Monday, 31 July 2023

How to promote toys and morality at the same time.

Obviously we all know about the feminist movement around the world. As an expat we have seen it take on the Ayatollah Regime in Iran. But how do the women in United States get justice? 

The one movie, that immediately comes to mind, is of course Barbie. Personally I found any comment made about Barbie, was totally destroyed by sour political activists. That's how potent this whole affair has become. They need to make a movie about, the activist's abuse of power in social media.

Anyway, moving on, I thought I would turn on my Apple TV last night, to see what's new, and I came across this movie. It seemed goofy on the face of it. So why not just enjoy a bit of light entertainment? I liked some of the actors and actresses in the description. It should be good then I thought.

And it is good at the beginning. I could identify with the challenges, of convincing the world what invention you have. You are on his side. Then suddenly, you see him get a huge telling off, by a single mother (with of two girls) business woman, like you have never seen. 

He is then humbled, and desperately tries make amends to her family. He is funny. In the process, he gets great ideas from little girls, and makes it big time. He is empathic. But the key, is how he just never gave credit to who or what helped him to promote himself?

How do you promote yourself? It was really hard in those days, before the internet. He hears a South Asian student intern, give ideas and he is impressed. If he was given the same advice, by a hot shot from a massive ad agency, he would have given them more credit. 

This is where morality gets involved. It is all about, how he has used two little girls ideas first, and now an Asian student. No one mentioned any of this, in the reviews I read about the film. They all go on about, mature American women, getting back at men so righteously. But something goes wonky. To sort all that out it, it goes into a time warp, to give them a second chance, of how to conduct business deals with crazy selfish men.

I don't want to spoil it, but you should get my drift. You need to watch it twice, to understand the time shifting.

The best part of the film, is that it shows what an Internet business can do. They were the first one. You can see what an eBay auction can do. 

Very funny and more comical than Barbie, and a lot more entertaining, than watching a commentary on marketing on TED on time shifting and reflection.

Monday, 24 July 2023

Transition from Landline to 5G Mobile Broadband - how to easily test your signal.

I have ignored this blog for too long. So I am reviving it, with this, the latest addition to my household. This is an amazing piece of kit is called SMART 5G HUB. As usual with me I will give you the whole journey, because I talk and write a lot.

Where shall I begin? Well, as the kids will tell you, I have been in the game of IT, from the days I got windows one. As an astrologer we probably write and draw more than most. Our wheels are like a weather maps. So they are updating non-stop 24 hours a day. Communication then is vital. I remember trying to do this with a premium fax line in the first days of Citystats, my stock market astrology service. People paid to get the reports.

Technology is then part of my DNA, and it is part of Astrology. For example I am using the Sun transit my Uranus in Leo to do all this. Look up your astrology at astro-seek. 

Here it goes. My contract with EE is expiring so I got cracking. Lone behold, EE have been working on the terrible situation with getting everyone on the internet. Some rural areas are not able to have wires or cabling put in. With emergency and banking all on the internet, it has become critical. So they created 4G broadband in 2018.

You probably are a bit confused. If you are reading this on your mobile, then you probably are using a free broadband connection. Most probably, it is first connecting via a WiFi signal to your phone. That box then takes your signal and pumps it down the old copper wire to the telephone exchange who then do the rest. 

But imagine that the journey was changed. I am putting in simple terms, as that is what I do. That is why I am a salesman. I simplify. So what happens to your signal with this new box? It gets your WiFi signal and sends it to a very fast tower not too far away. 

The speed that the signal goes from this box, to the new 5G masts, as they are called, (and they aren't as ugly as the old towers), is the main issue. The problem is that when you look up the signal in your area, it can't tell you what is going on inside your home 🏡. 

I want you to try this. Disconnect from the WiFi right now. Wait and see the signal from your mobile service to show. If it shows 4G then you are in luck. If it doesn't, move away from a thick wall. Stand next to the window. You need to check to see if you get what they call 4G. The term 4G is a marketing word. 

If you have 4G showing, then you need to check how fast it is. Download or Google, Speed Test. I use Ookla Speedtest. This app will tell you exactly what the speed is. There is a speed guage ⏲️. 

This is where EE and other providers don't get their messaging right. I told them this morning to ask all their sales team to do this. Once the user sees that they have 50 megabytes per second or mps, then your location is awesome. It means you can get this box. 

What the box has done for me, is it has made me future proof all the way from 50mps (megabytes per second) to 5gbs (that 5 gigabytes per second). 

A film is about one gigabyte of data. So yeah that is unbelievable. But if you have ten people or ten gadgets accessing 500 mps each, as streaming games and other things, then you will need that. 

Most people will never need it. But it's nice to know. Also there is the WiFi signal in the house. This box gives you WiFi 6 signal. So all your new laptops will be able to use it. The WiFi signal is as important. 

I don't know whether you realise this, but it's obvious what the next thing that they want to get people buy, will be to have 5G to manage everything from your car signals to what is expiring in your fridge and medicine cabinet. The new packaging will send signals to the box. They call this, The Internet of Things. That means the internet will connect all the other non computer devices or things to the network. 

So you need to get this box. If you don't, you will basically not get security updates quickly and worry about all that. I actually managed to pay less than my existing contract and reduce it to one year. So to sum up, switch off the WiFi on your phone. Measure the 4G. If you have it inside your home, then Bob's your uncle 👍.


Monday, 1 October 2012

So much Freedom with just one Gadget

Samsung Galaxy Note II - Discover - Three

It is not too often these days, that you can buy a device, that throws out a lot of clutter. The combination of the new Samsung Galaxy Note II, and a 3 network One Plan is just that.

Have a look at this video first



Save Money
I have gotten rid of Sky monthly. I have basic Sky Freesat to get excellent pictures, it cost just £170 once for a lifetime. I have a Panasonic 3D LED TV with Wifi and a Sony 3D Blu-Ray player. That means I can get both LoveFilm and Netflix (total £10). They come from the Samsung Galaxy Note Wifi Hotspot feature which is like the router. To get a film plan from Sky you need to spend £80 and have a year contract. I spend £40 for my phone, internet, and a lot more.

Hacker Safe
I actually have other old androids in sync, or tethered, all over the place, as radios, diaries. This unlimited tethering and internet Plan, and Note gets better when you realize that you can disconnect it all from the net very easily. It is really funny as all the gadgets turn off as I leave the house because the Wifi does not reach them. So I have no hackers turning on my PCs as they used to with a land line connection. Also I have a random IP address. So it is very safe.

Non Stop Free Streaming
No more annoying talk and ads. I love 70s music and I get it all free. I listen to Sky.FM, and get exactly the tunes I want in my car, non-stop with literally one ad an hour. What is really awesome, is that the Note will turn down the music volume, everytime the Google SatNav gives you turn by turn instructions, in eloquent Oxford English. That is great.

Beats a Hasselblad anytime
It gets better. You will see how easy it is to put stuff on the net, when you clip with the pen, or use the Twitter Apps like Seismic and Instagram. All that Astrology stuff and news I write, is done when I am out and about, with the Blogger App. I am not stuck behind my PC that shouts "you have to do things my way". I am usually inspired in bed, or odd places, like the toilet. I type it with just one thumb. It is fast and very efficient. It is so thin and light I have room for a spare battery in my pocket. Nothing, literally nothing else does this. You want to take a picture, you get a massive preview screen much bigger than a Hasselblad ever had. It is fantastic. And in one second it is all on the net. No Leica or Nikon or Canon does this.

Best Browser in the World
But for me the best tool is the Dolphin Browser. It has a free addon that makes it stay in full desktop browser mode. With the Note you do not need a mobile browser. You see it all just like a PC browser. You can literally have a nice big screen you can comfortably put on your lap, and not get sore arms like you do with the tiny screens on other smaller phones. If you have bad eye-sight or need to do a lot of photography and image manipulation nothing touches the Note.

Take notes on a Phone Call
But the easiest most practical use is taking someones phone number whilst you are on the phone. On the Note you just hit the memo and you literally scribble it on it like it would be a piece of paper and the person is on the phone at the same time. It is really handy in the rain.


Monday, 13 August 2012

Windows Security and IBM T60 Titanium vs Samsung Galaxy Note GT-7000.

I was using Windows from the day it was launched. Yes I am 55. We have come to a point nowadays that Windows has become useless.

You know when a device is useless, when you use another device, to write about the old device. And I am using my Samsung Galaxy Note or GT-7000 to write about Windows.

Perhaps the best Windows device was the IBM T60 made of Titanium. It is light, and like and old Rolls Royce, timeless. I put Windows XP on it and it is perfect with MS Office. That is as far as Windows is good for. You can buy one for £100. It was £2500 in 2006.

But what is annoying with Windows is security. I have tried them all. SuperAntispyware gave me a lifetime update licence. And guess what it finds? Look at the photo. It is Google's tracking cookies. Even with Chrome Ad Blocker they are there. But Internet Explorer with SuperAntispyware does not let them in. And that combo works.

With Windows you feel insecure all the time. To make it super safe, I just turn off the WiFi, by sliding the switch in front of the IBM T60. I tether it to my Samsung Note. And I switch the tether off. There is no way anything can get into Windows then.

This way your PC does not just turn on out of the blue, via your land line connection. So no more paranoia. When was the last time you disconnected via your pc? Get a T61 and just breathe.

To block ads use Internet Explorer with SuperAntispyware's Ad blocker. It is faster with no ads, as you get fantastic surfing. Microsoft does not follow you. Chrome or Google do, and they put trackers in. SuperAntispyware removes them. Chrome or Firefox's Ad Block, block ads, but Google still follows you and sells that info to ad companies. Very sneaky.

So after all these years, and loads of desktops and workstations, I have a good old trusted very affordable IBM T60. It does what Windows can do (which is not a lot) admirably. Social networking and photography on the fly, it does not do.

Samsung Galaxy Note, and all those social networking and photographic and video editing tools via Google Play, are far more superior and easier to use. Take it out of your pocket, surf and share. Easy.

Just look at this report. I took the photo with the camera in Samsung Galaxy Note. Then selected share, and put it in the Blogger app and typed this in. Simple and clean. Job done. And of course it is fast and secure. The share feature in Android, makes all sorts of concepts possible. That is where Windows lost the game.


Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Silent Revolution

Yes I had ignored this blog for a while. I just got bored being in this "pass the parcel" information distribution fad.

That is what is happening. We are just pawns in this "hey look what I found" game. I do it all the time.

It is all right to do it some of the time. But when it comes to just helping some people make money from nothing, it seems silly.

I have been recently involved with all this so called Disruptive Technology and thought "hmm we have a silent revolution going on here" duh.

Disruptive Technology

I remember when I just started my first job, I used leave work at 5:30pm, and I did not think about work until 9am next day.

Conversely, I remember when I got to work at 9am, I did not have to think about home until 5:30pm.

Later on, I bought this new phone, with email in it. I felt a new freedom. I was released from my desk and desktop. I could have a Big Mac in one hand, and type a letter in my Sony Ericsson.

Then everyone had Blackberrys. Work email would arrive at home. You felt you could leave home early. But something quite sinister was happening. You no longer shut the office out of your life.

People would get emails from their boss, telling them something, and suddenly their meal would get stuck half way down their throat. If it happened in a middle of a little family discussion, you would end up with a massive domestic. It was disruptive.

In 90's we all joined instant messenging sites, and our friends and family would get in touch with us for free. We had skype and msn chat. With them we could stay in touch with our kin at home. We could keep in touch whilst at work.  But the wife would tell you off, suddenly your chin would drop, and everyone at work would notice. How embarrasing. That was disruptive.

Nowadays with Androids and iPhones, we all use Twitter and Facebook, and are able to share info from the workplace to the whole world. The corporations cannot block it. New firewalls have to be created to control all of it. They call it Disruptive Technology.

We have had a revolution at work and at home, that has changed the way we interact in the most radical way in human history.

I miss the old world.

Sunday, 7 November 2010

Android and Persian

I have recently become obsessed with a thought. It is question really. Why is it after three years Android does not show Persian or Arabic script. If you are on an Android phone go to Iranian.com and look at the boxes in articles reading from right to left.

groups.google.com/group/persian-computing/browse_thread/thread/631e2deac82329b9/e4e2f8ccc9277628

And I commented here

www.iranian.com/main/blog/alimostofi/android-and-persian-fonts#comment-348113

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