mobile

Testing time (again) . . .

/ Tony / 6 Comments

I’ve just installed the Jetpack mobile app for WordPress. It seems to all intent and purpose to be not much different from the original WordPress app.

I only tend to use the mobile apps to read and approve comments, so using the app may be a little bit of a challenge. We shall see.

So this is a test on an iPad. I shall test with my android phone at a later date.

Only problem I can see immediately, is that there doesn’t appear to be any way of fully justifying text. That is a disappointment, but that may be a feature yet to come.

It’s really intuitive and I have yet to find and master all its current features, so there may be some way to go yet.

I don’t see this replacing my desktop application, more of another string to my bow.

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So the original post was written on my iPad and then edited using Jetpack on my Android phone. Seems to work okay.

Really long days

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I was supposed to be posting a little every day. But, as with all plans on this trip, things seem to get in the way.

I am currently enduring enjoying a family break in the Scarborough area. The week didn’t start well. R***’s transport arrived 40 minutes early. As this was a new driver and escort it seemed bothered more than him. Then, we got a little lost at the end of the journey. It would seem that there are two places in the Scarborough area, that have the same name with almost the same postcode. Of course, I had got the wrong one. S**** was arriving later and as I/we had given him the wrong postcode, the same happened. The place is not too remote, but as this is England the mobile phone coverage is poor to say the least. To cap it all, K*** got a phone call from R***’s respite to say that the transport had arrived to take him home. Somewhere along the line wires had crossed. It could have been a huge problem if they had brought him home only to take him back again.

Communications …

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I’ve come to the conclusion that the work place is not an appropriate scenario for Instant Messaging. As the Council moves away from fixed office bases to a more mobile solution, the need for mobile communication has become greater. The reliance on mobile phone technology as opposed to fixed line, has increased some costs. Some see the way around these extra costs is the Instant Message provision that Microsoft offer. There are enormous benefits to this form of communications, but it also has its downside.

When it first arrived in the office, we were all amazed at the possibilities that email offered. However, it soon became a problem when it was a lot easier to email a colleague than to write a letter/memo and even more convenient than the telephone. Soon we were swamped with masses of email, that we either did not read, or spent most of our time reading rather than working.

Now we have the Instant Message. An email sits the receivers inbox until they read or delete it. Not the case with the Instant Message. The thing about Instant Messaging, is that it only works if both/all communicators are online. But I suppose the biggest downside (well for our scenario) is that, unless your ICT allows to to save your messages, once the conversation is over, all evidence of that conversation is gone. So when your manager says it is okay for you to leave early, there is nothing to back up your claim if your manager denies all knowledge of their agreement.

The other downside is that there is no hiding place. An email can be left until your ready to read it. A telephone can be ignored with the claim that the volume was turned down. An Instant Message is in your face. You cannot miss that persistent flashing icon on your task bar.

I will use the Instant Message tool at work … it’s Corporate. But I will always use email, if I need a record of a communication. It is so much safer.

Bluetooth rules ?

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I am writing this post using a Bluetooth keyboard and my Tesco Hudl (for info on what a Hudl is refer to a previous blog.) I have done this before, but wanted to have a go again, just to see if I could manage to write a proper post with this equipment.

It seems a little strange when, I’m used to working with a full sized keyboard, to actually be able to write a post like this. What it does mean is that if and when we have a few days away, I should be able to use this set up for email and the like.

If I had thought about his first, I could have taken a photo to show. But I forgot, so the image below was added later.

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A busy weekend ……

/ Tony / 1 Comment

   Eldest to here yesterday, for the local music gig. I thought, when we got there, that it was going to be a bit of a flop. There was just very few people there !! However, it picked up around 09:00pm, and it turned out to be a good night. Although, the headline act did not turn up, and did not let the organiser know. Not good !

   Lost of jobs to do today, in preparation for our holiday. We go tomorrow, and are back next Sunday. Youngest is not that happy about going, but fingers crossed it will be okay. He went out with his support worker today, and that seemed to go well, so who knows.

   It would appear that England won by the skin of Japans teeth !!! This does not bode well, for when the real football starts !!! Have I wasted a £1.00 on my England aerial ‘bobble’ ????

   I downloaded an album for Amazon today, which took me back a few years. I have no idea, what made me think of them, but at one time, they were my favourite band. A band from the 70’s called Be Bop Deluxe. Really did bring back memories of seeing them in the local pub, before they hit the big time. I remember buying their first album, Axe Victim, and playing it night and day. It still sounds good today, although that could be just me.

   May get chance to blog by email during the week (if I remember how) on my mobile. Just don’t hold your breath!

Back to work ….

/ Tony / 1 Comment

   The rest of Sunday went quite well. Youngest came back in a good mood. It sounds like he had had a good time. Eldest called, but I’m not sure he knew what day it was. Tried to ring Mrs H, but forgot she was working.

   Then it was work !!!!! D*** is on holiday for a week, so it was up to K**** to cover some of his work. It’s not fair really, as P*** is the supervisor, and it should be him that runs the show. Still K**** is the better of the two. It’s just a shame she does not get paid for what she does. Still having some issues with some of the routines and procedures. Certain people, think they know what they are doing. I think they are beginning to realise that they know a lot less than they thought.

   It was a busy day though. There was a lot of jobs to get through, but I got my head down, and they all got done. I don’t think G***, my colleague that sits opposite me was too happy with me. Lots of tuts and sighing. But there are times when I just need to crack on, and chatting over the desktop is not a priority. No doubt she will have a moan to the boss about it.

    Mrs H talked to S**** tonight. She tried chatting on MSN, but he was not answering. I think he was using his mobile to connect, and it does not always show when someone comes online. Anyway, I texted him to say she wanted to chat, and he said she could ring. From what I could make out, he did not get up until 06:00pm, and was just making some food at 10:00pm !!! Mrs H did not look pleased. He does not make it easy !!!

   Now, the question is …… do I go to the quiz-night tomorrow ??? Sometimes, I think I’m expected, then other times, I feel like a spare part. I’ll not decide until the last moment, but I’ll be out on Wednesday night (drama group), and may be out on Saturday (?), and definitely out on Sunday, so who knows .

A successful day

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   Today went pretty much as expected. I managed to get nine PDA’s installed and back into service. So I’m the hero of the day again. Then to top it all the remaining thirteen PDA’s came back from repair. I’ll put another seven into service tomorrow, which should mean more praise. If only I took it serious. I must get those renewals done tomorrow though. It’s getting urgent now.

   We got to talk to S**** on Skype tonight. The video and audio was not brilliant, but that could be down to a number of things. Connection, network speed etc, etc. I’ll do a Google and see what it comes up with. I think though, that it could be my PC and the processor speed. We also tried a video call with messenger, but that was just the same as last time. I think Mrs H expects it to be a lot better than it is. Only one contact on tonight (at the moment), although N*** is probably hidden.

   R*** has been remarkably calm tonight (fingers and things crossed). He kicked off a little first thing, but that may have been leftover from last night. Mrs H said he did not have his medication this morning. He did not need it, so only two doses all day. We thought he was going off earlier this evening, but it came to nothing at all, and he seems very content at the moment. Mind you we have had this before. Little devil lulls you into a false sense of security then bang !!! and all the theories go out the window.

   I played at being Captain Stupid tonight !!!! We were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and the viewer question came up. I quickly noted the number and the answer down. Pulled out my PAYG phone and texted the answer. Three minutes later, the acknowledgement came back. It was then that I realised, that we were watching a recording from yesterday !!!!! Thankfully, it would appear that I only paid a standard text message charge, not the usual £1.00 entry charge.

   Oh, remember me saying that the biog I’m reading did not have any endnotes ? Well it has !! Lots of them, but unusually none of those irritating subscript numbers embedded in the text. I always feel I should look to see what the note is. It is then so frustrating, when the note refers you to another book !!!

   I finally worked out how to update Twitter from my phone. It would appear, that I have to use the mobile web version. Otherwise I pay 15p each update if I use a Twitter app. Now, go on, ask me how often I’ll use it. Well about as often as I use facebook on my mobile, about four times a week !!! But still it’s there when I want it.

Busy day…..

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   Well we got the new TV today. Looks quite good and the picture is great. We have had to move the screen around a little so it does not block out any more light, but it is quite watchable in its current position. We have been trying to get S****s surround sound to work. It has been partly successful. We can get the theatre sound with the DVD, and with the analogue TV channels ie the Freeview, but we have not had any luck with Sky system. I think it may be something to do with the way the SCART cables are plugged in. May have to have juggle them round a bit.

   New mobile seems quite good. It has been a bit of a struggle to connect via bluetooth. The PC suite is not the most intuitive, but I can always connect by the USB cable. There is a lot to learn though. I still have to work out how I can get my old ringtones onto the new phone. I also need to know how to get access to the applications that appear to be on the thing.

Friday part 2 ……

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I was checking whether I could upgrade my phone contract, before the 18 months is up. It would appear that I can do this, so long as it is not a cheaper contract, but I need to do it at least 24 hours before the date of my bill. Anyway, that is not the whole story. Whilst I had it in mind, I decided to check S****’s account. Horror !! His account was showing a spend of over £17.00. Now to say, at the beginning of the week he had a £4.50 credit, this was a hell of a shock. It would appear that he ‘accidentally’ subscribed to something he did not intend to. I don’t believe it. Mrs H rang him tonight, which I don’t think was a good idea. It left her feeling more down that she was before. They are both going to have to learn. Him to ring more often, for now at least 3 times a week. For her, just to wait for him to ring.

R*** has been fine again today, up until about half past six. Then as per usual we had an episode. Then another one around nine o’clock, and another one just around quarter past ten. As usual, no apparent reason.

Well the week is now over, and I haven’t been tempted to log into the work network. That’s not entirely true. I was tempted … but I did not relent. I’m dreading seeing the mess that will be left on my desk. I did check my mobile though. There only seemed to be the usual network problems.

No lottery win again. I seem doomed to fail at this. Neither ‘lucky-dip’ or my so called system works. I think for tomorrow, I will pick some significant numbers and try that for a week or two.

The problem I am having with Windows recycle bin has not been resolved. The ‘Ask Leo’ site has not come up with anything yet. Not that I expected it to. This is the second question I have asked and got no reply. I think I will post it on ‘The Elder Geek’ forum page. That usually elicits a reply of some kind.

Why do I get weirdo’s following me on Twitter. I can go for days without any new followers, then just buses, they all come at once. Three tonight. All of them trying to ‘help’ me make money on the internet. Go Away Spammers !!!!

Two more days to go…….

/ Tony / 1 Comment

That’s right. Only two more days, then I get a week annual leave. To be honest, I think I need it. It has been a long July, and August looks like it could be the same.

The eldest lad phoned at lunchtime, to say he was not feeling so good. Sounds like he has had a dodgy pizza on top of a few (or not so few) pints of Tetley’s. He’s spent the day in bed. Of course Mrs H is thinking swine flu !!!! But then again, so many people think they have got/had swine flu, or at least, some version of it !!! Strange thing happened tonight though. Mrs H had been trying to ring him, and was very concerned (as usual) that he was not answering his phone. I signed into MSN on my mobile, and noticed the he was signed in also. So I messaged him, but got no reply. Then he rang to say how he was. Later, I had to go upstairs, and noticed that his room door was open, and that his PC was running. I turned on the monitor, and it was running an AVG scan. Could not understand why it was running, or why the PC was on. I checked some of the PC settings, to see if it was set to start-up when AVG scan was due, and there was nothing I could see. We are now thinking, that the youngest lad had, for some reason, switched the PC on. Unfortunately, his condition prevents him from saying whether he did or not !!!! Strange. I will ask S**** when I see him if it has done that before.

No J**** on MSN again. Not chatted since the 1st of August. I hope I’ve not upset her or scared her off at all. She is a nice person to chat to. Last thing I said to her, was that I hoped to talk more about her. Maybe that’s it. Maybe I sounded too heavy !! Who knows. Just got a message. Been busy, that’s all. I had a quick chat with M**** on facebook earlier. Been a long time since I chatted to her. She’s been through the mill over the past few months. Doesn’t pull any punches at all. She was one of the first people I chatted to on the ‘Lycos Chat’ that was. Seems to be a good laugh. Always been straight with me. Here’s a thought …… why are most of my online friends women ????

Bloody appraisal tomorrow (as I may have said a few times). It will be another period of my life I’ll never get back. It’s not as if it really means anything. No promotion, pay increase or anything like that, just an excuse to give me my ‘objectives’ for the year. Oh and an excuse for Spike to be both patronising and condescending at the same time. How does he do that ?? There must be an art to it.I’d just love to be fly on the wall, when he does G***s appraisal. She takes even more serious than he does. Could be fun.

Done for now.

Is it only Tuesday ……

/ Tony / 2 Comments

This week seems to be dragging already, and it’s only Tuesday. It feels like it should Thursday. Had a quick look at the appraisal preparation form today, to try and get ready for the meeting. It all looks totally inappropriate for the work I do. So a fun (sic) will be had by all.

Oh did I say things were getting easier. Well they are not. Mrs H spent the afternoon trying to ring S****, only to find out, when she did get through (at around 4pm) that he had just got up. She was not best pleased. If this goes on much longer, I am just going to have to be quite blunt, and tell her to leave him alone !!!! It’s harsh, but he is never going to be able to break free at this rate. Mind you, if it is bad now, it is going to get a lot worse, when the other one has to go.

And so to the on going saga of the pedometer. I sent an email to the coordinator, V**** this morning. After wearing the damn thing from around 6:30 until 9:00, I had done a grand total of 7 steps. Within minutes, V**** sent a group email to explain, that there were serious problems with the kit. It would appear, that the supplier had sent us the ‘Christmas Cracker’ version,when we had paid for the deluxe version. The supplier claimed it was an innocent mistake, but V**** did not seem convinced. So the general consensus was, that we should start again with the initiative, next month, when the correct pedometers arrive.

I had a look at the upgrade for my mobile phone this afternoon. My contract is up toward the end of September, so I’m looking to Nokia E71 upgrade the phone to a ‘smart-phone’, the Nokia E71, and also change the the plan. I’m currently on a plan that gives me 300 minutes or texts, plus 300 minutes on ‘3 to 3’. A kind of ‘mix and match’. The plan I’m looking at will give be 200 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited 3 to 3 and unlimited internet. The word ‘unlimited’ is of course incorrect as Three impose a fair usage policy. But It should give me a lot more freedom. I could change now, but I could not get the benefits of the plan, until my next bill is due, and as it would only be a month to the end of the current contract, I may as well wait.

Going back to work, I managed to get a photo of G*** dozing whilst at work. I am tempted to post it here, but she does not know about it, so it would not be fair. I said a week or two ago, that she was asleep, only to be told “I’m not asleep, just meditating”. I muttered something about snoring and meditation not going together, but regretted it quite quickly .. ha ha.

I think that will do for now.