Was speaking to a friend this evening… she’s not enjoying her job, lots going on and I said to her, we gotta follow our passions – we’re not here for long. Time is limited.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
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Low Tech for Lock Down…
During this pandemic… we have some time on our hands. We might be thinking how to make our homes smart…. getting that latest gadget and setting it up…. or even understanding what we do and what technology can be introduced to make it better!
But do we always need the latest technology? – as this is a tech blog, I should really say yes.
But in reality… you can use low tech for the current lock down.
What do you mean by low tech Bal?
Technology that isn’t complicated. We can have simple tech. Or even old tech…. just get back to basics and start to think about how things really work and if there could be improvements…
Above is slight humor but we could write more, draw more… or use some low tech with new tech?
Using a mirror with tik tok videos? (If you’re not on tik tok…maybe now is the time?!)
We all have low tech items… the question is, can we use them with new tech or even use them on their own to understand the fundamentals and basics.
But why look at low tech, Bal?
Because – we could make a leap over current tech.
You know how Steve Jobs was annoyed with his cd player? – the cd kept jumping… which led him to think about the solid state disk… which then led him to the mp3 player… iPod.
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Houseparty!!!
The other day, I was asked – “Bal, what do you use for video conferencing?”
Well, I use Cisco WebEx (preferred) and then for my football training (in current circumstances) I use Zoom. I have used Skype but not a fan of it, and there’s plenty more I know exist.
For fun… with the family, I use Houseparty!
Houseparty is a video calling app – but you can do more, like play games and have some fun.
You can ‘wave’ at friends, message them and more besides the obvious video call.
Houseparty has grown in both value and audience size in recent weeks – especially with this lockdown going on, across most of the World… for example, there were 130,000 downloads in early Feb compared to 2,000,000 in mid-March!
However…. recently, there were a number of ‘rumours’ about the app was hacking into other apps, money being transferred from bank accounts, Spotify playlists going missing, etc…
Then all of a sudden, everyone started to delete the app!
The owner of video chat and game app Houseparty is offering a $1m (£810,750) reward for evidence the company was the victim of a commercial smear campaign.
Sad to see fake news and such a smear campaign spread so quickly and also for many people to believe it so quickly – but today, everyone is worried about scams, phishing etc… security is paramount!
But… before you start believing everyone else, look at some of the facts first – is there an official statement from the company?
If you’re Netflix or Spotify has been hacked, how can that be if there is no link between Houseparty and those apps? And if the company are putting up a reward (sizeable) for someone to come forward and show the evidence…. (and no one has to date….) then that could mean a) they’ve not encountered anything or b) it’s all not real.
Either way, stay safe… stay at home… and have more virtual coffee mornings, like me… using the video calling feature on WhatsApp.
Yesterday I was in my garden… over the fence, Arthur (my neighbour) said, “Bal… you’re good technology. Can you help me set up Skype?”
“Off course I can Arthur… but what would be better is, if we keep our distance… and I share with you how to do it… “
And that is how I helped Arthur set up Skype on his Samsung tablet (other makes are available). I did it in a very process orientated way…
First – download the app.
Second – when downloaded, install. Then when installed, open. When opened…
Third – put in your telephone number. You’ll get a code on your mobile phone… put that code into the skype app when it asks you to.
Fourth – fill in the details such as your name, etc…
Fifth – When all completed you should see the Skype User Interface (Display!)
Sixth… then I shared some basics on how to use Skype… and off Arthur went to make some video calls with his family!
Then I helped download WhatsApp…. and he was truly up and running! And it’s with this process step by step thinking and sharing, that we can enable our elderly and vulnerable people to stay connected to friends and family.
Stay connected…. and as they know you are there, they are also helping you, by not coming close to you… keeping their distance.
Now, there’s various other apps… and software that is available. Apple (iPhones, iPads, etc..) you can use Facetime which is built in (that’s if all members have Apple devices).
Other good tools to stay connected… Google Hangouts, Zoom, etc…
In fact, Zoom is a good one – we’re using that on Tuesday night for Football Training! We even tested it out yesterday with the other coaches… I’ll have the ‘spotlight’ on me, explain the exercise and then let the participants do the exercise… then I’ll watch, and ask how they’re getting on. There’s another local grassroots football team that are doing this and it worked for them!
I’ll let you know how we get on…..
Tomorrow (Friday) Morning… I’ll be on BBC Radio Nottingham, sharing my thoughts how best to stay connected especially with our elderly relatives and friends.
Technology can be daunting for most of us – imagine what it’s like for those who haven’t grown up with it. Even then… All these new ways to stay connected and in touch can easily confuse people.
Then there’s the fear… fear of pressing the wrong button. Fear of accidentally downloading something that you have to pay for, fear of not knowing what to download and how, fear that the battery might run out… there’s so many fears!
For the majority of us, it’s fairly easy. Those on iPhones (iOS) can make facetime calls to each other. But what happens when friends, relatives, elderly are on other operating platforms… such as Android and you want to facetime someone on an iPhone?
- Find a common platform – As simple as this sounds, it can be more difficult! I would suggest go for a common and simple approach – such as Whatsapp. Via Whatsapp, you can make calls, video calls, send messages, send videos, etc… available on all platforms…. AND you can have it on your tablet and your computer. There’s a lot of flexibility.
- Let the elderly know – they can’t break anything – remove that fear from them. Whatsapp is fairly easy and simple to install – just follow the instructions on the screen and you’re set up in no time. ALSO – let them know, they don’t have to pay for the app…. if they’re trying to download something that’s asking for payment – then it’s a NO NO!!!
- There’s other options…. there’s Google Hangouts… Zoom…. Skype…. so many more, so whatever you use on a regular basis and are comfortable with, recommend that. Make sure it’s easy to navigate.
To the last point – there’s various YouTube videos on how to use the above tools – might be an idea to share a video first, so they know what to do, how to install and use it… then they can go ahead and use it!
If they are a total novice – no problemo!… why not talk them through it. Most elderly folk will have a land-line (for the younger generation wondering what that is… I’ll share with you next time). So call them on the landline and talk them through what they have to do.
If this is difficult… then you can watch the YouTube video with subtitles and read the subtitles to them! Genius… I know.
More than anything – please make sure you have patience. We’re living in a fast world…. where a tik tok video of a few seconds is the norm… stories on Insta are what we can take in…. many of us are used to the amount of content being thrown at us….. don’t think it’s the same for the elderly.
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Fly Bye Bye
Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The official announcement was made just after 3am. But it had been clear from late on Wednesday that the airline was going out of business
The Exeter-based airline was bought a year ago by a consortium headed by Virgin Atlantic, and involving Stobart Group and the US hedge fund Cyrus Capital.
The owners put in at least £100m to keep Flybe afloat, but it was making such heavy losses that the money soon ran out.
While the coronavirus crisis will be blamed for hastening the demise of Flybe, the airline has been struggling for a while.
Why has it been struggling Bal?
Number of reasons – there’s alot of competition… alternative transport methods/routes, the digital world and not being prepared for headwinds (no pun intended)… such as this CoronaVirus. Many companies are prepared… well prepared, for such issues and problems. But take a look at Monarch… Thomas Cook…. Fly BMI…. all who have gone out of business. You have to look at their business models… how they operated and why they went out of business.
Some were late to the Digital way of thinking – especially Thomas Cook, whom I wrote about a while back.
You could argue… if coronavirus didn’t happen, would FlyBe still be operational… yes. But for how long?
On Friday – I was invited to BBC Radio Nottingham, to talk about Smart Homes and Electric Cars… (and all things Tech!)
As the local tech expert – I share my views on Electric cars… and I think everyone should consider at least a hybrid, as their next car… and then slowly edging closer to a full electric vehicle.
In addition – how to make your home Smart! It’s starts with the heart (a device), that connects to everything around your house and controls what needs to be done (like – turning on and off lights).
2 Things…
- I’m going to be setting up a consultancy with my friend, to advise people how to make their home smart… and more importantly, save money!
- You can listen to me talking on the radio via the link below..
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How strong is your game?
Back in 1988, the computer game Tetris made its first appearance in the US as a PC Game!
A little history…. the company that released the game was Spectrum Holobyte…. which had a dubious licensing right to the game. So when companies became interested in licensing Tetris for other platforms besides the PC, a series of events kicked off a long legal battle!
In the end…. (you probably know this… or can guess!) the big winner was Nintendo… who used the game Tetris to drive sales of its new Game Boy platform.
Compared to other games – it’s done really well….
Well.. it did very well… until recent times…
For a long time – it remained in the number 1 spot!!
It’s all about gamification. People love games!
Anything you do… if you can… add some gamification and people will be more engaged, they’ll try to get more points, more whatever it is that’s on offer… more points might unlock particular levels, etc…
Tetris was huge – and is still played a lot today.
It was simple. Engaging. Gave points. And the best thing… people talked about it. Which meant more and more people wanted to play it.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Recently, I’ve been looking and thinking about my social media channels… my Twitter and my Insta, and decided… I need to pay a little more attention to my Insta (@mrbalbansal)
I’ll be honest, my Insta was just for fun… for me. But speaking to a good friend (who has nearly 15,000 followers) reminded me about purpose! What’s the purpose of your Insta…
So with that purpose, I have a little extra passion for my Insta.
Whatever it is you do… have a purpose…. then the passion will come.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Times are changing. And don’t fear change… embrace it! Comments once upon a time, will not be applicable today, or the future… because there can be increase security with the use of technology.
Obviously, above all… use your common sense. Please. 🙂
