It’s called ‘Totem Timer’, named after the university residence we met in (hey, it needed some name). It’s currently available from the Totem Timer download page for Android, and Blackberry. I’m hoping I can get some feedback from friends that it is usable on various devices.

It’s not available in the Android Market as to make a return on the fee I’d have to sell over 30 copies for 50p or find an advertiser, and I don’t think this app is worth 50p. It’s not available in Blackberry App World yet because I need to understand that & the processes a bit more.

It’s not available at all for iPhone/iPad because I need a Mac and a license before I can be sure it works fine on them. The iTunes App Store is also known to be more fussy and restrictive, creating a closed market. This is what you get for paying so much for brand loyalty/lock-in, so for now I don’t care that you can’t use my apps.

The award announcements were interseeded with an explanation of the important work Changing Places are doing, a talk & practice of handshaking, and a performance by singer and comedian Sean Williamson (Bobby Davro was ill, but I’m more than happy with the replacement). I had a chat with Sean (aka “Barry from Eastenders”) after the awards. He’s a nice guy, and we exchanged business cards.

On the same day, I pushed my website out of private testing, and made ToiletMap.org public. It still has a few issues and a long list of usability improvements I need to work on. I’m fixing some when I have a moment, such as the buttons are now more obviously buttons to click. You should be aware that toilet locations don’t display when you are zoomed out too much. There is a message in the top right corner to tell you when to zoom in, that needs to be a lot clearer. I haven’t had any sponsorship interest yet, and that would really tell me it’s worth spending a bit more time on this, and I’m not looking for much money but more interested by the act of support and a company name to mention in press releases.

My next plan would be to make a phone app (or mobile website), which makes sense. This would then lead on to a different website design, where you go through some simple steps to find your nearest toilets (or toilets along a route). The current website design, originally done to show how many toilet locations/information we know, would be kept available as a sort of ‘advanced’ view.

Instead of floating around wifi-giving cafes I’ve rented a hotdesk in the CDCEA Nest for about 2 months so far. It’s worked out well, it’s only a 5 minute walk from my home but it makes such a difference getting some fresh air in order to get to my place of work. There’s another guy, a freelance architect, that is in there quite often, so it’s still quite empty.

This month I’ve been at home at bit more than in the office. It looks like this is due to a number of reasons damaging my motivation. It’s been Christmas & the end of term, from early-December the atmosphere was about going away and holidays starting. There isn’t immediate work for clients due to waiting on another freelancer (the critical path wasn’t thought about!). I should be aware of this next year, you need to embrace that the end of the year will be slow business (or feel like it) and be motivated to do portfolio-building projects or go on holiday.

When I started using the space I went to one of the PHP NE evening talks. Hosted at Post Office NE, I saw they have offices for rent but individual rooms (or perhaps 2 in a room). Someone also spoke to say they have a spare desk in their shared workspace. These options are both in Newcastle, and that seems a big step to get to work if it’s not to be part of the company I work for.

I would really like to set up a group of home-working developers/techies and rent an office together in Durham. This would allow us to have our own key and not have to pack up at 4:50pm (though that is encouraging me to start at 9am). We could also decide things like tea/milk buying rotas. I think I would need to find at least 3 other people to make it worth starting. Are there no such people living in Durham as opposed to Newcastle/Gateshead, or am I just unable to find them?

The place was clean, tidy, spacious, and light. That seemed good enough to work in. There was a toilet, a kitchenette with a kettle, that will make it easier to for me to stay working for hours. Several small meeting spaces were available for an extra daily charge, if I have clients round that I want to talk with in more privacy. With the rates being unbelievably good(possible thanks to Durham County Council), it seemed best to just try it for a day and I think that’s the best way to answer questions. I really like DoES’ offer of your first day free if you bring cake (to share), nobody losses!

Walking away I realised I hadn’t thought about the chairs. I managed to remember they weren’t wheelie ones, but they looked better than the chair in my home office. Perhaps I should have sat at a few desks to see which spot I liked (partially distracting views matter a lot to me). There didn’t seem to be anywhere I could keep my stuff when I leave. I should have asked about the possibility of getting a lockable drawer or two if I pay for a month’s block. Can I claim/reserve a certain desk as mine? DoES is run by the people who have permanent desks there and their rolling-month contracts include a door key. Durham Nest is a different set up, and is staffed all day. I asked about the opening times, 9-5 Mon-Fri. Those times are a bit tight for me, and if I was regularly working here, I wonder if it would be possible to stay till 7 or 8 on some nights. Is it acceptable for me to put up a poster in the window or on the walls advertising my latest projects? Another key question, is who else would be working in the space, what sort of things do they do? That’s a tough question at the moment, but it makes me want to continue spending days here so that I can find out who comes. I know the work of their first customer very well, and I have several receptionists to myself.

I’m also going to see what it’s like to work in Sanctuary 21, a Salvation Army run prayer space and coffee shop (so ample supply of tea), and I’ve been invited to make use of the side rooms if I find the coffee shop area to be too distracting. I think I know several people around the country that work from home, or have rented desk space and offices. I’d really like to hear what questions you would want answered (either by looking at the place or asking the people who run it), or what are important factors/benefits about places you have/do work in?