Internet DNA Podcast

New Year, too many iphone apps. What are useful, which are annoying, some are life saving, but still we can't seem to rid ourselves of the sweetie style icons. 

Transcription

(this transcription is written by robots… so don’t be surprised!)

This week we're going to be discussing a January app. Purge, as is January. Everyone seems to be big. So we started by counting the apps on our phones and you know, I really surprise myself. I've always prided myself in being a one screen app. Go, I've just counted and I've got 58 wow. How many have you got? Oh my goodness. But you know, another thing that I realized as I was looking through this is I'm not very fun. There's no fun. Cool. Yeah. Yes. And the smallest folder I've got is games, which is basically gone gain code G 30 and a gang called monument in it. It's for my kids, not for me. Oh that's you don't play on my phone whatsoever. That must be our generation. Listen it, generation X's that they're still phones to us and it's purely functional. In fact, the things that are on here that I find most useful and I feel it's an addition to my life, which is, which is rare because most of the time I don't really feel, it's not just about, it's stuff that I can listen to when I'm running or when I'm working. So my podcast player, my BBC sounds, my Spotify and obviously medium, I quite enjoy. There is also things like guitar tuner in that folder as well. I noticed [inaudible] GarageBand, obviously it's got 17 notifications. I think it's what my children do and I'm not looking in the car. So I find my biggest folder is travel [inaudible] and it's actually for a while it's annoying. So I've got like three airlines on there. I've got three different ways of parking. My car of girl, a train line, a Chub line, um, compass maps and for person who really doesn't travel that much, it's kind of, that was something that annoyed me and started to annoy me actually, is you can't go anywhere now without that company making you download the app. If you've hired a car from rental cars, you have to download that app to be able to get your car. If you are flying on easy jet, you have to be able to download the app. Yep. To book in and to every second one and talking. Yeah. Ringo dash just pilot. I mean like just to park my car. It's insane that there isn't someone who just goes, do you know what parking? Well I bet people don't care. I think you should just be able to put it in a location and it worked out. Who the hell you want to pay. And we talked earlier, I didn't worry about Holton catch fire and one of the things, I think it was in that where they have the unity app, you guys to check best to China. Everybody's using just one app. Wow. And it just has everything, has all your parking, your travel, your flying, everything, your housing, your eats all into one app. It's called unity app. And well I just thought, do you know what I would actually quite like, like or an so just did everything. And then in this mad world where everything's interconnected anyway, you would think, why is this difficult? No, I know you go, Oh well you could go to a podo, but then yeah, you can go to Opodo or travel velocity or any of these thousands of different travel sites. I just want one app, which when I'm doing stuff outside of my work or my today [inaudible] deals with the, I want some food, I want to park quite to catch a flight. I need a train. All of it in one app. How about that? Yeah, you see I have all the apps on my phone, what I use [inaudible] good, cool. So I'm only ever going onto [inaudible]. I have my browser is, it happens to be Chrome and searching for whatever I need. So let's say I've got a weather app. I have never used the weather app. If I want to know the weather, I know it's probably a longer route. I just that surely go to crime and check the weather. So I could just do with one app on here, which would be Chrome and that has everything that has my email. I can find out my parking, I can, I can do everything. I might even be able to have some fun as my daughters pointed out. You can have fun on Google if there's no internet connections. Cause there's that funny little game with the dinosaur jumping up and down [inaudible] I haven't played it much to be honest. Agree where there's an app which is just connected to the internet. That just annoys me. Just have a website. It works on mobile. We're all done with, there are some apps on my phone which, Oh useful. Another big folder of mine is weirdly termed internet, but mostly it's things like authenticators my VPN service and [inaudible] different Vanana misers and lots of different authenticators. So go on to experience authenticator. I've got a thing called authenticator and that's Google. I've got one called OrthoFi, I've got one called, yeah wait, stop, stop, stop. What are you authenticating? You know when you log into things and they go Oh it comes up and you have to put the six letters that comes up on the authenticator. Those numbers change every 30 seconds. So it's a way of making sure it's you and you've got your phone and as you now rather than getting a text message, which if you know in signal or for some mad reason, they don't have a way of actually getting your text message, those kinds of things. So some apps, I really understand why they're apps, but like you say, whether, I mean I do use math offers because I want to know what the weather is like in very specific locations, mostly bike parks around the UK. So I can go, Oh it's going to be sunny in Colby today. Let's go and ride a bike park in Corby while it's raining here. So I do use it for that kind of thing. But I could probably just go onto the website and log in and get exactly the same information. There is a proliferation of apps. Some apps I think are really useful. I've got a whole bunch of first aid app. Well I got a first aid app and a bike doctor app is how to fix things and how to fix people. Yeah, the first aid one that's really amazing. So basically if someone was having a heart attack or something of a tenant, exactly what to do. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean that it has what they call the Humpty Dumpty. So if you're doing CPR, it gives you the timing. Yeah. And it shows you where to exactly where to put the hand and then it give you a timeline. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] that's amazing. Yeah. I have two good ones like that. I have life three 60 which tells me exactly where my children's phones are and therefore probably them at most times. And it tells me when they've left home they've got to school, that sort of thing. The other thing, which I think because actually to what it tells me is when my daughter's turning on her mobile data and when she turns on home a mobile data, it's obviously costing me money. So I can say, well, you didn't need to turn your mobile data on at three o'clock in the hub. But the other thing that is amazing and more apps like this, the better, is one called calm home. And I have teenage daughters, they had some difficult times and this is the most beautiful app that in fuel really upset or really stressed or thinking of harming herself. You can fiddle with this app and it means that your fingers are doing something and it helps to calm me down and take you off the moment of when you might have done something not so good. And it's really beautiful, a really clever, because children of that age are obviously always, you know, whatever the photos. So I really wait that and then I found this other app. Nothing to do with that. It's not going to save anyone's life. It says measure and it looks absolutely amazing, but I've never used it. That's the problem. I get these apps thinking they're amazing and then it's just easier to do it how I did it before. I've got an app for recording all my expenses, receipts, but I still just take pictures. So I've got gone expense with the company. It drives me absolutely insane. It's called conquer and you have to take a photograph of your receipt. It's not clever enough to read the receipt. So you still have to fill in all of them detail and then it goes off to some weird place, the conquer audit system, and then it will send you back going, ah, this receipt was a bit faint. All right, well what am I meant to say about that? I am looking forward to the time when every receipt you get is paperless, but then people say they don't like giving out their information, but every receipt is paperless. You give an email address, which would be, for example, my accounting software's email address. It would go straight into there. The accounting software would pick it up and put it in the system. I haven't had to be involved. That's what I want seeing as you're tapping your phones or pay, why don't they just tap your phone back to give you your receipt? You could just go into wallet, grab all my receipts, post the meeting. Another thing I've never ever used and I do on occasion, you get to look at it and go, Oh, well you've never used it. I've never used wallet. Oh you use it all the time for boarding passes, but they're in my handy EasyJet, Ryanair. Really tired of that nonsense. Especially when I was flying around America with seven different airlines. You get the thing and then just tap it into my wallet please. And then they're all in your wallet. That worked quite nice. But then I realized I had to have my app to get my air miles. It's just like really why? I've got a pets at home app and loyalty cards moved into apps now. I hated loyalty cards anyway, but you have to die this thing so then hopefully you get some money off next time you go. We've got a special offer on dog food. I don't have a dog, but like if you're going to be clever about this stuff, what do I buy? Well I buy goldfish food cause I've got a gold fish. It does only give me offers on the animals I have. Yeah, I saw an amazing app which you do a scan of yourself, so you basically take a video of yourself turning around in three 60 in your underwear. Interesting. But it will then find clothes for you and then you don't have to do any of this. Oh am I a 32 leg or Amara 30 leg. If it's 32 or sometimes wear away the back of the thing, but if 30 looks like I'm waiting for the floods, 30 ones just not size anyone chooses. Well that's why I say let's Charles is in his trousers cause they rolled them up. I love that but that's what we were talking about the other week is instead of having to try on clothes or reality or immersive reality would actually say, well this is what it looks like and this is what it would look like on you. Shake egg man. Sure. It looked fantastic on a six foot, two bloody bloke with massive muscles. I'm sure there's fun, tough stick on him. Probably anything looked fantastic on him but on me, lots of things that rather awkward. You're doing yourself a disservice. You sent me like this week and you the aptly named it. The future is now, which I always liked your little paraphrases of things, but that was the contact lenses that brought in. But should we honesty into your life and it's already here. So with those answers you should be able to possibly look at the clothes and see yourself in them. Yeah. How about that? Oh, well about an app. He goes, Oh, I know you're interested in these clothes. For example, this shop is selling no reduction today. That's the kind of thing I want. Well, I'm actually getting as bombarded with, Oh, I'm going to stop you there. Most useless app on your phone. Most useless app on my phone, app and Bay. That is my most useful app is the only one I could not live without. Is that true? But that's because you're an owner and either someone who never goes and rents anyway. So it's just the empty and longingly. Uh, Facebook actually is another one. Facebook is probably the most antagonizing app I've got on my phone and I've only got it on my phone. And as I've told you before, because all I do on it is [inaudible] bike groups. Yeah. But it's constantly telling me, Oh, there's this person here. You might know them. Well, I don't know them go away. Yeah. You might know this person knew that person. No, I don't know anyone go away. They're all the people I know who have been on here and I've deleted them, so that's why I don't have anyone on there. Okay. My most hated app is messenger because the messages that come through, they're never very nice. They often, people I know, but they seem to be selling things, but it's only on there because once I missed a job by not having Facebook missed his messenger, but my most useless app is absolutely brilliant. It's called shortcuts and I thought that apps were shortcuts to get into the app. This seems to be a shortcut to get to the shortcuts. I don't really understand this at all. Oh, is that on the Apple phone? Yeah, I've never used it. I've got a whole phone just called Apple crap. It's a whole folder is full of stuff I never use. Maybe that's where Gatorades bang live. I don't know. Yeah. And they don't necessarily let you own install them either. The other one I have to say that's very, very low. The think about the Apple labs is that quite pricy because the iTunes ones a nice pink star, but I've never used it. The AA app, I've never used that. If I need the AA I'll call them and it's even got some little notifications on. I don't know what it's trying to notify me about. Yeah. Received any app that notifies me too much. I don't like cause I'm one of those people that doesn't like any red dots on my firing. Uh, well and noisy does it, isn't that quite OCD? You have to get rid of them. Yeah. I'm the same with my inbox. If you've got inboxes with like a thousand unread emails in them, I'm just like either unsubscribed from those people or redeem them. Don't just have unread emails in your inbox. That's just madness. Well, if you had six, that'd be fine. But like a thousand. So most useful apps actually as Trainline and Airbnb. So for me it's greater Wrangler there. Well, the apps I use the most probably, or clock, I use music a lot actually whenever I'm walking. When Rob was a youth, I was just literally locked into a Walkman and then I went through a whole period of just [inaudible] not listening to music while walking from now on back into doing it, I guess. Yeah, children you have to talk to people. Walking through London with headphones on is quite nice. It's called that sort of cityscape. Are they apps that are any use to me at all that either for me to listen to or read to improve myself or they're to manage my life when I don't want it to interrupt my work, my Instagram, my Airbnb, things like that I do on my phone and that's very separate from being on my computer so that they're not disturbing me. That's brilliant for my children is oral because the one thing that no one seems to be very good at, music exams is the extra bit, you know, and whenever you do exams, it's like a driving test. You always have to do a bit of theory as well. That's really good. Oh, I'm using duo lingo, learning a new language. So yes, I'm learning Spanish. Yeah. I'm getting pretty good at that. Yeah, I've had that. That really works. Mmm. Actually surprised how well I picked up be so good for your brain because I was relearning a talk I give to schools about jobs and tech and for the first time in my life it was a struggle to get the information back in again. I felt like my spongy brain had gone brittle. So I think if you're doing that and making your brain, it's almost like brain exercises. Like people say that you have to do puzzles or things. I think learning that language every day is, is keeping it simple and it's nice and it's a nice short thing to do. You've always got 15 minutes waiting for a training, or I do on the loose. Sometimes you've always got 15 minutes in the day, let's not go there about the time in the new, so you don't have to do all three lessons in the mood. Yeah. But then you've got your phone in the loo. That's dangerous. You know what I mean? I'm always trying to learn something. So, so well it seems to me is actually we have very similar apps but you seem to have two for every one of mine. I can't think of anything particularly. You have more than me. So how many apps do you think that you can PAJ? Um, the funny thing is I went through them cause obviously when we were counting them I was like okay what? But then I thought no, I do use that app occasionally. Like you know I've got one called units and measures. Yeah. Which I don't use very, I didn't even know it was there. And it does 3d measurement. It's extraordinary. And if I need to know if I need to convert inches into centimeters or tons into kilograms, there are apps in there that are quite useful that I use very rarely. Guitar tuner, you know, I'll probably tune my guitar once a quarter. I don't play it very much. But such a useful app. It's slightly oral trainers. Sometimes they are little gems and that's it. There's loads of apps I've got that are very rarely useful, but they are useful just very randomly. I've got a lot of business apps or company nonsense apps. This is kind of what we were saying earlier, isn't it, which is there's just too many apps that just do one thing. And actually what you want is more like a Swiss army knife of an app. [inaudible] takes all those really useful but rarely used apps and sticks them into a single app. Coach unity. So the other app that makes me laugh is the reminders. I used to love reminders until I forgot to check my reminders. Then I had all these reminders that forgot, forgotten of this. So now I have to stick everything. I want to remind myself in the calendar. So is that like a to do list because I them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I just use my diary. I use my diary. Yeah, we've got to go. I've got to go and get more apps on our phone. I'm sure there are a lot more I could poach. Cool. It's like throwing away clothes, isn't it? You think you don't need it until you need it, and then you go, damn, why did I sleep? Unlike today's, you can get it back quite easily. Yes, but not necessarily with all the same stuff in it. Surely they save your data forever. They keep it forever. They probably do. Bye.

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Dan & Abi work, talk & dream in tech. If you would like to discuss any speaking opportunity contact us.