It’s not as easy as it should be

Posted on

It’s not actually that easy to set up a new phone from scratch.
And maybe that’s a good thing.

As I said the other day, I got a new phone recently, and I am using the opportunity to de-clutter my handheld mobile experience. That’s all well and good, but it does mean that I can’t just press the magic Google button and transfer everything over onto my new device.

And so there has been a bit of picking and choosing, and then once there is a picked and chosen situation, you have to log in to each of those new accounts on the new device. Extra authentication is obviously enabled on everything I use, adding at least two extra steps each time, and some things just don’t want to work at all – more Sweet FA than 2FA. I can’t transfer my banking app over (the QR code just won’t scan), and I can’t log into Reddit at all, even though I’m still logged in on my laptop.
Whatsapp – as one might expect – is being an utter bastard.

But I guess that the trouble I’m having to go to is at least somewhat reassuring in that my online life seems quite well – too well? – protected.

And so I suppose that it would have made things a lot easier if I had just pressed the magic button and then let Google do its thing. But then I would have spent a lot of time deleting apps and data and things. Or would I? Would I just have been lazy and be left with a new, sparkly, but full and cluttered phone?

Mmm. Probably.

And so I’ll keep going with this new, minimalist approach and see if I can conquer the gremlins and the demons of just being able to log into an app. Jeez. It really shouldn’t be rocket surgery.

Oh – the camera on this thing, by the way – very nice.

Spotted online

Posted on

This quote:

If you think about the vastness of space, and how enormous our galaxy is, how big our planet is, and how small we are, I’m not really eating that much cheese.

Please feel free to substitute braai meat, Castle Milk Stout or chips.

I know it’s not healthy, but it’s not every day (well, it is at the moment, but…).

Holiday time. And it’s really not that much cheese.

Look at the bigger picture.

New Phone – who dis?

Posted on

I was lucky enough to get a new phone for Christmas. It’s sleeker, faster and – most significantly – has a much better camera than my trusted old Poco F3, which lasted a whole 4 years.

The only issue with the new sparkly phone is its smaller memory size. I could have got one with a larger memory size, but that would have added a whole 50% to the price of the device.

So rather than throwing money away, I decided to use this as a downsizing, streamlining opportunity.

I use a lot of apps. But a lot of the lot, I don’t use very often. And so – and yes, it’s a work in progress – I have chosen not to load a lot of those occasionally used apps onto the new phone.

It’s actually rather liberating. Goodbye, UberEats. Goodbye, DJI Go 4 and Marine Traffic.

And several (or more) others.

And goodbye heaps of unnecessary music on my music streaming app. I’ve been unknowingly hoarding. And why? I’ll keep a couple of playlists, and I’ll ditch downloading the rest. I can always choose to grab the odd album on mobile data, and we all spend a lot of time in and around WiFi these days.

I’ll manage.

So this phone (and by extrapolation, probably my whole life going forward), will be faster, sleeker, speedier and just better than previously. Happy days.

Another Bonjourr upgrade

Posted on

Still my browser window minimalist background app of choice, Bonjourr has just had another upgrade.

It now has a Pomodoro timer.

What that?

The Pomodoro timer is our first new widget in quite a long time, we’re really excited about it! If you’ve never heard of the Pomodoro technique before, here’s the short version: it’s a time management method where you break your work into multiple intervals, for example: start working for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break, work again for 25 minutes until the timer rings, take a longer break and repeat.

This structured approach can help you stay motivated, avoid distractions and overall get more done in less time.

And loads of other nifty features, including a lot of new personalisation options.

Incredibly, it’s still completely free, although you can (and should) (and I have) donate if you are using it and feel so inclined.

So much nicer than a plain browser window when you open it up, it’s absolutely a 6000 Recommends…

Dotting i’s

Posted on

Finally, the final instalment of my Chilli advent calendar review.

Previous reviews: 1, 2, 3.

Three to go (I thought it was two, but there was a bonus 25th box too!).

And those three were:

Jalapeno Sauce. It’s Jalapeno Sauce, but it’s SOOOO smoky with it. A delicious variation on a common sauce, and it works.

Jalapeno Slices. Much, much nicer than the shop bought ones. And you wouldn’t think that sort of thing would be very noticeable. But this is another product that I’ll be exploring further.

Craken. It’s just incredibly dangerous. Like Hydrofluoric Acid, but in Chili form.
I literally can’t manage more than the tiniest amount. And even that hurts.
Lethal.

Too much for me, but if you’re a hot sauce connoisseur, you might want to test yourself against this one.

As I mentioned before, it’s been a really interesting experience trying out these products that I would never usually dip into. The idea of one a day, and the little tester size vials and jars is a real winner.

Thanks, family.