Not a transport post. After much dithering, I’ve made the switch to iPhone. I’ve used Android phones for ten years. If I’m honest a lot of that was due to the price. Midrange Android phones seemed like better value for money. But they also have a short life. 2 years then you replace them because ... [More]
Not a transport post. For those who only visit for those, sorry – I’ll have something meaty for you in a few days. Having just ranted on vaccines, here’s something else that may be controversial. When I was a kid, the tech debate was which home computer was best. Nowadays, it’s operating systems. Mac OS ... [More]
Last year the government announced that Myki would be coming to mobile phones. Early testing happened late last year, and last week PTV opened up the trial to up to 4000 participants. The technology allows you to load a “virtual” Myki card onto your Android phone within Google Pay, and use it for travelling on ... [More]
The State Government has announced a trial of a mobile phone app for Myki. The Age: Farewell myki cards? Trial for app to let you touch on with your phone PTV: Mobile myki trial State Government: Mobile Myki Trial To Begin Here’s what we know about the trial. Will it mean the end of Myki ... [More]
A reminder that despite how it may sometimes seem, not all my blog posts are about transport. If you want to view only the transport posts, try here. For convenience, this link is also on the menu at the top, under Transport. Over the years I’ve had many mobile phones. Here’s an update to that ... [More]
For anybody with an NFC (Near Field Contact)-compatible phone (such as my new Google Nexus 5), you can use the this little app — Tag Info Lite to read Myki cards. Not that it’ll tell you very much — see below. All the actual useful information appears to be encrypted. Apparently in some parts of ... [More]
Inspired by Andrew’s post a few months ago, here’s a list of the mobile phones I’ve had over the years. Ericsson GH198 (from 1994). It had a twirly antenna that could be flat against the main part of the phone, or twirled around and up to make calls. I seem to recall it cost me ... [More]
How do they fix or upgrade a mobile phone tower? With a very big crane, that’s how. It wouldn’t be a job for someone with a fear of heights. In my family, my sister gave up her landline when she moved last year, and in her household now relies totally on mobile phones for making ... [More]
Need to leave. Where’s my phone? Not on the counter. Not on my bedside table. Not on the desk. Not on the kitchen table. Not on the dresser. Not on the couch. Look again in all those places. Not found. Really need to go. Reach for home phone. Dial mobile number. It rings. It’s in ... [More]
Fifty years ago the people waiting on this bench might have been smoking — now they’re all fiddling with their phones. It’s long been thought that mobile phones might be replacing cigarettes: Teenagers may be getting healthier because mobile phones are replacing cigarettes as a symbol of rebellion and fashion. Clive Bates, Ash director, suggested ... [More]
Clearing out some old books, I found this from 1997. It’s a Telstra brochure explaining a new product they’re introducing: the “SMS Text Message Service.” Front cover: Middle pages: Back page: Everything was new once upon a time, right? From the brochure (and this matches my recollection), initially messages could not be sent between operators. ... [More]
A while back I gave eldest son my old (but quite capable) mobile phone, and got him a SIM card that looked to be a reasonable cheap basic prepaid phone service: Woolworths Everyday Mobile. This worked fine until early October when the phone stopped working. Or to be precise, the SIM stopped working. We tried ... [More]