Archive for the ‘Electronics sales’ Category

24 movie in sight

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

I was interested to hear recently that the movie version of 24 starts filming in April. Kiefer Sutherland, who plays central character Jack Bauer, confirmed it in a press interview.

24 was one of my favourite TV shows of the 2000s… or the noughties, whichever term you like to use. It feels strange to say that, as despite now being in 2012, I don’t look back on 2000 to 2009 as being its own decade – or on programmes like 24 being ‘last decade’. It’s weird.

For the uninitiated, 24 was a US television drama which followed events in real time – so each episode was an hour long, with everything in it happening within an hour; and the series was 24 episodes long, meaning the entire season would be one day. It’d either take six months to watch on TV, week-to-week; or a few days to watch on a DVD boxset (my personal preference).

You might think ‘How does that work? Wasn’t it boring when the characters slept for eight hours?’ – but you’d be on the wrong track. They never slept because there was too much action going on. Jack Bauer was the toughest guy ever (trademark!) who worked for a government agency (except in some seasons he’d been sacked) and each season would follow a major crisis which arose, usually due to the actions of a heinous villain, along with a host of subplots. There was a lot of running around and use of cutting-edge communications technology, which I thought was particularly cool. I’ve loved gadgets like headsets ever since. Some of the ones they used looked a bit like the Plantronics CS60, which I use for work.

Though I’ll be keen to see the film, I don’t know how successful a movie version will be, as it’s unlikely it’ll be more than three hours – and if they stick with the real-time concept, it’ll be quite a challenge to make a plot feel ‘epic’, limited to that time frame. We’ll see.

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iPhone 5 to be made soon?

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

I’m really excited today because there are rumours that the iPhone 5 might be on its way. Apparently, someone who works for a manufacturer in China called Foxconn has claimed that it’s about to go into production.

With ‘leaked’ information, you never know whether it’s true or not… but it would make sense, as if they start with trial products now, it would be ready to launch by summer. That’s what industry experts seem to be predicting, anyway. I’m still very happy with my iPhone 4S, but if a newer model becomes available, I fully intend to be one of the first in the queue!

Quite a lot of my friends have Android phones instead of iPhones. They do seem really good, but for me, nothing really matches up to Apple. The company’s rise in the last decade has been phenomenal – a combined achievement of style and substance. That’s the main thing standing in the way for Android phones, I feel – there’s no key brand identity in quite the same way. As for BlackBerry… well, it hasn’t gone well there in the last year or two. They have a clunky image, in terms of style, public relations and the product itself.

I’m a technology person, first and foremost, so branding isn’t generally my area… but it’s impossible not to consider image and aesthetics when it comes to items like phones, as they’re a style accessory as well as a functional item.

In terms of appearance, the word is that the iPhone 5 will have a larger screen and generally be longer and wider than previous models. This will make it more difficult to fit in pockets – but if it brings with it the same quality of new features that the iPhone 4S did, I don’t think people will mind too much about that.

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Choosing products

Friday, January 20th, 2012

My friends are always asking me to for product recommendations, when it comes to computers and general electronic stuff, as I’m seen as an ‘expert’. I don’t think I am, really, but I suppose I do know more about technology than the average person.

Sometimes I find it funny, though, the kinds of things I get asked. For example, my friend Nigel recently asked me about which phone I’d recommend for his business. Not a flashy smartphone or anything like that – just a desk phone for his office. It’s hardly my primary area of expertise, so I had to do a bit of research (I should have told him to do it himself, lazy get, but I like to be a good friend…) and the best one I found was the Converse 2300 Black from BT. A lot of people don’t realise that BT makes phones as well as operating a nationwide telephone network, but they do – and they’re really reliable machines.

This one in particular has a caller ID function, which is great if you want to avoid calls from spam companies – or perhaps avoid calls from annoying people in general! It also has a mute button, a big directory for names and numbers and a LCD screen that shows the call time and things like that.

When choosing products, a lot of it does come down to being sensible and doing lots of research. It’s good to check and compare features – and also to check user reviews, to see what other people think of products that you’re considering. Once you’ve done that and narrowed your choice down to an appropriate model, you can look for the most cost-effective place to buy it from. Providing it’s a reputable company, it doesn’t matter too much – it’ll still be the same product and you’ll have the same consumer rights. Follow that advice, and you can’t go wrong! I know my friends will still ask me though, no matter how many times I tell them…

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Internet speed

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Apparently more and more people across Europe are now using broadband internet, so they can use things like voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to stay in touch and do business. In the EU, it’s said there’s been a broadband increase of 30 per cent to 60 per cent between 2006 and 2011.

Dial-up internet as the mainstream option seems like such an incredibly long time ago now, but there are people still out there using it from time to time. I last used it when our home broadband stopped working for a whole week. That’s an internet service provider I’ve never gone back to! But yes… it was really weird, but it was immediate to set up, which was handy.

Though if it happened again, I’d probably use a mobile broadband dongle instead. It’s so much tidier – even though the speed is a bit unreliable.

The problem is that sometimes, broadband is inconsistent and isn’t necessarily as fast as advertised. I’m lucky because my house is quite close to the local telephone exchange – but in some areas, especially rural ones, it can still be very slow. That must be such a pain. I can’t imagine having to wait five minutes every time I uploaded or downloaded an image, or sent an email! I definitely couldn’t run my computer programming business like that.

Another thing about broadband is what I mentioned above – that if it breaks, it can take ages to sort out. The worst thing is when you’re moving house. My friend Dave moved house last year and the house hadn’t had a phone line for many years, so they had to wait for that to be set up, then wait again for the broadband to be sorted out. It took about a month!

I recommend lots of research and organisation, when it comes to setting up a broadband connection.

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The trials of jobhunting

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

As previously discussed, I’m seeking a part-time shop job, so I can get some retail experience for when I branch out into the electronics retail game to go along with my computer programming.

It’s hard going, though. I don’t mean in terms of tough manual labour or major stress, but simply the monotony of it. The same patterns repeat themselves again and again.

I’ve posted my CV on job websites, to make sure employers can find it. It’s optimised with lots of keywords that recruiters would search for, including a clear statement of what I’m looking for. I’ve also signed up for jobs-by-email, so that I get advertisements sent to me every day featuring whatever is new out there. They come every day – lots of them! They say that times are tough, but there are jobs out there.

The main problem is filtering through to find the ones worth applying for. I haven’t wanted to narrow down my criteria too much, in case I miss something good, but that means I get sent quite a few things that look dodgy or aren’t right for me.

But nevertheless, I trawl through them and make a list of the decent ones – then look at them in more detail, one by one. If they still seem worthwhile, I apply using my CV and a covering letter… though some ask you to complete an application form. Copy-and-paste comes in handy, at that point!

Then I wait. But the responses haven’t been too great so far. It’s awkward because a lot of them are handled by recruitment agencies – and there aren’t many good ones out there. Many of them act as a barrier to getting a job, instead of making it easier! They often don’t have time to deal with all the applications they get, so they don’t bother responding. Or, worse, it turns out the job details were wrong, or were just being used as bait to get more people signed on to their books.

Sigh. I think I’m going to tick the ‘direct employers only’ box next time I go through the websites.

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Choosing a phone

Friday, December 9th, 2011

My parents need a new household phone handset, so they asked me to advise them. It’s quite nice to be asked for my expertise, but when it’s your own family, it can feel a bit like nagging!

Choosing the right phone is really important, though. It depends what you want it for and how you’ll use it.

For example, my parents will mostly use it for business reasons. They also have a storage facility that’s in an outhouse at the back, so they need to take a cordless phone with them in case someone rings while they’re doing stuff out there. It needs to be quite tough, too.

I’ve suggested the BT Elements model, as it’s got a really good reputation. It’s weatherproof and really effective at distance range, so my parents can keep the base station in the business area of the home, but also carry it with them out to the outhouse.

My requirements are a bit different, because I don’t stray far from my room when I’m working – but even so, it’s good to have a tough handset for your landline. A lot of models get damaged really easily! All it takes is to accidentally splash it in the bathroom, or drop it on the stairs, or splatter some food on it in the kitchen, and it can affect its performance. That’s no good when you rely on something.

With this particular phone model you can also send text messages, which is really handy for a landline! I think it’s great.

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Work / life balance

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

My friends have been telling me recently that I need to get out more, but I don’t really understand why. Though maybe it’s because I’ve been spending so much time planning my future business moves.

It’s true that I spend quite a lot of time in my room at home, but I do come out now and again when they ask me if I fancy a meal or whatever.

To stop them going on – and while I’m continuing to make plans for my own business – I think I’m going to look for a part-time job in a shop, as that’ll give me a bit of experience for when I come to think about running my own. I can pay lots of attention to things like stock control and sales techniques and learn how to do them – and also think about ways to do them better.

It’ll only be a part-time job, though, as I do want to start off doing some computer programming work at home and I need to leave some time for it. And then my friends can’t tell me off for working during the evening and at weekends!

I should probably think more about getting my own place to live, too, but whether I rent or buy, I need to save up a deposit. Obviously rent needs a smaller deposit, but I can’t decide whether renting is worth it. I think at this stage in my life it’s probably better if I keep saving money up for a mortgage, while I live with my parents – as if I do go ahead with my own business, I’ll need money for that, too. Especially if I rent a shop.

And I have to admit, even though I spend a lot of time in my room, it’s nice to have the option of spending time with my family at meal times, or just whenever I fancy some company. I could get a flatmate if I moved out, but that’s always a risk! I’m used to my family so there aren’t any issues. I will think about it, though.

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Expanding my technology business… once I create it, that is

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Further to my wonderings about starting my own business, I’ve actually thought about running my own electronics shop.

If my business goes well while I’m living with my family, I could then get my own flat – a shop unit and housing above. I could hire someone to do the sales bit while I stay upstairs and get on with my programming. It would be quite good to have a ‘public face’ – even if the face in question isn’t mine!

There are quite a lot of shops to let around at the moment, actually. I might be able to get one for a good price, when I come to look. Nothing too tatty, though… I’ve seen those independent computer shops that all look as though they were created in the 1980s and have never quite managed to catch up. No, mine would be cool and represent what I do really well.

I could keep an eye out for all the latest products that I think are worth having, then recommend them to my customers. Or rather, teach my sales assistant about them and get him or her to do it. That’d be great – I’d only need to explain each product once, then just let them parrot it off to anyone who comes in.

I’ll have to make sure they’re charming though. A pretty girl would be ideal. Not too bimbo-ish (as she’d never grasp the products) or too stunning (as she’d intimidate the quiet geeky types), but someone nice and approachable with a bit of an interest in technology. Wouldn’t be too bad to meet someone like that anyway, to be honest, but that’s by-the-by.

I suppose now all I need to do is get on with all these grand plans…

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Christmas is getting closer… which means so are the January sales!

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

I may be getting a little ahead of myself, as it’s only the start of November – but when all the lights start appearing I can’t help starting to get excited about Christmas. When I was younger it was all about presents… but these days, it’s the post-Christmas sales that really get me going, if I’m honest. I start planning my purchases well in advance, so I know what to look out for!

Not in a girly way, though. There is so much up for grabs in the sales when it comes to electronics – and technology in general. And I’m not one of those crazy people who trudges to the high street at 4am to camp outside shop doors, waiting for the moment to storm inside and elbow my way to the best deals. No thanks. I like to do it all online, tucked up with a nice cup of tea. I count down to the start of the sales, then get shopping.

I’ve got a few things in mind that I’ll be watching – and some of them I would probably be happy to buy full price too, assuming I save enough money on other items. I’m particularly keen to get myself a Plantronics wireless headset. They’re just so useful for people like me who want to tinker away with stuff while talking on the phone. And if anything by Apple is discounted, you can bet I’ll be straight in there before anyone else. I’m the fastest click in Derby.

I do enjoy Christmas for other reasons too, though. It’s a great reason to catch up with people… and by that I don’t mean wasting time getting battered in the pub. I mean good food with family and proper friends. A nice quiet time at home or at a nearby restaurant is always my top choice.

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