Tag: Technology

Gadget Girl

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I never used to bother about technology at all when I was younger. It may have something to do with the fact that other than Sega Vs. Nintendo, not a lot of people I grew up with was interested in it. We had a PC at home that never gained an internet connection for it’s entire lifespan. It was used for typing school things and playing Theme Hospital. People also didn’t really have mobile phones, not till I was reaching the end of my school years. Even then, the most exciting things were making ringtones or playing Snake on a Nokia 3330. The internet was accessible at school or at the local library, and even then, I wasn’t much interested.

It wasn’t till I found myself in Glasgow, being quite the loner, that I started a blog on livejournal, and I began to get involved with the internet. I started talking to people, who understood, people who are still friends with me many years later. As I have got older, I have found that I have become rather reliant on technology. Like, if I don’t have my smartphone with me, I feel lost. Which sounds very sad, and probably should make me really depressed. But, it doesn’t. And here’s why.

For years through my adolescence I struggled to find out who I was. I just seemed to follow other people, and never really spoke up for myself. Yes, I had my own interests, but they never seemed that important. I was really scared of being alone, and became quite anxious, and kept a lot of my thoughts and feelings to myself. Which, made any anxiety worse. And it developed into me really, really hating myself. I thought that I was a horrible person, a thought that has stayed with me since, no matter how silly I know it is. What helped me step away from hating myself so much, was the internet. I found forums and blogs where I could be myself, without fear of the very few people around me leaving. I slowly became more confident when I realised that I wasn’t alone in how I felt, there were other people struggling.

I think that finding this solace in the online world has been something that has stuck with me. If there is something that frustrates me I’ll tweet or write a blog about it. I’ll express it in a way that makes me feel better. I can message people from anxiety forums when I feel a panic attack coming on. It helps me cope with stuff around me. Particularly when I have reached out to people in my offline life, they have been critical of my depression or anxiety, which is something that I can’t help. If someone is rude to you online, you can always block them. That gives me control that I don’t have in general life, and it calms me down. Maybe it shouldn’t be like that, but it is. The internet is a calming little assistant that I have with me constantly thanks to my phone. And considering I work full time, have a social life and function ‘normally’, I think that it’s great. All these wee devices help me feel like a normal person, and considering I haven’t felt like that since I was 13/14, I feel it is a good thing.

If technology allows a person to feel free and enjoy the things that make them happy, I just don’t get how it can be bad. But, I am an adult. Though, I can’t help how much easier my High School years would be if I was so connected as I am now. If I could ask anonymous resources about how I felt, and chatted to people who were ‘like me’. I maybe would have been more in control of how my brain works. I guess there is no point wishing things could be different. Life is what it is, and technology has helped me a lot.

Mis-information

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

One of the most irritating things is when someone tells you the wrong information in a bit to make a sale. This happens a lot, in a society where businesses want every penny they can. Every time you watch TV or open the newspaper there are advertisements everywhere. Companies fighting each other to gain a consumer’s attention. To get their money. This should be great for consumers. Get the best deals as the companies compete for customers. But it doesn’t always happen like that. Sometimes corners get cut, and the customer gets mislead, or feels let down.

As said previously, I sold my old phone through a mobile phone site, mainly because they did the best deal for my phone. They promised a quick turnaround and the money will go straight to my bank within days of recieving my phone. It sounded too good to be true. Well, they offered me £120 for an iPhone 4S and I was thrilled. So sent it away, and waited for a result. They said they phone had water damage, as had a ‘water damage’ indicator on the inside. Being me, I trust the company and was disappointed, when they offered me £90 instead, I accepted it. After all, that was the general price every other company was offering me. 4 days later, I am still waiting for anything about payment, and I’m getting frustrated. So, I googled the company and read a few reviews. This should have been something I did first. Many of the reviewers had experiences like mine. Where perfect handsets were voiced as having ‘water damage’. Phones that had been previously tested as undamaged, fail when they go to this company. So the company then drops the price, down to the level that other companies are offering to pay for your device. It has the appearance of a con, to get people in with higher than normal offers for devices, just decrease it.

After working in customer services previously, I feel that I should point out that people NEED TO read their terms in conditions. They are usually a tiny font, or available at the bottom of a website. You should always read these conditions BEFORE you agree to anything. If you agree to something, and it comes up later in your dealings with a company, you will be in the wrong. Never ever sign or agree to anything you don’t read. If you don’t read everything, you have nowhere to turn if it all goes wrong.

(Not) Following Instructions

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I like to think I am a very independently minded person, in that I am willing to go down a different path, if I feel it will work for me. I always have been a little like that. Did what I wanted to do, despite what other people would do. I’d spend my summers reading library books, as well as playing outside with friends. From an early age, I seemed to realis that ‘a little bit of everything’ is a good thing. So I would try new things, as well as doing my favourite things. The problem with trying something new, is that you have to learn the best way to do it, and this can sometimes be where I fall a bit flat.

If I get instructions for something, I tend to skim through and try to pick the bits that I deem the most important. This is, as I have mentioned before, because I am lazy. I don’t want to spend any longer on something than necessary. I like a good ol’ quick fix. Sometimes it works. I do what ever I need done, and there are no problems. However, a lot of the time something doesn’t work. And you’d think I would have learned something over my 30 years of life, on to at least read instructions properly. But I haven’t.

I am sure that everyone has this one character flaw, that means that they do the same thing wrong over and over again. Reading instructions is mine. I seem to think I know what I need to do, before I even glance at the instructions. This seems bizarre, when I am writing it down like this, because if I knew what to do, then why have the instructions? What I think I know, and what I don’t know are two different things. As a person, living in an age where I can Google any question I have from my phone, wherever I am. Information is everywhere. And as such, I think it may make people think they know ‘it all’, when the actually know very little. And I feel this ‘knowlege bravado’ is what makes me rush through instructions and trying to learn. It is something that annoys me, because if I read things properly, it would probably take less time that having to re-read things because of inadequate skimming.

An example of this is that I recently decided to sell my old phone to a phone recycling website, so I can get a bit of cash. Great idea, right? I received a box with instructions on preparing your phone for delivery. The instructions was two sided, which I would have noticed if I had taken my time. I read one side, which showed how to wipe all the data from your mobile phone, and then send it. Which I did? What I had missed was that you also had to remove the device from your online cloud account. I only know this, because I received an email from the company telling me to remove the phone from my account. So I have had to take time tonight, after work, to find my account and remove the device as requested. And the disturbance to my evening, is no-one’s fault but my own.

So learning how to follow instructions needs to be on my to-do list. Not that anything on that list is getting done. Am I the only one who doesn’t read instructions properly?

Poll: How do you find music?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I have created a poll, in a way to discover how people find music to listen to. It is something that I am interested in, particularly with the wide choices available today. Music no longer relies on the radio to sell it, people take to the internet to discover new bands. And I am interested to whether this actually has an effect on how music is consumed.

Always Learning

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I heard recently, that once you reach your 20s, it becomes harder to learn things. I feel a bit weird about that, as I have learnt more as an adult than I did at school.

I find that as I get older, I do have more patience and motivation to discover more things. I like seeing new things, and finding out things I haven’t previously known about. I think when I was in education, I became apathetic about education, because I didn’t liked the environment of ‘forced learning’. It was okay, if the topic was something that I had interest in, but when it wasn’t, I found it so hard.

When I have got older, I have started learning off my own back. And because I am learning at my own speed, I find it so much easier to stay motivated and pick up things. I think, that it is important that people keep an open mind to carry on learning. That could be the problem with a lot of ignorance, people feel that because they are adults they have nothing else to learn. They have closed off their minds, which stops them from picking up on anything new. Which, I feel, can leave a person at a disadvantage to those with a more open mind.

Saying that, sometimes learning something new can be frustrating. I recently got a new laptop, which has Windows 8 installed. Now, the last version of Windows that I had, was XP, and it did what I wanted. But my computer died, so I got a new one. Windows 8 is a headache. I am trying to find my way round it, but I keep on finding that it seems to halt me in whatever I am doing. I think Windows 8 is about touch screen technology, which is great, unless you don’t have a touch screen device. Which I don’t. So I am trying to get my head round this new operating system, and until I do, I am stumbling through every activity I try to do on it. So frustrating. But, I just have to take a deep breath, I will get it eventually.

And that’s what I have learnt through being an adult. Patience and perseverance. I am not afraid to give something the time to get to know it properly.

Telly Addict

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

In the age of the Internet, we all seem to have the assumption that we no longer rely on TV. We spend nights browsing the web, rather than sit in front of the ‘gogglebox’ all the time.

People do still watch TV, it just maybe isn’t as traditional as it once was. High speed internet and DVRs have changed how people view TV shows. You can set things to record, and watch it when you want. You can watch episodes through various catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer or 4OD. Then there’s Lovefilm and Netflix, where for a monthly fee you can access a seemingly endless amount of shows and movies to watch on games consoles, mobile phones and computers. We have more options than ever.

And the problem is, that because i can stream 3/4 episodes in one go, i watch more TV than ever. I don’t have to wait for schedules for everything. I am watching through Buffy, Gilmore Girls, Dexter and Weeds. And by having all the episodes ready, I can watch them all intwined. It’s great, and super addictive.

I still watch shows as they are scheduled, only really Bitchin’ Kitchen, Skins and Casualty. I know none of them are particularly interesting to most, but I got in the habit of watching them. Which is something I have always done, had one or two shows that I watched regularly. Then the Internet and on demand viewing happened and I watch loads of TV, although most of it is through my iPad or Xbox.

It’s like i can feel compulsed to watch a certain show. Particularly the Gilmore Girls. It’s too easy to watch one episode and think, ‘I’ll watch the next one’. And before I know it, I’ve spent the whole afternoon watching it. It’s easy to do, and not something that used to happen.

TV still rules, it has just adapted a little. What shows are you addicted to, and how do you watch them?

The Internet is Public

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am writing this entry from my local library because my home internet is dead, and my phone is not allowing me to post updates. Instead of complaining, I am going to try and say what a different things, like free internet, does for communities.

When I was at school internet was slow and expensive, hence I never had it. The local council started to invest in computers, to provide people with the internet, who couldn’t afford it. They did this by equipting most local libraries with PCs. It gave so many people the access to a whole world that they couldn’t see before. They could send emails, apply for jobs, shop online and learn about so many things.

Since I first used these library computers 15 years ago, my home got broadband, and a laptop that works (kinda). The local library, which once housed 2 computers, now has 12. The library runs classes to help people get to grip with computers and the internet. Allow pensioners send emails to relatives who live on the other side of the world. And, people who struggle with unemployment, get help on how to apply for jobs or type up a CV. It’s made computers so much accessible. You no longer need to spend a fortune on a PC and a home broadband connection.

I remember when I was at school, there was a few internet cafes that opened. Where you would paid £5 for an hour of computer access. Obviously, times have changed, the government helped. You can now rent public computers for an hour a time, and all you need is a library card. I think this is awesome, but I don’t know how widespread this is. My local council is Fife Council, and they have made it a priority to make computers and the internet accessible to all local residents, for free.

It’s times like this, where I take stock, and am thankful for where I live. And it isn’t just because my own technology is so tempermental.

Check Your Sources

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

In a world where news is dominated by what is on the news overview onGoogleand the trending topics on Twitter, it is becoming harder for more traditional news outlets to remain relevant. Do people have to pay for what they want, or is free news part of a person’s rights?

I have just watched Page One: Inside The New York Times, which as someone with an interest in media and it’s progression, was something that I have been meaning to watch since it came out last year. It shows a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at one of the world’s most established and popular Newspapers. It was not what I expected. It showed that the Journalistic giant had made mistakes, and that it was struggling in the world of modern day media. But for a printed paper, created in 1851, the fact that this publication can still sell over 2,000,000 copies in a day, is phenomenal, no matter how you look at it.

The one thing that was highlighted in the documentary, was how the drop in advertising revenue, and the reader’s want to get free news, was damaging the paper. It is said, that papers who print, lose money with every copy of a paper that they publish, as the cost of the paper needs to be affordable, for people to buy it on a daily basis. In the past, this loss was covered by the money that advertisers paid to be included in publications. As the Internet has become stronger over the last 10-15 years, companies began to start up their own websites for promotion, which was cheaper and began to lean less and less on the traditional printed media. In a world, where profit margins are becoming thinner and thinner, you can see why companies would follow the path of self-promotion.

This caused a problem for newspapers, like the New York Times, which found that their main source of revenue was disappearing. It meant that changes needed to happen, and the paper and it’s journalists would need to be more interactive with it’s audience to try and stay relevant. This involved an introduction of a website where journalists could record corresponding videos with their articles. Readers were invited to comment, and share their views, and the company began to catch up with it’s competitors in other media, such as TV. This way of publishing stories helps newspapers get a broader, even worldwide audience. Whilst this seems like a more affordable way to spread the news, but there was still a big gap in revenue, due to advertising loss. This is where the site installed a ‘paywall’, which would ask heavy users to pay a fee to continue using the site. This model has proved very successful for many online services. And has helped plug the gap in revenues, created by the drop of advertising.

And that is what a lot of people have a problem with. Why pay for something when you can Google the news for free. Google is a site, which like the way newspapers used to operate, is funded mostly by advertising revenue. The issue with advertising revenue, is it gives the reader the belief that they are viewing something that is free. Accept, it isn’t really free. Google gets paid by how many people use the service, as advertisers will pay accordingly to feature under certain searches. When up to the ‘top 10’ of results you get on google, have paid for that high ranking, you begin look further into what you’re using. That every click that you make on a google site, is collated and sold to marketing companies. You then begin to wonder, are sites like Google really free?

Another problem with the internet, is that the source is not as important as it used to be. You search for a news topic online, and will click on the one with the snappiest headline. More often than not, the photos and story may come from a single source, a source which be mentioned somewhere at the bottom of the article, if you’re lucky. And this mixed nature of ‘search engine news’, means that all sources and all work just becomes a big muddle. Where as in print, you can sometimes say, ‘I’ll read the Daily Star, because I want to read nonsense’. Or the Independent for more serious news. That definition between different publications isn’t so relevant when you Google search, and just pick one out of hundreds of results. It’s like written journalism is losing its definition.

Where this causes a problem, that whilst the bigger publications like the New York Times and The Independent can sent journalists to specific areas to cover important stories, smaller, less serious publications can’t. This means, that you can get ‘piggy-back reporting’, where smaller outlets will rehash another publications story. They report news and events, without any first hand coverage. This leads to second hand stories, which can lead to inconclusive reports and no checked sources. The only way that true, first rate articles can continue to be published, is if people start to pay attention and pay for what they read.

Because when all the newspapers go under, a loss in advertising for Google, could send them down the pay route that News outlets are currently used for. Nothing in life is free, especially not the Internet.

So check your sources, and help them, or they will stop being reliable.

Not with a fizzle, but with a bang.

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Not really. I have been watching Easy A, so that title seemed to dedicate itself to being on a blog entry

It has been 24 hours since my phone has been doused in coffee, and it went all huffy. Well, it is not 100% yet. I did manage to switch it on ok, but it quickly froze and wouldn’t switch back on. So, back in the rice it went. Where it still is.

The saddest thing about it all, is how lost I feel without my phone. Over the last few years, I have got used to doing EVERYTHING through my phone, from blogging, to taking pictures, to sending emails. When something THAT useful is taken away from you, it feels strange, and you realise how dependant you have become on the one product.

Whilst having an all-in-one product is great, and is what every technology company seems to be aiming for, there is a few downsides. The reason that I still have my music seperate from my phone, for instance, is because I just like having it on it’s own. And in moments, where I am phone-less, like now, I can still listen to my favourite band on my walk to work.  And that’s it really. Whilst it may be more convenient to have an iPhone for everything, it may not work out so good when it goes down, and you find you can’t access everything. You rely on that one thing so much, that if you don’t have it, you lose out on a lot.

Back, even as few as 10 years ago, a mobile phone was that, a phone which was mobile. You could text  and phone, and that was pretty much all it was used for. If you lost it, then you would just find a payphone or housephone to use for your call. But now, There are less payphones on the streets and more people are going without a landline for their homes all because more people have mobile phones. So that is annoying, then your emails, lack of Twitter access make you realise that it isn’t just a mobile phone anymore. Even the basic feature phones have more uses than just for phoning people. And when it is gone, you are left with nothing.

It makes the value on things such as books, music, photos, things that are frequently used as modes of expressionism, to decrease. The actual price won’t, but they are becoming nothing but files. And files, as anyone who has dealt moderately with a computer can tell you, can easily become corrupt or locked, with the user losing access to it. And this is where the digital con comes in. If you lose an album on your ipod, because it is corrupt, you delete it and head for the itunes store to get another copy. But, unless you pay again, you won’t get another copy. I am sure that I am not the only technology user who has been bitten by this. Yes you can back things up, but what if that goes wrong and won’t load. What if you lose hundreds of pounds worth of music, books, etc?

This is why I like having things separate, and having physical copies of things. Yes, the world of the mp3 download has made my life a lot easier. Especially when it comes to buying records that I can’t buy or order anywhere in a physical form. But if I can, I will always buy a CD or record before an MP3. I will always buy a book, before an ebook. And I will always have a camera and iPod, separate from my phone.

It maybe sounds crazy, but it is who I am. Crazy. 🙂 And without my iPod I would have no music to entertain me when I am on my walks. What do you think? How do you prefer your technology?

Music- Peter And The Test Tube Babies- I’m the Leader of the Gang

Technological Necessity

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I feel ashamed.

Why, I hear you ask.

Well, I have to admit at how much I missed my Blackberry Bold. I had to send it away to get repaired, when the screen got a pressure fracture. Well, I don’t think that’s the actual term, but that’s what I am calling it. It seems like pressure had been applied to the screen, giving an appearance of ‘dead pixels’ on the screen. Something I have never experienced before, so I panicked. I decided that although I could still see the screen and use the phone, that I would send it away to get fixed, before the phone became unusable.

This mean I had to return to my previous phone, which was a Nokia slide thing. The thing about having a smart phone, is that you take it for granted that you can send emails, post blogs, access Facebook, et al, all without the need for a computer. Well, returning to a phone which doesn’t even have internet access makes you feel like you have lost a limb. You have to revert back to doing any business through a computer. Which if you are used to just sending quick email replies to people, is a major pain.

I think I feel so bad, because I feel like I have become such a slave to technology, and how much I need it. The thing is, I didn’t even realise it happening. I tell myself, I keep it up because I crave contact with people all over the world. That by networking online, I can help my business. Only, it doesn’t really help with my business. As said before, apart from minor spurts of inspiration, the most creative I have been lately is writing on this very blog. And even then, it is not like I am breaking any boundaries, I just seem to be spouting verbal diarrhoea everywhere. I think, I am getting to the stage where I am making excuses.

But why should I have to make excuses for letting technology help me? Isn’t it a good thing, that so many aspects of our lives can come together so seamlessly, thanks to just a few small devices. I think it is AMAZING, that objects can make us feel like we are closer to people, and are helping us achieve things. I think that there is still a stigma attached to technology, where if you use it a lot, you have no life. But rather than the user be demeaned, it is the mocker who is not willing to open themselves up to try new things. Is it because people are afraid to admit that they like the assistance that having something like a smart phone can provide? That people still want to fool others into thinking, that they can do things on their own?

I don’t know. All I can say is that I am glad to have my Blackberry back.