One of the benefits of the new Oticon Vigo Pro ITE hearing aids (see previous post comparing them back to my BTEs) is the fact that they are Bluetooth compatible. 

They operate their own low power network which means that whenever you alter the audio program on one hearing aid, then the other reflects that change. They are also compatible with the Oticon Connectline range of products, and for me the killer feature has been the use of the Oticon Streamer. Once paired with the hearing aids it then works as a remote for them, whether changing between programmes up or alteringthe volume. 

It also has Bluetooth, which means it can be paired to a device and stream the audio channel direct into the hearing aids. So, I’m probably a rare ‘use case’ in which my iPad is paired to my hearing aids. As I write this I’m on a plane to Edinburgh and listening to music wirelessly, no wires, no need to remove the hearing aids and put in headphones. Ace right?

Whilst volume changing and audio programme (i.e Normal, Meeting, Phone, Club programmes in my case) can be done with the remote/streamer in the pocket.  The Bluetooth streaming only seems to work when the streamer device is worn in conjunction with the neck loop – but that’s no hardship as it’s super light and most people assume it’s a phone of some sort.

So the 123 of setting it up on an iPad:
Turn Bluetooth on iPad
‘long press’ the Bluetooth symbol on the streamer until it blinks
Ask the iPad to attempt to connect
Enter the access code 

It’s as simple as that, and I’ve repeated that process on a Lenovo x200 laptop and an Apple MacBook. In total the device can remember 8 pairings. 

Then to listen to music just ‘long press’ the music icon on the streamer, in my case I’ve got Spotify playing.  Also you get the choice between letting the hearing aids pickup the normal external audio channel (I.e the world around you), which is at a reduced Db level; or just turning the outside world off and listening solely to music (just one long press on the up or down arrow can switch between those settings).

Of course, if you have an iPhone you can pair it to the streamer. It opens up more access than just listing to music. You can use the streamer to receive calls. 

When paired any incoming calls will cause the hearing aids to ring, and by pressing the phone icon on the streamer you can pick up the call. Wth the neck loop on, or the streamer handheld it has the required microphone pickup!

I must say I’m pretty impressed with how far technology has come, obviously my experiences of using the devices are but it can be hooked up to a TV or landline phone as well. 

A lot of my friends of normal hearing are a tad jealous, but it’s interesting to consider that maybe in the future headphones will all be discreet and wireless. After all if you wish you can get headphones made with the bud being custom fitted ear mould (like my BTE mould).

The presentation is available here:

It’s all a bit brief, and it’s a subject I’m passionate about, so if you are interested just email me neil@rasga.co.uk

An audio feed was also available which I’ll try and find where I saved that!

Just over a month later, it’s here the ‘Next Generation Spotify‘ which amongst other features allows you to share playlists amongst Spotify user and Facebook friends ‘with ease’.

One thing you might want to consider, straight after authorising Spotify to connect with Facebook, is exactly what have you allowed it to do?

As you can see, the standard set of interactions, that allow the App to post things to your profile. One new one for me is the ‘access data at any time’ option; let me know how Spotify might use that in the comments.

Usage Auto-Post
So when you’ve linked your account, it will automatically post to your wall and let people know you are on Spotify. OK So far, I’ll let the app do that.

Playlist Privacy
The app, will allow you to edit which of your playlists are publically shared (by default they ALL are), may be worth considering if you want certain playlists not to be shared. Also by default all future playlists you create will be automatically shared. Untick the box to sort that out, if you so wish.

After all, do you really want to know the contents of ‘Music to put my makeup on to’; or the fact it’s in my collection!

Facebook Interaction
So now, as we have some friends, I can peruse what playlists they have let me see. Now what happens if I decide to add one of their playlists (or one they have added), to my Spotify account?

Spotify will automatically post the fact you have added this playlist, to Facebook. There is no prompt notifying you are ‘do you want to share’ to Facebook. I was disappointed when I opened Facebook and had seen the Spotify app post a lot of messages on my behalf. Yes I had granted it permission to, but thought there may have been clearer notification within the App.

Alter Wall Posting Behaviour
If you don’t want this to happen, straight after you have Connected to Facebook with the App, hit the Cog, on the people bar and click ‘Disable Posting To Facebook’.

You will still be able to manually have share links etc, as well as being able to access your friends list.

Initial Thoughts
Some of my tweets on the subject were rather strong, due to being shocked that even though I had granted access, I was not made aware of the implication. In another post, I’ll likely look at how mflow use Facebook and Twitter integration, and see if their method is more transparent to the user, as well as appearing ‘less spammy’ to the end user.

There is some great optional implementation of sharing to social networks, just next time Spotify let me know OK? See this way looks fine to me:

This also ties in the talk by danah boyd, at SXSW regarding approaches to Privacy & Publicity; sometimes companies will encroach on whats reasonable, and then potentially take a step back ‘a la’ Google Buzz.

Some thoughts for you, please leave a comment…

• Was it clear to you what access you granted it?
• How did you react when you spotted it posting away to your wall?
• Obvious it was going to do so?
• Obvious how to stop it?

The biggest change is regarding finances, and how we handle them. Previously we had used Freshbooks for our Invoicing needs, and also used it to track expenses. This worked to a degree, but due to the nature of our revenue streams we had items that were ‘off book’ and we couldn’t account for them in FB, instead a variety of spreadsheets and other tools were needed to keep on top of everything.

The issue we were finding was two fold,
1) Proper tracking of all our revenue streams and being able to segment our expenses into P/L accounts with decent breakdowns, budgettng etc. [And not just things we had invoiced].
2) And how much have we spent, over time by category.

It’s not to say that Freshbooks doesn’t work well. I could easily see how if you were a freelancer, and doing timetracking, and rebilling expenses to clients that it suits your needs. For us, we needed accounting details, and thought it was time to see what else was out there.

There are variety of SaaS web accounting packages out there, and the one we went for was Xero. A personal recommendation secured it, easily when it was referred to as ‘idiot proof’ - perfect for my needs.

Quite simply Xero allows us to have information about our bank accounts (including paypal), and set up automatic rules for dealing with transactions that are not Accounts Receivable/Invoiced based (i.e Google Adsense earning, users buying subscriptions, and clothing orders).

For FY11 we will be able to setup our budgeting, and have one or two views that really give us an overview into how the ‘business’ is running.  All we want is for Kitecrowd to get into the black, and with Xero we now have much more of an idea as to what our core expenses truly are, and what those ‘one off costs’ of year one really amount to.

Due to Xero being able to handle our Invoicing needs, we will be dropping Freshbooks. It’s certainly worth a look though if you use other accounting packages, and l’d strongly suggest testing the market – only by trying things will you know what will allow you an effective workflow.

I’d also like to say how good the service is from Freshbooks, and Xero. A welcome from Xero, and an enquiry from Mike McDerment Freshbook CEO about what I was finding hard with expenses, and why I’m switching. So Mike, this is for you – you guys rock, and served my needs well, but you just at this moment in time don’t allow me to get enough information about how my business is operating.

On an aside, Xero can integrate with Freshbooks, but we are a small company, and can’t afford to be paying for two solutions that handle Invoicing/Expenses. When one of them also handles the rest of our accounting functions, maybe this will change in the future, maybe it won’t. Either way Freshbooks it’s been fun using you.

We don’t just hold people accountable for helping us maintain privacy; we also hold the architecture around us accountable. We look around a specific place and decide whether or not we trust the space to allow us to speak freely to the people there. That said, we’ve also had a notion that “these walls have ears” that dates back to at least Chaucer.


“But sooth is seyd, go sithen many yeres, / That feeld hath eyen and the wode hath eres.”
– “Knight’s Tale” by Chaucer (1387), lines 1521-1522


In highlighting the fact that the architecture might be untrustworthy, this idiom is really pointing out that there’s always the possibility of eavesdroppers, of people listening in who we don’t actually account for. This is unnerving, confusing, and frustrating to those who are trying to properly assess a situation.


When people assess a situation, they develop mental models based on probability calculations and the expectations they bring to the table. They make guesses about who is more or less likely to run across them. Their calculations are completely reasonable, as it’s an efficient way of getting a decent handle on the social context, even if they are sometimes wrong. This is true both offline and online. People need to know how to behave so they use whatever information is available to them to make their best guess.


Unfortunately, online environments are not nearly as stabilized as offline ones. While the walls in the streets may have ears, digital walls almost always do. More problematically, online architectures have affordances that are quite different than offline ones – persistence, searchability, replicability, scalability. [More info: Chapter 1]


But, practically speaking, security through obscurity is not as stupid as some folks think. Most people out there never get much attention, even when they are desperately seeking it. This is true offline and, for the most part, online.

From Danah.org, an Extract of some of the talk on ‘Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity’ delivered at SXSW 2010.

Privacy, on the internet is something I’ve always struggled with. Just look at what domain this site is on, Rasga.co.uk, the same pseudonym that I’ve used since I first had an email address. The same name I’ve used in countless chatrooms, forums and other places. How does one achieve privacy on the net, when you yourself are causing yourself to be identified by a single name. You choose an online name other than your given name to try and retain some sense of privacy, but it just doesn’t end up that way.

We live in a society where anything about you that was on the internet, is likely still to be, we leave vast trails of detritus throughout our life on the internet. These may be things we were happy at one point in time to be found, but now with hindsight that post your wrote when you were 13 is not funny anymore. We try to have security through obscurity, but at least for me, I find it hard to escape.

Meanwhile the digital architecture has changed; we aren’t just leaving in a world of emails, and chatrooms. Google came along and indexed all the content it could find. Social networks exploded, as the place where you could be found, and find others. How do you deal with an all aware society, where minutes after an embarrassing photo is taken, it can be found on Facebook, Twitter and disseminated without your control?

What’s worse is when you think you understand the online environment you life in, you know the rules and then the provider goes and changes them (like with Facebook), like with the failure of Privacy in the initial Google Buzz deployment.

For me, the internet was always a place I could escape to. Yet now, how do I escape and say what I really think? Is another totally separate persona needed, or is it a case of ‘if I offend you, I’m sorry, it was never meant to be that way’.

We live in a place where comments can be throwaway remarks, yet can have the potential to be seen by hundreds. There are times when I know I’ve said something, that in the cold light of day I wonder whether that was truly the best thing to have said.

I come to accept that everything I put online can be found, that things will likely appear that perhaps I would rather wish didn’t but that is how things are now. The fact is, we have the opportunity to find out so much about each other, but just because the information is public, it doesn’t mean that it necessarily wants to be publicised.

There is also the fact that information that is put online publically may be aimed at a certain audience, Danah has some great examples from her research and they remind me of my own experiences. Whilst it is easy to be private in public in an offline environment, that you trust, doing the same online is not easy. Just because you can see it, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should go and view it.

This is a topic that I really do think will come to the forefront as we continue to merge our online and offline worlds; the new generation may make no distinction between the concept of privacy and publicity in the different environments. We need to learn to trust, and have boundaries, so we can respect the privacy that all can have.

Citation: boyd, danah. 2010. “Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity.” SXSW. Austin, Texas, March 13.

This post is just to cover some of things that I use, or have come across and my experiences of them.  The great thing with Kitecrowd, is that I’ve tried to be able to run it from anywhere.  These are the tools that I find invaluable, and I’m keen to find out what other people are using

Google Docs: http://docs.google.com
Cost: Free
Covering a variety of docs, and with the ability to allow shared access a perfect low cost notepad, with online storage. You can now have folders, which is great to organise the documents created.

I don’t always work from places with MS Office installed (such as my laptop), and it is a supple editor of text and spreadsheets (plus you can import documents received into the system).  Plus there is a convenient PDF option straight out the box, whether you are on a PC or a Mac.  Perfect for drafting up things on the go, and it has an auto save (this post was drafted in Google Docs).

Dropbox: http://dropbox.com
Cost: Free (2GB Limit)
Quite simply amazing, place your folders that you want to sync in the specific area and they are then available to access via a web interface.  Any changes you make are reflected in the online copies.  The killer feature though, is that you can have multiple computers syncs up to your account.  i.e at Work and Home.

Freshbooks: http://freshbooks.com
Cost: 3 Clients – Free (Paid: Scaling Rates)
Doing work is great, getting paid for it is even better.  Freshbook aims to be able to take the sting out of the tale with invoicing, for me personally it means I can have some pre-populated ‘items’ that are frequent and in a minute I can setup a client, issue the invoice (which is emailed to the client, for them to login).

It also allows integration of payment gateways, so the client can login and pay by card etc.  If you are freelancing, and charge hourly rates then you can track your time and bill you client.

You can issue estimates, allow clients to respond/challenge the invoices, and the killer feature here is that Freshbooks has an amazing API – a lot of different ‘add-ons’ are possible (interfacing with popular project management, accounting and CRM apps – http://community.freshbooks.com/addons/)

TactileCRM: http://tactilecrm.com
Cost: 1 User/250 Clients – Free (Paid: Scaling Rates)
Clients, always good to have some of those.  Keeping on track of who you are in contact with can be hard, I’ve just returned from a five week holiday where I got in a bad habit of just ’starring’ important emails and conversations in my inbox.  With TactileCRM the organisation, and person data input is an easy process.

What it allows you to do is BCC/forward emails to a specific email address and attach these conversations to your notes (or if you wish, you can email through TactileCRM).  Different opportunities and events can be associated to clients, as well as being able to track your sales pipeline.

Other:
You may notice that one thing I’m missing is ‘Project Management’ tools, such as Basecamp, Huddle etc – being a one-man band (bar some volunteers) we don’t have too much to organise in that regard.  Most deadline related items I have within TactileCRM associated with the relevant clients.

The other is some form of easy way to track expenditure and income – pretty important information to be keeping on track of.  I’ve just tried http://outright.com which is a US focused free accounting app.  It’s handy because it auto imports from Paypal and Freshbook, though I don’t think it is rounded enough to be something I’d necessarily recommend.

I’m always on the lookout for new things to be trying – anything that makes my life easier is well received.  So how do you keep on track of your figures – back to excel, a hardback daybook – I’m all ears (for me we have a lot of Paypal transactions, which are harder to keep track of than the larger invoice we issue).

The above tools are great to be able to run everything online, though after many months I realised that something was missing in the equation – paper.  As great as it is having everything online, it is nice to be able to flip through the hardcopy invoices, and for when reconciling transactions back to the bank statements it’s nice to be able to see everything.

What are your favourite/indispensable online tools?