Podcasts, Radio Player and Audible

If you have a smartphone or tablet, you could take advantage of using it to listen to any radio show from anywhere in the UK or further afield.   Radio playing Apps are free, and you can save a shortcut to your favourite show and listen using Wi-Fi.  So you no longer need a radio.  The sound quality is excellent, and it’s easy to use.

You can catch up on your favourite BBC radio shows with the iPlayer radio app.  This is useful if you have missed something special or were busy at the time, or only got to listen to part of the show.

Podcasts are downloadable radio shows on any subject.  First you need to download the Podcast App, and then you can subscribe to any radio show that is available as a podcast.  You will be spoiled for choice.  The programmes download onto your device, and really don’t take up much room.  Unlike iPlayer programmes, they don’t expire.  You can set up your device to delete programmes once they have been listened to, so you don’t clog up your storage space, and you can re-download them if you want to listen again.

If you are a fan of BBC Radio 4’s “The Archers” for instance, you can subscribe to a daily podcast or the weekly omnibus, so you can ensure you don’t miss out on the events in Ambridge and it means you can listen whenever is convenient, and not just at the set times of 14.02 and 19.02.

One of my favourite shows is Desert Island Discs, and you can not only listen to the ones in the current series, but go back to the very start of the programmes and listen to all the archived ones from 70 years ago as well. 

There are podcasts on every subject, from Science, History, Comedy, Technology, and all are free. 

In my opinion, some services are worth paying for however.  Amazon’s Audible subscription is one of those.  As ever you need an app, which you can download for free, but you need to pay monthly for the service if you want to download a book per month.  It’s £7.99 per month to do this, and you can try it out for a month first for free.

Most audio books are expensive, costing over £20 or £30, so it’s very good value.  The books are read by trained voice actors and really bring the story to life.  You can listen to the story any time, both at home, or while driving. 

If you have a Kindle, you can spend a little extra on your book to enable Whispersync, which will read your book to you.  This means you can alternate between reading or listening to the book, according to what you are doing.

You can switch from reading to listening within the Fire Tablet or Kindle app. Or you can switch between reading on one device and listening on another. For example, you can read on your tablet and then listen on your smartphone, and, thanks to Whispersync for Voice, you'll never lose your place. 

There is so much audio output for you to enjoy, and if you find your house is too quiet, or you are ill or have a long journey or want to be distracted from your everyday life; there is plenty to listen to, either live, on a podcast or through an app on subscription.  So don’t miss out on what’s happening on the radio just because the programme is on at a time that doesn’t suit.

Back to school

It's amazing that it's already 1st September, and children are going back to school.
Now is a time to learn new things and start afresh. 
Consider Open University, buying some new equipment or starting a project like a photobook so you can give a gift made by yourself at Christmas or design yourself a Christmas card.

Is Mrs PC a real person?

Some people seem to be under the impression that Mrs PC isn’t a real person.  I would like to set the record straight.  I am real, and a woman too!  As it’s summer and many of you are in holiday mode, my thoughts for this month’s article were to shed some light on what I get up to at work and in my spare time, and what kind of person I am rather than focus on my usual topics.

You may imagine that I am geeky and remain indoors in front of a screen as my preference, looking pale and unhealthy, however you couldn’t be more wrong.  Of course I do use a lot of technology in my life and love it (most of the time).   Life without my iPhone, podcasts and iPlayer would be unthinkable.  Teaching IT means that I have to be indoors when I am working, but I am a very outdoorsy person in my spare time. 

I have a very inquiring mind and enjoy learning new skills.  One of the benefits of my job is that it keeps me up to date with technology.  What I like most is when my students teach me something new, or they discover something we are both looking for during a lesson moments before I see it.  I also love new gadgets and learning how to use them. 

My job brings me into contact with all sorts of people at all kinds of different stages in their lives and with wonderful interests or jobs from ages around 40-90+.  I am a very sociable person so I enjoy meeting new students and forging friendships over time with those who see me regularly.

I am married, and my husband and I have been together for over 25 years- expect you are now calculating my age!  We have 2 children who are grown up but haven’t quite left home yet.  We all enjoy spending time together as a family and share a love of the outdoors and walking with our dogs.  When the children outgrew bucket and spade holidays in Devon, we started to visit the Yorkshire Dales, and continue to enjoy our holidays there every year.  Our favourite Dale is Swaledale.  There is no mobile phone signal and it is a true escape from city life.

I spend a fair amount of time training for my hobbies of skiing and mountaineering. In training I run, cycle and go to the gym as well as hill walk.  I have to be fit to do the type of skiing I love.  It is called ski touring.  It is a form of backcountry or off piste skiing.  The skis used are normal width, but super lightweight with special bindings, which allow the heel to rise for walking uphill, but clip into the boots for a secure ride downhill.  Climbing skins are used for uphill skiing, and detached for the downhill.  They allow you to glide forward but stop you from running back downhill.  The huge advantage of this kind of skiing is that you can go anywhere.  You don’t need a ski resort or lift, and can enjoy the silence and beauty of the mountains as well as wonderful powder skiing if you are lucky.  My family don’t share my passion for ski touring or mountaineering!

When on any trip or outing, I take lots of photographs, and have always enjoyed photography.  My goal after every trip is to create something from the photographs, such as a photobook or a short movie with photos and videos and a soundtrack.  To my shame, many of these projects are unfinished or not even started, and my desk is quite often littered in paperwork to catch up on.  I could really do with a clone of Mrs PC to come along and help me.  If you know anyone, do please ask them to get in touch!

Happy summer holidays.  Enjoy your technology, and have fun with it.  

Mobile phones and modern life. A movie.

What does Mrs PC actually do?

 I thought that this month I would just tell you what I do. Perhaps this will give you the courage to get in touch if you were considering it but a bit afraid.  Many people often consider having a lesson for a long time before they finally pluck up the courage to pick up the phone or send an email.   My phone is almost always on silent as I don’t like calls to disturb the lessons when I am teaching.  The majority of folk leave a message on voicemail and I call them back.  Slightly annoyingly, my mobile doesn’t work well at home, so the best place for me to take calls is in the garden!  I can respond to emails easily and quickly, so if you can’t reach me by phone and are able to send an email, that is a great way to get hold of me.  The address is  info@mrspc.co.uk

It is nice to have a chat about the kind of things that help is needed with so that I can make sure that I am the best person to help.  My expertise is in teaching people how to use their devices.  Technical issues, such as problems/viruses, or setting up new equipment is best left others who are specialists.  I rely on Adam, my technician to assist with this.  I have 2 other specialists, Bob who designs websites, and Tony who can help with spreadsheets.

Lessons are usually for an hour, and take place using your equipment in your own home.  Most of my work is in Redland, Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Sneyd Park.  I charge less than a plumber for a call out, and about the same as a personal fitness trainer in a gym.

 If I am teaching a total beginner, I will usually start with email, and then go on to how to search online using Google.  Many people contact me as they have trouble with filing and photographs, and I help them to tidy everything up and understand where everything is so they can find it easily.  My aim at all times is to give confidence and to ensure that people know their way around what they are using and the right vocabulary to describe what is needed.

I work using Windows and Mac, and help a lot of people make the transition from Windows to Mac.  I have days where all my lessons are using Apple products.  Quite often people have more than one device, such as a laptop, tablet and phone and that adds a level of complexity and a fair amount of time skipping between jobs that are needed to make everything work smoothly.

As I teach, I ensure that everything I cover is written down as we go along, as it is often a lot to take in and many folk are a bit stressed by their computers, so don’t always absorb everything on the day.  I always set homework.   I would expect students to go over their notes, and always set tasks appropriate for the person’s level.  Some students are very good at homework, and others wait until an hour before the next lesson or apologize that it’s not done as I arrive.   Some things never change! 

One lesson may be all that is required, or several depending on what is needed.  There are some folk I have been teaching for many years as they keep wanting to know more and keep buying new devices.  I don’t do courses because every lesson is tailor made and there is no point teaching things that aren’t useful to the person learning.  I judge the speed of the lesson and try and cover as much as possible in the time, if the person can keep up, but if not, I slow it down to their level. 

Age is no barrier to learning.  My oldest client is nearly 90.  My work is mainly with retired people but not always.  I mainly teach individuals but also couples or small groups.

Don’t get left behind when it comes to technology.  Enjoy and embrace it and do get in touch if I can be of assistance.

Don’t panic! Try not to fall victim to online trickery.

It’s awful to think that there are so many people out to try and catch us out online.  Cyber criminals spend their time trying to obtain personal information about us to help them to access our data, potentially steal our identity, or worse, our hard earned cash.

You can protect yourself by having a high level of skepticism.  If something sounds too good to be true, your gut instinct is probably right.  If an email arrives to tell you that you have inherited a large amount of money or won a prize, be suspicious.  What scammers want is for you to be duped into clicking on the links (always web addresses in blue with a line underneath), which will inevitably be contained in the email.  Never click if you aren’t sure.

Recently I was almost fooled by a couple.  They are getting more and more sophisticated.  One was a fake parking fine, telling me that I had parked illegally on private land at a certain date and time.  The fine was large, and the email urged me to click to find out the full details.  As you can imagine, this was quite a surprise and I was shocked and annoyed and almost clicked, but something made me think it might be fishy… I consulted my diary to find out what I had been doing on the date specified and realized it couldn’t be true.  Then once calmer, I checked the address the email had been sent from and the supposed company collecting the money.  Both were made up of course.

It is important to remain calm in stressful situations involving your computer.  Never click anything unless you are sure.

This last week I have had several fake emails from Amazon, just like this one.

They are designed to throw you into a panic.  Even seasoned users of the Internet could be fooled by this one as it looks so real.



Dear Customer,


Your ID info@mrspc.co.uk was used to purchase  Kärcher K2 Full Control Home Pressure Washer ( £87.99 ) 
From Amazon Store on a device that had not previously been associated with you. 
If you initiated this purchase, you can disregard this email. 
In case you did not initiate this purchase, please visit our Help Page for full refund:

http://invoice88account.amaz-secure.id532usr.30supportapp.fr/inv051acc/index.php?email=byinfo@mrspc.co.uk

To cancel the transaction and to confirm that you are the owner of the account.


Yours Sincerely, 
Amazon Security Department 
© 2017 amazon.com All rights reserved

The sender was supposedly Amazon.co.uk, or so it appeared.  In fact, by clicking on the address to check, I found this address hidden acldz8362@shaw.ca   I then knew it was a scam.  Do always check the return address of any email you get that you are unsure about or that causes alarm.

If you receive an email from a friend, and they are sending you a link, but you weren’t expecting to hear from them, and you feel it’s a little odd, they have probably had their email address hijacked.  Do let them know.  It’s easier to give a friend a call on the phone to check if they really did send the email, than click and risk an infection on your computer.

Your bank will never email you - remember that if nothing else.

Stay safe online!  Happy Computing.

Playful technology

Drones

Whilst away some of my adventures were recorded by a friend who had a drone.  This is certainly a wonderful toy to play with.  He had the Phantom 4 Plus which has a range of about 7km.  The top of the range ones are not cheap.   Jessops sell them for £1800!  The quality of the filming and stills that can be captured by them are simply superb.  Learning to fly one is a very good option and could save a lot of damage in the long run.  There are courses in Bristol.  There are even Quadcopter Holidays for the real drone geeks out there. 

Before you get too carried away with a drone, it is worth noting that current rules state that you cannot fly one within 150 m of a built up area, within 50 m of a person, vessel or vehicle.  You must fly it where you can see it.  Not above 120m in height or 500 m horizontally.    There is a whole minefield of legislation being considered after near misses with aircraft, bridges and people as well as worries over privacy.  They are also very noisy.

Drones are amazing playthings and allow you to see areas you know well from a totally new perspective. 

Virtual Reality Goggles

It is amazing how cheap these are nowadays!  I tried one last month which used a phone as the screen and it was £45 for the experience.  It used an app and allowed me to ride on a rollercoaster, and look up, down and from side to side. 

I felt very motion sick almost immediately!  Roller coasters are really not my thing, but it was very realistic.  I wondered if I could train myself to like them, or not to feel sick by using one regularly.  Comments would be most welcome on this subject!

Virtual reality goggles can also be tethered to a game like Playstation, so that you are totally immersed in the experience.  These are much more expensive- anywhere from £500-£1000, and include the sound as well.  I can’t help wondering how you avoid bumping into walls, but I expect you use them whilst seated.

Home Robots

This is much more appealing to me.  I could definitely get excited about a robot hoover and have a few friends who use them.  Homevac Electrics on North View sell them and demonstrated one for me.  They work on a programme and get on with the job and go back to their base station to recharge.  Not sure what our dogs would make of it though.

Amazon are selling something called Amazon Echo a small box that can do big things.

Here is what it can do:

• Plays all your music from Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn and more using just your voice
• Fills the room with immersive, 360º omni-directional audio
• Allows hands-free convenience with voice control
• Hears you from across the room with far-field voice recognition, even in noisy environments or while playing music
• Answers questions, reads audiobooks, reports news, traffic and weather, provides sports scores and schedules, and more using the Alexa Voice Service
• Controls lights, switches, thermostats and more with compatible connected devices from WeMo, Philips Hue, Hive, Netatmo, Nest, tado° and others
• Always getting smarter - Alexa updates through the cloud automatically and is continually learning, adding new features and skill.

Isn’t technology great?

Happy New Year!

I am back safely from my travels part 1 and about to embark on travels part 2.

During the month of February Paul Airs is covering all aspects of Mrs PC work, teaching as well as technical.

I will be back in action from March 2017.  Looking forward to seeing you all again!