So i ordered a MAX7912 from ebay - it arrived and then i went looking for some quick code so that i can start playing with it. How wrong was I.
I found bits and peace's here and there but ultimately i ended up writing my own code and thought i'd post it so maybe that it can help some other poor sole.
More information here:
http://jdimeglio.blogspot.com/2014/
Also in the repo is demos of the code in action.