Welcome to Andy Heathershaw

Welcome to the personal website and blog of software developer – Andy Heathershaw.

I’m a commercial Microsoft .NET developer and open-source PHP developer based in the West Midlands, England. I live with my husband and I’m daddy to a nine-year-old Labrador called Mickey and two growing boys.

Check out About Andy Heathershaw to read more about me, or browse my blog posts below.

Screenshot of a Linux terminal window showing an apt update command

Manage software package upgrades on Linux with NodeBeagle

Updates for devices running the Linux operating system come in the form of packages. Using the Linux system’s package manager, you install new packages and upgrade them as new versions are released.

Now sure you can log onto each Linux device and run apt update && apt upgrade, or dnf update, depending on your distribution. But what if you have several – even hundreds – of devices to keep updated? And how do you know what new updates are available?

DevOps , NodeBeagle Read more


Happy New Year! Welcome, 2022...

2021 started with much hope of vaccines to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, alas it wasn’t enough.

A year – and three vaccines later – and there is no end yet in sight. Although hospitalisations are steady, despite the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope for 2022.

As I reflect on the last year, I’ve made some achievements I’m proud of – both personal and professional.

Reflections Read more


New version of Simply Remind Me now available

Earlier this week, I gave a sneak preview of version 3 of Simply Remind Me – my free e-mail and simple SMS reminders app.

The new version is now live and ready to welcome new and existing users.

Simply Remind Me , Software Development Read more


Sneak Preview of Simply Remind Me, version 3

It’s been four years since the last update to Simply Remind Me – my free e-mail and SMS (text message) reminders app. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, sign-ups have increased significantly. It’s therefore a perfect time for a refresh and an update.

This blog post shows you a preview of the new-look Simply Remind Me – version 3 – launching soon.

Simply Remind Me , Software Development Read more


Solid Tools for Developers June 2021 update

It’s been almost 18 months – and a global pandemic – since the last update to Solid Tools for Developers, my suite of free online debugging tools for software developers and system administrators.

Today I’ve released a new update to Solid Tools which, unlike the previous update, is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

This post details all the changes; you can check them out for yourself now at soliddevtools.com.

Software Development , Solid Tools for Developers Read more


Upgrading an application from Bootstrap 4 to 5

Over the past few weeks I’ve migrated my website to a new content management system – ExpressionEngine.

I took the opportunity to upgrade my website’s front-end technologies to their latest releases – Bootstrap 5 and VueJS 3, for example.

This post documents some of the changes I came across migrating Bootstrap 4 to 5.

Software Development Read more


Apple release macOS Big Sur... but can you get it?

Apple today released the biggest update to macOS in recent years.

It’s so big in fact, it no longer carries the OS X (version 10) moniker it has carried since the early 2000s. No sur; Big Sur carries an all-new version 11.

Miscellaneous Read more


Microsoft releases new Edge browser based on Chrome

Announced around a year ago, Microsoft today released their brand-new version of Edge – the default web browser since the Windows 10 release.

The new Edge browser is based on Google’s Chromium project. Chromium is the “base” software that Google builds the Chrome browser on.

Software Development Read more


Solid Tools for Developers gets a refresh

It’s been over a year since the last update to Solid Tools for Developers – my suite of online tools for developers, system admins and network managers.

Yesterday I published my latest release to soliddevtools.com which gives the suite a fresh makeover and a few improvements to the tools.

DevOps , Software Development Read more


Please don’t let my kids and I cross the road

For my first blog post of 2020, I thought I’d share one of my challenges of being a parent to the boys and a 5-year old Labrador called Mickey: crossing the road.

Our local estate is generally quiet for traffic, so crossing the road is usually uneventful. As you’d expect, there are times we have to wait for a passing car before we can cross. I’m constantly re-enforcing to the boys that they must wait until the road is clear of cars before they cross.

Which means when someone stops and waves us across the road in front of them, whilst it is a kind act, it does irritate me.

Reflections Read more