iphone Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Lets Go Paperless

August 23, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

With how much more focused we are on the environment these days, being green and going paperless is not a new concept. My HSBC bank account is green by name, something I opted into almost ten years ago, meaning it would be paperless completely. I don’t get bank statements or letters (unless important), everything is done with secure online messages. In fact, the other day I was contacted to say that the account would no longer be called green, since all their accounts these days are green.

While I love getting post, I hate getting bills and I have to admit that these are largely limited these days. Most online accounts and bills I have, message me via email and then I pay online – meaning no need for statements and bills in the post. In fact, even some of the people I buy things from on Ebay, opt to send receipts and invoices via email, rather than print and enclose with the actual item.

Sadly I don’t believe I could go completely paperless in my office, but I do know that I limit it a lot more than I used to. My printer is even set to a 50 page limit each month (I use HP instant ink). Also with things like laptops, tablets and smart phones, being paperless is so much easier these days. In collaboration with IDBS and their electronic laboratory notebook, I wanted to share my top 5 tips for going paperless in the workplace.

Track the amount of pages you print. For me, having my HP instant ink set to 50 pages, is a great way to know how much I’m printing each month. I get a warning when I get close to my usage and any unused pages get carried over to the following month. I always try to stay under 50 pages as this also keeps my monthly cost down.
Request paperless statements from banks, online store, catalogue accounts etc. Every month you are sent something on paper that you can easily see by logging in online and viewing your account. Save both paper and space in your recycle bin, by ticking the button for paperless in as many places as you can find.
Connected to the one above, pay bills online wherever possible – reducing the need for cheque books, paying-in slips and envelopes, etc. Pay friends and family via direct bank payments and use cards in stores. You can even say you don’t need a receipt (if you don’t!) and save a little more there.
Recycle any non-confidential paperwork and envelopes. Need to write a note for the kids, or perhaps a shopping list? Use the back of a used envelope or bill. Kids looking for paper to draw on? Nearly all letters and bills are only printed on one side so be sure to use the other.
Many of us find ourselves having ideas or thoughts outside of the house, outside of work etc. This means that often we carry notepads and pens to jot them down. Consider opening up a note on your phone or tablet and jotting it there. It’s quick and easy to do, often saves searching in the bottom of your bag for a pen and if you sync it up well, often transfers to your computer or email program automatically.

The truth is, I love reading proper paper books, way more than I enjoy reading ebooks on my kindle. I like to write down my orders and cross them out, to keep track on them. I scan and print the cover of each pattern I use, filing it in a poly pocket and then a binder. Although I try my best to be paperless, I don’t think I can go all the way. However with the use of my iPad, iPhone and Laptop, I definitely give it a good go.

Save

My Top Electrical Appliances

April 7, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

In this day and age, we take a lot of tech for granted. My phone is pretty much an extension of my hand and watching TV, playing on a console or even making a cup of tea, are all often taken for granted. As a celebration of all things electrical, I wanted to share my top 5 appliances that I use pretty much every day. If your appliances break down, you may need to seek professional appliance repair mission viejo services.

My Phone

As I mentioned, this is really an extension of me most days. While I hardly ever make or receive calls on it, I use it to text, check social media, play games and keep up to date with my Etsy Store (amoungst other things). I use it as my every day camera to take pictures of my work, the girls or even video the odd thing here and there. While I can’t always keep up to date with the latest iPhone make, I do try to. I’m currently on an iPhone 6 Plus.

My iPad and Laptop

Its a bit of a cheat lumping these together, though I actually put them all together with my phone anyway. I use my laptop to blog, to browse the internet, to fiddle around with photos and to update my listings on Etsy. Although all of those things are also possible on my iPad, I don’t tend to do them there. However I do use my iPad to browse Ebay, Etsy and Amazon as I like the apps. I also play games and stream TV pretty much constantly while I’m working.

The Kettle

There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t use the kettle (unless I’m not at home obviously). I don’t function well without my cup of tea first thing in the morning and to be honest if I’m around the house in the day, I drink tea every few hours. I recently got a new red kettle and it glows blue when its on. I think its the most favourite kettle I’ve ever owned.

My Sewing Machine

Considering I sew pretty much every day, it’s probably not too much of a surprise that I use my sewing machine a lot. Though there are days when it isn’t used, I often feel like I spend more time in the dining room than I do in any other room of my house (even my bedroom!). I bought a new sewing machine in the last year and it’s been an absolute dream to use. I often choose to sew, even when I don’t have any orders, just because I actually find it incredibly relaxing.

The Printer

Though many might have assumed the TV would be on my list, my printer definitely comes in ahead of the TV (partially because I watch a lot of programs on my iPad as I mentioned before). However I use my circuit maker for so many things in every day life, from printing out tickets, murder mystery parties, homework, sewing ideas, holiday planning and so much more. I bought my printer about 2 years ago from PC World and to be quite honest I was just looking for the cheapest portable printer scanner I could find. I settled on a HP Envy 4500 Series, partly because of its price but also because of HP Instant Ink.

HP Instant Ink has been an absolute lifesaver for me. I always used to run out of ink cartridges at the worst possible times and I’ve had endless trips out at ridiculous times of day, just to buy the essential cartridges. That said I was also the person buying cheap replacement ink, as full price branded cartridges can work out so expensive. However not any more! Since getting my new printer, I signed up to HP Instant Ink. There are various plans and I tend to switch between £1.99 per month for 50 pages and £3.49 for 100 pages, depending on how much printing I have to do. When my cartridges get low, HP ship out cartridges for me in plenty of time and I can hand on heart say I have never run out of ink. Each month you can change your plan, or you can even just pay per 10 pages if you go over. Unused pages roll over to the next month and it really is a great system. If you’d like to know more, you can watch the video below or click here for more information.

The House of Twits – App review

October 31, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

I was recently asked to review the “House of Twits” app for iPad and iPhone. As Lily is really into Roald Dahl at the moment, I jumped at the chance. Having read the BFG at school, Lily and I read together; James and the Giant Peach, Danny the Champion of the World and we are currently reading Matilda. We own the complete collection so I imagine we’ll be making our way through them all.

If you’re familiar with the story of “The Twits”, then you probably won’t be too shocked by the nature of this game. However if not then you should maybe look it up before downloading this app! The Twits are a husband and wife who are basically awful to each other. They play tricks on each other and are basically pretty mean. In the app you start off with Mrs Twit. You are taught how to poke her, take out her glass eye and tip her upside down. After that you play games with her whereby you make her eat awful things, wake her up and place her in the cupboard with mean parcels you receive in the hallway. With each act of trickery, you gain points and the more points you earn goes towards completing the level. At certain levels you gain access to different rooms and also to Mr Twit.

The app is aimed at 6-8 year olds and my youngest daughter Lily is 7. There was definitely a level of enjoyment for her and the games help with memory and speed, however as a parent I would be a little dubious as to the nature of the game. I do understand that it’s based on the Twits and their mean nature, but is it a good idea to be teaching our kids that being mean gains points and completes levels?

Windows 10!!

July 29, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yep, that’s right… I’m one of the millions of people to be downloading Windows 10 today! I started the process at around 4pm when I downloaded the files necessary – then they installed – and then Windows 10 updated. 3 hours later, Windows 10 is installed and its lovely! <3

My computer was installed with Windows 7 and so when I was offered a free upgrade to Windows 10, I was pretty excited. As I was growing up, I was always the one who dragged my heels when it came to upgrading OS. Windows 95, to Windows 98, to Windows ME, to Windows XP and so on. Everyone else in the household had the new version while I kicked and screamed and stayed with the old one – until there was something I couldn’t do and then I’d upgrade.

Now I’m the only one in the household who has upgraded to Windows 10 and I love it! I have recently asked my brother to fix my slow computer and he recommended, it’d be better to build a new CPU to improve its overall performance. Now we’re waiting for the printed circuit board shipping company to deliver a new PCB. Meanwhile, I’m using my laptop which I upgraded to Windows 10.

Curry’s recently posted about the Top 5 Innovations in Windows 10 and I want to honestly say that I haven’t tried any of these functions yet. Chris is desperate for me to try Cortana though. I have opened up the “Edge” and had a poke around but as I write this post, I’m still using Firefox.

So what’s new? To be honest since I didn’t come from Windows 9 (or even 8), I’m not entirely sure what I’m comparing it to. What I will say is that for the most part my desktop looks the same as it did before, except for the taskbar along the bottom.

Now that I can see this one, I don’t entirely remember what it looked like before, but I do know it wasn’t quite like this. On the right-hand side, majority of the icons look different, but are actually the same. On the left-hand side, some new icons have appeared that I didn’t have before.

There is a “windows” icon that opens the menu, a search, task view, Edge and Store. These are of course alongside my original icons such as Firefox and Paint Shop Pro. I haven’t really looked at them much yet, but the Store is basically comprised of apps, which at the moment seems weird to me as I’m only used to having those on my iPad and iPhone, not my computer. The Edge is of course the new browser, task view shows all the open applications and as I mentioned, the windows icon opens the menu.

This brings me onto the next thing that’s new and that’s the menu. I must clarify that I came from Windows 7 and nothing more recent, but the menu looks very different from how it was before, and I think that might take some getting used to. I have had some working knowledge of the Windows 8/9 interface, so luckily I’m not too daunted, but either way it looks pretty and I’m looking forward to using it all.

So it’s 10pm and it’s really late to be playing around, but as of day one, so far so good. My computer, which was a little slow and grindy before, now seems to be coping well with the new OS and is a lot faster than before. I look forward to spending a full day on my computer tomorrow and really testing it out. At this moment in time, Windows 10 has a big thumbs up from me!

And if you’re excited about these improvements and want to elevate your computing experience even further, why not buy windows 11 pro for its enhanced features and refined interface?

Mobile Madhouse – iPhone 5/5s phone case – Oscar Wilde quote*

January 10, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Some time ago, I worked with a company called Mobile Madhouse, who offered me a phone case to review. I was very happy with the case and still use it to this day, so I was more than excited to be offered another to review this year. Since last time I tried a wallet case, this time I decided to go for something that had more of a visual appeal. I looked through the range of iPhone 5/5s cases and picked out a few that I liked. There was a Christmas one which I fancied but knew I’d only get seasonal use from, there was a retro cassette case which was pretty cool and also a hearts one (and everyone knows I have a weird thing for red hearts). However in the end I settled on an Oscar Wilde quote case*, which happened to have a quote I love.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”

The case is a nice clean white colour, with shades of green lettering on it. The case feels firm and unbreakable, whilst not feeling so hard it might shatter. It covers the corner of my phone really well, though sadly the plastic is a little thick for it to sit properly on my alarm clock dock at night. I’m really happy with the case and with the service I received from Mobile Madhouse. If you’re looking for a new phone cover, you should definitely have a look there!