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!

Mrs PC is off on adventures soon. Taking a sabbatical.

Those of you who have got to know me over the years, through having lessons with me, will not be surprised to hear that I am taking time off to dedicate myself to some serious adventures.

I have always enjoyed the outdoors and mountains in particular.  Skiing is one of my passions.
2016 is a year with a significant birthday for me, and I have chosen to take some time off to train for and to go on an expedition which involves boats and skis and being out of touch with civilisation for a month.  No Wi-Fi and no emails, no Facebook, no calls.  It will be a bit of a culture shock for someone as addicted to technology as me.

I am starting my sabbatical in August 2016.

After family holidays, I will  be training in the Alps in September, and working hard on fitness before leaving for a very remote destination in Mid November.  Will be back in time for Christmas and starting back to work in January 2017.

Goodbye for now, and see you all again next year!

Should I install the Windows 10 free update?

Should I install the Windows 10 free update?

On the 29^th July 2015, Microsoft announced that current Windows 7 and 8.1 customers would be offered the chance to download and install Windows 10 as a free upgrade.  Windows XP and Vista users have to pay for the upgrade, so it is not quite such an attractive option for them. 

Most Windows users became aware of the update because of a new icon on their screen and a rather large marketing campaign on TV and in the press.  Reminders about the upgrade have been popping up even more insistently on everyone’s computers in the last month or so, because the upgrade is only free for a year.  On 29^th July 2016, you will have to pay for it.  So you will have to make up your minds soon.

I am always cautious when it comes to updates, and never rush into major ones until all the glitches are fixed, so my advice at first was to wait a while.  As the deadline approaches I have been repeatedly asked what my opinion is on this matter, hence this article.  In fact the answer is by no means clear-cut.

Some clients have upgraded with no trouble at all, others have upgraded and then chosen to roll back to Windows 7 and some have had lots of trouble after the update, with software not working correctly, and difficulties with their printers.  Quite a few people find it hard to adjust to using the new system and need a lesson to get used to a new look.  So it’s a real mixed bag. 

If you are using an older computer but you like your operating system, and all is working fine, then it’s perfectly acceptable to retain what you have.  If you have older software or printers they may not work with Windows 10, so an upgrade may cause you all kinds of complications and distress.

Some older computers simply don’t meet the requirements of Windows 10 because they don’t have enough space on their hard drive, so you won’t have much choice.   When you eventually have to retire your computer and buy a new one, it will come with the latest operating system already installed, so you will have to get used to Windows 10 at that stage.  Don’t be filled with horror, it really isn’t that bad! 

The biggest concern when upgrading to a new operating system is that it doesn’t go wrong.  The upgrade is a big deal, and if it crashes you could lose data, so you should back up all your files and also make a system image backup of your current operating system.   So if you want to take the plunge and decide to go ahead with the upgrade, then please be sure to do this first.  The upgrade takes quite a while to install, so bear that in mind as well.  If the update fails, or you don’t like it, you will need a back up to restore to.  You can rewind to Windows 7 for 30 days after the upgrade. 

If you are running Windows 8 and aren’t happy with it, you may as well try Windows 10 and see what you think.   You will find it is a very solid operating system, which is fast and secure.  It has a better search function and the ability to use voice control with Cortana.  Updates are automatic and it is easier to snap several windows together on your screen.

Common misconceptions are that Microsoft will start charging a fee to subscribe to updates (untrue) and that they are spying on their customers with Windows 10.  Data is collected to see how customers use their product and to make improvements and if you don’t want to share this information, you can opt out.

Hope this helps you to come to a decision that is right for you and your computer. 

Never too old for tech!

So proud of my student Pam who is very excited about her latest gadget, a selfie stick!

Mind body and soul fitness with Mrs PC

I have recently been surrounded by a lot of people on diets, and carrying out New Year’s resolutions to become fitter or healthier, counting their daily steps or calorie intake, and I felt it would be topical to discuss all the options available to help you if you wanted to join in.

There are many apps, some free and some not, that can be downloaded onto your smartphone or tablet to help you to improve your fitness both in body and mind.

For the battle of the bulge my Fitness Pal is very effective.  You basically put your details – age, height and weight into the app, and it will count calories for you.  You have to log what you eat, and you can look up food values on the app, so it can help you to know how many calories are in common foods, or even branded foods and drinks.  There is a database of about 5 million foods.  You can even scan the barcode of foods to assess how many calories are contained in it.  The app can help you set your goals and track your progress and motivate you to keep up your diet. 

As we all know, calorie counting alone is not enough to keep you in shape, and some exercise should be thrown in to the mix as well.  Most smartphones come with apps for tracking fitness.  The latest software update for iPhone included an app for health.  Look for the white app with the red heart.  If you keep your phone in your pocket all day long, it can then be used to track your exercise- count your steps, how many floors you have climbed and how far you have walked or run.  It’s incredibly incentivizing. 

If you want to track other activities, you can use Runkeeper, Nike Fitness, Strava or many others.  They will map your activity, be it walking, hiking, cycling, running etc and show you how far and fast you have travelled, and compare your workouts over time.  You can also see how many calories you have burned. 

Freeletics is an app that was recommended to me to try.   It brings a gym workout to your house.  It’s free, and it gives you short movies to follow like an exercise class.

Some people find that wearing a fitness watch is a good way to track both calories and fitness, as well as hours asleep.  Fitbit is one of the first of these type of trackers and reasonably inexpensive.  It is worn like a watch, and tells the time, your heart rate, how many steps you have taken, miles you have run, how many floors you have climbed, and hours slept.  It works with an app on your phone.  You can also input your food and water intake.

If it is your mind you want to train, there are lots of options.  I have just downloaded Fit Brains, which will help you to work on many different brain areas, and tests your speed as well.   You can set a daily reminder so that you keep up the training, and it will decide which areas you need to focus on.  Again your progress is tracked in the app, and you will notice that you do improve dramatically with practice.  The tests start off quite simple and become more complicated.  It takes about 5 minutes to complete your training.  Scrabble or Sudoku would also do the same job I expect.

In our busy world, that there is often so much rushing about, that we spend very little time resting our brains, which can lead to stress overload, anxiety, depression and insomnia.   Spending 10 minutes daily on a guided relaxation or meditation could be the very thing that you could try to include in your daily life.  I found an app called Headspace, but there are many more.  It is incredibly soothing to be guided into a state of tranquility.

Hope you may be inspired to try one of these suggestions, or to learn more about the technology you already have.  Do contact me if you would like to know more, or if there are any topics you would like me to cover in future articles.

Happy Easter to everyone.