Having the right tools be it in the office or on the move is an important factor for many folk including myself and being in the tech space I consider myself lucky to have that equipment and get to test such out. Over the years I have tried many conference speakers and as expected they are getting better, more compact and more features and of course the price is getting better too which is a win for the consumer.
The Konftel Ego is the latest to drop on my desk and this is ideal for home use and indeed the office and with the work from home trend boom it is an ideal kit to have for more than just work duties this can be used in a personal capacity too for playing music on so you are not just buying a product for one use case scenario but two and to top it off it is portable and it is one of the slimmest ones I have used and the shape and design of this speaker is something different compared to the circular models which are popular and it stands out, several people have asked what it is here in the house and they all agreed with my thoughts on it. You can see the unboxing over on our You Tube
You get a travel pouch to store it in and the required cable to connect to your pc/laptop to charge up then you have the bluetooth connection of course keeping things wireless which I like and if you are one to be doing lots of zoom calls etc and you have the Konftel Cam 10 you have the ideal kit be it at home or if you are travelling and so on you have the ideal kit right here. It also works with works seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Zoom, Avaya IX Workplace and many other collaborative tools.
There is a cool LCD screen underneath the grille on top that shows status/function alongside the LEDs on the side in different colours to indicate the function and then you have the simple controls on the left and right which makes it a non complicated tool to have at your disposal.
You also can connect to a smartphone or tablet so it is not just a pc based product it can be used almost anywhere, the sound that comes from the speakerphone is omnidirectional so a meeting with up to six people in a room is a breeze for this and you can hear crystal clear and the sounds pack a punch too when playing music and if you want you can connect your headphones so overall it is a win win for both office and home use and then the portability factor just tops it off for having such a compact tool that looks good and gives a great audio experience for you or anyone in your meetings.
Webcams are back on the scene in a big way these days thanks to the pandemic but even before this the work from home debate was leading toward it being a new way of life and probably better for most and also it offers workers a dual format to split being at home or in the office and it was heading this direction anyway for some time due to better infrastructure with WiFi which in Ireland is debateable particularly in rural areas where business lack good internet and only now we are seeing a development here, the problem for years is all big corporates want to move into the city centre and the docklands where I have been saying for some years why not split up around the country into smaller hubs an bring life back into country settings and create high tech jobs there which is why we have a shortage of such talent in Dublin because people are not willing to travel hours a day which again is costly here.
Moving back on to this webcams they are seeing a rise in popularity again due to the fact we are working from home and in most instances your laptop or desktop PC webcam is generally brutal especially in a professional capacity and we now use the likes of teams and zoom more than ever with a massive hike in use since the pandemic began they are now pretty much an every day platform to use even for me who never used either until I started working from home two years ago. I have tried several webcams and more here to review and this one is really nice, well made looks well and has a shutter/privacy slider which none of the other have and this is important for those with privacy issues but you can just unplug too.
The Konftel Cam10 combines big performance with compact styling and has been designed for today’s hybrid working trends – where more and more business critical meetings take place online. The stylish device features a wide 90° field of view, two built-in microphones, 1080p (30fps) full HD picture quality and a 4 x digital zoom. It’s a perfect home and traditional office companion, or for wherever people are working.
The Konftel Cam10 uses a standard damping bracket for easy and stable installation, whilst there’s the option of tripod mounting for alternative camera placement. You can basically use this camera anywhere in any position rather than having a fixed perspective an it is a simple plug in and go with no software required. The webcam’s two built-in microphones deliver impressive audio pick-up, supported by noise suppression technology. In a common scenario the screen speakers often perform as audio output but an improved option is to complement the Konftel Cam10 with the professional speakerphone Konftel Ego, creating an enhanced experience through Konftel’s renowned OmniSound audio technology.
The Poly SAVI 7320 OFFICE came in a plain brown box with little in the way of marketing the features and use. This model from Poly (formerly Plantronics & Polycom) still has the Plantronics logo on the power supply with the poly logo on the headset itself. This model from the family is designed for those conscious not to be overheard from prying ear in terms of having Military level Encryption for the call. This is ideal for industries that require sensitive conversations not overheard or tapped into eg financial, medical, government and contact centres. This does remove the option of using Bluetooth to your smartphone or using a dongle to connect your device requires hardwiring to connect. Connection is to a Desk phone or Laptop. The headset has a padded leatherette comfortable on the ear for long term use.
Contents:
Poly Savi 7320-M headset and base
AC adapter
telephone interface cable
USB-A cable
USB-C cable
Key Features:
Microsoft Teams Certified
Dual connectivity – for Both desk phone, Computer or Mac (both USB-A and USB-C cable included)
Long‐range roaming range – 176 Meters line of sight, (76 Meters in a typical office)
Noise-cancelling mic filters out office noise
Encryption, Military level FIPS 140-2 listed 256-AES encryption
Allow up to 120 Savi 7320 in a single location.
DECT wireless technology, No Wi‐Fi interference
Conference up to 3 additional headsets on a single base.
lightweight – only160g
3 audio modes: wideband stereo (hybrid), wideband (conversation) and multimedia
The setup is easy as supplied with a Quickstart guide, with the option to download the Plantronics Hub to a Laptop which gives added features in terms of settings. If connected to a Laptop the USB cable has to be connected to the Laptop for this unit to work, ( Bluetooth, dongles etc are not used to ensure DECT Security maintained ) This does work without any issues with the USB ports locked down for many laptops. There are lights on the base unit to advise connected / charging / or a teams call.
Overall:
This headphone main purpose is dual connectivity – for Both desk phone, Computer or Mac with Military level Encryption which is approved for MS teams. This eliminates some of the traditional features we have become familiar with in terms of picking up a laptop while on a call and walking from one room to another which is not possible with this unit as requires to be hardwired all the time. The option to leave the laptop in place and walking up to 76 meters with the headset on works The noise-cancelling Microphone filters out background noise albeit when tested outside wind distortion outside of the building was picked up. A slight niggle was observed on the USB A, cable that connected to the base to the Laptop constantly fell out when movement occurred.
The earphone could be used on the left / right earphones without any issues. A great feature let down on many other models is when a call comes in the base rings, allowing the call to be heard, many other earphones ring via the headset and if not worm is not heard. Audio quality in terms of both sides on the call was excellent as expected from Poly. Volume controls. Mute, answers call etc functionally works as required. This model is ideal for those that require sensitive conversations, kept sensitive with great audio quality, comfortable and robust handset with a variety of excellent features.
The Pandemic has forever altered the future of employment, especially in terms of working from home. Remote working was thought of as a low-wage customer support role before, however as the pandemic hit the world it has drastically shifted demographics as a result of which remote working is now considered to be a new normal, full-time job. We can now complete the same task from anywhere in the world thanks to technological advancements. With the increase in the number of remote employees and virtual teams, the number of tools and applications designed for them is increasing day by day so that the quality of work doesn’t get compromised. In this article, we have compiled some of the tools which work best for remote working, categorised according to their specifications to make it easier for you to grasp. The remote worker’s toolkit should include the following tools:
1. Trello and Asana
Project management would have been questioned when working remotely because it’s a big deal to manage projects that need a large number of tasks to be completed in a particular sequence or workflows that require more sophisticated time control. But thanks to the new technology, it has paved the way. Project management, organisation, and productivity are no more a hassle and can easily be managed sitting at home. From managing big projects to small tasks, everything is at your fingertips. Trello and Asana are the two best tools when it comes to project management. They both can be used as an internal tracker to keep track of the duties individually, or used by your whole team to delegate various roles to different team members. Making it convenient with a visual to-do list, letting team members know when it’s their turn to revisit a job, or keeping staff on schedule for assignments due that day.
They both may be sufficient enough to overcome the management issues but they do differ in some cause. Trello, despite having the best Kanban-style option and being budget-friendly, is not the best one as compared to Asana. As it offers more options and is responsible for the creation and integration of its tasks which is not the case with Trello, as a result, it doesn’t work as smoothly as Asana does.
2. Google Slides, Sheets, Docs
Jobs are changing in unimaginable ways right now. Jobs are no longer a physical location for all of us, instead of having impromptu conversations at the coffee machine or while commuting to meetings, office staff has converted their homes into workstations. This has brought quite challenges in the workfield, especially if you’re a manager, Maintaining team morale and getting tasks on track has become much more difficult. This is where Google workspace comes to the rescue, which includes all the productivity apps, Google Sheets, Google Docs and Google Slides, and much more.
The tools of Google Sheets along with Google Docs and Slides are particularly useful for remote teams. Multiple users can easily open and update the same spreadsheet at the same time using Google Sheets without any hassle. Along with maintaining your privacy, only those people can get access to the sheet to which you have selected or given a link.
Moreover, you can preview a related file in Docs, Sheets, and Slides without having to open a new tab, allowing you to spend less time switching between applications, which means you’ll get more time for work. Content creation is made much easier with these tools, which is the core source of the business.
3. SlideModel and Canva
Since the home has turned into a workspace, business presentations have been a big question. Now is the time for the digital world to take over the conventional one. Seminars are now replaced by webinars, and to present your thoughts in such gatherings whether it’s virtual or in person you need to create persuasive presentations. Creating presentations can be frustrating and time consuming. But thanks to SlideModel as it has made creating presentations much easier and convenient. It provides a wide range of PowerPoint templatesfor presentations to communicate your ideas clearly and engagingly to the audience. These highly customizable templates save much of your time, remaining can be spared on your verbal speech because that too is essential when it comes to presenting your stance.
Although, Canva has been much popular lately as a graphic design tool for people who don’t have the skills to use advanced graphic design software, or even in the field of presentations. But the difference that makes SlideModel more efficient is that you can use the templates directly in Google or Microsoft PowerPoint to edit the templates, these tools that you are already familiar with. Thus, this makes it easy to access and edit according to your requirements, while on the other hand, the process of editing in Canva is a little different.
4. Zoom and Microsoft Teams
You want to make sure you’re interacting with your colleagues correctly, because if the conferences and meetings are not conducted with sufficient means then the business is likely to save problems in its functioning. And with the new normal, many workforces faced a lot of trouble connecting with their workforce as they all are confined to their homes. Thus, apps such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have served as a bridge to eliminate the communication gap between the employees.
You may hold video conferences with one other user or big numbers of people using Zoom and Microsoft teams. It’s not about a regular video call, though you can easily host the whole team conferences or workshops, you can utilize it according to your work base, even webinars can be conducted efficiently through these platforms. You can coauthor files with your employees in real time by sharing screens, making remote communication a lot simpler. With a few taps, you can also exchange files and go from a chat conversation to a meeting in no time.
5. Miro and Stormboard
Online work necessitates remote brainstorming. One way to achieve this is to use an online whiteboard to simulate the feel of whiteboarding in the workplace. And for that Miro and Stormboard work the best.
They will assist in immersive collaborative brainstorming and project planning in a more visual way. it’s a breeze to share all of your data and collaborate while you go. Setting a workflow framework makes the team aware of what’s going on while you put forward the details which will help them work more effectively. Thus, remote worker’s tool kits should include such resources as well.
Conclusion
Today’s workers must be able to do their work well at home, to do so they must have access to the tools they need to be as efficient as they are in the workplace. There’s no mystery that everybody works in their way and faces different obstacles. However, if our issues are related to organization and competitiveness, consider implementing one of the tools mentioned above and you’ll work that thing out for sure.
Remote employees are more likely to be healthy and happy if they have all of these remote job resources in their pockets. Because being adaptive to new tools and digital ways will only help us survive through these hard times, as the new normal is likely to last a little longer.
Printers come in all shapes and sizes the price of course applies but there is various options available for the consumer to buy and especially businesses. For the office printer some can be huge and cumbersome and I have always found them too big and feel they could be made smaller. I have seen many printers the public would not be use to seeing such as our government’s printer that still has not printed a page and cost the taxpayer a colossal amount of money and printers to create maps and plans and so on and the need for those is different however I still find office printers and home printers on the large side but it is what it is I guess.
Mobile printers have been around some years, I remember signing documents printed off one years ago for life insurance and it was a strange looking device and awkward to say the least to set up never mind print a page but things have changed over the years with technology advancing and we now see more mobile printers in use today than ever before and some look the part and do the job whilst some look awful.
The Epson WF-110W mobile printer is a new option and advanced compared to others I have seen and does the job and more and is ideal for conducting business on the go, sales reps, insurance you name it now all sport mobile printers as they call to your home at late hours to get the paperwork signed rather than email it, this is portable, not cumbersome and easy enough to carry in your bag whilst you are on the go, of course you do need to carry paper but that can be left in the car and only a few sheets are required in most cases for printing in someone’s home or office on the road. this comes with WI-FI cloud services and more and has a small screen where you set up to your needs.
I had this set up in 5 minutes which was good and there is little tech know how required here if you just want to print paper or files off or files from your phone or Google cloud services it is simple and the quality is quite good too especially for documents but not so much on images this maybe due to the ink levels I had left on my review unit but overall they are good and that is what matters when your spending such money on a device. Personally I have no printer in the office and must invest in one, I have had printers in the past and they have been just too big and in the way where as this one will sit neatly in any home setting and furthermore you dont need to touch it once set up to get documents or files printed, it works well with the cloud service and general use and an ideal piece of kit to have at your disposal.
Poly recently announced a new 7300 office series of headsets and now that we are using such technology more than ever it is the perfect time to do so, with Teams and Zoom being more prevalent in the workplace this equipment is at the top of the table when it comes to technology and we are now exploring here on techbuzz a series of equipment you can use at home or in the office and products that cater for all pockets and businesses.
The Savi 7300 Office Series offers Poly’s Acoustic Fence microphone technology so workers will always be heard, but never overheard. Built with the latest DECT™ wireless technology, the Savi 7300 Office Series ensures that even the strictest internal security requirements for wireless headsets are met with ease. The Savi 7300 Office Series is designed to the highest level of DECT™ Security Step C, and is further enhanced with 256-bit AES encryption, the same level of maximum protection used for military communications.
We take a first look today and any questions you have feel free to as as usual whilst we take this one for a test run if you want to see the range of what is on offer head over HERE
Poly has announced today that it has sold its 30 millionth IP phone, marking more than 20 years of beautifully engineered, future-proof voice devices trusted by those who are serious about quality audio and pro-grade communication.
The milestone comes amid rapid changes in the marketplace, as businesses transition from on-premise based phone systems to the cloud, and amidst a global pandemic that has exponentially accelerated the adoption and usage of cloud-based services. Poly voice solutions continue to help IT service providers and customers adapt to how and where people work with a full suite of IP desk phones, wireless phones, USB speakerphones, conference phones, analog telephone adapters (ATAs), and installed audio.
Poly’s voice solutions feature some of the industry’s leading technology in audio innovation, including: smart multi-microphone arrays, HD Voice, Acoustic Fence, and NoiseBlock AI technologies. Poly recently announced its DECT™ IP phone Poly Rove, the first and only phone solution to exclusively feature built-in Microban antimicrobial product protection, designed to give frontline workers the confidence to collaborate in high-touch work settings.
Poly’s line of phones has consistently evolved over time, along with the way we choose to communicate at work. It all started with Polycom’s first-ever SoundStation conference phone, which can be found on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Poly’s iconic CCX series is also the first business media phone of its kind to come with or without a handset, providing the option to be used with a headset or a speakerphone instead.
“Technology has changed drastically over time, but the need for high quality phone systems and the ability to connect are constant,” said John Lamarque, vice president and general manager of the voice collaboration and professional headset business unit at Poly. “Poly’s mission is to outfit any and every type of workspace with pro-grade audio technology and high-quality phones to meet your needs, wherever that may be, so you can focus on what matters most.”
For IT and business leaders, Poly voice solutions provide flexibility. Poly works with more than 60 platforms and service providers, including RingCentral, GoTo by LogMeIn, Vonage, Nextiva, Microsoft Teams, and 8×8, so IT and business leaders have the freedom to pick their partner of choice. Poly management solutions make deployments easy and help remotely troubleshoot an issue to its root cause, without requiring IT to travel beyond the cloud.
Poly is a long-time trusted provider of versatile phone solutions for a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organisations. Now more than ever, as organisations seek to solve the challenges of a hybrid workforce, Poly is leading the way with its innovative pro-grade phone solutions.
Poly’s celebrates its legacy in audio innovation, and beautifully designed phones for mission critical calls.
Poly’s latest phones are designed so you can command the conversation wherever you are:
Office solutions – Paying homage to the original SoundStation conference phone, Poly has reimagined conference rooms around the world with the Poly Trio C60, a smart conference phone that features expansion microphones for brilliant audio in large and open spaces. The Trio C60 easily pairs with Poly videoconferencing solutions and makes it easy to launch and join meetings, and also features Alexa for Business so you can join a meeting touch-free. Another device that’s simple to set up and easy to use in the office is the Poly VVX series, beautifully designed, IP desk phones that are compatible with almost any platform. The VVX series features Acoustic Fence technology and blocks out unwanted background noise, so you can sound your best on every call.
Flexible work solutions – For those working from home, on the road or returning to the office, the Poly Sync family of smart speakerphones are USB and Bluetooth enabled devices. These beautifully designed smart speakerphones with award-winning audio can be voice activated to join a meeting and are Zoom and Microsoft Teams certified.
Essential workplace solutions – For critical and essential workplaces, Poly offers the Poly Rove wireless DECT™ IP phones, the first and only phone solution to feature built-in antimicrobial protection from Microban. With Poly Rove, you have the freedom to move around warehouses and shift floors with the confidence to collaborate in high-touch work settings.
“Poly’s differentiated range of IP phone devices deliver one of the industry’s best audio experiences in the market,” said Alaa Saayed, ICT industry director at Frost & Sullivan. “Over time, the company has successfully invigorated its portfolio with the introduction of new desktop models; the delivery of advanced features and capabilities; the partnering with key call control providers; and the implementation of a rock-solid endpoint management system that allows businesses to manage, provision and update Poly phones in a streamlined and simplified manner.”
Since this covid lark began things also started changing for many workers in Ireland and that is working from home, this was already happening though over the last two years and the pandemic only accelerated it. For me it has been the same, gradually over the last three years I left a company I worked for as a contractor for 18 years and found a niche in the industry
I do know of plenty of people that do work from home and have done so for years, long before this situation arrived but the likes of zoom and teams was not needed, we had skype and other means to do business over the phone or via your pc/laptop but now with teams and zoom being hugely popular I chose teams to be my means of contact when I require to speak to more than one person since some people are from strategically placed business in Ireland it is impossible to get all in one place at one time given we do have the rights to travel for essential purposes but me being me I decided to use tech to make life easier for all and get the same job done without moving.
Lets be up front most of our built in webcams are rubbish and you will see why here I have several laptops and they are all brutal with the built in webcam and you will see the difference by using an external webcam and not only that you are not so restricted either as it can be moved anywhere within the cables confines and the picture and audio is also better too, there is people out there who worry about what they look like on the likes of zoom and so on and need to stop this. I did hear a radio topic on this the other day and it is not right worrying how you look on these platforms, If that is you external webcams are for you and we have some in to check out, the one here today is the AUKEY 1080P webcam and it is a simple plug and play and job done, no software no nothing just plug it in and switch to it on whatever platform you are using..
1080P High Resolution: With a 1/3 inch CMOS image sensor, the webcam with a resolution of 1920*1080p delivers clear video for video chatting and video recording, provides good performance even in dimly lit rooms (≤ 5 lux)
Built-in stereo microphone: the two digital microphones provide clear, natural sound and significantly reduce background noise
Plug & Play: Thanks to USB Video Class (UVC) you do not need to install any drivers or software, simply connect to the USB port of your device
Compatible with Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista/7/8/10, Mac OS 10.6 and Android 5.0 or above, works with Smart TV, Android TV Box, Skype, MSN, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Youtube, Yahoo Messenger etc.
Box contents: Aukey PC-LM1E webcam 1080p, instruction manual (English language not guaranteed)
Certification Europe has today announced their partnership with Thrive.App, which has involved the development of an employee engagement and communications app ‘CE Connect’.
Certification Europe Ltd. is a leading accredited Certification Body based in Ireland with offices in the UK, Italy and Japan.
With dispersed teams, across different locations as well as multiple business units (Certification Services, Environmental & Inspectorate Division and Technical Services), Certification Europe needed a ‘central hub’ for sharing latest updates, urgent announcements, in particular regard to Covid-19 news, and also for making sure they continued to lift spirits with competitions, fundraisers, games, onboarding of new employees and celebrating birthdays before and during their move to remote working at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Employee engagement was even more necessary at this time than ever before.
Certificate Europe’s CEO, Michael Brophy:
“Thrive is a perfect fit for our needs. It was quick to implement, it was scalable, and most importantly it did not need specific technical expertise to set it up nor run it. We made a decision to implement the app and very quickly we were able to develop a large amount of content, test it and go-live all within 6 weeks and we have not looked back since.
Over the last 6 months of having CE Connect up and running, Certification Europe has definitely seen an increase in employee engagement. Through having a place to upload weekly update videos, run competitions, let users upload pictures, share comments and like different events, it has been excellent to have through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our Assessment Team have noticed a big change in employee engagement since the introduction of CE Connect. Having always worked remotely or on client sites, they feel there is more interaction between the teams now than ever before.
Overall, we have had a great experience working with Thrive and creating this app for our organisation and look forward to seeing how it grows over time.”
Holly Magill, Senior Innovation Executive and part of the Great Place to Work Team, added:
“Working from home can be isolating, and the app has helped everyone stay in the loop with what’s going on across all areas of the organisation. The company’s ‘Great Place to Work Team’ have been running competitions and fundraisers and the app has made it much easier to reach everyone in the organisation with the notification’s options and the wide range of content options we can include on posts.”
James Scott, CEO, Co-Founder of Thrive adds;
“We are delighted to add Certification Europe to our list of customers and will continue to support them during and beyond these challenging times.
We are on a mission to improve employee experience, everywhere and help as many organisations as we can to shift their communications from traditional methods such as printed newsletters, notice boards and team briefings to instant, secure, engaging mobile apps that helps every employee feel connected, recognised and supported in their role.”
