Revolutionary Information

Updated September 2026: in 2020 my iPhone 6 finally died after a fall, and I used my wife's Android phone for months while waiting for the next iPhone. I found Android's app permissions confusing. I have rewritten it into a guide for iPhone users using Android temporarily, and to managing app permissions.

My ageing iPhone 6 had slowed down, and after my daughter dropped it and cracked the screen, it stopped turning on. I could buy an iPhone 11 at a premium, or use my wife's Android phone until the next iPhone launched. I chose to wait. Using Android after years on iPhone was frustrating, especially the stream of permission requests from each app.

How do Android app permissions work?

Apps ask for access to things like location, camera, contacts and notifications when they first need them. You can allow, allow only while the app is in use, or deny. Android also removes permissions from apps you have not used for a while. It is similar in principle to iPhone, but the prompts and settings look different.

How do you review permissions on Android?

• Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then the Privacy dashboard, to see which apps used sensitive permissions recently.
• Use the Permission manager to see, by permission, which apps have access.
• Choose "Allow only while using the app" for location wherever possible.
• Turn off notifications for apps that send promotions.

Menu names vary a little between phone makers.

How do you move contacts and photos between iPhone and Android?

Contacts sync through a Google account on Android; on iPhone you can add the same Google account for contacts. Photos can move through Google Photos on both platforms. WhatsApp offers official tools for transferring chat history between iPhone and Android, with some conditions.

What should you set up first on a borrowed phone?

A separate user or at least your own apps signed in carefully, a screen lock, and your banking apps only if the phone is secured. Remember to sign out of your accounts before returning it.

Should you wait for the next iPhone?

If your temporary phone works, waiting a few months for a launch or a sale saves money, as I hoped. If it is causing daily frustration, the previous-generation iPhone at a reduced price is a sensible middle path.

Keep reading

• Why Microsoft Left Phones: Windows Phone Revisited
• Apple Watch vs Android Smartwatches: How to Choose
• Controlling What OneDrive Syncs on a Mac

Updated September 2026: in June 2020 my manager asked me to work on his own suggestions for a deck, then pulled out of the client-facing call minutes before it started, leaving me alone to defend slides the onsite team found irrelevant. I have rewritten it into advice for presenting work you were directed to do when the person who directed it is absent.

My manager added new suggestions, and I built them, trusting he would join the call and explain the thinking. Minutes before the call he said he could not attend because of personal work. I was left alone. Early in the call, the onsite team grew angry that the slides did not contain what they had asked for.

What should you do when your manager drops out?

Before the call, if you have a few minutes, ask them for the one or two reasons behind their suggestions, and whether you can say the slides were at their direction. That short exchange gives you something to stand on.

How do you handle criticism of slides you did not choose?

• Stay calm and factual: "These slides were added to cover X; I understand they are not what you need."
• Do not blame your manager in front of the client-side team, but do not claim the decision as yours either.
• Refocus on their needs: "Can we confirm the three items you want, so I can update today?"

What should you do after the call?

Send the onsite team a summary of the requested changes and a delivery time. Then speak to your manager privately with the feedback, factually: what was criticised and what has been agreed. Ask that in future, suggestions are checked with the onsite team before building.

How do you avoid being left alone again?

Agree who presents which parts before building them. If a manager directs content, ask them to present it or to join for those slides. And confirm the client's priorities before adding anything new, so the question of defending extra slides does not arise.

Should you escalate a manager's absence?

Once, rarely. Emergencies happen. If it becomes a pattern of directing work and then not standing behind it, raise it calmly with your manager first and, if needed, with their manager.

Keep reading

• When a Colleague Drops Out Minutes Before a Client Call
• Feedback That Goes to Your Manager Instead of You
• Reviewers Silent Until the Call? Getting Comments Early

Updated September 2026: in 2020 I was on long-planned leave when the national lockdown began. A company email promised that jobs and salaries were safe and staff should work from home, but silence from my team still made me anxious until I called a colleague. I have rewritten it into lessons on employer communication in a crisis, from the employee's side.

My leave had been booked long before, and I continued it when the lockdown was announced. Within hours, the company emailed everyone: connect from home until further notice; jobs and salaries would not be affected. That mail meant a great deal. Still, with no messages from my own team for days, I grew nervous and phoned a colleague to check in.

Why did a company email matter so much?

Because uncertainty is the hardest part of a crisis. A clear, early statement on jobs and pay, from the top, removes the biggest fear. Employers who communicated quickly and plainly in March 2020 earned lasting trust; those who stayed silent left people to fill the gap with rumours.

Why does silence from your own team still worry you?

Company-wide messages are general. What people want to know is how it applies to them: is my project continuing, is my manager expecting me online, does my leave still stand? When a team goes quiet, people assume the worst about their own position.

What should you do if you are on leave during a crisis?

• Read official communications first, and save them.
• Message your manager briefly to confirm your leave stands and ask if anything is needed.
• Check in with a colleague for practical updates, as I did.
• Prepare for return: equipment, access and connectivity at home.

Should you cut your leave short?

Only if your manager asks or your role is critical to keeping services running. Approved leave during an uncertain period is still leave, and returning rested helps more than logging in anxious. Confirming that you are reachable for anything genuinely urgent is usually enough.

What can managers learn from it?

Send a short team message within a day of any company announcement, even if nothing has changed: "Company update applies to us; projects continue; anyone on leave, enjoy it and we will catch up on your return." It costs a minute and prevents days of anxiety.

Keep reading

• A Project Crisis While You Are on Leave: What to Do
• Writing a Firm Note About Ownership Before Leave
• When a Colleague Drops Out Minutes Before a Client Call

Updated September 2026: in March 2020, after a day with no response from the onsite team, I wrote to them that I could support only for a few more days before my leave, that the delivery team would need to take ownership, and that working on drafts without feedback was difficult. I have rewritten it into advice on writing a firm but professional note about ownership.

I had waited all day for the onsite team's update. With leave coming, I wrote that I could support for the next few days only, that the delivery team would then need to own the document, and that without their feedback on each version it was hard for offshore to keep iterating on rough drafts. After sending it, I worried: it could make them take ownership, or it could prompt the onsite lead to schedule daily calls with me.

When is a firm note the right move?

When polite reminders have not worked and a real constraint, such as leave or a deadline, is approaching. A firm note sets out facts and next steps. It is not a complaint; it is a clear statement of what you can and cannot do.

What should the note include?

• The facts: versions shared, dates, and responses received.
• Your availability, with exact dates.
• What you need to keep going, such as feedback by a specific time.
• Who owns the work after you, named and agreed.

How do you keep the tone professional?

Write it, wait an hour, then remove any adjective that describes people rather than work. Replace "no one has bothered to respond" with "we have not received comments on versions 2 and 3." Copy your manager so the message carries their support.

What if it triggers more calls instead?

Daily review calls are not always bad. They can replace silent email chains with quick decisions. Keep them short, with a fixed agenda, and make sure they end in written actions. If they threaten your leave, your manager should step in.

What usually happens next?

More often than not, a clear note prompts a response. Stakeholders who go quiet are usually busy rather than dismissive, and a firm deadline gives them a reason to prioritise. Either way, you have a written record of what you asked for and when.

Keep reading

• A Project Crisis While You Are on Leave: What to Do
• Feedback That Goes to Your Manager Instead of You
• Your Work Went Unacknowledged? Make It Visible

Updated September 2026: in February 2020 I described a team that gave no comments when I sent documents for review, then brought new suggestions on the next day's calls, with a delivery person expecting me to do every part. I have rewritten it into advice on getting timely review comments.

I had finally been released to work on a new request with very little time. As usual, I had used spare minutes on the previous job to start it, which saved effort. But each time I sent a document for review, nothing came back. The next day, on the call, new suggestions arrived. The delivery person also expected me to work on every part of the document myself.

Why do reviewers stay silent until the call?

Because the call is when they actually look. Many reviewers do not read documents sent by email and react only when the content is in front of them. The result is that each call becomes a review, and each review becomes a day's rework.

How do you get comments before the call?

• Set a deadline for comments when you send the document.
• Ask specific questions, such as "Is the scope on slide 4 right?", rather than "any comments?"
• Book a short review slot before the main call, and walk through the key slides.
• State that silence means approval, politely, for anything not commented on by the deadline.

How do you share out the work fairly?

List the sections and suggest an owner for each at the start: solution, estimates, case studies, commercials. When one person is expected to do everything, the list makes the imbalance obvious and gives the delivery person a chance to take their part.

What if new suggestions keep arriving?

Log them with dates, and at a set point declare a content freeze. After the freeze, only corrections go in. Share the log with your manager if suggestions keep extending the timeline.

Does working ahead on new requests help?

Yes, as I found. Using quiet moments to prepare structure and reusable content for the next request saves late nights later. Just confirm the direction before investing heavily.

Keep reading

• When a Colleague Drops Out Minutes Before a Client Call
• Presenting Your Manager's Slides Without Your Manager
• Feedback That Goes to Your Manager Instead of You

Updated September 2026: in January 2020, after I spent a weekend improving a deck, the delivery person did not reply to me but called my manager to say the work was irrelevant, and my manager then questioned me about missing content. I have rewritten it into advice on handling feedback that goes around you.

I shared the weekend's work with the team and asked for inputs. I did not expect praise, but a note or a call with suggestions would have helped. Instead, the delivery person told my manager that much work remained and my weekend's effort did not match the client's requirements. My manager then asked why I had not included content he wanted, although he had not interpreted the onsite team's needs clearly either.

Why does feedback sometimes go around you?

Because it feels easier to tell someone's manager than to tell them directly, especially under time pressure. It can also be a way to push for faster changes. Either way, you receive the feedback late, second-hand and without the detail you need to act on it.

How do you respond to your manager?

• Ask for the specific points raised, not a summary.
• Explain which requirements you worked from, with the source.
• Propose a quick call with the delivery person to align on the gap.

How do you get direct feedback in future?

Ask for it explicitly when sharing work: "Please send comments to me directly by 3 pm, so I can update before the call." Offer a short review call instead of waiting for emails. People are more likely to come to you when you make it easy and quick.

How do you avoid weekend work being wasted?

Confirm direction before the weekend, in writing, with whoever will judge the work. A one-paragraph outline approved on Friday is the difference between a useful weekend and a lost one. If direction is unclear, it is reasonable to wait for it rather than guess.

What if your manager's own requests were unclear?

Ask for the requirement behind the request: which client need does this content meet? That keeps the conversation on the client, and it often shows whether the missing content was ever needed.

Keep reading

• Presenting Your Manager's Slides Without Your Manager
• Your Work Went Unacknowledged? Make It Visible
• Writing a Firm Note About Ownership Before Leave