Monthly Archives: October 2006

Alternative Apple Keyboards

Posted by David Hurst on October 17, 2006 None comments

I really liked the old Apple Pro keyboard – I had one with my G3 iMac and it was a pleasure to use. The new Apple keyboard however is not so great. At £19 a pop, they’re not the cheapest keyboards in the world, so you’d think you would get something of superior quality, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The keyboards are heavy and feel of good quality construction, but the design is flawed. The open top chassis of the keyboard is just inviting debris to get stuck under the keys, and then thanks to the clear perspex base, the thing just starts to look really messy. Any pro Apple user will know exactly what I’m talking about. Read more »

BT Total Broadband Review

Posted by David Hurst on October 13, 2006 13 comments

NOTE: This article was written back in 2006 and was a reflection of my experience at the time. I am no longer with BT, so I don’t know whether my review is still valid. There are a few comments below from other visitors that will help you get the full picture. 

It seems that BT have really got their act together with their new Total Broadband packages. Whereas the UK market is leaning towards bundled, low-cost or even free broadband, BT seem to be heading in the other direction. They clearly subscribe to the old adage that you get what you pay for. This is certainly true of broadband. I have many clients who have tied themselves into shoddy cheap or free broadband packages that just don’t work, or have appalling levels of support. The BT Total Broadband package stands head and shoulders above the Talk Talks of this world!

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Using Recursive Functions in PHP to Manage Hierarchy

Posted by David Hurst on October 13, 2006 13 comments

The recursive function is an essential tool for anybody developing PHP sites that feature multiple levels of categories, pages etc. In fact, they are great for managing hierarchical relationships (sometimes referred to as parent/child relationships). There are many applications of this, but the example I’m going to show you is categories, such as you might use in an eCommerce site. This is one of those wonderfully simple techniques that once grasped, will open up a myriad of possibilities for the programmer.

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