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Bal, I have a question….

When I started this blog, it was very much to make it a two-way interactive type of blog…. what I mean by that is, I share my thoughts, and then readers would have questions, comments, views and thoughts.

Whilst most times, that’s worked – I feel there could be more ‘inter-activeness’.

I’m sure when you read this blog – be it any topic from Smart Homes to Folding Phones…. it would generate some thinking, some thoughts and hopefully get you thinking.

lets talk to each other more… and ask questions!

The purpose of this blog is to break down some of the latest technological advancements and share they in simple terms. Also discuss, do we really need some of this tech? Also how technology is impacting our every day lives, for example – let’s take the High Street – we know that on-line shopping is only increasing, do we need physical shops? – The answer I think is yes… we need a hybrid model of physical and on-line shopping.

Companies are working on a lot more – and offering us a lot more… in terms of technology, and especially how we relate and connect with them.

It’s not just a matter of having a break – it’s now share some details, look at some content, watch a video, interact with what i’m being told, etc…

Life is getting busy in certain areas. But technology is also enabling us save time – in certain areas.

One thing we must keep doing is understanding where technology is heading.

The last thing is, you don’t want to be left behind…

Therefore – happy to take questions, both on this blog (you can reply below), you can tweet me – there’s several ways to contact. But let’s have some more conversations…

There’s also the podcast! – new one out this week!!! – Had some great feedback – and happy to listen and take on board more feedback to make it better. Make it useful for you. And make it more beneficial to you.

It’s not just for me to moan – (well… that is an element of it), but to turn that moan around and look at opportunities and what can be done. And isn’t it great – when we all can look at opportunities and discuss together.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

People Talk. People Moan. People Criticise.

Problem is… we don’t have many People who Do.

Which one are you?

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Smart Home

Smart Blinds…

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t expecting that much feedback on the ‘Smart Dining Table’! – it was phenomenal!!

“Bal – really? You don’t need a table to be smart. Just be practical!”

“How’s about not having devices on the table – as per the news headlines.”

But my favourite was from my old friend, Hugh… who said “Sensors to detect food and keep plates warm would be progress. However, the purpose of a dining table is to not only enjoy your food, but hopefully engage in conversation with good company. Rather than a wireless charger, perhaps a Faraday layer to block the use of phones?”

That is very true, Hugh. The purpose of the dining table is indeed, to enjoy your food – however, no issue with it being a little smart, right?

So, on Sunday morning – when I was up, I was kindly asked to open the blinds. With a slight roll of the eyes… I did as I was told. I opened the blinds.

Which then got me thinking… Why haven’t I got Smart Blinds?

Is there such a thing, Bal?

YES! – There is!! Ikea!!! They have introduced Smart Blinds… watch the video below… it explains it…

That’s right – you can pop down to your local Ikea. Not only pick up a hotdog… but either the Kadrilj or the Fyrtur Smart Blind!

How awesome is that! – Runs on batteries, connects to your Alexa or Google Home… and you’re up and running!

Now, I will talk more about how Ikea is becoming ‘Smart’ about their home offerings in another blog post.

Back to the blinds. So, this got me thinking… they got to be expensive, right? – Well… not really….

Now… the problem is… I’ve already got blinds fitted.

Do I have to really change all the blinds in the house?

Well.. the answer is No!

That’s right Ladies and Gentlemen… you can retro-fit a device that’ll make your current blinds… SMART!

I know right – I should become a Smart Home Expert!

Manually pulling that string to open or close your blinds will be a thing of the past….

You can buy a device… which has a battery (which lasts for 2 months, and can be charged for a short period of time – or you can leave the charger in – or you can use a solar panel to charge it)… it connects to your phone… it connects to your Alexa or Google Home… and will open and close your blinds for you!

How awesome is this! All the blinds in my home.. can now be Smart!

The only problem is…. some of these devices are new and expensive. The one in the above photo is £130 per device.. but you can buy 2 for £180 and there’s various other promotions on. The more you buy, the cheaper it is…

So there you go… Bal helping your home become smarter. Hugh, what do you think now hey?! 🙂

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Having ups and downs? – it only means one thing…

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Smart Dining Table

I was on a call the other day… with Bruno. We were talking, and I informed him, I’m recieving a new fridge soon – to which he replied, he’s getting a new dining table.

For some reason – my immediate question to him was – Is it Smart?

Now, firstly – does everything have to be Smart? – I think so!!

We’re in a connected world. And therefore, appliances and items around us – if they’re smart, help with the connectivity.

Habits are changing…

We are more on our devices. We are more involved and collaborative.

So how can a Dining Table, be Smart… Bal?!

Well… you’ve got your traditional table…..

You can get some in a funky design…

You can get some Clever/Smart ones… (by the way, when I asked about Smart – I was referring to Technology)…

With AR and VR… Mixed Reality… we can have sensors and projectors, tell us what to do and when….. especially, when it comes to cooking…

And let’s be honest – this is a great helping hand.

But I was thinking Smart in the sense – does the table have wireless chargers built in?

Does the table allow connectivity – in the form of sensors, detecting food is on the table, or have built in warmers – that keep the food/plate warm.

Yes you can get interactive ones… but personally, can’t see Bruno with one of these in his dining room…

So… thinking of getting something new? – See how Smart it is!

Even a dining table could be Smart!

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Podcast - Bal’s Tech Talk

My 3rd Podcast!

Who’d have thought it – I’d keep going and get to my 3rd Podcast!

Things have slightly changed… in the way, I’ve now got a Co-Presenter! – That’s right… Kat, who’s a bit of a Tech Geek…. joins me on this episode.

Feel free to comment back to this post with comments and suggestions… and most importantly, if Kat should stay at co-Presenter!

It’s available on all your favourite podcast platorms – for example, go to Apple Podcast app, and search for ‘Think Lean Get Digital’ and you’ll see it pop up! – but to save you time, here’s the link…

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/think-lean-get-digital/id1447639190?mt=2#episodeGuid=eecb9754-1cbb-09b5-8615-8077620c7eff

In fact, go to all your favourite platforms… search for ‘Think Lean Get Digital’…. and enjoy!!! Yep – it’s even on Spotify, (all my episodes!)

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Poor Customer Service…

So, if you follow me on twitter… you’ll have noticed, that a company has ‘fobbed’ me off recently.

Have to admit, extremely disappointed with the whole experience of their so called, ‘customer service’.

Bal, who are they?

Yep – the ones who sell GAMEs.

Bal, what happened?

Basically… we went in there for some advice. Cut the long story short… we were mis-sold an item. It was an activation code for a games console.

When I rang their customer service, and emailed them – they’ve just ‘fobbed’ me off. Nothing they can do. We can’t exchange. Nothing we can offer. The usual…

What disappoints me the most is, they didn’t even try to make it up to me.

They didn’t even ask me for the details… They didn’t even try. That’s the worse thing about it. Not. Even. Trying.

Well.. guess what, they’ve lost a customer.

Not one customer. Several customers. My family. My friends. My blog readers. And.. many more.

It did make me think about the Enterprise advert… remember this?

How should customer service be?

That’s right- the power of customer service should be turning that frown, upside down!

Make the customer happy. They parted with hard earned money… and if they’re not happy… do what you can to keep them on side.

Have them on side – they’ll part with more money.

Don’t… and guess what, you’ll lose them.

Can I be the first customer they’ve done this to? – Probably not.

So let’s look at their share price…

Well…. look at that. Like most high street stores – share price has drastically dropped from January 2015 to July 2017… then just slowly decreased to date… (today it’s at 25).

I reckon… their poor customer service must play a part in their decline. Obviously there’s other factors… but poor customer service = less customers. Simple.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Many times… we’ll look to the past. Look to why things didn’t work out. Why didn’t it work out. How didn’t it happen. Why did things change…

But the problem is… why consume energy and time looking back? – because that’s the time you take your eyes of the road in front of you.

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Fitness and Airpods

Rumors are… there’s some new Airpods coming very soon!

I know – some folk will be thinking – why the excitement? What’s new about them? What else could you do with them?

Well.. for starters, we know that Apple are serious about fitness.

We’ve seen this in the iWatch. We’ve seen this in all the latest Apple gadgets. And we’ll see it in the new Airpods! That’s right – they’ll have a wellness sensor which adds to the whole Apple Fitness Ecosystem.

There’s also wireless charging, Siri functionality and a few other tweaks – mainly to the speakers to make the sound, sound better.

We are becoming more ‘wireless’. We are becoming more ‘fitness’ and health aware. With new devices, they encourage us to focus on the right things in life. Our health.

In the future – we’ll see more and more devices monitoring our health – and I don’t just mean our steps, which yes – are important but there’s more to us.

There’s reports of glucose levels… which would be awesome for diabetic folk. There’s reports of other readings that could be taken that could help folk with other conditions that need monitoring.

And how much will they be? – indeed… they won’t be cheap!

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Who do you think you are?

No, seriously… when you look in the mirror – what do you see?

Whatever you see… Whatever you notice… That’s exactly how and what you can be….