Category: Tech News

Sky News and Sky Sports joins Snapchat. Ireland and the UK. by @jimboireland #Sky

Sky News and Sky Sports have joined Snapchat,some might find it odd and as ever they have had some funny comments thrown at them on Twitter,most would see Snapchat as a kids platform but everyone has their own opinion,personally im not bothered about Snapchat ..

They can be found in the discover tab alongside some other well known names such as  MTV,Yahoo News,National Geographic and the Mail Online. Snapchat Discover launched in the US and globally at the end of January.

Around 5 to 10 stories will feature in each edition, curated by editors at both companies. The edition disappears after 24 hours.

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Snapchat chief executive Evan Spiegel said: “We are huge fans of Sky News and Sky Sports and are grateful for the opportunity to partner with their outstanding team.”

Snapchat is one of a new wave of messaging apps that have gained popularity, along with WhatsApp, Line and Kik.

Moving from messaging between users to publishing content to them is a shift for Snapchat and could offer a new revenue stream, with adverts served up next to publishers’ editions.

Snapchat does not share its number of monthly users, but Techcrunch reported in December that it had around 200 million.

For news organisations, Snapchat offers access to a much younger demographic than even Facebook or Twitter do.

John McAndrew, Director of News Output for Sky News, said: “Our partnership with Snapchat is very exciting. We can reach a whole new audience hungry for news in a concise and creative form on a platform they already enjoy.”

What do you think of this news from Sky ?

Source

We’re safe! Windows Phone Recovery Tool confirmed by Microsoft By @VicenteA_George #microsoft #windows #windowsphone

A couple of days ago we spoke that Microsoft is going to release a Preview of Windows 10 for phones some point this month, and now we can be safe that if something goes wrong and is to much to look at, we can go back to WP 8.1.1


Thanks to a Tweet of  the man who apparently never sleeps has now confirmed that such tool exists and will be able to all of us.
The process as well all the features of W10 for phones are still unknown but a Video is coming too and there we can take a closer look at what W10 will do with our phones.

Stay tuned for more Buzz!

Flipboard launches on the web. Flipboard is everywhere,by @jimboireland #Flipboard

Flipboard started out a couple of years ago and i remember being part of the Beta back then and its been easily one of my favourite news aggregators since then,its got a nice UI its smooth,easy to use and manage and it just works,recently flipboard has also launched on windows phone too with some new changes but it still provides me with my daily content and on Windows Phone Magnify would be also my top feed,they are similar.I would also use Taptu on Android alongside Flipboard on my droids.

 

 

 

Flipboard announced this evening the following..

 

We smile when we think of 2015 as the year of our Web launch, but it’s here: a beautiful version of Flipboard for the desktop and a major new frontier on our quest to build the world’s best personal magazine.

By developing for mobile first (Flipboard was originally built for the iPad in 2010), we saw that content could shine again in a clean and uncluttered environment. The Web evolved, too, with things like responsive design making for easier (and prettier) reading and navigation. The vision of our founders—to bring a print-like aesthetic to digital content—could finally be realized.

You’ll see that Flipboard.com has its own look and feel. As with developing for iPhone,Android and Windows, the team builds on a platform’s unique attributes while still retaining the heart and soul of Flipboard. For example, Flipboard on the Web has responsive layouts for different screen sizes…

If you are a Flipboard fan this will be great news for the fans.

 

Read More over at Flipboard

 

 

Samsung Gear VR headset apparently not for Ireland Says #Samsung #VR by @jimboireland

Last year Samsung announced the Superb Galaxy Note 4 and also the Note Edge which are arguably  the best handsets on the Market today but they also announced the  Gear VR headset at IFA which seemed quite popular on announcement.

People therefore opted to buy the Galaxy Note 4 in preference to the Edge in order to use it with the VR headset as the Note Edge is not compatible.People have been asking about the VR headset and its nowhere to be seen so they were asked on Facebook about by several people and they replied that they would not be ranging it here..Users who have anticipated and opted for the Note 4 may not be happy at this news but in time it might change however its available to buy online but you will probably pay a considerable amount for it.

Our own Tech Bernie also asked them. We also asked our contact who is a rep for Samsung.

Via Samsung Ireland Facebook

Shell garages to let you pay at the pump with PayPal and Motorist App. by @jimboireland #Shell

Shell are to now allow users in the UK to pay for their petrol or diesel from their car,It saves you time by allowing you to pay for fuel by credit or debit card without having to queue in the shop. Also, the terminals are chip and pin enabled, providing you with added reassurance when paying for your fuel.

Now this is kind of funny,at every garage we always see signs sporting ” do not use your phone” and so on..

Shell currently have an app on Android and iOS called “Shell Motorist” which lets you check your Fuels Reward Network ® points balance, your transactions and rewards progress.

– Find the nearest station with the Shell Station Locator
– Keep up to date with all the latest news on Shell promotions, products and services.

 

The Telegraph UK reports the following..

After a successful pilot in 2013, the service will be available to Shell Drivers Club members from April and then nationwide later in 2015 through both the PayPal app and the Shell Motorist app.

Michael Hominick, Retail Marketing Manager at Shell UK, claimed “Customers will now have the flexibility and convenience of paying without having to leave their car. Those who want to go in store and pay or purchase other items will still be able to, with the benefit of reduced queues.”

Rob Harper, Director of Mobile Commerce at PayPal UK added that “We’ve always believed people will use their mobile phones to pay if there’s a clear benefit.”

The PayPal app is already accepted in more than 8,000 UK shops and restaurants, and is used through some 19 million active British accounts. Would you like to see this implemented here in Ireland not only with shell ? Tell us below.

Source

Sony unveils New phone and design! Enter the Xperia E4 By @VicenteA_George #Sony #Xperia #Android

Sony has just unveiled their new phone of 2015 and is a mid-range but has all the bells and whistles it can have.

Press Release

London, 10th February 2015 – Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) today introduces its new Xperia™ E4 smartphone, offering ease-of-use, big screen entertainment and powerful battery performance in a high-quality yet affordable design.

“With Xperia E4, we wanted to offer people some of the premium Sony features they have come to expect – with unparalleled ease of use – at a highly-competitive price point,” says Tony McNulty, Vice President, Value Category Business Management at Sony Mobile Communications. “With a simple set-up, great screen and unrivalled 2 day battery life we’ve created an on-the-go entertainment device that will keep on going, wherever you are.”


But keeping the beauty Sony has us used to, the devices itself is very attractive if you’re not a power user.

In the internal we have a 5-inch IPS LCD (540 x 960), a quad-core MediaTek MT6582 chipset at 1.3GHz, Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage (only 5 available), a microSD slot, a 5MP – 2MP combo, a 2,300mAh battery and two variants one Single Sim and other Dual Sim.

Xperia E4
  • Sony’s acclaimed craftsmanship offers robust and stylish design and great ease of use
  • Looks good, sounds good – large 5” qHD display with IPS for the best viewing angle, high quality audio playback and fun social music app, PartyShare
  • Long-lasting two-day battery life, with a powerful, 2300mAh battery with Ultra STAMINA Mode
  • Available in black and white colour options with customisable UI themes and different covers to suit your style

Sony says the phone will be available latter this February but we don’t know when or even the price tag yet, we hope they get the price right.

 

Let us know what you think about this new design! Or tweet us at @jimboireland, @Tiwaash or @VicenteA_George using #techbuzzireland!

 

Source

Stay tuned for more TechBuzz!

A smartphone dongle for diagnosis of infectious diseases. by @jimboireland #STDs

Odd it may seem but its happening,There is a dongle for diagnosing STDs,however looking ahead this could be an ideal solution without the embarrassment and shorten queues in hospitals and more again it gives results quite quickly too and apparently cheap enough considered costs you would accumulate having to get tested etc..

A team of researchers, led by Samuel K. Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can perform a point-of-care test that simultaneously detects three infectious disease markers from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes. The device replicates, for the first time, all mechanical, optical, and electronic functions of a lab-based blood test. Specifically, it performs an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) without requiring any stored energy: all necessary power is drawn from the smartphone. It performs a triplexed immunoassay not currently available in a single test format: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and non-treponemal antibody for active syphilis infection.

 

 

 

“Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers,” Sia adds. “By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And for large-scale screening where the dongle’s high sensitivity with few false negatives is critical, we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach elimination of this devastating disease.”

 

Read more at Science Mag

 

You can now buy the One Plus One every Tuesday with no invite. by @jimboireland #OnePlus

Lat year the One Plus One launched and had a rather odd business model even i ranted about it openly but in the end,sending invites to buy a phone to me was a rather silly idea but it turned out to be a good idea for them and its one of the best handsets out there today in terms of money thats for sure,its a great device all over and you cant argue its price.

Today we received a mail in our inbox which states the following.

 

Dear Friends,We’ve been shipping the OnePlus One for half a year, and nowadays we’re bumping into lots of people using it when we’re out and about. It’s incredibly exciting for us, but we always strive to do better. Although we have an active and supportive fanbase, a lot of people have interest in the One but have told us that it’s just too difficult to buy. We believe that great things should be shared. Thus, it’s been our goal from the beginning to put our products into the hands of as many people as possible.

Over the past few months, we’ve been exploring new ways of making the OnePlus One easier to purchase. The overall amount of available invites has increased significantly, but we’ve also held pre-order and open sales events, allowing for purchases without the need for an invite. During these events, we have been collecting data and fine-tuning our production schedules.

Today, we’re glad to announce that we’re making it even easier to buy the One.

Every Tuesday, we will open up sales for 24 hours, starting at 8 am London time (midnight in Los Angeles; 4 pm in Hong Kong). The OnePlus One will be available without an invite in both 16GB Silk White and 64GB Sandstone Black.

This doesn’t mean that our beloved invite system is going away, and it will continue to be the standard method for purchasing the One during the remaining 6 days of the week. And, you will still receive invites to share with friends whenever you buy a One, even onTuesdays.

As a young tech startup, we’re constantly experimenting, iterating and improving. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and coming with us on this journey. We wouldn’t be where we are without you, and you are all as much a part of OnePlus as we are.

Never Settle.

The OnePlus Team

Your Voice activated Samsung Smart TV is listening to you. #Samsung #TV by @jimboireland

If you own a Smart TV from Samsung you might want to be careful as to what you are saying because its listening to you if you sport a voice activated TV at home or anywhere for that matter.But its not like Samsung have not warned you already as Stated in its privacy policy which can be read in full here

Voice Recognition

You can control your SmartTV, and use many of its features, with voice commands.

If you enable Voice Recognition, you can interact with your Smart TV using your voice. To provide you the Voice Recognition feature, some voice commands may be transmitted (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) to a third-party service that converts speech to text or to the extent necessary to provide the Voice Recognition features to you. In addition, Samsung may collect and your device may capture voice commands and associated texts so that we can provide you with Voice Recognition features and evaluate and improve the features. Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.

If you do not enable Voice Recognition, you will not be able to use interactive voice recognition features, although you may be able to control your TV using certain predefined voice commands. While Samsung will not collect your spoken word, Samsung may still collect associated texts and other usage data so that we can evaluate the performance of the feature and improve it.

You may disable Voice Recognition data collection at any time by visiting the “settings” menu. However, this may prevent you from using all of the Voice Recognition features.

 In a report today from the BBC Samsung warns its customers not to have conversations in front of the TV but Samsung have responded with the following. 

It said the privacy policy was an attempt to be transparent with owners in order to help them make informed choices about whether to use some features on its Smart TV sets, adding that it took consumer privacy “very seriously”.

Samsung said: “If a consumer consents and uses the voice recognition feature, voice data is provided to a third party during a requested voice command search. At that time, the voice data is sent to a server, which searches for the requested content then returns the desired content to the TV.”

It added that it did not retain voice data or sell the audio being captured. Smart-TV owners would always know if voice activation was turned on because a microphone icon would be visible on the screen, it said.

Source