News nybble: TrainTimes 1.16 steaming in

Hot on the heels of his update to BusTimes, Kevin Wells has released a new version of TrainTimes, an application that performs a similar function for trains. The software uses Wget to interface with the Transport API website to retrieve information about train times and stations, presenting the results in the RISC OS desktop. Version 1.16 gains the ability to save a station’s timetable in CSV format for importing into other applications, and a redesign of the Save dialogues.

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BusTimes 1.17 arriving now

If you need to use public transport – whether regularly, occasionally, or as a one off – it’s handy if you can plan your route, and while there are websites that will enable you to do so they may not work well (if at all) on RISC OS. This is where Kevin Wells’ BusTimes application comes in, a standalone application that uses Wget to fetch the data it needs from the Transport API site. Kevin has just released version 1.17 of the application.

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News nybble: QrCode version 2.01

Kevin Wells has released a point update to his application for generating QR Codes. New in this version is the ability to create a QR Code for geo-location purposes, containing longitude and latitude information. The program has also had a small bug addressed that could result in a notable delay when fetching QR Codes of a certain size. The software uses Wget to make use of the QR Code Generator website, and it was the use of an asterisk rather than an ampersand when fetching that caused the delay.

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QrCode rewritten, becomes version 2.00

Kevin Wells has released a new version of his application for turning small amounts of textual information into two dimensional bar codes, aka ‘Quick Response’ codes. These can provide a quick way for people to transfer information into devices that can read them – for example smart phones using a bar code scanner application – such as URLs, contact details, WiFi keys, and so on.

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Validate VAT numbers from the desktop

If you run a business (or look after the books for one), sometimes it can be useful to be able to double check VAT registration numbers to ensure they are valid, or to simply look them up to find an address. Double checking a UK VAT number can be done with some simple maths1, but all that does is ensure it could be a valid number, not that it is one. Better, then, is to be able to punch the number into an online service, and be told not only…

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QrCode receives a little house training

Kevin Wells has released a new version of his QrCode application. The software is used to produce ‘Quick Response’ codes – two dimensional bar codes that can contain a little more information than their simpler older relatives, with URLs being a common example, whereby you scan a QR Code with your phone or other device, and from there your web browser can be launched pointing to the relevant address. For example, the one used on this page – somewhat pointlessly, I admit – leads to this page.

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