I’ve been trying to decide over the last couple of weeks whether or not to talk about the coronavirus – Covid-19. I’m sure a lot of you are worried about it, but this is after all a technology newsletter.
But I’ve been thinking about it, and there are lots of ways that you can use technology to help you stay safe during the outbreak. I’ve put together a little leaflet (UPDATED: 17th March) for you that you can download and print, but here are the headlines…
If you think you might be at risk, going out in public less could reduce your chances of being exposed. There are lots of ways technology can help you do that:
- Order your grocery shopping to be delivered to your door, rather than going out to the supermarket yourself – all the big supermarkets offer this service now.
- If there’s anything else you need urgently – say your vacuum cleaner’s packed up or you need a new windscreen wiper for the car – you can order all that to be delivered too.
- Use an online pharmacy service to order any repeat prescriptions – to save you having to go to either your GP or the pharmacy. Again, your medicine will be delivered straight to your door.
- You don’t have to go out for a meal to get some lovely food that you haven’t had to cook! There are online services like Just Eat that let you browse various restaurants in your area and order food to be delivered. I know it’s not quite the same, but it comes a pretty close second…
But if you do decide to stay in more, it’s important that you keep in touch with your friends and family. And technology can help you there, too:
- Video calling using a service like Skype, Apple FaceTime or Facebook Messenger is a great way to feel close to your friends and family, without having to be physically in the same place. It’s much more personal than a simple voice call.
- If you’re on Facebook, you can keep up with what your friends and family are up to on there as well. What I would say, though, is don’t believe everything you read on there! There’s a lot of nonsense ends up on Facebook (especially when it comes to health).
Stay safe, everyone.
It’s funny how things happen, isn’t it…
I mentioned last week that I’d been working on a book, but I’ve been struggling a bit with how to tell you about it… You see – coincidences do happen – and this book has turned out to be rather… timely!
As it happens, the new book I’d like to tell you about is all about shopping online – and doing it with confidence.
Personally, I use online shopping a lot. It started when I lived out in the sticks, but I didn’t really have much choice then – unless I fancied an hour’s drive to pick up a pair of school trousers! But even now that I’ve moved to civilisation, I still buy most of my things online.
You get more choice that way – whether it’s getting the right size or colour or finding things that you’d just never see on the high street. It’s easier and more convenient – especially when I’d have two bored children in tow otherwise. And it’s usually a wee bit cheaper, which never goes amiss!
Anyway – we’re just putting the finishing touches to the book at the moment, but I’ll be able to tell you all about it very shortly…
In the meantime, if you’d like more detail on those coronavirus tips, you can read the leaflet here.