini Carplay Wireless Review

    Most cars these days come with connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, albeit it’s usually a wired solution. Being able to do this wirelessly is even more convenient, so there are a number of third party products available to achieve this.

    However, costing anything up to £100 they’re not cheap and most appear to be have drawbacks of one kind of another – whether it’s a slow response between screen and device, or one where you can’t use any other Bluetooth devices at the same time (which would be a problem with me having an Apple Watch, for example).

    To me, the inconvenience of plugging a cable in isn’t worth me spending that amount of money and for it still not being as good in use. But what if I didn’t have to spend that money to try something out? What if I spent just £11.52? Well, that’s exactly what I’ve done.

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