Author: Jim O Brien/CEO

CEO and expert in transport and Mobile tech. A fan 20 years, mobile consultant, Nokia Mobile expert, Former Nokia/Microsoft VIP,Multiple forum tech supporter with worldwide top ranking,Working in the background on mobile technology, Weekly radio show, Featured on the RTE consumer show, Cavan TV and on TRT WORLD. Award winning Technology reviewer and blogger. Security and logisitcs Professional.

The iGaming industry embraces new technologies with open arms

Technology is moving forward at breakneck speed, for better or worse in some cases. One sector that really is making the most out of the rapid development of new technologies is online casinos.

As software development gets more intricate and new tools become available, the quality of online casinos increases. Right now, casino games are better than ever, and there are loads of handy ways for casino players to streamline their experience.

 Today, we will be looking at some of those technologies and finding out how they’ve helped the online casino world. Just make sure that you go to the right casino site in the first place if you want to make the most out of these technologies such as the slots which is in constant development – you can check out the best ones at Irishluck.ie. This irish online casino portal also helps you find the best bonuses for free spins, as Irish casinos just love to dish out freebies for online casinos. 

Better graphics

Perhaps the most satisfying way that technologies have improved in online casino gaming is the graphics’ advancement. Think about old slot games for a second. NetEnt’s 2011 slot Starburst, for example, was considered to be one of the best for graphics around the time it was released, but then ten years later, in 2021, its sequel was released: Starburst Xxxtreme.

Not only was this new version of Starburst packed with exciting new features, but the graphics themselves were on a whole new level. It’s just one example of how far casino game graphics have come over the years! The games also look a lot better on smartphone apps than they have done in the past, and that’s great news for people who like to take their casino games on the go with them.

Exciting new game features

These days, there are loads of elaborate casino games that have a bunch of extra features packed in that we’ve never seen before. Now that games can be more powerful, they can hold more data, and that’s why developers have greater freedom to make these features.

Many of these extra features come in mini-games, particularly in slots. Traditionally, you’d be lucky to get some free spins or a wild symbol. Nowadays, there are tonnes of mini-games such as pathway games (you roll a dice to move around a board and collect prizes) and pick-me bonus rounds (you have to select from several objects to reveal a big prize).

 

New payment solutions

In times of the past, requesting a cash withdrawal or placing a deposit at an online casino site could have been a pretty tiresome experience. You’d have to reach quite a high minimum amount to withdraw, and when you did, it would need to be withdrawn to the same payment card you used to place the deposit. Plus, it could take a week or more for this to happen.

Nowadays, thanks to Neteller, Skrill, and PayPal, neither of these things are a problem anymore. These e-Wallets allow you to put the money wherever you want it to go (moving it from bank account to bank account with ease), and withdrawal times are a lot quicker. They can even be instant!

 

What next for online casino technology?

It’s hard to say exactly what’s around the corner for online casino technology. Still, we can make a few predictions that have an excellent chance of coming to fruition. Here are a few of those:

 

  • Virtual reality: VR headsets such as Oculus Quest are fantastic, and they’re only going to get better in the future. Indeed it’s only a matter of time before VR casino gaming becomes a pretty big thing. We’d love to find out what that feels like.
  • Cryptocurrencies: Many online casino sites have already begun to take payments in Bitcoin and Ethereum, but it’s still reasonably fringe. We’d like to see many more casinos taking a wider range of crypto payments in the future.
  • Augmented reality: live casino gaming is a lot of fun. Being able to play against a real-life dealer over a video stream helps you feel closer to the brick-and-mortar casino of the real world, a place we all love to see. In the future, live casinos could use AR technology to bring that reality to the next level.

We can’t wait to see what the future has to offer. Still, until then, we’re going to continue to enjoy the high-quality casino games of today.

New Jabra Hearing Enhancement Earbuds Unveiled

GN, the global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announces the availability of the first-of-its-kind innovative Jabra Enhance™ Plus earbuds engineered for hearing enhancement in the US on February 25th. It is an ambition to launch Jabra Enhance Plus in further markets internationally, as local regulations develop. Any new markets will be communicated when relevant.

Jabra Enhance Plus combines the convenience and design of true wireless earbuds with advanced hearing technology to address the needs of millions with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, helping them take the first steps on their hearing health journey.

Jabra Enhance Plus comes in a miniaturised earbud design, 40% smaller than leading small true wireless earbuds in the market. The earbuds are designed with cutting-edge personalisation technology, enabling individualised situational hearing enhancement during real-life conversations, and includes high-quality calls and music quality. They will provide hearing help for users in a comfortable design that will be the smallest of its kind in the market. The stylish design combines organic and modern lines, creating a desirable look both in and out of the ear. And with leading battery life of 10 hours on a single charge, it is a reliable partner for challenging hearing situations. The product is water and dust resistant. The simple setup through the Jabra Enhance app allows for a great experience from the start.

Jabra Enhance Plus has been developed according to the highest standards of quality and has been 510(k)-cleared with the FDA under the self-fit hearing aid regulation. The new earbuds will be available from February 25 this year in select Hearing Care clinics across the US with a recommended retail price of 799 USD.

Anticipating the OTC regulation

Today, more than 50 million American adults live with some level of untreated hearing loss. This makes hearing loss one of the most prevalent and largest untreated health conditions in the US. In October 2021, the FDA released a draft regulation to introduce a new Over-The-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aid category. This will allow greater access and more affordable hearing treatment options.

“GN welcomes the intention of increasing awareness and treatment of hearing loss to improving people’s quality of life through the power of sound. With Jabra Enhance Plus, more people will have a solution that has been specifically tailored to their needs and lifestyle,” says Gitte Aabo, CEO of GN Hearing.

“When the new OTC regulation comes into effect, we look forward to be there to help people with solutions that provide better situational hearing as well as music and calls in modern and stylish designs”, says René Svendsen-Tune, CEO at Jabra.

Learn more about the new Jabra Enhance Plus at www.jabra.com/enhance-plus

Available in select Hearing Care Clinics across the US from February 25th.

Tech Review – Garmin Instinct Solar review

I have a thing for watches and have lots of them and over the years this has extended to smart watches and now I have a collection of those too and people again ask WHY but just like my phone collection which both happened by accident really because of what i do it is nice to pick and choose from and weigh up what is on offer and it is good to change over every now and then, currently I am using the Apple Watch Series 7 45mm which I have left aside to check out this offering from Garmin as it has quite alot on offer despite its clean plain looks vs a stand out looking bright screen face and full of colour do not let the black and white screen on the solar instinct fool you.

Build is solid on the Instinct Solar and one of the best you may find out there this is as tough as it gets, having used this for a few weeks it has had all kinds of bangs and knocks and not a mark to be seen which is remarkable which less can be said for other watches I have which have had to have a cover added or screen replacement so for me this is win.

On the looks department well it is pretty bog standard and plain akin to a casio however people like this and some do not for me it is new and by that I mean it is a first of a kind when it comes to a display I do own older similar styled non smart watches just because your watch might be plain and simple looking does not mean it is not capable and that is what most folk I showed this watch could not believe when I showed them however there is some caveats here but overall not much else to complain about being honest.

The watch has 3 pushers on the left and 2 on the right and all labelled these pushers are also solid with a texture and easy to identify blindly and function well all the time,sometimes pushers can get blocked or simply fail to work which is not the case here certainly after what I put it through.

The screen is Black and White but it does not take away the features available or what you can avail of built in on the app, there is something for everyone here no matter what sport you are into, you can see more of what I mean in the video below. The screen is power glass which can keep your watch topped up on the go never mind the insane battery life which is really impressive and for someone who hates charging a smartwatch daily this is one key feature for me that I like, I have not had to charge the watch yet since it landed which is great.

To get going you will need the garmin connect app which is quite good actually in terms of functionality and easy enough to set up and navigate and once applied you can custom to your needs like any other offering out there and control what you want delivered to your watch, this is something you spend time on with any smartwatch as having the dam thing going off all day can be annoying and for me I tailor what I want to receive.

This watch is ideal for the outdoors for the most and also has a built in compass which is handy but it also offers health features galore so it is a pretty solid overall purchase if you can get past the black and white affair on the screen yet robust and solid with graphs galore and more which can deliver much useful information to you, the price though might out some off due to the influx of cheaper watches out there but again these do not offer as much as this one does, perhaps if this was a color screen it might be more attractive but then so would the price.

BUY 

Video Link 

Bank of Ireland SMS scam you need to be careful of. Scams #SMS #BankOfIreland

Updated – Again this scam is going on we first brought this to the banks attention back in April 2020 before any of the media did, Some media think this is new regarding the identifier when in fact it is almost two years old.

We are all aware of the scams going around with the banks of late and some we have reported on before but this one took  interest today when it came through on my phone via SMS. Yes there is SMS going around too and some without or without an identifier on the SMS ie a sender or reference on top and if you are a BOI customer you will understand the problem here.

As seen in the tweet above if you are a customer of BOI you may already have an SMS on your device in a thread such as I do from BOI which is fine and legit but the text now continues in the same thread giving it a more genuine look and as if it came from your bank and if you click on the link in the SMS it lands you on a page identical to BOI which is then where the scammers will catch you out and you have handed over all your details.

BOI perhaps did not understand the question here as they include another party in the conversation as it was me who got the text but contacted me via DM and then got the message and are now looking into the matter, best thing to do is for those whom maybe a new BOI customer is delete the current threads to start with and also check the identifier on top too and do not open any link sent via SMS no matter what is says or how good it may appear.

BroadForward and 1NCE cooperate to meet future demands of 5G and beyond

BroadForward, provider of intelligent signaling software, today announced it has successfully deployed multiple core network routing functions at 1NCE, the first provider of connectivity and software for IoT at a global flat rate. 1NCE is utilizing the BroadForward solution, enabling it to deliver cost-effective and flexible routing services for their worldwide cellular IoT network, and making its network ready for future demands of 5G and beyond.

According to analysts GSMA Intelligence, the global Internet of Things (IoT) market will be worth $900 billion in revenue by 2025. 1NCE is a market leader with over 7,000 customers and 10 million managed connections. They are a market disruptor, not only providing direct access to its networks and roaming partners via 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, NB-IoT and LTE-M in over 100 countries worldwide, but also by offering a highly competitive flat rate IoT data plan.

The routing functions that run on BroadForward’s converged signaling solution, support on-the-fly management of signaling scenarios across all SS7, Diameter and HTTP/2 IoT traffic. The solution supports combining these network functions on the same platform with other BroadForward network products, such as the SS7 and Diameter Firewall as well as the 5G SCP and SEPP. BroadForward has seen a major increase in demand for their solution. Operators cite various reasons for replacement of their legacy equipment, such as products declared End of Life (EOL), network rationalization and cost reduction, as well as High Risk Vendor (HRV) programs enforced by governments and regulators.

Younes Allaki, Chief Technology Officer at 1NCE, commented “Although 5G is growing fast, most of our cellular IoT business is still on 3G and 4G. However, BroadForward helps us to meet future demands by allowing us to easily shift the traffic where it is needed. The cooperation is giving us more flexibility and enables us to rationalize and modernize at the same time – providing us with a converged solution that is future proof towards 5G and beyond.”

BroadForward CEO, Taco Schoute added: “1NCE runs a completely virtualized core network and prides itself on being able to support customers swiftly on all supported network technologies. Whereas the life cycle of legacy products that are designed for specific technologies and use cases are by nature limited, the development of the BroadForward converged signaling solution is open-ended and continuous. Next to support for 2G, 3G and 4G containerized network functions, our solution already supports 5G and will continue to evolve to meet subsequent technology requirements. This approach also won us the 2021 GSMA Award for Best Mobile & Network Software Breakthrough.”

Remote workers suffer ‘digital anxiety’ over cyber security fears.

Working from home has spiked since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. This effort to reduce health risks may have limited the spread of the virus, but according to a new analysis by cyber security provider F-Secure, it may also have helped increase digital anxiety for those working remotely.

In a recent survey, 67% of internet users who work from home reported they increasingly worry about their online security and privacy even if nothing is wrong, compared to 58% of other users.

Senior Lecturer in Cyberpsychology at Nottingham Trent University Dr. Lee Hadlington, who’s research interests include employees’ adherence to workplace cyber security practices, said it makes sense that people’s sudden shift to telecommuting increased their anxieties about online threats.

“It is not surprising that individuals have started to worry more about cyber security, particularly when working from home. Many individuals were thrust into the ‘new normal’ of home working with very little preparation, training, or equipment. Let’s not forget, for most individuals in a workplace environment, cyber security is generally a second thought, and is usually something that is seen as the responsibility of someone else in the company. This, coupled with the fact that many home workers have less than perfect home working environments (e.g. desks in busy parts of the house, limited/poor internet connection, limited working knowledge of internet-based technology), means that these cyber security fears could be symptomatic of a combination of factors,” he said.

While worries about online security and privacy were prevalent among all survey respondents, remote workers reported elevated concerns about a myriad of issues, including:

  • 65% of those who work from home said the internet is becoming a more dangerous place, compared to 54% of other respondents.

  • 63% of remote workers said concerns about data privacy have changed how they use the internet, compared to 48% of other respondents.

  • 71% of remote workers said they worry that new internet connected devices—such as wearables and connected home appliances—could lead to a violation of their privacy, compared to 64% of non-remote workers.

  • 70% of remote workers felt increasingly uncomfortable connecting to public WiFi due to security risks compared to 63% of other respondents.

“Working from home could also have meant that individuals may have had more time to focus on other aspects of their working life and spent more time engaging in self-reflection and aspects of self-improvement; this could have included a re-assessment of cyber risks in their daily lives. The pandemic also meant people were isolated, with many turned to the one thing they did have access to – the Internet. Of course, spending more time engaged in one activity could lead to an increase in perceptions of risk, particularly when people are being subjected to negative news stories about cyber security related issues,” Dr. Hadlington explained.

According to F-Secure Security Consultant Tom Gaffney, managing security while working remotely takes technical security measures that protect data and devices, but also steps to keep people’s personal and professional lives separate.

“Steps everyone can take to secure themselves and their privacy when they work from home include updating their devices and software, ensuring their personal devices have security software installed, and some other basic infosec measures,” said Gaffney. “But keeping your personal and professional online activities separate from one another may be as important as any of these tips. Restricting what sort of things you do on each device and during which times can be an essential way to ease digital anxiety.”

To find out more about how reduce digital anxiety when working from home, check out https://blog.f-secure.com/digital-anxiety/.

SciFest launches 2022 programme with a call for entrants to regional competition #STEM

SciFest, Ireland’s largest and most inclusive STEM fair programme for second-level students has announced its return for the 17th consecutive year. The competition attracts 10,000 student participants annually and organisers have kicked off the 2022 competition with a call for entrants to the 16 SciFest@College regional fairs.

SciFest is free to enter and open to everyone across the island of Ireland, no matter their background or circumstances. The goal of SciFest is to help students develop research, problem solving, critical thinking, and presentation skills while fostering an interest in STEM fields.  Project entries will be accepted across a range of scientific disciplines. The deadline for completed entry forms for SciFest@College 2022 is 11 March. The competition is eyeing a return to in-person fairs having successfully hosted the previous two years’ programmes online due to COVID-19 restrictions.

SciFest is local, regional and national with international opportunities for winning projects. Overall winners from each regional STEM fair will go on to compete at a national final in November 2022. The winner(s) of the SciFest National Final 2022 will be presented with a trophy and will represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2023 in the USA.

Speaking at the launch of SciFest 2022, Sheila Porter, SciFest Founder and CEO said: “I’m always so pleased to launch SciFest, and this year is no different. We are now entering the 17th year of SciFest, and I continue to be staggered by the high standard of submissions we receive each year. We’re immensely proud of this competition and the opportunities it offers students. These kids are the doctors, scientists and innovators of tomorrow and we are calling on all students, regardless of their circumstance or current STEM abilities to join us for SciFest 2022.”

At last year’s national final Clare Reidy, a sixth-year student from Our Lady’s Bower school in Athlone, Co. Westmeath was named SciFest STEM Champion 2021, for her innovative research project which explored Cosmic Radiation Protection, investigating effective building materials for future exploration of Mars. Clare will represent Ireland at Regeneron ISEF in Atlanta, Georgia, USA this May.

Speaking about her award, Clare said: “I loved every minute of the SciFest experience last year and winning the competition was a source of great pride for me and my family. SciFest enabled me to research something that intrigued me, and it helped sharpen the skills I needed to investigate it. Winning SciFest means I get to travel to Regeneron ISEF in the United States and I’m really looking forward to representing Ireland. I’d encourage students with an interest in STEM subjects to give SciFest a go because it will give you the tools to come up with ideas and solutions for real problems and existing issues.”

For more information on SciFest visit www.scifest.ie.

Virgin Media commits to eliminating black spots around your home with the launch of their Wi-Fi Guarantee service

Virgin Media has today launched their new Wi-Fi Guarantee service which ensures a seamless connection in every room around your home, including areas which were previously Wi-Fi blackspots. The Wi-Fi Guarantee promises minimum speeds of 30Mb in every room, for working, gaming, and for show-streaming power, right where you want it.

Using Virgin Media’s next level Wi-Fi mesh technology, the Smart Wi-Fi Pods connect with the cloud to understand how each household uses Wi-Fi. This allows for constant adapting to create the best conditions for the network.

The Smart Wi-Fi Pods work together with the Virgin Media Hub to create a Wi-Fi bubble that covers your entire home, eliminating blackspots in the process. The two also work together to automatically change settings to manage interference ensuring the connection is fast, and reliable.

Orla Kelly, Proposition and CVP Manager from Virgin Media said: “Fast and reliable broadband is a priority for our customers and Virgin Media. Our Wi-Fi Guarantee is just another demonstration of our dedication and commitment to that.

“Blackspots, in those hard-to-reach places, like a new home office in the attic, are a real source of frustration for many households, but Virgin Media is committed to eliminating them and thanks to our Smart Wi-Fi Pods, we can make working, gaming, or simply browsing seamless.

“No more running cables across the landing or sitting on the stairs to get a signal for your Zoom call, Virgin Media’s Wi-Fi Guarantee gets Wi-Fi everywhere in your house, so you don’t have to!”

The Wi-Fi Guarantee includes a Smart Wi-Fi Pod, plus up to 2 additional pods and a technician visit if needed, to ensure customer get a minimum speed of 30Mb in every room for an additional €5 a month. If black spots persist, Virgin Media guarantees €50 credit.

The Official Paper Plane World Championship is Ready for Takeoff

The world’s largest paper plane championship returns to Ireland. In Red Bull Paper Wings, across three categories, participants must retreat to simplicity without fuel, machines or engines and design a paper plane from a sheet of A4 paper and, dependent on the category, make it fly as far, long, or as artistically as possible, visit RedBullPaperWings.com to learn more and sign up.

Ireland will host three Qualiflyers and a National Final where the Distance and Airtime categories will be judged in person. Participants can alternatively submit an online entry in the Aerobatics category via TikTok. The national winner from each category (including Aerobatics) will be invited to compete at the Red Bull Paper Wings Final in the iconic Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria where the 2022 World Champions will be crowned.

Applications are now open with entries accepted across the following three categories;

  • Distance: Simple, whoever throws their paper plane the furthest, wins. At the last World Final in 2019, the USA’s Jake Hardy topped the field with 56.61m.
  • Airtime: Pilots must fold their planes for just the right aerodynamics to achieve the longest flight time. In 2019, Australia’s Cameron Clark snatched victory with 13.33 seconds!
  • Aerobatics: This category is all about sensational aerobatic tricks – in the 2019 finale, Ukraine’s Kateryna Ahafonova scored the only perfect 10 with her creative paper plane performance. Pilots don’t need to show up at a Qualiflyer, instead, they can get creative with their paper planes at home and share their mastery on TikTok using the hashtags #RedBullPaperWings #Ireland and tag @RedBull when submitting their entries. The pilot with the most votes from a national judging panel – which considers the criteria of social engagement, flight performance and creativity of the performance and video – will make it to the World Final.

Applications for Qualiflyer events close 30 minutes before each event start-time, with online Aerobatics applications closing on 22nd April. Qualiflyers will be hosted at the following dates and locations;

  • March 15th: TUD Grangegorman, East Quad (12:30pm – 2:30pm)
  • March 16th: DCU, The Venue, U Building (12:30pm – 2:30pm)
  • March 23rd: IT Carlow, Sports Hall, Barrow Centre (12:30pm – 2:30pm)