By Dan Cash CCTV • Do It Yourself • Home Security • Tips and Tricks • • 0 Comments

Buying Tech Presents Early During The Black Friday Sales

wireless, smart home, home automation, smart speaker,We, like you hate the encroachment of Christmas into months where it doesn’t belong. Yule is at the far end of December, and if it’s to remain special, that’s where it should stay. Mince pies becoming part of Halloween fare indeed! BUT… But with the supply chain problems that many retailers are currently experiencing, for whatever reason, it may be worth getting a few of the presents which are going to be most in demand early, rather than trusting Santa to deliver a little Christmas magic nearer the time.

So how do you decide which presents it’s worth buying now, and which to leave until Christmas Eve when you can rush around the High Street in a blind panic? (You know who you are!)

On the one hand shopping for kids is pretty easy. They like toys and sweets. They don’t like clothes, books, or educational games. To find out what your, or any child wants for that matter, just watch an hour of kids’ TV with them. You’ll be subject to so many ads and characters from favourite TV shows that you’ll find that you want them as badly as the young ‘uns do!

But buying for a discerning teen or young adult is a trickier proposition. I bet secretly they’d love some Octonauts or Alphablocks merch, but not from you, that just wouldn’t be cool! Instead they’re going to want something beautiful, or practical tech. Both if you can find it. Read more

By Dan Cash CCTV • Do It Yourself • General Information • Home Security • Tips and Tricks • WiFi • • 0 Comments

The Smart Way To Travel, Whether That’s To The Park Or Much Farther Afield

travel, running, fitness

What You Need To Know About The Latest Gadgets For Travellers, Whether That’s To The Other Side Of The World Or The End Of The Street. Smart home devices are a brilliant way to increase the functionality, efficiency of your home, including home security, but what about when you’re on the move? How can Smart Tech help you then?

Smart locks and access control, synchronised with your phone can lock the house firmly every time you go out. Using Bluetooth or GPS as soon as your Smart home network detects that you’ve left the house it can lock the doors, turn on motion detectors and set the alarms. If anyone comes to your home while you’re out you will then get a Push notification, open it and you can see, and talk directly to your visitor, letting them know when you’ll be home, where they should deliver the package, or tell them you’re not interested in their latest Get Rich Quick scheme.

If you’re going out for a run you may not want to take your phone with you, so why not take a Smart watch fitness monitor instead? You can still call, text, use the geofence which will activate and deactivate your home security while monitoring your pulse, heart rate, distance run and times. Read more

By Dan Cash Do It Yourself • General Information • Home Entertainment • Older People • Tips and Tricks • WiFi • • • 0 Comments

New Tech, New Frustrations! How To Get To Grips With Your Brand New Gadgets

Sonos music speaker and a tablet showing the artwork for an album.So it’s been a month, how are you getting on with the new electronic devices you got for Christmas? If you think you’re struggling and that you’re not getting as much out of your tech as possible, you’re not alone. More than a quarter of people surveyed said that they’re not sure how to use their electronics properly, and feel they are probably missing out.

The problem most of us have with electronics we’re not familiar with is that we use it in exactly the same way we used the piece of tech that it is replacing, and if we don’t get to grips with a new feature straight away, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get to know it. Attempts have been made in the past to teach new users how to improve their interface with the user, you’ll remember of course Microsoft’s paperclip, called, imaginatively enough “Clippy,” a dog called “Rover”, and a wizard called Merlin which would pop up whenever you wanted to do something, getting in the way and giving you flawed advice. Fortunately for all, that particular piece of fury-fuel was discontinued in 2007 after it was noticed that everybody hated it. Read more