I wish I had something useful to say, but that sounds honestly amazing. If you could do wifi at the same time, then that'd be a perfect email/ssh/irc device.
i think that the esp32 is probably a decent microcontroller to use for this purpose, in place of the pi zero; it does have a decent sleep mode and also wifi
its energy efficiency per instruction is not the best but is certainly acceptable
It is pretty nice isn't it. Now can someone please make one with a nice metal case and the ability to run android on it. Then I can basically have my replacement for my much missed Nokia E71.
Planet Computers are probably going down the drain soonish after the fairly disastrous crowdfunding for the Astro phone. I know a friend who has a Gemini and he wasn't impressed either. However I am massively biased, as I paid for a Astro which I'm still waiting for several years after the kickstarter finished. To be fair, they have had pretty major issues with the ODM, but still we've only just found that out recently.
Just to agree with the OP, I've just gone through a government tender process to buy a piece of software for my organisation. The number of people who could bid on the tender was incredibly limited. We've ended up with a 'solution' where the best and cheapest company was excluded from bidding. Mainly cause they struggled with our byzantine tendering process, that gives us 'best value' according to our procurement team. It's not the only broadly failed IT system that we have which has gone through these processes, so it's not a one off either.
We're currently busy throwing away solid pieces of open source software that have worked well for years in favour of enterprise garbage.
I worked in NHS IT for a number of years. I've been in other industries for a while, but I doubt things have changed that much. It's not a funding or business priority issue per se. Tho having said that the NHS is focused on providing the best care to the most people. That does mean that some people fall through the cracks.
Anyway, the data is significantly more fragmented than you can ever imagine. GPs are technically (it's very odd) private companies. They can have a reasonable amount of leeway to do things as they see fit. Which means just at primary care level, there's a massive data quality issue. Then you get on to secondary care (hospitals etc) and there's just as much separation between the different trusts/health boards etc. Then each country, have their own NHS, Scotland, NI, Wales and England.
So it seems like an easy fix, but the reality is miles more complex than you might initially think.
It's expensive? I really don't get that. That solid hardwood dresser that you build yourself, could easily last 100 years. The ikea stuff won't last a fraction of that. You shouldn't compare a store bought dresser with something you make yourself.
Also if you don't want the expense, there's plenty of small things you can make with a handful of tools. Whittling and carving is quite cheap and very satisfying.
I don't think that many people want the mines back tbh. Easy to get and simple jobs maybe, but I don't know anyone who'd want the mines back. Anecdata I know. Wife's family is a mining family and I've lived and worked in South Wales for a while now.
Yeah I think it's less the mines themselves and more having guaranteed employment, and the camaraderie of working together in such a way. There aren't many professions that employ entire towns. You are right though, in that the attitude has changed - I think those who were alive at the time of the mine closures likely see it differently from those who have never known it. In that aspect it has changed since I first moved here, as that generation who grew up with the mines open has aged or passed away.
That sounds about right. My wifes side is a mining family and several of the men died young, not from accidents, but from lung issues so that potentially colours it a bit. On the tech side of things, I do see a lot of people who want 'better' jobs and there's often a lot of frustration in start-up folks I know that the Senydd just want call center or manufacturing jobs.
Yeah it's a bit of a shame that there's not more investment into tech startups here. Bristol seems to attract much more of that scene. Swansea seems to have more than Cardiff, possibly because it's slightly further from Bristol. I think there's pretty good support for starting your own small business here, but there's a bit of a gap after that which I imagine restricts the opportunities somewhat.
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