Page 12 - Computeractive - January 2, 2018 UK

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Bus-ticket app i s the f ull address a nd Well, t here is – i t’s c alled T onido Server
a ‘ running joke’ postcode t hey s ay they’ll (www.tonido.com). The principle i s y ou
As someone who only s upply t hat are s haring a fi le or folder d irectly f rom
lives n ear B ath, information if you w ant t o your computer, s o i t’s n ot on the w eb at
I w as very interested i n view t he property . all. Y o u r ight-click w hat y ou want to
your news story (Issue I t hen a sk what the share, select ‘Tonido 1-click s hare’, and
516, p age 9 ) a bout First broadband speed is at that an http link i s c opied t o y our c lipboard.
Bus c harging m ore f or address, to which t hey Y o u t hen m ail t he link t o a s m any p eople
passengers who u se real reply: “We d on’t know, as you l ike – a nd that’s it. Th ey don’t need
cash, rather than their but you c an look it up”. Tonido t hemselves. When they click t he
m-Tickets app ( pictured). But I n eed the p ostcode t o link, it opens i n a b rowser.
Perhaps y ou’d like t he do that! Th ese days an The downside is that the o riginating
view f rom r esidents w ho internet connection is so computer has t o b e s witched o n t o e nable
rely on Bath’s buses, vital t hat y ou’d think i t access, b ut that’s hardly onerous i f a
which i s t hat t he app i s a bysmal, a would b e a n e ssential p art o f a ny lettings group or family want to share p hotos of
running joke. Y ou mention that the a pp or house sales information. an event, and i t w ould be temporary. A nd
has a 2 .3 rating on the G oogle P lay S tore. Jeremy Rundle for n on-commercial use, it’s free. I h ave
I’m s tunned it’s that high. shared hundreds of photos (and other
Fortunately , locals don’t blame e ach Microsoft’s N ear S hare not a s files) t his w ay without paying a p enny.
other f or the d elays it causes when good as Tonido For l arger fi les, i ncluding v ideos, t he link
boarding. It’s actually brought u s c loser I r ead w ith i nterest y our n ews becomes a d ownload link, using t he
together, b ecause we have a c ommon article on Microsoft’s Near Share recipient’s bandwidth.
enemy: First B us. I t’s b ecome a c ommon (News, I ssue 515, p age 7 ) a nd how g ood it James G ourley
excuse when meeting p eople: ‘Sorry I is for s ending fi les. B ut what a p alaver!
was l ate, it was t he bus a pp’. Sender and r eceiver m ust b e ‘ nearby’, Don’t forget library
What was w rong with cash? Y o u d on’t and b oth m ust h ave t he program. ebook a pps
have to wait for a 5 0 p ence piece to load. Wouldn’t it be great i f t here were a By suggesting the K indle a pp as a
A p ound coin doesn’t r un out of battery . program t hat a llowed both ends to be means of making your tablet an
Progress – d on’t you j ust l ove i t! anywhere in the w orld, a nd only t he ebook r eader ( Workshop, I ssue 515, p age
Heather Smith sender needed the p rogram? 42), you c ompletely o verlook t he

Fast speeds i mportant
when moving home Alarm clocks f or kids? W ake u p,
I r ead w ith i nterest ‘ Question of
the F ortnight’ in Issue 5 15 (‘Is slow parents!
broadband killing t he countryside?’). As
a j ournalist w orking from home and Reading t hat E lizabeth
covering many events throughout the Morris a pplauded t he
year, I n eed decent broadband, a nd at the headmistress of Lady Eleanor
moment I a m f ortunate to have 80Mbps Hollis (private) S chool f or
in W a les. I o ften have to upload a f ew providing 7 00 pupils with an
hundred i mages o n a M onday a fter alarm clock, left me wide-eyed
editing and f ast i nternet connections and s lack-jawed (Letters, I ssue
are e ssential. 515). Did she t ake t his a ction
However m y s on and I w ant t o m ove because she c ould not trust
from the m iddle o f a s mall town, a nd this parents t o p rovide a c lock?
is where i t b egins t o b ecome a p ain. (Upwards of £2 on eBay – t o a dd to the t wo generations below m ine. In
In the 2 1st c entury you w ould think private school fees!) Or, b etter s till, post-war d ays o f genuine austerity,
that BT or any o ther provider c ould easily wake their c hildren t hemselves? And alarm clocks were expensive a nd hard
have a l ist o f p ostcodes showing s peeds in what chance is there t hat p arents will to find. There was j ust o ne in our
that area. Th ere a re many sites y ou can make sure all ‘ technological house, s o m y f ather w as my alarm –
type a p ostcode i nto a nd get a r ough distractions’ a re removed a t n ight a nd and h e v ery r arely e ver h ad to call me
idea. But d oing this on lots of different the c locks a re actually used? twice! Woolly-headed ‘non-thinking’
sites w hen y ou’re l ooking for a p roperty At 78 years of age I d espair at the l ack and ‘ get a l ife’ are p hrases that spring
is laborious. of common-sense thinking and to mind.
We are n ot even fussy w here we move self-discipline t hat a ppears to be rife in Llewellyn W illiams
to. B ut when you a sk the e state a gent for

12 20 December 2017 – 2 J anuary 2018