We Love Technology - Winner Of I.T. Consultants Of The Year By Prestige Awards 2021
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Wow is the very word that best describes this moment for We Love Technology.
We Love Technology is so proud and amazed to hear the incredible news from South West England Prestige Awards. As we @ We Love Technology received personal phone call from Chris @ Prestige Awards UK. And broke the news. Astonishment And happiness filled the office. Even Chris could hear it in our voices. Two win such an award. Is a huge. Huge moment. We love Technology is awarded *I.T. Consultants of the year* 2020 /2021 by Prestige Awards. This award has taken much hard work. And offering the very best expertise and support from the industry through We Love Technology. But through that continued hard work and always looking for the best solutions that make for the most impressive I.T. results. Has lead to the recognition by the amazing Prestige Awards UK here @ We Love Technology. |
Working Abroad during a Global Pandemic
Photo Left: Online meeting with Aoife Corbett from Ocuvo On behalf of Chatterjee Opticians Exeter while I'm away working in the Canary Islands. Our office is still staffed in Bovey Tracey Devon UK.
Working abroad during a Global pandemic is no laughing matter. There are hotels in the Canary Islands requiring Tech upgrades during their shutdown.
In any given day I might meet an armed security guard doing their rounds but apart from that the place is a ghost town.
Which means for a speedy mesh WiFi network upgrade for the hotels as I can move around freely.
As for my personal safety I have rented a bungalow and have my food delivered. Its a fairly lonely experience but I can't take the risk of dining out in one of the few remaining restaurants. If I keep to myself the risk is at least limited. Upon my return home I have entered the test to release scheme and have a private test waiting for me. Its not been easy organising what to me would be a routing work trip in the current climate.
Someone has to do the job though and I can leave it to the local tech firms or get myself out here. I take the safety of the people around me very seriously so will not be returning to office duties in the UK even after a private test confirms I am Negative. I am happy to wait out the full 10 days to be super sure I am safe to enter the office in Bovey Tracey.
Its not irresponsible to be travelling during a Pandemic. As a tech guy I was used to travelling to our European clients, with the advent of Covid and lockdowns we played our part in supporting the NHS and once the air bridge opened I was then approached and offered the work in the Canary Islands. In many ways its an honour to be offered jobs like this, so I had to take up the challenge and do some good work.
As I write this, its 24'C and Sunny. The warm weather is doing me the world of good after months and months of being cooped up between the office and home. It's been so long since I have gotten out, so let me enjoy this brief moment of sunshine before I isolate back in blighty.
Working abroad during a Global pandemic is no laughing matter. There are hotels in the Canary Islands requiring Tech upgrades during their shutdown.
In any given day I might meet an armed security guard doing their rounds but apart from that the place is a ghost town.
Which means for a speedy mesh WiFi network upgrade for the hotels as I can move around freely.
As for my personal safety I have rented a bungalow and have my food delivered. Its a fairly lonely experience but I can't take the risk of dining out in one of the few remaining restaurants. If I keep to myself the risk is at least limited. Upon my return home I have entered the test to release scheme and have a private test waiting for me. Its not been easy organising what to me would be a routing work trip in the current climate.
Someone has to do the job though and I can leave it to the local tech firms or get myself out here. I take the safety of the people around me very seriously so will not be returning to office duties in the UK even after a private test confirms I am Negative. I am happy to wait out the full 10 days to be super sure I am safe to enter the office in Bovey Tracey.
Its not irresponsible to be travelling during a Pandemic. As a tech guy I was used to travelling to our European clients, with the advent of Covid and lockdowns we played our part in supporting the NHS and once the air bridge opened I was then approached and offered the work in the Canary Islands. In many ways its an honour to be offered jobs like this, so I had to take up the challenge and do some good work.
As I write this, its 24'C and Sunny. The warm weather is doing me the world of good after months and months of being cooped up between the office and home. It's been so long since I have gotten out, so let me enjoy this brief moment of sunshine before I isolate back in blighty.
*Client Spotlight* - Krissy Spiller Show Jumping Arena Designer
Krissy is the Show Jumping Arena Designer for The Devon County Show. - We take care of all her Tech Security from her phone to her laptop.
The system she uses to create showjumping courses is Digital Course Design, it allows her to set the arena to scale, lay out different tracks quickly and easily depending on the level of competition and measure the length of the course to give the time allowed for the horse and rider to complete the track in.
Plans produced this way ensure tracks fit into arenas and gives the best possibility they will ride well and can be altered into different courses efficiently.
Plans are also more professional looking than drawing up with pen and paper as we used to!
You can contact Krissy via email: krissyspiller@hotmail.co.uk
The system she uses to create showjumping courses is Digital Course Design, it allows her to set the arena to scale, lay out different tracks quickly and easily depending on the level of competition and measure the length of the course to give the time allowed for the horse and rider to complete the track in.
Plans produced this way ensure tracks fit into arenas and gives the best possibility they will ride well and can be altered into different courses efficiently.
Plans are also more professional looking than drawing up with pen and paper as we used to!
You can contact Krissy via email: krissyspiller@hotmail.co.uk
Motorcycle Live 2019
We Love Technology Supporting Kawasaki Racing @ 2019 British Superbikes
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We love Technology and Superbikes.
Proud to support Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing in the last British Superbike Race of the 2019 season @ Brands Hatch. We got our Tech setup nice and early and spent the rest of our weekend between VIP and the track. We wish the best to Bournemouth Kawasaki as they are leaving British Superbikes in order to have a new dealership. |
Sarah Cox Interiors - *Client Spotlight*
Sarah Cox Interiors is a local design consultancy based in Chudleigh. With over 20 years of experience, Sarah offers a professional interior design service, for commercial and residential clients across the UK.
Combining creativity with a practical approach to space planning and comprehensive product knowledge, Sarah Cox Interiors will guide you through your project and help you realise your vision.
Services offered are building surveys, CAD drawings, space planning, mood boards, 3D models/visuals, related working drawings, branding, and photography. A broad skills base enables a tailored service to suit your exact needs.
After studying Spatial & Interior Design at Newcastle College of Art, Sarah has worked on numerous projects across the country, including cafes, restaurants, independent retailers, department stores, hospitality, education, leisure and office design. Sarah’s local projects include the Pink Moon Café in Exeter, Dainton Golf Club’s Oak Room restaurant, Trinity Primary School library, the club house at Dawlish Warren Golf Club, and Amos Lighting + Home in Topsham.
Sarah will help you to maximise the potential of your interior, and believes that “investment in your environment not only demonstrates to your clients that you care about your business but also makes for happy employees. This, in turn, makes for greater productivity, therefore it’s a win-win situation”.
Whether you are thinking of a full refurbishment or a simple facelift, get in touch with Sarah Cox Interiors for an informal chat.
www.sarahcoxinteriors.co.uk
Tel: 07788426530
Combining creativity with a practical approach to space planning and comprehensive product knowledge, Sarah Cox Interiors will guide you through your project and help you realise your vision.
Services offered are building surveys, CAD drawings, space planning, mood boards, 3D models/visuals, related working drawings, branding, and photography. A broad skills base enables a tailored service to suit your exact needs.
After studying Spatial & Interior Design at Newcastle College of Art, Sarah has worked on numerous projects across the country, including cafes, restaurants, independent retailers, department stores, hospitality, education, leisure and office design. Sarah’s local projects include the Pink Moon Café in Exeter, Dainton Golf Club’s Oak Room restaurant, Trinity Primary School library, the club house at Dawlish Warren Golf Club, and Amos Lighting + Home in Topsham.
Sarah will help you to maximise the potential of your interior, and believes that “investment in your environment not only demonstrates to your clients that you care about your business but also makes for happy employees. This, in turn, makes for greater productivity, therefore it’s a win-win situation”.
Whether you are thinking of a full refurbishment or a simple facelift, get in touch with Sarah Cox Interiors for an informal chat.
www.sarahcoxinteriors.co.uk
Tel: 07788426530
We Love Technology @ Devon Air Ambulance Ride Out 2019
Temperatures were just right. Absolutely no rain in site. More motorcycles in one place than you can count.
Charity like this is always worth raising money for. The Ride takes place once a year in our part of Devon.
Devon Air Ambulance is a service we very much take for granted yet when there is an emergency for someone who has gotten into an accident and need to be rushed to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth the Air Ambulance can take you there in 15 minutes from any location in Devon.
These guys play a very important role in society. It was a fantastic ride out. Organisers picked great roads. Every biker got to the finishing point @ Teignmouth safely.
We Love Technology are pleased to have raised money for Devon Air Ambulance. We feel proud to have supported British charity helping very important medical service.
''Charity Starts At Home'' - https://www.daat.org/
Charity like this is always worth raising money for. The Ride takes place once a year in our part of Devon.
Devon Air Ambulance is a service we very much take for granted yet when there is an emergency for someone who has gotten into an accident and need to be rushed to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth the Air Ambulance can take you there in 15 minutes from any location in Devon.
These guys play a very important role in society. It was a fantastic ride out. Organisers picked great roads. Every biker got to the finishing point @ Teignmouth safely.
We Love Technology are pleased to have raised money for Devon Air Ambulance. We feel proud to have supported British charity helping very important medical service.
''Charity Starts At Home'' - https://www.daat.org/
White Rose Tarmacadam with BBC DIY SOS
White Rose Tarmacadam are a new client to We Love Technology in 2019. We met through a member of staff that recommended us (thanks Diane). Both White Rose and We Love Technology just clicked and we have enhanced their I.T. systems and security.
We are super impressed that they offered their services to the BBC program DIY SOS - The Big Build Torquay as broadcast on 23-05-2019 Click HERE for link.
We love that White Rose Tarmacadam is a female owned business in a male dominated trade.
White Rose Tarmacadam had big jobs booked into their diary but made space to help a family that was less fortunate than most of us. Fantastic!
Checkout their website www.whiterosetarmacadam.com
We are super impressed that they offered their services to the BBC program DIY SOS - The Big Build Torquay as broadcast on 23-05-2019 Click HERE for link.
We love that White Rose Tarmacadam is a female owned business in a male dominated trade.
White Rose Tarmacadam had big jobs booked into their diary but made space to help a family that was less fortunate than most of us. Fantastic!
Checkout their website www.whiterosetarmacadam.com
Quattro Kawasaki Oulton Park British Superbikes
We were given VIP access to the Quattro Kawasaki Race Team at Oulton Park Circuit for the Second Round of the British Superbikes 2019.
Their I.T. systems might soon be getting an overhaul from We Love Technology as we have done with a small Indy Endurance Racing Team.
What an amazing crew Bournemouth Kawasaki have put together to run their Quattro Plant Sponsored Race Team, we were especially pleased to meet Glenn Irwin and James Hillier who were racing but kindly took the time to chat with us about the weekends racing.
We also got to meet Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood who rode the Quattro Kawasaki sidecar.
Their I.T. systems might soon be getting an overhaul from We Love Technology as we have done with a small Indy Endurance Racing Team.
What an amazing crew Bournemouth Kawasaki have put together to run their Quattro Plant Sponsored Race Team, we were especially pleased to meet Glenn Irwin and James Hillier who were racing but kindly took the time to chat with us about the weekends racing.
We also got to meet Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood who rode the Quattro Kawasaki sidecar.
We Love Technology Sponsored Race Team Achieves Third Place
Whats even more exciting is we have been given the trophy by the race team to keep, as a thanks for all our support.
In the 2018 Season the Team only won one trophy. But gained valuable telemetry data. Now in 2019 in the first Championship of the year, they took third place. This is a team that Loves Technology and its helping them.
Donington Park Circuit on the 23rd March and 42 riders headed out on a three hour endurance race. Being a Solo team they ran one motorcycle and three riders, only coming into the pits to re-fuel and change riders, tyres. Other teams split the race between two motorcycles and shared a transponder. So a real David and Goliath Endurance Race.
In the 2018 Season the Team only won one trophy. But gained valuable telemetry data. Now in 2019 in the first Championship of the year, they took third place. This is a team that Loves Technology and its helping them.
Donington Park Circuit on the 23rd March and 42 riders headed out on a three hour endurance race. Being a Solo team they ran one motorcycle and three riders, only coming into the pits to re-fuel and change riders, tyres. Other teams split the race between two motorcycles and shared a transponder. So a real David and Goliath Endurance Race.
March 2019 - Another Energy Efficient Month
Makes me proud to see low energy bills. Being in credit while the number one resource we consume is electricity.
Its not like we work in the dark, the office lights, heating, warehouse lights, servers, fridge,. kettle, phones, CCTV systems and of course all the computers are in use daily.
Either way, it bring a smile to my face knowing how hard we have worked to decrease our energy usage, which in turn is taking some load off of the UK power infrastructure..
Its not like we work in the dark, the office lights, heating, warehouse lights, servers, fridge,. kettle, phones, CCTV systems and of course all the computers are in use daily.
Either way, it bring a smile to my face knowing how hard we have worked to decrease our energy usage, which in turn is taking some load off of the UK power infrastructure..
March 2019 - Pre Season Testing in Spain
There is nothing quiet like putting your race motorcycles in a crate and flying them over to Spain for a bit of pre-season testing while the UK freezes!
We were not able to travel with the team due to work commitments, however we did have video chats throughout each day of testing and downloaded the data from the motorcycles all the way from Bovey Tracey in the UK, the team tested different tyre brands (loosing 2 seconds per lap with one brand!), brake pads and gearing modifications.
The circuit chosen was Cartagena in Spain (more info HERE) which is right on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. No Limits Racing were there in force with nearly every team in attendance. Just the logistics operation alone is staggering.
Team Rat Pack Racing were sporting their new livery for We Love Technology in Cartagena.
In 2018 Team Rat Pack only raced in one Championship. For 2019 we have expanded into 4 Championships. With the start of the 2019 only two weeks away, the team really benefited from their time in Spain testing.
All the data collected in Spain shows the adaptations have improved from the 2018 data sets.
There is a lot of risk this year, covering 4 Championships is going to see Sparks Fly as the team battle teams that have motorcycle engines prepared by some of the biggest names in racing but the team hope that our consistent approach to racing and the fact that we love racing in the rain, will have the team bringing home a trophy or two.
We were not able to travel with the team due to work commitments, however we did have video chats throughout each day of testing and downloaded the data from the motorcycles all the way from Bovey Tracey in the UK, the team tested different tyre brands (loosing 2 seconds per lap with one brand!), brake pads and gearing modifications.
The circuit chosen was Cartagena in Spain (more info HERE) which is right on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. No Limits Racing were there in force with nearly every team in attendance. Just the logistics operation alone is staggering.
Team Rat Pack Racing were sporting their new livery for We Love Technology in Cartagena.
In 2018 Team Rat Pack only raced in one Championship. For 2019 we have expanded into 4 Championships. With the start of the 2019 only two weeks away, the team really benefited from their time in Spain testing.
All the data collected in Spain shows the adaptations have improved from the 2018 data sets.
There is a lot of risk this year, covering 4 Championships is going to see Sparks Fly as the team battle teams that have motorcycle engines prepared by some of the biggest names in racing but the team hope that our consistent approach to racing and the fact that we love racing in the rain, will have the team bringing home a trophy or two.
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February 2019 - Energy Efficient Business
We are proud to show you our electricity bill for January 2019. a £51.37 credit !
Working hard to be an energy efficient business is starting to pay off.
We use solar panels to help power and heat our Office/Workshop.
Inside the workshop we use LED lighting and ceramic heating throughout the premises,
When we first moved in to the premises our electricity bills per month were around £170 but installing Solar Power and changing all lighting to LED has certainly made a huge difference. We also monitor each section in the workshop for energy usage.
We can not grantee to be in credit every month with our electricity but when it happens its a proud moment, especially as February has been a very cold month so the heating and lighting systems have been in use every day.
Either way, we are doing our part for the environment and national grid. We plan to keep innovating and will always look at ways to be an efficient and ecologically minded business.
*feeling very proud of this achievement*
Working hard to be an energy efficient business is starting to pay off.
We use solar panels to help power and heat our Office/Workshop.
Inside the workshop we use LED lighting and ceramic heating throughout the premises,
When we first moved in to the premises our electricity bills per month were around £170 but installing Solar Power and changing all lighting to LED has certainly made a huge difference. We also monitor each section in the workshop for energy usage.
We can not grantee to be in credit every month with our electricity but when it happens its a proud moment, especially as February has been a very cold month so the heating and lighting systems have been in use every day.
Either way, we are doing our part for the environment and national grid. We plan to keep innovating and will always look at ways to be an efficient and ecologically minded business.
*feeling very proud of this achievement*
February 2019 - Geo Tracking
Recently I have taken up Geo Tracking. While it may seem controversial as we all like to assume an element of anonymity when using our mobile devices. Everything we do online leaves a digital fingerprint, so I have set out on a mission to figure out how to access these 'fingerprints' and then geo-locate the device.
It sure wasn't easy. These digital fingerprints we all leave behind are hidden within multiple layers
Every device has a unique Mac Address. Be it a phone, tablet or laptop the network card (be it GSM, 4G or just WiFi) all have unique mac addresses. Its a unique identifier that governments use in order to track us, Plus manufacturers use it to identify batches and I have been figuring out how to track!
Mac addresses are used by google to identify you 'as safe' when signing into an account. It's why you don't have to continually input your passwords. Yet if you change devices you'll automatically be prompted to re-enter your password and you will get an email advising you of the second sign in attempt. eBay, Amazon, Yahoo etc - they all capture your unique Mac Address so for instance you can use one-click ordering on you home computer or tablet and Amazon knows its the correct mac address that usually orders goods. Try signing in on a friends computer and you'll be able to add to basket, but no one click ordering, this is because Amazon don't recognise the mac address of the new computer and although you think you are placing an order, your order is paused while they perform an security check on your credit/debit card with a trial authorisation before processing the actual order rather than instantly fulfilling the order.
Tracking Mac addresses wasn't easy at all. They are covered in layers upon layers of other mac addresses. As an example, when a sign-in request leaves your device, it has your devices network adapter’s Mac address, but as the request leaves your home router or 4G networks tower modem, they in turn add their mac address, which then as the request goes further upstream to your internet service providers router or mobile phone operators ISP’s router, they add their mac address, then as the request it moves from the ISP’s router to another via other router out on the internet, it contains the MAC address of the ISP’s router! Aww! What a mess. - Up until this point I didn't have a reference for filtering the mac addresses and sorting through them. I say I didn't, but I do now. Literally it was a stroke of genius! I needed a google login API, and there is was just sat there ready for me to buy! developers.google.com/identity/ I bought the sign in component and set it up. Over the first couple of days I needed help from the Devs over at Stack Overflow they helped me pick my way through generating a script that could filter and stack Mac Addresses in reverse order while generating geo location of each. All you do is follow the trail right back to the original Mac address, from that point on, I needed to buy the next most powerful sign in system, that of Facebook developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-login/ if you think about it Google and Facebook love their users to stay signed in on their devices. But having both APIs and routing them through Stack Overflows code didn't go to plan, I just kept generating errors, the two systems are incompatible, I either had two separate servers or needed a super computer in order to pass commands to in order to them split them between Google and Facebook. This part took the longest, literally 10 days before I found a co-located server solution I could rent online. I don't know why it didn't come to be sooner but I was so adamant the two API logins should live in side by side servers on the same rack mount that I forgot to just go with it.
So, no only do mac addresses come in layers of other Mac addresses but so geo locating comes with layers and layers of code and two separate systems co located on a server farm in Norway of all places. To be fair it was not an instant success, some fine tuning was required and even today I would estimate it takes an good four and a half minutes to get a geo track via an account sign-in. The issue here is 'interaction', what I get get is the location of the mac address at the time it interacted with the google/Facebook systems but that doesn't mean it's a 'live' track. Mostly its good enough with a 10-20 meter GPS position of the original computer/mobile phones mac address at the time of interaction, so I can look it up on google maps. It has been a huge undertaking and its still ongoing. I am not a native coder so I kinda struggled with the basics at first but there is a huge community of really knowledgeable people over on security.stackexchange.com that with a day of posting, you'll receive a well structured and informative reply, which I always found lead me to the next code-headache! Ha ha! - The adventure continues.
It sure wasn't easy. These digital fingerprints we all leave behind are hidden within multiple layers
Every device has a unique Mac Address. Be it a phone, tablet or laptop the network card (be it GSM, 4G or just WiFi) all have unique mac addresses. Its a unique identifier that governments use in order to track us, Plus manufacturers use it to identify batches and I have been figuring out how to track!
Mac addresses are used by google to identify you 'as safe' when signing into an account. It's why you don't have to continually input your passwords. Yet if you change devices you'll automatically be prompted to re-enter your password and you will get an email advising you of the second sign in attempt. eBay, Amazon, Yahoo etc - they all capture your unique Mac Address so for instance you can use one-click ordering on you home computer or tablet and Amazon knows its the correct mac address that usually orders goods. Try signing in on a friends computer and you'll be able to add to basket, but no one click ordering, this is because Amazon don't recognise the mac address of the new computer and although you think you are placing an order, your order is paused while they perform an security check on your credit/debit card with a trial authorisation before processing the actual order rather than instantly fulfilling the order.
Tracking Mac addresses wasn't easy at all. They are covered in layers upon layers of other mac addresses. As an example, when a sign-in request leaves your device, it has your devices network adapter’s Mac address, but as the request leaves your home router or 4G networks tower modem, they in turn add their mac address, which then as the request goes further upstream to your internet service providers router or mobile phone operators ISP’s router, they add their mac address, then as the request it moves from the ISP’s router to another via other router out on the internet, it contains the MAC address of the ISP’s router! Aww! What a mess. - Up until this point I didn't have a reference for filtering the mac addresses and sorting through them. I say I didn't, but I do now. Literally it was a stroke of genius! I needed a google login API, and there is was just sat there ready for me to buy! developers.google.com/identity/ I bought the sign in component and set it up. Over the first couple of days I needed help from the Devs over at Stack Overflow they helped me pick my way through generating a script that could filter and stack Mac Addresses in reverse order while generating geo location of each. All you do is follow the trail right back to the original Mac address, from that point on, I needed to buy the next most powerful sign in system, that of Facebook developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-login/ if you think about it Google and Facebook love their users to stay signed in on their devices. But having both APIs and routing them through Stack Overflows code didn't go to plan, I just kept generating errors, the two systems are incompatible, I either had two separate servers or needed a super computer in order to pass commands to in order to them split them between Google and Facebook. This part took the longest, literally 10 days before I found a co-located server solution I could rent online. I don't know why it didn't come to be sooner but I was so adamant the two API logins should live in side by side servers on the same rack mount that I forgot to just go with it.
So, no only do mac addresses come in layers of other Mac addresses but so geo locating comes with layers and layers of code and two separate systems co located on a server farm in Norway of all places. To be fair it was not an instant success, some fine tuning was required and even today I would estimate it takes an good four and a half minutes to get a geo track via an account sign-in. The issue here is 'interaction', what I get get is the location of the mac address at the time it interacted with the google/Facebook systems but that doesn't mean it's a 'live' track. Mostly its good enough with a 10-20 meter GPS position of the original computer/mobile phones mac address at the time of interaction, so I can look it up on google maps. It has been a huge undertaking and its still ongoing. I am not a native coder so I kinda struggled with the basics at first but there is a huge community of really knowledgeable people over on security.stackexchange.com that with a day of posting, you'll receive a well structured and informative reply, which I always found lead me to the next code-headache! Ha ha! - The adventure continues.
January 2019 - The Magnificent 12 Draw
Each month I have been watching the credit/debit card processing fees increase.
As I watched them creep up, I wondered how I could reduce them and give something back to our clients, so *The Magnificent 12* was created for clients that pay by BACS (a lot of businesses already do). This way we get to give away a new piece of tech and the clients get to pay us in a way that helps bring down the fees we get hammered with.
My favourite part is going to be be the video draw where I get to read out the client's business names and then scratch off the winning number. I just know I am going to love advertising their business while giving away a piece of tech I would like to own myself.
Okay, my next fav bit is picking each draws prize. I love tech, so each draw I will try and choose something fab.
I based the budget on 60% of the card fees we currently pay. So each draw should net a fairly good technology prize!
It's going to feel good to hand out prizes to clients that are in turn helping us to keep our card processing fees down.
I even had to think up some Terms and Conditions, so the draw is fair and balanced.
As I watched them creep up, I wondered how I could reduce them and give something back to our clients, so *The Magnificent 12* was created for clients that pay by BACS (a lot of businesses already do). This way we get to give away a new piece of tech and the clients get to pay us in a way that helps bring down the fees we get hammered with.
My favourite part is going to be be the video draw where I get to read out the client's business names and then scratch off the winning number. I just know I am going to love advertising their business while giving away a piece of tech I would like to own myself.
Okay, my next fav bit is picking each draws prize. I love tech, so each draw I will try and choose something fab.
I based the budget on 60% of the card fees we currently pay. So each draw should net a fairly good technology prize!
It's going to feel good to hand out prizes to clients that are in turn helping us to keep our card processing fees down.
I even had to think up some Terms and Conditions, so the draw is fair and balanced.
Customers on Motorcycles
Huge Fans of Motorcycles here at We Love Technology - and it's always a pleasure seeing motorcycle turn up at our office.
Motorcycle Live 2018
We are HUGE Motorcycle fans. So we headed to Motorcycle Live at the NEC in Birmingham to support CCM Motorcycles and to see the latest offerings for 2019.
CCM Motorcycles had a Spitfire on their stand and offered guests a cockpit tour, there were test rides, apparel and so much more. It was true motorcycle heaven.
All the major manufacturers were present and we were able to talk to their engineers and network with other industry professionals such as software designers for modern motorcycle canbus systems. Below are just a few of the photo we took during our visit.
CCM Motorcycles had a Spitfire on their stand and offered guests a cockpit tour, there were test rides, apparel and so much more. It was true motorcycle heaven.
All the major manufacturers were present and we were able to talk to their engineers and network with other industry professionals such as software designers for modern motorcycle canbus systems. Below are just a few of the photo we took during our visit.
GDPR the right way - November 2018
GDPR is the pain of every business owner. You think you have gotten it right with the help of experts to then find out you have great big gaps, to which if persecuted could cost tens of thousands of pounds in fines. So we enlisted the help of Sam Alford from PPP Management who came to our premises and built a comprehensive GDPR system with documentation. With easy to update sections, processes and walk-through's future modifications will be a no-fuss event.
You can contact Sam via her website www.pppmanagement.co.uk
You can contact Sam via her website www.pppmanagement.co.uk
Premises 'Hardware' Security Upgrades - November 2018
While we are good with software it seemed the only thing I had forgotten was the good old smash-and-grab. We have multiple Bio-metric cameras with night vision, Heat and Movement sensors but when it came to ram raids there was not anything more we would do in-house. So we met with Windows of Distinction in Teignmouth who came over and offered us a raft of security enhancements, from toughened triple laminated anti-smash glass to enhanced UPVC locks, extra window locks, steel re-enforced internal security doors plus bollards for the main workshop door. So should a van or lorry come into violent contact with the door there are 4 huge 2m deep heavy duty bollards waiting to mangle any approaching vehicle.
When the day of install came, I was so pleased with the professional nature of their staff. They found previous bodges, worn out parts and replaced and repaired without making extra jobs out of the faults they found. They sent in 2 vans and a team of 4 who transformed our business 'hardware' security.
We confidently recommend Windows of Distinction to any home or business owner that wants to improve their real-word security.
When the day of install came, I was so pleased with the professional nature of their staff. They found previous bodges, worn out parts and replaced and repaired without making extra jobs out of the faults they found. They sent in 2 vans and a team of 4 who transformed our business 'hardware' security.
We confidently recommend Windows of Distinction to any home or business owner that wants to improve their real-word security.
Providing World Class I.T. to Motorcycle Racing Teams - October 2018
We are big fans of motorcycles here at We Love Technology. So bringing technology to motorcycle racing teams was a logical progression. We support many independent and professional teams in the UK.
Our role starts as simply as constructing websites, setting up social media, we also setup team computers so they can collaborate wherever in the world the team members are based, right through to being on-site at race days to ensure the race teams and their guests have access to timings and telemetry from their racing motorcycles.
Photo left is a small indy team called Team Rat Pack who race in the No Limits Endurance Racing Series We met Team Rat Pack when they had just formed their team and worked with them at each race event. They went from 20th overall in the standings to position 6 in the overall standings within 4 races. They also won the 8 Hour endurance race for a solo team (only using one motorcycle, where other teams used multiple motorcycles throughout the 8 hours).
Team Rat Pack is a brand new team in 2018 and using Technology coupled with some serious track skills they are on track to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2019 season of racing.
When an independent team uses world class technology to optimise their strategy and communications, other team principals quickly took notice and now we work for many different teams throughout motorcycle racing series in the UK. But were are always big fans of the underdog, working for a WSB team is a great honour but the new small teams that have a huge battle ahead of them, that is the real front-line racing and the real tech of technology.
Let us take the stress out of your technology by setting your team up from scratch with communications, collaboration and security technology.
Our role starts as simply as constructing websites, setting up social media, we also setup team computers so they can collaborate wherever in the world the team members are based, right through to being on-site at race days to ensure the race teams and their guests have access to timings and telemetry from their racing motorcycles.
Photo left is a small indy team called Team Rat Pack who race in the No Limits Endurance Racing Series We met Team Rat Pack when they had just formed their team and worked with them at each race event. They went from 20th overall in the standings to position 6 in the overall standings within 4 races. They also won the 8 Hour endurance race for a solo team (only using one motorcycle, where other teams used multiple motorcycles throughout the 8 hours).
Team Rat Pack is a brand new team in 2018 and using Technology coupled with some serious track skills they are on track to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2019 season of racing.
When an independent team uses world class technology to optimise their strategy and communications, other team principals quickly took notice and now we work for many different teams throughout motorcycle racing series in the UK. But were are always big fans of the underdog, working for a WSB team is a great honour but the new small teams that have a huge battle ahead of them, that is the real front-line racing and the real tech of technology.
Let us take the stress out of your technology by setting your team up from scratch with communications, collaboration and security technology.
iMac 27" SSD Upgrade - September 2018
Opening a modern iMac is a dangerous job. The computers are bonded together (glued). So opening one needs an element of finesse and attention to detail. I am proud that I use quality tools from iFixit and Snap-On. Inside of this immaculately presented iMac I found a lot of dust, so rather then fit the drive and get paid. I took the time to fully dissemble the iMac, clean the boards with iso and wipe out the aluminium Uni-body. I don't use 1mm 3M tape, I use custom cut tape that is an exact fit. I have opened enough Mac's to know everything is about taking your time and using exact fit parts.
The end result was an iMac running a Samsung 500GB SSD with Windows 10 and OSX duel boot.
This upgrade saved the owner from buying a new iMac, the performance even when video editing is night and day compared to its old 1TB fusion drive.
This is not a fun job, a whole lot can go wrong and I am forever being brought iMacs that have been butchered by a well meaning friend or a heavy handed tech. I so love it when the end result is a repair and another iMac saved from going to the rubbish tip. I like my clients to have as long a life span as possible with their computers.
The end result was an iMac running a Samsung 500GB SSD with Windows 10 and OSX duel boot.
This upgrade saved the owner from buying a new iMac, the performance even when video editing is night and day compared to its old 1TB fusion drive.
This is not a fun job, a whole lot can go wrong and I am forever being brought iMacs that have been butchered by a well meaning friend or a heavy handed tech. I so love it when the end result is a repair and another iMac saved from going to the rubbish tip. I like my clients to have as long a life span as possible with their computers.
July 2018 - Ocean BMW Torbay Bike Shack
BMW are investing in Torbay with the build of a new Mini BMW Cars and Motorrad Dealership on the old Torquay Road. The best bit for me is a three storey Motorrad Centre!
For the moment Ocean BMW have a small Motorrad "Torbay Bike Shack" selling new and used BMW Motorcycle and other brands. They are happy to consider any brand in P/X. All Used ‘Other Brand’ Motorcycles come with a 1 year parts and labour warranty and all used BMW Motorcycles come with a 2 year Warranty (just like a new motorcycle).
You can find them along the old Torquay Road HERE
Ocean Motorrad Bike Shack
Coventry Farm Industrial Estate
Newton Road
Torquay
TQ2 7HX
Telephone: 01803 873 746
Mon-Fri 08.30 - 18.00
Sat 09.00 - 17.00
Sunday Closed
Web: www.oceanbmwbikes.co.uk
Email: motorrad.torbay@oceanbmw.com
For the moment Ocean BMW have a small Motorrad "Torbay Bike Shack" selling new and used BMW Motorcycle and other brands. They are happy to consider any brand in P/X. All Used ‘Other Brand’ Motorcycles come with a 1 year parts and labour warranty and all used BMW Motorcycles come with a 2 year Warranty (just like a new motorcycle).
You can find them along the old Torquay Road HERE
Ocean Motorrad Bike Shack
Coventry Farm Industrial Estate
Newton Road
Torquay
TQ2 7HX
Telephone: 01803 873 746
Mon-Fri 08.30 - 18.00
Sat 09.00 - 17.00
Sunday Closed
Web: www.oceanbmwbikes.co.uk
Email: motorrad.torbay@oceanbmw.com
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July 2018 Supporting the Devon Air Ambulance Ride-out
We are BIG fans of the work the Devon Air Ambulance does to assist injured motorcycle riders.
So to help them raise funds they organise a ride-out once a year. It is an event that see's thousands of motorcycle riders attend.
Its a worthy event and if you ride a motorcycle do give thought to attending
More Info: HERE
So to help them raise funds they organise a ride-out once a year. It is an event that see's thousands of motorcycle riders attend.
Its a worthy event and if you ride a motorcycle do give thought to attending
More Info: HERE
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July 2018 - I am no fan of Heights
The mobile phone signal at our office is awful. It's one of the things I regret not checking more thoroughly before moving in.
There are only so many phone calls and emails you can send to O2 before loosing your mind in frustration.
So today I got up on the roof and installed a 2G mobile repeater. This takes the weak mobile signal passing over the top of the office, amplifies it, cleans up the signal and re-broadcasts it.
I won't say this kind of technology is cheap but missing phone calls was costing money in itself.
So up I climbed, Its got to be 60+ft *I am designed to be land based not up with the birds* So health and safety checks, then begin the climb up the ladders.
The equipment installed and cables tidied, I then setup the repeater in the workshop.
For the first 10 minutes nothing much happened, the repeater calibrated itself, then calibrated some more...
We went from 1 bar with no-service and dropped calls to 5 bars and crystal clear call quality in a matter of minutes.
What's also important to me is we are friendly to our neighbours so I opened the repeater to their mobile phones too.
Lets hope that I do not have to climb up onto the roof again for a very long time...
There are only so many phone calls and emails you can send to O2 before loosing your mind in frustration.
So today I got up on the roof and installed a 2G mobile repeater. This takes the weak mobile signal passing over the top of the office, amplifies it, cleans up the signal and re-broadcasts it.
I won't say this kind of technology is cheap but missing phone calls was costing money in itself.
So up I climbed, Its got to be 60+ft *I am designed to be land based not up with the birds* So health and safety checks, then begin the climb up the ladders.
The equipment installed and cables tidied, I then setup the repeater in the workshop.
For the first 10 minutes nothing much happened, the repeater calibrated itself, then calibrated some more...
We went from 1 bar with no-service and dropped calls to 5 bars and crystal clear call quality in a matter of minutes.
What's also important to me is we are friendly to our neighbours so I opened the repeater to their mobile phones too.
Lets hope that I do not have to climb up onto the roof again for a very long time...
July 2018 - Dark Web Sessions
Dark Web Sessions are coming soon to welovetechnology.co.uk - You have heard about the dark web on the news, radio and social media. I want to show you around the dark web in a controlled and safe environment. My aim is to explain to you what the dark web really is, who built it and how it is structured. During the session I will be accessing the Dark Web LIVE so you can see it for yourself. These sessions are not to make you to use the dark web, they are designed to educate and inform. There is nothing to be scared about, and there will not be any pornography shown (you can get that without the dark web). But you're about to get a crash course in Computer/Tablet/Phone Security and a few LIVE examples of computer/tablet/phone hacking. Dark Web sessions start in July 2018, they are evening sessions that last one hour.
June 2018 - To Tip or not to Tip?
We may not be digging up roads or building sky scrapers in I.T compared to other careers but we do work long hours on complex issues for our clients. We tried an experiment recently. On the front counter we put a tip jar. We picked three jobs each week at random and told the customer just to put what they thought "the job was worth" in the tip jar.
Its an experiment that can back-fire easily. A friend's business tried the same experiment earlier this year. They put a tip jar on the front desk and picked random customers, again telling them to put into the jar what they thought the job was worth. One customer was going to be invoiced £168, in the tip jar they put £19 (Outch!). A week later they selected another customer and again offered for the customer to place a tip in the jar instead of getting an invoice. The job was going to charge out at £90 and the tip was just £20. Showing that their customer did not value the business or the effort they put into their repairs. - A costly experiment but it taught the business owner that their customers either didn't understand the value of a repairs or they were not valued as a business. It made my friend begin to detest his customers. I argued that maybe they didn't understand how difficult some repairs can be, after all its not Lego, you don't just pop a piece off and pop a new piece on. Weeks after the way he talks about his customers changed, over drinks or a meal he would mention putting £20 on their bill because he thought they looked at him wrong.
So when it came to me doing the same experiment, I was worried. My head told me I was just wasting money and have staff and rent to pay on the premises so not to take a change on loosing any revenue. My heart wanted to know if I was valued or not. I delayed doing this experiment for a good two months as every time I was about to go through with a tip jar, I stopped before I could pick it up and move it to the front counter, Thoughts raced through my mind of doing a repair and getting pennies in return.
Two months I wrestled with this experiment. I wanted to do it, I didn't want to do it. Then randomly one Thursday I placed the tip jar on the counter and said to myself the next person to walk through the door gets the choice. Leave a tip of pay an invoice. Before I could take the jar away a gentleman walks through the door with an MacBook requiring a new hard drive, darn it. These jobs cost a fair big of money in parts and while replacing the drive I told myself the experiment isn't going to be used on this job. There was no way I was handing a new hard drive and my labour to a stranger in the hope of getting a £20 note popped into the jar.
I was in the workshop when the customer returned and as I walked up to the counter ready to whip out the card machine.
And that's exactly what I did. I took out the card machine, placed it on the counter. I talked the client through the repair. I showed the gentleman his MacBook working and that I had copied across his files, photos on to the new drive, I then handed him the old hard drive, picked up the card machine and placed it in front of the gentleman. I then flipped it to tip mode. I said to the gentleman just pay us what you think the job was worth in the form of a tip. He thanked me and typed onto the keypad £400 - I saw the amount come up on the screen on my terminal and had to stop the gentleman right away. I was so humbled by this gesture. I couldn't take the £400 from him and explained the experiment while hastily preparing an invoice for a lot less money,
Over subsequent weeks of testing the tip method with a tip jar and Tip mode on the terminal every single time the client input or paid more that I was expecting. It was a humbling experience and one that made me aware that I had created a business that is respected by its clients, new and existing.
I don't know what else to say but if I ever need a boost, I think back to running this experiment.
Its an experiment that can back-fire easily. A friend's business tried the same experiment earlier this year. They put a tip jar on the front desk and picked random customers, again telling them to put into the jar what they thought the job was worth. One customer was going to be invoiced £168, in the tip jar they put £19 (Outch!). A week later they selected another customer and again offered for the customer to place a tip in the jar instead of getting an invoice. The job was going to charge out at £90 and the tip was just £20. Showing that their customer did not value the business or the effort they put into their repairs. - A costly experiment but it taught the business owner that their customers either didn't understand the value of a repairs or they were not valued as a business. It made my friend begin to detest his customers. I argued that maybe they didn't understand how difficult some repairs can be, after all its not Lego, you don't just pop a piece off and pop a new piece on. Weeks after the way he talks about his customers changed, over drinks or a meal he would mention putting £20 on their bill because he thought they looked at him wrong.
So when it came to me doing the same experiment, I was worried. My head told me I was just wasting money and have staff and rent to pay on the premises so not to take a change on loosing any revenue. My heart wanted to know if I was valued or not. I delayed doing this experiment for a good two months as every time I was about to go through with a tip jar, I stopped before I could pick it up and move it to the front counter, Thoughts raced through my mind of doing a repair and getting pennies in return.
Two months I wrestled with this experiment. I wanted to do it, I didn't want to do it. Then randomly one Thursday I placed the tip jar on the counter and said to myself the next person to walk through the door gets the choice. Leave a tip of pay an invoice. Before I could take the jar away a gentleman walks through the door with an MacBook requiring a new hard drive, darn it. These jobs cost a fair big of money in parts and while replacing the drive I told myself the experiment isn't going to be used on this job. There was no way I was handing a new hard drive and my labour to a stranger in the hope of getting a £20 note popped into the jar.
I was in the workshop when the customer returned and as I walked up to the counter ready to whip out the card machine.
And that's exactly what I did. I took out the card machine, placed it on the counter. I talked the client through the repair. I showed the gentleman his MacBook working and that I had copied across his files, photos on to the new drive, I then handed him the old hard drive, picked up the card machine and placed it in front of the gentleman. I then flipped it to tip mode. I said to the gentleman just pay us what you think the job was worth in the form of a tip. He thanked me and typed onto the keypad £400 - I saw the amount come up on the screen on my terminal and had to stop the gentleman right away. I was so humbled by this gesture. I couldn't take the £400 from him and explained the experiment while hastily preparing an invoice for a lot less money,
Over subsequent weeks of testing the tip method with a tip jar and Tip mode on the terminal every single time the client input or paid more that I was expecting. It was a humbling experience and one that made me aware that I had created a business that is respected by its clients, new and existing.
I don't know what else to say but if I ever need a boost, I think back to running this experiment.
