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Author: Evan

Data sessions on your mobile

Data sessions on your mobile

There has been a lot of coverage lately of Vodafone Australia’s decision to start charging data in 1MB increments on prepaid plans, a lot of it incorrect, misinformed etc. Other providers also do this such as Prepaid Optus 3G & Kogan. So let’s try and explain it a bit The 1MB increments refer to data sessions from your mobile device. On most smartphone platforms a push notification service will remain constantly connected in the background meaning you always have a data…

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iMessage: Are you doing it wrong?

iMessage: Are you doing it wrong?

Over the past few weeks I’ve seen quite a few ridiculous comments on forums about people wanting particular iMessage email addresses for each iDevice they have. You need to think if that’s how you really want to use iMessage. That’s certainly not what it was designed to solve. If you’ve been living under a rock, iMessage is one of the new features Apple added to iOS 5 and is essentially free messaging across your Apple devices. If you take email…

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Telstra, we have a problem

Telstra, we have a problem

Over the last few months access to Telstra mobile data in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs seems to be getting worse and worse. I manage about 25 iPhones and iPads, all connected to Telstra and complaints by users of having no data access are on the rise. During the morning peak, lunch time and evening peak everyday I will experience full signal but no data transfer at all. Resulting in failed iMessages, inability to send/receive email and a battery that…

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Riding The Oaks Fire Trail

Riding The Oaks Fire Trail

After having the new bike for a few months it was time to tryĀ some trail riding like I did many years ago. I decided I’d give The Oaks Fire Trail a run, I’ve never ridden it before and it is a fairly easy trip, mostly down hill with not too much technical work. I decided to go up by train so jumped on the 13:18 from Central to Woodford, arriving there at 15:00 (the train was late leaving Central). The…

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CityRail: Still charging peak hour prices for a Saturday timetable

CityRail: Still charging peak hour prices for a Saturday timetable

Yep it’s that time of year again. Those weekdays between Christmas and New Year where CityRail run a Saturday timetable (with a few extra morning and afternoon services) but still slug you with a full peak hour fare. I wrote a post about this last yearĀ and at the time Barry O’Farrell seemed to think would be logical to charge an off-peak fare for an off-peak service. Mr O’Farrell, now that you’re Premier, is this still the case or are the…

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Saving energy at Newtown Silos

Saving energy at Newtown Silos

I am on the Executive Committee of the Owners Corporation for Newtown Silos and over the past year have been working on energy saving measures cut our ever increasing energy bills. We are aiming to reduce our energy costs, cut CO2 emissions & reduce maintenance costs. Have a read below and make some energy saving suggestions in the comments. What have we done so far? Push button timer switches on the two garbage rooms so the lights cannot be left…

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Time to get fit, a new bike should help

Time to get fit, a new bike should help

So I need to get fit. I used to do a lot of biking riding years ago so I decided on getting a new bike. Beau can use my old one which is still in pretty good condition for being around 11 years old! (it’s the blue one below) I wanted a dual suspension so decided on the Giant Anthem X3 2012. It’s at the lower end of the dual suspension at $1999 and should suit me nicely. It has…

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Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Think Different Hereā€™s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. Theyā€™re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you canā€™t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the…

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Skoda Octavia Scout – To buy or not to buy?

Skoda Octavia Scout – To buy or not to buy?

Ideally I’d love a 4WD however I have one constraint which is the car stacker at Newtown Silos where I live. So a serious 4WD is out of the question (unless I park it on the street). I am happy to settle for something not so serious but would still like AWD for those wet, muddy bush tracks where I’d like to go camping. I would also like to get a diesel engine, yes they aren’t quite as powerful as…

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Reduce heating and cooling costs with insulated paint

Reduce heating and cooling costs with insulated paint

If you’re planning on painting your house in the near future consider usingĀ Thermilate Thermalmix Insulating Paint Additive Thermalmix creates a thermal barrier which prevents heat loss through walls and ceilings in summer and prevents heat gain through walls and ceilings in summer. This will dramatically reduce your energy cots for heating in winter and cooling in summer. In winter Thermalmix works by reflecting heat back into the room rather than it being absorbed and lost through the walls or ceiling….

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