Talking to the TV

Remember when your dad got upset watching the rugby and shouted at the ref?

Of course we would never admit to doing it ourselves, but in case you wanted to, now you can.

LG Magic Remote adds voice control to smart TVs - http://pulse.me/s/4bk9r

Information Overload

Ever had that feeling that you can't remember which of your apps and websites you have checked?

There is hope.

Centralising cloud app notifications might be the next big thing - http://pulse.me/s/3Z1Z6

Gadgets and Stuff

The Dilbert cartoons may joke about the infinite number of gadgets that engineers carry around, but I think IT people are sometimes worse.

We like gadgets; the sleek, shiny machines that hum and spin quietly or nestle in our palm as we poke and prod them. The more features, the better - one day our gadgets will not only be able to make the coffee, but order it from Columbia, organise shipment and have it delivered at the right time – just when the last batch runs out.

Not only do we yearn for the latest gadgets, but the moment that we have one in our hands we start looking for ways to break or improve it, all the while knowing the future release schedule for the update that will replace the one just purchased.

There are many websites out there dedicated to a breakdown of gadgets that will tell you the exact make and model of the chips and components used – kind of like looking under the hood of a new car. Most people are not interested or have only a brief curiosity, so that they can tell which is faster, but IT people have a deeper commitment to knowing.

Since the first PCs came out, we have been looking at ways to improve on the standard, from upgrading and making bigger and better to ‘overclocking’. To carry the car example further, this is the equivalent of adding a performance kit and turbo.

We do this for no reason other than because we can and we want to. We want to know the maximum levels of performance that we can get with the minimum equipment, or we want to see how big and badass we can go. Two options: bigger or smaller. This has given rise to water and liquid nitrogen-cooled computers and incredibly small Smartphones that pack the same punch as a standard desktop PC from five to ten years ago.

All of this has caused the market to balloon; it has grown to such an extent that you may find it very difficult to keep up-to-date. Most people just give up and dedicate themselves to only one segment or area – resulting in the fragmentation and almost slavish devotion to a specific brand or system. Like the VHS/ Betamax war of the ‘80s, people have preferences and will defend their chosen brand while attacking all others. After all, it took months of agonised, late night searches on Google before the commitment was made.

Once that decision has been made it gets even worse, because now we can spend all our time checking, investigating and trying to break one particular product or design. Once committed, the latest gadget and all its apps are a must have; life without them is simply unimaginable. Taking a newspaper into the loo is no match and spending even five idle minutes in a queue is unthinkable; with your tablet PC you could’ve checked the stock market, the latest news, downloaded and started reading a book, confirmed the release date of the new version, played a game and ordered a pizza online. Why waste all that valuable time when you could’ve been productive?

And productive it is, once the time spent learning the new tricks and capabilities, downloading the latest versions of our favourite apps and setting everything else up has been deducted. But, by then, it’s time for the new version…

About Acorns and Apples

In Depth: The BBC Micro at 30: a very British institution - http://pulse.me/s/3Ezwg

Christmas Gift Ideas

Maybe, just maybe, I will find one of these under the tree this year...
Geeky gifts for gamers - http://pulse.me/s/3DIrB

My Computer is Broken

My computer is broken.

Ok....what seems to be wrong?

It is not working like it should.

How is it not working? How is it broken? What does it do or not do? What happens when you try to do whatever it is you are trying to do?

The most difficult thing to do, is fix a problem that is not known, a problem that cannot be explained.

If you have ever had to deal with the IT department or phoned for support, the most common response is: 'Can you send me a screenshot?' Knowing what the error message says, is the first step towards finding a solution.

A response like: 'I don't know, I clicked OK', or 'How do you take a screen shot?' is cringe-inducing to even the most hardened IT Guy.

If we have to explain one of the most basic things we ever learned, we tend to get a little frustrated, especially if there is a dedicated key on the keyboard to do so, all you have to do is paste it in an email.

Just clicking OK is a good way to make error messages disappear, but if you don't read them how will we know what is wrong? How will we know what you tried to do?

It may be considered reasonable to tell the mechanic that your car is making a bang when you drive fast over potholes and then expect him to investigate and fix it, but the same does not always count for the IT Guy.

You have to help him out a little bit as most of his day is spent telling people they need to ensure the printer is switched on, that the funny noise their computer makes every time an email arrives is normal and sometimes things just breaks for no reason, especially when you drop them.

So be kind and help the IT Guy out a bit, read before you click and learn your way around the keyboard, he will smile when you send him the problem without having to be coached how to press a button.

If I can teach one person this per day, I know that I am making a difference and the collective knowledge will hopefully be improved and far fewer murders will be committed.

(I will not tell you where to find the button, follow the link.)