AMI partners with YSI and donates €30,000 of IT equipment to drive social innovation

YSI engages primarily transition year students with programmes that encourage young people to re-imagine and improve the societies they live in. The donation will facilitate the many YSI student-led projects aimed at improving our communities and provide an environmentally friendly solution to YSI’s IT needs.

AMI, Ireland’s leading secure IT retirement company, today announces a new sponsorship with Young Social Innovators (YSI) which includes an initial donation of IT equipment worth in excess of €30,000. AMI, as YSI’s Computer Sponsor, will be supporting Ireland’s largest social innovation and entrepreneurial education programme for 12 to 18 year-old teens. In this role, AMI will supply IT hardware which will be used to facilitate the many student-led projects aimed at improving communities.

Since its founding in 2001, more than 130,000 students have engaged in YSI programmes with 7,000 young people taking part in 2016/17 alone. Over the years young innovators have led more than 5,000 innovative projects designed to address social challenges important to them. AMI is eager to support YSI in fulfilling its goals by reaching more young people across the country and enriching their social innovation learning experience.

Pictured at the announcement that AMI has donated 30,000 of IT equipment to YSI are: (L-R) Rachel Collier, co-founder and CEO, YSI; Philip McMichael, managing director, AMI; and Faye Thomas, business manager, AMI.

AMI specialises in secure IT retirement services and ranks among the world’s top seven companies for the quality of its secure data sanitisation processes, according to the world’s leading IT disposal standards body, ADISA. One quarter of Ireland’s 200 largest IT user organisations already have their old IT devices retired by AMI.

With its experience and resources, AMI is in the ideal position to support YSI as its Computer Sponsor. AMI works to reuse IT equipment where possible and by doing so will offer an environmentally friendly solution to YSI’s IT hardware needs. The donated hardware has been installed in YSI’s premises and will enable students to work on-site and in collaboration with the senior YSI team to hone their innovative solutions.

Pictured at the announcement that AMI has donated 30,000 of IT equipment to YSI are: (L-R) Rachel Collier, co-founder and CEO, YSI; Philip McMichael, managing director, AMI.

 

Philip McMichael, managing director of AMI, said: “Since encountering the work of Young Social Innovators, we have been bowled over by the scale of its ambition. From the innovative and impactful projects developed through the programme, to the imparting of key business and leadership skills to young people, the benefits of Young Social Innovators are huge. That is why we at AMI are delighted to partner with YSI and to support the growth of this fantastic initiative.”

Rachel Collier, co-founder and CEO of Young Social Innovators, said: “YSI’s mission is to develop lifelong skills in young people and empower them to have a real impact in society. Every year we see particularly passionate projects on conservation and the protection of our environment. AMI’s work in re-using and extending the life of IT equipment, coupled with their commitment to a zero landfill policy and environmentally responsible disposal, make them a perfect partner for us.”

“We are committed to growing our programmes and reaching more and more schools, educators and students each year. We are delighted to welcome AMI to our Companies for Social Innovation Network and look forward to their continued support. This will go a long way to ensuring that the power of youth is harnessed to tackle key issues in our society.”

Lomography launches the LC-A Anniversary Editions. #photography #cameras #lomography

To celebrate 25 Years of Lomography have just launched three limited edition models of the LC-A+, LCA 120 and LC-Wide. These unique editions are dressed in brown leather with an embossed message on the back. Over the last 25 years the LC-A cameras have been a constant source of inspiration for creative film photographers and are still inspiring new generations. We have some samples en-route of products from Lomography so stay tuned for more on that.

SUITED AND BOOTED FOR A BIG BIRTHDAY

With us through thick and thin, the Lomo LC-A has been by our side for 25 whole years! As a
touching tribute to our steadfast, old friend — which has won over analogue hearts around
the world with its instantly identifiable moody vignetting and punchy saturated colors —
we’ve created three leather-clad, 25th Anniversary limited editions of the Lomo LC-A+, Lomo
LC-Wide and Lomo LC-A 120.

A CONSTANT SOURCE OF EXPERIMENTAL INSPIRATION
The LC-A has been our go-to, pocket-sized companion for a whole quarter-century now,
amazing us each and every day with its experimental abilities like long exposures, multiple
exposures, lightning-fast zone focusing and so much more, and we can’t wait for you to
experience this loveable live-wire’s creative magic, too!

STEEPED IN ANALOGUE HISTORY
No one could have predicted just how far shock waves would be felt around the analogue
world when a group of footloose Viennese students stumbled across the LC-A camera in 1992.
25 years and millions of stunning pictures after that fateful encounter, the LC-A still stands
proudly at the creative core of Lomography.

See the range HERE

 

 

Unboxing the Sudio Regent Bluetooth headphones, Grab a 15% discount here. #tech

Sudio have sent us their Sudio Regent headphones to check out and they also have a 15% disocunt for our readers so check that out. We have the White Sudio headphones with us now so check them out and see if they are something you would like.

Sudio has engineered an ultra-modern range of lifestyle headphones so that you’ll never miss a beat. No matter what you’re up to, bring along crystal clear, studio-quality sound and find your perfect Sudio Moment.

Check out their website HERE and dont forget to use the code techbuzzireland15 at the checkout. We will be speaking some more on their prodcuts in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more..

An app to make use for your eir.ie webtext allowance,send webtexts easily & quickly. #IrishDevs #Apps

Amedeo, is an independent app developer and has been publishing apps on the Play Store since 2014. He currently is in the 3rd year of his Bachelor’s in Engineering of Computing Systems, Amedeo also work part-time for a software company in Dublin, so he gets the chance to challenge himself and perfect his skills. Mobile software development is something he has always been into and that taught himself to do so in his free time; more recently he became increasingly interested in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision.
Amadeo is the developer of eir.ie Webtext, An unofficial Android app to send webtexts easily and conveniently from your device. The key principle is speed and reliability, the official My Eir app is slow and requires signing-in every single time you wish to use it which can be frustrating and discourages users from using their webtext allowance.
Many plans – with particular reference to ex Meteor ones – don’t offer texts+data, so you end up paying for the SMSs you send.
This particular app is out of necessity, there used to be a couple of apps which did the same thing, but they all stopped working after the switchover from Meteor to Eir, so I decided to create his own version.
His app has been downloaded more than 900 times and holds a 4.7/5 average rating; it will shortly be reaching the 1k downloads mark, which is impressive considering it is less than 3 months old.

 

Features:

• Fast and Easy to use

• Automatic contact lookup

• Support for old ex-Meteor accounts

• Support for new eir.ie accounts

• Keeps track of sent messages

• Remaining allowance

• Support for mixed (eir+meteor) accounts

• Backup your messages to Google Drive

Urbanista announce The FashionableFit range with #HannahAndersson. #fitness

The FashionableFit edition is in a high-gloss material, discrete details and all the functionalities of the award-winning Seattle. These headphones are sturdy (TR90) and have a practical folding function that saves room and makes them easy to pack. They are compatible with devices in all shapes and sizes (Android, iOS and Windows). These come hot off the heels of their other announcements today which are avaialble to see right HERE 

The inspirational Hannah Andersson is not only a fitness influencer but also a entrepreneur who want to empower women with her unique workout concepts and clothing line. Urbanista are doing this headphone collection together with Hannah, to bring the positive energy that music brings to every workout. To be healthy never goes out of fashion. 

 

Enjoy a powerful audio experience. These headphones combines sleek design with a kick-ass clear sound, crisp highs and boosted bass.The protein leather headphone-cushions with isolating memory foam mold to the shape of your ears to give you an enjoyable music experience. For a comfortable fit throughout the day, simply adjust the headband and you’re good to go. Seattle FashionableFit x Urbanista is Bluetooth with 12 hours of playtime on a single charge, but don’t worry, it comes with a complimentary fabric cord to plug in if the battery would run out. It is equipped with built in swipe technology so you can control your music and calls with the power of your fingertip.

BUY HERE 

Boston Fashionablefit edition

Enjoy a powerful audio experience. These headphones combines sleek design with a kick-ass clear sound, crisp highs and boosted bass. FashionableFit x Urbanista Boston is Bluetooth with 6 hours of playtime on a single charge. Boston is there to help boost your workout. The earphones are water and sweat-resistant (IPX5 certified).

BUY HERE 

 

 

 

Urbanista – Announces “New York” headphones two new colours with ANC and more. #Headphones

Need some new cans?? Urbansita have announced two new colours to its “NEW YORK” range which are wireless,  Dark Clown (black) and the new smashing color Moon Walk (silver). These also come in a wired edition too.  We have reviewed multiple prodcuts form this company whom names its tech after cities and we have many more reviews coming your way soon and so far their goods have proven they are good prodcuts and lasting..

New York Bluetooth headphones featuring active noise cancellation (ANC) means you can wear them at the office or in the bustling streets and enjoy your music undisturbed. With the ANC feature on, you get 16 hours of noise-free, pure musical enjoyment on one single charge. With the ANC feature off, you get 25 hours of wireless music and calls. Should you ever run out of power, you can connect them to your device with the complimentary cable.

FEATURES
  • Bluetooth: 4.1
  • Speaker size: φ40mm
  • Sensitivity: 94dB±3dB At 1KHz
  • Impedance: 32Ω15﹪
  • Frequency range: 2.4GHz-2.48GHz
  • Hands-free with microphone and volume control
  • Stand-by time: 700h
  • Play time: 16h with ANC, 25h without anc
  • Charging: Micro USB, <2.5hrs charging time
  • Compatible with Android, iOS and Windows
  • Weight: 234g (without packaging)
  • Weight including packaging: 634g
  • Package size: 200x200x85mm

BUY HERE 

Also announced is the fashionablefit range 

 

 

Finally – Alexa and Amazon Echo devices now available in Ireland. #Alexa #Amazon #IoT

Launched back in 2014 and could previously ship them in via virtual adressess but now its got easier,this also opens the door for Irish developers, There also has been a battle between this and Google Home and Amazon is winning you can read more on this HERE ,This also means better IoT  intergration for all at home and the likes has been heavily seen at CES this year with many prodcuts having the same embedded into new tech launching soon..

Amazon Alexa and Amazon Echo are now available in Ireland. Customers in Ireland can get the Alexa experience available in the United Kingdom on the all-new Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus, with skills from local developers including RTÉ News, Ryanair, Irish Radioplayer, Dublin’s FM104, and more. Customers can order from www.amazon.co.uk/echo and pay in Euro at checkout.

Additionally, Amazon has also expanded the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to enable developers around the world to build voice experiences for Alexa customers in Ireland.

“The customer response to Alexa and Echo across the world has been incredibly positive, and we’re excited to make them available to customers in Ireland,” said Jorrit Van Der Meulen, Vice President, Amazon Devices International. “Customers can just ask Alexa to provide information, play music, make calls, send messages, and use thousands of skills—including locally-developed skills from developers including RTÉ, Irish Radioplayer, Ryanair and more.”

Amazon Echo—Hands-Free, Always Ready, and Fast

Echo is designed around your voice, and is hands-free and always ready. Just ask for information, music, news, weather, and more from across the room and get results instantly. Echo uses far-field voice recognition with an array of seven microphones to clearly hear you from across the room, while advanced beam-forming technology combines the signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, and even competing speech.

The all-new Amazon Echo features 2nd generation far-field voice technology, and its audio design includes a dedicated tweeter, a 2.5” down-firing woofer, and Dolby processing to deliver crisp vocals and dynamic bass. Echo is designed to disappear into your home, with a variety of shell colours and finishes to fit into your home’s décor—choices include Charcoal, Sandstone, and Heather Grey. Echo Plus includes all the features of Echo, including room-filling sound powered by Dolby and a far-field microphone array, and adds a built-in smart home hub to help customers start their smart home. To help customers get started with their smart home, a Philips Hue smart lightbulb is included with the purchase of an Echo Plus while supplies last.

Echo Dot uses the same far-field voice recognition as Echo, and is designed so you can put an Echo Dot into every room. Use the built-in speaker to talk to Alexa and listen to music, or connect to speakers through Bluetooth or a 3.5mm stereo cable.

 

 Alexa—The Brain Behind Amazon Echo

Alexa—the brain behind Echo—is built in the cloud, so she’s always getting smarter. Just ask and she’ll answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, check your calendar, and much more. Customers in Ireland will be able to access the majority of features currently available in the UK on Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus—including the ability to make calls and send messages from Echo to Echo, or to and from the Alexa app for iOS and Android.

Amazon Music Unlimited—now in Ireland, and streaming on Alexa

Alexa offers a seamless, hands-free music experience with premier music services including the all-new Amazon Music Unlimited service—also available in Ireland. Customers in Ireland can stream Amazon Music Unlimited to hear a catalogue of more than 40 million songs, including a wide-selection of hand-curated playlists and personalised stations. Using just their voice, customers can search for music by artist, album, track or genre, and control volume and playback by saying “Alexa, turn it up”, or “Alexa, skip this song” If you aren’t sure who an artist is, just say “Alexa, which song is this?”

Amazon Music Unlimited is €9.99 per month for an individual plan, or €14.99 per month for a family plan covering up to six family members. Customers can also get an exclusive Echo subscription plan available for only €3.99 per month for a single Amazon Echo device, with full access to Amazon Music Unlimited.

Alexa Skills Kit—Developers Can Create New Skills for Alexa

Amazon has made the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) available to developers interested in building skills for customers in Ireland. ASK is a collection of self-service APIs and tools that make it fast and easy for developers to create new voice-driven capabilities for Alexa. No experience with speech recognition or natural language understanding is required—Amazon does all the work to hear, understand, and process the customer’s spoken request so a developer doesn’t have to. In addition to offering skills from Spotify, Philips Hue, IKEA, Hive and more, Alexa also has skills from Irish developers including RTÉ, Ryanair, Irish Radioplayer and more.

Alexa Voice Service—Device Makers Can Integrate Alexa into Their Devices

The Alexa Voice Service (AVS) enables developers to integrate Alexa directly into their products, bringing the convenience of voice control to any connected device. Through AVS, hardware manufacturers can build Alexa-enabled products and offer customers in Ireland access to a growing number of Alexa features, smart home integrations, and skills. AVS provides developers with access to a suite of resources to quickly and easily build Alexa-enabled products, including APIs, hardware development kits, software development kits, and documentation.

Developers can learn more about the Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice Service here: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa.

Pricing and Availability – Customers in Ireland can order Amazon Echo from just £89.99, Echo Plus for just £139.99, and Echo Dot for just £49.99 from Amazon.co.uk, with the option to pay in Euro at checkout, with Irish credit cards, and ship directly to addresses in Ireland. For more information on Echo devices, visit www.amazon.co.uk/echo.

Argos also have some prodcuts listed right now so check them out HERE 

 

 

Verizon Telematics Continues European Expansion with its Acquisition of Movildata Internacional

The parent company of Irish fleet and mobile workforce management solution provider Fleetmatics has continued its European expansion with the acquisition of Movildata Internacional, a Murcia, Spain-based provider of commercial fleet management solutions.

Verizon Communications Inc. has today announced the acquisition of Movildata Internacional, a Murcia, Spain-based provider of commercial fleet management solutions. Terms of the transaction, which closed on Jan. 19, 2018, have not been disclosed.

Verizon Telematics is an established leader across Europe with a strong presence in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland. Movildata, an established industry leader in Spain, complements Verizon Telematics’ expanding operations in southern Europe, specifically Portugal and Italy.

“We see Movildata as a natural fit and highly synergistic with our European business,” said Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics. “This strategic acquisition strengthens Verizon Telematics’ market position, accelerates growth and allows us to expand the footprint of our market-leading solutions and services.”

With more than five million commercial vehicles, Spain represents the second largest market for commercial vehicles in Western Europe according to leading industry analyst firm Berg Insight. Furthermore, the market for fleet management solutions is significantly underpenetrated compared to other major markets in Europe, creating opportunities for growth.

Movildata employees have joined the Verizon Telematics team and will continue to drive sales and support for its current fleet management products. In addition, Verizon Telematics plans to add Fleetmatics’ REVEAL™ to the portfolio of software solutions available to Spanish fleet operators. Verizon Telematics provides world-class vehicle tracking and business intelligence solutions designed to help generate cost savings, improve productivity and help monitor driver safety for virtually any mobile workforce.

“We are proud of what the company has accomplished in this market, and we know that with this transaction our success will continue,” said Luis Enrique Rodrigo, CEO of Movildata. “Verizon Telematics’ expansive global reach and robust portfolio of technologies and solutions will allow us to grow the business in Spain and expand our customer service to the next level.”

#Freda – The new organic period care range using #AI to drag #Femcare into the 21st Century @fredaspeaks

For the ladies to take note.. Freda is the first truly organic, 100% cotton, eco-friendly period care range that is using tech and artificial intelligence to reboot femcare for the 21st Century, and is on a mission to de-stigmatise periods and end period poverty which affects over 130m women and girls worldwide.

Using artificial intelligence to predict your start date its online period tracker allows you to sync the delivery of your products to ensure they arrive a few days before your cycle. The tracker combines an advanced algorithm and insight from specialist consultant gynaecologists. As you input your personal data, the algorithm gets to know your period cycles over time which makes even irregular periods more predictable and the Freda delivery timelier.

Named after Freyja who, in Norse mythology, is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty and fertility, Freda believes that having honest conversations is key to creating a generational change towards bringing periods to the forefront of awareness which will help to bust myths, break taboos and normalise the conversation. A Freda subscription costs around £6.99 a month.

Aimed at modern, health and socially conscious women, its tampons are made of 100% certified organic cotton that are biodegradable, hypoallergenic – and free from chemicals and synthetic fibres commonly found in some big brand tampons – whilst their pads contain 100%eco-friendly, biodegradable materials. Freda is on a mission to break down taboos and stigma by normalising conversation around periods. The company has been created for women by women – and they give back to women as a portion of every Freda purchase is donated to initiatives worldwide tackling period poverty.

“From transparency to responsibility to access, the whole femcare space needs rebooting. And Freda is here to reboot it”, says Freda founder Affi Parvizi-Wayne who started the company after seeing refugees stuck at European border crossings on the news and wondering how they managed their periods. “We want to talk openly about the subject without patronising women or telling them how to live their periods. We want to embrace how we experience periods and start recognising them as a sign of a healthy woman”, Affi adds.

Freda is an online subscription service which understands that every cycle is different, and allows you to select your own combination of products and absorbencies based on your period. Using artificial intelligence to predict your start date its online period tracker allows you to sync the delivery of your products to ensure they arrive a few days before your cycle. The tracker combines an advanced algorithm and insight from specialist consultant gynaecologists. As you input your personal data, the algorithm gets to know your period cycles over time which makes even irregular periods more predictable and the Freda delivery timelier.

A Freda subscription costs around £6.99 a month and can be purchased at www.myfreda.com

Instagram @MyFreda – Facebook @MyFreda – Twitter @fredaspeaks