I have resently joined the GiffGaff mobile network from Tesco mobile. I had finished my 12 month Tesco contract and the iPhone 4s release was not enough to make me upgrade from my iPhone 4. I moved on to a 30 day rolling contract with Tesco but my minutes where reduced and now data limited. Having unlocked my phone I looked around for a better deal, that deal came from GiffGaff. Like Tesco mobile, GiffGaff uses the O2 network so coverage in my area is good with 3G most of the time.

The transfer from Tesco to GiffGaff was quick and easy, all done via the GiffGaff website. I had to cut down the sim from GiffGaff as the do not supply micro sim due to costs, a sim cut from ebay made this an easy process. GiffGaff is a PAYG network but you can buy monthly goodybags which are cheaper than Tesco and gave me more minutes and unlimited data. The only problem I have found so far is I’m unable to setup an automatic subscription to a goodybag, this means each month I have to purchase a new one ready for next months use. GiffGaff have said auto renewing goody bags are in the pipeline for early 2012, I hope that happens. I the meantime the MyGiffGaff iPhone app does make it easy to purchase credit and goodybags straight from the iPhone.

GiffGaff also operate a very nice referral scheme, giving the new referred customers a £5 free credit on activation of their sim and points the referring customer. These can be converted to airtime credit, cash via PayPal or donated to charity.

Today is World Backup Day 2011 you didn’t get a holiday, but if create a backup plan for your important data, it will be a day you’ll remember.

Backing up our clients artwork files is something we take very seriously. Which is why we store these large files on a server, setup with a RAID 1 mirrored volume for instantaneous backup. This volume is also backed up to an external hard drive every night and daily removable disk backups are taken off-site.

For small file backups we like Dropbox a cloud based storage system which allows you to store files online and sync with multiple computers. While this is not really a backup system, it can serve as one. Plus you receive 2GB of storage space when you sign up for a free account.

Remember to backup, backup, backup.

This weekend I upgraded my iPhone 4 to the new iOS 4.3 software update. I was looking forward to testing the new Personal Hotspot feature that allows an iPhone 4 to create its own Wi-Fi hotspot. I thought this would be a useful feature should I need to go online with the iPad (not 3G) when I do not have Wi-Fi access. After looking through all the iPhone settings and not being able to find the Personal Hotspot feature, I hit the net looking for answers and found them.

TechRadar spoke to Tesco, which confirmed that as it doesn’t support iPhone tethering it hasn’t enabled the portable Wi-Fi hotspot feature either. ”Tesco Mobile doesn’t currently support the functionality for personal Wi-Fi spots but plans to be able to introduce this soon for customers.” said the spokesperson.

I never required the iPhone tethering function and I don’t believe it was made clear that Tesco Mobile does not support it when I signup. It is probably in the T&C’s somewhere, but even on their website it is not included in the excluded features.

Screenshot of the iPhone 4 excluded features from the Tesco Mobile site.

I hope Tesco Mobile introduces this feature quickly and without additional charges. I pay for 1Gb of data per month and never use anywhere near that, as most of the time my phone is on a Wi-Fi network. If I want to use that data by turning my phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot on that rare occasion, I should be able to without charge.

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UPDATE: 26th November 2011

I have now moved to the GiffGaff network, they still have the same restrictions on tethering. So no Personal Hotspot use, but I now pay less and have unlimited data. See post here

Over the past year we have been moving towards the goal of a paperless office. This will not only save us storage space it will also help the environment. I thought I would share some of the applications we have been using to reach our paperless utopia!

When running a business we all receive and store a large amount of paper work. Most of our paper work is relating to our business accounts, bank statements, invoices, receipts. Plus the tax man requires that all this paperwork is retained for at least 6 years! So that is a lot of box files and large folders requiring storage for each financial year.

So I started by streamlining our book keeping to reduced the amount of paperwork we generated and received. The first step was to find a book keeping and accounting solution that would eliminate the need to keep paper copies of invoices, receipts, etc. After testing a number of solutions both online and computer based the clear winner for me was FreeAgent Central.

It has been one of the best business decisions I have made, it has turned the companies accounts from a chore to a (dare I say it!) enjoyable process.

Now client invoices are created within FreeAgent and emailed to the client, no need to print and pay the ever rising postage costs (and wondering if they even arrived at all!). Bank statements are downloaded from the bank and credit card websites, they are then loaded into FreeAgent for reconciliation. Purchase receipts that are supplied as pdf files are uploaded and attached to the correct transaction. Any paper based receipts received are scanned in and then attached. HRMC are happy for companies to keep most company documentation in a electronic form as long as it remains legible. All the data that passes between my computer and FreeAgent is encrypted and backed-up off-site every 15 minutes. I will elaborate on the features of FreeAgent accounting software in a future blog post.

Another tool which I use regularly to keep the book keeping paper clutter to a minimum is Dropbox. Because FreeAgent allows me to update my accounts wherever I have access to a computer I needed a storage tool that would do the same. That’s where Dropbox comes in, with free or paid plans depending on your storage requirements. I use Dropbox to store copies of our bank and credit card statements, plus scanned and emailed pdf files of receipts ready to be attached to the transaction in FreeAgent. These files are then synced to my home/work computers, mobile devices and the Dropbox website. So I always have access to these files wherever I am working, and they are protected by the same secure methods used by banks and military. Dropbox has also replaced the many USB drives I previously carried around.

Here is a round-up of the key benefits of going paperless:

• Save money and the environment, buying less paper and toner/ink
• Save money by emailing documents and avoiding postage costs
• Protect your company documents from fire or water damage
• Save office space, no need to store large file boxes or folders
• Improve productivity by being able to work wherever you are
• Easy to create multiple backups of all your important documents

Whilst visiting another design studio the other day, I was shocked to discover that they didn’t mind map during their creative process. They instead favoured going straight to the computer, for what sounded like a trial and error process!

We are big fans of brainstorming the direction a certain project should take, before hitting the computer. We feel this initial process is imperative to achieving the desired goal for the client. The process often reveals simple ideas that would not initially spring to mind, giving projects a deeper meaning and longevity.

Some of the uses of mind mapping:

• Problem solving
• Note taking
• Brainstorming
• Planning
• Anonymous collaboration
• Researching and consolidating information from multiple sources
• Presenting information
• Gaining insight on complex subjects
• Condensing material into a concise and memorable format
• Jogging your creativity