Internet Category Archive

Shopping online – tips and advice

12 Replies Christopher Roberts

When shopping online, there are loads of things to look out for, and loads of ways to get a better deal. In this article I hope to share some of the experience I have got from shopping online, and some of my tech knowledge in order to help you get a better deal – what you want, at a reasonable price.

The first thing to say is that what you are shopping for, is crucial to how to go about buying it.

Virtual Goods

If you are buying an online or ‘virtual’ good/service, then the key thing to check is that you are buying from a reputable firm. Checking the firm is reputable and reliable is key for all online shopping, but especially so if you are buying something virtual – e.g. a website, anti-virus software, access to a game, music etc.

There are a few ways you can go about checking if online firms are reputable. The first is to see if the firm exists in reality, do they have shops in the real world, or are they totally online? Firms with physical property are less likely to be fraudulent, as they are easy to find and locate. Totally online firms can be just as reputable, look at the likes of Play.com and Amazon.

Play.com's LogoThe second way to get an idea of whether a firm is reputable or not is to check their stats. Does the site have a good Alexa rank – top 500,000? If not, people may not be visiting the site for a reason: it has just been set up, and after a few quick cons will be gone. You can check the history of the site using the Way Back Machine for more info on its past.

The third way is a much less reliable way, but can be useful to back up your decision. Try looking at the websites PageRank. If they have say a PageRank 3+ homepage, they are more likely to be legitimate than a site with all PageRank 0’s. People link to shop websites when they buy things and then review them, so shops should acquire PageRank. If they have no PageRank, they may still be legitimate, but check, as that may mean they have not been trading for long, therefore have just set up to scam, and will be shut down soon.

Finally are they a big name. Say you are buying anti-virus direct from the supplier. Most people have heard of the likes of Kaspersky, Sophos and Norton, but if the company is called something like ‘SpywareBeGoneSolutions’ then they are a lot less likely to sell you a good product, if any product at all.

Kaspersky's LogoFinally, when checking that the firm you are going to buy from is going to give you the product(s) you want, watch the news, or research them on news sites! Is the firm about to go bust or being run by administrators? If so, buying from them may lead to you loosing your money!

Services

If you are buying a service, such as a holiday, insurance or a meal at a restaurant, then there are loads of really useful sites that can help you, by giving you an incite into what others thought of that service.

Say for example you are buying a holiday, you can use websites like TripAdvisor.com to see if the place you are looking at staying at has positive reviews. If not, you can maybe choose somewhere else. Be careful though, as sometimes these sites can be misleading, as Jonny recently wrote about.

There are other websites too like MoneySavingExpert.com and Yelp, which can offer similar services for other things like insurance, banking, restaurants, shopping etc. MoneySavingExpert.com is especially worth a look, as aside from reviews, they can give really good advice, to help you save money when buying all sorts of things.

Products

The key to ensuring you get value for money and what you want when buying products online is to make sure you read what other people think about it. Reviews are really useful, and can help you determine which product is right for you.

Don’t be afraid to venture out of the companies website itself, and look for more reviews elsewhere online. Some firms will only publish the positive reviews they receive on their own site, in order to try to persuade more people to buy that product, from them.

A really important bit of advice is not to discount the high street, it can still be a very good place to buy things. Often things are cheaper online, however you can usually see and sometimes try products when in a shop, whereas online, all you have is pictures and possibly video.

Once you know the product is for you, make sure that you shop around. Find the best deal using price comparison sites like MoneySupermarket.com and PriceRunner.com.

Once you have your product and the shop, don’t forget to go to coupon sites to see if you can get an even better deal. Sites like MyVoucherCodes usually have some great discount offers, you just need to look.

To conclude

In summary, when shopping online, make sure that you are buying from someone reputable. Make sure the product or service is what you want. Check out other peoples reviews. Look for the best deal, and then finally don’t forget to check if there are any vouchers that could further slash the cost.

Hopefully these tips have been useful, good luck shopping online!

How to proceed in the age of big data?

4 Replies Jonny Hankins

A couple of weeks ago I read an article in the New York Times about the age of big data, and today at a science and technology conference I got into a conversation about the same thing with a US public health official.

Much has been written (and I am a guilty party) about Google’s quest for information, including allegations of infringements of privacy etc, but not all of this capability should be seen in a negative light. I would like to give you a few examples of why.

A wealth of data

Google collect all of the search terms used by every user and categorize them. Let’s take a hypothetical situation. You are director of a large hospital inManchester. What can Google tell you about your job? Well probably a lot, let’s say that this week there is an enormous peak in the search terms “Flu symptoms” used across the Greater Manchester area, or “rash on back and neck”. Indirectly the knowledge of these search trends tells you that you should prepare your hospital, because late next week you will have a massive influx of patients with the Flu or some other contagious disease as it takes hold of the population.

This information is potentially lifesaving, as one of the main problems with epidemics is they come out of nowhere and so health centres are not properly prepared.

Search terms can also give an indication of how the housing market will behave too, with a rise in searches for houses in a certain area being reflected 6 months later in new sales. The type of house searched could also improve planning, as developers would see what people were looking for and where.

Analysts and programmers are currently working on how to expand on the simple examples above using search terms as wider indicators, a system called ‘sentiment analysis’ looks particularly promising.

This form of analysis looks at terms used during on line communication and categorizes them in terms of their sentiments. The logic is that in an area that is prospering terms will be generally positive, but in an area that is threatened by demise, such as the closure of industry or other societal problems, the terms will differ. This is not dissimilar to the conversation analysis sociologists use to obtain a person’s own sentiments about their position in life, with their true feelings reflected in the terms they use without thought. The hope is that an accurate analysis of this type might signal unfolding problems before they become a reality so that action can be taken in specific areas to avoid social breakdown.

I have addressed these issues in more depth on the Bassetti Foundation website, but want to conclude by saying the following; in my posts I have often raised the issue of data collection as a problem, and collection of personal data for advertising or any other purpose for that matter does raise serious ethical issues, but here Google et al could be sitting on a mine of extremely useful and possibly globally important data if the technology and political will is developed to use it correctly.

Five Web Alternatives to Desktop Applications

9 Replies Nishadha

I’m a big fan of web based applications. I don’t have anything against desktop applications, but there are many limitations with desktop software, especially for someone who like me who is constantly on the move. Higher cost, platform dependence, installation problems (space, hardware, buggy installers) are a few of the reasons I try to avoid desktop applications.

My reluctance to use desktop applications led to me using a few highly useful web alternatives. Mentioned below are the five which I find the most useful.

Aviary Tools

If you are looking to edit images then this is the perfect tool for you.  It’s a great alternative to desktop image editors like Photoshop, Illustrator etc. It has a comprehensive set of tools to do all sorts of things with your image.

You can import your own images to do some quick changes and help text pops up from time to time to ease the process. It has a comprehensive set of tools for vector editing and even audio editing. Try Aviary Tools.

Creately

Creately is a diagramming application that is a great alternative to software like Microsoft Visio and Omnigraffle. It supports technical diagrams like flowcharts, UML and business diagrams like organization charts, mind maps etc.

Creately's LogoIf you are looking to draw a quick flowchart or an organization chart then this is the tool to do it. It also has online collaboration support, meaning you two people can work together in the same diagram, excellent if you are working with clients that are in different locations. Check out Creately.

WobZip

As you will probably guess by the name, this is a great alternative to software like WinZip. It supports popular file types like ZIP, RAR and as an added bonus scans the files for viruses as well.

Most downloads are packaged as zipped files so this is an extremely useful tool to have. The best thing is, you don’t have to sign up or provide you email just to get the file. Try WobZIp.

Google Docs

I consider this a must have tool for anyone. It’s a great alternative to Microsoft office and offers controlled sharing with others as well. You can prepare documents, design slideshow presentations, create spreadsheets and much more.

As mentioned, the online sharing ability makes it very easy for many people to work on the same document. You do need a Google account to use the service, but most people have one these days, so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Check out Google Docs.

Wunderlist

Wunderlist is the latest addition to my online tool set. Wunderlist is an online to do list manager, which also has some cool additional features which makes it very productive. If you want they provide desktop applications for many devices that automatically sync with your online account.

You also have the ability to share lists with other users. This is especially useful if you are working with few others on some small tasks. You can easily see what they have completed and what needs to be done. Try Wunderlist.

Mentioned above are five tools that have helped me become more productive and efficient in my day to day work.  There are hundreds more web alternatives out there so if you can think of a similar one make sure to mention in the comments section. In the meantime try out these services and enjoy the freedom of web based applications.