Tag: App

PharmacyConnect surpasses 200,000 patient interactions

PharmacyConnect, the leading Irish pharmacy app platform, has announced that it has enabled pharmacies nationwide to fulfil a remarkable 200,000 patient interactions since its initiation in late 2021.

Specialising in tailored pharmacy apps based on a common platform with integrated payment and delivery functionality, PharmacyConnect is redefining patient-pharmacy interactions across Ireland. Initially conceived in response to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, PharmacyConnect has grown, integrating seamlessly into the everyday operations of over 200 pharmacists and pharmacy staff at dozens of pharmacies, enhancing efficiencies, with an average 30% time-saving by shifting patient queries online, and reducing the risk of errors; in turn, elevating patient experiences.

Cormac McKenna, Founder and CEO of PharmacyConnect, explained, “While Covid-19 was the catalyst for embarking on our journey with PharmacyConnect, our vision was always broader. The platform was designed for longevity, to serve beyond the immediate needs of the pandemic. Our current data highlights our success; with substantial uptake and retention, pharmacies are experiencing significant ROI from day one; with a resounding 9 out of 10 patients returning to their pharmacy app after their initial engagement. We are thrilled that PharmacyConnect has hit the significant milestone of surpassing 200,000 patient interactions – a testament to its relevance for both pharmacies and their patients.”

Cormac continued “We see some pharmacies approaching an incredible 50% of their patient orders happening exclusively through their app; and with the time savings that go with this usage, having an app on the PharmacyConnect platform is being compared to having an extra staff member on the team, working 24/7.”

Piero Cambursano of Newtownpark Pharmacy in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, a pioneer in adopting the platform, said “PharmacyConnect has been transformative for us. Our 5-star app symbolises our enduring connection with our patients. It has been pivotal in enhancing our operations and the significant growth we’ve seen in its use by patients over the past six months. The feedback from our customers is overwhelmingly positive across all age groups. It underscores that patients, even those into their 90s, appreciate a simple, seamless way to interact with us, and PharmacyConnect enables that.”

PharmacyConnect is setting its sights on developing key partnerships within the Irish healthcare landscape, and is in discussions with prospective partners that will allow community pharmacies to drive further efficiencies in their operations, and help foster the strong position of pharmacies in primary healthcare. This advancement comes during a time of rapid evolution in community pharmacies, including the Irish Pharmacy Union’s campaign for better dispensing remuneration from the HSE; and the establishment by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly of an Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of pharmacists in Ireland.

Headquartered in Bray, Co. Wicklow, PharmacyConnect was awarded the Innovation in Community Pharmacy accolade at the 2022 Irish Pharmacy Awards.

For more information, visit https://www.pharmacyconnect.ie/.

Healthier cooking and baking – with the new Series 8 ovens from Bosch

Anyone looking for a new oven for their kitchen should consider a Series 8 oven from Bosch.

Create flavoursome dishes in your oven

Steam cooking up to 120°C is possible with the Series 8 ovens. The clever combination of hot air and steam prepares, for example, potatoes, beet or beans faster than with classic steam cooking. In addition, up to 54 percent more nutrients and up to 25 percent more vitamin C are retained. Steam cooking leads to a perfect taste experience in every respect and saves time at the same time. In addition, the Air Fry function is part of the basic equipment of all Series 8 ovens – this means that foods that previously required a lot of fat in preparation can now be crispy and aromatic even with little fat. Simply place the prepared food on the specially developed Air Fry and grill tray, select the Air Fry function and enter the desired temperature. The oven does the rest.

The perfect cake at the touch of a button

Whether cake, muffin or quiche – in addition to a delicious taste, the right consistency is also an important criterion. Thanks to PerfectBake Baking Sensor Plus in the Series 8 ovens, this is easy to achieve. For example, “cake in shape” can be selected in the display and the oven does the rest on its own. This means that there is no longer any need to worry about the heating mode, temperature or baking time. The highly sensitive sensor continuously measures the moisture content in the oven and switches off automatically as soon as the cake is perfect. Thanks to artificial Intelligence, the oven tells you how many minutes the kitchens still need.

Smart assistance from the app

Anyone who links their Series 8 oven to the Home Connect app benefits from practical options. The oven assistant quickly and easily finds the right program for many dishes – matching the functions of the new oven. And it does so both in the Home Connect app and via Alexa voice control. In addition, the associated settings on the oven can be started directly from the diverse recipes in the app with one click. In the meantime, you can monitor and control the baking process in the app if you want to move on to the next course.

Premium design and operation

These premium ovens also set standards when it comes to convenience and design: they feature an eye-catching large TFT Touch Display and grooved Digital Control Ring. Together, these two features are an extremely simple and intuitive way of operating the appliance. They enable you to fully maximize the potential of the premium models: all the available appliance functions can be selected using the Control Ring, while the TFT Touch Display continually provides a perfect overview of which function is currently active. There’s no need to worry about fingerprints: Both the all-glass surface of the display and the control ring can be easily cleaned with a wipe.

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Workhuman launches recognition app for Microsoft Teams

Workhuman®, the company revolutionising the way employees celebrate, connect with and appreciate each other in the workplace, has strengthened its market-leading Social Recognition platform by launching the all-new Workhuman app for Microsoft Teams. The application, which is now available for download in the Microsoft Teams app store, gives an organisation’s employees full access to all features of Workhuman’s powerful recognition platform from directly within Microsoft Teams, where employees are working, meeting, creating, communicating, and collaborating every day. Leveraging the latest capabilities in the Microsoft Teams platform, this new application allows Workhuman to offer its clients a way to elevate the awareness of and real-time participation in their employee recognition programmes.

“In the modern workplace, no one wants to stop what they’re doing to navigate to another application. We’ve radically simplified the user experience so that employees can participate in recognition where employees already are, natively within Microsoft Teams,” said Jim Drewry, Workhuman VP, Product. “This integration enables enterprises to meet and exceed performance and culture goals by recognising the whole human at any time, from any device with Teams access. Professional contributions, service milestones, and personal achievements are all highlighted and showcased in our Teams app homepage. Ultimately, pervasive recognition creates employees who are motivated to align with company culture and goals because they feel seen and recognised as human beings. This vastly improves employee perception and sentiment, which in turn means better business outcomes.”

Building upon Workhuman’s initial Teams integration, which supports users launching the recognition nomination process within Teams chats and Teams channels, the new app offers:

  • A native welcome page that enables instant recognition and showcases an ‘always on’ awards feed, and a highlight reel of years-of-service awards and celebrations without requiring employees to log into a company intranet.
  • Award notifications within the Teams Activity tab, and the ability to add kudos and congratulations to colleagues throughout the organisation who are receiving recognition or celebrating key life and work milestones, creating a more cohesive company culture experience.
  • The ability to deliver ‘in-the-moment’ recognition within a Teams chat, channel, or even meeting (with a Microsoft Teams meeting extension)– on mobile, desktop, or web versions of Teams.
  • The ability for employees to see their own points balance as a reminder of the recognition they have received from peers, and one-click access the Workhuman Store to browse and redeem for merchandise, gift cards, charities, or Experiences.
  • Teams administrators the ability to centrally permission and deploy the application into the organisation’s Microsoft Teams environment, with granular controls and strong security options.

Research from Workhuman and Gallup explored the impact of recognition on a business. One of the main findings found that one in four employees in Gallup’s global database strongly agree that they have received recognition or praise for doing good work in the last week. However, the study also found that if this number was doubled, businesses could see a 9% improvement in productivity, as well as $91,989,474 in gained employee productivity. Additional research found that when employees experience recognition for life events and work milestones, they are three times as likely to strongly agree they feel connected to culture.

The Workhuman app for Microsoft Teams harnesses all the power of an enterprise’s human resources and employee experience strategy and delivers it to a captivated audience to spark improved employee engagement, connection, retention, and productivity at scale. The release of the Workhuman app for Microsoft Teams is the next step in Workhuman’s evolution of bringing the power of its entire platform through the digital employee experience offered by Microsoft 365; including Microsoft Teams, Viva, Outlook, SharePoint, and more. For more information about Workhuman’s integration capabilities, please visit www.workhuman.com/integrations.

Revolut launches in-app educational course to empower Irish customers to combat fraud

Revolut, the global financial super app with more than 2.3 million customers in Ireland, has today announced the launch of a new free in-app course designed to teach people about scams, and empower them with tools and techniques to help keep their money safe.

Rising risk of fraud

  • Recent research by telecoms regulator ComReg, indicates that in 2022 alone in Ireland there were:
  • Approximately 365,000 cases of fraud as result of scam calls and texts, (or 1,000 cases a day)
  • Up to 89 million annoying/irritating communications and 31 million distressing communications
  • Over 5,000 businesses that were the victim of fraud after receiving scam calls and texts 3

Overall, ComReg estimated that the total quantifiable harm to Ireland’s society arising from nuisance communications is conservatively estimated at over €300 million per annum.

Now, new research commissioned by Revout and undertaken by Dynata has revealed that 64% of consumers have noticed a rise in online fraud and scams in the past 12 months, with 46% admitting to personally experiencing fraud, and 47% knowing someone else who has in the past year.

The Dynata study of 1,000 Irish adults also showed that when asked about the channels or environment where they felt most vulnerable, people in Ireland pointed out mainly fraudulent SMS (65%), phone calls (61%), online shopping (46%) and fake adverts on social media sites (39%). On the other hand, dating apps and websites were only pointed out as the main source of concern for 4% of the respondents.

Consumers need more education to combat scams

Despite the ubiquity of fraud, consumers indicated that more education would help them  prevent and protect themselves from scams and fraud.

According to Revolut’s Dynata research, 1 in 10 respondents said they did not know of the methods individuals can use to protect themselves against scams.

6% said they would not be able to spot a scam generally, while 67% said they were only somewhat confident they would be able to detect a fraud. Only 28% – less than a third – said they were extremely confident that they could spot a scam.

Also, 12% said they could not spot a fake ad on social media, with 65% saying they were somewhat confident they could do so. Only 24% – less than a quarter – said they were extremely confident that they would be able to do so.

Revolut’s research also showed that 14% of people say they would not know what to do if they fell victim to a scam, with a further 61% saying they would need to take time to research what to do. Only a quarter – 25% – said they knew the immediate steps they should take if they fall victim to a scam.

Respondents also said that the entities which should be held most accountable for scams were “social media companies who do not have the right systems in place to prevent fraud and scams from occurring on their platforms” (59%) and “telephone companies for not stopping fake callers and spoofed telephone calls” (50%).

However 98% of respondents said they felt that the right education would help them feel more prepared to avoid or deal with scams.

On the basis of these findings, Revolut is taking a novel approach to raising its customers’ awareness of scams and helping defend themselves against fraudsters, with the launch of its new course.

The course will include five lessons: an introduction to fraud, purchase scams, investment scams, impersonation scams, and account takeover fraud, and has been developed by Revolut’s in-house fraud experts, and covers the most prevalent types of fraud.

Each lesson will include materials explaining the different types of fraud, how customers can protect themselves, and share examples of how these scams can take place, drawing on real-life examples. Customers can then test what they have learnt, completing the lesson.

The course is free, and can be accessed in the Revolut app* by heading to Home > Hub > Learn.

Aaron Elliott-Gross, Head of Fraud and Financial Crime at Revolut, said: “Through the launch of our new in-app course on fraud, we aim to use education to empower our customers to feel more aware, more in control and better armed for action to spot criminals when they come across them online, on social media or over the phone.”

Revolut invests heavily to protect customers, with more than a third of our workforce working in a financial crime related role. The bank analyses every one of the 500m transactions its customers make every month for signs of fraud, and when its fraud model detects a scam risk, it intervenes and warns the customer.”

Aaron went on to say: “Customers also play a vital role in protecting themselves from scams, and our new Fraud Learn course aims to help them spot a scam when they might be experiencing one. If you are unsure, and you see one of our warnings; heed them and don’t complete the transfer.”

Tech Review – EDIFIER TWS1 Pro 2 earbuds

The latest earbuds from EDIFIER have been in my ears some time now and it is time to have a chat and once again they knock it out of the park bar one small caveat for me so lets get that out of the way which is in fairness a small gripe and that is the limit on the controls at one time on the earbuds which is two commands. It is no huge deal but can be fixed with a software update but the rest from here on in is just great.

The design is clean I like it with the glossy white finish and nice clean case to go with the earbuds so overall clean simple and to the point and not too bulky an earbud either. They fit well in the ears and look good and also stand out and the brand logo is there for all to see, I have noticed here more shops stocking EDIFIER products which is great and they are a company I can stand by as I have done so for years with great audio products and I like to see the brand being now noticed more by third part retailers here.

The EDIFIER connect app is where it is also at and again they have all the features required bar the control limits but having said that you cans till put your own options in here, they are fully customisable and let you take control, Why I say this about the controls and the two controls option per side is we are mostly used to having three or more options each side but it is fine due to the options you have here and for most I would imagine will give them a pass here.

The EDIFIER TWS1 Pro – techbuzzireland

The EQs are great you can also customise your own and enjoy all the other features on board you have also go wear detection, low latency so for gamers they are ideal and I noticed no lag latency during my testing on gaming or audio etc, the volume is loud which I personally prefer and the ANC is pretty decent you also have two levels of ANC and transparency mode/ ambient sound which is great.

The sound overall though is brilliant, loud clear clean hues on all genres and pretty much center stage and for the price you cant really go wrong, battery life is on the lower end but no huge deal here and overall anyone who picks them up will be happy with these earbuds and again I would not expect anything less from the company.

 

The App

 

 

Main Features:

    • Long Battery Life. Around 4 hours music playtime with ANC ON with 12 hours charging case. A total 16 hours playtime.
    • Active noise cancellation with 2 levels of ANC selection and multiple ANC modes is designed to reduce unwanted background noise in various environments.
    • Clear call quality. Built-in microphone to ensure high quality calls.
    • Wear Detection. Music will pause automatically when taken out of your ear and will start playing once you place them back in.
    • Ultra-low latency connection with seamless experience on gaming activities.
    • Edifier Connect App. Unlock all the features through APP: customize control setting and EQ selection (Classic/POP/Classical/Rock).
  • Dust proof and splash proof for active wear. IP54 certified.

Price & Availability:

The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 is available for £49.99 from https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C7L1KJRQ

Video Review

Dublin City Council Launch ‘DiscovAR Dublin’ – Ireland’s First Augmented Reality Map

Dublin City Council has today announced the launch of a new augmented-reality (AR) mapping feature that allows users of the Dublin Discovery Trails app to open up a 3D map of Dublin on their device and allow them to explore the city in a new, innovative way.

‘DiscovAR Dublin’ is a first for Ireland in utilising new open Google Maps technology to form an interactive 3D map where users can be transported into the city to interact with the map to uncover Dublin landmarks, museums and attractions. Users can also learn more about the history and significance of locations such as the Guinness Storehouse, EPIC – the Irish Emigration Museum and 14 Henrietta Street.

The project is a collaboration between the Dublin City Council, Smart Dublin and Virgin Media Business alongside Peel X, who developed the feature for the Dublin Discovery Trails app.

Launched last year, the app is a platform on which the Dublin local authorities can develop new and exciting immersive experiences combining the real-world history with smart technologies. Already there are unique experiences published including Doors into Docklands, Balbriggan and Castleknock heritage tours.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, launching this exciting new feature said, “This is first for Ireland, the user can ‘literally’ step into the city from anywhere in the world and explore Dublin in the palm of their hand. This innovative technology will help further position Dublin as a world-class destination with this new experience. I’m delighted to launch DiscovAR here today and I’d encourage everyone to download the app and try it today to explore the best of what Dublin has to offer.”

Tourists and locals alike can use the app before they visit the city, or while they are in the city with the vision that it will assist users to learn more about Dublin and its extensive history, sights, monuments and streets across the capital city.

Also commenting on the launch of ‘DiscovAR Dublin’, Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead, Dublin City Council said, “DiscovAR offers a new way for visitors and locals to experience the capital city. Through our Smart Dublin programme, we are always thinking about how we can embrace new technologies to enhance how people engage with our Capital City. This app through its immersive AR technology is a new and fun way to explore the City’s culture and history and we see huge potential to expand this.”

The Dublin Discovery Trail app is part of a larger Smart Tourism strategy to invest in digital to transform Dublin’s tourism experience for how we tell the story and history of the city and was developed as part of the new Dublin City Council Tourism Strategy 2023-2028 – Innovation Pillar. Using new and immersive technologies, such as augmented reality, will help further position Dublin as a world-class tourism destination with this new digital experience and allow for further unique and tailored customer experiences that will keep the city relevant for tourists.

For more information on ‘DiscovAR’ and to download the app visit http://dublindiscoverytrails.com or search Dublin Discovery Trails on Apple App Store or Google Play..

BUMBLE launches new features designed to make you spend less time swiping and more time dating

Bumble, the app where women make the first move, has announced new features and a new Premium experience just in time for autumn. As we all return to the work grind, the popular dating app wants to help you find what you’re looking for with three new features that put compatible people front and centre, helping you swipe less and connect faster. Newly-launched features include:

  1. Best Bees (Recommended Profiles) is Bumble’s newest Premium feature that uses machine-learning based on your preferences and past matches to produce a daily, personalised list of top profiles. Every day, Bumble will curated a list of four compatible profiles which are based on your preferences and behaviours.Over the past month, Bumble found that women were 5x more likely to swipe on Best Bees recommendations and 1.5x more likely to match.* Best Bees are available to all members on the app globally, but Premium members are able to send unlimited likes to their Best Bees recommendations. .
  1. Recommend a Friend taps single friends on Bumble as the ultimate matchmakers by giving them the ability to privately share profiles that they think would be a perfect fit for someone else. We all know the feeling of coming across a profile that’s not right for you, but would be perfect for your friend who loves rock-climbing, is a die-hard Harry Potter fan, or XXX and now you can easily and directly share them in-app.
  2. Shared Interests highlights interest badges that you share at the top of their profile so you can immediately see your shared passions and hobbies. Bumble previously identified the growing trend of “hobby-dating” which saw that 1 in 4 (27%) people on the app were planning dates around their new hobbies. **This follows the launch of the latest iteration of Bumble’s “Top Artists” feature which highlights common musical interest between profiles integrated with Spotify. It seems that music really is the key to romance, with Bumble data showing that women are 2x as likely to swipe on a profile with shared artists in common*** – the modern mixtape?

Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble said: “At Bumble, we are constantly innovating and adding to the app experience. We often hear from our community that they are seeking more personalisation so they can be more intentional with their time spent on the app and that is exactly what our Best Bees feature offers. 

“We know intentionality and compatibility are of utmost importance to our community, and these new features enable members to see shared interests and common ground from the start. Not only do they provide yet another way to make the first move, but they are also another marker to help our community maximize their Bumble experience.”

These new features launch alongside an updated Premium offering, which includes: the ability to see everyone who has like your profile (your Beeline), unlimited likes for your Best Bees recommendations, rematch and backtrack features so you can connect with expired connections or those you accidentally swiped left on, Travel Mode which allows you to swipe in other cities, Advanced Filters so you can find just what you’re looking for, and Incognito Mode for more privacy.

These new features and the new Premium offering are now available to Bumble’s community in Ireland so you can find your next date now. You can also check out a new Irish site called connectingus if you want to try something else new.

Artisse launches AI-enhanced photography app

Artisse Interactive, a trailblazing technology company founded by William Wu, has announced the launch of its mobile application, Artisse, which is described as the photography industry’s largest disruption in over a decade.

The last major advancement in the photography industry dates to 2011 when mobile editing apps were initially released. Fast forward to 2023, Artisse is part of the explosion of AI-generated apps, dubbed the “AI generative era.”

The application operates as a generative image platform used to create hyper realistic self-photos in any setting, posture, or expression.

It is thoughtfully crafted to cater to diverse users, seamlessly meeting the needs of individuals seeking to create stunning, professional-grade photos for their social media profiles, and providing businesses with expertly crafted advertisement images.

Changing lives

Unlike other giants of the industry, Artisse is a proud bootstrap operation and independent venture built from the ground up with a highly diverse team. It has a strong female presence across the team, including an all-female team in China. A tribute to this plucky company’s success is that it has spread around the world, covering every continent and major language region.

This incredible team has made sure the app embodies the personal stories of people everywhere. Not everyone has the opportunity to visit the pyramids of Egypt or travel to a tropical island for a corporate retreat.

Now, however, people can be the authors of their personal stories. Become the adventurer you always wanted to be. Swim with dolphins, trek across the arctic circle, or dance among the rings of Saturn. All from the comfort of your own home.

Use cases like these resonate deeply with the team at Artisse and fuel their desire to enhance lives through the power of AI photography.

CEO William Wu says, “Personal photos serve as life’s most cherished language – a universal way to preserve moments, express our unique perspectives, and help us stay connected and make friends. Every day, we take more than 2.3 billion photos across the globe. Yet, the process of capturing the perfect shot remains complex, time-consuming, and out of reach for many. We want to make beautiful photography accessible to everyone.”

Global localization 

Artisse has localized language support for 35 languages covering all major geographies including major Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, areas where AI-powered photo applications have already experienced substantial adoption.

Get on Android  Get on iOS

Bumble Inc. Introduces ‘Bumble For Friends’ Friendship-Finding App

Bumble Inc, the parent company of Bumble, Badoo, Fruitz and Official, announced the launch of Bumble For Friends, a standalone app for finding friends. The app creates a new way for people to grow their friendship circles by discovering meaningful, kind, and fun connections in their local area that is separate from the Bumble dating app.

The new app follows the successful BFF mode that’s been available within the Bumble app since 2016, which features three modes for: romantic relationships (Date), platonic friendships (BFF), and business connections (Bizz).

Bumble For Friends is expected to be especially popular among Gen Z, as new research from the app reveals that over a third (38%) of 18-24 year olds in Ireland believe that platonic relationships are more important than romantic relationships. However, a quarter are stuck in outdated friendships (25%) and a third are not satisfied with the ones they currently have.

The research found that while over half (57%) of 18-24 year olds in Ireland want to make new friends, almost a third (30%) feel prevented to do so due to finding it difficult to approach people in person and a fear of being judged.

“Friendship has always been a critical part of Bumble’s goal to living a healthy and happy life. With feelings of loneliness and isolation at an all-time high, now more than ever is a time to prioritise self-love and friendships for our well being. Having a dedicated Bumble For Friends app that’s separate from the dating experience makes friendship-finding easier for people looking to make meaningful platonic connections in their area,” said Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder and CEO.

“People are more open to making friends online than ever before. In fact, in a recent Bumble For Friends survey, over a third of Gen-Z respondents in the UK shared that making new friends online lessened their loneliness,” Herd said. “No matter your life stage – whether it’s moving off to college, looking for a travel partner or becoming a new mum – Bumble For Friends creates a fun way to connect with people while helping solve the extremely important issue of loneliness.” 

How Bumble For Friends Works

  • It starts with creating a profile that reflects the member’s personality and interests through uploading photos and showcasing hobbies that illustrate where the person is in their life and what kind of friends they’re looking to meet.
  • Bumble For Friends models a similar experience as Bumble Date where members see profiles for potential friends based on common interests, swipe right on profiles they would like to connect with and are notified when a match is made.
  • Anyone currently using BFF mode with the Bumble app who wishes to migrate their profile and connections into the Bumble For Friends app will be able to skip the set-up and easily do so upon downloading and logging into the new app as an existing member.
  • Once a BFF profile is moved over to the Bumble For Friends app, BFF mode is no longer available in the Bumble app. The Date and Bizz functionality remains.

A new, easier way to plan group meetups exclusively available in the Bumble For Friends app

  • Starting to roll out today within the new Bumble For Friends app, it’s easy to get a group together to make a plan to meet IRL.
  • Any member can create a plan for a group meetup with at least two of their connections from the conversations tab.
  • A member selects a planned activity from a list of suggestions or creates their own.
  • Once a member selects a plan theme or creates a title for the group chat, they can invite at least two of their matches.
  • Their matches receive an invite in their chat that is titled the name of the planned activity, which can be edited.
  • Anyone who accepts the invite can join the group chat and start discussing any of the meetup details.

Bumble For Friends is free to use and is available on the App Store and Google Play in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States with more regions to come.

Check out connectingus which is a new Irish social media site