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Archive for category Internet & Computers

NCT Centre Finder App for Android (iPhone too!)

Nov 9

Posted by Tom Doyle in Android Apps, Internet & Computers, iPhone Apps, Mobile App Development, Mobile Phone

If anyone has ever worked close to a NCT Centre, you are probably used to being constantly asked for directions to it. Our offices are based right next door to one very business NCT centre, Deansgrange NCT Centre. In fairness, it’s not the most obvious of locations and until a couple of months ago, the estate didn’t even exist on Google Maps.

However, I couldn’t help but get annoyed when people would stop me on my way to the shop for lunch and ask me for directions when they are parked literally right in front of it. Maybe it’s just my old age, but I ended up resorting to just pointing a finger in the direction of the centre to anyone that started slowing down as I passed their car – I just knew what they were going to ask.

So when at a meeting with a local client who also works from Deansgrange Business Park, discussed the annoyance of this in between discussions of developing apps for her company, she said “wouldn’t it be great if their was an app for directions to NCT centres…”!!

Since we were in the middle of developing other apps for ourselves, just to show that we could in fact develop them, I thought this was a great idea to launch as our first Android App.

So here it is!!

The NCT Centre Finder App is FREE and available on the Android App Market. Just search for “NCT” in the market place and you should be able to find it quite easily.

Currently the app is very simple, it lists NCT Centres by county and A-Z. We’ve built it in such a way that most functions can be run offline without a connection to the Internet. So you can see simple maps and addresses etc. Another simple tool we added was a “Checklist”. The checklist is a simple tool that lists all the items needed in preparation for your NCT test.

We wanted to do so much more with this app, but thought we should let it fly first and see if anyone is interested in using it. Please email us with any suggestions or items you’d like added and we’ll see what we can do!

The App is also available for the iPhone, simply visit www.2bscene.ie/nct on your iPhone Web Browser and it will run from there. You can also add it to your desktop on your iPhone, which will mean you will have a lovely glossy icon on your desktop.

And of course – if you’d like an iPhone or Android app for your business – why not call us and see what we can do for you!

P.S. Those who just want to have a nose, you can visit www.2bscene.ie/nct in Safari Browser to get an idea of what the App does.

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Irish Healthcare Awards 2010

Oct 29

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Web Development

I was delighted to be invited to the Irish Healthcare Awards which was held in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin last night. A client of ours, was up for an award for a site we developed for them – www.mylocalgp.ie

I’m absolutely delighted that they won an award, it’s a true testament to the work they’ve already put in and the work they will be putting in to get the site off the ground.

The system we built for them, basically allows GP’s and medical practices create their own website through an easy to use management system. They plan to roll this out to GPs and medical practices throughout the country. This will give hundreds of GPs their own website that they wouldn’t have had without this system. I know it will be a great success for them and wish them the best in the future.

It was a good night all round for 2bscene, we also had another client, www.tcdmedday.com received a commendation for all their great work too!

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Why I hate Google Instant Search

Oct 6

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...
Image via CrunchBase

It’s not even a month old, but I’ve already tired of Google Instant Search.

It’s not because I don’t like this new feature, I do, it’s what they’ve taken away or what I can’t do that I could before that really gets to me.

The first most annoying issue for me is the fact that they no longer have a search box at the bottom of the search results.

I’m sure Google spent plenty of time with their UX experts looking at all aspects on the page to see what elements were most important and I’m sure the search box at the bottom of the page wasn’t deemed to be one.

That is probably because most normal joe soaps don’t even go that far in the search results and therefore this feature wasn’t used as much. I used it a lot however and I really miss it.

The second most annoying aspect is a new feature. Being someone who rarely uses as mouse as I prefer to navigate with my keyboard I was dismayed to see the new feature that tabs through each search result when you use your “down” or “up” arrow on your keyboard. What that means is that I can no longer browse through through the search results as fast as I used to. It actually takes quite a bit longer to tab through each result on the search results page. I’ve no had to resort to using my mouse scroll wheel to do something I could do without my hands leaving the keyboard… :(

Google need to be careful that with their massive success they don’t forget the web savvy users who helped build their profile by making things less user friendly for them. They’ve clearly chosen UX features that suit the less computer savvy masses, which is fair enough, but some things didn’t need to be removed, it wasn’t as if they have added any value in their place.

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New Twitter… pretty cool

Sep 16

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Online Marketing

Today was the first day that I’ve been able to access the “New Twitter” layout and I am really liking it. There is much fanfare out there with people believing this move has been solely driven by Twitter’s need to generate an income from their much loved service.

For me, although it is a massive improvement on the old interface, I find it hard to see people moving away from using third party software such as Tweet Deck and Twhirl as a means of interacting with Twitter. The problem with using Twitter through a browser is that you’d need to keep an instant eye on it. Facebook didn’t have this problem as from the start it was a very image orientated social network.

Not every has been given access to the new Twitter just yet – but it’s definitely coming your way soon!

Here’s a screenshot of my Twitter Timeline:

New Twitter Timeline Screenshot
New Twitter Image

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Google Waves Goodbye…

Aug 5

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Web Development

Google Wave
Image via Wikipedia

It’s only been just over a year since Google announced what they believed would be the next generation of communication online. Google Wave was hyped to be one the most amazing developments the Internet had seen since the adoption of email. It was launched at the Google I/O last year to a chorus of “oohhsss” and “aaahhhsss” from the audience of developers and Google enthusiasts.

Although most of us in the industry were excited by the technology demonstrated by Google Wave, there were some of us who didn’t see Google’s vision of Google Wave replacing email. Google Wave for me was always too complicated when compared to email and I could never see a mass uptake of it.

Yes Google Wave certainly had its uses and it was only last week that it was announced Google were pitching Wave as a tool for use with health record management. Maybe I should have spotted the writing on the wall at that stage? Google were clearly losing faith in the system, so much so that they were in the market looking for alternative uses.

It’s sad to see today that Google have officially announced that the development of Google Wave has been ceased. Let’s face it, Google Wave is only out of beta for possibly 2 months or more. You can read more on their blog here :  http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-google-wave.html

It’s great to see a company with massive ambition, but the idea that they could replace email with a more cumbersome and feature rich application just never cut it in my eyes. Email works because it’s simple!

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