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IT’S THAT TIME of year again where some of us will be getting a new smartphone or tablet device. For some, they will be upgrading while others will be getting a smartphone for the first time.
For those of you who are in the latter camp, there is a fair amount to get your head around, but here are the main things to keep in mind (and a few things for everyone else).
What phone OS are you using?
OS, which stands for Operating System, is the software running your phone. There are three main OS’ and these are the phones they run on.
iOS – iPhone/iPad
Android – Samsung, Sony, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, LG, Alcatel.
Windows Phone – Lumia (formerly Nokia Lumia)
iOS has one physical button – the home button – while Android and Windows Phone add two more – the back button and either a tabs overview or search. All three allow you to create folders while Android users can place widgets on the home screen.
Each one has apps, basically icons on your screen that bring you to specific programmes, while iOS and Android have widgets, which allows you to carry out certain actions without opening up an app. iOS positions them in the
iOS positions widgets in the pull-down notifications screen (under today) while Android places them on the home screen.
Windows Phone has Live Tiles, which uses an app icon to display extra info, similar to widgets except you can only activate something by opening the app.
For those of you who received a new iPhone or iPad, iOS 8 has a number of new additions that you will want to know about. If you’re lucky enough to get a device that’s running Android Lollipop, it also introduced a number of handy features.
[image alt="2014 Google search lists" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/12/2014-google-search-lists-630x472.jpg" width="630" height="472" credit-source="Martyn%20Landi%2FPA%20Wire" class="alignnone" /end]
Setting up your email
All smartphones require an email address to properly avail of all services such as the app stores and first-party apps. If you don’t have one, it’s best to set one up whenever you get the chance with a provider like Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo.
The app store
The lifeblood of any smartphone, apps are the very thing that turn it into a multifunctional device. Each OS has its own store, iOS has the App Store, Android has Google Play, and Windows Phone has Windows Phone Apps+Games Store.
There are a number of precautions to take before you hit the download button. For one, make sure you’re downloading from an official store like the ones above, be cautious of downloading from third-party sites, and check whether there are in-app purchases if you’re getting games/apps for your kids. The last thing you need is a nasty surprise.
[image alt="Google Play Store" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/12/google-play-store-2-630x325.jpg" width="630" height="325" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Also, it’s worth checking what app permissions are required to use an app. iOS asks you whether you want to activate them when you’re using the app, while Android and Windows Phone present them all together before you hit accept.
There’s a logic to most of them and while it may seem daunting or invasive, there’s usually a good reason for them. More importantly, if your gut feeling tells you that an app description isn’t being honest, stay away from it.
Touch gestures
While all smartphones have different software, all of them use the same touchscreen gestures. The basic ones are tap (used to open apps), swipe left to right/right to left (unlock, open up side menu, return to previous page), and swipe top down (brings down notifications screen).
A more comprehensive list of touch gestures is available here.
[image alt="tap-to-open" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/12/tap-to-open-2-630x474.gif" width="630" height="474" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Lock screens
For most phones, you can settle for the traditional 4-digit PIN, but there are more diverse and secure ways to keep your phone info safe. Some include fingerprint scanners while others use lock patterns to make it harder for someone to access your info.
[image alt="Digital Life A Closer Look Beyond Passcodes" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/12/digital-life-a-closer-look-beyond-passcodes-2-630x423.jpg" width="630" height="423" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
For those who have difficulty using their phone
Not everyone who has a phone can use it normally so if you or someone you know has bad eyesight or aren’t able to touch a small screen precisely, turning on Accessibility Mode will solve that.
The range of features across all three smartphone OS’ is pretty consistent with features like zoom, large text, inverse colours and touch delay and can be found in settings. More details on what you can find under these options can be found here.
[image alt="iphone-accessibility" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/12/iphone-accessibility-2-567x500.gif" width="567" height="500" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Transferring apps and details
This can only be done if your new phone has the same OS as the old one. All your phone details are connected to your email account and can be transferred immediately.
Depending on how much you’ve saved and the speed of your WiFi, you will have to spend a few minutes waiting for them to be transferred.
Certain apps like WhatsApp need to be reactivated before they can be used, those which require a number or email to work will require you to do this.
Transferring contacts
There are a few different ways of doing this. If you’re not changing OS like above, this will be sorted for you already.
If you’re switching from one OS to another, then you can transfer contacts either through official means (iCloud, Gmail or Outlook) or download a specialised app to transfer them.
If you’re going from a normal phone to smartphone, it’s a little bit trickier but still doable. Unless it’s an incredibly old phone, you should be able to connect it up via USB and transfer them to iCloud/Gmail/Outlook.
Alternatively, if you have contacts saved onto web text, you can transfer them that way. More details on the process can be found here.
Keeping an eye on battery life
If you’re not used to a smartphone, then the idea of it only lasting a day will likely come as a shock. Since they’re performing so many tasks and are more powerful, they use up more energy as a result.
There are a few ways to make your battery last longer, but most phones now come with a battery saver mode, reducing your phone to the bare minimum so it lasts longer, or you could download apps like Normal for iOS which will show you the most wasteful apps on your device.
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Of course a tenfold increase in farm inspections.
Why?
Because the purpose is to make farming as an industry impossible, drive farmers off their land and force them to sell the land to the state for buttons.
And if anyone objects, the weight of the apparatus of the State will be unleashed on them.
You think I’m wrong, ask Enoch Burke, the same playbook is being rolled out.
@Garry Coll: and if all that fails they are racists…………
@Garry Coll: wow ! There must be more to this story. Those farmers have to be complaining for some reason. I think the truth needs to be revealed.
@Oh Mammy:
Wouldn’t be able to say that, but they are definitely Communist traitors.
@offside again:
Didn’t realise the Journal paid their trolls overtime.
@Oh Mammy: don’t forget your comments this time …
@Garry Coll: what time is it Garry ? 04:54am where I am. How much do you get paid Garry ? Do you get paid overtime ? Your boss is not getting value for money at this hour of the morning.
@offside again: if I do I will count on your photographic to remind me. Thank you!
@Oh Mammy: *memory
@Garry Coll: not the farmers I know. You should go meet one some day. You would learn a lot. (FYI, food does not come from Tesco)
@Garry Coll: and risk having multiple Thomas Reid cases..
@Garry Coll: I was with ya until you mentioned Mr Potato head and his bible thumping nut job family in the end…..Farmers we need, religious attention seeking nutters like the burkes who just wanna be a pain for attention and have beliefs akin to places like Alabama back in 1800′s is not
@Garry Coll: ‘Communist traitors’?
You need professional help for your paranoia. If you were any further to the right you’d fall off the edge.
@Garry Coll: You actually *want* badly polluted and toxic waterways? Is clean water communist?
@Brendan O’Brien: could he already be off the edge?
@Garry Coll: I wouldn’t ask Enoch Burke the fkn time!
@Brendan O’Brien: The state is far and away the largest polluter of our waterways and our air through Co.councils third world water treatment and the ESB, but inconvenient truths seldom get published or reported on, and the state will never take the blame for being the country’s biggest polluter
I support our farmers. Thank you
@Oh Mammy: if they want to pollute our rivers that is their human rights.
@Sal Paradise: Money is far more important than human rights (probably to every commenter here too).
@Sal Paradise: most of the pollution in rivers isn’t from farmers it’s from irish water ironically enough. The last few fish kills were due to sewage and chemicals released into rivers. This still happens and the fines are tiny. People will always blame the farmers. They are a easy target.
The bird population in our area has been decimated. Haven’t seen frog spawn, dragonflies or other marsh dwelling creatures in decades. The water is toxic.
@Don Johnson: Bird populations are also affected by Wind Turbines , high mortality rates around them & also by the Mink population which has exploded around Ireland, I have witnessed entire populations of ducks on lakes wiped out by Mink, so it’s not just farming, waste water treatment plants around us & septic tanks are the biggest culprits, Farmers are just the easy targets all the time, particularly for the Green Party & it’s members.
@SV3tN8M4: I would wager the impact of septic tanks on slobland wildlife is fairly negligible. All evidence points to farmers as the highest culprit in polluting the waterways. But as usual they’ll play the tiresome victim card instead of taking responsibility for a change.
@SV3tN8M4: But you agree that slurry should be properly managed, right?
@Don Johnson: show me your evidence. The last number of fish kills were irish water. Irish water has also been pumping sewage into the sea….
@Brendan O’Brien: Yes, so too should Waste Water treatment plants, whose record is been covered up by the EPA. Many factors in the decline of bird population, solely not the reserve of Farmers. Farmers are No. 1 target for the Green Party, but Aviation, Cement Plants & Data Centres are exempt in their eyes. The Greens will make Ireland food dependent very quickly & destroy our Agricultural export market,costing thousands of jobs in rural communities.
Thank-you for such an informative article! Have to say I’m with Fogarty on this one. It’s down to basic maths – more farm animals, more slurry spreading results in poorer water quality. Perhaps more frequent farm inspections will highlight this issue further. But what will be done then? Of course we need excellent produce, especially for our export market but at the end of the day, is the bigger profit margin worth such a decline in our water quality? Is it??
A straight to the comments article for sure. Excuse my ignorance..
@Paul Gorry: It was a long one for sure.
They should clean the roads after they move cattle or when they are spreading slurry. In my experience most do not. When it rains it is treacherous on these roads, They put down matting across a road to move cattle and this is totally illegal and dangerous. I can only imagine what the EPA inspections find on the inside of the farms.
Scientists and active farmers need to have relationships of mutual trust.
Good to see how well Limerick and Cork are doing
As long as beef can be exported right? To feed the world our environment for the profit of who?
@Chutes: you do realize that in ireland we have the perfect climate to grow grass. It’s not really suited to growing fruit or wheat for bread as we don’t get enough sun light. We could trade our surplus of beef for those items. That’s how it’s always worked here. Also you know that a field full of grass has healthy soils full of nutrients and carbon is locked up in it. We can’t eat the grass but the cows can. Meaning our Milk and butter is among the best in the world.
@Washpenrebel: While it’s true that Ireland’s climate is ideal for growing grass, stating that the country cannot effectively produce fruit or wheat due to insufficient sunlight isn’t entirely accurate. Advances in agricultural techniques and the use of resilient crop varieties have enabled Irish farmers to successfully cultivate a variety of fruits and cereals. For example, Ireland has a growing apple industry, and grains like barley and oats are commonly produced for both domestic use and export.
Relying heavily on beef production raises significant environmental concerns. Livestock farming, particularly cattle, is a major source of methane—a greenhouse gas that is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere over a 100-year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ireland reports that agriculture accounts for about one-third of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with methane from enteric fermentation in ruminant animals being a primary contributor.
While grasslands do sequester carbon in the soil, the methane emissions from cattle often offset these benefits. Additionally, overgrazing can lead to soil degradation and a loss of biodiversity. Diversifying agricultural practices to include more crop cultivation can improve soil health through crop rotation and reduce dependency on a single industry.
Trading surplus beef for essential items like fruit and wheat may not be sustainable in the long term. It exposes the country to global market fluctuations and potential trade disruptions, which can affect food security. Producing a wider range of crops domestically can reduce the carbon footprint associated with importing goods and promote a more resilient local food system.
Moreover, while Irish dairy products like milk and butter are highly regarded, it’s important to balance production with environmental sustainability. Implementing practices that reduce emissions, such as improving feed efficiency and manure management, can help mitigate the environmental impact.
In summary, Ireland has the potential to broaden its agricultural outputs beyond livestock, which can lead to environmental benefits and enhanced food security without compromising the quality of its renowned dairy products.
@Chutes: irish grasslands sequestration of carbon have been found to be 4.5 times higher than what is currently being allowed. This data is from the dept of agriculture own study in johnstown castle Co wexford. This means their are many farms in ireland that are carbon sinks and do not produce excess carbon. Cows are not the problem here.
A dry day in the counrtyside now accompanied by the smell of shit, the tourists must love it! I fkn hate it, I’m old enough to remember when we had a countryside, ya know, one with wildlife back before it was an industrial farm, the young’ns won’t remember.
@Chutes: The place is full of wild life. Hedgehogs eating the cats food, the cats drop dead shrews, mice, rats and birds at the back door every couple of days. A bumper crop of swallows nests on the house. Dead badgers and foxes on the roads, buzzards in sky picking off young pheasants, lurchers chasing hares in the distance, wasps nest in the compost heap, herrings in the river picking off the fish. Horseflies, midges and daddy longlegs everywhere.
@P. V. Aglue: While it may appear that the area is abundant with wildlife, several factual considerations suggest otherwise. Hedgehog populations, for instance, have been declining significantly in many regions due to habitat loss and road fatalities, making frequent sightings less common than implied. Similarly, swallows have experienced population decreases attributed to changes in agricultural practices and loss of nesting sites, so a “bumper crop” of nests is unlikely without conservation efforts in place.
Buzzards primarily feed on carrion and small rodents rather than young pheasants, and their hunting patterns don’t typically involve preying extensively on game birds. The mention of dead badgers and foxes on roads highlights human impact on wildlife rather than a thriving ecosystem; roadkill incidents are a leading cause of mortality for these animals.
Furthermore, herons (likely what was meant by “herrings”) are affected by water pollution and habitat destruction, which can limit their ability to feed on fish in rivers. The prevalence of pests like wasps, horseflies, midges, and daddy longlegs is often influenced by environmental imbalances, sometimes caused by reduced numbers of their natural predators.
Overall, while individual encounters with wildlife can give the impression of abundance, many species are facing challenges that reduce their populations. Human activities have significantly altered habitats, and the presence of certain animals may be more indicative of ecological imbalance than of a healthy, wildlife-rich environment.
@Chutes: The weather has the biggest impact on ecology imbalances. The cold wet spring this year was bad for the bumble bee. The beast from the east freeze of 2018 and 2010 and 12 killed thousands of birds, big and small. A bad flood will drowned out the fox, badger,and rabbit population in an area.In the next few years ash dieback will really take hold and 10s of thousands of trees will be cut down, fireblight will start effecting the hedge rows country wide, killing miles and miles of habit. All imported diseases by a government scheme jumping to the eco lobby groups. What seems like the right thing to do, can do more harm in the long run.
@P. V. Aglue: Your degree in ecologigal studies is from where? Forgive me if I think your opinion ill-informed and ignore.
All these pimps should be run from the farm gates , the Agri. Dept . Haven’t a clue about what goes on or how a farm is run.
Our council should retrain the dog and litter wardens as they seem to do f all dog and litter inspections!
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