A Novel Solution to a National Problem

Visiting a Currys.digital store yesterday helped open my eyes to one of the UK’s many current issues; the Primark sale that is the job market.

Young people desperate for work will hand their CVs into every shop or to every company they can think of, in hope that one of them will take them on. But this is not how it should be. The young lad (he must’ve been even younger than me) in Currys proved this to me, with his attitude that stank of ‘I’d rather be anywhere else’, not knowing the company’s products and not seeming to care for me as a customer. For the record, I enquired about the Lenovo Yoga laptop, one of the flagship Windows 8 devices, which he did not even seem to recognise the name of. Yep, a worker in the only consumer electronics shop didn’t recognise one of the main products on offer.

After running off to find someone who actually knew the answer, he still seemed unsure and couldn’t offer any more information about the device. He kept saying he was new to working there, which was obvious, but there wasn’t a hint of an apology. Apparently you have to go to a bigger branch to see the laptop.

Workers like this highlight the problem the country currently faces. Young adults in search of work have a tendency to throw their CVs at any company that might give them time, rather than the ones they actually want to work for. What this does is it means the workers will lack the enthusiasm required to be a good salesperson if working in the retail sector. However, this problem is not exclusive to retail – every job will be completed better by an employee with a genuine enthusiasm for the company, a person that wants the company to succeed will be so much more enthusiastic in whatever workplace they are in, and this positivity will only be transferred to their colleagues.

It is not only the fault of the jobseekers, though, the employers also should take some of the blame. Their interviewers should be capable of working out who’s going to offer positivity and enthusiasm, and who’s going to be like the boy yesterday. If they only took on people with genuine enthusiasm and preferably knowledge about the products, productivity would increase by so much.

Furthermore, if people only applied for companies they wanted to work for, both employees and employers would benefit, and with fewer applicants to each position, a lot of time would be saved too.

I do appreciate that now we are stuck in this cycle, it’s very hard to emerge from it, with such a competitive job market the likelihood is if you only apply for the places you want to work, someone less enthusiastic will get the job. One possible solution to this could be a government enforced limit to the number of applications you can make in any given month, say 4 companies. If each potential worker had their own ID card that they presented employers alongside their CVs, they could only be considered if they hadn’t exceeded their limit, and this would encourage people to be careful about to whom they apply.

This isn’t a full-proof solution, but certainly a novel idea that could be just what this country needs in these times of great austerity.

If you have anything to say on the matter, please comment below.

Oli

A Frustrating Experience

I thought I’d share a frustrating experience I had yesterday in a Three shop in Sutton. I had gone in with my dad in search of a new phone for him and for my sister. I currently own the HTC 8X and was keen to suggest to them the similar phone the 8S. My dad wasn’t keen, but at the very low price (only £180) it was definitely a possibility for my sister. Anyway, a woman who worked at Three came up to us and asked if we wanted any help. My dad asked about the HTC One S, which is certainly still a good phone. She told us that HTC are no longer pushing the One range, opting to put more money behind their ‘Windows’ range.

I was already slightly annoyed that she didn’t even know the name of the OS.

However, after my dad joked that they would be foolish to put all their money behind ‘Windows’, and I whipped out my lovely HTC 8X (in my opinion the best phone out at the moment) and she looked disgusted, and proceeded to tell us that she ‘hates Windows’. That’s a good start then – the people supposed to be selling Windows Phones claim to actively hate it.

However, the real outrage came when she tried to justify herself to me. She said that she thinks the look and feel of the OS are both good, but that (and I quote) ‘hate the app store’ because it doesn’t have enough apps. What an excellent reason to hate an entire OS. One can only imagine what she thinks of Blackberry OS. In what world is 115,000 not enough apps? If people like this woman are supposed to be selling these phones, it’s not a surprise they’re not selling well. Microsoft seriously need to address this issue in the UK, stopping the ridiculous prejudice against Windows Phone despite it’s underrated Store, and the phone companies should take some of the blame too for not educating their biased workers.

#rantover

 

My Next Phone – The HTC 8X

Up until yesterday’s HTC announcement, I was dead-set on getting a Nokia Lumia 920, which admittedly looks awesome, but now I’ve changed my mind and am thinking of going for the HTC 8X.

After a poor iPhone 5 announcement and no new Android phones to even take my temporary attention, I was sure I would continue with Windows Phone that has served me well for the last two years.

I decided that I wanted a top of the range smartphone for the first time (currently I have the mid-range HTC 7 Mozart, which is still a very good phone), so that ultimately meant I had to go for the WP8 flagship phones from Samsung, HTC or Nokia, with each company recently announcing their offerings but generally offering little indication of price or availability. The expected release date for these phones is early November in the major markets.

Today, however, a UK online seller shedded light on the HTC WP8 range and claimed to be selling the attractive looking 8S for only £230 and the beat 8X for £400. Those prices are incredible attractive next to Nokia’s £350 and £500 expected price tags for their two WP8 phones.

Despite the 8X having half as much storage space and a worse camera than the 920, I am thinking its quality build and appearance, coupled with its high PPI display (which is the best I’ve ever seen on a smartphone, I think) and lower price point will sell me the phone off contract. I do not care too much for wireless charging, although I appreciate its use. I think it will be better when many coffee shops and lounges have charging docks, for now I do not think it’s worth the extra cash – yes, it’s not free with the phone, unfortunately.

The 8X comes in lime green, deep red, dark blue and matt black. I am tossing up between the black that will go with everything and look professional and the outrageous lime colour.

What do you guys think? What’s your next phone?

Team Oli vs Team Matt Summer Kickabout Results

The summer has been drawing to an abrupt close, so Matt and I thought we should face off to see who’s all talk and who can actually deliver when it comes to football. The location was a hard basketball/4 a side football court near a local Sainsbury’s supermarket, and the teams were Oli and Joel vs Matt, Peter and Damir. The weather was cool with a light wind and the support was minimal, to say the least. The rules were standard football rules except that you can’t shoot from your own half. There was also some confusion over tackling, with Matt accusing Oli of implementing a ‘no tackling in the opposition’s half’ rule, which effectively rules out a comeback from the losing team, so the rule was eventually abolished and play resumed, a few minutes in.

15 minutes a half ended up to prove a little too long, and the scoreboard got out of hand within only the first couple of minutes. It was, to the surprise of many, that Oli and Joel took the lead initially by making the most of slack passing from the opposition, but then the extra man really told and they were able to come back and take a 3-1 lead. After this, they opted (somewhat ironically, given the manner in which the conceded the majority of the goals) for the ‘Barcelona passing style’, and they each took on an alias – Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.

This new technique seemed to work out for the team at first, and while they were still full of energy, they were able to maintain possession impressively and tire Oli and Joel, who kept switching from being in and out of goal. However, a Pepsi later, and the rejuvenated combination was able to claw itself back into the match, but consequentially leaving itself very open at the back. By this time, goals were flooding through, and the score got to an incredible 11-9 at half time in favour of Matt, Peter and Damir, who had been ahead f0r most of this time thanks to a flurry of goals from Damir.

A brief pause, and a switch of ends later, and normal play was resumed, with many more goals, getting more spectacular each time, being scored. But it appeared that Team Matt was tiring, and twice Oli and Joel were able to get on level terms, only to see themselves pegged back again and again. Oli was lucky to stay on the pitch thanks to lenient refereeing from opposition player Matt, after a handball that prevented a goal, but it was lucky for the match that he was only given a yellow, for 3 on 1 would have meant the end for Team Oli. Then, with his team ahead by two goals, Matt decided to take the resultant free kick himself, but somehow manage to balloon the shot well out of the grounds – resulting in an additional 3 minutes added on at the end. After returning, he somehow managed to pick up a spot of cramp but was able to overcome it to finish the game. With the score delicately poised at 20-18 to Matt’s team, Oli and Joel were able to combine brilliantly to force a 19th goal, and a shocking defensive mishap allowed Oli in again to equalise in the dying seconds and send the game to penalties. Final score: 20-20.

With only two players on the team, Oli and Joel had a lot of work to do. Oli and Damir were the designated keepers, and both were unable to keep out the first two efforts, including a truly remarkable effort from Peter. However, by the time Damir stepped up for his first kick, one could see he was not confident. His shot went straight at Oli, who gratefully kept it out of the goal. Every remaining kick was dispatched, with Oli hitting the winning kick. Matt requested an additional shootout, but Oli and Joel were having none of it, and they retired with a satisfactory victory with one fewer players. Oli and Joel win 5-4 on penalties.

Ratings:

Matt’s Team:
Matt – 6.5 – Played through the pain of a broken toe, and showed flashes of brilliance but also some patches of rustiness after not having played football for a few years. “That was possibly the worst pass… ever”
Damir – 7.5 – Matt’s Team’s best player by a mile, and current top goalscorer. He was involved in every move, and was instrumental and energetic throughout.
Peter – 6 – The team will not forgive him in a hurry for the early slip up that allowed Oli’s Team to take an early advantage, nor will they be terribly happy that he only turned up to the match a few seconds before kick off, but his inch-perfect penalty in the shootout and awareness to nick goals off the opposition showed why they shelled out all that money to sign him back in January.

Oli’s Team:
Oli – 6.5 – Became tired and predictable quite quickly, and was not always able to offer his team-mate the best options. However, he honed his finishing skills with some neat finishes, notably a few from very tight angles, and he performed admirably in the shootout. A mixed bag, to say the least.
Joel – 7 – Selfless as ever, Joel also put in a perfect shootout performance and scored some of the more important goals for his side and deserved to be on the winning side despite being seemingly unable to head the ball throughout the match.

Will Microsoft Gain from Samsung (& Google)’s Loss?

Samsung has been ordered by a court of law to pay Apple $1b due to patent infringements present in many of their devices, including some of their most popular phones and tablets. It was alleged that Samsung had copied Apple’s appearance and indeed I think this was the correct ruling, even though I do not wish to encourage the already abusive Apple with even more money.

But this result has lead many speculators to suggest that Microsoft may be an unexpected beneficiary, because shockwaves will have been sent throughout the Android industry, instilling fears within OEMs about the OS and the chances of a similar fate occuring to them in the near future. As a result, it was claimed that these crucial OEMs, including HTC and Huawei, will seek to put great emphasis on product differentiation and producing products that aren’t lookalike iPhones (which, for the record, don’t even look all that great). Indeed, Apple CEO Tim Cook held up a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone and announced that this was an example of how not to copy. This was a hugely important moment, and it follows numerous Apple related people who have stated their admiration for the Lumia line and Windows Phone as a OS.

Samsung will have to take a significant hit initially, but if there was one company in the Android space that could take that it, it’s them. If, in the long run, this results in them producing more diversified products, I don’t see where the complaints would come from. Google will probably be the biggest losers, despite not directly being involved in the court case, because their OEMs will surely lose some confidence in the OS, and if that aids Microsoft in their push to bring Windows Phone more into the market, along with the imminent release of Windows 8 alongside it, I think everyone else will benefit from the increased competition. The Android OEMs will all be in a fairly similar position, and so I doubt any one particular one will suffer, although I suspect those already supporting Windows Phone will be given a headstart. LG must be feeling pretty silly right now. Microsoft execs took to Twitter to share their glee at the result of the trial and why shouldn’t they?

Oli

 

I’m selling my Iomega 1TB external hard drive

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271043774805?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1156

Hi all, I’m selling my external hard drive to make the most of my laptop’s USB3.0 port, but I will be offering it at a very reasonable price indeed on eBay, please take a look if you’re at all interested. It’s been owned for a couple of years but is in excellent (as new) condition. It’s sturdily built and has served me very well over the years.

Oli

Don Broco @ Camden Barfly (gig review) 13.08.2012

This was probably the best gig I’ve been to, and it was the album release show that you had to preorder the album to win tickets to. Luckily, I won the tickets and headed up to Camden eagerly anticipating a great show, as I’d seen them (supporting) before, and they were excellent. It was perhaps a shame that the gig was on the same day as the album came out, because many of the new songs weren’t too well known, and they said that they couldn’t play every song on it yet because they’ve not learnt them all!

The doors were open at 7:30 and they had us waiting around until nearly 9:00, but boy was it worth it. It was good to meet some other people with similar music taste and I think everyone had a good time – even my +1 who didn’t know the band at all (he’s a ‘gig whore’).

It was a great shame that they only played for a little over an hour, but to be fair they only have one album and one EP and a few additional songs, so it was understandable. I’m quite glad there were no supports, because Don Broco were exhausting! The atmosphere inside the Barfly was incredible, and the songs were performed faultlessly.

These guys are doing so well on the UK iTunes rock chart and are getting national radio and BBC coverage too, so hopefully they’ve got a good future ahead of them, and I’ll be proud to say I’ve seen them twice already.

9/10