Category: Tech News

WhatsApp gets full emoji keyboard including skin tone selector and file sending now up to 2GB

Mark Zuckerberg just announced that Reactions on WhatsApp is expanding to include a full emoji keyboard meaning people will now be able to use any emoji when reacting to a message on WhatsApp. As part of the full keyboard, users will also have the ability to select a different skin tone for emojis.

In addition, you can now send files within WhatsApp up to 2GB in size at a time, protected by end-to-end encryption. This is an increase from the previous limit of 100MB and we think will be helpful for collaboration among small businesses and school groups. We recommend using WiFi for larger files and we’ll display a counter while uploading or downloading to let you know how long your transfer will take.

Full story HERE

The Importance of Cloud Computing in Business

Cloud computing is an on-demand technology that quickly provides the resources you need to run your business without a long wait for setup or installation.

Nowadays, there are many cloud computing services available, so it can be hard to determine which one is best for your needs. However, this blog post will tell you some factors you should take into account when migrating to a cloud service provider!

1) Security

Security should be one of the top priorities when migrating your business to a new cloud service provider. As many companies, such as APT group, have shown, security vulnerabilities within various popular cloud services are easily exploited for malicious and sometimes financially motivated purposes.

So, take some time to do a thorough assessment and research before you decide which cloud provider or services you want to use. Many providers will ask security professionals if they can perform an audit on the system before you sign up with them, so that should help you get started with the decision process!

2) Support Services and Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Many cloud providers will offer support services in the form of phone calls, online chats, and more. However, it is important to note that most SLAs only offer a certain level of access. Even Microsoft recommends using an independent backup service to protect your data.

If you are considering different Office 365 migration services, make sure you check the SLA to ensure your data is protected. For services like Office 365 Migration and Azure Data Backup you need 24×7 support from cloud provider via email/chat/phone. 

3) Quick and Easy access to Resources

The main reason why companies are interested in cloud computing is the fact that it allows them to quickly and easily access IT resources. This is especially true if you are trying to start up a brand-new business. You or your company will not want to spend hours, sometimes even days, configuring and installing various services.

Quick and easy access to resources is one of the biggest benefits of cloud computing. Services such as Office 365 allow your employees and customers to access their data from anywhere they want while providing security at all times. By using a cloud service provider, your business can literally go global within minutes!

4) Affordability

Cloud computing is a great way to cut down on IT costs. For example, 82% of SMBs report reduced costs from adopting cloud-based services.

5) Scalability and Flexibility

With cloud computing services, your business will be able to easily upgrade or downgrade your service plan anytime you want. This is important as your business will change over time, and different services might need to be added or removed. For example, it is obvious that if you have a lot of employees today, you will need more licenses for a certain app.

For most Azure users, this flexibility is the main reason why they want to use the cloud service. 

6) Cloud Services are Ideal for Startups and Growing Businesses

Cloud computing services are ideal for startups and growing businesses because they allow companies to focus on how to best serve their customers instead of worrying about technical issues.

If you are interested in migrating to cloud computing services, be sure to research your options. In addition to the tips above, look at each provider in terms of how they offer support and service level agreements, as well as their reliability and reputation.

Also, take into account the security of the data, especially if you are hoping to use cloud service providers for storing customer or company information.

Ultrahuman launches world’s first smart ring with a focus on metabolism

Ultrahuman, the world’s most advanced metabolic fitness platform, has today announced the launch of its newest wearable, the Ultrahuman Ring. The metabolism-tracking wearable will measure movement, sleep and the body’s energy dynamics coupled with intelligent activity or recuperating recommendations, in real-time, to balance and take control of your health.

The Ring provides a minimal form factor with no screens or vibrations keeping you away from constant notifications. You check your details when you want to, on the app, ensuring no intrusion in your daily activities. It also comes with a power packed 5-day battery life.

The Ultrahuman ring is designed for enduring rough usage conditions and workouts. The ring’s outer surface is made of a titanium body coated with tungsten carbide which is 5 times harder than tool steel making it remarkably scratch resistant. At the same time, comfort and minimalism is at the core of the product.This is ensured by the smooth inner shell of the ring that makes it comfortable during sleep and rest scenarios.

Ultrahuman Ring works standalone or in combination with the existing advanced glucose monitoring platform, Ultrahuman M1, to offer users even deeper metabolic insights and more precise actionables for optimizing your health.

New ring from Ultrahuman – techbuzzireland

Mohit Kumar, Founder and CEO, Ultrahuman commented: “We have always believed in the power of biomarkers in terms of their ability to make health optimization more efficient. With the Ultrahuman ring and a new suite of metabolic biomarkers, you can now understand not just what’s affecting your glucose metabolism but also how to act on the insights in an efficient way.  For eg. You could figure how much of your glucose metabolism is affected by the lack of sleep vs the food itself. This is a phenomenal leap in the world of biomarkers and allows us to study various factors around human health in a unique and much more impactful way than ever.”

Some of the insights that will be available with the Ultrahuman ring would be around understanding your NEAT ( non-exercise activity thermogenesis ), sleep efficiency and its effect on glucose metabolism and food’s impact on recovery and performance.

The Ultrahuman Ring will be available for pre-order globally from 7th July 2022 and shipping will start August 2022 onwards.

Ultrahuman is a venture-backed startup that has raised $25m to date. Their investors include Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), which is backed by DisruptAD and managed by Falcon Edge, Steadview Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Blume Ventures and Utsav Somani’s iSeed fund, and a range of marquee founders and angel investors including Tiger Global’s Scott Schleifer.

ZHIYUN Unveils its Best Gimbal Discounts on 2022 Amazon Prime Day

ZHIYUN, the world leader in professional stabilization systems, will offer its best gimbal discount deals on 2022 Amazon Prime Day for a wide range of its products including, SMOOTH 5, CRANE M3, WEEBILL 2, CRANE M2S, CRANE 3S. Get up to 51% off or save up to £350.

ZHIYUN Amazon Prime Day Deals officially kicked off on 6 July and will continue till 20 July 2022 on the ZHIYUN UK Amazon Store and ZHIYUN Official Store. For any amateur or professional photographers who want to improve their skills, this is the right time to purchase their dream gimbal(s) for cameras or smartphones.

Below is a complete list of the discounted gimbals:

CAMERA GIMBALS

Crane 3S —  is a powerful redesign of previous ZHIYUN gimbals with the addition of detachable handle options, more powerful motors with a large 14.3 lb payload, an updated axis-locking system, and an external power input, and the ViaTouch 2.0 remote control system.

Original price: £ 799
Discounted price: 30%  –  £ 559

Crane M3 — upgraded motors with stronger torque guarantee stable movements and filming with cameras in different sizes. Easy compatible with smartphones, action cameras, compact cameras, and full-frame mirrorless cameras with certain lenses.

Original price: £ 369
Discounted price: 11%  –  £ 329

Crane M2 S — is highly portable, just like a phone gimbal, but with the capacity to hold cameras up to the Sony A7SIII with small prime lenses. The super-lightweight body is combined with stronger motors and extended axes compared to the standard CRANE-M2 series, making it a must-have for high velocity, run-and-gun filmmakers.

Original price: £ 259
Discounted price: 12%  –  £ 229

WEEBILL 2 — has enhanced responsiveness and stabilization capabilities to accurately eliminate shaky movements in a lightweight frame sporting an industrial design that gives users maximum control through a flip-out touch screen.

Original price: £ 509
Discounted price: 8%  –  £ 469

Crane 2S — the upgraded version of the legendary gimbal CRANE 2 with optimized motor control algorithms and motor power that handles BMPCC 6K, Panasonic S1H, Canon EOS 1DX Mark II, and Nikon D850 with total ease.

Original price: £ 599
Discounted price: 35% –  £ 389

SMARTPHONE GIMBALS

Smooth 5 —  the industry-standard 3-axis design allows movements in all angles to be amazingly smooth, even at extreme angles.

Original price: £ 159
Discounted price: 13%  –  £ 139

Smooth X — the world’s first pocket-size selfie-stick phone gimbal that makes phone shooting such fun. It comes with the ZY Cami APP featuring functions like gesture control, object tracking, beauty camera, and smart filmmaking.

Original price: £ 59
Discounted price: 51%  –  £ 29

Smooth  Q3 —  from a rotatable fill light to 17 smart templates, the Smooth-Q3 is a compact, feature-rich three-axis gimbal with simplified and detail-oriented design and unrivalled functionality.

Original price: £ 85
Discounted price: 12%  –  £ 75

Konftel Aims Higher To Solve Ceiling Mount Challenge For Greater Room Lay Out Flexibility

Collaboration endpoint specialist Konftel is creating greater installation flexibility with the development of an innovative speakerphone ceiling mount kit that promotes a neater and more natural meeting room experience.

Specifically designed for its flagship Konftel 800 device, the new development provides an alternative to traditional desktop placement. It addresses growing market demand for smarter and more flexible room configurations, especially for education and training purposes.

The special kit includes a dedicated bracket and ceiling mount plate – and is compatible with tripod mounting systems.

Room flexibility

Konftel Product Manager, Torbjörn Karlsson, says the kit can dramatically improve room flexibility by providing cable and device-free desk configurations – as well as encouraging more natural meeting behaviour.

“The Konftel Ceiling Mount Kit ensures seating can quickly and easily be rearranged which is perfect for hybrid lectures or corporate presentations. The overall experience can be further enhanced by connecting two other devices via daisy chain for extended pick-up in larger areas.”

He emphasized: “In addition, by placing the Konftel 800 in the air this encourages users to stop looking at the speakerphone when talking. When the device is placed in the ceiling people will tend to forget about it and speak naturally in the direction they want, such as towards the screen when addressing a remote participant.”

Lecture mode

In a further boost Konftel is developing a new ‘lecture mode’ function (via a free software upgrade) that will enable wireless connectivity between tested and approved headset models and the Konftel 800. This feature is due to be available from September and is also particularly useful for both training and education presentations, according to Karlsson.

“When a teacher or presenter is talking via their headset, all room participants are automatically muted from the Konftel 800’s microphones. Once the person is silent, the Konftel 800 mics open again,” he explained. “So wherever the teacher is located, perhaps facing a whiteboard, they can still be heard clearly by all remote participants.”

Reach further

Further complementing Konftel’s room flexibility ethos is the launch of the Konftel Reach USB 5+15. This comprises two active optical cables that provide more installation opportunities when users bring their own laptop to a meeting room to start a video call. 

Karlsson added: “They are used to replace USB cables connected between the Konftel OCC Hub, the Konftel conference camera and a user’s laptop. Konftel Reach enables longer distances between the parts in the ‘Bring Your Own Meeting’ video solution and neater, hidden cable routing in the meeting room. It is another welcome addition to our evolving product portfolio.”

ASUS Republic of Gamers Reveals ROG Phone 6 Series at For Those Who Dare Virtual Launch Event

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG)  hosted the ROG Phone 6: For Those Who Dare virtual launch event to reveal the new ROG Phone 6 series of gaming smartphones, along with new models in the ROG Cetra series of True Wireless gaming headphones and ROG Delta series of gaming headsets, plus a collection of ROG Phone 6 accessories. The event concluded with an all-star showmatch, where 14 well-known influencers from 8 different countries competed on PUBG MOBILE to showcase their skills on the world’s premium gaming smartphone.

The new ROG Phone 6 series includes the ROG Phone 6 and the ROG Phone 6 Pro, the most powerful ROG Phones ever made. They are powered by the latest flagship Snapdragon® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform with up to 3.2 GHz CPU clock speeds up to 18 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and up to 512 GB of storage. The upgraded GameCool 6 cooling system features novel 360° CPU cooling technology to unleash maximum sustained performance. A monster 6000 mAh battery capacity provides extended battery life for long game sessions. Supreme visuals are delivered by a 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED HDR10+ display that uses exclusive ROG tuning technology to achieve an amazing 165 Hz refresh rate, an industry-leading 720 Hz touch-sampling rate and a world-beating 23 ms ultra-low touch latency. The new series is accompanied by a full array of exclusive ROG Phone 6 accessories, including the new AeroActive Cooler 6 and ROG Phone 6 Glass Screen Protector.

For a fully immersive ROG Phone 6 gaming experience, several gaming headphones were also showcased, including the new ROG Cetra True Wireless Pro dual-mode wired / wireless model featuring an ESS Quad DAC and an AI Noise-Canceling Microphone, and the ROG Cetra True Wireless for low-latency gaming audio. For detailed and true-to-life headset audio, the ROG Delta S Wireless — the first ROG dual-mode wireless gaming headset — and the lightweight 270-gram ROG Delta S Core gaming headsets on display.

ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro: invincible power and supreme specifications

The ROG Phone 6 series is powered by the latest flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, a premier-tier powerhouse that delivers power and performance enhancements for the ultimate boost across all on-device experiences. Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 offers amped-up gameplay — unleashed with the full suite of Snapdragon Elite Gaming® features plus an improved Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU — delivering a more than 50% performance improvement when compared to the Snapdragon 888 that powered the ROG Phone 5. The device is backed by up to 18 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512 GB of storage, for the most reliable and stable gaming experience.

The upgraded GameCool 6 cooling system includes 360° CPU cooling technology, a 30% larger vapor chamber and 85% larger graphite sheets along with a centered-CPU design to increase heat dissipation from the core. Combined with the new performance manager in Armoury Crate, the ROG Phone 6 series allows gamers to tune performance settings for different games, giving them a competitive edge in any gaming scenario.

For ultra-smooth and ultra-responsive gaming visuals, the ROG Phone 6 series is equipped with a 6.78-inch 165 Hz AMOLED HDR10+ display with an industry-leading 720 Hz touch-sampling rate and a world-beating 23 ms ultra-low touch latency. This astonishing display can be set to 60 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, or 165 Hz for an unparalleled gaming experience. The superb visuals are tuned in collaboration with leading visual-processing company Pixelworks® for world-beating color accuracy.

For even more advanced control possibilities, the AirTrigger 6 has been significantly upgraded. The ultrasonic sensors fully support various gestures, including new features such as Dual Action, Press and Lift, and Gyroscope Aiming.

The GameFX audio system on ROG Phone 6 features symmetrical seven-magnet dual speakers that fire forward for truly balanced stereo sound effects, and there is also a convenient 3.5 mm headphone jack. The sound has been optimized in collaboration with the Swedish digital audio pioneer Dirac, making ROG Phone 6 a rare beast, a gaming phone with truly impressive audio quality. The ROG Phone 6 features the Dirac Virtuo™ spatial audio solution, which uses patented algorithms to enable immersive stereo sound from the smartphone’s built-in speakers while enhancing the speakers’ overall sound quality. Snapdragon Sound™ technology on the ROG Phone 6 ensures super-low latency processing for lag-free gaming and lossless music streaming, so gamers can hear every detail of their music exactly as the artist intended.

The monster 6000 mAh battery features advanced battery-care features for better battery performance and an extended lifespan, and there’s also a 65-watt HyperCharge adapter for rapid charging.

The ROG Phone 6 series is now equipped with a triple-camera system featuring a flagship Sony® IMX766 50 MP main wide-angle camera with improved image quality and HDR processing, an ultrawide 13 MP second camera, and a macro camera. Enhanced software features include HDR10+ Video Mode, and here’s also a 12 MP front camera for high-quality group selfies and live-streaming videos.

The ROG Phone 6 is available in Phantom Black and Storm White, and comes equipped with Aura RGB lighting on the back, up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and up to 512 GB of storage. The ROG Phone 6 Pro is available exclusively in Storm White, and features a color ROG Vision mini-display on the back, 18 GB of LPDDR5 RAM memory, and 512 GB of storage.

Immersive gaming experiences: Wireless and wired ROG headphones

A range of existing and new wireless and wired headphones was also showcased. The ROG Cetra True Wireless Pro and ROG Cetra True Wireless gaming headphones allow for remarkable audio and low-latency connections.

The new Cetra True Wireless Pro is a wired / wireless dual-mode model featuring an ESS Quad DAC and an AI Noise-Canceling Microphone, giving exceptional in-game audio and communication with the freedom to easily switch between wireless and wired USB-C® modes.

In Bluetooth mode, it uses the latest Snapdragon Sound technology, delivering a low-latency connection and premium music streaming. An ultralow-latency gaming mode provides 45 ms audio for perfectly synced in-game sounds on ROG Phone 6. Furthermore, Cetra True Wireless Pro features multiple Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) modes to reduce wider-frequency background noise and enhance wind-noise reduction for unparalleled audio immersion.

For wired mode, ROG engineers also developed the innovative in-line audio optimizer with built-in ESS 9280 Quad DAC for exceptional audio with rich, detailed spatial sound. In addition, the AI Noise-Canceling Microphone reduces over 500 million types of background noise such as chatter, keyboard clatter and mouse clicks by up to 95% for crystal-clear voice communication.

The ROG Cetra series also includes ROG Cetra True Wireless, which is a purely wireless model featuring a Gaming mode for low-latency wireless audio that offers better synchronization with onscreen visuals.

The brand-new ROG Delta S Wireless is the first ROG dual-mode wireless gaming headset. It can be used in either 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth® modes for maximum flexibility when connecting devices. The concealed AI Beamforming Microphones with AI Noise Cancelation ensure impeccable voice pick-up and reduce background noise by up to 95% for clear in-game communication, providing comfort and style without compromising the quality of in-game communication. The ROG Delta range also includes the new ROG Delta S Core, a lightweight 270-gram headset designed for extreme comfort.

Extensive array of accessories

An ecosystem of modular accessories allows gamers to optimize their gameplay experience on the ROG Phone 6 series. Accessories include the AeroActive Cooler 6, ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad for ROG Phone 6, ROG Phone 6 Glass Screen Protector, cases and more. The clip-on AeroActive Cooler 6 has an AI-powered thermoelectric cooler, and a fan that delivers increased cooling airflow directly to hotspots on the back cover of the ROG Phone 6. The result is that it can lower the surface temperature by up to a stunning 25°C. The AeroActive Cooler 6 also adds four extra physical buttons to allow a genuine console-like control experience.

Exclusive influencer All-Star Showmatch

After the event, ROG held an exclusive All-Star gaming showmatch, where 14 influencers from 8 different countries — including Germany, UK, France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway — competed in a 7 vs. 7 team deathmatch on PUBG MOBILE. Before and during the match, the influencers’ communities and audience had the opportunity to predict the winning team of the tournament as well as the influencer accumulating the highest in-game kill count, for a chance to win a ROG Phone 6.

ROG Phone 6: https://rog.asus.com/phones/rog-phone-6-model/

ROG Phone 6 Pro: https://rog.asus.com/phones/rog-phone-6-pro-model/

ROG Cetra True Wireless Pro: https://rog.asus.com/headsets-audio/in-ear-headphone/rog-cetra-true-wireless-pro-model/

ROG Cetra True Wireless: https://rog.asus.com/headsets-audio/in-ear-headphone/rog-cetra-true-wireless -model/

ROG Delta S Wireless: https://rog.asus.com/headsets-audio/headsets/wireless-headsets/rog-delta-s-wireless-model/

ROG Delta S Core: https://rog.asus.com/headsets-audio/headsets/3-5mm-headsets/rog-delta-s-core-model/

Fitbit adds Premium Sleep Profile and we check out the Fitbit Sense

Fitbit have launched a new feature which is the Premium Sleep Profile and what a great to to test out their Fitbit Sense which has just arrived and our first time to check out the brand on site which we look forward too, on first look at the device it feels premium and has more features than I had expected in comparison to some other similar products I have here in for review and I quite like it.

With health and fitness being a daily part of people’s lives now people want more features and Fitbit have launched a new option which is great for those who track their sleep never mind the stress something which I both lack and have an abundance of so for me an ideal time to check out what is on offer here.

This new Fitbit Premium feature offers a new longitudinal analysis of your sleep patterns. It also makes your sleep data even easier to interpret with fun animal characters, so you can take steps to improve your sleep quality and, in turn, your overall health.

How does it work?

Wear your Fitbit device to sleep for at least 14 nights per calendar month to receive an assessment. The more you wear the device to sleep, the more precise the evaluation. Sleep can vary significantly from night to night, so it’s helpful to analyze your sleep data over a longer period from your own sleep environment to uncover more insights into your habits and how you can improve.

As a Premium member you will see your Sleep Profile, including your sleep animal and monthly sleep analysis, on the first day of every month. Animals can change from month to month, and data collected throughout the month will inform the next animal you receive the following month. There is no “ideal” animal – each one can be used to better understand your sleep patterns and how you can improve your sleep quality.

Read the full story HERE

First look at the Fitbit Sense

An integrated approach to realise a 5G future

By Marc O’Regan, Chief Technology Officer for EMEA at Dell Technologies

5G is set to completely transform the mobile communications network. Yet rarely discussed are two key components to its success: edge and cloud. The reality is that cloud solutions facilitate the cost efficiencies and pace of innovation that make 5G such an exciting prospect – and hybrid cloud is the firm favourite amongst organisations seeking new network speeds.

But businesses, like telecom operators, for example, can’t simply adopt existing available cloud technology. Instead, they need a bespoke cloud platform designed for their requirements and challenges. If 5G Private Mobility and associated technologies are to achieve their true potential, telecom operators need to incorporate highly scalable cloud-native infrastructure into their rollouts. This is a complex task, requiring expertise from trusted technology partners.

The 5G Challenge

Understanding that software is just one piece of the cloud is important. Hardware, services, and additional tools are needed to bring a cohesive cloud strategy together. Therefore, collaboration with experts and integration with other technologies are important parts of the 5G ecosystem in order to achieve a successful outcome.

Many need to question their understanding of 5G – it’s often not what they think. It is software driven, born from and Native to Cloud – and it’s still relatively young. It is the transformer and provider of new cloud-based services. One of the first beneficiaries of this will be rural broadband services. 5G will help progress rural connectivity by using mobile networks to close digital divides, bringing broadband to homes at a reduced cost – without the disruptive need to drag fibre up the driveway.

Meanwhile, 5G will also power a new range of devices and services across industries. In high-density areas such as a Rugby or football stadium – where previously signal bars would be low – now, not only will fans have accessible signal, but they will also have entirely new content-driven experiences. For example, streaming a try or goal via mobile phone from a close-up viewpoint will augment the in-stadium experience. Similarly, at live gigs, concert goers will be able to stream close-ups of their favourite musicians and players live.

The opportunities

These opportunities are driven by fundamental cultural shifts – we have moved from an era of content consumption to content creation, transforming our technological needs.

As businesses respond to the potential offered by lower latency, capturing these new enhanced services will enable organisations to monetise 5G networks. But in order to do this, they need to be nurtured, provided with technological expertise and develop a good level of business savvy.

In the industrial world, 5G will be an enabler of smart factories, providing connectivity for devices in remote locations and streamlining processes. Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) and automation powered by edge technologies are key in this context. Automation has a role to play in the network itself, helping service providers deploy their work. For enterprises looking to leverage automation in their factories, such as warehouse automation for retailers, 5G accelerates that automation with an immediate impact on both the bottom line and the top line of an enterprise. It will be possible for businesses to achieve more in a shorter time because the robots will go faster, and because the response to any needs or obstructions will be resolved faster.

We also have the intersection between 5G and other Emerging Technologies like Machine Learning and Intelligence that will allow us to build and scale new digital services at the point of Data creation. Using new blends of algorithms, Data Scientists can work in teams of OT and IT personnel to scrum their way toward new essential services delivered through information that is extracted from the Edge, near the sensors, alarms, pumps and actuators powered by new and powerful AI Models that are driven by architecture that combines the ability to drive high yield and draw low power in the factory environments and beyond.

Bespoke cloud technologies for telecoms

Underpinning everything is the quest to modernise networks and embrace cloud operating models which provide more choice, speed, and agility – especially in the vital sector of telecommunications. Ultimately, telecom operators want Open Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies that offer better performance and efficiency. The growing open ecosystem offers telecoms greater choice in their technologies and partners as they modernise to cloud-native networks. Telecoms need the various technologies of the open ecosystem to work together seamlessly to offer differentiated edge services and reduce costs.

That’s where Dell Technologies can help and add value. We began building telecom-grade servers and partnering with telecom cloud vendors to create telecom cloud platforms that are pre-integrated, pre-validated, and proven to work out of the box. We have added infrastructure automation tools to make it simple to deploy and manage virtualised network functions at the edge, in the RAN, and the core on purpose-built, standards-based, bare-metal servers. This will give cloud and service providers a scalable cloud foundation. Also, with the introduction of Dell Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation, we are providing telecoms with a simple way to build and deploy open, cloud-first networks faster with less cost. We’re laying the cloud foundation for an open software ecosystem.

According to Government targets, all Irish households and businesses are set to be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028 and all populated areas by 5G by 2030. 5G is an indispensable part of our data-driven future and can unlock the value of data in unprecedented ways. However, to get there, telecommunications companies and the public sector alike need expert partners and a solid foundation of cloud and edge. By adopting this approach, they can deliver agility and reduce operational and capital expenditures, with an open, software defined, cloud native, and data centric approach that can bring innovation to market and allow them to realise the vast opportunities presented by the 5G future.

NEFF celebrates 20 years of the Slide & Hide

NEFF celebrates 20 years of the Slide & Hide feature, the first and only fully retracting oven door. It is now 20 years ago that NEFF broke the rules with an oven door. Until that day, every oven door in every kitchen worked in the same way: by folding open. Instead of doing what everyone did, our engineers and designers at NEFF followed their own bold idea to create a different opening mechanism.

Ralf Grobleben, Head of Design now and then, remembers: “In the very beginning, the Slide&Hide® door was just a vague vision but with more and more ideas on how to make it happen, the vision became clearer. As with many things that challenge the norm, the idea was not initially received with great enthusiasm, the reactions were a bit more reserved. Our designers and engineers had many challenges to overcome; one that caused us to scratch our heads for a while was the mechanical stress of the door mechanism. In the end, it was realised, partly through an attitude of openness and the art of seeing what does not exist yet. The vision was always to achieve something that slides smoothly, is practical and also fun to use.”

With each evolution, Slide&Hide® was improved, soon not compromising on cavity space and today, over 2 million people enjoy the feature that was first launched 20 years ago.

Instead of just celebrating an oven door this year, we also want to celebrate something much bigger: the boldness, creativity and open-mindedness that made Slide&Hide® possible. We want to inspire people to break free from common rules around eating, cooking and kitchen – and instead open their minds, unleash their cooking passion and let nothing block their creativity – whether that is old-fashioned kitchen rules or an oven door. To find out more about the campaign, visit: https://www.neff-home.com/about-neff/why-neff/slide-hide