A big huge thank you for all your likes, support and love during 2017.
What a crazy year… starting this blog earlier in the year… receiving some great feedback and words of encouragement, I feel I’ve learnt a lot (mainly about blogging) and sharing knowledge.
Thank you, and i’ll continue to go from strength to strength in 2018!
Morning Everyone! – Hope you all have a very, Merry… Christmas!
I love taking photos… to capture moments.
We take a number of ‘actions’ as normal, and assume (never assume…) that it’ll be housing the latest technology.
For example, we now expect all screens to be touchscreens. Be able to interact with them, pinch and zoom the content on the screen, etc…
Children, moreso… take this as the norm! They’re more ‘digital savvy’ than most folk… with the ability to swipe on a smart phone screen to unlock it from the age of 1, to when they’re putting their games and apps into their own folder a few years later, on your tablet.
The speed at which children can pick up and understand tech is becoming quicker and quicker… and this is down the simplicity. Technology is making everything easier to understand and explore.
Google, earlier on in the year were able to do a program around the UK, where they invited schools to participate in exploring cities around the World using Google Cardboard.
Imagine, seeing all the wonders of Rome… without actually being in Rome! – It’s a great start to exploring the city.
And so… there’s various other programmes that encourage children to get involved with technology. Apple were providing some free classes to teach children how to code in their stores. There’s a number of apps and programmes available that you can download… learn the basics and begin to code your own game.
Understanding how to code, why to code… and most importantly, what can be delivered by coding… is great learning. For the children, they can use their imagination to create the most wonderful games!
Back in my day… I used to be on my Raleigh Grifter – (for those who don’t know what one of those is… it’s like a BMX bike)…. and indoors, I used to enjoy playing with my Lego.
That’s right – constructing all sorts of buildings, objects and items from various pieces of Lego. As a company – they’re still going strong… and recently, I noticed, they’re embracing the whole ‘Kids in Technology’ scene.
Now, there you go… even your Lego builds are becoming ‘smart’.
Why just build? – go one step ahead… code and then play! That’s right, build something… maybe a robot? – then code it, using your parents tablet/smart device… and watch it do things you want it to do… and play with it.
Wonder if you could connect your Lego build… to your Echo… and then by using voice commands… have the build perform an action!
Because, as children learn coding, become more aware of technology and take, recent hand and motion gestures which we’ve become accustomed to over the past few years, as the norm… the world is fast changing… and if children can learn… by play… then that’s only a good thing!
Well, I did say a few weeks ago – I wouldn’t be going down the road of recommending what tech items you could buy for Christmas… mainly because a) you’ve got Philip Schofield (for those in the UK) – who’s presenting a great series on TV which is all about – ‘what you can buy for Christmas 2017’ and b) i’d be here all day, because there’s so much out there you could buy!
But you know what… after speaking to a friend of mine, who’s just moved into his new home… and how it could be a ‘Smart Home’… I’ve decided to share with you the Top 5 Smart Home Items you could buy for Christmas.
Coming in at Number 1…
Amazon Echo.
I feel it’s the natural first step into making your home, ‘Smart’.
You can say, ‘Alexa…. ‘ (followed by a command, question, etc..) and then have an answer or action performed.
For example, Alexa tells me jokes…. sets a timer for me…. plays music… answers questions (by finding answers on the world wide web)… turns the lights on and off… heating, up or down…. milk into my shopping basket…. etc..
You could have a few around the house if you wanted…. perhaps the Echo Dot in the bedroom? – it is a little thing.
I feel ‘Alexa’ is like someone who is really close to me. Does so much for me… but doesn’t spend all my money. And doesn’t love me. I’ve asked it….
Moving on… and coming in at Number 2….
Nest Home Heating.
Once you’ve brought Alexa into the house… you want to pair it up with something. And I would suggest… as the winter months are here, maybe something to keep you warm?
Okay, the Nest, itself, won’t keep you warm… but it’ll talk to your heating system… and make life so much easier for you… and warmer.
That’s right – it’s a little device, that connects to your home heating… and not only can you control it via your phone… you can control the heating by connecting the Nest to your Echo….it can learn your heating habits… be optimized for when you are away from home and so much more….
There are other, similar, Smart Heating solutions available, for example, Worcester Bosch have their equivalent… named the ‘Wave’. I would suggest, talk to your local heating expert to find which one is the best match for your current heating system.
Coming in at Number 3….
Hue Lights.
So, you have a Smart Voice Controlled Personal Assistant (Echo) in your house, and you’ve got Smart Heating (Nest)… now for some Smart Lights.
Philips, in my opinion, are leading the way with Smart Lights. The Hue… from Philips, is great. You get a ‘bridge’ which talks to your Wifi and the Light Bulbs around your house.
Control the lights via your phone… and/or Alexa…. programme light timers… connect it to IFTTT (If This Then That)… put on location – so the lights come on, when you’re near home…. there’s alot you can do.
You can get bulbs which do different colours…. mine only do white. You can dim the lights… you can have different settings for different rooms… etc…
Now we’ve got some ‘light’ on this topic… Coming in at Number 4…
Ring Door Bell.
Now, for a bit of home security… Ring Video Doorbell. Does exactly that, it’s a door bell, with a camera, that’s all connected…. and you can view who’s on your doorstep from your phone.
Why would you need this?
To make you even more lazy…. And finally, in at Number 5…
Wemo.
For those items.. like your TV, Kettle, etc… you can make them Smart also! – How, Bal?
Well… Belkin have a device called the Wemo. You plug it into your normal socket. Turn it on. Then plug your device into the Wemo device… which then, when all connected – you can view & control your devices on your phone!
There you go.
My Top 5… Smart Home… Christmas Present ideas.
There are different variations, makes and models available to those I’ve mentioned above… for example, Google have an equivalent to the Amazon Echo…. there are many (and probably cheaper) alternatives to the Belkin Wemo.
I’ve recommended the above… because they’re the ones I have or have used.
I would always suggest, you go and research… see what would work for you… your environment… your style and most importantly… your needs – I researched and tested a number of items before settling on the ones above.
Have fun shopping! – and making a house… a home. Smart Home.
That’s right – for many folk… it’s when the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck appears in the commercials on TV… for some, it’s when X-Factor finishes, for others… it’s when discussions start in various WhatsApp groups about what to cook on Christmas Day.
Holidays are Coming!
I’ll still be posting articles on this blog… but like many others, I will be taking some time off.
Mainly to reflect on the year…2017, what a fabulous year. Also, to spend good quality time catching up with family and friends – as they’ll too, be enjoying the holidays.
And… I hope you also get some time to yourself. Time to sit down, enjoy a mince pie or two, and watch a film on TV.
More than watching a film on TV, we’ll probably be on social media, sharing photo’s of our Christmas Dinners…. and that’s fine! – Honestly, because sharing is caring – right?
But don’t be spending too much time on Social Media. Make sure you spend it with the people in your life. People around you. People who appreciate you. People who care about you, and those you care about.
And it’s you guys – who’ve been reading this blog, taking time to write comments, coming up to me – saying how you enjoy reading my posts… how sometimes they make you laugh… i’d like to say Thank You! (not going to say too much now… will do a Review of 2017 in a few weeks!)
So, what’s in store for the next few weeks… well, i’m trying to finish a video that I can share with you… where i’m talking about electric cars! – and why I think, we’re not ready (the car manufacturers are doing great… but it’s us!)
There’ll be some blog posts, where I reflect on the latest Technology News… and naturally, some Bal’s Friday Thoughts.
So… make sure you’ve got your holiday plans arranged… hope you are able to take some time off, to enjoy the festive period… and more importantly, to remember…. don’t be getting stressed out about food… what to cook, plans (if they’re not arranged)… etc…. Santa has to deliver presents to all the children around the world in a very short space of time. Imagine what he’s going through!
Practise and Perform…
Some of you, may have been viewing the X-Factor 2017 Final… I know I was… in fact, I do most years… it’s good entertainment for a cold Sunday evening.
And i’d like to take a moment to congratulate Rak-Su for winning the competition.
I’ll be honest. I’ve been watching it – from the moment they (Rak-Su) first walked into the audition room, to them performing when they’d won.
There’s been a few things I’ve picked up on… that I think, made them favourites quite early on… to win.
And these attributes, I thought, could be related to business… and especially start-ups. Because… start-ups are in a similar situation when they enter the market – or in X Factor words… ‘the audition room’.
There’s alot of competition. Everybody wants to win. Everyone is ‘new’.. and this is the start-up scene!
Everyone wants to be noticed. Everyone wants their product to stand out. Everyone wants investment.
So, there’s a lot of similarities between the X Factor Audition Room… and the Start-up scene. But what makes a small company, a start-up a success… well, let’s see what Rak-Su did, and if we can learn anything from them.
So there you go, a couple of things to think about from Rak-Su… & their journey to winning the competition.
Now… at the start, I did say… some folk may have not watched it… and I know, many folk from around the world – who read this blog – may have not had the opportunity to see Rak-Su.
For you guys.. here’s one of their performances. Enjoy.
On Tuesday, my father and his good friend, were on the phone to each other – chatting away about old times and having a good laugh. He told my father – ‘on the dialysis again tomorrow… catch up later in the week’.
On Wednesday, my father’s friend, went to the hospital for his usual regular dialysis treatment.
As normal, sits down, the nurses hook him up… and the dialysis process begins. The nurses bring over a cup of tea for him.
The lady next to him realises, his cup has fallen and tea is everywhere – she calls for the nurse. The nurse comes, calls for the doctor – checks him… and quickly establishes, he’s had a huge heart attack.
He’s no more.
‘Enjoy everyday… don’t worry about tomorrow.’
