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SWITCH OFF THE ANNOYING ADD-ONS If you use free software, you may well have come across something else being automatically included when you install an app. This is called ‘bloatware’ and, while usually more irritating than malicious, it would be nice not to have it. Enter Unchecky, a free app that unchecks tick boxes, even those ‘helpfully’ pre-ticked by the developer. That means you won’t agree to installing or joining anything without the chance to check it. Simple, but elegant.
www.unchecky.com
SAY GOODBYE TO CABLE MISERY Cables are one of the banes of the 21st century. inCharge thinks so too, so it makes tiny cables that clip onto your keyring. The inCharge 6 combines a micro USB, USB C and Lightning connection. A companion for a mobile power bank battery, and an end to that irritating collection of cables at the bottom of your bag. Well worth £15.
incharge.rocks
CONTROL YOUR OFFICE BY REMOTE Believe it or not, you already have a smart home/office – you just don’t know it. The Broadlink RM4 Pro is a remote control that can turn remote controls into smart devices, which you can control using your phone or voice assistants. It’s not quite as efficient as a direct connection, but it can make any remote controlled device part of your automated set-up and, at £40, its a lot cheaper than rebuying all your gadgets.
www.ibroadlink.com/
WRITING FOR REAL D
espite claims for decades that we are heading towards a ‘paperless office’, there is still no substitute for pen and paper when you’re taking notes. Writing
on a screen just isn’t the same – but handwriting in a notebook inevitably means typing it up later. Rocketbooks give you the best of both worlds. The pages are infinitely reusable, though you will need erasable pens (Rocketbook recommends Pilot’s Frixion range). Pages come in a range of formats, dotted and lined, and you can go for speciality layouts such as to-do lists and week planners. The clever bit is at the bottom of the page. There are six circles next to a barcode. Put a cross through
> Practical and portable C
hromebook devices get a rough ride sometimes but, if
you’ve not looked at them, this is the one to start with. Google’s Windows/Mac
one of the circles, open the Rocketbook app and take a photo of the page. It will automatically save the document in the place you chose. The destinations can be changed in the app, too. Rocketbook also supports optical character recognition so can turn your musings into proper text. Available in a range of sizes and layouts and in a
variety of covers, Rocketbook is the perfect marriage of analogue and digital. Prices start at £16.99 for an A6 jotter and up to £38.99 for an A4 planner.
www.getrocketbook.co.uk
The Lenovo Chromebook
alternative has come on in leaps and bounds in the past 18 months or so and, with the latest chips from MediaTek, the result is practical, functional and fun.
Duet is a 10 inch device that you can used as a tablet as well as a laptop. You can add an stylus for design work. It can run Office, Zoom and
pretty much anything else plus apps built for Android.
With a bit of configuration, it will run Linux apps too. While there are a few niggles – for example, there’s no room for a memory card— it provides very good value. Prices start at £279.
www.lenovo.com/uk
Chris Merriman on technology for journalists
POSH MUGS FOR HOT TEA M
unapologetically expensive, but their build quality and simplicity mean that they are likely to be with you for months and years to come. Consider it an investment at £99 for the smallest 10oz mug and up to £180 for the travel mug.
www.ember.com
theJournalist | 21
ost journalists seem to end up doing 17 things at once, and drinking your tea before it gets cold often takes second place.
Ember mugs contain a heating element, keeping your beverage at
exactly the temperature you like (adjustable with the app) for up to two hours (or longer if sat on the charging base). Tell the app what you’re drinking and it’ll suggest a setting. As well as regular mugs, Ember makes a travel flask. Ember’s products are
Promising Portal
The Facebook Portal should not be ignored as a business tool. It’s not so much a digital assistant as a video phone, with great video quality – significantly better than we’ve seen on similar products – and remarkably good sound. These devices can be used with Zoom, BlueJeans, WebEx, Cisco and more, as well as with Messenger and Whatsapp. You can also play music from
Spotify and add Alexa voice control. Pop one on your desk and be ready for your close-up. Prices start at £149, but deals come up regularly. https://portal.facebook. com/gb/
CALLING GETS
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