App Developer

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

I have made apps for the company I am supporting and wanted to share this skill with anyone else that might want help with time consuming data processing and calculation or errors.  Most of the local warehouses workflows and data is saved on spreadsheets hosted in the cloud. Why not use an App to manage the status, input, updates and reports with an app? 

 

app developer mobile app development ipswich suffolk

 

Using a cloud hosted spreadsheet like Excel, Docs or Google Sheets means I can use an app to manipulate the data in a safe way. With a standard spreadsheet staff can enter data in the wrong place, the wrong format or delete data causing worry, loss or downtime. Using an app refines, controls and slices the information based on the users access levels. Having your customers also using your app then gives your workflow real power and times saving, error or liability as there is no re-keying of data and they can have views that you set and only see relevent or final data.

Get your staff on the ground to enter the data at source, saving office admin repeating the task.

The app can of course handle volume, rent, time calculations and have map pins, save results and trigger SMS alerts, emails and even control lighting and switches or open barriers to automate security.  The app can upload images from the field in real time, report damages in real time and add a map pin to the location of the report being made. All information can be seen in another app, on a web browser or updated in real time to a spreadsheet. 

 

Example mobile apps.
  • Container yard check (above).
  • Asset delivery in real time.
  • Survey inspection results from the field.
  • Daily driver vehicle check and reporting.
  • Staff timesheet and accountability (with tracker).
  • Customer delivery call off.
  • Warehouse inbound stock adjustment.
  • Warehouse outbound and live van delivery logging.

 

If staff are using an app to control a workflow or decisions it takes the responsibility away from them, avoiding conflict from visitors being asked to comply with site rules or something they may suggest is staff discretion or bias.

 

Please do get in-touch for advice or support for your next business app in or around Ipswich or Felixstowe Suffolk.

Prusa Printer Face Sheild Covid 19 Coronavirus

Face Shields Mid April

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

22nd April 2020.

Free Face Shields for care homes, nursing homes, front line ambulances, carers and front line clinicians.

Having a 3D printer I wanted to do my bit and it soon got out of hand – but that’s a good thing!

Free face shield visors for care homes and nursing homes in Suffolk and Essex UKI have had a 3D printer for a few years and I am no master of the art of 3D printing but I can drive it within the lines. I have been running two Prusa printers at home for the last week with the addition of the odd one out below being an Eryone Thinker. The first is my original Prusa from Pete in a lovely clean and well lit case that I made for 3D printing.  Then came the middle Prusa on loan and the case was a little rushed with no lighting to get it going and had to be mounted sideways to make it fit. BM Ambulance then purchased a 3rd 3D printer also on loan to speed up production and the case was very rushed and doesn’t have lights either, still needing hinges and a few adjustments – but they all work (most of the time).

With the plates needing clearing and resetting every 1:45 it has been monotonous, but no where near the sacrifice of many during these times.

 

 

Nurse with face shield in IpswichThe real reward has been seeing them out with very appreciative users with around 600 (22nd April) out with people as a result of mine, David and Grahams 3D printing efforts, my Uncle Micheal and Aunty Wendy’s shield cutting, fitting and distribution as well as Stephanie next door also cutting, fitting and delivering our face shields to those that need them. Others have helped with dropping off and picking up and Maker Space Ipswich have also given around 200 of their Face Shields to distribute not included in the value above.

A few people have supported the need for materials and many have ordered PLA (material) and acetate sheets on-line with delivery to my house and many people have also dug out and handed over (from a distance) OHP sheets from stock cupboards. A couple of people have donated on PayPal and another by BACS to help with the costs. We have not charged for a single face shield even when offered a donation. No matter how rich the organisation, it has not been about money it has been about supply issues and not being able to get stock.

Another update will follow. If you want to see more about face shields, download the files to make them yourself and see the cutting and fitting production line there is a page here

 

WordPress Training Review Suffolk

WordPress Training Review

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

Something to be proud of, thank you William.

I had approached several web design companies as I needed to sort out my SEO. I did not grow up with technology although i have been adding info to my word press site. I had been quoted £70 +vat an hour by companies to deal with it on an ongoing basis and I presumed it was not something I would be able to do myself. Andy showed me that although it is a minefield you can pick your way through it and learn how to do things that I presumed were way beyond me. I am surprised that the cartel of “SEO experts” have not had Andy dealt with as like many “consultants” they only know a little more than ordinary people but charge a fortune to do it. Andy showed me in a way that I could understand and remember, and doing it myself allows me to use language appropriate to the potential clients I want, which is not something I would expect an outsider to be able to do. The hundreds of pounds I will spend with Andy over the next few months will benefit me much more in the long term than the thousands I could have spent with other companies.

William Barthorpe http://cateringforsuffolk.co.uk

My project for young people in Suffolk

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

I have been having great success with my Make-it.Technology project here in Ipswich, getting Raspberry Pi computers in plastic tubs with screens, keyboard, mouse and electronics kits to young people to have a go at coding and see if they like the experience – to see about a career in coding or make a difference to the world! The young people have been having fun and it’s been very rewarding knowing I have started the journey to computer programming for some young people that never knew what programming was – and they are naturals!

It all started a few years back when I was filmed by the BBC for a project to connect a truck to the internet, getting my involvement with the Raspberry Pi foundation and the start of the Raspberry Jam events in Ipswich. I saw the potential for these cheap computers to be put in-front of the young person that I was, that missed an opportunity in code at a young age. Becoming an electrical engineer and mixing this with code has lead to the project that is now a real entity going out getting young people accessing code and seeing their potential. 

Learning computer programming with the Raspberry Pi in IpswichIt’s very simple, with ten tubs, worksheets and support to have a go at live coding both young and old are able to have a go in any location that has power. I have made worksheets to control LED lights that the students have wired up, to control a motor with an arm and coding (computer programming) in Minecraft to make megga structures that would otherwise take hours to do. 

This is great for personal development and confidence with a ‘I can do this moment’ when it works and a sense of achievement and accomplishment when they work through the faults in the code and get it right. 

Please do check out the website and sign up to the mailing list to get worksheets, events and achievements sent to your in-box and thanks for reading.

Start-up list of the stuff you just have to have for a new business

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

Here is my start-up list of the stuff you just have to have for a new business, that you might not be aware of, if you haven’t been to any events yet. Feel free to copy and paste, share and pass on.

 

https://mail.google.com

This is how you would be best served for emails. Sign up an account with the company name and make sure you contact your website developer to make your www.frankswindows.co.uk set up with yourname@frankswindows.co.uk but run through your Gmail account. You can actually run all of your business emails from your own Gmail account, but still send as yourname@frankswindows.co.uk (or accounts, sales or info e,c,t)

https://www.google.co.uk/business/

When you search on-line, your business listing can be one of the top three in the searches with this free to use tool. This is the red maps pin on Google searches. Claim your free business listing and submit your details and Google will send you a post card with a pin number to verify your business within 7-10 days and your business will start to show up in the geographical area of your business. Tie this up with Google Analytics’ and you are on a winner, even with a poor website! Check out a specific blog post about Google Places for Business.

https://www.dropbox.com

Why store your documents, posters, articles and work on a PC, only to get to the office (or a customers) and want the document. Sign up for DropBox and use the cloud hosted data option. You can even set it up on more than one PC, as if it was a hard drive on the machine! It’s password protected and you can share folders with other DropBox users.

https://www.linkedin.com (interests, companies, then create a company page)

Are you using LinkedIn personally? If you are in business or have a career then you need to be. You can also add a business to LinkedIn and share your findings, promote your activity and gain followers. You can then add a LinkedIn button to your website.

 

https://twitter.com

You just have to be on Twitter! – You can then add a Twitter button to your website. If you are not sure about Twitter, contact me for support or find one of your local half day Twitter courses.

https://www.facebook.com/business (create page option)

People are on Facebook, but people can then add a page to Facebook. Do not sign up for a new account on Facebook as the business. Make a lovely banner for the business page using Canva above. This is working very well for many businesses. Many new businesses don’t even have a website, but have plenty of work.

https://tweetdeck.com

What if you could load up all of your Tweets for a month! – I am writing this blog today, but the Tweet will go out with a link when I am on holiday next week – to keep the traffic up on my Twitter account. I will also Tweet it again in a month or so, encase anyone missed it. You can add images to delayed Tweets, but you can’t re-Tweet stuff with it. You can also administer more than one Twitter account so this is great for managing personal and business accounts in one place.

https://ifttt.com

Rule based outcomes from tools. When I share an image on Instagram, it also posts it on Twitter (as an image), saving me having to remember to put out for my Twitter followers. It also switches on the lights behind my TV at home, after sunset, and turns them off at mid-night. You can do so much more with this. Maybe, every time you get an order on your website, a horn sounds in the warehouse! Sign up for a free account and see how it can help your business.

https://www.canva.com

A free tool for making Facebook banners, posters, flyers and small banners for websites and social media. Use the template size, for the right file and image size to suit the project you are working on. Simple and easy to use for sure.

Where is my website hosted - emails

Hosting and emails explained.

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

Renewals and hosting of websites. (in a simple version for non-teckys)

One of the things I have to explain quite often is the relationship and process of owning a domain, where it sits on the internet, emails and the admin of the domain.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Ownership.

If the website is yours, if you paid for it, or had the idea for the website you should be the owner. You have to be named, with an address (and phone number) to have a domain. It is wrong of the website developer to have their name on the registry as the owner. You can buy your own domain yourself and people flock to Go Daddy and 1&1. If you are getting yourself started, tell a website developer what www name you want, and they can buy it in your name on their account. This makes it much easier when we want to do work for you. But do make sure it’s in your name!

To check your UK website, click here and enter your website domain name and you need the “http://” bit at the start as well as the ‘www’ so best to copy and paste it from your browser.  For non UK, please click this website tool.

If you are the owner, you can retrieve, grab, snatch your website domain off any developer – as long as you can prove to the registry that you are the owner. This never happens, but I wanted to give you the confidence to know it can be done. So make sure the domain is registered in your name to avoid any hassle later. If you are worried, contact your developer – nothing to hide, no embarrassment of course!

 

Where is my website?

Your domain is normally on someone’s hosting account. This might be your own account with Go Daddy , 1&1 or Heart Internet, or a company that a website developer uses. Some people have the website on the server (PC) in their office. On-line hosts normally have better protection and ‘up-time’ so don’t try and save money having it on your own computer. Your files sit on a server with a company or on your PC (rarely) and when someone goes to your website, the domain calls for the files, reads them, works out how you want your website displayed and shows it.

Sometimes, (like when you have an e-commerce shop), the website points away from your domain to the company providing your shop without the customer even knowing (and this is fine). Your www.name still looks the same, but they could be in a different place.

 

Emails.

I so often see a van with www.andyscarwash.co.uk and then an email address such as andywash11@aol.com.  Why would anyone have a website domain and not have andy@andyscarwash.co.uk as the printed email address? If you have a website and have business cards in this format – you need to sort it out! It is a simple action in the admin area discussed below and will make your business look much stronger. You don’t even ‘need’ to send as andy@andyscarwash.co.uk, but at least have it on your printed media and sign writing.

Emails can be simply forwarding rules like I do with mine – andy@andyproctor.co.uk points to proctorandy@gmail.com. You can of course have a mailbox set up (sometimes extra monthly charges apply). You can also use Gmail to send as the proper email address and this can be done by most teckys. A simple forwarding rule is free and can be done in the admin area.

 

Admin.

The hosting ‘place’ will have an access portal. This is password protected so that the website administration can be access day and night for backing up, tinkering with at file level, changing the emails set up and having the websites records changed for you. For your website to run, without needing any changes this is not accessed from day to day, or even week to week. With software like WordPress and Joomla, you don’t even need to enter the hosting place at all to change the website. With an e-commerce website, you can do all your changes on-line. Don’t worry if your website developer doesn’t give you access to the hosting space – you might break something! I would feel happier if they had given you some kind of access portal (Called Extend with my hosting)

You also need to be sure that when the domain expires each year, someone is renewing it for you!

 

Summary.
  • Do you own your website? If not, get it changed by the developer (and ask why!)
  • Have you got the right looking email set up?
  • Is your hosting secure – ask if it does a daily backup for just encase.
  • Is it being renewed each year?

 

Are you happy and confident that everything is OK?

 

Broadband Speed Test

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

I live in a rural area where conventional broadband is just not worth paying for. When I moved in, a neighbour asked what I did for a living and winced, telling me that the BT speed was terrible and it takes up to five minutes to log-in to his banking and pay a single bill.

 

But there was an answer!

Alton Broadband is a community internet based group set up by a few people who needed better broadband in the village. They purchased the infrastructure and installed radio repeaters with a feed from a good connection in another village to provide a faster service than the ‘twisted pair’. With repeaters on larger houses, the church and the pub, locals can benefit from this service at an affordable cost.

Speed testing onlineI live in a small hamlet coming off a unique feed separate to the main incoming signal. I was experiencing issues and losses, so the mangers asked me to do some periodic speed tests.

Using the Speed Checking Tool needed me to remember to do it and then email it to them – and I kept forgetting, for weeks on end!

I suggested using a Raspberry Pi to automate this and they liked it. With the excellent coding skills of Vincent Wilcox, a Raspberry Pi, SD card and power adapter we are giving Alton Broadband a Christmas present.

Vincent has made some code that carries out an automatic speed test every hour. The data is saved to a Raspberry Pi and then uploaded to an email address at 2am each morning. A few adjustments have been made and developments that I don’t understand, but Vincent assured me it would make the whole package stable, consistent and accountable. 

Raspberry Pi Broadband Speed CheckerI purchased a case on-line, Vincent kindly burnt the SD card with an operating system and added his code that runs when the Raspberry Pi starts up. A small buzzer was added to the GPIO pins so that a ‘success beep’ can be heard if the RaspberryPi boots up OK. There is no monitor needed, no keyboard or mouse in the USB, just the Ethernet cable for access to the router for the speed test. It’s intended that the Alton Broadband team can give anyone the box, plug it in to the power socket, plug in a patch cable from the Raspberry Pi to their router and leave it to start up and do the test every hour, on the hour.

Vincent has also burnt the code to my own Raspberry Pi and I will leave it running here at home, emailing Vincent, myself and the Alton Broadband team the results each night. The other one can be loaned to ‘customers’ experiencing difficulties to measure how their broadband is performing for as long as it’s plugged in. It won’t check the WiFi, just the internet coming down the feed from the Alton Broadband service and doesn’t need any attention or commands, input or management on-site.

 

Do you want the code?

In the true theme of Raspberry Pi and open source, Vincent has put all of his code on-line and he is working on a new and improved device. He has also expanded his code, to use a permanent ink screen to show results, maybe when talking to a customer service rep about your broadband speed and you can see it working here.

Here is the link to the code that Vincent has very kindly shared for you to use on your own Raspberry Pi to test your own internet connection https://github.com/vwillcox/speedtest-cron.

Are you interested in the Raspberry Pi and the kind of stuff that Vincent does? Why not come to our next event in Ipswich – http://www.ipswichraspberryjam.co.uk/

Thank you to Vincent for his time an efforts making this all possible.

Zello PTT app Ptt Screen

Zello PTT on iPhone

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

Being an amateur ration licence holder means I am very interested in radio. I saw the benefits using UHF radios when volunteering with Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue, but being a Community Responder there is a great interest in Airwaves radios as they use a far superior network, with better coverage and Geo-location on the system. I have been through the journey of two app’s for iTunes myself and I am always impressed (and envious) when I see a good job and want to share a good app if it’s free!

Zello App on iPhoneWhile we aren’t supported (CFR’s) with the Airwaves network that Police, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance service are provided with, the PTT over the internet option does interest me. With Airwaves, you are connected to the mobile phone network and a bridge to the internet and as long as you have a phone/radio signal; you are on the network. Airwaves radios also have a small ‘stubby’ external Ariel and get better gain for a better send and receive signal over standard phones.

The Zello app is one of the many that I have tried that I have bothered using, sharing and promoting as Zello actually works really well. If you want to speak to one person, you should call them by dialling in the normal way of course. But what if you wanted to ask a general question, set up a rendezvous with many people or have an open dialogue or debate with more than one person? PTT app’s are very good and behave in a similar way to the Airwaves system with groups, peer-to-peer and password channels.

 

So why do I use it?

I have two friends down in Kent and we are always collaborating on stuff, going down, meeting them out and about and arranging events and projects. Sometimes we need 3 or 4 of us to chip in and have an answer. Only one person can speak at a time and distance is not a limitation so a PTT type conversation is perfect if you have 3G or WiFi. We have our own channel set up on Zello, just for the four of us, that I monitor and can see if they’re logged in or not, or set to ‘busy’ so I know they might not answer if I call.

This morning, I spoke to a fellow Community Responder over in the next Village about who is going to be on call today. If another Responder fancied doing it, he/she could have chipped in and offered to do the afternoon slot for us. We can also arrange swapping over kit and talk about consumables used. We have two new members that are starting calls next week and they can have the Zello App on, calling us if they are waiting at home on call or when they get back home from a job for a de-brief and support. We can all listen in and offer support, even messaging each other, or turn the channel off if we are sleeping or don’t want to be disturbed. (We do have a password on the channel and do not share any sensitive information). You can also have more than one channel open/monitored at a time.

Using it for work or safety.

Zello Channel and moreWhile I don’t see a use for call-outs from Ambulance Control, as the signal is poor in rural communities and it wouldn’t be adopted by the East Anglian Ambulance Trust as it’s not secure or robust, one of my friends does use it commercially for his business. Zello do have a commercial subscription service for business but the free download does all you would need. My friend has one office in Kent and another in Suffolk and all of the staff are now connected in an open way, as if they are in the next room without the limitation of distance. Staff that wouldn’t normally collaborate are now sharing resources and saving costs. You might say that someone could approach Zello and ask them for a version adapted for Community Responders? They have already done the work, have the technology and resources but it’s that Airwaves Radio, with great connection and an external Ariel and made specifically for the job that ensures your transmission makes the trip.

If you’re planning a trip, from many parts of the country all travelling down to the same place, setting up an event with people or just fancy messing around I would recommend the Zello app as it really works well. You can also listen back over conversations you have had in the past, if you missed some critical information. It works!

Give it a try and call me up! – search for Prockie in Zello. https://zello.com/ (Check out the Night Owls Truckers Channel)

Some of the products sold on-line

Evance and flowers!

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Uncategorized

I recently did 10 weeks e-commerce consultancy for a Felixstowe based Weddings and Flower craft importer.  Their existing website just wasn’t up to scratch.  The director Chris, saw my BBC video and that I had posted my CV on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and got me in to update and help with the company’s on-line presence. I am now a director of the company and looking forward to the new opportunity.

E-commerce is a simple thing, but knowing the business of selling, as well as how websites are made is a real bonus.  If you can tie all of this up with the people that need to administer it and getting sales – you’v cracked it.  Once you have the sales, if you can deliver the goods efficiently you’re half way there. The rest of the success is planning, financing and running the business. While someone else manages the money and I do the ‘techy’ stuff, it’s going to grow and grow and I am looking forward to being part of something amazing.

Some the products we sell on-lineThe old website for the company was on Zencart and the developers struggled to get the databased of products and customers of it. It seems very clunky and sales weren’t forthcoming at all.  We have chosen Evance for the platform. I am aware of Shopify, and Woo Commerce and have used Big Commerce for many years but the fact that they are based in Ipswich means that we have have a face-to-face relationship. Evance has a lead developer who is a great communicator and listens to development ideas and input making you feel part owner of the improvements in some way. Having used the platform, I love it!

The photography has been hard and is still ongoing but I have (of course) managed to get a Raspberry Pi involved with a stepper motor and a co-directors Lazy Susan and that will be a blog for next time!  Evance has a fantastic 360 imaging tool and something was needed to help automate and standardise this – so I got the soldering iron out and made something to help with this (see blog)

Work goes on and you can see the website live here http://www.wfctrade.co.uk/

 

Andy Proctor on the BBC

BBC Film about me.

Posted on Andy ProctorPosted in Prockie's Blog

The BBC came and filmed me about the iDataTruck RaspberryPi project in early December 2014 and it was shown on the home page of the BBC website on Wednesday 14th January 2015.  It was the second most watched on-line video that day, often being the most watched a few times during the day.  It had 196,00 views in 24 hours and was re-tweeted to over 3.5million people within 48 hours.

This website (www.idatatruck.co.uk) saw 10,000 hits in the initial 72 hours with a very strong bounce rate. My own website had 750 new users in 96 hours and mostly from the UK.  (there is a link on the bottom of the IDataTruck website to my own website, as I made the website myself).

35 people Googled “Andy Proctor” to find my website (and 28 stayed).  My own bounce rate on this website has suffered as a result though. I wouldn’t say that I have had any more work for websites from it, but I have had over 25 emails offering tools, support and services from Universities, Businesses and individuals wanting help and support me with my RaspberryPi projects.

I am very excited and humbled by the contacts, tweets and people saying that they have shown my video to classes, presentations and seminars on programming, self development and motivational sessions as one-to-one and large groups – all because of the YouTube video I uploaded and the BBC seeing this and contacting me about making this film.

The video is below and can also be watched on the BBC website.