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February 2022 newsletter competition - a word search
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 January 2022
For this month's competition we invite you to find the 46 missing related items in a letter grid; the unused letters will then spell out a thematic phrase. The first correct answer drawn out of our randomised sorting hat at the end of February will win a fifty-pound Amazon voucher.
Analysis of results from our Christmas Quiz, and the winner!
Posted by Andy Brown on 21 January 2022
This quiz was much harder than it was meant to be! Out of guilt, Andy (the quiz master) has written this blog fleshing out the answer to each question. The blog also gives details of this month's mysterious competition winner.
Upgrading to Visual Studio 2022
Posted by Andy Brown on 21 January 2022
Is Visual Studio 2022 worth the upgrade? If you work with C++ or Azure, it's a straight yes; for everyone else, the answer will depend upon whether you find the enhanced Intellisense helpful or annoying. This blog is to help you decide which side of the fence you fall!
Power Toys: tools to tweak the behaviour of Windows
Posted by Andy Brown on 20 January 2022
You can use these hidden gems to reassign or disable keys on your keyboard, detect pixel colours in a website, display a Windows short-cut key guide … and much more!
Power BI update for January 2022
Posted by Andy Brown on 20 January 2022
This update hasn't yet been announced - please revisit soon.
Our advanced Power BI course has split into two!
Posted by Andy Brown on 20 January 2022
We have launched two new courses: a two-day Advanced Power BI (Reports) course for report authors, and a two-day advanced Power BI (Data) course for data modellers.
Introducing a raft of new skills assessment test services
Posted by Andy Brown on 20 January 2022
We are proud - and relieved - to finally announce that you can now assign tests to candidates and create your own custom tests through our website!
Looping over rows and columns for a Pandas dataframe
Posted by Andy Brown on 17 December 2021
This blog shows you various ways in which you can loop over the columns of a pandas dataframe, and also explains how to loop over the rows of a dataframe (together with why you should avoid doing this!).
Creating executable files from Python programs using pyinstaller
Posted by Andy Brown on 17 December 2021
A summary of how to package up your Python program (including any referenced modules) into a single executable file.
Answers to (and winner of) our November 2021 logic puzzle
Posted by Andy Brown on 29 November 2021
This month's puzzle was won by Joanne Rushton of Durham County Council - you can see the answer to the logic puzzle set in this short blog.
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 November 2021
Ten reasons why Python is a better programmng language than C# (and most other languages), as well as two reasons why it might not be.
An infographic celebrating 10 years of video tutorials on YouTube
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 November 2021
To celebrate the 10th birthday of our video channel we've created this infographic, showing for example that the number of hours spent watching our videos would have covered 2,949,152 views of the first episode of Squid Game.
The Microsoft Whiteboard is reverting to the old version
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 November 2021
In an almost unprecedented move, Microsoft are cancelling the new Whiteboard launched only last month and reverting back to the old version.
Using the CalendarAuto function effectively in Power BI
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 November 2021
This blog shows how to generate a table which includes not only all of the dates in your data model, but also a range of aggregator columns such as financial year and month name for reporting purposes.
What is SQLCMD mode, and how can you use it?
Posted by Andy Brown on 24 November 2021
You can use SQLCMD mode to parameterise the connection, database name, table name and select columns for a query - and much more besides, as this blog explains.
Posted by Andy Brown on 23 November 2021
This month's update is a biggie, with the introduction of a page navigator and a bookmark navigator, but it's the new formatting pane waiting in preview which will really changes people's lives.
A Power Automate flow to send Xmas gift emails automatically
Posted by Andy Brown on 18 November 2021
Tired of doing repetitive tasks at Christmas? This blog shows you how to create a Power Automate Desktop flow to send emails out to your nearest and dearest programmatically, with each email including instructions on how they should use the gifts they've been given.
Introducing Power Automate Desktop
Posted by Andy Brown on 18 November 2021
Power Automate Desktop allows you to automate any common sequence of tasks that you perform in Windows, and has the potential to change your working life. So what is it?
An update on Windows 11 after a month of use
Posted by Andy Brown on 18 November 2021
After using Windows 11 in anger on his laptop for a month now, Andy Brown takes a moment to sum up his impressions.
The great British beard-off - how Wise Owls lose weight
Posted by Andy Brown on 29 October 2021
Sam and Shaun want to lose weight, and have pledged to cut off their prized beards if they don't meet their targets. You can see the beards, the terms of the contest and updates on their progress (and even join in if you like!) at this blog.