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.

Urbanista Welcomes New Sports, True Wireless and Speakers to it’s line-up. #Urbanista #Tech

Urbanista, a leading developer and manufacturer of lifestyle audio products, welcomes four new portable products to it’s line up. We have been testing their products some years now and they have stood the test of time so lets have a look at what is new to their line-up.

Meet Paris – Designed for the Modern Music Lover

Combining an in-ear wearing style that provides a secure fit and crystal clear, isolated sound with comfort, simplicity and reliability. Paris is a true wireless headphone designed for life in motion, to complement your on-the-go lifestyle, no matter where your journey takes you. Priced at £99 MSRP, Paris is available in four colours and boasts full compatibility with Android, Windows and iOS devices.

Paris provides a strong passive noise cancelling audio experience with its in-ear bud wearing style that blocks out the outside world, allowing you to hear and feel all the details of your music, even at lower volumes. Whilst being comfortable and lightweight for long wearing periods, Paris is the perfect travel companion.

Key Features of Paris: • Four unique colours: Midnight Black (Black) Fluffy Cloud (White), Rose Gold (Pink), Olive Green (Green) • Volume and music control • Wireless charging • Voice control (Siri, Google Assistant) • Full Android, iOS and Windows compatibility • 5 hours’ playtime • 20 hours’ total playtime • Passive noise cancelling with in-ear bud design • Bluetooth 5.0 connection • Stereo phone calls • Slim, colour matched charging case provides 3 additional full charges

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Paris is available from 1st November online: http://www.urbanista.com

Meet Athens – Geared to Help Push you Through That Extra Mile

Athens is created for those looking to hit the gym, track or trails – take your workout to the next level. IP67 waterproof rating, 32 hours total playtime, the latest in Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and sound specifically geared for performance. Athens is packed with features for a quest in breaking personal records, no matter what your sport. Priced at £119 MRSP, Athens is available in Midnight Black (Black) and boasts full compatibility with Android, iOS and Windows devices.

Stay Connected

A reliable 5.0 Bluetooth connection to your iOS or Android device means seamless pairing and allows you to access your voice control assistant at the touch of a button. Whilst on the go, the built-in microphone allows you to make or receive stereo phone calls, adjust the volume, play, stop, and skip tracks. Want to temporarily listen in to the outside world or soak up the noise of the cheering crowds? Athens offers total freedom enabling you to use the left or right earbud independently, whilst still being able to make and receive calls with the built-in microphone in each ear-bud. For convenience, you can also independently charge the ear-bud not in use.

 

Anders Andreen, CEO of Urbanista, comments; “Athens was born out of inspiration from the birthplace of the Olympic games. With durability, water resistance and a powerful bass response, we designed Athens for anyone looking to push their own sporting limits. Our true wireless sports headphones won’t hold you back.”

Key Features of Athens: • IP67 rated – fully waterproof • Bluetooth 5.0 connection • 32 hours’ total playtime • 8 hours play time • Volume and music control • Voice control (Siri, Google Assistant) • Stereo phone calls • Slim, colour matched charging case provides 2 additional charges • Full android, iOS and windows compatibility

Athens is available from 1st October online: http://www.urbanista.com

Meet Brisbane – Power-up and Play Longer

With 2 x 10 watts of power, Brisbane takes its music seriously for a portable speaker. A deep and responsive bass, easily create an ambience that’s designed to give you the best Bluetooth wireless music experience, topped with a total of 10 hours’ play time. Available in Midnight Black (Black) or Fluffy Cloud (White) and priced at £99, Brisbane boasts a timeless sleek design with a seamless silhouette and effortless volume control adjustments.

 

Key Features of Brisbane: – Total Playtime: 10 hours – Connect two speakers using Bluetooth 5.0 – Water-resistant (IPX5) – Volume Controls – Driver unit: 52 mm – Driver Power: 2 x 10W – Compatible with Android and iOS devices – Micro USB charging.

Brisbane is available from 15th of September online: http://www.urbanista.com

 

 

 

‘Weather it’s right or wrong’ – 1 in 3 believe poor weather is the biggest cause of bad Wi-Fi. #Weather #VirginMedia

Research carried out by Virgin Media Ireland shows that a reliable internet connection is equality as important as speed for Irish consumers. While younger generations are likely to choose speed over reliability, the opposite is true among older generations.  

Our obsession with the Irish weather also extends itself into our Wi-Fi theories; with 1 in 3 believing poor weather conditions has the greatest impact on the performance of Wi-Fi at home. We all know my take on the weather as I am a fan and what the media puts out sometimes puts fear in us with clickbait headlines

 The survey was completed among 1,000 adults by Coyne Research for Virgin Media Ireland. It asked people questions related to Wi-Fi at home:

·        88% have experienced problems with their Wi-Fi at home

·        51% believe reliability is more important than broadband speed for home Wi-Fi

·        51% also believe that rebooting their modem will help improve their Wi-Fi at home.

·        Only 8% know that “Wi-Fi” is a made up word, with 62% incorrectly believing it stands for “Wireless Frequency”.

 Paul Higgins, Director of Consumer at Virgin Media Ireland said “In recent years, the focus around Wi-Fi has been on the speed of service but, here in Virgin Media, we want to improve not just our in-home broadband speeds but also the reliability of our WiFi Hub to ensure the best connection possible, no matter how many devices are connected.”

“As these results show, consumers are now equally as focused on the need for a reliable connection, and with the recent launch of our new ‘Smart WiFi’ features, we have it covered.   

 “With Virgin Media’s ultrafast broadband connectivity  and our new summer sale offer for just €55 per month, football fans can stream multiple matches in confidence while other family members never need to worry about gaming, streaming or video chatting at the same time.”

Virgin Media Ireland recently unveiled ground breaking upgrades to their In-Home WiFi Hub that will add to their status as the nation’s leading broadband provider, with the revolutionary technology activated in all customers’ WiFi hubs automatically.

The development will provide all Virgin Broadband customers with Ireland’s fastest widely available broadband speeds in more areas of their home.

Channel Optimisation is a game-changing addition to the Virgin Media modem that will automatically change WiFi channels. The system chooses channels with the least amount of interference ensuring the best connectivity and fastest service is obtained by all devices being used in the home.

Airtime Fairness is a second addition that will ensure equal allocation of airtime to connected devices an ensure they achieve their highest possible speeds.

Review – Baseus Superlative Multifunctional HUB USB-C #Baseus #Tech

Baseus, is an innovative digital accessory brand has announced the launch of new products into the UK market. We have some in house here and we are in the process of going through them.  Since 2009 Baseus has been researching, developing and designing sleek and innovative products aimed at users who want fashion forward tech accessories. Their products are now available in the UK too for those whom want to purchase high quality goods.

The multifunctional hub range will meet every need of almost all USB C devices. Portable and compact, making it convenient to take with you when you are on the go. Ranging from a hub with built in wireless iWatch charging, to the 7 in 1 USB C hub, there are 5 in the range. Our model is one which most people would adhere to but with wireless products on the rise it is great to see Wireless charging built into such and a great idea and again less cables to worry about especially on the go or even in the office or at home and also it is a very portable piece to have in your tech bag or even for your average PC/Laptop user giving you more flexibility.

This model looks and feels good with a subtle LED light on the top which looks well and with an Aluminium alloy frame and tempered glass panel this will look great hooked up to any PC. There are many similar products out there that do the same thing mostly made with plastic and simply wont last long but this will last and look good doing it.

See on BASEUS

BUY ON AMAZON

Expleo Women in Business – Great Expectations. #WomenInTech #Expleo

Expleo, the technology partner for innovative companies, today announces its ‘Great Expectations’ event – an exclusive evening focused on enabling gender balance in the workplace and supporting employees in fulfilling their potential. The event, which will feature speakers representing a wide range of industries, will explore how individuals can achieve their career goals and how businesses can foster talent, improve productivity and ensure gender equality in their organisation.

Taking place in Expleo’s Dublin offices, Great Expectations is open to all professionals – from recent graduates, to team leaders and senior management – who are focused on enabling a more equal workforce.

Pictured announcing the Expleo Women in Business ‘Great Expectations’ event are (l-r): Lorraine Donnelly, Business Analyst, Expleo; Andrea Delisimunovic, Technical Engineer, Expleo; Michelle Hart, Senior Technical Engineer, Expleo; Bríd O’Carroll, Director of People Services, Ire, UK & SA, Expleo and Marian Flanagan, Project Coordinator, Expleo

Speakers include Declan Goodman, who has over 15 years of experience in leadership coaching. He will give individual attendees advice on how to showcase their potential in order to move to the next level of their career. Kate Brady, Chief Administrative Officer, IFDS Europe, will focus on the value of mentorship and will delve into how to recognise and nurture potential in colleagues and team members.

Finally, Mairead McIlkenny, Director of Market Operations, Facebook who has over 15 years’ experience leading global teams in the payments and technology sector, will examine gender balance on an organisational level. She will be sharing examples on how organisations of any size can improve their gender ratios.

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Speaking about the event, Siobhán Smith, Marketing Manager, Expleo Ireland, said: “Better gender balance has a positive effect on all aspects of an organisation – from company culture to business productivity. And while Ireland has made significant improvements to close gender imbalances, there is always more to be done.

“The aim of this event is to educate professionals at every level on how they can turn expectations into reality. Our speakers will draw on their own personal experiences to provide practical advice on how organisations can encourage others to put their best foot forward and succeed so businesses can drive change.”

When:                  5:30-8:30pm, 11th September 2019

Where:                 Expleo, 30 North Wall Quay, North Wall, Dublin 1, Ireland

Admission:         Free

Tickets to the event are free but places are limited. All interested parties should visit https://expleogroup.com/expleo-women-in-technology/ to register.

Allied Irish Bank Selects ncino’s Cloud-based Bank Operating System to Power its Digital Transformation Strategy

nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, today announced Allied Irish Banks (AIB) will be adopting nCino’s Bank Operating System to grow the bank’s core business, beginning with its Asset Finance division. AIB is partnering with nCino to fuel its growth strategy and provide an enhanced digital experience to its full range of customers across the bank.

As one of Ireland’s ‘Big Four’ banks, operating the full range of financial and banking services across The Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and globally, AIB maintains more than €143 billion in assets. AIB’s first implementation of nCino will be utilizing the Equipment Leasing and Finance Solution for its Asset Finance Group.The bank will also be adopting nCino’s Customer Engagement solution, as well as the Partner Portal functionality. These features will streamline operations across the bank and enhance visibility, providing a seamless customer experience and improved workflow functionality for employees.

Accenture will be acting as the systems implementation partner. nCino and Accenture have been working together in the U.S. since 2014 and, in February 2019,expanded the scope of their alliance to include EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

“It is more important than ever before to deliver an outstanding experience to our customers, which makes this the right time for AIB to enhance its digital functions and grow its competitive edge. This initial implementation is part of an ongoing process as AIB continues to develop its offerings across the business to meet changing customer needs and match developments in the Irish economy,” said Pullen Daniel, Managing Director at nCino.

“We’re very excited to be working with AIB as we share their customer-first philosophy. There’s great potential to scale their use of nCino as they continue to expand and grow their competitive advantage as a leader in Ireland.”

Peter Swan, Head of Credit Transformation at Allied Irish Banks added, “It’s important to us to put our customers first, at the same time, however, our employees also expect to have the best technology in order to provide the best services. Using nCino will give both our employees and customers a holistic view throughout all stages of the process. nCino is a fast-moving, innovative company and we selected them in order to bring greater visibility and transparency into our organization, improve and streamline workflow, and ultimately provide an enhanced customer experience. We’re very excited for the future, especially given that the scalability in the nCino product suite means that we will be able to expand usage into new lines of business in the future.”

Billy O’Connell, a managing director in Accenture’s Banking practice in Ireland, said, “Financial services and fintechs are moving past the disruptive phase, and the value of collaboration between players is clear. This latest implementation with AIB is a testament to the strength of nCino, Accenture and AIB as not only leaders in their industries, but also as organizations that understand the value of cooperation. We’re very pleased to be playing a major role in this deployment and look forward to the continued success of our expanded partnership with nCino.”

A cloud-based solution, nCino empowers bank employees and leaders with insight into their organisation through an end-to-end solution combining customer relationship management (CRM), loan origination, workflow, account opening, onboarding, enterprise content management and instant reporting capabilities. nCino integrates with a bank’s core and transactional systems, while replacing point solutions and manual-based processes.

Review – The MINIX NEO portable SSD storage hub with versatile adapter. #MINIX #NEO #Storage

The MINIX NEO SSD storgae hub with adapter is a first that combines both for those who are not custom to using such,typically we get adapters that have all the ports we need bit none have storage built in but this one changes this and it is certainly welcome and not expensive either with the configurations at hand, You can decide between a 120GB version and a 240GB version only loosing out on 50 MBs of read and right speed on the cheaper 120 GB model.

These are also not a cheap build by any means they look good and have an LED on the top to let you know you are connected, Advertised as an addition to your MAC BOOK these will also work on Windows laptops with a USB-C connection however you can pick up pass through adapters if your laptop has no USB-C as one of mine does not and I have tested on both and they work just fine.

Underneath there is 4 rubber stoppers to keep it form moving not that it will go far with the built in cable provided which is just the right length too. These are ideal for travelling or on the go people who upload or move content around they are very light and the look more premuim than cheap too.

The transfer speed is noticeable and they also work with mobile phones with USB-C ports which most have today which is another bonus for storage or file transfer on the move. Overall this is an ideal product to have in your bag if you want extra connectivity and storage options on the go and looking premium too.

More information about the brand new MINIX NEO Storage and the complete MINIX portfolio is available at http://minix.com.hk/.

New eir technical issue scam numbers to watch out for.. #eir #scam

In the space of two hours today three calls came through on the house phone and one theme in common and yet again it is the one and only eir. This is nothing new when it comes to scams or eir in general as they have a history of this over the last few years. On speaking to one of the numbers below they claimed to be from eir and wanted to fix a technical error. Sadly it was on the landline so I could not record as I normally do with such calls on mobile.

I am not a customer of eir but the scammers hang themselves up almost immediately and keep saying eircom. The first call was a female with a Pakistan accent and she hung up when questioned, then two calls came later on and same thing but hung up so this could be also a cost trap too as well as trying to scam your money. This comes in light of a recent cost trap call coming from France,these boys must be getting their xmas monies ready..

Numbers to note..

00353766701368 – 0035376670148 – 00353766705525- 0035356953749 The first two seem to originate in Argentina and the latter is in Germany.

As per norm ignore these and report and block the said numbers above or anything that looks like them.One call a day is enough but this is taking the piss..

DataSolutions – Irish office workers accessing dark web in the workplace. #DarkWeb #Office #IT

DataSolutions, the specialist IT solutions distributor, today reveals that Irish office workers are accessing the dark web from the workplace. In fact, the company’s research, carried out by Censuswide, found that almost a quarter (22%) of Gen Z office workers have accessed the dark web from the workplace.

The survey of 500 Irish office workers also revealed that 20% of respondents spend over an hour of company time every day on personal matters. It found that younger generations spend the most time on personal activities during work hours, with 39% of Gen Zs spending over an hour every day on personal activities, followed by 26% of Millennials and 10% of Gen X and Baby Boomers.

David Keating, Group Security Director, DataSolutions

The most popular activities were reading the news online, scrolling through social media and messaging friends and family. Furthermore, 39% of respondents admitted that they have researched or booked holidays whilst on the job, while 34% spend company time doing personal chores such as paying bills, booking cleaners and doing their banking.

Some 42% of office workers revealed that they had been caught engaging in personal activities and their boss didn’t have a problem with it. Meanwhile, 10% said that their boss took action – be that a warning, disciplinary action or dismissal.

Commenting on the survey findings, David Keating, Group Security Director, DataSolutions, said: “Our findings show that employees are using company time, and often company devices, to carry out personal tasks. If employees are engaging in personal activities at work, and perhaps interacting with unsecure websites or entering confidential information, company servers could be more susceptible to cyberattacks.

 “The real question is whether employers are fully aware of what employees are doing on work devices and whether safeguards are in place to protect the organisation from associated risks. It’s not about banning personal activities altogether; it’s about being aware of potential weak spots and introducing technologies that help to protect work systems and data.

 “It’s not only information and infrastructure that’s potentially at risk here, it’s the company’s reputation and customer base. Irish business leaders have to take responsibility and ensure that, regardless of what staff are doing, they are taking action to shield their organisation from threats.

 “Knowledge and education is the first step on the path to protection and prevention when it comes to cybersecurity. With this in mind, we will be discussing how businesses can adopt an effective cybersecurity strategy at the upcoming Secure Computing Forum in the RDS on 12th September.”

Crello presents 100 Free Customizable Templates for Product Hunt. #Crello #Design

Design tool Crello presents a collection of 100 easily customizable and free design templates in 10 styles, available for anyone planning to launch a product on Product Hunt. From Crello’s very own experience using Product Hunt as a start-up, setting up a successful campaign on the platform takes a lot of work, leaving very little time for design.

Crello’s journey with Product Hunt

Crello have launched two products on Product Hunt: Crello editor in August 2017 and their animated designs in October 2017. Crello became #2 Product of the Day, Week and Month in August 2017, and currently has over 5,000 upvotes and remains in the Top 30 products.

Crello’s second launch – animated designs – has received over 1,000 upvotes on the service. Overall, Crello’s campaigns on Product Hunt have resulted in more 30 publications in the media and more than 40,000 visits by referrals from the Product Hunt website, excluding organic traffic, search, mobile, and visits from Product Hunt email newsletters.

“To secure your Product Hunt success, you need to make sure your product is flawless, your hunter is ready to launch, and your community is aware of the launch date so that they can support you. Everyone on your team will be busy with the campaign, leaving very little time for design. This is why we’ve decided to help our users – many of whom are entrepreneurs – to create a full package of professional looking designs for their Product Hunt launches,” shares Head of Crello Nazar Begen.

Templates designed by Crello compatible with over 8 different formats

Crello’s Product Hunt Launch Kit includes design templates for Product Hunt profile images and gallery images, a themed Facebook cover, several types of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts, as well as a website banner to attract visitors to find out more about a start-up or a company’s newest product launch on Product Hunt.

For this visual collection, Crello’s team of artists came up with 10 custom design styles to fit a wide variety of industries. Some designs were inspired by elements of minimalism, while others were drawn from comic book design trends. The templates are versatile so that every business will be able to find something to suit their needs. All templates – including animated ones – are designed to be easily personalized and are free for use. The templates can be used to leverage the presentation of new products, stand out from other companies when announcing a launch, as well as encourage engagement when inviting followers and users to support a company’s product.

Users can pick a style of their choice and customize all Product Hunt launch materials using templates in the style set here.