Tech and toys to keep you entertained at home during the coming weeks. #Tech #Toys #MenKind

With lots of families staying home over the next few weeks or more despite my own claiming they have nothing to do and are bored when they have everything here is a few ideas from MenKind that might help out. Tensions may be showing already but lets check out some ideas here and see if they can alleviate that with a selection of tech and toys on offer.

Sega Mega Drive Mini Console

Hark back to the 90s with this classic console, pre-loaded with 40 classic games including everyone’s favourite hedgehog, Sonic! Relive your childhood and share it with the next generation while hitting those high scores. Comes with two controllers for multiplayer fun.

Price: £75

Link to buy

RED5 Orbit Gaming Headphones

Video games are a great way to pass the time when indoors and stay in touch with friends. This RED5 gaming headset is affordable and has light up details.

Price: £25

Link to buy

Jumanji Board Game

The classic, magical board that is perfect for 2-4 players to while away the hours immersed in the dangers of the jungle.

  • Coloured pawn movers (four in all)
  • One rhino mover
  • One sand timer
  • Two dice to roll to your heart’s content
  • 4 rescue dice
  • Thirty-three danger cards
Price: £18

SOhi Orbit ball

Get the whole family playing outside with this super high bounce ball, providing hours of fun and is also great to play on your own.

  • Dimpled surface helps with the bounce… plus makes it look spacey

  • Available in 4 different colours, shipped at random

  • Great fun for all ages

  • Measures approx. 7 cm x 7 cm x 7 cm

Price: £5

Link to buy

Robotic Hedgehog

The robotic hedgehog is not only super cute and lots of fun to play with, it’s also fun and educational to build together. It comes complete with the kit needed, but you’ll also need a cross-head screwdriver, a ruler, a marker pen, and 4 AAA batteries. Once assembled, it responds to your commands and does tricks such as extending its spikes!

  • Can walk, roll into a ball, roll backwards, and more!
  • Requires 4 x AAA batteries and a few tools for assembly
  • For ages 8 and up

Price: £30

Link to buy

Moral Conflict

Moral Conflict is a card game filled with outrageous ‘most likely’ scenarios, find out what your family really thinks of you! It’s a great Saturday night game for some light relief that is bound to end with laughter.
  • For 3-6 players
  • 6 paddle whiteboards, 6 whiteboard markers with erasers on the end
Price: £12

3-in-1 Smart Viewer

Watch your favourite shows and films from anywhere in the house or garden with this fantastic 3-in-1 smart viewer that turns your smartphone into a TV! It also charges your smartphone while in use and comes with a built-in speaker to amplify the sound and offer better audio quality.

Price: £25

Link to buy

100 Cult Movies Scratch Poster

Take your movie bingeing to a whole new level with this 100 cult movies bucket list poster. Scratch your way through 100 cult classic films, the finished poster also makes a great wall art addition.

Price: £9

Link to buy

Get a 15% discount on new headphones and True Wireless from Urbanista. #UrbanistaLife

Fancy some new headphones or True Wireless? Urbanista have given us a code to share with our readers to purchase some new tech and we have been testing their products some time now too and can easily recommend these for the price and what you get. These have it all and anyone who buys these will not be disappointed with what they offer and you can see our reviews HERE.

You can also check out the entire range reviewed from Urbanista HERE

You can get a 15% right now on a new purchase by using the code TECHBUZZIE by hitting this link and enjoy a further discount on already well priced tech. So head over to Urbanista today and check out what is on offer.

Disclaimer,We earn some commission when purchased through our link above and it will help keep us bringing you more real hands on reviews which take time.

 

Review – The House of Marley Redemption ANC True Wireless #Tech #TrueWireless

Over the last while I have been testing out these earbuds and I have been impressed to say the least and not only this the attention they have been getting from people on the street or family circle due to how they look,they really stand out and look great and to top it off they sound great too and potential buyers will not be disappointed at all here with the overall package on offer.

The Marley Redemption are not your typical pair of true wireless earbuds but made with bamboo and sustainable materials which many companies are now doing to tackle the climate change issue we constantly hear about. The charging case is also quite nice and different with a bamboo finish and a speckled soft touch finish on the inside, We have quick charge here which will see you around two hours in a 15 minute charge which is great. The overall battery without ANC is on par with the claims and without ANC on the last longer but you will be using the ANC here.

When you pair these up they for the first time you will have no issues from here on and they pair pretty quick too out of the box once you have your bluetooth activated, You also get a non robotic voice when changing mode and a real stereo effect sounding lady which also sounds nice and better than what we typically here with true wireless earbuds and this is when you first experience how good these sound as a whole.

Controls are easy to use with touch set up rather than button and these worked great during my testing each and every time, We have double tap on the left for voice assistants and the same for call control and calls are pretty clear too and sounded good both ends on my testing, They do not allow you to reverse track which was my only real gripe but not an issue for me, You can play and pause tracks with a double tap on the right and again on the right a tripple tap will skip tracks. Tripple tap on the left allows you to change the mode with ANC, There is no volume control on these which might bother some but we have auto play and pause. These offer a great seal in general and block out a good deal of the outside world but you can let that in should you wish to do so and for those into fitness they will not fall out.

On my usual test run with Netflix/You Tube they worked a treat with great balance overall and good direction with loud volume and good highs lows and mids and overall pretty impressive with a good bit of bass and good separation you will not be let down here, No lag latency either I am no audiophile expert but have tested over a 100 pairs of true wireless and I know a good pair when I hear them and these certainly fit in my top ten to date.

Battery life is on the low to mid end here but you get fast charging and there is no wireless charging on the case which would have been a nice finish to the product as a whole but with whats on offer here they are priced a little high for some and I tend to agree but you get something different here that stands out and they would earn my hard earned money if put in front of me.

BUY HERE 

Review – The Sharp Aquos Soundpartner Neckband speaker. #Sharp #Tech

There is several similar products like this around but this is the first for me to check out and it is something new and a new take on the use of tech which is good to see, We can get bluetooth speakers in any size shape or form today that do a good job but this is something different and over the time I have used this it has grown on me.

You will not be wearing this jogging in the park so lets get that out of the way as it will bounce on your shoulder and you might want to wear it in public but keep the volume low but it is not super loud but still something you will not be wearing in a crowded area like a bus or a train as others will have to put up with what you listen too..

What I do find it great for though is if you have an empty house or room connect what you like and stick it on full blast and be immersed in sound in a different way that we are custom to like surround sound in your home or cinema,this brings you that much closer, A personal setting like no other you really need to try it to understand what I mean. Controls are easy to use too with a volume rocker, a power on/off switch,play and pause button and voice assistant button it is simple and executes the ease of use quite well.

Given it has limitations in one area it has more in other and that is on connecting to other external devices like your TV games console or laptop and feel the sound surround you in a different way. When it comes to the sound it is good,clear and sharp and well balanced all round but not much bass noticed but the sound is decent and punchy and great direction with movies as an example if a plane or car was to fly by you get the same effect on the speaker as you would a good pair of earphones and its not all central and boring.

I did notice the sound is better from your smarpthone perhaps due to the distance but you cant complain either if you are to use for gaming and more as you feel part of the picture in a weird kind of way and you get over it rather quickly too and there is a notable difference between say two bluetooth speakers placed either side of you in the house, that said the speakers would be louder but these are right up at your ears more or less and suck you in and it is a new way to sit back and enjoy something on your own when you have the chance to do so, it is a niche product now but I can see this morph into other and bigger ideas going forward its just the case if you are willing to spend the money and give it a go.

BUY ON AMAZON

Review – The @JuiceOfficialUK eco friendly case for iphone 11. #Eco #Tech #iPhone11

Juice have recently just launched a new line of eco friendly (compostable) cases for iPhone and something we will see more of in the coming years which of course is good for the environment and so much talk about climate change of late in the news and Juice is one of these companies that have got the ball rolling in this department.

The range of cases is pretty nice with a variety of cases and colours to chose from without the loss of protection on your expensive mobile phone and they look well,give you some additional grip and feel good to hold, Not only that the keys work fine with good travel and also all the ports and cuts outs remain the same not loosing any functionality.  The device can be placed either face or back down too giving you protection on both sides of the device yet making your phone stand out especially when it is face down. Check out the video below for more.

 

The cases are available in grey, blue, pink, white and black and the dyes used to achieve these five colourways are produced from natural and abundant sources such as bamboo, mai and tea.

With an RRP of £19.99, the compostable cases are available in iPhone 6, 7, 8, 11 and 11 Pro and can be purchased from: www.juice.co.uk & www.urbanoutfitters.com 

Avaya Spaces Collaboration App Offered Free to Help During the Coronavirus Outbreak.

 Avaya Holdings Corp. a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, today announced that it will provide its Avaya Spaces collaboration software for free to education institutions, including colleges and universities, along with qualified non-profit organisations worldwide. Avaya Spaces is recognised for its ease of implementation and the significant impact it can have on organisational resilience and continuity. Since January, Avaya has seen a 200 percent increase in video collaboration traffic on this platform.

“Coronavirus (COVID-19) is impacting the lives of people around the globe and every day we hear new sobering stories about the very real health and safety implications of the spread of this virus,” said Jim Chirico, CEO of Avaya. “There is an especially immediate need in the education sector as school and university administrators consider the safety of their students while ensuring continuity of their classes, engagement with their students and delivering on their educational objectives. Avaya has four million UC and contact centre seats in the state, local government and education market worldwide – so we understand the demands of that sector and targeted our Avaya Spaces offer accordingly.”

Avaya Spaces provides a cloud meeting and team collaboration solution that enables people and organisations to connect and collaborate remotely – and goes beyond integrating chat, voice, video, online meetings and content sharing. It gives users an extensive set of meeting and team collaboration features, including voice and video conferencing for up to 200 participants. As a mobile-enabled solution, it gives users a simple, secure and effective way to track communications and manage tasks when travel and connectivity are limited.

As early as January, Avaya teams and partners were on the frontline in Wuhan, China to help in the initial stages of this epidemic. The company donated audio and video equipment and dispatched resources for speedy installation and deployment for hospitals in the region to help medical personnel perform remote consultation and video diagnostics as well as to enable patients to visit virtually with loved ones. Avaya continues to explore opportunities to help during this global challenge.

To learn how to sign-up for the free Avaya Spaces offer, eligible organisations are asked to visit this web page.

Twelve South launches luxury leather cases for MacBook and iPad Pro.

Twelve South, today adds to its family of luxury leather cases by introducing the Journal for MacBook and Journal for iPad Pro. Crafted from impeccable full-grain cognac leather, the Journal cases are designed to make a statement and have that luxury luggage feel. Features including dual zippers, micro-suede lining and reinforced corners keep precious Apple devices safe and secure while hidden internal pockets are perfect for storing important documents or accessories.

 

The Journal family includes cases for iPad Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro as well as the Journal CaddySack, a travel tote for chargers, cables and adaptors.

 

Journal for iPad Pro

 


This stylish case – created exclusively for iPad Pro – doubles as a viewing stand and typing + sketching wedge. The built-in kickstand positions the iPad at the most comfortable angle for working in Pages, responding to emails or illustrating with the Apple Pencil. Lift the shell up into display mode and users can share a presentation or recent holiday photos. In any mode, a protective snap-in-shell holds the iPad Pro securely without compromising the edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display.

 

The Journal for iPad Pro makes working on the go easy thanks to a convenient interior pocket that provides storage for documents or a slim compact keyboard. There’s also room to safely charge the Apple pencil beside the iPad magnetic charger. Dual zippers keep the case closed but allow it to be unzipped just enough for the charging cord or another cable to slip through. Additionally, the back- cover window makes it easy to capture beautiful photos and 4k video with the iPad Pro.

 

The Journal for iPad Pro is available now for both 11” and 12.9” iPad Pro (3rd gen) with prices starting from £99 from www.amazon.co.uk.

 

Journal for MacBook 

 

Fashioned out of elegant, top quality leather which is water and UV resistant and dressed up with smart details including leather zipper pulls, embossed elements and contemporary back stitching, users no longer have to compromise on style in order to protect their MacBook.

 

The slim form of the Journal which has been exclusively designed for the MacBook Air and Pro, means users can comfortably type, adjust the screen angle and access the USB-C ports without removing the case. A small tab located on the interior bottom of the Journal reveals a hidden document compartment that’s perfect for carrying important paperwork.

 

The Journal for MacBook is available now with prices starting from £119.99 from www.amazon.co.uk.

 

Journal CaddySack

 

 

The other popular product in the Journal range is the CaddySack, a luxury leather tote designed to neatly house those essential Apple accessories. Open up the CaddySack to find a collection of elastic bands, Velcro straps and a pocket designed to neatly hold tools like power adapters, charging cables and an Apple Pencil. A soft tweed fabric keeps Apple accessories looking like new.

 

The Journal CaddySack is available now for £69.99 from www.amazon.co.uk.

 

Microsoft joins forces with Enable Ireland to embed AI into Assistive Technology Passport.

Microsoft and Enable Ireland have joined forces today to announce a new commitment to embed AI into the Assistive Technology Passport which is being developed to empower people with disabilities to have an independent life. The announcement marks the 20th anniversary of Microsoft’s partnership with Enable Ireland.

Microsoft and Enable Ireland have been collaborating on the role of Assistive Technology for twenty years. The partnership has been built on a shared vision of enabling technology to transform the lives of people with disabilities and to empower them to achieve more. The idea for the AT Passport came from a discussion paper published by Enable Ireland in 2016 with the support of Microsoft and Disability Federation of Ireland. The focus of this paper was about bringing the idea of the AT Passport to life in Ireland and today’s announcement marks the next phase in this process and will see Microsoft and Enable Ireland work with Maynooth University to make this idea a reality.


Picture shows from left John O’Sullivan, CEO, Enable Ireland; Imelda Delemere, Enable Ireland Adult Services in Sandyford  and Cathriona Hallahan, Managing Director, Microsoft Ireland

 

Research has shown that the provision of AT services is often fragmented, difficult to navigate and not user centric. The AT Passport is a personal record of all of the relevant information about an individual’s requirement for AT including the necessary referrals, eligibility and training requirements and can support users to access the training and supports they need. Once developed it will be a tool that will help to streamline the way in which people gain access to Assistive Technology – equipment, training and funding and has the potential to ensure that those who need Assistive Technology can get it and, as a result, experience greater autonomy in their own lives.

Speaking today Cathriona Hallahan, Managing Director, Microsoft Ireland said: “At Microsoft we believe that technology can play a key role in driving positive and progressive change across every aspect of our lives, unlocking new and exciting opportunities for everyone in society. Assistive technology can transform the lives of people with disabilities ensuring they have the tools, skills and support to be independent and live a life with no limits. That is why we have been supporting Enable Ireland’s life-changing work for over 20 years and why today we are announcing a collaboration with them to develop the Assistive Technology Passport.”

“Technology empowers us all to achieve more everyday but for a person living with a disability it can be the difference of being able to engage with the world and not. The idea of an AT passport was something we really wanted to help bring to life with Enable Ireland and the funding we’re providing will do this while also ensuring that we embed AI into the functionality of the passport. We’re really excited to see this project brought to life.”

Today just 1 in 10 people with a disability who require AT have access to it. In order to ensure that technology can deliver real progress and change for everyone in society we must equip those with disabilities with the technology they need and ensure that their families, carers, employers and educators have the necessary training. Scaling the AT Passport internationally has the potential to achieve a truly global impact.

John O’Sullivan, CEO of Enable Ireland said: “I am thrilled to be part of the announcement today of a deepening of our collaboration with Microsoft Ireland. We have enjoyed a great relationship with Microsoft over the last 20 years, which has allowed us to provide Ireland’s only accredited course in AT and for their continued commitment which will help us to develop an AT passport. I believe that an AT passport will help to ensures that those who need AT have access to it. Technology is able to provide truly life changing assistance to people with disabilities by enabling them to live and achieve independence. Research has shown that the provision of AT services is sometimes disjointed, unclear and not designed around the end user. By developing an AT passport, we believe it will be less ambiguous for users to access the support and training they require.”

For further details on this initiative follow Enable Ireland on www.enableireland.ie/at.

Nokia and Irish Aviation Authority deploy next-generation air traffic control network for the North Atlantic #Nokia #Aviation #IAA

Nokia has today announced successful deployment of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) next-generation air traffic control network at its new West Ireland disaster recovery center. As part of the deal, Nokia supplied its IP/MPLS networking products, which have been specifically designed for this level of mission-critical application.

 

The new, high-bandwidth IP/MPLS network will increase capacity and ensure smooth operation of new, more demanding air traffic control (ATC) applications. It will also provide support for legacy, non-IP applications, including end-to-end communications between radar stations. The IAA also benefited from Nokia’s professional services offering for network design, architecture, integration and deployment. Following successful deployment of the network, Nokia will continue to provide IAA with long-term support and maintenance services.

The network was deployed in early 2019 and is currently in service. It has successfully carried out a number of live trials across multiple airspace sectors in the key North Atlantic region, delivering critical voice and radar services to controllers over the new Nokia IP/MPLS platform.

The successful deployment of the network precedes the expected doubling of global air traffic by 2030. The North Atlantic airspace is one of the most crowded airspaces in the world and the IAA will need more capacity as traffic grows. Modern ATC management applications can scale to meet the demand but require a different kind of network connectivity based on IP, such as Nokia’s IP/MPLS.

 

Nokia has a long history building mission-critical networks for critical infrastructure such as air traffic control. Its IP/MPLS networking products are designed from the start to support legacy applications, as well as the latest capabilities for high-availability, mission-critical connectivity.

 

The Nokia-IAA deal is critical to the IAA’s roadmap to seamlessly migrate critical services to a fully operational next-gen network. The IAA plans to continue its work with Nokia, from design to deployment and into the future.

 

Billy Hann, Director of ATM Operations and Strategy for the IAA, said: “Given our responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the North Atlantic airspace, it has been crucial that Nokia earn our trust. The quality and reliability of its technology and the thoroughness and collaborative approach of its teams has been first class throughout the entire migration process. We are very pleased and confident in the performance of the new network.”

 

Jochen Apel, Head of Global Transportation, Nokia, said: “From the initial proof-of-concept through to the final deployment and launch of the new network, we have been impressed and pleased to work closely with the IAA on this highly-critical application. Working side-by-side with its team, we ensured that the new IP/MPLS network seamlessly migrated all of its legacy applications and supported the new applications with the highest standards of reliability.”

Resources:

About Nokia for Industries

Nokia has deployed over 1,300 mission-critical networks with leading customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale and public sector segments around the globe. Leading enterprises across industries are leveraging our decades of experience building some of the biggest and most advanced IP, optical, and wireless networks on the planet. The Nokia Bell Labs Future X for industries architecture provides a framework for enterprises to accelerate their digitalization and automation journey to Industry 4.0. Nokia has also pioneered the private wireless space with many verticals, and now has over 130 large enterprise customers deploying it around the world.