Welcome to Blackberry 10, putting the smart into Smartphone.

Reboot, slow, brick, unresponsive, these are words which have commonly been linked to the current stock of blackberry, which users have been accustomed to.

Having owned a blackberry I’ve had the urge on numerous occasions the smash it against a wall, and trust me I was very much tempted to, but like a fight with a family member or loved one, at the end of the day it’s hard to part with.

I have been a blackberry critic for a long time, you know the type that doesn’t offer any constructive feedback but just complains, but how the tables have turned at the advent of the latest offering by rim, known as Blackberry 10 with the introduction of new hardware and a new intuitive operating system.

Remember when Apple iPhone launched the new iPhone 5 along with its new iOS6 saying that they not only improved but re-developed and re-designed the OS? To me it looked pretty much the same. Apple needs to learn what the terms re-developed re-designed and re-invented means from RIM as the new device and software has completely changed what you once thought of Blackberry, yet still staying true to reliability, security and a somewhat familiar look and feel (keyboard).

If you’re not curious to know about the new Blackberry 10, then you will be missing out on a device which will once again revolutionize the mobile community the way Blackberry originally revolutionized it.

Welcome to Blackberry 10, putting the smart into Smartphone, like no other has done before. Below I have listed the standard features of the new Blackberry 10.

Blackberry World

The App World now incorporates music, video and apps all in one world. If your accustomed to the iPhone app store and android app store this will seem all to familiar to you, if not, then get ready to have your mind blown. The App World will work off a Blackberry ID which you will use for all purchases, one ID to rule them all.

Blackberry Balance

Control the perfect balance between your work and your personal life. Work ends at a specific time, why should your phone still keep you in the office when you don’t need to be. The same can be said for work, keep your work relevant when it needs to be with in one simple motion you can switch between different profiles which is unique to either work or personal, however that does not hinder you from using both profiles at the same time. You decide, you control and you create your own perfect balance between the two.

Blackberry Browser

A browser that adapts to how you use it, it takes note of how you share things, links, stories etc and it remembers, so that the next time you use it, it’s easier, quicker and tailored specifically to you.

Camera with time shift

Imagine a world where every picture was perfect, no missed smiles or closed eyes, especially in those group photos. Forget imagining it and play around with the new time shift camera of blackberry where imagining has become reality.

Blackberry Keyboard

A keyboard that may even prove to be better than a physical one, actually no wait, it is better. This keyboard pays attention to where you place your fingers for specific words and actually shifts the keys to suit you. For example, how many times have you hit the “O” key instead of “P”?

The keyboard also takes predictive texts to an entirely new level where if you see a word hovering above a key which you would like to use, you simply slide it up.

Blackberry Hub

Think of the Blackberry Hub as the control room of the Starship enterprise, everything can be found here and everything can be run and viewed via the hub, all social media accounts, emails, reminders, it’s all in there in an impressive looking package.

Peek and Flow

Peek and Flow is incorporated into every single aspect of the Blackberry 10 OS. Peek allows you to do just that, to peek into your HUB from any application, check if you have new messages or notifications, if you do simply go directly into them, if not, then just continue with the current app.

Flow brings it all together, it’s multi-tasking on steroids, actually no, it’s multitasking the way it should be, perfect, fluid and seamlessly

Verdict

Blackberry has once again changed the way things are done, it’s way too soon to right them off. Once I have the blackberry device I will keep you updated on day to day use.  Blackberry 10 is ‘make or break’ for RIM, so you can bet they are putting everything and anything into their latest work of art. The official launch takes place on January 30, 2013.

Thats my 99cents!

Mitcheku

NO SUCH THING AS A FREE DEBIT ORDER SWITCHING AT FNB

Yes believe it or not there is no such thing as free debit order switching, unless of course you do it yourself, because guess what!? It’s already a non chargeable service. Do not fall for the bells and whistles of a PR marketing scheme to get you to switch your bank “JUST” because it offers free debit order switching.

So this is my blog on how the “FREE” debit order switching to date has cost me about R1500.

I opened my FNB account on 31 July at the Grassy Park branch with Mrs. Adam who I had informed I was not sure at the present time of the debit orders which had to be switched and she informed me that on the application she would select “no debit order switching” but that I can come any time to then arrange for the debit order switching.

A few days later, 10 August 2012, I went to FNB Grassy Park and provided a 3 month bank statement as requested so as to see which debit orders need to be switched. A girl named Kouther assisted me because Mrs. Adam who initially opened the account for me had been busy with other clients. Kouther did not seem interested in assisting me and said that I could do this online since I have been registered for online banking, I then told her that well I am already here and we might as well do it now. She then got the forms which I then completed with the aid of my 3 month bank statement from Standard Bank highlighting all my debit orders. She took the forms and informed me that it would be faxed off.

On 27 August I started receiving calls about failed debit orders, which then took me about 2min to change telephonically to my now current FNB gold cheque account. However as a result of all the debit orders going off I have now incurred banking charges at standard bank. Resulting in a cost of about R900 this includes my service fee of R99 which deducting this has given me debit order charges of over R700 each failed debit order costing about R111 if I am not mistaken.

If I had known this was the case I would have

a) Arranged for my own debit order switching and

b) Closed my standard bank account.

I have asked FNB when I joined “should I close my standard bank account” and they advised me not to do so. As a result Standard bank refuses to close or change my account until it is paid in full which results in more service fee.

After enquiring about the matter and emailing RB Jacobs (FNB Twitter Account) I was contacted by Mishka from the FNB Grassy Park branch who then informed me that there was no record of me coming into the branch on 10 August 2012 and no record of filling in any debit order switching forms. This prompted me to then visit the branch which I had done on 13 October 2012. I had spoken to Mishka and to Mrs. Adam as well as to Kouther who says she has never seen me before in her life and that there was no way that she had assisted me with anything, this took me by surprise because I knew for a fact that she had assisted me. I was then questioned whether I was at the branch and whether I was sure that it was Kouther who had assisted me. I then told them I will try and find the exact date that I was there when she assisted me as I was unsure. I then asked them to check video footage to verify that I had in fact been there and that I had filled in those forms. Both Mrs. Adam and Mishka had told me that I am right in my case and that I should be reimbursed for the debit order charges on my Standard Bank account. When I said that I wanted to lay a formal complaint against Kouther all of a sudden Mrs. Adam and Mishka became tense and it seems as if they did not want me to lay a formal complaint, this was just what I picked up from their body language.

I then went to Standard Bank and pulled a 3 month bank statement which I again submitted to FNB.

The following day I was called by Mishka saying that they need an exact date and time that I was in the branch; I had assumed it was Saturday 11 August. They phoned me back and informed me there was no record of me at the branch, the next thing I done was to log into my Standard Bank internet banking account which stated when I had requested a 3 month bank statement, which was 10 August 2012. I then phoned Mishka back and gave the exact date as well as the time and she informed me that they would get back to me if they find anything. About 2 hours later I phoned Mishka to find out if they have found anything, her response was that the footage gets checked by management and not by them but she would inform me. I phoned on Friday 26 October 2012 and was told that both Mishka and Mrs. Adam would be off until Monday however I left a message that I had called. It is now Monday 29 October 2012 and at 15:15, I have already phoned the FNB Branch for Mishka but told she was on lunch and again left a message that I have called.

This in my opinion is totally unacceptable for an amazing bank that is applauded for their initiative, easy banking facilities, cutting edge technology and innovation. I believe the service I have received from the FNB Grassy Park branch namely Kouther is a slap in the faces to Michael Jordan, RB Jacobs and the rest of the FNB team especially after winning the 2012 BAI – Financial Global Banking Innovation Award for the most innovative bank in the world.

I am an unhappy client. The next time you decide on which bank to switch to please do yourself the favor and do not let the bells and whistles be the deciding factor in your decision.

Thats my 99cents!

Mitcheku

Draft Policy on Youth Wage Subsidy

This draft is meant as a guideline and not an official policy. It is open to debate and constructive critique. This draft is unbiased and is a means to resolve an ongoing dispute by allowing unions/political parties and the workforce. This is a short draft and I encourage you to add to it.

1. The Youth Wage Subsidy (YWS) is not there to replace the current work force.
2. The youth candidate will only be at an organization for no more than 2 years however may not leave within the first 6 months unless the candidate has transgressed company policy or the policy of the YWS.
3. No current permanent employee will lose employment based on the employment of a Youth Candidate.
4. Should the Youth Candidate be made a permanent employee then they fall outside the framework of the YWS.
5. A unit needs to be established to monitor and facilitate the Youth Candidate. This unit would form a separate human resources function.
6. This unit should be independent of any political union or party.
7. The Youth Candidate needs to complete a portfolio of projects based on what they have studies or the career path they wish to follow.
8. It will also be the responsibility of the company to ensure that the portfolio of the Youth Candidate is completed.
9. Each portfolio will be unique to a specific career field.

That’s my 99cents.

Mitcheku

No Political SRC

03 April 2012

No Political SRC

One of the biggest downfalls of any student body or representative council in my view is that they have political allegiances. No I’m not saying you are not allowed to belong to a political party.

Politics influences the SRC’s within South Africa. SRC’s are being run and supported as if they are the jungle gyms and playgrounds of the next politicians, yet a bit more vindictive than child’s play.

We sit in a situation where two political parties are at each other’s throats constantly, much like the DA and the ANC, however these two parties are not the big guns of the political word, and they are parties within a tertiary institution. Spending majority of the time fighting each other and abusing funds rather than actually doing what they are meant to which is, representing students.

There have been attempts by independent candidates to gain seats within the SRC which I feel is a step in the right direction only to be bullied out of running or to be amalgamated within one of the parties.

Are we really going to be playing these political games? Who does it benefit? Definitely not the students!

If politics were left out an SRC so much more could be achieved, both on an academic and a social level.

Many students are simply not interested in running for the SRC because of the politics involved, yet they complain the most when these SRC members and their loyal followers of about 100 out of 32000 students start disrupting classes.

The solution? Why don’t you run as an independent? Gain your support, get your campaign going and motivate many more to also run independently.

Don’t just be students who go to class, obtains a national diploma and has no positive impact on the Tertiary institution.

Don’t just be students who complain and never attempt to solve the problem.

Don’t just be SRC members who want the title just for the prestige or status.

Do something, something positive!

That’s my 99cents.

Mitcheku

With Great Power Comes Great Corruption!

03 April 2012

With Great Power Comes Great Corruption!

I’m of the personal opinion that all democratic fighters are transformed once in government, and not for the better.

Is it a case of walking a mile in another shoe for them to realize what they were fighting was what they were to become eventually?

Now before you get your knickers in a bunch, I’m not saying there are causes not worth fighting and I’m not saying there were tyrants who had to be overthrown. I’m looking at the evolution of a freedom/democracy fighter once the war has been won.

If we look at Robert Mugabe who fought off the British for the benefit of his people, of his country, for Zimbabwe, a noble fight, a fight that had to be won by his ZANU party. Zimbabwe gained their independence in 1980. Mugabe became President and yet today is still president and seen globally as a dictator, a monster a tyrant.

Coming home we look at the African National Party who had fought for years for the democracy of South Africa. Let me state again that this blog does in no means state that the fight for freedom was not just and needed. Growing up during the Apartheid regime I know all too well the need for the fight to become free and equal.

What I’m highlighting is now that the ANC is in power as the ruling party and in government do they still live by the values and ideals which represented who they were during the struggle?

Has power corrupted the ANC?

This is what I want you to think about, these are the questions I want to spark within you, you’ve been thinking it all along, maybe not said anything, but leave me a comment and let’s chat.

That’s my 99cents!

Mitcheku

Social Media creating unsocial behavior.

                                                                                      03 April 2012

Social Media creating unsocial behavior.

Yes we have all heard the saying that the world is getting smaller, and that technology has brought us all closer and since the creation of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, we have moved upward in leaps and bounds, and while we have gone up in leaps and bounds as humankind we have spiraled downward in unsocial behavior.

No longer does it seem strange to have someone pulling out a mobile phone at a club, a party or even in the company of friends. Try and think back to when last you had a face to face conversation with a friend of yours without looking at your phone ever so often to catch up on the latest tweet or facebook update. Tell me you have never snuck a peak at your mobile device while in a boardroom meeting.

Has social etiquette been replaced with a new form of digital etiquette where online social media requires more of your attention?

What would be the forms of digital etiquette?

1. Thou shall always reply to bbm’s/tweets/facebook asap irrespective of who’s company you’re in
2. Thou shall take a picture of the food once it arrives and upload it.
3. Thou shall take a pic of your dirty plate once you have devoured your food and upload it.
4. Thou shall develop sonar in order to read/reply/retweet updates on your mobile device while walking.
5. Thou shall let people repeat what they say, because let’s face it twitter moves fast and you have a captive friend sitting next to you.
6. Thou shall politely nod ones head in agreement even if all you hearing is gibberish while you update your status.
7. Thou shall tweet in class as often as you like and call it “recording the lecture”.
8. Thou shall always make sure there is a charger and a plug at hand, even at a club, party, friend or strangers house.
9. Thou shall have no shame in asking to use plugs or chargers at said club, party, friend or strangers house.
10. Thou shall drive and do status updates about the a%*$hole who cut you off while talking on their phone.
11. Thou shall take mobile pictures and upload them of people using mobile devices while driving.
12. Thou shall tell the lecturer/traffic officer/friend/stranger, “Just hold on a second while I tweet this”.
13. Thou shall become a social media troll should you choose to do so
14. Thou shall keep your mobile phone on you at all times.

Social media is transforming social behavior into that of unsocial behavior, if allowed to continue society will then accept the unsocial behavior as social.

Let’s face it we have all been guilty of some form of anti-social behavior because of social media, but do we let it change us? Change our values, our manners, our etiquette of social behavior?  

That’s my 99cents!

Mitcheku

What you SHOULD know about Blackberry!

What you SHOULD know about Blackberry!

Blackberry has taken the world by storm; the pun is really not intended, as the blackberry storm model was a feeble attempt at their first touch screen phone.

Nevertheless blackberry has flooded the market with a cheaper version of their business orientated phone, targeting the texters and social media fanatics of today.

I’m not going to bore you with the history of blackberry and rim and blah blah blah, I’m here to tell you like it is, my 99cents.

What appeals to well almost everyone who wants a blackberry is the service it offers, namely free internet, downloading, chatting, social media, uploading and of course Blackberry Messenger all free, well we can’t really say it’s free seeing as a service fee is being charged, however it is still cost effective.

What they sometimes fail to mention when you do purchase your blackberry is that you will be billed for any audio or video streaming, this is a fact! So for example going onto “youtube” and watching a video clip is chargeable. Listening to online radio/radio streaming, that is audio streaming and you will be charged. For those of you on contract I urge you to go through it come month end.

I personally own a blackberry and having worked at Vodacom in the Data division and dealing with blackberries, iphones and the rest on a daily basis I have discovered that most people who own blackberries are not informed of everything they SHOULD know, rather they are told what they WANT to know, but hey it’s a sales pitch, everything has to sound perfect doesn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong I’m not a blackberry hater, nothing could replace BBM for me and the contacts I have on there, the efficiency of emails and social media notifications, it is a brilliant device. The GPS on the device is pretty decent and fast on 3G models, I’m not too sure with regards to 2G but also it is dependent on whether you’re inside or outside, reception etc…

There is one major downside to blackberry that has me fuming though; it’s that deviously evil spinning clock which means your blackberry has just frozen… Now many loyal (blind – really what’s the difference) blackberry users will tell you “well it’s like a pc you have to reboot it and clear the logs”… don’t give me that crap, it should work every day non-stop without having to resort to that on a weekly or daily basis, it’s like buying a car that breaks down once per week, would you be satisfied with that?

The reason for this is that all applications are stored onto your onboard/device memory and cannot be stored onto your memory card, I have heard people mention that the new models has more onboard/device memory up to 8gigs if I’m not mistaken therefore resolving this issue, but what about all the other users who don’t have these newer models? Surely this is software related and a simple tweak can allow one to save applications to the onboard/device memory!

I did warn you I was not just going to highlight the good about this device, I’m not a salesman and I’m not planning on selling you a blackberry, but these are things you SHOULD know!

The Blackberry is an amazing device; the fact that you can share images, video clips with fellow blackberry users via BBM (Blackberry Messenger) is great. I don’t think people understand the usefulness or the power behind BBM!

BBM can be integrated with your GPS quite seamlessly, which means I could go into a chat with a friend who has to meet up with me somewhere in Town, I simply select “menu”, “send” and “location” a map then displays on my friends screen of where I am and once they click on it they can then navigate to the location via their own GPS, as simple as that!

I have also made use of the “voice notes” feature on BBM which allows me to have mini voice conversations with my BBM contacts; this is not audio streaming so it still falls within your monthly service fee.

Something else to keep in mind is that Vodacom will now cap your monthly 3G usage in a sense that exceeding 100mb of usage you will then be forced to use the much slower 2G connection, which is known as throttling.

The choice is yours as to whether you still want a blackberry!

That’s my 99cents!

Mitcheku

Google + Written in July 2011

Google + project

So I was tasked to do some research for the “google + project” which seems to be the new “buzz” word on social networking sites (pun definitely intended since googles previous social networking attempt known as “buzz” failed) aptly called the “facebook killer” by some.

I thought to myself, this sounds similar to a David vs. Goliath epic battle, this time one has to ask which is David and which is Goliath since the roles have seemed to change over the past few years. Google being a search engine giant, many have tried and many have failed to bring down this colossal search engine workhorse, think about it, how many people say mmmm lets “bing” it or lets “yahoo” it, nah many people say just “google” it!

Facebook on the other hand has taken the world by storm, I’m sure if there were extra-terrestrial life out there they would be on facebook and not on “google +” and that’s where I have to put on the proverbial brakes and admit that my argument is quite biased because I’ve become too accustomed to “facebook”. I wonder to myself if someone who was accustomed to “myspace” in 2004 wrote the same “titanic shall never sink” article about “myspace” vs. “facebook”. Hey I could be wrong and who knows “google +” could just be the “facebook killer”

Right so here I am at my desk and I figure the best way to learn about “google +” is to get some hands on experience, it’s as simple as having a gmail account, so they say!

So here I am logging onto google expecting to see some kind of tab or link for “google +” nada, nothing so next I try to google it and I get articles and some “youtube” clips and I figure it’s worth a look at a few videos on what google + is all about.

Unfortunately 100% of the information about “google +” I’ve gotten from “youtube” as it is quite impossible to log onto “google +”.

What I can tell you is that “google +” is a carbon copy of “facebook” except for two features which interest me quite a bit:

Social Circles

This allows you to group all your contacts into various categories i.e. friends, work, family etc…

You can name these groups or “social circles” to anything you like and easily drag your contacts to the “social circle” you wish them assigned in. Now you might be wondering what the big appeal about these social circles would be… well they might not get you in trouble at work, or perhaps family members. Similar to facebook “google +” offers you a feature to update your status, what differs though is that you could share this status with only specific groups/social circles, so for instance “man I got so drunk at work during lunch, I think I’m going to sneak off home while the boss is looking the other way” now a status like this on facebook would get you in allot of trouble especially if you have work colleagues on your “facebook account” or even your boss, this may even be grounds for dismissal. Well with “google +” you could send that very same status to a select group, let’s say to “family” or “buddies” and only they would receive it, the same applies to pictures and videos.

+1 no this does not equal 3, “+1” is a special feature within “google +” which allows you to add your google searches to your social feed. The way it works is when you do a google search certain searches would display a “+1” symbol allowing you to click on this item, what it then does is get added to your search favorites within “google +” let’s assume your interests are “blackberry”, “Sport”, and “music and they all have a “+1” simple which you have already clicked, right simple enough. These items have now become tabs on the left most column of your “google +” window allowing you to select whichever one you wish to view which updates in real time, this means you would receive live updates on sports results, latest music trends or the newest blackberry.

Bear in mind that this is a rough outline of these 2 features, which if you get some hands on experience you may find some other quite useful functions within “social circles” as well as “+1”.

I should also mention that “google +” is available on mobile however you first have to use a “desktop” to sign up. I’m sure with more top of the range mobile devices including apple ipads and blackberry playbooks you may not have this problem.

In my opinion “google +” has a good social networking platform, but what’s to stop “facebook” from incorporating some of these features? It is software after all and all software can be tweaked and upgraded. I don’t see why people would have both “facebook” and “google +” accounts and make use of both simultaneously as what is happening with “twitter” at the moment.

Perhaps in time “google +” will be a “facebook killer” but right now it’s too soon to say and only time will tell.

Thats my 99cents!

Mitcheku