Category: Tech

Airthings – Clean Air Day Thursday 20th June. #CleanAirDay #Airthings #Tech

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

First look and unboxing of Cololight by Lifesmart. #Cololight #Tech #Lifesmart #SmartLight

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.

http://cololight.co.uk/

Flexi-Fi Survey – Technology and clothing top popular gifts for Father’s Day #FathersDay #Tech

Consumer finance company, Flexi-Fi has today released the results of a recent survey in time for Father’s Day.  Father’s Day takes place this weekend and the survey asked consumers about their planned gifts for their Dad. Socks n Jocks will be still present for many..LOL..I know how you feel…

Over 2,300 people took part in the exercise and of those surveyed:

  • 86% of people surveyed will give their Dad a card on Father’s Day
  • 75% of shoppers will purchase their father’s gift in-store
  • 22% of people will purchase technology gifts as a present
  • 24% of people surveyed will purchase clothes for their Dad
  • Aftershave maintains its position as a popular gift for Dads!
  • Over half of those surveyed will spend €60 or less on a gift

Speaking about Flexi-Fi’s Father’s Day survey, CEO PJ Byrne said: “With Father’s Day happening this weekend we were curious to know what was on consumers shopping lists this year.  While it isn’t surprising that technology is up there as one of the top gifts that will be purchased for Father’s Day it is great to see traditional gifts, like aftershave still featuring strongly. The ever reliable aftershave remains a firm favourite for shoppers while most Dads are guaranteed to receive a greeting card to mark the occasion”.

Strencom invests €250K in VMware cloud-based disaster recovery service. #strencom #cloud

Strencom, the Irish managed connectivity and cloud computing provider, today announced that its Point ‘N’ Click public cloud service has attained VMware Disaster Recovery as a Service™ (DRaaS) Powered status. Strencom has invested €250,000 in the service – building an advanced technology infrastructure as well as investing in new staff and employee training.

Point ‘N’ Click Disaster Recovery (DR) from Strencom reduces the cost of disaster recovery by up to 80%, enabling organisations to affordably recover files and resume normal operations in as little as five minutes. The cloud-based solution is built specifically for on-premise VMware environments and to be easy for organisations to operate and adopt.

The solution records and documents failover and failback testing, which is critical for compliance requirements, especially in regulated industries, such as healthcare, financial services, and legal.  Strencom is predicting strong demand for the service from organisations in these highly regulated sectors.

Tim Murphy, CEO, Strencom commented: “We are already seeing strong interest for the service from our channel partners who have an existing base of VMware deployments that they are managing on behalf of their customers. As well as this, we are also actively looking for new partners for the service.”

Strencoms CEO, Tim Murphy announcing that Strencom has signed cloud and connectivity deals totalling 2 million with 140 credit union branches across Ireland.

As an accredited VMware DRaaS provider, Strencom can now enable greater availability, performance and scalability for its customers. The announcement also aligns well with Strencom’s growth strategy, as the company seeks to double its overall cloud business, in addition to continuing to grow its connectivity and unified communications offerings.

Strencom’s disaster recovery (DR) service offers Irish businesses peace of mind that potential downtime and loss of data resulting from a natural disaster, equipment failure or cybercrime can be minimised. The subscription-based service removes the need for capital expenditure, meaning businesses can put in place a reliable disaster recovery solution for minimum cost.

Tim Murphy said: “Businesses are beginning to understand cloud better and are making more informed decisions about which workloads are best suited to which cloud. Strencom’s cloud offering will make up a growing part of our overall business and evolving our disaster recovery service is an important element of this. As a designated VMware DRaaS service provider, we can now deliver true disaster recovery for our customers to ensure their applications, systems and data are all protected”.

Data Solutions – The Secure Computing Forum is back and bigger than ever! #SCF #Cybersecurity

DataSolutions, the specialist IT distributor, will host the seventh annual Secure Computing Forum in partnership with INM Events at the RDS, Dublin, on Thursday, 12th September 2019. With more than 500 delegates expected to attend, it promises to be Ireland’s largest cybersecurity event.

Keynote speaker John P Carlin, former assistant attorney general for the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), will speak about national security matters, crisis management practices and espionage threats. The other keynote speaker is Mustafa Al-Bassam, an ex-hacker previously affiliated with Lulzsec and Anonymous, who will discuss the importance of fostering transparency and protecting against malware.

Mary-Jo De Leeuw, “Co-Founder and Vice President of the Women in Cyber Security Foundation and former Director of Cybersecurity Advocacy Europe Middle East & Africa (ISC), Other speakers include Jamie Bartlett, technology journalist and author of The Dark Net; Paddy McGuinness, recent Deputy National Security Adviser in the UK’s Cabinet Office responsible for intelligence security and resilience; Jamie Woodruff, Europe’s leading ethical hacker; and Helen Dixon, Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland.

The event – which will be hosted by David Keating, group security sales director at DataSolutions, and Adrian Weckler, technology editor at Independent News & Media – will also cover topics such as the most dangerous new cyber-attack techniques, the impact dark net technology is having on cybercrime and cybersecurity challenges associated with obligations to privacy.

Speaking about the conference, Michael O’Hara, Group Managing Director, DataSolutions, said: “When we first thought of the concept for the Secure Computing Forum, we never expected it to reach the heights it has. It’s terrific, after seven consecutive years, that the interest continues to grow and it’s great to partner with INM Events for this year’s conference.

Pictured at the announcement of the 7th Secure Computing Forum that is taking place at The RDS in Dublin on Thursday, 12th September 2019: Roberta McCrossan, Group Marketing Director, DataSolutions and Michael O’Hara, Group Managing Director, DataSolutions

“Cybersecurity is an issue that remains at the top of the agenda for Irish businesses and we are very excited about the line-up of speakers for 2019. We’ll be covering every angle, from company-wide data breaches and individual risks to the dark net and espionage threats. It’s going to be bigger than ever.”

Organised and operated in partnership with INM Events, the event will offer senior business and IT professionals from organisations of all sizes the chance to network with leading providers and cybersecurity experts from across Europe and further afield. For more information and to register for the Secure Computing Forum, visit: www.securecomputingforum.ie. Tickets are priced at €100 (excl. VAT). Refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

Hedkayse One – Now on sale.- The world’s toughest, safest and most durable bicycle helmet. #Cyclists #Cycling

The Hedkayse One is a foldable bicycle helmet with Enkayse technology. Using Enkayse makes the helmet much safer than classic polystyrene helmets as it is capable of withstanding multiple drops and impacts unlike the usual one or two before it starts to deteriorate.

So confident were Hedkayse in its new creation, they ran it over in a car (video here), threw it off a cliff (video here), jumped on it (video here) and it remained unscathed, demonstrating how it is virtually impervious to blunt-force trauma, hardly leaving even a scratch.

 

Easy to fold and carry in a bag and with tests showing that the Hedkayse One is much safer than other helmets on the market, it provides cyclists peace of mind in case of a fall and also prevents repeat purchasing of helmets after damage making it ideal for any bike lover.

Available for £149.99 from Hedkayse

Wix.com Opens Dublin Customer Support Centre. #Wix #ICT #Jobs #IDA

WIX, a leading cloud-based web development platform, has added a Customer Support Centre in Dublin, Ireland to further enhance its global support infrastructure and international footprint.

Wix has already recruited and trained a staff of approximately 100 support specialists and office operations personnel ahead of the office’s formal opening. The Dublin support team caters to Wix customers in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and Russian. Operations in Dublin officially began in September 2018, initially with a staff of nine. Beyond the Dublin location, Wix announced during their latest earnings report an additional growth investment into the next phase of its Customer Solutions organization.

“Our customer support teams are at the frontlines of our product growth and the work they do is invaluable to our company,” said Nir Zohar, President and COO at Wix. “We have significantly increased our global customer support team headcount since 2016, and with the addition of the team in Dublin, we’ll be able to better serve our European customers, and further support our millions of customers around the world. We were delighted to work with IDA Ireland who were wonderful partners in Dublin. Their team provided meaningful connections throughout the city making the process of creating our space there very easy to accomplish.”

Welcoming the announcement, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Heather Humphreys T.D., said “I am thrilled by this news and Wix’s decision to establish an office in Dublin. Wix is one of the most popular platforms used by both individuals and businesses to create websites, with over 150 million users worldwide. They will be a great addition to Dublin’s already thriving ICT sector.”

Executive Director of IDA Ireland, Mary Buckley also welcomed the news, stating: “Ireland has the youngest population in Europe with a third of the population under 25 years old and almost half the population under the age of 34. Companies such as Wix benefit from the wealth of multilingual talent, with more than 535,000 non-Irish nationals living in Ireland. Wix will service its European customer base from Dublin due to the multilingual and technological skills available here.”

About Wix

Wix is leading the way with a cloud-based website development platform for over 150 million registered users worldwide today. The Wix website builder was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, artists, and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online. The Wix Editor, Wix ADI, a highly curated App Market, Ascend by Wix and Corvid by Wix enable users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic digital presence. Wix’s headquarters are in Tel Aviv with offices in Be’er Sheva, Berlin, Dnipro, Dublin, Kiev, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, São Paulo, Tokyo and Vilnius.

The Wix office address is The Reflector Building, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2

Interested candidates should refer to: wix.com/jobs/locations/dublin/positions.

Civica pilots smart technology in Belfast parks. #Civica #AI #IoT #AmazingSpaces #SmartPlaces

Civica, a market leader in business-critical software applications, digital solutions and managed services, is taking part in a smart pilot project to help Belfast City Council manage its parks and open spaces.

The ‘Amazing Spaces, Smart Places’ initiative will be trialled for two weeks as part of the Council’s Smart Belfast programme to gain a deeper understanding of how residents and visitors alike use green spaces in the city.

Following a competition launched in October 2018, five companies including Civica were selected to explore how data and innovative cloud technologies can help Belfast City Council manage its open spaces, looking at safety and usage issues, alongside encouraging more visitors.

Jake Mercer and Laura Soutar, Civica Software Engineers, with Councillor John Kyle, Deputy Chair of People and Communities Committee, Belfast City Council

Civica’s Belfast-based Innovation Team created the Park Keeper solution for the competition, based on the company’s SensAI cloud software. Civica’s pilot project is based in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens and uses a network of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to track anonymous WiFi connection data to record footfall and better understand the flow of people through the park. Following the pilot, Civica will provide analysis and data reports into flow and occupancy which will help the Council make better informed decisions for the future.

Councillor John Kyle, deputy chair of Belfast City Council’s People and Communities Committee, said: “We’re committed to working creatively with companies to encourage innovation in areas such as big data and new technologies, to come up with smart solutions to everyday challenges for our city.

“This pilot project gives us a unique opportunity to capture important data which will help Council improve how it manages our city parks and open spaces, and further enhance the experience for all users.”

Mark Owens, Managing Director, Northern Ireland for Civica added: “We’re delighted to be working with Belfast City Council on this challenge to explore how cutting-edge cloud technologies can help build better and safer parks and community spaces. We look forward to seeing the results alongside the potential to innovate and collaborate further on digital projects across the city in the future.”

Mark Owens

Phase one trials are taking place in Botanic Gardens, Victoria Park, Connswater Greenway, Girdwood Community Hub sports pitches and City Cemetery. The projects use a range of technologies to capture and analyse data including IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and community currency apps.

The project has been jointly funded by Belfast City Council and the Department of Justice via the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), as well as funding from Dublin City Council.

The Civica Group’s leading innovation programmes cover a range of technologies from robotic process automation to IoT, connected devices, AI, and blockchain programmes, helping organisations transform the way they work. Civica has recently partnered with the University of Bath to back the training of the next generation of AI leaders, exploring ideas in accountable, responsible and transparent AI.

Premium Tech gifts with a difference for Fathers Day. #Tech #FathersDay #Audio

Fathers Day is around the corner and if you have a pocket that can shell out on some goods these are a few examples below of what is on offer and these goods are especially good for the audio fan so you can start dropping hints now…

Bluesound Pulse 2i: Compact Wireless Multi-Room Music Streaming Speaker.
The PULSE MINI 2i takes decades of high-fidelity audio legacy and squeezes it into a tiny box. Delivering rich and detailed sound, the PULSE MINI 2i can easily fit into small living spaces, all the while providing an outstanding music experience.
Price: £499
More Info: https://www.bluesound.com/products/pulse-mini-2i/
PSB Alpha Speakers:
The globally-acclaimed Alpha Series of speakers offer five models to fit the needs of any audio setting. The Alpha Series of speakers offers audiophile sound quality at an affordable price but not at the expense of appeal and style.
More info:  http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/alpha
PSB M4U 8: PSB’s flagship travel headphone, the M4U 8, has noise cancellation and lots of ‘first class’ features for travellers, loaded into a very premium product. One of the best noise cancelling products and a strong, understated, contender within its category. I have personally tried and tested these and they are probably the loudest headphones I have tried..
Price: £299
Shure MV88+: Premium digital stereo condenser microphone for mobile high-fidelity video and audio recording. For astonishing audio, anywhere. You can see our review soon on this..
Price: £199