Category: Tech News

48 mobile €12.99 plan now includes 5G at no extra cost

Ireland’s mobile network of the year, has now added 5G access to the current €12.99 plan at no extra cost, adding further credence to offering Ireland’s best value Prepay plan. New customers and those currently on the €12.99 plan will now have access to 5G, along with all data, calls and texts and all powered by the Three network, subject to having a 5G phone and being in a Three 5G coverage area.

48 is also offering a one month free for new customers on SIMs ordered up to Monday, 15th April 2024 with customers needing to purchase their first plan before 6th May 2024. 

Speaking about the new initiative, Elin McLean, General Manager, 48 said; “48 is a brand that is constantly looking to provide smart value to customers and is committed to offering the best possible service.  This is continuing with the addition of 5G to the €12.99 plan at no extra cost, really emphasizing the incredible value on the plan, so our customers know they’re making a ‘Good Call’ by joining 48.”

To know more about 5G visit the Community here.

DAACI Launches Open Beta Community – Welcoming Users to Join the Next Level of Musical Innovation

DAACI is welcoming users to their new open beta community, to help give input and ideas and join the journey as they shape the future of AI music tools. Open beta users can now access DAACI’s first creator plugin, Natural Drums. DAACI’s creator-led approach to generative tool development puts the users at the centre of the experience. With this in mind, the open beta community is an engaging and active part of the process of development.

Natural Drums is an assistive AI co-pilot plugin that creates drum grooves in real time, as if a session drummer is right there with you in your studio, bringing your ideas to life.
Whether you’re a new beatmaker or a seasoned producer looking for the quickest way to get to the heart of your creativity, Natural Drums integrates seamlessly into your existing DAW workflow and gives you endless options for amazing beats, fast.

Natural Drums assists creativity, it doesn’t replace it, and the genesis of every new beat always comes from you. Start with an idea and let the plugin enhance your initial input, generating new grooves in front of your eyes. Like working with a real drummer, you can jam along and make changes in real time, try things out, and create an end result that is entirely yours.

As part of the DAACI Natural Series, Natural Drums is created by expert drummers and draws on their many years of experience playing music in live settings. In line with DAACI’s approach to generative AI and unlike other drum sequencers, Natural Drums doesn’t pull from a list of static precomposed patterns or utilise pure randomness. It thinks like a musician and rapidly creates beats that are entirely bespoke and unique to you.

Rachel Lyske, DAACI CEO, comments, “This is an incredibly exciting time for DAACI as we start to put our tools into the hands of the people who we value the most — musicians, artists and composers. Music shapes us, it allows us to communicate, it creates community and collaboration. The DAACI team is no different, our solutions are built by musicians for musicians and now we are inviting people to get involved and help shape the future.

“Natural Drums is a perfect start to the pulse of this beta community. Over 30 years ago, at the start of my creative journey, the first thing I wrote was a simple drum beat. The challenge then was to express the complexity I was hearing in my head. How could I vary it? How could I expand it, make it interesting and make it work with other instruments? I had to write it all out by hand and I didn’t have the tools to bring my ideas to life. Now, Natural Drums is in the hands of our users and they can benefit from DAACI’s unique approach and system.”

The Natural Drums open beta gives users the inside track on Natural Drums and DAACI’s Natural Series for a low price, including:

  • Early access to a beta licence key ahead of full product release
  • Discounts on future betas and full product licences
  • Full technical support and knowledge base
  • Insider access to the DAACI team
  • Be at the centre of DAACI’s development process
  • Sneak peeks at upcoming products in the DAACI Natural Series
  • Exclusive beta user events

Product Features of Natural Drums

Shuffle Every Loop: 
Set the global shuffle to “Shuffle Every Loop” and watch as Natural Drums recalculates at the start of every pattern based on your configuration, the same way a real drummer would start to subtly improvise around a rhythmic idea over the course of a piece of music.

Trapifier: 
Find the Trapifier option in the Hi Hat drop down menu and fill your pattern with trap-style hi hats. Use the half-time button alongside the Trapifier. Adjust the parameters to generate bespoke hi hat patterns with huge amounts of flexibility and variation right at your fingertips.

Structural Variation:
Create detailed rhythmic variety throughout your beats with structural variation. Experiment with different patterns to vary rhythms throughout the loop, saving you time on programming while reaching a richer final result that is all based on your original idea.

Lyske concludes, “We have an incredibly dedicated team at DAACI and I’d like to thank them for sharing their expertise, creativity and vision as we strive to build the tools we always wanted for ourselves. We all make music in different ways so we are excited to see how people use this first tool. I can’t wait to hear the amazing music that will come out of it.”

To find out more: www.daaci.com/natural-drums
Price £18/$18/18EUR

Full Lineup Revealed For Belfast XR Festival With Top Extended Reality Experiences On The Bill

An innovative arts festival is set to once again merge technology and art to create a unique virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experience for attendees.

Belfast XR, now in its third year, specialises in curating worldclass immersive technology content that takes the art of storytelling to a new level.

Extended Reality or ‘XR’ is the collective name for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR is a computer-generated artificial environment with scenes that appear to be real, while AR is a digital overlay onto the real world, which is viewed through your phone or an iPad.

This year’s lineup has been confirmed to include three unique paid for experiences along with an additional three free bonus experiences available for visitors to the festival.

Appearing at the festival will be the magical VR journey through the work of Catalan architect and designer Antoni Gaudí in Gaudí, The Atelier of the Divine.

Attendees will take part in a 20 minute experience designed for small groups of six.

The story will take festival goers back to 1926 when, weakened by age and feeling his death approaching, Gaudí invites his new assistants to discover his studio, to understand his vision and complete his work.

The heart-wrenching voyage of survival Stay Alive My Son is also one of the key events, based on the internationally acclaimed memoirs of Pin Yathay, this immersive 60 minute story thrusts audiences into the shoes of a pained father forced to make the gut-wrenching decision to abandon his six-year-old son to survive during the Cambodian genocide.

The final headline experience will be Eternal, the profound exploration of eternal life, where during this 20 minute experience attendees will step into the realm of eternity with a mesmerising audio journey designed exclusively for one person, in the comfort of their own bed.

As intimate audiences of just two people per time slot climb into a bed they will delve into a profound exploration of eternal life and contemplate the sacrifices one might make for immortality.

Deepa Mann-Kler, director and curator for Belfast XR Festival which is an annual gathering for the XR arts – storytelling, visual arts, music, drama, dance, literature and theatre, said bringing virtual and augmented reality content to new audiences locally is something the team at Belfast XR are passionate about.

She said: “Our ambition is to create an unmissable annual gathering for XR that inspires storytelling and our passion is to bring the best global virtual and augmented reality content to new local audiences. You don’t need to have used a virtual reality headset before, as our team will guide you through the whole process.”

For attendees who purchase tickets for any of the headline events this year they will have exclusive access to three additional free experiences.

Emperor is a 40 minute long captivating virtual reality experience that delves into the mind of a father grappling with aphasia. Attendees will witness the poignant journey of a daughter striving to connect with her speechless father, uncovering the depths of his memories along the way.

Flow is a 15 minute experience where users will be swept away by the winds through what appears to be an ordinary day filled with turbulence. Encounter the sensations of smells, heat and breath, as the air currents unveil hidden presences and reveal captivating events in the life of a woman.

SEN is also a 15 minute experience where attendees will enter the mystical realm of the traditional Japanese tea room, where they’ll meet SEN, the tea spirit. As disaster strikes and SEN dissolves into the universe, it discovers unity with all beings, bringing calm to the tea room.

Running on Wednesday February 28 and Thursday 29 this year’s festival theme is Legacy which will offer attendees the chance to experience world history in captivating ways allowing audiences to step into the past, interact with historical figures, and explore significant events firsthand.

Belfast XR Festival is both for XR enthusiasts and those who haven’t experienced any form of XR in the past.

Deepa explained: “The Festival is aimed at 16+ years of age and is open to everyone. You don’t need to have experienced AR, VR or any of these types of experiences before. We  have an amazing team who will guide you through the whole process from the  minute you step into The Black Box.

“I want people to have memorable experiences. I want them to be altered, in a good way. I want them to talk about how it made them feel. I want to increase their appetite to experience more.

The Belfast XR Festival is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. It is also supported by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen, Digital Catapult NI, Future Screens NI and Ulster Screen Academy.

For more information follow Belfast XR Festival on social media or go to belfastxrfestival.com

Evolve IP Accelerate Partner Growth Strategy

Fast-growing Unified Communications service provider, Evolve IP, has added a new name to its flourishing reseller recruitment drive – building on a record 12 months of success.

Mercury Maynard is the latest company to take advantage of Evolve IP’s extensive white label as-a-service and hardware portfolio, which attracted unprecedented numbers of new partners last year.

The IT and network support provider has over 25 years’ industry experience – and joins Evolve IP’s enterprise-grade cloud collaboration suite to add the ‘missing link’ to its integrated solutions ethos.

Evolve IP offers partners two natively integrated voice solutions; Cisco by Webex and Microsoft Teams. These leading technologies are complemented by a range of value add propositions within the Evolve IP Anywhere Product Suite that enable any business to streamline and optimise their communication strategies. 

Aligns

Jamie Hughes, UK Sales Director at Evolve IP, highlighted how Mercury Maynard aligns with Evolve IP’s values by offering their customers innovative, reliable, and cost-effective end-to-end solutions that empower customers to drive efficiencies and ‘work from anywhere’.

“Gaining a partner like Mercury Maynard is extremely valuable to us and increases our presence in Essex and East Anglia. They thrive from providing excellent service and care to their customers,” he pointed out.

“Evolve IP is joining them at a time when they are looking to grow within the hosted telephony space, and we are all looking forward to seeing them prosper in the cloud collaboration sector with our support.”

He added: “Evolve IP continues its growth, onboarding innovative partners who have big targets in 2024. Leading the way by providing partners with best-of-breed technologies and keeping things simple for them to deliver great service, is at the centre of everything we do.”

Jamie Hughes, UK Sales Director, Evolve IP

Enthused

Ian Taylor, Founder/Owner of Mercury Maynard, enthused: “As a Managed Service Provider, the only offering missing from our portfolio was telephony. We are excited about the journey ahead, growing with Evolve IP and enhancing our technology services to better support the businesses already in our care. 

“Our shared commitment to a personal approach is at the core of Mercury Maynard’s values and we eagerly anticipate the future where Evolve IP will help take us to the next level and ensure our customers stay ahead of the curve.”

‍About Evolve IP

Evolve IP boasts an international carrier grade Unified Communications platform. It delivers integrated white-label remote workforce technologies, that enable employees to work anywhere – remotely and securely from any location.

Evolve IP’s work anywhere philosophy differentiates its partner channel by breaking down barriers in a challenging communications market by providing industry leading solutions from global technology vendors. This enables partners to deliver uniform, customer focused solutions across the globe backed by a sustainability programme.

Find out more about Evolve IP here 

 

ASUS Announces Zenfone 11 Ultra Virtual Launch Event

ASUS announced the virtual launch event for the highly anticipated Zenfone 11 Ultra, taking place on 14th March at 12:00 BST.The Zenfone 11 Ultra launch event will be streamed online, allowing tech enthusiasts and media representatives from around the world to witness the unveiling of this revolutionary device.

Experience this powerful smartphone that blends cutting-edge hardware, innovative software, and elegant design into one stunning device. This new mobile experience is redefined by innovative Al features that offer unmatched user interaction and seamless capture of life’s moments.

Final Redefines Gaming Audio with VR500: Exceptional Performance at an Unbeatable Price

Japanese high-end audio pioneers, Final, introduces the VR500 wired Gaming Earphones, delivering an extraordinary gaming audio experience without breaking the bank. The VR500 sets a new standard for affordable immersive audio, offering gamers a high-end experience at a remarkably low price.
The VR500 specialises in “sound image localization” in order to accurately reproduce the direction of sound, providing gamers with a three-dimensional soundstage for a heightened sense of realism and immersion. Whether you’re in the midst of a battle or exploring a virtual world, Final’s expertise in high-end audio is evident in the VR500 – elevating your gaming experience to new heights.
The VR500 features Final’s newly developed precision-tuned dynamic drivers that deliver exceptional audio clarity at a fraction of the cost of other gaming earphones and headphones. From subtle in-game cues to explosive sound effects, the VR500 ensures an immersive gaming experience without the premium price tag.
In games, sound effects and dialogue are localised to the creator’s intended position and can be heard clearly, making it easy to identify each sound even in situations where sound effects overlap – allowing deeper immersion into a wide array of digital dimensions.
Designed for extended gaming sessions, the VR500 prioritises comfort without compromising affordability, and comes with a wide selection of Final’s own superior quality silicone eartips, ensuring a secure and comfortable fit. The compact, ergonomic design and lightweight build allow gamers to enjoy extended playtime without discomfort.
Not only is the VR500 ideal for gaming, when it comes to music, the position of vocals and instruments becomes clearer, and sounds can be heard separately without being muddied by other frequencies – allowing you to enjoy your favourite music with new insight and clarity.
With audio content such as ASMR, you can feel the distance between the voice and your ears more clearly, giving you a vivid sensation as if you were in the room yourself.
The in-line microphone ensures clear communication with teammates during multiplayer gaming sessions, or distraction-free voice calls while on the move.
The one button control can play/pause, skip tracks and take calls with ease.
Crafted with durability in mind, the Final Audio VR500 is built to withstand the rigors of intense gaming sessions. The tough ABS resin material used in its construction ensures longevity, making the VR500 a reliable companion for gamers. On top of that, the new Matte Grey colour coating makes fingerprints and dirt less noticeable.
The VR500 represents a significant leap forward in gaming audio technology. Final believe that exceptional gaming audio should be accessible to all gamers, regardless of budget constraints. The VR500 is a testament to their commitment to delivering premium sound at an unbeatable price, ensuring that every gamer can experience the joy of high-quality audio. The E500 is not just a pair of earphones; they are a gateway to a new dimension of gaming audio.
The Final Audio VR500 Gaming Earphones are now available to buy through Amazon and selected retailers across the UK and EU for £29.99/€34.99 – offering an unmatched combination of performance and affordability.

IDEATE Ireland searching for next cohort of Irish Entrepreneurs

After the success of last year’s programme, IDEATE Ireland is returning for 2024. The initiative uncovers and empowers Ireland’s next generation of entrepreneurs, helping to turn their brilliant ideas into thriving international businesses.

IDEATE Ireland is now seeking applications for its 2024 competition, where candidates can develop their business ideas through mentoring and workshops, apply for start-up support and pitch for cash funding. Applications open on Wednesday, 14th February and will be accepted until midnight on Tuesday, 19 March. Last year’s winners were Array Patch founded by Dr. Waleed Faisal, Dr Ziad Sartawi and Dr Caroline Blackshields of University College Cork. ArrayPatch is a propriety wearable microneedle patch (MN) that treats local diseases. First runner-up was LEP Biomedical, led by Dr. Alan Hibbitts, Dr. Golestan Salimbeigi, and Dr. Tauseef Ahmad of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, who are on a mission to transform glaucoma surgeries. 

As great ideas can come from anyone and anywhere, IDEATE Ireland is open to undergraduate, postgraduate or research students from any academic institution or research centre on the island of Ireland. The ten best submissions will be invited to participate in a 10-week mentoring and support programme and compete for a €20k prize fund. 

“Last year’s cohort of IDEATE showed us yet again the extraordinary potential that entrepreneurs in this country have”, said Helen Fullen. “We’re looking forward to finding and working with this year’s participants and to continue inspiring future business leaders through the competition. We believe ideas can change the world; that’s why we’re just as excited and ambitious about our entrepreneurs’ projects as they are. Through IDEATE Ireland, entrepreneurs are provided expert guidance and support in a focused, motivational, and hands-on environment, making it an invaluable and rewarding experience.” 

“We’re looking forward to writing the next chapter of Ireland’s leading third-level start-up competition with IDEATE Ireland”, added Chairman of IDEATE Ireland David Moffitt. “The competition’s success over the past 12 years highlights the importance of providing entrepreneurs across the island of Ireland with education, mentorship, and a robust business network. Our mission is to capture the imagination of Ireland’s brightest minds, enabling and empowering them to make a lasting contribution to the global economy, employment, and society. We have a deep bench of alumni who are ready and willing to engage with the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs, offering them support and feedback; it’s also great to have the support of Key Capital and PwC Ireland as pillar sponsors for this year’s competition. We’re determined to sustain and grow this network to ensure IDEATE Ireland continues to be the best start entrepreneurs can get on the island of Ireland.”

Conor Killeen, Chairman of Key Capital, is looking forward to supporting entrepreneurs throughout the competition: “Our goal is to develop commercial know-how and allow the entrepreneurs to engage with like-minded people so that their business can have a global impact. Entrepreneurs can speed up their learning through exposure to the best in the business.” 

Adding to this, Doone O’Doherty, People Partner at PwC Ireland, said: “IDEATE Ireland offers a tremendous platform to nurture emerging entrepreneurial talent. We look forward to exploring the diverse ideas being developed by entrepreneurs nationwide and offering them structured guidance to help their businesses thrive.”

This year’s IDEATE Ireland sponsors are PwC, Key Capital, Guinness Enterprise Centre, Each & Other, and Ormeau Baths.

 

Website: www.ideateireland.ie

Increase in PDF malware up 7% in the last quarter, reports HP

HP Ireland issued its quarterly HP Wolf Security Threat Insights Report, showing attackers are continuing to find innovative ways to influence users and infect endpoints. The HP Wolf Security threat research team uncovered several notable campaigns including:

  • PDF Malware is on the rise: 11% of malware analysed in Q4 used PDFs to deliver malware, compared to just 4% in Q1 and Q2 2023. A notable example was a WikiLoader campaign using a fake parcel delivery PDF to trick users into installing Ursnif malware.
  • DarkGate campaign uses Ad tools to sharpen attacks: Malicious PDF attachments, posing as OneDrive error messages, direct users to sponsored content hosted on a popular ad network. This leads to DarkGate malware.
    • By using ad services, threat actors can analyse which lures generate clicks and infect the most users – helping them refine campaigns for maximum impact.
    • Threat actors can use CAPTCHA tools to prevent sandboxes from scanning malware and stopping attacks by ensuring only humans click.
    • DarkGate hands backdoor access to cybercriminals into networks, exposing victims to risks like data theft and ransomware.
  • A shift from Macros to Office exploits: In Q4, at least 84% of attempted intrusions involving spreadsheets, and 73% involving Word documents, sought to exploit vulnerabilities in Office applications – continuing the trend away from macro-enabled Office attacks. But macro-enabled attacks still have their place, particularly for attacks leveraging cheap commodity malware like Agent Tesla and XWorm.
  • Discord and TextBin being used to host malicious files: Threat actors are using legitimate file and text sharing websites to host malicious files. These sites are often trusted by organisations, helping the sites to avoid anti-malware scanners, increasing attackers’ chances of remaining undetected.

Val Gabriel, Managing Director at HP Ireland, comments: “Our latest report highlights how cybercriminals are becoming more and more agile in understanding how we work and the easiest ways to breach systems. For example, the design of popular cloud services is always being refined, so when a fake error message appears, it won’t necessarily raise an alarm, even if a user hasn’t seen it before. With GenAI generating even more convincing malicious content at little-to-no cost, distinguishing real from fake is expected to become more difficult.

“By isolating threats that have evaded detection tools on PCs – but still allowing malware to detonate safely – HP Wolf Security has specific insight into the latest techniques used by cybercriminals in the fast-changing cybercrime landscape.”

To date, HP Wolf Security customers have clicked on over 40 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files with no reported breaches.

The report details how cybercriminals continue to diversify attack methods to bypass security policies and detection tools. Other findings include:

  • Archives were the most popular malware delivery type for the seventh quarter running, used in 30% of malware analysed by HP.
  • At least 14% of email threats identified by HP Sure Click bypassed one or more email gateway scanners.
  • The top threat vectors in Q3 were email (75%), downloads from browsers (13%) and other means like USB drives (12%).

Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc., comments:  “Cybercriminals are applying the same tools a business might use to manage a marketing campaign to optimise their malware campaigns, increasing the likelihood the user will take the bait. To protect against well-resourced threat actors, organisations must follow zero trust principles, isolating and containing risky activities like opening email attachments, clicking on links, and browser downloads.”

 HP Wolf Security* runs risky tasks in isolated, hardware-enforced virtual machines running on the endpoint to protect users, without impacting their productivity. It also captures detailed traces of attempted infections. HP’s application isolation technology mitigates threats that can slip past other security tools and provides unique insights into intrusion techniques and threat actor behavior.

Dyson deals as “Dyson Week” begins

Get ready to bag that Dyson product you’ve always wanted at a discounted price, with Dyson’s amazing deals during their “Dyson Week” sale. Beat the cost of living crisis with discounts on essential Dyson products during Dyson Week (starts now and ends on 5th of March) .

If you are a fan of Dyson products which there are many or need something new here is the chance to pick up something right now..

Highlights include:

Floorcare:

  • Dyson V11 vacuum | €499.99 (save €100)
  • Dyson V12 Detect Slim Absolute+ vacuum | €579.00 (save €130.00)
  • V10 Absolute vacuum– now €399.99 save €100

Haircare:

  • Dyson Supersonic Black/ Nickel hairdryer with case  €379.99 (Save €50)
  • Dyson Corrale hair straightener €379.99 (save €70)

Dyson supersonic

Environmental Care:

  • Dyson Purifier Cool Autoreact | now €379.99 (save €70)