Category: Tech News

Earth Overshoot Day 2022 – “As of 29 July, we are in debt to our children”

Earth Overshoot Day was calculated. It signified the day on which human consumption of raw materials can no longer be covered by the formation of new resources. In other words: every day after it, we incur ecological debt. When calculated in 1971 this date fell on 25 December – i.e. humanity consumed more resources than were available for only six calendar days – in just over 50 years, this date now falls on 28 July; 150 days earlier. In 2006, the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign was launched together with the Global Footprint Network, and since 2007 the WWF, the world’s largest nature conservation organisation, has been involved.

“This year, from the 29th of July onwards, we will already be ecologically in debt to our children and grandchildren,” says Peter Windischhofer, CEO and Co-Founder of refurbed. “For 156 days this year, we will consume resources that do not belong to us. This is like my salary being used up on the 17th of the month and living on credit for the remainder,” says the founder of the green tech scale-up and online marketplace for sustainable consumption. 

The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted humanity’s ecological impact

Since 2018, Earth Overshoot Day has been a regular visitor in the month of July with the exception of 2020 when it occurred on August 22nd. This was due to global lockdowns; “2020 showed how much influence we could have as a society and how it is possible to move the date back again,” says Windischhofer. “Now we have to learn to find ways to move the date further back, even without COVID-19.”

Ireland’s 2022 Overshoot Day was worryingly on April 21st, much earlier than the world average

According to the Central Statistics Office, in 2018 alone, Ireland had the 3rd worst emissions per capita in Europe, with 53% higher emissions per person than the EU average (12.6 tonnes vs. 8.2 tonnes). “If everyone in the world lived the way we Irish do, we would have celebrated Earth Overshoot Day on the 21st of April this year,” says Pádraig Power, Ireland’s marketing manager for refurbed, about the unpleasant date. “This concrete figure will hopefully help us recognise Ireland’s exuberant consumer behaviour, and help us realise that now is the time to put the steps in place for a greener future.”

“Change has to be easy, otherwise it is not long-term”

“It is simply not true that the individual can do nothing,” Founder Windischhofer knows from his own experience. “Everything we do has effects – some stop eating meat, others switch from the car to the train. The pandemic has shown that remote working is possible across the board and that many kilometres in our everyday lives are also simply superfluous,” the committed entrepreneur is convinced. “It is important that we make changes in behaviour easy, pleasant and attainable, only then will they be permanent. Our consumer behaviour is changing. The concept of ‘reuse – recycle – repair’ is slowly catching on in people’s minds, but every person is different, every person can save CO2 somewhere else. The Earth doesn’t care where we save, it only cares that we do it.” 

Refurbed is a CO2 negative and an environmentally positive organisation – for every product sold, refurbed plants a tree to offset carbon emissions created during the refurbishing process. The trees are planted in countries such as Haiti, Madagascar, Kenya, Indonesia and Mozambique or Nepal through their partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects. The company also plants native trees in woodlands across Ireland as part of their partnership with Reforest Nation.

The Lifts Of Moher – Electric buggies wheeled out at Clare visitor attraction

People with disabilities or reduced mobility can now fully enjoy everything the Cliffs of Moher Experience in County Clare has to offer courtesy of two electric buggies.

Operated by trained staff, the Burren Buggy and Wild Atlantic Shuttle provide visitors to with a guided tour of Ireland’s most natural attraction from the viewing platforms overlooking the majestic cliffs to the iconic 19th century O’Brien’s Tower.

“The Lifts of Moher are proving to be hugely popular, particularly for individuals with mobility issues, those with disabilities, the elderly, their families and carers,” explained Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience.

She continued, “This service is offered to those who are in need and the beauty of the experience is that users get to see and learn about the Cliffs in a way that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“The buggies are electric in keeping with our sustainability ethos and are widely accepted by onlookers recognising the care and service offered by the Cliffs of Moher Experience to those in need.  The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” she added.

U.S. tourist Laura Sitters, who recently suffered a hip injury, praised the initiative stating, “Upon my arrival, I was informed that I could get a ride in the golf cart in order to check out the views. Kieran Kelly (staff member) graciously drove me around to the various vantage points. People who have limited mobility for whatever reason should have the opportunity to see the cliffs and the waves crashing down at the base of the cliffs and that’s only feasibly with people like Mr. Kelly and the golf carts.”

The introduction of the buggies is the latest in a series of measures introduced at the County Clare visitor attraction to further enhance on-site accessibility.

According to Ms. Enright, “The Cliffs of Moher site is fully accessible throughout the visitor centre building and main viewing areas and provides ample disability parking and drop off. Wheelchairs also are available for use from different areas on-site. All our accessibility initiatives support the Clare Age Friendly Strategy & Action Plan, which was adopted by Clare County Council.”

Cliffs of Moher visitor Eimear King said, “If you have limited mobility do not let that stop you going to this spectacular attraction. There is a golf buggy style transport available, specific parking and wheelchairs available. All of these provided the most accessible experience for one that cannot walk very far.”

With free Wi-Fi available throughout the main visitor centre building and viewing platforms, visitors also can access a range of information about the Cliffs of Moher via their smartphone. The multilingual Cliffs of Moher Experience app contains 13 audio tracks narrated by Conor Tallon and featuring contributions from people with an intrinsic knowledge of the rich history, geology, flora and fauna of Ireland’s most visited natural attraction.

The Burren Buggy and Wild Atlantic Shuttle are free of charge and are subject to availability. No pre-booking is required. Visit www.cliffsofmoher.ie for more information.

ORICO Launches High-Performing Portable SSD Inspired by Mondrian

ORICO – Shenzhen-based innovative enterprise focusing on high-performance solutions for USB data transmission and charging – is proud to unveil the ORICO USB4 High Speed Portable SSD Montage 40Gbps series, with a striking and durable design inspired Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.

The bold and bright aesthetic draws from Mondrian’s famous work Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, incorporating the thick black lines and blocks of color that immediately distinguish the device from the monochrome alternatives on the market. Loud, but not lurid, the design is applied with the durable in-mold labeling technique also found in automobile manufacturing for its resistance to corrosion. 

However, the product engineers at ORICO do not pursue form over function and have invested in the right technology to make the Montage 40Gbps series one of the best-performing SSDs available. During performance testing, the drive achieved 3,126MB/s reading speed, a 2,832MB/s writing speed, and transferred 3GB files in just one second, matching, and even surpassing, many leading products currently on the market. 

Accompanied by a versatile 2-in-1 data cable for USB type A and type C connections, the drive is widely compatible and able to be used with Mac OS, Windows, Android, and Linux operating systems without requiring a driver. Depending on user requirements, the Montage series offers capacity options ranging from 512GB to 2TB.

“We are so excited to launch the eye-catching Montage series, serving superior performance and carrying a timeless aesthetic that really transcends style trends,” commented Xu Yeyou, CEO of ORICO. “We had in mind on-the-go creatives, such as photographers and video editors, when designing the product.”

About ORICO

Shenzhen ORICO Technologies Co., Ltd. was established in 2009, and its brand ORICO is an innovative national high-tech enterprise focusing on USB data transmission and USB charging technology.

To learn more about the ORICO SSD Montage 40Gbps Series, click here. 

Fibre overtakes cable as the primary fixed broadband technology in OECD countries

High-speed fibre internet has for the first time overtaken cable to become the primary fixed broadband technology across the OECD’s 38 member countries with 34.9% of fixed broadband subscriptions, according to the latest data.

The latest update of the OECD broadband portal shows that fibre subscriptions increased by 18.6% over the year to December 2021 to move ahead of cable, now at 32.4% of fixed broadband subscriptions, and DSL at 27% and declining. This is good news for the delivery of data-intense services and applications, given the symmetrical capacity that fibre offers. The biggest growth was in Costa Rica, Israel, Greece and Belgium which all increased fibre connections by more than 80% in 2021. The share of fibre in total broadband is now at 50% or above in 13 OECD countries, standing above 50% in Chile, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, and Portugal, and above 70% in Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden.

Fixed broadband subscriptions by technology 2009-2021

Download the data in Excel

Fixed broadband subscriptions continue to grow in almost all OECD countries, increasing by 3.9% across the OECD area in 2021 to total 472 million, up from 454 million in December 2020, to average 34.4 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in the OECD. Switzerland led the pack with a penetration rate of 48.4 subscriptions per 100 people, followed by France (46%), Norway (45%), and Denmark (45%).

Mobile data usage per subscription rose by 15% in 2021, less than in 2020, but still making a rise of 79% over the three years to end-2021. The amount of data consumed averages 8.4 GB per OECD subscription per month but varies greatly by country. Finland leads the way with 36.7 GB per month per subscription, followed by Latvia (29.7 GB) and Austria (26.4 GB) while monthly averages in Mexico and the Slovak Republic are just below 4 GB.

Despite the very high penetration of mobile broadband subscriptions, 2021 still saw significant growth of 5.5%. Mobile broadband penetration is highest in Japan, Estonia, the United States and Finland, with subscriptions per 100 inhabitants at 191%, 180%, 169% and 157%, respectively.

Iceland is by far the leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications with 317 M2M SIM cards per 100 inhabitants. The high number is driven by Vodafone Iceland’s provision of M2M subscriptions to help international pharmaceutical companies distribute COVID-19 vaccines. Sweden, Austria, Norway, and Germany also rank highly in terms of M2M SIM cards per head. Sweden’s 191 M2M SIM cards per 100 inhabitants is boosted by the use of these SIM cards in other countries by a Swedish operator. Overall, M2M/integrated mobile cellular subscriptions have increased by more than 16% (58 million new subscriptions) over the past year in the countries for which data were available.

Download broadband data, charts and penetration maps by country at http://oe.cd/broadband

Digital first and simplicity for customers of home and motor insurance

A new survey by Deloitte Ireland shows an overwhelming preference towards purchasing home and motor insurance through digital channels.

When asked what their preferred channel to purchase home insurance was, 60% of respondents showed a preference for online, via mobile (23%) or computer (37%). These results were echoed when respondents were prompted to give their preference for purchasing motor insurance, with 57% stating online channels as their top preference, via mobile (22%) or computer (35%). In addition to online channels, phone remains a popular choice with 31% of respondents citing it as their first choice when purchasing home insurance, and 29% for motor insurance.

Digital is table stakes but concerns around personal data remain

Irish customers have a somewhat conservative view in relation to the level to which they are willing to share more sensitive personal data with insurers to enable value adding or other data-based services, even if there is a potential cost reduction involved. In terms of data types, respondents were most reluctant to share data associated with their social media history (20%) and previous spending patterns (24%).  The survey of 516 participants carried out found that this resistance was less obvious for information such as insurance history (61%), car (56%) and home usage (46%).

Commenting on the survey results, Ciara Regan, Partner and Insurance, Deloitte Ireland said: “Clearly, insurance companies must continue to offer the channels most favoured by their customers, and ensure the services are tailored and personalised. While digital is now table stakes, it can’t be at the expense of customer relationships.  Almost a third of consumers across all age groups prefer to buy home insurance over the phone. Possible reasons for this could include an appreciation for personalised customer service and experience, as well as the belief that negotiating over the phone can yield a better price.

“While the research does demonstrate a clear preference for digital interactions, some methods of communications such as ‘online account notifications’ are of little interest – with only 5% favouring them. This shows how cognisant insurance companies need to be about how they engage through digital channels. The survey shows that younger people (18-24) are more averse to sharing personal data with motor insurers than their older counterparts” continued Regan. “This could be because younger consumers are more aware of the dangers of data and identity theft. Whatever the case may be, the survey results suggest that insurers face a steep hill to climb if they are targeting data-dependent features at the younger market.”

 

Customers want simplicity, flexibility, and transparency

Customers want products that are simple, easy to purchase and use, respondents favouring the “basic” product as it is “convenient, cost effective and easy to engage with”. Customers also demonstrated a preference towards having the ability to adjust their insurance as their financial and life circumstances change, respondents stating that “paying according to your needs and affordability”, is a key driver in their preference towards the “self-controlled & adjustable” product. Another product you could try out too is Agile Rates.

This is unsurprising, given that 50% of respondents stated they have been working from home since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, as well as 60% of respondents stating that they have driven their vehicle less in the last two years.

“It is therefore important that insurers strike the right balance when designing and delivering new products and propositions to their customers,” said Regan.

“They need to meet customer expectations in terms of offering them new and interesting features that differentiate them in the market but these need to be underpinned by clear and tailored messaging as well as seamless experiences that customers find easy to engage with.”

 Value and ease of purchase ranks higher than brand

The way consumers are purchasing their insurance is changing, and as a result reduced levels of brand recognition were evidenced across both home and motor products. Insurers need to have a clear strategy with the right capabilities to deliver differentiated experiences.  A previous Central Bank of Ireland survey showed that 79% of respondents cited price as their top purchasing decision factor, followed by cover/ benefits (53%) and ease of purchase (33%); brand and reputation of the insurance provider rated among the lowest in terms of primary consideration for consumers.[1] From a home perspective, when asked to identify their insurance provider, 60% of home insurance policy holders stated the name of their insurance company, with 22% stating the name of a retail intermediary such as their bank. 18% of respondents did not recall the name of their home insurance provider when prompted.

These results are echoed from a motor insurance perspective, although better recognition was observed for some of the leading brands, with 73% of respondents naming their insurance provider, 21% referencing a retail intermediary and the remaining 6% not naming any provider.

 

Open to new purchasing channels

When asked the level of desirability towards different purchasing options, respondents showed they were open to new purchasing channels through point-of-sale models such as car manufacturers, motor dealers as well as through mortgage lenders.  Almost four in ten (39%) of those surveyed would consider buying home insurance through their mortgage lender while almost two thirds agreed it was either – extremely (11%), very (25%) or somewhat (31%) – desirable to be able to purchase motor insurance through their car dealer.

“Insurers must have a clear strategy of who they want to target, leveraging the right data insights to deliver relevant value propositions to their chosen segments as and when they need them,” Regan said. Those that are winning the market are differentiating themselves by maximising the touchpoints they have with customers, creating new and more meaningful opportunities to drive engagement while enabling end to end experiences, underpinned by digital.”

valid8Me eyes expansion with €12.5m investment with Grant Thornton

Launched in 2021, valid8Me, the digital identity SAAS platform today announces that Grant Thornton Ireland are investing 12.5million euros in the company. Valid8Me allows both individuals and corporations to securely store, share and manage their key Know-Your-Customer related data.

Valid8Me pioneered and champions reusable digital identity, helping businesses streamline proof of identity and onboarding processes with simplicity, certainty and control.

Customer onboarding has become a significant pain-point for customers and businesses alike in recent years, with a lack of joined up thinking resulting in businesses spending a disproportionate amount of budget and time on manually validating, updating and storing documents. The average bank, for example, spends 60 million dollars per year on Know-Your-Customer compliance.

Valid8Me’s platform offers a significantly enhanced proof of identity and onboarding experience:

  • Valid8Me is confident that it is the only platform that reduces customer onboarding costs by up-to 50% and onboarding times by up to 90%, by using reusable digital identity vaults that simplifies the burden of sourcing, maintaining and updating Know-Your-Customer documents for businesses.

  • Valid8Me reduces risk and exposure for businesses around data privacy by removing the overhead of handling sensitive data via its reusable digital identity vault model.

  • Once set up with a profile on valid8Me, customers have a reusable identity that can be instantly verified across any business or industry.

  • Digital onboarding reduces the likelihood of fraudulent documents and financial crime occurring.

  • The platform supports over 10,000 different document templates from 248 different countries and territories.

Patrick Horgan, CEO of valid8Me; “The idea that consumers repeatedly share their most  sensitive data, often through insecure channels, to prove their identity is archaic. Valid8Me is fundamentally different, we empower consumers to maintain a reusable digital identity that can be used universally across all industries. Our platform addresses an enormous challenge for  businesses by enabling enhanced AML compliance in a radically future proof and cost-effective way, whilst offering their clients a more secure and convenient experience”

Adding, “This investment from Grant Thornton Ireland, combined with their global reach and multisector expertise,  will act as a transformational partner in accelerating valid8Me’s ambitious high-growth strategy. Grant Thornton truly understands valid8Me’s vision to become the universal defacto standard for digital identity  globally.”

Speaking about the investment, Mick McAteer, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Ireland said “We view the valid8Me platform as complementary to a number of our service lines and specifically  addresses the needs of our clients across a number of sectors including financial services, legal,  accounting, wealth management and real estate among others. We are excited to build our product  and service offering in these sectors and bring real innovative solutions to our clients.”

Steve Tennant, Head of Financial Services Advisory at Grant Thornton Ireland said; “KYC and the  process by which businesses look to on-board and verify client identities is broken. We deal with an  increasing number of clients who are extremely challenged by the resource overhead in complying with AML & KYC regulatory obligations. Valid8Me offers a ground-breaking approach to solving this  problem and importantly optimising the customer and client experience. We use valid8Me ourselves  and have first-hand experience of how it has transformed our client onboarding processes.”

DAACI AI-Music Composition Tool Wins Grant from Innovate UK

Groundbreaking AI music composition tool DAACI has won a grant of over a quarter of a million pounds from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

DAACI joins an illustrious list of past Innovate UK grant recipients, including BMW, HSBC, Oxford and Cambridge Universities, as well as most other major universities. To illustrate, competition for the coveted Innovate UK grant was so high in its previous round that less than 10% of applicants succeeded.

DAACI excelled in all qualifying categories. Its proposal demonstrates DAACI’s rising status as game-changing, innovative, disruptive, and ambitious. It evidenced its plan to deliver a significant economic impact in terms of ROI, emphasising its potential to positively impact creative productivity and the UK economy more broadly.

Through their smart grants, Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. They have awarded £25million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy.

Innovate UK’s assessors returned exceptional feedback on DAACI’s proposal, stating, “The proposal contributes to the UK’s position as a leader in music, based on highly innovative technology to create original music, adaptive to a wide range of consumer preferences. This is an impressive team showing practical plans to deliver the project and credibility to commercialise successfully with associated societal benefits.”

They went on to say, “This is an ideal team positioned to deliver the project successfully with their combination of relevant skills and track record, and to exploit commercially.”

DAACI CEO Rachel Lyske said, “Innovate UK has added even more momentum to our charge forward as the leading AI music composition tool for any and every brief, and we’re immensely grateful. They’ve seen that DAACI has the creative and intellectual potential to redefine and regenerate the process of creating music in the era of the Metaverse and Web 3.0.”

Having successfully secured the Innovate grant, DAACI is extremely excited to be continuing its investment round. They are raising an EIS eligible £4m which will close in September https://www.daaci.com/daaci-deck

House of Marley Introduces New Collection of Sustainably Designed Charging Accessories

Today, House of Marley launches a new collection of charging cables and accessories designed with sustainable materials to power phones, wireless earbuds and other electronic devices. Crafted from mindfully sourced materials – including highly renewable bamboo and recycled plastics – the new accessories include the One Drop Wireless Charger (£49.99), the REWIND® 3.5mm M/M Audio Cable (£24.99, available later this year) and the REWIND® Charging Cables, available in USB-C to Lightning (1.5-meter, £34.99 and 3-meter, £49.99), USB-C to USB-A (3-meter, £29.99) and USB-C to USB-C (3-meter, £29.99). All the new accessories come in 100% plastic-free recyclable packaging.

“House of Marley is committed to minimising the environmental footprint of the electronics that are a part of our daily lives. This value is at the centre of our first line of charging accessories,” said Joshua Poulsen, House of Marley’s Director of Product Development. “The market is flooded with poorly made products that quickly end up in landfills, contributing to global e-waste. At House of Marley, we do things differently. We specifically created our new accessories to last longer through premium, sustainable materials and timeless design – engineering our cables to be stronger and last longer and minimising waste by using upcycled materials.”

SUSTAINABLY MINDED

House of Marley’s eco-conscious identity was created in collaboration with the Marley family to carry on Bob Marley’s legacy of love for music, people and the planet. House of Marley’s global give back initiative, Project Marley, supports global reforestation and ocean preservation through One Tree Planted and the Surfrider Foundation. For more information on House of Marley’s sustainability efforts and commitment to crafting products from mindfully sourced materials, please visit https://www.thehouseofmarley.co.uk/materials/.

 ONE DROP WIRELESS CHARGER

The One Drop Wireless Charger includes a premium quality, Qi-certified pad that powers Apple and Android phones as well as compatible earbuds. Simply place your phone or earbud case on top of the pad to begin charging. The One Drop’s durable sides and base are made from REGRIND™ Silicone, a unique material created by reclaiming and upcycling post-process silicone scraps that would otherwise go to waste, while the charging pad itself is crafted with CNC-milled bamboo. The wireless charger’s integrated REGRIND™ Silicone Cable Management strap helps keep everything organised on your table top or in your bag.

REWINDⓇ CHARGING CABLES

The REWIND® Charging Cables are also crafted with premium quality, sustainable materials including FSC™ Walnut[1] sourced from responsibly managed forests. The braided cables use REWIND® fabric woven with 99% post-consumer recycled GRS certified material and have a convenient cable management strap made from upcycled REGRIND™ silicone and recycled aluminium. An extended strain relief provides added protection against normal wear and tear. The cables are available in MFi certified USB-C to Lightning, and USB-IF certified USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to USB-C, for improved safety and quality.

 REWINDⓇ AUDIO CABLE (available later this year)

The premium REWIND® Audio Cable is built for longevity and offers a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack that connects your device, speaker, turntable, or headphones via the 3M long audio cable for direct audio playback. Like the charging cables, the REWIND® Audio Cable has an FSC™ Walnut cable enclosure, a durable extended strain relief, and a REGRIND™ silicone cable management strap to keep cables organised.

 The collection of charging accessories are available now at www.thehouseofmarley.co.uk, Amazon and select retailers nationwide in Signature Black.

Irish Cybersecurity company warns of latest scam to hit Ireland!

Galway based Cyber security experts TitanHQ have warned Irish people to be on the lookout for the latest email scam, after a school district in the United States admitted last month to transferring nearly €200,000 to an account controlled by cybercriminals.

TitanHQ are warning the Irish public that the phishing scam is likely to hit Irish shores over the coming months after phishing attacks reached an all-time high in the first part of 2022.

The Floyd County school district in Georgia received an email requesting payment, supposedly from a company that had previously completed building work for a school in the district, called Ben Hill Roofing.

They unwittingly made the payment and only realised their mistake after the real Ben Hill Roofing Company submitted an actual invoice.

The school district explained that “Floyd County Schools has been made aware of a phishing incident. This cyber-attack resulted in funds being stolen from the school system by an outside source.”

The attack is what’s known as “spear phishing”, which is a targeted attack where a cyber criminal poses as a trusted sender and will include information known to be of interest to the target, such as current events or financial documents that they might be expecting.

In a recent survey, TitanHQ found that 85% of organizations have experienced up to 17 types of security incidents in the past 12 months.

Speaking on the latest scam, Ronan Kavanagh, CEO of TitanHQ explained that:

“Cyber criminals have become more and more sophisticated, finding ways to create scam emails and websites that look legitimate. 

We would urge people to be extra cautious and always verify the sender’s contact details. 

If a vendor or customer you are familiar with contacts you via email, asking you to change their account payment details, or anything else that seems suspicious, then be sure to reach out to your direct contact at the company to make sure the request is legitimate.”

The visible consequences, and the financial consequences, of these incidences, are really ringing home with people. And the reality is they are becoming more sophisticated, they are becoming more prevalent, and they’re affecting all different areas, not just large entities like the HSE and Universities but also smaller businesses, many of which you just don’t hear about.

Here are some tips to help you prevent phishing attacks

  1. Learn to spot phishing attacks
  2. Improve Email security
  3. Provide training to boost security awareness
  4. Update web browsers regularly
  5. Install and use an antivirus program
  6. Disable popups and adapt a reporting policy
  7. Use a DNS filter