Tag: featured

8 Top tips to make your home safe when on Holiday. #Security #Blink #Holiday

Holidays are a break from the normal routine and chance to get away from every day worries. But for some, leaving home unattended for weeks at a time can be a major worry in itself. There is ways to help and this fits in with our current home security regime which we are halfway through now but we have got some more sound advice so check it out…

There are many proactive and affordable security measures that can be put in place before your holiday, to help prevent burglaries. Don Shulsinger from Blinkforhome, manufacturer of Blink, the video home security and monitoring system, gives advice on some simple steps to take.

Tell Trusted Neighbours and Friends

Let them know you will be away so that they can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity while you’re gone. Leave them your contact details, a spare set of keys and the code for any alarm so that they can drop by to close curtains, switch lights on and off, water plants and the lawn if needed and make sure there is no post poking out of the letterbox or parcels left on the doorstep.

Keep a secret from social media

Don’t post travel plans or photos while you’re away as this will publicly notify people that you have an empty home. Be sure that your kids also understand that they should wait until after you have returned home safely to share those holiday selfies. Recently the footballer John Terry was burgled after he posted holiday photos on his social media feeds.

Cancel Services

Cancel any regular grocery, newspaper, milk and other deliveries while on holiday. If you forget to do this, these could be left on your driveway or by your front door, making your home an obvious target for a break-in.

 

Wireless Home Security and Video Monitoring System

Believe it or not, some of the most sophisticated wireless home security systems can cost less than the hotel room you’ve booked. A home security monitoring system will provide an enhanced level of security and peace of mind while you’re away. An easy to set up wireless option is Blink, which sends temperature and motion alerts along with recorded or live video clips to a smartphone, anytime and from anywhere. You can be instantly alerted to a break in through the Blink app on your iOS or Android device. You can even find out what the cat is up to while your family is away!

Hi-Tech Door Locks

Keyless locks offer amazing security features, like Bluetooth and the ability to see who’s knocking at your front door on your smartphone’s screen. Many of these locks allow you to give access by simply inputting a phone number or sending a text from anywhere in the world.

Security Lighting

Thanks to automatic switches, you can make it appear as if you’re home when you’re not. Set up some internal and outdoor lights on automatic switches, and be sure to pay special attention to entry points. These lights are generally inexpensive and easy to install, but double-check that they are working properly before you go.

Check Insurance and Banking Services

Ensure that your policies are paid up for homeowners, car, and medical insurance. If necessary, advise your bank and credit card companies that you will be away so that they can alert you to any unusual account activity.

Contact Your Alarm Company

If you have the more formal home (and expensive) surveillance service instead of a DIY system, be sure that they have the current key holder details in order to prevent any false alarms interrupting your holiday. Has the alarm been serviced? Update the local authorities if you’ve registered your alarm with them.

And after you have done all that, go away and relax, safe in the knowledge that you have done all you can to protect your home. Have a great holiday.

See the full e-book here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1537/7265/files/Blink_UK_Holiday_eBook.pdf?15167089689653515888

blinkforhome.co.uk/

How Mobile Technology Can Impact Your Sales (Infographic) #Tech #Sales #Business

4.3 billion – or 58.7% of  the world’s population – is the estimated number of mobile phone users across the globe in 2016. And while the user growth is slowing, the number of mobile phone users is also expected to climb to 4.78 billion in 2020. It has also shown here in Ireland how e-commerce has jumped massively year on year for the last several years due to items mostly costing less online and the trend is set to continue. 

For most people, this is just a normal phenomenon brought by the rapid evolution of technology, but for business owners, the immense usage of mobile technology in the society has an equally massive impact on their sales as well. Check this infographic out which Neal Cabrera from healthy business builder has sent us, take a look at the different ways mobile technology can impact your sales, and if it really changed the business for the better.

Ireland’s leading professional recruitment event, #CareerZoo, is heading west.

Ireland’s leading professional recruitment and networking event, Career Zoo, will move outside Dublin for the first time this autumn, with an event taking place in Galway next month.

Career Zoo West will take place on Saturday, 23rd September, from 10am to 5pm. The event will run over three floors at the iconic Galway Racecourse venue in Ballybrit. Career Zoo takes place twice each year, attracting thousands of attendees each time.

Employers hiring at Career Zoo West will include technology giant Ericsson and Donegal-based fintech company Pramerica, both of which are sponsoring the event. Another sponsor, FRS Recruitment, will be on hand to speak with candidates about a wide variety of professional roles.

The event will feature employers from all four provinces in Ireland including Galway, Donegal, Sligo, Cork, the midlands and Dublin.

Commenting today, Jackie Slattery, Director of Career Zoo, said: “This is an exciting time for the Career Zoo brand as we bring our next event to the West of Ireland.  We will be showcasing hundreds of exciting employment opportunities across tech, medtech pharma and finance, and we would encourage anyone looking to advance their career to come along.

“With Ireland set to become the sole English-speaking country in the EU, there is so much opportunity, ready to be tapped. The West of Ireland – with its natural amenities and excellent track record in sectors such as tech, biopharma and financial services – is a very attractive option for anyone looking to make a career move or come home to Ireland.

“Career Zoo West will be our fourteenth event to date, so it’s really interesting to look at how the profile of attendees has changed over the past few years.  Skilled candidates are no longer wowed by companies that just offer decent salaries and a cool office. They also want an excellent work-life balance; affordable housing options; and proximity to their families and friends.  For these reasons, working in the West appeals to so many people, and we’re expecting a really strong response to our first Career Zoo event in Galway.”

Career Zoo West will have approximately 50 employers in attendance, including STEM-sector leaders, professional and financial services and biotech companies. Employers will be hiring for a variety of roles across: tech, pharma, medtech, finance, marketing, HR and sales.

The line-up includes recruiters and speakers from: Abbott, Abbvie, BD Research Centre Ireland, BioMarin, BNP Paribas, Cisco, Ericsson, FRS, Grifols, Irishjobs.ie, LookWest.ie, Merit, Ocuco, Pramerica, SAP and Wayfair, amongst others.

In addition to leading employers, next month’s event will include panel discussions on topics such as the latest in biotech, big data, medtech, fintech, IOT, women in STEM and workplace culture.

The sponsors of Career Zoo West are: Ericsson, Pramerica and FRS Recruitment. Admission to the event is free.  To register, go to:www.careerzoo.ie/galway.

Ten striking images of Irish research revealed. #Research #IRC

To mark the launch of their new website, the Irish Research Council have this week unveiled ten striking images from their awardees’ research.

Researchers were invited to submit an image captured during the course of their research to be featured on the new homepage. A total of one hundred and twenty-four entries were received. The final ten images selected were:

 

  • Abulaiti Hairisha, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Simulating the controlled growth of polymer thin films by molecular layer deposition’.
  • Chiara Mizzoni, Andrew Grene Postgraduate Scholar in Conflict Resolution, ‘A group of FARC fighters watch a game of afternoon football at a demobilisation and transition camp in Icononzo, Colombia’.
  • Pierre Jolivet, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Visualisations from open sound control driven inputs to virtual reality environments’.
  • Ross Lundy, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Deforest gold micro-mushrooms on copper meadow’.
  • David Cichon, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Garment workers in Phnom Penh marching for a living wage and collective bargaining rights on International Labour Day 2017’.
  • Sven Batke, Irish Research Council Fellow, ‘A bromeliad plant from the same family as pineapples which grows on top of tall tropical trees’.
  • Maria Velasco, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘The cerebellar network between neurons (red), astrocytes (yellow) and microglia (green) in a mouse organotypic slice culture’.
  • Ross Lundy, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Copper oxide nanoblades’.
  • Sajad Alimohammadi, Irish Research Council Fellow, ‘Refractive index matched PIV applications: Velocity profiles for flow around an array of cylinders’.
  • Shane Holohan, Irish Research Council Scholar, ‘Ben Collis & Elisabeth Künkele (© Einar Kling-Odencrants) performing as part of my PhD in arts practice’.

SEE SOME IMAGES IN THE GALLERY HERE

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Further information and the list of the final ten images is available at http://research.ie/what-we-do/loveirishresearch/blog/ten-striking-research-images/

Review – FLIC – The worlds smartest button. #FLIC #Home #Gadgets #Tech

Flic is a wireless Bluetooth button. It gives you the ability to simply press a button to control the things around you. This initially sounds like a gimmick that’s a nice idea but in practice would not be used.  After using the button for a few weeks this became part of everyday use.

 

Specifications

  • Size: 28mm diameter, 8mm height.
  • Battery: > 18 months User-replaceable CR 2016 (standard coin cell battery)
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0
  • Range: 10 – 50m (30 – 150 ft)
  • Supported OS: iOS 9+, Android 4.4+, Mac OSX Sierra
  • Weather proof soft touch silicone to be used indoors or outdoors.
  • Clip-on and re-useable adhesive included.
  • Hundreds of features, new functionality added monthly.

 

The Flic has a small watch battery which advised will last for 18 months these batteries CR 2016 are easily available from Pound / euro shops. This save having to use a usb charger to charge another product. You can attach the Flic to a wall / table etc via the adhesive sticker or via the “clip” option to your belt etc.

 Setup:

Setup is easy, Download the App Flic (Flic app which is available for Android and iOS.)  then run the app enter the usual name email etc. The App has got a good rating of 4 out of 5 from 1,006 total reviews.  The app is paired with your smartphone, which can then perform a multitude of tasks. Once installed you are given 3 sets of options,You can set different functions to happen for these button commands:

  • Single press
  • Double press
  • Hold

There is a variety of option which can be set up, e.g. Uses

  • Find my phone
  • Turn off lights
  • Control my music
  • Send a text while driving, on my way home etc
  • Read incoming text android

These are  just a few of the options available

The Flic smart button is different doing the simple things well and easy. This unit is not marketed to those with a disability but they may find it very beneficial.  This Flic was set up initially to find my phone and turn on lights, changing the shortcut was easy. After a couple of weeks of use I have become used to it using in daily for variety of shortcuts. If you’re in to technology and cool new gadgets this is certainly of those. Further information available from https://flic.io/ The buttons are available to purchase directly from Flic.io and a pack of 4 buttons currently retails for $99. https://www.amazon.co.uk Flic Wireless Smart button..

Pick up the Nokia 3 for just €49.99 with Dunnes Stores Value Club and Vodafone. #Nokia3 #Ireland

If you fancy picking up the Nokia 3 for peanuts you can do so once you are a Dunnes Stores Value Club member, However there is a catch involved which is not to be sniffed at though. You must switch to Vodafone, You also will need to top up by  €20.00

Incidently you can switch provider in-store and pick the device up for €109 if you switch in-store too,So if you are a clubcard member and need a new smartphone for peanuts and a good one at that you know where to go.. Offer expires 31st DECEMBER 2017 and you cant switch from Lyca.

Hatip – Liam Burke 

First look and unboxing of the Garmin 65W dashcam #Garmin #Dashcam #Motoring

We have gone through quite a few dashcams over the last year and today we bring you a new model from the good folks at Garmin, This is the Garmin 65W which is small discreet and compact but loaded with plenty of features to boot…

When I say its small its much smaller than most of our previously reviewed dashcams and this is a good thing for many reasons such as not cluttering up your windscreen and it is not noticeable from the outside and you would only find it if you where looking for it and with most vehicles these days they do have a black tint around the edges so it can blend in nicely here for instance.

Check out the unboxing and image gallery below and we will leave a link for some more info in the interim and as always if you have any quesitons feel free to ask..

  • 180-degree field of view captures more of the environment, including cross traffic
  • High-quality 2.1 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture; works even in low-light conditions
  • Forward collision and lane departure warnings plus alerts for nearby red light cameras and speed cameras
  • Includes lifetime safety camera updates
  • GPS-enabled with automatic incident detection (G-sensor) saves video footage on impact to show when and where events happened
  • Voice command allows you to start/stop audio recording, take a still picture or start/stop the Travelapse video capture feature

BUY HERE 

Guaranteed Irish to host free workshop on best employment practices. #Business #GI

Guaranteed Irish to host free workshop on best employment practices

Business membership organisation, Guaranteed Irish, is holding a free workshop for businesses on best practice in employment law and how to safeguard your business. The workshop, ‘Safeguarding your Business’ is being run in partnership with Guaranteed Irish member Peninsula and will take place at Guaranteed Irish offices at 1 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 at 8.30am Tuesday, 12th September.

The workshop will explore topics including the latest updates in employment law, how to increase staff performance and what the correct procedures for redundancy issues, and will be delivered by an employment law expert.

 

Commenting in advance of the workshop, Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, said: “At Guaranteed Irish, we’re acutely aware of the challenges our member companies face. Every company, no matter what size it is, will face employment law, HR and health and safety issues at some stage over its lifetime, and how they handle these issues will determine their success as a business. Our workshop will equip businesses with the tools they need to safeguard against these issues, and it’s not just for Guaranteed Irish members – all businesses are welcome to attend, they simply need to register in advance.” 

Moira Grassick, Head of Commercial at Peninsula, added “The time and effort needed to ensure that your business complies and follows the most recent rules and regulations can be huge. The free workshop will show business owners how to comply with employment law legislation whilst allowing them to what they do best – run their businesses.”

Pitching opportunity

Ms. O’Connell continued: “New for September’s Masterclass, we’re delighted to announce our exciting initiative – ‘GI’s Perfect Pitch’! We’re offering two companies the chance to present their business pitch to a room full of Ireland’s leading brands. Attendees will be invited to vote using a smartphone app for who they feel had the ‘perfect pitch’. The winning company will be part of Guaranteed Irish’s online marketing campaign.”

To get involved in GI’s Perfect Pitch, companies need to simply:

  • Register their attendance for the event;
  • Tweet to @GuaranteedIrl, summarising their business pitch in 140 characters and using the #GIPerfectPitch hashtag.

The top two tweets will be selected by a GI judging panel and will then be notified that they have been selected to deliver their ‘perfect pitch’. In advance of the masterclass, the two companies will be profiled across Guaranteed Irish’s social media profiles platforms.

Further information on the event can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guaranteed-irish-masterclass-safeguarding-your-business-tickets-35814567335.

IDTechEx – Google and Toyota Keynote Energy Independent Vehicle Event #EIV

Google and Toyota Keynote Energy Independent Vehicle Event

When giants such as Google, Toyota and Nissan gather to consider something new it is time to pay attention. This “next big thing” is energy independent electric vehicles (EIVs) by land water and air.  Their impact on society and industry will, in due course, be seismic. The event is the world’s first that is dedicated entirely to “Energy Independent Electric Vehicles”. It is at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands September 27-28.

More than half of the world’s population is still without Internet access. Project Loon by X, founded by Google, is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to extend Internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas worldwide. They have solar powered steering and they may be able to loiter. The result will be prosperity and education transformed, empowering the disadvantaged but of course enabling much more as well, much of it unpredictable. The company reports,

“We aim to launch and maintain a fleet of balloons to provide Internet coverage to users on the ground, with our Autolauncherscapable of safely and consistently launching a new balloon every 30 minutes. We have flown over 19 million km of test flights to date since the project began – with one of our record-breaking balloons surviving for 190 days aloft in the stratosphere. High speed internet is transmitted up to the nearest balloon from our telecommunications partner on the ground, relayed across the balloon network, and then back down to users on the ground. We have demonstrated data transmission between balloons over 100 km apart in the stratosphere and back down to people on the ground with connection speeds of up to 10 Mbps, directly to their LTE phones.

Project Loon balloons are designed and manufactured at scale to survive the conditions in the stratosphere, where winds can blow over 100 km/hr and the thin atmosphere offers little protection from UV radiation and dramatic temperature swings which can reach as low as -90°C. Made from sheets of polyethylene, each tennis court sized balloon is built to last more than 100 days in the stratosphere before returning to the ground in a controlled descent.

Project Loon has taken the most essential components of a cell tower and redesigned them to be light enough and durable enough to be carried by a balloon 20 km up in the stratosphere. All the equipment is highly energy-efficient and is powered entirely by renewable energy – with solar panels powering daytime operations and charging a battery for use during the night.”

Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx, says

“Google’s parent company has other energy independent vehicle technologies such as the energy positive tethered drones of Google Makani making up to 600 kW of electricity from the stronger, more consistent winds at 200 meters or more. We have four companies presenting on their energy positive drones. Another part of X had an energy independent solar drone to fly at 60,000 feet to beam the internet but that was abandoned, Facebook continuing with that type of EIV. The event cover all this and many other EIVs being trialled and even sold on the open market for land, water and air, bypassing electricity utilities and charging stations. Sometimes they need less battery or no battery. We reveal all the enabling technologies. At lower levels, electric aircraft are tapping wind and sun as are planned cars, actual boats and more. Eventually the largest ships will become energy independent using tide, wave power, sun and wind in many ways to make their electricity and saving the emissions of millions of cars for each ship. We show how. It all adds up to an addressable market of hundreds of billions of dollars. Of course, initial progress will be slow but it is vital to be in at the beginning”.

Find out more at www.IDTechEx.com/delft17.