Leading real hands on tech review site in Ireland with technology, business news and more. Jim O Brien Tech.
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.
In honour of Pride month, Greyhound Recycling and Recovery is launching an online tool called the ‘Bin of Old Behaviours’ It is designed to help people recycle themselves, to own up to their past behaviour and move forward making the internet a less toxic place.
The recent growing trend of ‘Call-out culture’ or more specifically, ‘Cancel Culture’ has taken the internet by storm. Cancel Culture refers to a collective moment of “cancelling” or boycotting an offending person for problematic behaviour on Twitter.
Around the world, celebrities like Stormzy, Jack Maynard and Zoella, to name a few, made headlines due to tweets they wrote in the past. Some posts are from over ten years ago and long forgotten until someone goes looking for offending behaviour to call out. These tweets containing controversial terms and slurs they had used, resurfaced recently and was widely criticised in the Twittersphere for the racist, sexist and homophobic content.
“Greyhound believes that everyone should be given the chance to recycle their thoughts and be more open and loving. We believe the current culture does not allow people to learn and grow.
Being involved in recycling, this tool seemed like a wonderful opportunity for us to use our expertise to make the world a better place,” says Michael Buckley, Owner, Greyhound Recycling and Recovery.
Developed to combat this trend which promotes an unhealthy witch hunt by holding people accountable for ideas that don’t reflect who they are anymore, this tool allows people to quickly find and review their old problematic tweets. This is done with a custom search facility which trawls your old tweets for certain keywords associated with racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour.
In order to delete the tweets and move forward, people have to share a personalised image owning up their previous thoughts and a link promoting healthy information sources to combat prejudice.
Withings have just launched the all new Chic collection. Keeping the design similar to before and minimalistic yet looking great the new Chic Collection is affordable and sporting a longer lasting battery which now is up to 18 MONTHS. I was happy with my 2 plus months on my Multisport Hybrid which I reviewed recently. The new Chic collection is just €99.95 which is very competitive compared to other offerings out there.
The Timeless Chic collection expands on the original Move collection with a material upgrade: each timepiece features a stainless steel case, mineral glass, chrome indexes, brushed dial, and metal hands.
Each year, Netflix put out their recommendations for the smart TVs that provide the best performance and are the easiest to use for Netflix (and, ultimately, other streaming services). And every year they up the ante for what it takes to make the list. This year, Netflix is excited to recommend select models from Samsung, Sony and Panasonic that will provide a top notch experience. Do you have one or planning on upgrading your TV??
Here are the initial designations of 2019 Netflix Recommended TVs:
Samsung Q60R/Q70R/Q80R/Q90R/Q900R series, RU8000, The Serif and The Frame devices
Sony BRAVIA X85G(XG85)/X90G(XG90) series and A9G(AG9) series
Panasonic VIERA GX700/GX800/GX900 series
For more information on specific models, you can go to the Netflix Recommended TV website. Timing of availability for Netflix Recommended TVs will vary by country, and not all models will be available in all regions.
A new home smartcam has just dropped in this time from NEOS. Small and compact the NEOS smartcam only costs 20 euro which is a bargain, packed with features does it live up to the price and how will it perform we will have the results soon in a full hands on review as always.. Today we unbox the device and take a first look..
Features
Works with Alexa: Ask Alexa to show your Kitchen, Lounge, Nursery, or anywhere else you have your SmartCam, on an Echo dot, Echo Show or Fire Stick connected to your TV.
1080p Full HD with Live Stream and 8X Digital Zoom – The SmartCam’s 2.8mm focal length, 110º wide angle lens, and 1/2.9″ CMOS sensor provides clear images when you need them.
Motion Tagging technology detects and outlines motion in live stream and playback video modes, making it easy for you to see what your SmartCam captured.
FREE Cloud Storage. When motion or noise is detected a 12 second video clip is stored for 14 days for FREE and secured in a AWS Cloud via an end-to-end encryption.
Night vision: With F2.0 aperture, IR-CUT filter, and four 850nm infrared LEDs. The Neos SmartCam see’s up to 9 metres away even in total darkness.
Clean Air Day take place on Thursday 20th June and, with the announcement from the organisers that the components of indoor air are even more severe than those found outside; monitoring indoor air quality is becoming more and more important to households across the country.
The experts in indoor air quality, Airthings want to educate the nation on how the air we breathe at home, work and school can have a long-term impact on our health. Research by Clean Air Day, commissioned by environment charity Global Action Plan, has found that indoor air pollution is 3.5 times worse than outdoor air pollution and 55% of parents have said their children spend more time indoors when they are not at school/college than they did at a similar age.
The Airthings Wave Plus is the first wirelessly connected and battery-operated indoor air quality monitor with radon detection and sensors which measures VOCs, CO2, temperature, humidity and air pressure.
Not only are the components of the air that have been highlighted by Clean Air Day of concern but the lesser known radon is no less serious. The long-term health implications of being exposed to radon can be life changing as it has been identified as the single biggest contributor to causing lung cancer for non-smokers.
The Airthings Dashboard interprets the room’s indoor air quality data with alerts and tips to reduce air hazards, optimise ventilation leading to the potential saving on energy costs. The Wave Plus comes with a free mobile app which is simple and easy to set up and brings indoor air quality data and radon levels to user’s fingertips. Versatile for offices, schools, homes or any public space, the Wave Plus is a great addition for recognising what could be impacting indoor air quality and the resolutions to put in place.
Airthings Wave Plus Smart Radon Detector– Available for £239.00 from Amazon
Fancy something to cheer the mood up in your house or just give it a totally new look? Well this could be the trick.. Cololight by Lifesmart is a modular smart LED system and you can basically go large with this and be creative and design your own set up here which is really cool which also has Alexa and Google Assistant to help you along.
This comes with an app and works on Android and iOS devices and you also need Wi-Fi and you can pick and choose from 16 million colours and three modes so there is no shortage of customization here which is something many of us like. RGB fans will also like this in their setup at home. You can pick between preset effects,customize your own effects and use your phones mic to create lighting effects that react to sound, all sounds good? We will have our review soon but check out the unboxing below and the link to buy is just below. Any questions hit us up.
Messaging apps are used the world over by people in their personal lives, so when it comes to business applications, people are already well versed in the use of these apps and therefore do not need to be trained. Also, they can be used to clarify and complement verbal communication forms, with internationally-trading businesses sometimes encountering cultural and linguistic barriers to communication. Perhaps there is too many messaging apps and plenty native with social media do we really need more? Check out this guide from Cadoo Ireland
Storage is a key element with smartphones today especially for those who record 4K video take lots of image in high quality and music storage for example however we have plenty of devices out there offering little storage or none but we can use the cloud which is not everyone’s favourite choice.
USB-C of course is the way forward now but there is alternatives out there to cater for those folk who are still on Micro USB devices and of course Sandisk offer such products.
Today we are checking out the Dual Drive USB-C which is specifically for many folk today with current devices and want to remove files from your smartphone or USB-C devices and free up that valuable space to keep your phone running smoothly and not bog it down with heavy storage on board.
The package is simple it is small so no real need to go overboard with it anyway as once its removed you will most likely discard it. Compatibility is also key and this works with Android,PC and MAC Windows,7,8,10 and Vista.
First things first your smartphone must offer OTG which again some lack but now its becoming more a standard if you are on older devices you might be out of luck as even this spec is hardly listed in specifications.
This is a 32GB Dual drive which offers high speed transfer up to 150MB/s and you can also avail of the Sandisk Memory Zone app. See images below of what you will expect to find within the app to get you started and how you can manage files.
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To insert into your compatible device you slide the USB-C side out and the same for your PC with a simple slider switch on top. Nothing fancy or complicated here. Once inserted to phone you select the files you want to move or transfer from phone or SD card if you have one available and then you can copy or move to the Sandisk it is an easy process.
It took 1 minute 51 seconds as I timed it to copy my entire phone’s folder content onto the card (512 files,music,docs,images,video,PDFs) which is much quicker than some USB drives I have tested in the past..Now i did notice the drive was warm after removing it from my smartphone. It took 10 seconds to then copy the data to my PC depending on your processing power this will vary but I have a decent laptop and was more than happy with that transfer rate again compared to others I have tried in the past. Again the unit was warm but nothing OTT you can still pick it up.
This is a great little kit to have at hand as its small and portable the only one thing I would have liked to see was the option to add it to a keyring or the option to clip it somewhere other than that its fast easy to use and portable,perhaps too portable and could be lost but that’s up to how you manage your bits but the option to clip it to keys would be a great benefit however this is ideal for data movement and storage if you are on the go like me all the time and want to back up your information on the fly in speed.
Key Features
– The flash drive for USB type-C devices
– High-speed USB 3.1
– Dual USB type-C and USB type-A connectors
– SanDisk memory zone App for easy file management
Specification
Capacity: 32GB
Read Speed: up to 150 MB/s
Interface: USB Type-C and USB Type-A connectors; USB 3.1 (Gen 1)
Easily free up space or transfer files from your USB Type-C smartphones, tablets and computers.
Mytaxi, Ireland’s leading e-hailing app, has announced a new innovative taxi-sharing service – “mytaxi match,” that will be piloted across Dublin locations in the coming months.
mytaxi will be changing its name to “FREE NOW” on July 2 as part of joining a wider mobility international “NOW” brand family, which is focused on expanding transport services offered to passengers in Ireland, across Europe and globally. Passengers will not need to download a new app on July 2 and there is no technical or data switch – all that will immediately change is the name so customers just have to update their app and they’re ready to hail.
“mytaxi match” is the first new service to be launched on the app; and will be part of the “FREE NOW” rebrand. It will allow passengers travelling in the same direction, the option to pair up and more efficiently utilise taxi capacity, reducing carbon emissions and lowering fares paid by customers.
The pilot, already trialled successfully on a smaller scale in Limerick, will initially be operational in the Grand Canal Dock area and Sandyford Industrial Estate and will roll out across more Dublin locations as the pilot progresses.
mytaxi is partnering for the pilot with Smart Dublin, a collaborative initiative of the four Dublin local authorities. It partners with universities, citizens and private industries working with smart technologies to tackle challenges and aims to improve services and quality of life for businesses, residents and visitors across the Dublin region.
— Jim O Brien Tech 👨💻techbuzzireland.com (@techbuzzinfo) June 11, 2019
Under the themes of Smart Environment and Smart Mobility, Smart Dublin has engaged with local authority champions working on solutions to investigate and introduce EV charging points, reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion and provide alternative transport options. This pilot will provide additional insights that will complement existing project initiatives and could feed into future planning in these areas.
Alan Fox, General Manager for mytaxi Ireland/said: “Taxis are one of the most flexible forms of transport, but usually do not travel to full capacity. Our new ‘match’ technology forms part of a smart solution to better use mytaxi’s fleet in Ireland, particularly at peak hours, and offer passengers a cheaper, more environmentally-friendly taxi-sharing service. This innovation, currently being used very effectively in a number of other European cities, gives passengers travelling in the same direction the option for the first time to ‘match up’ and share taxis. We believe this new innovation has the potential to reduce waiting times at peak hours, decrease traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions and more effectively offer customers a flexible, cost-effective transport solution that really meets their needs.”
The Smart Dublin Lead, Alan Murphy, said: “One of our key goals at Smart Dublin is to collaborate with industry partners and all four local authorities to position Dublin as a world leader in the development of new urban solutions using the city region as a test bed. Match’s taxi-sharing capacity has the potential to provide additional transit options, build awareness and promote multi-modal shift and showcase alternative approaches to transport in Dublin. This pilot with mytaxi will help us gather valuable information and generate insights to better inform local authorities and our partners on alternative and more sustainable transport options.”
As part of this pilot between mytaxi and Smart Dublin, mytaxi will geo-fence the locations in the app where passengers can use ‘match’. Passengers will be notified of ‘match’ availability when inside the virtual fence. The geo-fenced areas will have taxi-sharing options available 24/7 and fares will be calculated transparently using the technology on the app.
Passenger privacy is of the utmost importance to mytaxi and we commit to full compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
It is intended overall that the pilot will garner more insight into Dublin travel patterns and will better gauge public interest in alternative transport modes as part of local authority understanding of the city’s sustainable development.
mytaxi or FREE NOW in Ireland will remain focused on meeting the growing public demand for taxis and the expansion of its regional footprint across the country. 16 million passengers were carried in Ireland by mytaxi in 2018, its busiest year ever. The app continues to recruit new drivers, with 2,135 joining throughout the year, bringing the total number in its fleet to over 12,000.
