File Genie will be holding a Technology Surgery at The Kiosk in Itter Park, Peterborough.

The Kiosk is an independent outdoor café, a family run business located in the heart of Itter Park, Walton in Peterborough. The Kiosk is a meeting place for everyone in the local community and beyond, to enjoy the surroundings and wonderful food and drinks.

File Genie is offering a great chance to meet and chat about your tech... a little bit of personal care. Maybe you are looking to buy a family member a new device for their birthday, looking for some back to school tech advice or upgrading one of your own for your small business. Get some valuable advice and pointers on looking after your devices... come and grab a drink with a trusty geek!

File Genie is established in the Peterborough area with many happy customers. Take a look at some of our reviews here > 

Latest Technology Surgery
Weds 17th April 2018
12:00pm - 16:00pm

Previous Technology Surgery
Weds 5th Sept 2018
12:00pm - 15:00pm

Weds 1st Aug 2018
12:00pm - 16:00pm

Weds 12th June 2018
12:00pm - 16:00pm

The Kiosk
Itter Park
Walton
Peterborough
PE4 6JT

Get directions here: The Kiosk >

As ‘tis the season of goodwill', this month I’m going to share one of our family traditions with you all.
 
On Christmas eve, we will be tracking Santa’s progress and he travels around the globe delivering all those gifts to children young and old. There are several apps out there to help – the oldest is the NORAD Santa tracker which is available on Apple and Android apps as well as on your desktop or laptop browser.

NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command and they have been tracking Santa now since 1955 and telling children where Santa has been spotted on their radar. www.noradsanta.org
You might also want to try the Google version at https://santatracker.google.com/village.html
 
There are another couple of things you can do both with and for the little people in your family at Christmas that we have great fun with.
 
Try the Elf Yourself app (on iOS, Android and browser) and make some great elf animations into which you paste selfie face shots or photos of family members. This make excellent electronic greetings to send around your family as well as being good fun to make. You can include up to five family members – so go fish out a picture of all your kids and get creating.
https://www.elfyourself.com/
 
Last but not least, how about a video for your children sent direct from Santa in the North Pole? You can personalise a message so that Santa knows your child’s name and what they have asked for as gifts and so on. This is a great one for bedtime on Christmas eve to encourage your little ones to sleep…well, try at least! Do be aware that this has both free and premium (Paid) options. The free ones are terrific though.
https://www.portablenorthpole.com/en/home
 
Most of all, we wish you and yours the very best at Christmas and hope that Santa has you all on his ‘nice’ list and brings you everything you deserve.

A Merry Christmas to you and all your family.

Tis the Season of Good Will - written for File Genie by Freelance Writer Ruth Raymer @WritingWalking

All around the UK, buyers, shops and retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, a relatively new phenomenon imported from the US. ‘Bargains’ are proclaimed in every High Street around the country and on TV and online we are bombarded with adverts too. It should be said though, that a ‘bargain’ is only a bargain if you were already going to buy those items, so our first tip is:


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1. Preparation is the key to great bargain hunting on Black Friday. Sign up for alerts and newsletters from the retailers who stock the sort of items you are planning to buy, as far in advance as you can so that you can see who has the best prices and if your wish list is likely to be on their stock list.
2. Set yourself a budget – and stick to it. All of the retailers taking part in Black Friday sales are doing so to get their hands on as much of your last pay packet before Christmas as they can, so you need to be savvy to not overspend.
3. Do some research on the goods available, before you buy – check out reviews online to make sure what’s on offer is up to the job you want it to do.
4. WHICH? – the consumer association, recommend that you use their Price Predictor to check trends in pricing, and also Pricerunner which checks out lots of different retailers for prices of the same item, and camelcamelcamel which keep an eye on Amazon prices. Be sure to compare as many retailers as you can to get the best buy.
5. If you have one, always use a credit card for purchases over £100. This increases the protection you have under the Consumer Credit Act, so that if your retailer fails to, or is unable to, make a refund if items are faulty etc, your credit card company will do so
6. Remember that what is important is the price that you pay, not the ‘saving’ on retail or any other price. Percentages of savings or discount amounts are often exaggerated so be sure to keep your mind fixed firmly on the price you pay at the checkout.
7. When shopping online, only do so through websites with a padlock symbol in front of the URL (website address). Always be wary of scammers who want to get your money and if you an unsure – don’t click.
8. If you receive emails from retailers you don’t know – NEVER click a link in them. Likewise, if you get emails from places and people you know with odd links in them – Don’t click on them.
9. Avoid the crush in the shops – stay at home and buy online. If you have done your homework you will already know where the best prices are to be had and are ready to click away.
10. When buying online, check the predicted delivery dates. At a time when retailers are going to be under pressure, their delivery windows are likely to be much longer than usual. If you are buying Christmas gifts, you want to be sure they will arrive on time.

 
And last but not least…
Don’t forget Cyber Monday – check out price predictions for that too – you might be better off waiting till then (Monday 26th November).

​10 Tips For Getting the Best From Black Friday - written for File Genie by Freelance Writer Ruth Raymer @WritingWalking