Clean Air Day take place on Thursday 20th June and, with the announcement from the organisers that the components of indoor air are even more severe than those found outside; monitoring indoor air quality is becoming more and more important to households across the country.
The experts in indoor air quality, Airthings want to educate the nation on how the air we breathe at home, work and school can have a long-term impact on our health. Research by Clean Air Day, commissioned by environment charity Global Action Plan, has found that indoor air pollution is 3.5 times worse than outdoor air pollution and 55% of parents have said their children spend more time indoors when they are not at school/college than they did at a similar age.
The Airthings Wave Plus is the first wirelessly connected and battery-operated indoor air quality monitor with radon detection and sensors which measures VOCs, CO2, temperature, humidity and air pressure.
Not only are the components of the air that have been highlighted by Clean Air Day of concern but the lesser known radon is no less serious. The long-term health implications of being exposed to radon can be life changing as it has been identified as the single biggest contributor to causing lung cancer for non-smokers.
The Airthings Dashboard interprets the room’s indoor air quality data with alerts and tips to reduce air hazards, optimise ventilation leading to the potential saving on energy costs. The Wave Plus comes with a free mobile app which is simple and easy to set up and brings indoor air quality data and radon levels to user’s fingertips. Versatile for offices, schools, homes or any public space, the Wave Plus is a great addition for recognising what could be impacting indoor air quality and the resolutions to put in place.
Airthings Wave Plus Smart Radon Detector– Available for £239.00 from Amazon
Fancy something to cheer the mood up in your house or just give it a totally new look? Well this could be the trick.. Cololight by Lifesmart is a modular smart LED system and you can basically go large with this and be creative and design your own set up here which is really cool which also has Alexa and Google Assistant to help you along.
This comes with an app and works on Android and iOS devices and you also need Wi-Fi and you can pick and choose from 16 million colours and three modes so there is no shortage of customization here which is something many of us like. RGB fans will also like this in their setup at home. You can pick between preset effects,customize your own effects and use your phones mic to create lighting effects that react to sound, all sounds good? We will have our review soon but check out the unboxing below and the link to buy is just below. Any questions hit us up.
Messaging apps are used the world over by people in their personal lives, so when it comes to business applications, people are already well versed in the use of these apps and therefore do not need to be trained. Also, they can be used to clarify and complement verbal communication forms, with internationally-trading businesses sometimes encountering cultural and linguistic barriers to communication. Perhaps there is too many messaging apps and plenty native with social media do we really need more? Check out this guide from Cadoo Ireland
Storage is a key element with smartphones today especially for those who record 4K video take lots of image in high quality and music storage for example however we have plenty of devices out there offering little storage or none but we can use the cloud which is not everyone’s favourite choice.
USB-C of course is the way forward now but there is alternatives out there to cater for those folk who are still on Micro USB devices and of course Sandisk offer such products.
Today we are checking out the Dual Drive USB-C which is specifically for many folk today with current devices and want to remove files from your smartphone or USB-C devices and free up that valuable space to keep your phone running smoothly and not bog it down with heavy storage on board.
The package is simple it is small so no real need to go overboard with it anyway as once its removed you will most likely discard it. Compatibility is also key and this works with Android,PC and MAC Windows,7,8,10 and Vista.
First things first your smartphone must offer OTG which again some lack but now its becoming more a standard if you are on older devices you might be out of luck as even this spec is hardly listed in specifications.
This is a 32GB Dual drive which offers high speed transfer up to 150MB/s and you can also avail of the Sandisk Memory Zone app. See images below of what you will expect to find within the app to get you started and how you can manage files.
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To insert into your compatible device you slide the USB-C side out and the same for your PC with a simple slider switch on top. Nothing fancy or complicated here. Once inserted to phone you select the files you want to move or transfer from phone or SD card if you have one available and then you can copy or move to the Sandisk it is an easy process.
It took 1 minute 51 seconds as I timed it to copy my entire phone’s folder content onto the card (512 files,music,docs,images,video,PDFs) which is much quicker than some USB drives I have tested in the past..Now i did notice the drive was warm after removing it from my smartphone. It took 10 seconds to then copy the data to my PC depending on your processing power this will vary but I have a decent laptop and was more than happy with that transfer rate again compared to others I have tried in the past. Again the unit was warm but nothing OTT you can still pick it up.
This is a great little kit to have at hand as its small and portable the only one thing I would have liked to see was the option to add it to a keyring or the option to clip it somewhere other than that its fast easy to use and portable,perhaps too portable and could be lost but that’s up to how you manage your bits but the option to clip it to keys would be a great benefit however this is ideal for data movement and storage if you are on the go like me all the time and want to back up your information on the fly in speed.
Key Features
– The flash drive for USB type-C devices
– High-speed USB 3.1
– Dual USB type-C and USB type-A connectors
– SanDisk memory zone App for easy file management
Specification
Capacity: 32GB
Read Speed: up to 150 MB/s
Interface: USB Type-C and USB Type-A connectors; USB 3.1 (Gen 1)
Easily free up space or transfer files from your USB Type-C smartphones, tablets and computers.
Mytaxi, Ireland’s leading e-hailing app, has announced a new innovative taxi-sharing service – “mytaxi match,” that will be piloted across Dublin locations in the coming months.
mytaxi will be changing its name to “FREE NOW” on July 2 as part of joining a wider mobility international “NOW” brand family, which is focused on expanding transport services offered to passengers in Ireland, across Europe and globally. Passengers will not need to download a new app on July 2 and there is no technical or data switch – all that will immediately change is the name so customers just have to update their app and they’re ready to hail.
“mytaxi match” is the first new service to be launched on the app; and will be part of the “FREE NOW” rebrand. It will allow passengers travelling in the same direction, the option to pair up and more efficiently utilise taxi capacity, reducing carbon emissions and lowering fares paid by customers.
The pilot, already trialled successfully on a smaller scale in Limerick, will initially be operational in the Grand Canal Dock area and Sandyford Industrial Estate and will roll out across more Dublin locations as the pilot progresses.
mytaxi is partnering for the pilot with Smart Dublin, a collaborative initiative of the four Dublin local authorities. It partners with universities, citizens and private industries working with smart technologies to tackle challenges and aims to improve services and quality of life for businesses, residents and visitors across the Dublin region.
— Jim O Brien Tech 👨💻techbuzzireland.com (@techbuzzinfo) June 11, 2019
Under the themes of Smart Environment and Smart Mobility, Smart Dublin has engaged with local authority champions working on solutions to investigate and introduce EV charging points, reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion and provide alternative transport options. This pilot will provide additional insights that will complement existing project initiatives and could feed into future planning in these areas.
Alan Fox, General Manager for mytaxi Ireland/said: “Taxis are one of the most flexible forms of transport, but usually do not travel to full capacity. Our new ‘match’ technology forms part of a smart solution to better use mytaxi’s fleet in Ireland, particularly at peak hours, and offer passengers a cheaper, more environmentally-friendly taxi-sharing service. This innovation, currently being used very effectively in a number of other European cities, gives passengers travelling in the same direction the option for the first time to ‘match up’ and share taxis. We believe this new innovation has the potential to reduce waiting times at peak hours, decrease traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions and more effectively offer customers a flexible, cost-effective transport solution that really meets their needs.”
The Smart Dublin Lead, Alan Murphy, said: “One of our key goals at Smart Dublin is to collaborate with industry partners and all four local authorities to position Dublin as a world leader in the development of new urban solutions using the city region as a test bed. Match’s taxi-sharing capacity has the potential to provide additional transit options, build awareness and promote multi-modal shift and showcase alternative approaches to transport in Dublin. This pilot with mytaxi will help us gather valuable information and generate insights to better inform local authorities and our partners on alternative and more sustainable transport options.”
As part of this pilot between mytaxi and Smart Dublin, mytaxi will geo-fence the locations in the app where passengers can use ‘match’. Passengers will be notified of ‘match’ availability when inside the virtual fence. The geo-fenced areas will have taxi-sharing options available 24/7 and fares will be calculated transparently using the technology on the app.
Passenger privacy is of the utmost importance to mytaxi and we commit to full compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
It is intended overall that the pilot will garner more insight into Dublin travel patterns and will better gauge public interest in alternative transport modes as part of local authority understanding of the city’s sustainable development.
mytaxi or FREE NOW in Ireland will remain focused on meeting the growing public demand for taxis and the expansion of its regional footprint across the country. 16 million passengers were carried in Ireland by mytaxi in 2018, its busiest year ever. The app continues to recruit new drivers, with 2,135 joining throughout the year, bringing the total number in its fleet to over 12,000.
Bluetooth speakers come in many shapes and sizes offering all you need for a portable sound experience but none quite like this but what is most important how good is the sound and does this speaker deliver on the format they give it to us in as this is the first of its kind they are pitching a product in a saturated market when it comes to choice and then you’ve the price to consider too and what you get for your money.
I will get straight to it rather than talk about speakers in general, This is great with sound,design and its something new and not the industry standard which is boring and its build quality is excellent too. How its executed is also great with a decent weight to the product which does not make it feel cheap its simple to use and the sound it delivers is quality and for the bass lovers you will not be disappointed at all.
The product though really shines if you have two of them which enables you to get stereo sound which for a speaker of its size is quite remarkable you will see in the video below tested with one on its own and then two paired together. The product also comes with a built in wallet which you do not have to use but the speaker can be placed anywhere so it is portable beyond your needs and can be used either with magnets and the adhesive covered backing so you can also be adventurous as to where you want to put it.
This packs better sound when placed on a solid surface and gives you extra punch very similar to how a speaker i covered two years the polk boom swimmer which amplifies the sound when attached to a hard surface,the speaker can be laid anywhere but will tend to move at max volume due to vibration,again you will see in the video.
The speaker uses waveboom which enhances the sound compared to other speakers on the market and for its size it does pack the loudest punch for a speaker of its size compared to others I have here or have tested. Portable and affordable with great sound it is an easy recommend from me.. You can also get a case to match some mobile phones but as its aimed at sticking it onto your phone or anywhere, the additional case option is up to the user. With being water resistant and up to 8 hours of battery life it will be ideal for camping,festivals travel alongside personal use.
Oslo-headquartered Poio (www.poio.com), the app providing a compelling, gamified alternative to traditional learning methods, has today announced the UK and Ireland launch of its English language platform, empowering millions of British children to learn to read through play.
Poio, launched in 2017 and acquired by Norwegian game-based learning platform Kahoot! in May 2019, has to date helped over 100,000 Scandinavian children obtain the fundamental skills necessary to achieve reading proficiency. The Poio app (and accompanying physical storybook) provides an immersive learning experience for children, typically aged between 3 and 8. Through playing in the app they explore a magical universe inhabited by the eponymous troll and discover reading through linking the sounds of letters to actual words.
The app-based world of Poio, available for £19 in App Store and Google Play, differs from other digital learning tools through its overall focus on play and encouragement, in a safe and secure environment, enabling children to ‘crack the reading code’ and enjoy the reading process. Poio’s goal is to raise literacy proficiency through the utilisation of phonics – the repetitive practice of letter sounds, which can then be blended together to form complete words – introducing children to the fundamental principles of reading.
Poio’s unique learning solution was devised by CEO, educator and Founder, Daniel Senn, out of necessity. Daniel’s son, Leon, had been born with a hearing impairment which meant that traditional learning methods were inadequate. With school curriculums designed for the majority, Daniel felt that children who struggle to learn to read ran the risk of becoming demotivated as they watched their friends and classmates progress.
As such, Daniel set out to find a solution, working in close collaboration with fellow educators to devise a tool that encourages self-motivated learning and makes the process of learning to read easier and more enriching for children, irrespective of their circumstances or ability. Consequently, Poio has fast-become a much-loved game for many children, from curious, eager learners, to those that require a different way of thinking in order to achieve their goals.
In launching an English-language version of the app, Poio aims to help address alarming statistics from the Department for Education, which revealed that in 2018, 1 in 5 children left primary school unable to read or write properly, as well as the fact that currently, the UK ranks 17th for literacy among 34 OECD countries.
Daniel Senn, CEO and Founder comments: “At Poio, we know firsthand that school systems around the world are designed for the majority of students that develop at the same pace and do not facilitate for those who might take longer to grasp the principles of reading, or those who learn in different ways. We have seen the efficacy of a gamified learning solution with our son Leon, as well as with hundreds of thousands of students across Scandinavia, and are excited to bring the method to the UK and the wider English-speaking world. Reading is one of life’s most fundamental and essential skills, and we want to make sure that children everywhere have access to a solution that works for them, while also raising literacy levels and increasing children’s enjoyment of the school curriculum and reading list”.
The knock-on effect of poor literacy is clear; further research by the OECD, conducted in 2015, found that a concerning number of 15-year-olds across the UK lacked a minimum level of literacy proficiency (18% in England and Scotland, 15% in Northern Ireland, and 21% in Wales), and the World Literacy Foundation estimates that the yearly cost of functional illiteracy to the UK economy is £37bn.
Poio – The Game and Learning Method
Poio facilitates learning to read within a safe gaming environment that children want to explore. The goal of the game is to help a troll, named Poio, learn to read the storybook he has stolen from letter bugs (characters known as ‘readlings’) in a magical location called Straw Island. In a troll-like fit of pique, Poio has imprisoned these letter bugs due to his frustration at being unable to read. To help the troll learn to read, children must free the readlings and collect words. These words are broken down into individual phonetic letter sounds voiced by the readlings, helping the child familiarise themselves with the letter and its corresponding sound and the particularly challenging vowel sounds.
The child is then encouraged to spell out the word and then drag it into a virtual book in order to advance the story, with the difficulty of the game adapting to each individual child. As the child proceeds, they can earn coins for completing in-game challenges, with this currency enabling them to decorate houses unlocked by finishing tasks.
Poio focusses on encouragement – rather than lingering on mistakes – to ensure that a point of failure is never reached whereby the player cannot proceed within the game. Constant encouraging feedback helps boost the learner’s self-esteem and ensures that they are motivated to continue, a factor especially important for low ability readers.
In addition, as part of Poio’s offering, parents receive an email with progress report and advice. This helps foster a positive relationship within families, rather than the frustration and isolation often experienced with traditional homework. Once progress has been made and the virtual book has been completed, the physical storybook can be obtained by adults to give to their children as a reward.
Poio is a game-based learning-to-read app, helping children crack the reading code through play. Founded in 2016, Poio has today helped more than 100,000 children to learn to read. Poio has so far been launched in Norway and Sweden, quickly becoming the #1 learn-to-read app in Scandinavia. In June 2019, Poio will be launched globally through a British English version. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.
Consumer finance company, Flexi-Fi has today released the results of a recent survey in time for Father’s Day. Father’s Day takes place this weekend and the survey asked consumers about their planned gifts for their Dad. Socks n Jocks will be still present for many..LOL..I know how you feel…
Over 2,300 people took part in the exercise and of those surveyed:
86% of people surveyed will give their Dad a card on Father’s Day
75% of shoppers will purchase their father’s gift in-store
22% of people will purchase technology gifts as a present
24% of people surveyed will purchase clothes for their Dad
Aftershave maintains its position as a popular gift for Dads!
Over half of those surveyed will spend €60 or less on a gift
Speaking about Flexi-Fi’s Father’s Day survey, CEO PJ Byrne said: “With Father’s Day happening this weekend we were curious to know what was on consumers shopping lists this year. While it isn’t surprising that technology is up there as one of the top gifts that will be purchased for Father’s Day it is great to see traditional gifts, like aftershave still featuring strongly. The ever reliable aftershave remains a firm favourite for shoppers while most Dads are guaranteed to receive a greeting card to mark the occasion”.
Today we check out the SHURE MV 88+ which has just landed and again newish territory for me which I look forward to checking out, this kit is ideal for bloggers,vloggers and more and has some cool specs with great options to boost the typical experience which for me is usually from a smartphone,this simply lets you mount your smartphone you plug and play.
The MV88+ Video Kit, featuring a digital stereo condenser microphone that provides content creators with an all-in-one solution for capturing professional-quality recordings on-the-go. The kit also includes a Manfrotto® PIXI tripod, phone clamp, and mount as well as iOS and USB-C cables for next-level compatibility and connectivity.
Built on the success and classic design of the MV88 iOS Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone, this latest addition to the Company’s MOTIV line of digital microphones and portable recording solutions delivers Shure signature audio quality for extraordinary content creation. Designed for podcasters, videographers, content creators, field recordists, and musicians looking to record immersive, rich, high-quality audio wherever, the MV88+ accentuates the power of flexibility, enabling you to transform your smartphone device into a professional-level mobile audio and video rig.
Compatible with iOS and other selected devices, the MV88+ Video Kit equips you with a variety of new and improved accessories, arming you with the tools and versatility needed for recording on-the-go. To ensure real-time audio assessment, a headphone jack lets you record with confidence. A convenient phone clamp and tripod stand multiplies the sort of environments you can record in. Whether jamming in your studio, filming your next YouTube video, or live streaming an interview on a crowded trade show floor, you can easily thread your devices into a mounted platform for uninterrupted and stable recording.
