More cost-saving data tips to make you even app(ier)

Data saving advice

EVERYONE is aware of the standard ways in which to reduce data costs on your smartphone. You can connect to Wi-Fi when it is available, switch data services off completely or avoid downloading massive apps or updates when you are on 3G or 4G.

But here are three more ways to save you may not have been aware of:

Change your map app – Apple Maps and Google Maps have offline modes but with very limited turn-by-turn based features. Try changing to TomTom SA (Android and iOS) or CoPilot (Android and iOS). These two apps feature full offline navigation and will reduce your data bill substantially if you are heavily reliant on GPS.

Change your mail app – if you receive e-mails with large attachments or fancy signatures you can be sure they are using a lot of data to arrive on your phone. Best to change to Dropbox Mailbox (Android and iOS) or CloudMagic (Android and iOS) to save on data.

Change your web browser – Try changing to Opera Mini (Android and iOS), which compresses websites before sending them to your phone.

The Google Chrome app also has a data saving feature – tap the three dots in the app to open the settings page and tap data saver to turn data saving on or off.

Philips carpet LEDs

The Dutch tech company is set to begin shipping and installing LED-enhanced “Luminous Carpets” throughout North America.

Each Luminous Carpet section features a thin layer of LED lights underneath a layer of specially designed, “light transmissive” carpet. When the lights are on, they shine straight through; when they are off, they disappear completely. Philips claims the carpets are rugged enough to handle spills, cleaning and ample foot traffic without the LEDs malfunctioning or overheating. Philips claims that the LEDs are built to last 20 years or more.

Reasons for poor internet speeds of late

A lot of my clients have been complaining of poor internet connectivity and service lately. Official word from the internet service providers involved lists the following root causes:

Telkom’s aggressive maintenance and upgrade timeline may cause temporary disconnections;

Eskom load-shedding may damage your router or modem;

Telkom has increased line speeds tremendously, but not all exchanges have received co-responding upgrades. This has likely resulted in congestion at various points in some of Telkom’s exchanges;

Some ISPs (internet service providers) may not correctly manage the bandwidth they have bought from Telkom. All of this has caused an increased number of support calls, which ISPs have struggled to clear;

Telkom service levels are lower due to a labour dispute with call centre staff.

Elon’s Powerwall

The sun does not shine at night and the wind doesn’t blow all year-round – these are the issues raised by all of those opposed to the progress of renewable energy.

But Elon Musk recently paved the way for some great innovations when he introduced to the world his sleek new Powerwall – a wall-mounted energy storage unit that can hold 10kWh of electric energy, and deliver it to consumers at an average of 2kW, all for $3 500 (R42 140). The Powerwall system offering is targeted at domestic users. It is complemented by a commercial system termed the Powerpack, offering 100kWh storage, and a stack of 100 such units to form a 10MWh storage unit. An amazing achievement from the CEO of Tesla and South African-born Musk.

Bradley Millar is a technology adviser and founder of future TECH – offering personal support in Port Elizabeth and abroad.