Periodically along comes a piece of modern technology that is so useful that one is minded to share information about it with others. And oddly enough the secondhand book trade and its demands keeps one pretty near the cutting edge of modern technology.
In 1995 secondhand booksellers were dragged kicking and screaming into the world of the internet and computers because most of their trade reference works ceased to be available on paper.
I am very lucky in having someone who works for me on Saturdays who is extremely good with computers and modern technology and as there is no fortune in secondhand bookselling and local history publishing I am inclined to set difficult targets with very low budgets.
Nowadays if one wants to know the value of a secondhand book the internet is the main tool for the job, although be warned there are pitfalls for those without expertise and experience.
So my remit was to have a mobile phone that would allow me to look at ordinary websites, and the budget was very tight having just paid my income tax. My Saturday wizard managed to achieve this for me with a capital investment of under £100 with an annual cost of under £100 pounds without any phone contract.
I now have an O2 Xda Mini s phone purchased from ebay for £80 on pay as you go with O2 and a £7.50 a month O2 bolt on that allows me as much internet access as I need. Although I had initial technical difficulties, I had to download and install an Opera browser and had to have help changing its socks, yes really. I can now look up books post on blogs etc. from pretty much any location.
The phone for want of a better name seems to be considerably more powerful than the computer I first got for the business back in 1995 has MS word on it and a qwerty keyboard, enabling me to send text messages without getting annoyed for the first time. Little things like a movie camera hands free kit and the ability to play music and videos are of course included with the phone.
In 1995 secondhand booksellers were dragged kicking and screaming into the world of the internet and computers because most of their trade reference works ceased to be available on paper.
I am very lucky in having someone who works for me on Saturdays who is extremely good with computers and modern technology and as there is no fortune in secondhand bookselling and local history publishing I am inclined to set difficult targets with very low budgets.
Nowadays if one wants to know the value of a secondhand book the internet is the main tool for the job, although be warned there are pitfalls for those without expertise and experience.
So my remit was to have a mobile phone that would allow me to look at ordinary websites, and the budget was very tight having just paid my income tax. My Saturday wizard managed to achieve this for me with a capital investment of under £100 with an annual cost of under £100 pounds without any phone contract.
I now have an O2 Xda Mini s phone purchased from ebay for £80 on pay as you go with O2 and a £7.50 a month O2 bolt on that allows me as much internet access as I need. Although I had initial technical difficulties, I had to download and install an Opera browser and had to have help changing its socks, yes really. I can now look up books post on blogs etc. from pretty much any location.
The phone for want of a better name seems to be considerably more powerful than the computer I first got for the business back in 1995 has MS word on it and a qwerty keyboard, enabling me to send text messages without getting annoyed for the first time. Little things like a movie camera hands free kit and the ability to play music and videos are of course included with the phone.
Nice looking phone and a nice deal it sounds like too. Well done.
ReplyDeleteMatt this technology is I think set to make a considerable impact on commerce. The internet from about 1995, when it became affordable and manageable by ordinary people, has had a large impact on retailing. As far as I can see mobile internet has only just become affordable, the effect of everyone being able to see the best internet price for everything while shopping will be very large indeed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my relations bought the same phone and had a certain amount of difficulty setting it to get internet access. Do remember that it is o2 and not zero2 anyway here are the if you want to press 3 press 5 instructions.
ReplyDeleteTo setup the GPRS WAP settings
Go to [Start]
Tap [Settings]
Tap [Connections]
Tap [Connections]
Under [My Work Network] tap [Manage Existing Connections]. If this is not present tap [Add a new modem connection]
Tap [Edit]
The [Select a Modem] drop-down box should be set to:
XDA Exec: [Cellular Line (GPRS,3G)]
XDA Mini S: [Cellular Line (GPRS)]
Tap [Next]
The [Access Point Name] should be set to: wap.o2.co.uk [Post-Pay] payandgo.o2.co.uk [Pre-Pay]
Tap [Next]
The [Username] shouldbe set to: o2wap [Post-Pay] payandgo [Pre-Pay]
The [Password] should be set to: password
Leave [Domain] blank
Tap [Advanced]
On the [TCP/IP] tab, only [Use Server-assigned IP Address] should be selected
Tap the [Servers] tab
Only [Use Server-assigned IP Address] should be selected
Tap [ok]
Tap [Finish]
Tap [Proxy Settings]
Tap [Advanced]
In the [WAP] field enter: 193.113.200.195
In the field to he right of this enter: 9201
In this right hand field I got on better with
HTTP 8080
WAP 9201
Secure Wap 9201
Socks 1080
Tap [ok] 4 times and exit
To setup the MMS settings
Go to [Start]
Tap [Messaging]
Tap [Menu]
Tap [MMS Configuration]
In [Preferences] tick [Retrieve Messages Immediately]
Tick [Download on home network only]
Tick [Save sent messages]
Tap the [Servers] tab
Tap [O2UK]
Set [Server Name] to: O2UK
Set [Gateway] to: 193.113.200.195
Set [Server Address] to: http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002
Set [Sending Size Limitations] to: 300k
Select [WAP Version 1.2]
Tap [ok] twice to exit
To setup the POP3 settings
Go to [Start]
Tap [Messaging]
Tap [Menu]
Tap [Tools]
Tap [New Account] or tap on an existing account to edit
Enter your full email address in the [Email address] field
Tap [Next]
For [Your Name] enter your full name (or can be anything)
The [Username] needs to be your email account username (the format will differ across ISP's)
The [Password] needs to be your email account password
Tick [Save Password]
Tap [Next]
In the [Name] field you can enter a name for the account (only possible if setting up new account)
Tap [Next]
Set [Incoming Mail] to your ISP incoming mail server
Set [Outgoing Mail] to: smtp.o2.co.uk
Leave [Domain] blank
Tap [Finish]