Month: February 2021

Tech Review – Soundcore LIFE Q30 hybrid ANC headphones. #Tech #Headphones

I like my headphones and have an extensive collection but what I like more is when a pair of headphones come in cheap and deliver on all aspects and saves you money. These are such a pair and I like them. We go through all the features as usual below so you don’t have to in the video review.

The Soundcore LIFE Q30 by Anker are a really comfortable fit with soft cups and headband and can be worn for hours with no issues with sweat so for long term use there are great. Sporting 40mm drivers these are loud and it is how I like my headphones and with ANC on board you can immerse yourself in to your music  and forget what is going on outside and to top it off the ANC is decent too, I also tested these with a projector I was testing out recently the PICO GENIE and they worked really well and gave me countless hours of bliss enjoying my Netflix and You Tube and of course listening to my music tracks these headphones delivered all round, when it comes to the above, Direction is good, you are central, voice is good instruments you name it all was good here in short you will like them. My usual testing tracks all great and there is great bass here to and of course there is the soundcore app which can enhance your listening experience even more and tailor to your needs it is a great app too by the way.

The controls are easy to use with slightly raised keys easy to navigate and on both sides you also have a touch area on side to switch between modes and there is a NC button too and all these work well all of the time. All features are there as you would expect to control your music without the need to take your phone out of your pocket and as mentioned we go through these in the video below. Battery life is excellent on these with up to 40 hours of life and you also have a quick charge of 5 minutes that gives you up to 4 hours of life which is excellent.

Overall for the price you pay on these I cant really complain about them they deliver on comfort, sound and features and for me an excellent pair of headphones for the price and easy to recommend.

Features

  • Hi-Res Certified Music: Hear every detail of your favorite songs thanks to Life Q30’s 40mm drivers. The highly-flexible silk diaphragms reproduce thumping bass and crisp treble that extends up to 40kHz for improved clarity.
  • Advanced Noise Cancellation Technology: Maintain your focus with Life Q30’s hybrid active noise cancellation. Dual noise-detecting microphones pick up and filter out up to 95% of low-frequency ambient sound to ensure nothing distracts you from your music.
  • Ultimate Noise Cancellation Experience: Customize Life Q30’s noise cancellation with 3 modes—Transport minimizes airplane engine noise, Outdoor reduces traffic and wind, and Indoor dampens the sound of busy offices with people talking in the background.
  • 40-Hour Playtime: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones play up to 40 hours of music in noise cancelling mode. Standard mode extends the playtime to 60 hours, while a short 5-minute charge gives you 4 hours of listening.
  • Pressure-Free Comfort: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones have ultra-soft protein leather earcups with memory foam padding to fit snugly over your ears. The lightweight build also ensures they’re comfortable for long listening sessions.

BUY HERE 

Tech Review – Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro True Wireless. #Tech #Soundcore

Recently I checked out this companies headphones the Soundcore Life Q30 and was really impressed with them and they are value for money and people have been asking how did these TWS earbuds work out and again the story is the same and I cant fault them at all and they have earned a place in my top 5 in fact.

From the presentation to the product you are getting quality here all round with the feel of the charge case and a kind of textured feel on the earbuds both combined is really nice and they look great too once again putting Apples to shame which so many tech journos froth at the mouth over. I will say it again “you do not need to spend that much money on Apple products when there is better for less and these without doubt are an easy win here”. No disrespect to Apple they make nice products but their pricing is just wrong.

When it comes to comfort again it is great and the fit is really nice and they wont budge, I have started listening to podcasts lately and use these to help me fall asleep and when I wake up they are still there. I tend to listen to lots of music and TV in bed at night when testing headphones and earbuds and it is hard to find earbuds that stay put, headphones are obviously out of the equation here when trying to get asleep.

Controls are great and a simple tap or two and you can change whatever is required including the sound profile and a double tap to turn on/off the ANC we go through the rest in the video but overall with their own app they are yours to set up as you see fit and not stuck at a stock setting which is great for personalisation which is what consumers like these days.

How they sound is what everyone is here for and in short they are excellent for the price. Great on voice, voice calls, instruments and direction with no lag latency either, when doing my usual test loop they easily pass when watching Netflix and You Tube etc. With the choice of having ANC/Transparency mode and Normal a click away you are in control. You should by the way do the sound test to get the best results it it will take around 4/5 mins to complete. These are also decently loud too which for me is great, Selecting custom mode is worth a view too and with the options in there again you are in control. In transparency mode you have fully transparent and vocal mode..

Battery life has been rather good on these and stand up to their claims obviously with high volumes and ANC on it hits the juice but you can quickly charge up,10 minutes charging earbuds = 2 hours of playtime and use wireless charging I actually use this more than I do on my phones and usually have my earbuds on charge from the selection I am currently using. You can use these independently too so if one is charging you can still use the other.

Overall these are an easy pair of earbuds to recommend and for the money here I cant say one bad thing about them and that is a rare thing to say and from testing the biggest range of TWS in Ireland I know what I am talking about.

KEY FEATURES

  • ●  PureNote Driver technology with 11mm drivers for accurate sound and clarity at all frequencies.
  • ●  Multi-mode ANC with Transport, Indoor and Outdoor settings for customizable usage levels
  • ●  Two transparency modes enhance the environment including voices without removing earbuds.
  • ●  7-hour battery in earbuds with ANC off / 6-hour battery with ANC on
  • ●  Qi wireless charging case with 26 hour battery with ANC off / 21 hour battery with ANC on as well as USB-C charging.
  • ●  Anker Fast Charging technology – 10 minutes charging earbuds = 2 hours of playtime
  • ●  Premium call quality using 6-mic uplink noise reduction helps optimize voices and minimize background noise.
  • ●  Customizable user touch controls to set preferences for play/pause, track advance, volume, etc.
  • ●  Voice-assistant compatibility with Siri at launch and other popular voice-assistants in the future.
  • ●  Nine sets of silicone ear tips, ranging from XXXS to XL and L+ in ensure a proper fit.
  • ●  Bluetooth version – 5.0
  • ●  Waterproof rating – IPX4
  • ●  Available in Four Colors: Onyx Black, Titanium White, Sapphire Blue, and Crystal Pink
  • ●  Earbud size // Case size – 1.47” x 0.87” x 0.91” // 2.44” x 2.35” x 1.18”
  • ●  Earbud weight / Case weight – 0.37 oz // 1.78 oz

The Liberty Air 2 Pro now available in four colors including Onyx Black, Titanium White, Sapphire Blue, and Crystal Pink with an MSRP of $129.99 at Amazon.com, Soundcore.com and BestBuy.com. Additional retailers will be added in the coming weeks. the Liberty Air 2 Pro are available in the U.K for £129.99; Europe for €129.99 and Canada for $169.99 (CAD).

 

 

First Look and Unboxing. The Urbanista Miami Headphones with ANC #UrbanistaLife #Tech

Brand new to the market, Urbanista Miami is an Active Noise Cancelling, over ear headphone available in 4 stylish colours: Midnight Black, Pearl White, Teal Green and Ruby Red. Today we do a first look and unboxing of the new cans and these have a real premium feel to them..
Designed for those that live life in motion, Miami is the perfect over ear alternative to the brands latest London earbud and is packed with features such as Active Noise Cancelling, Active Voice Mode and 30 hours playtime, putting the listener in control and the headphones at the top of their league for a very affordable £129 MSRP.
Axel Grell, Urbanista’s acoustical engineer has critiqued, developed and fine tuned the sound of Miami to give it a warm contoured bass that extends to ultra-low frequencies, clean mids and highs. Miami provides a stunning, crisp sound experience whether you choose Active Noise Cancelling, Default or Ambient Sound Mode.
Key features:
  • Active Noise Cancelling
  • Ambient Sound Mode
  • 30hrs+ total playtime
  • Operating time with ANC on: 30hrs
  • On-Ear detection
  • Type C Charging
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Compatible with iOS and Android
  • Google Assistant

BUY HERE 

How the Pandemic Impacted the Gaming Industry and This Year’s Trends

Many industries have suffered and struggled last year because of the pandemic. However, it’s a different story for the gaming industry. Somehow, the on-going health crisis has boosted the growth of the gaming market including esports.

Lockdowns had to be implemented last year, and this forced people to stay at home and find indoor activities to be busy with. Many resorted to gaming including playing real money casino games. The best UK online casinos have reported a spike in their traffics when lockdowns have started.

Why People Resorted to Gaming

Well, to some, the pandemic happening in the modern age is still quite a blessing because it’s simply hard to stay at home if there isn’t much to do. Thanks to technology and the internet, people have plenty of things to get busy with when they weren’t allowed to go out.

Online gaming was an easy solution or answer to many who have felt boredom at home. It’s not just because they get to play any games with their computers or mobile devices. Gaming has become a social platform as well.

Through online games, people get to interact with their friends, families, or even strangers. Gone are the days when gaming has been thought to be an isolating activity. Even online casinos have the option for their players to enjoy a live dealer game and chat with other online players worldwide.

Mobile Gaming

Gaming today is also no longer an expensive hobby or activity. At least it doesn’t need to be expensive anymore. While there are still people who prefer to play with gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox, mobile gaming is quickly dominating the gaming market.

It’s easy to understand why mobile gaming is growing fast. People would just really rather spend money on a smartphone device rather than a computer or a gaming console. Smartphones today are becoming more and more powerful than it’s no longer just used to communicate with others. It has become a great source of entertainment for many. Some even need their smartphones to ensure productivity.

Gambling companies are also quick to adapt to the latest trends. Since the mobile market is growing, casinos are also shifting their focus this way. There are now plenty of gambling apps that people can download. Even Google is already starting to embrace this activity somehow. Recently, Google has allowed gambling apps to be on Play Store in 15 more countries.

Cloud Gaming

Technological advancements have also allowed gaming to be cheaper. Mobile gamers can now play with their friends who use gaming consoles and computers too. Cloud gaming is also becoming quickly popular. 

Even before the pandemic, cloud gaming was already getting a lot of attention. Cloud gaming allows people to play video games on different devices. It uses remote servers in data centers which means that players no longer have to download or install a game to their device.

It somehow works like video streaming platforms (Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc.). Players stream the game that they’d like to play and their controls are then passed on to the server where the game is installed. This is why a fast internet connection is important here.

As the 5G internet connection becomes more available worldwide, cloud gaming services will likely be more in demand. This is a great solution to cut the costs of gaming. People will no longer have to spend money on the latest gaming consoles. 

E-Sports

The pandemic has also boosted the e-sports sector. Last year, most of the major sports leagues were forced to cancel or delay their events. The English Premier League, the NBA, and the IPL all had to be rescheduled and because of that, there weren’t a lot of sports events for people to look forward to.

With this, sportsbooks had to find other ways to stay in business, and many of them have shifted their focus to other events like e-sports tournaments. E-sports is also taken more seriously nowadays. People have seen how big prize pools are and how pro players would take their games seriously. Even if professional sports events are back, likely, people who have discovered e-sports last year will still be interested in it this year.

Conclusion

The pandemic is not yet over but governments are becoming less strict when it comes to the implementation of the COVID 19 protocols. Still, 2021 and the next few years are expected to be good for the gaming industry. This year, more games will be released. PS5 took the gaming industry by storm despite a health crisis and Xbox also released Series X last year. This year will be another great one for the gamers out there. 

Perseverance lands on Mars, cloud-ready to explore. #AWS #Perseverance #NASA

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is helping NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) reach an inaugural and innovative milestone in deep space exploration. On Thursday, February 18, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover landed on Mars, after its 7-month, 300-million-mile journey from Earth. This is the first planetary NASA mission, with mission-critical communication and transfer of telemetry data in the cloud. During Perseverance’s mission on Mars, the science and engineering data will be processed and hosted in AWS, enabling the Mars 2020 mission to benefit from the scalability, agility, and reliability of the cloud.

Now on the surface and after completing initial checkouts, the Mars Rover team is receiving hundreds of images from Mars each day from a record number of cameras, resulting in thousands of images over Perseverance’s time on the planet. The cloud helps NASA JPL efficiently store, process, and distribute this high volume of data.

By using AWS, NASA JPL is able to process data from Mars, on Earth, faster than ever before. The increased processing speed will help NASA JPL make faster decisions on the health and safety of the rover. This information is critical for scientists and engineers to plan the rover’s next day activities. The rover requires visibility to drive, so it is important for the team to be able to send the next batch of instructions back to the rover within a specific timeframe. The increased efficiency will allow Mars 2020 to accomplish its ambitious goal of collecting more samples and driving longer distances during the prime mission, compared to previous rovers.

AWS also powers the Mars mission website. The website will be able to scale up to meet demand at any given time, with millions of visitors anticipated at peak times.

“AWS is proud to support NASA JPL’s Perseverance mission,” said Teresa Carlson, vice president, worldwide public sector and industries at AWS. “From the outset, AWS cloud services have enabled NASA JPL in its mission to capture and share mission-critical images, and help to answer key questions about the potential for life on Mars.”

Exploring with NASA JPL

To help send data back to Earth, the Mars Rover is equipped with sensors, cameras, and microphones. The sensors will gather scientific data like atmospheric information, wind speeds, and weather. The microphones will collect the sounds of the planet. This data will be processed by JPL and made publicly available so viewers can explore Mars alongside NASA JPL.

The public will also be able to track the Mars Rover location on a map and in a 3D experience that puts them in the middle of Mars and seeing the planet from the view of Perseverance. Viewers will also be able to see the raw images from the planet through several cameras whose images will be made available to the public.

AWS first started working with the NASA JPL Mars 2020 Rover team more than five years ago in preparation for this mission. Before Perseverance left Earth, the public also participated in the “Name the Rover” essay contest and signed up to send their own names to Mars in the “Send Your Name to Mars” campaign. Both the contest and the campaign websites were powered by AWS. A middle school student from Virginia won the competition to name the Mars Rover, and almost 11 million names are stenciled on a chip that is flying onboard Perseverance. Already more than four million people have signed up to send their names aboard the next mission, taking off in 2026.

Participate and learn more

Explore as Perseverance begins sending back data. Vote for your favorite image of the week, receive daily weather reports, and more. Check out more about AWS’s work with NASA JPL, and the Mars Rover. Read more about how the AWS Aerospace and Satellites team is enabling successful space missions.

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/publicsector/perseverance-lands-mars-cloud-ready-explore/

Solitaired Reimagines Classic Card Game With Historical and Educational Decks. #Solitaired #Cards #Apps

Online card game platform Solitaired is upping the ante with its new and exquisitely designed trivia decks. Players around the world can discover fun facts about some of history’s most fascinating figures here with Genshin Accounts for sale

The browser-based site offers more than 500 classic solitaire games, making them the perfect opportunity to educate and entertain yourself during COVID-19-enforced lockdowns. Enjoy the likes of card-based classics such as Solitaire, FreeCell, and Spider, all with an educational spin.

Created in collaboration with partners like Encyclopedia Britannica, the Jeopardy-winning biographers of Who2, and MIT’s Lemelson program, the educational deck designs have been created to add an additional flare to the hugely popular card games. For those who enjoy a mental workout beyond cards, exploring free online crossword games can be a great way to challenge your mind while staying entertained.

 

 

Created in collaboration with partners like Encyclopedia Britannica, the Jeopardy-winning biographers of Who2, and MIT’s Lemelson program, the educational deck designs have been created to add an additional flare to the hugely popular card games.

Solitaired founders, Neal Taparia and Darshan Somashekar previously created and sold EasyBib, an education software company that reached 30 million students annually, and looked at how games could be used to teach.

Somashekar said, “Solitaire continues to be one of the most popular games played. Millions of people play it every day as a fun way to take a break. Instead of just traditional cards, we saw an opportunity to shake things up and tell a story around fascinating figures. Now, when millions of people play this classic game, not only will they have fun, they’ll learn about individuals who’ve made a difference too.” 

Play Solitaired in your browser, at solitaired.com, or download the free app on Android

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos Launches its Epic Quest on Nintendo Switch and PC Today. #Gaming

Team17 and Heliocentric Studios have opened the gates to roguelite adventure Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos on PC and Nintendo Switch, allowing players from far and wide to venture forth either solo or with up to three friends in local and online co-operative gameplay, and work together to save the land of Tasos from the sinister Titans.

 

Rest up weary traveller, this launch trailer will prepare you:

 

 

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos takes players on a journey across the land of Tasos and into the depths of challenging, procedurally assembled dungeons located throughout the world. Gems earned during dungeon runs can be used to rebuild your home town of Intori, which in turn grants access to upgrades that can improve your warriors as well as unlocking other classes and equipment.

Players can help each other out in co-operative play, either locally or online, but those who take on the challenge will have their experiences tailored to them, with puzzles and challenges scaling depending on the number of players. Each hero can be customised, along with a selection of classes, all of which have their own abilities and benefits in gameplay, and players wanting a taste of the action can try a free demo on Steam and Nintendo Switch right now.

 

Key Features:

  • Four-player co-op adventuring: Up to four players can explore the lands of Tasos and tackle the dungeons, assisting and reviving each other to earn victory together
  • Roguelite dungeon-crawling: Take on procedurally-generated dungeons packed with a variety of monsters, earning gems to spend on upgrades to get further in the next run
  • Town and class upgrades: Each run in the dungeon earns heroes gems to spend on upgrades, including the facilities in the town, as well as player abilities and stats
  • Classic gameplay reinvented: This is top-down adventuring brought into the modern day with colourful visuals and a number of options for combat, puzzle-solving, and exploration.

 

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is available on all platforms for £15.99 / €19.99 / $19.99.

To keep up to date with all the information on Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos please like on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and join the conversation on Discord.

Microchip to Invest $20M in a New Development Centre in Cork. #Microchip #IDA #Jobs

Microchip Technology is investing $20M to create a new development centre based in Cork. The new facility will open during Q1 CY21 and create 60 new jobs over the next three years and approximately 200 jobs within the next seven years. The creation of this centre will reinforce Microchip’s existing presence in Ireland and boost the pool of engineering talent across key skills. Located close to the city centre, this new facility will incorporate an engineering lab to support state-of-the-art innovation and extend Microchip’s regional customer support. The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Initially, the development centre will focus on mixed-signal integrated circuit design, applications and software development for high-speed networking, timing and synchronization products, high voltage power management devices and solutions, high reliability integrated power systems and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA).

Close partnerships with Irish universities will enable the Microchip development centre to offer internships and collaborate on key next-generation initiatives. The partnership between the development centre and leading Universities in Ireland will enhance the knowledge base and skill levels of engineers in the semiconductor development space in Ireland.

The development centre will also participate in Microchip’s New College Graduate (NCG) programme, which operates worldwide, and in the Government of Ireland’s Skillnet programme which promotes the development of future skills.

The development centre will build on Microchip’s existing presence in Ireland which is a mix of operations in Dublin, Cork and Ennis. As part of a network of development centres across Europe, the Cork development centre will work seamlessly with many Microchip business units. The creation of jobs will include engineers for integrated circuit design and testing, hardware and software system design, applications development plus field and customer support.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “I welcome Microchip Technology’s $20m investment in a new development centre in Cork. Eventually this centre will create 200 new jobs and is further testament to the depth of engineering and research talent in the country. The partnerships established with leading Irish universities will also ensure strong opportunities for graduates in the growing digital economy. I wish them every success.”

 Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD said: “This is really welcome news from Microchip. There is a deep pool of talent in Cork and the South West enabling companies like Microchip to grow and embed their operations in Ireland. This investment will result in the creation of 60 new jobs over the next three years, with a further expansion of up to 200 over the next seven years. Congratulations to the team involved and best of luck for the future.”

 “The new Microchip development centre in Cork will establish a significant R&D presence in Ireland and emphasise Microchip’s commitment to Ireland and Europe as a whole,’ explains Ganesh Moorthy, President and CEO-Elect of Microchip. “Cork was chosen for the development centre as it is the second-largest city in Ireland, with a growing pool of talented engineers and the Centre will add to Microchip’s ability to deliver superior products and be able to provide timely response to our customers. Availability of analogue and mixed-signal talent is another key factor in selecting Cork.”

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said: “Today’s announcement by Microchip is very welcome. The company’s investment in a new development centre aligns with IDA’s Strategy to attract engineering development activity to Ireland and to secure investments for regional locations. I wish Microchip every success with this initiative.” 

Poly launches Savi 7300 Series: Teams-certified noise-cancelling headsets for the open office

Poly today introduced the Savi 7300 Office Series, the latest addition in the company’s line-up of popular Savi wireless headsets. The Savi 7300 Office Series, designed with enhanced DECT™ security and Poly’s best-in-class audio, delivers confidence that you’re getting the highest degree of privacy and call clarity for all conversations, even in shared spaces like call centres and customer service hubs.

“Privacy and security continue to be two of the most requested features that global leaders, especially those in financial services, government, healthcare and contact centres look for in today’s headsets for their workforces,” said John Lamarque, vice president and general manager, voice collaboration, Poly. “At Poly, we address these needs head-on with pro-grade wireless headsets on which our customers can rely.”

Greater Conversation Privacy and Security

The Savi 7300 Office Series offers Poly’s Acoustic Fence microphone technology so workers will always be heard, but never overheard. Built with the latest DECT™ wireless technology, the Savi 7300 Office Series ensures that even the strictest internal security requirements for wireless headsets are met with ease.

The Savi 7300 Office Series is designed to the highest level of DECT™ Security Step C, and is further enhanced with 256-bit AES encryption, the same level of maximum protection used for military communications.

Poly Savi 7310
Poly Savi 7320

Superior Density Performance

The Savi 7300 Office Series’ top-notch use of the DECT™ spectrum provides 2x better density compared to other DECT headsets and allows more people to work in the same area without being overheard. The Savi 7300 Office Series is ideal for industries who regularly deal with sensitive information in highly dense call center areas, like finance and healthcare, where secure, superior performance and connectivity are an essential part of day-to-day operations, no matter how many others might be nearby when taking a call.

Microsoft Teams Open Office Certification

Thanks to its Acoustic Fence technology, Savi 7300 Office Series has been awarded the Microsoft Teams Open Office certification, certifying that the headset only picks up the voice of the headset user, but not the sound of others in an open space. In addition to the Teams certification, the Teams version of the Savi 7300 Office Series comes with a dedicated Teams button so it’s easy to start a meeting and get notifications, and still sound great.

“The need for security and privacy has never been a more critical piece of what businesses demand from devices today,” said Mohamed Alaa Saayed, ICT Industry Director & Fellow – Connected Work, Frost & Sullivan. “Organisations are busier than ever and workplaces like call centres are often ground zero for some of the most important conversations – from healthcare, to finance, to customer services – making the privacy and reliability of Savi 7300 Office Series that much more essential to keeping day-to-day operations seamless and secure.”

The Savi 7300 Office Series is available today on Poly.com and with authorised resellers  worldwide. For more information on pricing and availability, please visit: Savi 7300 Office Series