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Righty tighty, lefty loosey, turn to earn



October 30th, 2024

Screws and screwdrivers - like tin openers, scissors, corkscrews, card machines, and mobile phone apps - are designed for 90% of the population: right-handed people.
 

Freemans Close their Doors



October 13th, 2024

Some unwelcome news and, frankly, a bit of a shock.

Our friend and fellow tech retailer down the road, Freemans, is closing its doors.
57 years on the High Street, through booms and busts, Freemans has continued to thrive in a tough industry, which has progressed and evolved so much - just like the town we reside in.
 

Touchscreens and Toilets: The Gross Truth



October 10th, 2024

Are you reading this while sitting on the toilet?

If so, you're not alone. 57% of Brits and 85% of under 30s admit to using their phone on the throne. Goodness knows what the others distract their minds with - a bottle of shampoo, bleach, or air freshener perhaps? Solvent abuse can kill instantly, by the way.
 


Is fast-charging bad for your battery?



August 27th, 2024

Short answer:
No.

Longer answer:
Over the long-term, your battery may degrade slightly more than if you were to use regular, "slow" charging.

The reason:
Charging and discharging a battery causes...
 


Portishead Summer Show 2024




July 29th, 2024

It was a tremendous, hot, and busy weekend in our beautiful town. 
 

Texting & Driving

May be an image of car, road and text

June 24th, 2024

Campaigns placing large electronic billboards with messages like "PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY" or "SIX ACCIDENTS IN 2 YEARS" on motorways seem like a reasonable intervention for reducing traffic collisions. However, evidence suggests these signs have the opposite effect. One study found they caused an additional 2,600 crashes and 16 fatalities per year in Texas alone, resulting in a social cost of $377 million annually. The bigger the sign, the more distracting it is, and the more crashes there are. How ironic.
 

Old Dog, New Tricks



May 31st, 2024

You are never too old to upgrade your phone, or use it to bank, book a flight, play a game, or any other kind of black magic.

Technology, like music, is a skill - perhaps even a language in itself. 

Learning a language is significantly easier in childhood than in adulthood because neuroplasticity decreases as we age. The younger; the better - Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians speak near-flawless English because they learn it from an early age. 
 

Humour in Headphones



March 22nd, 2024

🕵️‍♂️The never-ending saga of headphone entanglement: a modern-day mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes' attention.
 

How to keep your device clean



March 20th, 2024

Stop installing apps that "clean" your phone.

Don't get it dirty in the first place, and don't trust the app with a little blue rocket or broom icon that promises to remove junk and speed up your system for free - as if they've figured out how to optimise your operating system better than the people who developed it.
 

Yay or Nay: SD Cards for Phones



March 18th, 2024

Secure Digital, better known as SD, is a flash memory card format developed for use in portable devices. SanDisk, Panasonic and Toshiba developed the SD in 1999 to replace MultiMediaCards (MMC) and to compete with the Memory Stick, which had been released by Sony the prior year.
 

The Moon



March 6th, 2024

There's light at the end of the month. The Spring Equinox is two weeks today. The clocks go forward 11 days later, on the 31st. Boys of today will never know the embarrassment of missing morning kick-off because their phone alarms adjust automatically.

To get us in the mood for our favourite celestial event, we're talking 'bout moons.
 


Disconnect to Reconnect: Airbnb Bookings Without WiFi for Nature's Sake



February 16th, 2024

In an era dominated by constant connectivity, a surprising trend emerges – people intentionally booking Airbnbs without WiFi to counteract Nature Deficit Disorder. Choosing accommodations in remote, nature-rich locations allows individuals to unplug from the virtual world and immerse themselves in the tranquillity of nature.
 


Tales from the leaflet boy



February 6th, 2024

Just some observations, having done a few leaflet campaigns, several years apart, in Portishead and surrounding areas...
 


RIP 3G



January 11th, 2024

Our most common inquiry recently has been regarding the closure of 3G.
Very boring, but here's what you might need to know:
Mobile providers are switching off 3G networks to make room for 4G and 5G networks, which are faster, more reliable services and are cheaper to run.
 


Christmas Catch-up



December 27th, 2023

It's the most wonderful time of the year 🎅 (for retailers, supermarkets & energy companies)

Here we are again.


Christmas doesn't make sense; I don't get it, but it doesn't matter - it works, and we're better off for it.
 

Is your phone giving you ADHD?



December 11th, 2023

ADHD is linked to a lack of dopamine - the neurotransmitter associated with pursuit, pleasure and reward. This can cause sufferers to feel under-stimulated by regular activities. Their brain is always chasing stimulation, which isn't always pleasant or productive. Getting irrationally angry or switching back and forth between tasks are perfect examples of a dopamine-hungry brain making poor decisions.
 

Should kids have smartphones?



November 28th, 2023

Most kids get their first smartphone between the age of 10 and 12.

We sell a lot of phones to parents in July and August, just before their kids start secondary school (age 12), but it has become much more common to see kids as young as 10 with iPhones. Up until that point, they're quite happy just having an iPad to play games and watch YouTube on, but when other kids in their class start Snapchatting, it's only natural that they want to join in.
 

Back to chemistry class



November 17th, 2023

Your iPhone, laptop, Xbox & Fitbit would not exist without these elements. 
 

Does the world need a faster MacBook?



November 9th, 2023

Apple recently announced the M3 chip series. A top-spec M3 MacBook Pro with M3 Max boasts 92 billion transistors, a 16-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, and 128GB Unified Memory (RAM that's built into the CPU).

Impressive. Powerful.

Granted, the average person doesn't know let alone care how many transistors, cores or gigabytes their device has. They care about how it performs overall - that it runs all their programs smoothly.
 


Stop worrying about AI



October 30th, 2023

People are scared about the future of AI and super-advanced technology.

A recent poll reported that 42% of respondents fear that AI will replace their job, and that 47% of people felt extremely nervous that AI would progressively destroy the human world and that there are very significant risks associated with using AI. 24% of them expressed an angry sentiment against AI and its applications.

That's a lot of fear and negativity. We don't like that, so we've put together a case for why you probably shouldn't worry too much about future technologies.
 

Cold out there mind init?



October 16th, 2023

Small talkin' 'bout the weather is as British as tea and crumpets.

Not everyone watched the rugby. Not everyone got stuck in traffic this morning. But rest assured that we are all experiencing the exact same weather conditions simultaneously. It's quick, easy and relatable. It's not controversial or debatable - provided it doesn't spark a discussion on climate change.
 

The story behind your Boneless Banquet



October 12th, 2023

In order to build something great, you have to start at a young age.

The story of Colonel Sanders (KFC guy) says otherwise. It's a remarkable story, and we thought it was worth writing about.
 

Made in India



October 2nd, 2023

The iPhone 15 is being manufactured in India. China remains Apple's primary manufacturing hub, and whilst they have been manufacturing iPhones in India since 2017, Apple have significantly ramped up production this year.

Apple's goal is to diversify their global production, which primarily resides in and relies heavily on China. 
 

iOS 17 - What you actually need to know



September 20th, 2023

When will it be available?

iOS 17 was launched on Monday 18th September. If your device is compatible, you can update to iOS 17 in Settings > General > Software Update.

What has changed in iOS 17?

New features include StandBy, live voicemail, interactive widgets, and Apple Maps offline.
 

What are cookies?



September 6th, 2023

"Web Cookie" was derived from the term "Magic Cookie", which is a packet of data that a program receives and sends back unchanged. This was derived from "Fortune Cookie", which a crisp and sugary cookie wafer made with a piece of paper containing information - typically a vague prophecy or lucky numbers. You'll associate fortune cookies with Chinese takeaway, but they actually originate from 19th-century Japan.
 

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