New year, more news.

Hey! I'm back for another update.

So in my last post in September, I was talking about how my placement had ended, which was scary. I was left to find another placement ASAP, in the middle of September, when every business already had their placement students for the year. Never in a million years would I have guessed that after my last post, I would be in this position.

Well, I got lucky. I found a few placement opportunities and attended a few interviews. I was offered a job in Dublin and a job in Belfast. I had already accepted the job in Dublin when I interviewed for a Belfast job. It was an extremely difficult interview, but I received an offer from them within 3 days, I was overjoyed!

The job in Belfast is a support role, something which I was very keen about since I found Dev in the last company to be a little stressful. The new job is offering so many benefits - it is situated about 500m from the last job, so is close, they were offering a better salary, there was possibility of being allowed to stay after placement, the office is bright and friendly and it is everything I was looking for.

Not only is the employer and office atmosphere great, but the work is also great. I've had so much help and training, and my team is exceptionally helpful.

Losing the last job was a blessing in disguise, because I am a million times happier now than before! Not only that, but I have recently head about what would have happened to me if I had've stayed with the first company and travelled to Australia or Sweden - I would have been told there were no jobs for me. Quite frankly, I am overjoyed that I did not put myself in that position, and left the company totally. I have learned that I can trust my instincts... I knew from the minute that I got the ultimatum from them (either leave or go to Australia) that I had to leave, because I just couldn't trust them. I feel terrible for the other placement student that had to face that but I am so happy I am in a great job with great people now.

Aside from my recent bad luck, life is good! When I say bad luck, I mean ABYSMAL bad luck. All of this happened in the last month:

1. Flat tyre on the side of the motorway for 4 hours, the day my dad leaves the country and can't help me. Not only that but anyone that comes to help me cannot get the tyre off as a bolt is stuck. Pouring rain. All of my plans were ruined.
2. Parking ticket (my first ever)
3. My granny becoming ill (she is ok now)
4. Countless projects in work, all at once coincidentally
5. Abseiling the Europa Hotel and falling at the very top
6. Breaking and losing some of my favourite things, i.e. my silver ring, my silver earrings etc.
7. Finally buying that graphics card I wanted for my dual monitors and my second monitor break

Yeah, told you. Haha! I also went through a breakup since the last time I blogged here. Things are looking up this week/month though, and my family is unbelievably supportive.

I've a fair few good things happening at the moment. Placement is great, I had the QCS formal on Thursday night, I abseiled the Europa Hotel on Sunday, I have booked an amazing holiday with my best friend, Cat, and I am loving staying in Belfast with my housemates! Soon things will be 100% again!

And so it begins again...

Due to unforeseen circumstances unfortunately I'm on the hunt again for placement.

My employer is having some serious staffing issues, so it's really rubbish that they have to let us go on the basis of having no one to train us. It's really disappointing, but at the same time, I'm glad they were honest with us early and they have been really, really helpful. If it had've been left much longer we (the other placement students and I) might have been left to our own devices for the majority of the year, and there's no point in having a placement year if you don't learn anything from it.
I'm lucky that they are trying to help me either stay with them by travelling or by giving me time to work on my CV, apply for jobs and leave for interviews. The travelling option probably won't work for me though, unfortunately, because I have rent to pay in Belfast, and the cost of living in Sydney and Sweden are going to be far too high for me. I've got until mid-next week to make a final decision, but at the moment I am applying for jobs like crazy, just hoping that they have something for me so that I know I'm sorted.

I could be in a worse position, to be honest. At least I got 8 solid weeks of experience, and I can put that on my CV. Eight weeks work experience is better than none, right?

Forgetting about the issues with placement, I should probably talk about all the good stuff too. I've learnt so much in the past 8 weeks with Mediasmiths and I have no regrets coming here at all. It was an experience and although I'm having to cut it short, I will remember it. Working in Broadcasting is challenging, the Belfast branch is in fact an R&D branch, and the idea is that we find solutions for broadcasters needs. I had the chance to look at some Video On Demand stuff, which was interesting. I didn't realise how complicated VOD can be, especially because you have to think about all of the different platforms you might be sending data to. I built my own webapp too, which was cool, I know know how to use lots of different technologies that I didn't know anything about really until now.


Anyway, I know I shouldn't do this but if anyone knows of any placement opportunities available for me, please let me know. I really need to find another placement this year otherwise I will be finding myself in a sticky situation! I will consider any sort of software development roles or IT/support roles. Thanks! :)

To game or not to game...

I've been thinking a lot recently about gaming, mainly because I'm very curious and although I have gamed a bit before, especially when i was younger, I'd maybe like to try some of the more hardcore stuff... Even though I've been addicted to it, I have a feeling that Mario Kart isn't hardcore enough!
I just feel like I'm missing out a bit since all of my friends talk about their favourite games a lot, and it would be nice to add to the conversation for a change, quite often I'm left confused and out of the loop because I don't game!

After asking a few different people about this, I've come to the conclusion that I should create a Steam account, and try Walking Dead. I guess I'll see how I go from there. Ill write another post after my exams are finished and let you all know what I thought!

I'll also be re-branding the blog this week or the next... Hope everyone likes the new name, I personally LOVE aislingo.com... aisLINGO - get it? :)

Anyway, thanks for reading! Until next time,

Changes

It certainly has been a while!

I'm sorry I haven't updated before now, I've been very busy with exams, group projects and uni work and it's all been a bit crazy.

A very blurry Belfast Lough, taken from East Belfast

I've spent a lot less time online recently because I've been so busy but it's also given me time to think. I have a lot going for me at the minute but even still I'd like to boost it even more. I'd maybe like to do a bit of travelling either alone or with someone, but somewhere different. I looked at volunteering and maybe teaching abroad and stuff but realistically I won't be able to do much travelling until my placement is over, since I'll probably want to spend a whole summer travelling, so I'm thinking the summer of 2014 would be a great time to do it, and if not I'll find another way. It gives me plenty of time to save and plan and it would be a great experience. I looked at myself last week and thought, "I can do way better with myself, I need to enjoy life before I get too much older."

Since I haven't updated since before Christmas I thought I'd share some of my really cool techy presents I recieved as presents. My parents surprised me with the new iPad with retina display as my main present, and since I'd only asked for a new hairdryer (my old one trips the electricity and starts smoking if you turn it on!) this was quite a surprise for me! It's my new baby basically, it comes with me everywhere and I've hardly touched my laptop and iPhone since I got it. I've even done all of my revision and uni work using my iPad. I got a nice bluetooth keyboard to go with it, which is great for lectures.

Another handy device I got from Santa was the wi-drive I talked about in my last post. My dad knew I'd appreciate one especially since it would go so well with the iPad so that's how I've been doing all of my revision. I keep all of my lecture notes, past papers and book pdfs, as well as my entire collection of music and pictures on it, it's so handy.

I also recieved a brand new Raspberry Pi, which I've been pining over buying since it first came out. It's really cool and although I didn't get to use it much until the other day (I didn't have a USB keyboard anywhere) I've already written a few Python programs and set it up. I'm still trying to find my way around it but I can't wait to learn more Python.

I also got a few other cool things... the Brave DVD, a Looney Tunes DVD collection, lots of clothes, chocolate and beauty products, some jewellery, CDs and bits and bobs.

Although I love the presents I get at Christmas I've definitely got to the point were I appreciate the atmosphere on Christmas day rather than the presents. I love seeing family and the food and cheesy games. It was a really nice day and I hope next year is just as nice!


Since I last posted a few other things have happened too. After handing in hundreds of CVs and attending my first interview I'm glad to say that I have my placement sorted. I'm very excited and I can't wait to start! I'm also planning to travel to America this summer with my parents so I'll have to plan around the placement and everything else. Since my placement will last a year I'll be leaving Tesco during that time so I can work full time. I'm really looking forward to the change because although I enjoy my Tesco job, I've been doing the same thing for 3 years and some more challenging work will definitely be welcomed.

The QCS formal is also just around the corner now! It's a week on Thursday actually, and I'm pretty proud of the committee. A formal is not easy to organise but we've done very well and we've managed to secure some amazing prizes. It's going to be a great night, I'm just not looking forward to the few days leading up to it, it will be crazy! Here's one of our tickets:

Thanks for reading!

Better Alternatives in Technology

Over the past month my family and I have made a few changes to our everyday lives in terms of technology. Not big changes, but interesting. Times are changing.

We've had Sky+ HD for years and last weekend my dad decided to switch it off. We now have Netflix, the American Netflix (hacked), and Hulu, which all stream through Apple TVs throughout my house, as well as Freeview. I can also use the UK and USA Netflix on my laptop in my student house, which I can connect to my bedroom or living room TV.My dad and sister both have their tablets connected to it and everyone in the family has the Netflix app. Also, in less than 24 hours time Analogue TV as we know it will be no more, so all of my TVs at home now have Freeview Recorder boxes too. There's no need any more for Sky, since we were paying an obscene amount of money to use it and rarely got full use from it. At least with Netflix we can find all of the box sets we want and thousands of movies which is great.

The second change I've made is moving to the giffgaff network. I've been with O2 and Virgin (for the last two years) ever since my first ever phone 10 years ago, and giffgaff is by far the best yet. Giffgaff uses the O2 network which means you can get the same great coverage O2 provides for Northern Ireland but at a fraction of the price. My current contract is £10/month for unlimited texts, 250 minutes and 1gb data which is more than enough for me, and since it's limited data I can tether it to my laptop when I'm out and about, it's fantastic. For anyone who doesn't know much about giffgaff, the reason it's so cheap is because it's "Run by their customers". Basically, when you take out a contract with O2 they set your phone up for you to use, but with giffgaff you configure your own settings, and troubleshoot everything yourself. The fantastic thing is that this is ridiculously easy because there are forums you can use to set your phone up and all of the information is there for you. I'd recommend it to anyone, I haven't had a single problem so far!

Below: My iPhone using giffgaff uses the O2 network

My dad also recently bought a new Wi-Drive to take with him when he's out and about and on holiday. This is really cool because it's a 64gb wireless hard drive which has it's own network and allows 3 users to connect at one time. So, for talk sake, say you're sitting in the airport waiting for a flight with 2 friends. Theoretically all 3 of you can connect at once, by selecting the network from your device. All 3 of you could be watching different movies whilst all on the one device. The cool thing is that you can all *still* keep connected to the airport's Wi-Fi too, because the device passes with signal through. Unbelievable.

Below: the Wi-Drive

The final thing I want to write about is my sister's new tablet. I've never been very fond of android tablets but after playing about with her's, I've decided I want one myself. I've been pining for an iPad for ages but realistically, I can't afford one. I'd really like a Nexus or something similar to my sister's tablet. It would be great for lectures and general surfing, because I like to browse the internet while I'm out and about and since I can tether my iPhone investing in a new tablet would be awesome! The strange thing for me is that I'm only finding a want/need for a tablet now.... I've always thought that it would be a waste of money for me but the more I think about it, the more I have to have one!

No doubt I'll think of more things I want to write about soon, and if I do I'll just update this blog!

Thank you for reading!

p.s. R.I.P. Analogue TV! It was a good few years!

Why is Twitter better than Facebook?

I'm sure anyone who regularly uses Twitter will agree with me on this one, Twitter is just so much better than Facebook. There are numerous reasons why, but to get your head around it you HAVE to be a regular Twitter user. The amount of times I've told people how I use Twitter more than Facebook and they just reply with, "I never really understood Twitter." Well, in my experience you have to stick with it for a while to enjoy it. I joined Twitter when I didn't know anyone personally who used it, therefore I had to find my own way about it, and I had to create my own network. A lot of people tend to join after they see someone close to them enjoying it, but I did it the hard way unfortunately. It took me a year and a half before I started getting any replies to my tweets. And I've been on Twitter for 3 years now.
Anyway, once you do get into it, you quickly realise how it's better. Here's a list:

1. It's more open. On Facebook most people tend to hold back opinions since there are always going to be people on your Facebook who you would prefer didn't see. Twitter is different, however, because you can (pretty much) say whatever the hell you like, and if your followers don't like it, they can unfollow you and it's no big deal. The vast majority of the people you follow you don't know either, so it's really not much of a loss to you if you lose a follower. There are plenty of people who have met friends through Twitter though, and regularly meet up for social gatherings, which is really cool, I have met a few fellow Tweeters.
2. The people are more creative, honest, interesting, more up for the craic and friendlier. Twitter people are awesome. I could tweet someone I have never met in my life about something personal and it would feel completely normal. Also, if I tweet something that's utterly wrong, my followers will tell me, and vice versa.
3. It allows you to set up little 'networks' of friends and information... you can make your feed anything you want. For example you can follow loads of people who live in your city and get all of the local tweets with information about good restaurants, traffic jams or general news. It's good to know what's going on around you - Twitter's in real-time, so often I hear about accidents or road blockages before they even hit the local news! On the other hand, you can set up a list of people who blog and tweet about, for example, new technology coming out in the next week or month and technology news. This is a great way to find out about new technology because it's up-to-date and all in one place. And it you don't like someone's tweets, you unfollow. It's not like Facebook where you have to sift through your relatives' crappy jokes and spam posts.
4. There is a 140 character limit. You'd think this would be restrictive, but surprisingly it works. All it does is ensure no one makes insanely long posts that no one really reads, like Facebook. Tweets are short and to the point, meaning you can skim tweets very quickly and efficiently. And you get faster as time goes on.
5. Hashtags can be used to unite people in a general topic. For example, the X-Factor is on television right now, here's the trending list:

The trends are cool because you can easily find out lots of opinions on one topic if you want to. Alternatively, if you're sick of people you're following tweeting about the X-Factor, you can easily mute the hashtags that are relevant and you don't have to read them again. It's easy. You don't have anything like that on Facebook!
6. One tweet can easily reach thousands of people, literally. Retweets are a godsend for businesses because they could tweet about something interesting and get loads of attention for free and in a relatively short space of time. Say you have 500 followers, which is about the norm for personal accounts. Your tweet could reach 100 people in one night, say 10 of your followers retweet and they all reach 100 followers, that reaches another 1,000 people, then 100 of them choose to retweet and that reaches ANOTHER 100,000 people... you get the jist. Things can become viral very quickly. Twitter has also been used for other purposes too, like finding stolen goods. I once read an article (sorry I don't still have the link!) about a guy who had his iPhone stolen whilst on holiday in America. He tweeted about it when he got home (he lived in a different country) and it was retweeted hundreds of times. Someone suggested using "Find My iPhone" to track it down, and the phone had been carried to a different state. Since the tweet had reached so many people, some tweeters who lived in that state decided they would get it back for him. After contacting the police and nothing was done, they took matters into their own hands. The iPhone's rightful owner sent detailed documents on the iPhone's location and they got the phone back and sent it back to the guy. It just goes to show you how versatile Twitter can be!
7. Twitter allows you to broaden your horizons a bit, read different opinions, get some interesting information, meet new people. Facebook is boring compared to Twitter because with Facebook you're stuck with the same old people. On Twitter you can go on what we call a 'Following Spree' or an 'Unfollowing Spree', easy. You control your feed. Simples.

As always, thank you for reading, and thanks for the feedback I've recieved via Twitter about my previous blog posts, I appreciate it!

Student life - the advantages and disadvantages.

 I was just thinking today how student life isn't easy as it sounds, well, in my opinion. My days at the moment are pretty much 9-5, and I'm only in my second week. On top of that, I have a part-time job and extra work I have to do for uni, like assessments and coursework. Also, not having an awful lot of money can be stressful and depressing. Mind you, some students still have a social life even without money, it is possible. I would just rather eat properly, haha!
I also have to keep a car so that I can get to and from work, and I need my job to keep me going throughout university. I therefore spend a lot of money on petrol as home is a 40 minute drive. I don't recieve any support at all from my parents and I get the minimum loan because of my parents' income, which I think is unfair because I don't take any money from them.
I have to drive home 3 times a week to work, two of these days are mid-week too, so totally inconvenient. I have seen that some students are able to go out every night of the week and still afford nice clothes, nice food and nice houses to live in. It isn't fair.
Then after working hard in university there's no guarantee of a job, and these days you have to get a placement in Software Engineering to get a good job at the end of it all. Oh, and a huge debt costing thousands and thousands of pounds at the end of it all.

That aside, I still love uni. You meet great people, great lecturers, and you learn some awesome things. Living away from home makes you learn a lot and it allows you to gain independance and to grow as a person in general. You have some fantastic nights out, you learn how to live with people you don't know well and you learn how to manage your money. Freedom in attendance to lectures makes you learn time-keeping and responsibilty in a way, and I'd say there's a good deal of responsibility when it comes to paying bills too. Oh, and a far greater chance of being employed in a good company!

As I was writing this blog, I realised more of the advantages and disadvantages. I actually started off with a negative note, since I'm tired and cold and hungry and my work load is getting heavier and heavier, but really the advantages of uni far outweigh the disadvantages. No one would go to uni otherwise, haha. I love uni!

Thanks for reading,