What does the letter “X” mean to you? A Roman numeral? A kiss? Comic-book heroes? Well, as of last week, Elon Musk would like you to think of something else entirely.
He’s decided to rebrand Twitter as the letter X. Gone is the cute little blue bird logo, to be replaced by a fairly sinister-looking black X. Musk has bought the domain name “X.com” (try it if you like – it already takes you to Twitter), and is hoping to completely rename his social media platform and make “tweets” a thing of the past.
Maybe “tweeting” feels just a bit too twee for our cage-fighting friend, Elon – but I wouldn’t be too surprised if the whole thing blows up in his face.
Instagram have recently launched their own version of Twitter called “Threads”. I haven’t tried it out yet, but I know a lot of big names have. I’ll download it to my phone this week and give it a go, and get back to you on that one…
A quick tip if you use a mouse
If you have a desktop PC or use a laptop at a desk, you probably have a mouse. And unless it’s a very old one, it’ll have a little red light on the bottom that makes it work.
The big advantage of an optical mouse like this is that it doesn’t have any moving parts, so it can’t get clogged up with dirt and dust like the old ball mice did. But that doesn’t mean they always work perfectly.
If yours is a bit slow or erratic, it might be that it’s not keen on the surface you’re using it on. I’ve got a lovely black glass computer desk (very sleek) but my mouse just doesn’t like it at all. My fix? A sheet of plain white paper – works like a charm.
What is the point of all this technology?
I know that’s a pretty low tech tip – perhaps not what you’d expect from a techie. But I have a different view on it from most people who are into technology.
Lots of experts seem to believe that the point of all this technology is how clever it all is… or how impressive the latest thing is.
To be fair, I do look at some new developments and think “That’s just amazing” – but to me the point of it all is what you can do with it. Or what it can do for you.
Which is why our new “Next Steps” books aren’t full of us saying “Look at this, isn’t it clever” – no.
Instead they’re full of us saying “Here’s a thing lots of people find helpful or interesting to do with their PC/laptop/tablet/smartphone… here’s why you might want to do it… and here’s how”.
Anyway, you can find out more about the books here.