by Martin Dower

Devoted as I am to Safari it’s finally time to say goodbye and move over to the latest shiny toy in the box, Google Chrome. I’m not sure how I am feeling at the moment as I do love Safari for it’s integration into OSX but it’s just losing too much ground to Chrome. So, in a fanfare and a hail of bullets I quit Safari for the last time today.

Google’s Chrome just seems to run so much better on my MacBook and has a fantastic range of add-ins that I use a lot. In fact I would be tempted to say that Chrome has improved my productivity and certainly cuts down on the number of sites I have to visit and tabs I have to have open.

Being a huge 37Signals product user I’m able to slick-away the operation using Autosave, time and graphing, Campfire as well as more commonly used extensions such as Evernote clipper, Dropbox and Wikipedia.

Key headlines

• We are not gathering any more information – we are changing the way we gather and apply this information
• We are synchronising and unifying how we use information across all the data platforms including our core platforms as well as third-party
• The revised policy is being implemented on May the 1st
• We’ll never sell or pass-on your information without your permission

Privacy policies are updated on myBookingWizard.com and on Connected-uk.com

We’re looking for a couple of bright, keen and hardworking peeps who have a basic knowledge of the web world and want to work in an exciting a cutting edge company. We code using HTML 5, CSS 3 and Perl and use deployment tools such as GitHub and Capistrano all managed under 37Signals rather excellent Basecamp.

We build bespoke and production applications for UK-based companies that dramatically improve on-site conversion rate. We also market and sell our rather excellent myBookingWizard product and we’re keen to take on 2 interns for an initial period of 3 months with the view to extending the internship to 6 months and then potentially offering a job at the end of it.

Our Internship Programme and is designed to ensure the provision of fair, open, high-quality internships as a means of improving social mobility and engaging wider pools of talent. We know times are tough for graduates and 6th form school leavers and believe that internships are a great way to meet in the middle. Internships help young people gain employability skills, such as teamworking and project management, that will be invaluable in their future careers and also a great way for employers such as ourselves to thoroughly assess the skills of potential teamies.

Adherening to the CIPD Guidelines on Internships, the prime purpose of internships is to provide interns with a meaningful experience that enhances their employability and skills. There are clear business benefits for Connected to running a good internship scheme, such as gaining a new and motivated member of staff, bringing new skills and perspectives to your organisation and potentially improving productivity. We feel that the quality of the experience is the most important factor for the intern, as the short-term economic costs of an internship can often be offset by the long-term advantages to the intern’s career.

The selection process mirrors how we recruit full-time team members and, although the positions are unpaid, we expect the same level of work and commitment that we would expect from a full-time member. The 3 or 6 months spent in the intern role we see the successful candidates carrying a wide range of functions to support the business including support, customer services, programming, sales and marketing. This is a fast-track method to evaluating whether the intern will thrive in these environments and, although not guaranteed, a better than good chance of securing long-term employment.

We have a good track record in working with interns, our current head of operations started life out here as an unpaid intern 5 years ago and two other interns have gone onto full-time jobs. Every intern is provided with a dedicated mentor who will work side-by-side with the intern and also have a weekly one-to-one session. Additionally, at the end of the 3 months initial term a full appraisal and reference will be provided.

If you are interested in joining the team then I suggest you drop a 1 page email to Andy Holland outlining why you think you’d fit it well here. Be creative and try to stand out. Don’t send us a conventional CV, no-one reads them these days.

Note: Currently interns are classified as volunteers and are not paid a salary but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed monthly. Hours are 10am to 4pm, based in our Halifax office.

Thankfully, we’re not too reliant on inbound calls these days as all existing customers have alternative, and better, means to communicate with the us. We sincerely apologise if you are trying to reach us but normal service will be resumed soon, of that I am sure.

In the meantime you can reach us on 01422-382116 which is our emergency inbound number. Sorry again.

Initially we are looking for 2 freelancers or contractors. Additionally we might consider a very bright paid internship slot. If we get a large response we’ll probably run a Saturday Hackathon and pick two winners at the end of the day.

Connected were founded in 1996 and provide bespoke web development to an impressive list of UK-based organisations as well as developing and marketing our VITES personalisation platform and myBookingWizard.com, our cloud-based online booking offering. Based in the rather lovely Dean Clough Mills, Halifax we encourage an informal atmosphere with little in the way of rigid rules, relaxed dress sense, flat management structure, belief in self-responsibility and home working.

Technically we use XHTML, moving to HTML5 and CSS 2, moving to 3 plus JQuery. Operationally we deliver all projects using Basecamp and our own GitHub deployment environment. If you want more info then ping Andy.

If you get the chance to visit the Hudds Phil (as it is known locally) then do so; it’s the oldest continuously playing orchestra in the world.

After his brilliant 6th at Oulton Park 2 weeks ago this was a little disappointing but it’s Mike’s first season on a full works bike and he’s still learning. You can visit his web-site or pop over to Facebook and say hello. His next race is at Thruxton in a couple of weeks so we all wish him luck.

Here is the dedicated BSB page for the Superstock 1000 race

Mike Booth races for Rapid Solicitors – Bathams Ducati in National Superstock 1000 with team mates Michael Rutter and Martin Jessop.

1. YES; we’re all based in the UK (Yorkshire, actually)
2. YES; we do our our work in-house
3. YES; we really are 15 years old
4. YES; we are NOT a traditional agency
5. YES; we’ll take work from agencies and other third-parties
6. YES; we use Basecamp to manage our projects
7. YES; we love what we do
8. YES; we sometimes say no
9. YES; we welcome anyone to use our offices and facilities, FOC
10. YES; we try to work 10am to 4pm and have a day off every week

This morning our new VOIP system went live using softphones on the new telephone numbers and apart from a few (user) cock-ups first thing and a bit of whining from remote workers everything seems to be A1 sorted.

We’re still making it “our own” so parts are still not quite home yet but a huge thanks to the moving team including Lee and Susie who did most of the hard work.

Mail is being re-redirected but phones aren’t so our old 0845 numbers are now down. Everyone is on the new voice network so you can always phone us on 0113 818 7800.

Come over and visit us, we’ve got more space and 2 private office meeting rooms. We’re still making it “our own” so parts are still in disarray but you’re welcome to bring a moving-in present.

Mail is being re-redirected but phones aren’t so our old 0845 numbers are going down in the next week. Everyone is on the new voice network so you can always phone us on 0113 818 7800.