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Author Archives: ambyrne

Simple and Free Automation: An Introduction to If This Then That
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeSimple and Free Automation: An Introduction to If This Then That

  You don’t need to spend a lot of money on tech and gadgets to automate things in your smart life. In this episode I do a quick introduction to the IFTTT, If this then that service which allows you to connect 2 services together and automate when something happens on one, do something on…
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Why Does Amazon Seem To Hate Ireland?
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeWhy Does Amazon Seem To Hate Ireland?

I’m generally a big fan of Amazon, but they seem to have some strange views about Ireland which I can’t wrap my head around. I’ve had challenges around Prime Video, unusual shipping policies as well as their domain name in general. While I’m trying to integrate a lot of the Amazon Smart Echo System into…
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Control RFID and IR Devices From Your Smartphone And From Voice Assistants
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeControl RFID and IR Devices From Your Smartphone And From Voice Assistants

Controlling Radio Frequency and Infrared devices in your smart home is a breeze with the help of a couple of little devices from a company called Broadlink. In this video I’ll briefly discuss 2 of their products which can help you to automate and control everything from TVs to fans, gates and garage doors from…
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Smart Homes Are Sometimes Trial and Error. I Messed Up, Don't Try This At Home
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeSmart Homes Are Sometimes Trial and Error. I Messed Up, Don’t Try This At Home

Over the last couple of years I’ve been upgrading my apartment and adding smart technology. Sometimes though things don’t go according to plan and, with any DIY there are pitfalls and mistakes. This week I wanted to flush mount some Amazon Echos into the ceilings in my bathrooms, unfortunately i hit a snag not to…
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All The Alexa & Echo Devices From Amazon's Alexa Event 2019
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAll The Alexa & Echo Devices From Amazon’s Alexa Event 2019

  This week I take a brief look at the new Alexa and Echo devices from Amazon’s September 2019 Alexa Event. I’ll look at the devices from a very quick first impression and which I’d be likely to buy and why. Links to some of these devices below: New Echo 3rd Generation: https://amzn.to/2oxE4SV Echo Dot…
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Using Smart Technology To Prevent Disasters - Except This Video
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeUsing Smart Technology To Prevent Disasters – Except This Video

  I’ve been in the unfortunate position of having a minor flood in my apartment. Being a techie guy, I wanted to see if I could use smart technology to help me out and hopefully prevent this from happening again. With that in mind I look at sensors and more specifically water leak sensors and…
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Getting Locked the Smart Way - An Introduction To Smart Locks
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – Getting Locked The Right Way – An Introduction To Smart Locks

In this episode I’ll talk about the pros and cons of smart locks. I’ll address some of the security concerns as well as point out that the idea is really not a new concept. I’ll go off on a little ramble about how some locks work and point out the differences in types of locks…
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WiFi Smart Power Strip Unboxing & Setup
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeWiFi Smart Power Strip Unboxing & Setup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FQdMq7GssU   In this quick unboxing I look at smart WiFi power strips. I’ve purchased several of these and they are quick and easy to use, but the possibilities are endless.   In this video I show the unboxing of a 4×4 Strip with 4 Plug Sockets and 4 USBs which can be controlled from…
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All That You Can Leave Behind - What I Carry in My Smart Life
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – All That You Can Leave Behind: What I Carry in My Smart Life

In a slight change of pace, I discuss the things that I do and don’t carry in my Smart Life. Using technology and simplifying my life, I’ve reduced the things that I have to keep in my pockets as well as the things I have to worry about. No, with a combination of smart and…
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Ring Door View Cam Quick Unboxing & Setup
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – Ring Door View Cam Quick Unboxing & Setup

In this video I unbox the new Ring Door View Cam, designed for apartments and homes where physically wiring a doorbell camera would not be possible. I quickly go through the unboxing of the device and install it on my apartment door. I’ll follow up with a review and discussion of the features and functions…
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Make Any Device 'Smart' With Simple To Use Smart Plugs
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – Make Any Device ‘Smart’ With Simple To Use Smart Plugs

This week I look at Smart Plugs and smart power strips. With these add-ons to your smart home, you can make even non-smart devices smart with the ability to switch on and off as well as set routines and timers using the SmartLife mobile app, or voice control with Amazon Echo or Google hub. I’ve…
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Andy's Smart Life - Get Started with Smart Lights & Get to Know Philips Hue
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – Get Started with Smart Lights & Get to Know Philips Hue

Go to the YouTube Channel here. In this video I will talk about smart lighting solutions and highlight the option that I’ve installed in my home, the Philips Hue lights. Although there are many companies producing smart lighting, Philips have probably the easiest setup and installation as well as a simple app which is user friendly…
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Andy’s Smart Life – Introduction & Echo Show 5 Quick Overview
by ambyrne
Andy's Smart LifeAndy’s Smart Life – Introduction & Echo Show 5 Quick Overview

Go to the YouTube Channel here. This is the first video in my new series called Andy’s Smart Life where I discuss smart technology, internet of things, taking control of your digital life and my efforts to make my life more fun and simplified through the use of gadgets and technology. In this first video…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Technology5 Ways To Re-Take Control Of Your E-Mail

Whether its our personal account or personal inbox, e-mail is a challenge to manage these days. The idea was that electronic mail was to reduce the amount of things we got in the post and make life easier, but today we are bombarded with newsletters, spam, adverts and countless other things that clog our folders…
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Global companies need to treat international customers the same
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyTreating customers differently by their region is counter productive

Living in Ireland I’ve always been struck by the fact that it seems that little bit more difficult sometimes to get the products and services that I’m looking for. This isn’t something new. Since I was a child and wanted to join the Lego club I found challenges based on the fact that I was…
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Time is our most valuable commodity
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionWe all want more, here’s the secret… we’ve already got it

Much as I’m not into sports one of my favorite movies is the classic American football movie Any Given Sunday. If you haven’t had the chance, its one of those movies that might initially put some people off with the premise, a jaded coach trying to pull his team back together and get them over…
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Technology might decide to kill us
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyTechnology might decide to kill us, and we need to be okay with that.

Science fiction is full of stories of killer machines and the rise of the robots which often gives us this overblown idea that the technology of the future will be malicious and out to end the human race. We’ve even had people warning about the dangers of the rise of artificial intelligence and how this…
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Is the future of wearables in your eyes
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyTechnology is in the eye of the beholder

While wearable haven’t had the impact on the public and even in the technology space that may were hoping for there is still hope for electronics that are on our person or even embedded within us. From chips under the skin to fitness bands there’s no shortage of different ideas that are being researched, but…
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by ambyrne
TechnologyWho are you going to call? Are they human? Are they AI?

In the past auto dialers were used by sales and marketing companies, scammers as well as schools to do everything from plugging products, trying to skim money or even announcing snow days. While these were useful there was no mistaking the prerecorded message that you were hearing and no real interaction took place. In more…
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Social Isolation
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionSocial Isolation: 1141 is the loneliest number

We’re all increasingly living in isolation. It seems like such a contradiction given the perceived importance and focus on social media in our lives, but the last few years have made me reevaluate the actual interactions we have with people and the way in which we connect with others. I would regard myself as a…
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we've willingly surrendered our data
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyOur Data Is No Longer Our Own

Much as I’m not a fan, I can’t help but be impressed at Mark Zuckerberg’s performance in his testimony in the US in the last couple of weeks. He’s remained calm and patient and explained and defended Facebook and technology companies in general well and effectively in the face of some tough challenges, not the…
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Question Bias
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Operations, OpinionThe right questions can give you the wrong answers

There’s something really interesting I’ve noticed when looking at online surveys and questionnaires in the last few weeks. If you read the questions out loud and really think about them, sometimes, and only sometimes, you can you guess what the answer is they are looking for, It’s one of those interesting things that I come…
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All industries should learn to innovate
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyAll industries should practice innovation

There are some industries that you don’t typically think of as being innovative, for example you may think that the only change in the dairy industry in the last 50 years is moving from glass bottles to paper cartons, and in truth you’d be forgiven for thinking this at times. Let’s begin though with what…
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Do not read this blog post
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionDon’t read this post, go out and do something

Okay, maybe read a little bit, but you don’t have to read the whole thing. We’re all guilty of setting unrealistic goals for ourselves. We’ve all had ideas that we thought were going to be the best thing we’ve ever done, and yet, more often than not, we don’t follow through. Perhaps we keep saying…
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Your CV is important but isn't the only thing to use job hunting
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionWhy you CV isn’t enough anymore

Over the last few weeks and months I’ve been asked by a lot of people about the content and layout of their CV, and, it’s still true that this couple of pages that describes your experience and skills is incredibly important, but it’s not the only way that potential employers and companies find out about…
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The gun debate rages on
by ambyrne
OpinionUS – More sticks on the playground, more money in the pockets

Some in the media in the US are hoping that the latest mass shooting in Florida might finally change the conversation on gun control from non-existent to at least something resembling common sense, and that this time around some sort of compromise can be reached where, for the most part, people are happy. With movements…
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gun control is about money, not rights
by ambyrne
OpinionLet’s stop pretending its about rights, its about money

This week saw yet another mass shooting in the United States, and like so many before, this one was committed in a school by someone who should have no business owning a gun, let alone an assault rifle capable of so much death and destruction, and yet this is the USA of today. Guns have…
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Amazon healthcare
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionCan Amazon provide one click to buy healthcare?

Elon Musk is planning on conquering the final frontier. It’s no secret that I’m fascinated by the SpaceX works as well as everything else he is working on, but recently none has captured the imagination more than the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket in the last few days. Musk, in his usual o.t.t antics,…
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Cardboard meets technology is interesting and charming
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyCardboard is the new silicon

It’s a strange thing for someone like me, who is very anti-paper and pro everything technology to find a strange fascination with all things cardboard. If this seems to you as the reader a massive contradiction, I have no choice but to put my hands up and agree. But, before you start laughing and asking…
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Keep your energy up when taking business calls
by ambyrne
OperationsKeep your energy up when taking business calls

We’ve talked about our pitch and pace. We’ve talked about smiling and we’ve even looked at the way we emphasis words to affect the meaning and message we get across, but what about energy? This may seem a little vague, but all of the things we’ve looked at in the previous posts are for nothing…
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Placing emphasis on different words can change our message
by ambyrne
OperationsEmphasis and focusing on specific words to change our message

In previous posts I talked about tone of voice and pitch and pace when dealing with clients over the phone, but let’s see how emphasis can change the meaning of words and impact the message we’re trying to get across. A great example I learned years ago is the simple sentence “I never said he…
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Watching your pitch and pace on a call can change how you come across
by ambyrne
OperationsWatching your pitch and pace on a business call

I’d like to make it very clear at this point that a lot of these techniques and observations in the last few posts are very small stepping-stones. They are small little LEGO bricks that, when put on top of each other, put altogether and used consistently and effectively, will build to the picture of a…
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Your body language can come across on a call
by ambyrne
OperationsChange your posture and expression for better business calls

In previous posts I talked about the preparation time that a customer has in advance of calling your business when they have a question or an issue. I also talked about the fact that a lot of the interaction is lost when you lose the face to face and body language aspect of the communication….
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Non verbal communication
by ambyrne
OperationsWe lose much of the non-verbal language over the phone

When a client or customer calls your business, within the first 15 seconds, the customer has decided whether or not they like us or not. It’s all about first impressions like in face to face communications, and it’s all the more vital when it’s over the phone to build a connection with the person on…
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customers have all the time in the world to prepare for the call
by ambyrne
OperationsCustomers will prepare for the call to your business when there’s a problem

If you are running a business, no mater how big or small, you may end up dealing with challenging calls when things go wrong. This isn’t necessarily because you’ve done something bad, but no business should ever expect to have a 100% success rate with every customer, and the first thing most people will do when…
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Email overload
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OperationsHow an empty inbox became a happy inbox

We’ve all been there. Our notification counter on the little envelop icon showing a number that makes us dread clicking. Our unread e-mails have spiraled to a level where we think we’ll never possibly be able to read them all. You know 90% is probably junk, be it spam, newsletters from that home wares shop…
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Theres a good reason hollywood should keep making superhero movies
by ambyrne
OpinionHollywood Should Keep Making Super Hero Movies

There’s been a certain amount of criticism directed at the film industry over the last few years. Setting aside some of the scandals and more unseemly things that seem to happen in show business, the films they are producing are also subject to discussion. On several occasions lately I’ve seen actors and celebrities state that…
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Do people need to take responsibility for what they post
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyDoes your social media belong to you?

Social media is a double-edged sword for many people. The ability to connect with people from your past or over long distances is making the world smaller and more connected, but at the same time the pitfalls and potential challenges of being constantly online are ever-present and more and more public when things go wrong….
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Your career trajectory doesn't have to be a strict straight line
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionTaking a step back to move forward in your career

There’s a long-held belief that people have that in their career the trajectory has to be always upward. It’s the assumption that a lot of us make when we enter the jobs market or begin working for the first time that if we work long enough, and hard enough of course, that we will progress…
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Are schools teaching poor work life balance
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionSchools might be teaching kids to accept poor work / life balance

While I still have many years before my daughter starts school I couldn’t help thinking about the prospect the other day. Primarily as the need to enroll children up to the local or chosen school is needed earlier and earlier in their lives, so I found myself wandering in my mind back to when I…
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Staying at home for 6 months with my daughter
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionWhy I’m glad I stayed at home

I have new-found respect and admiration for all parents in the last year. I always knew that becoming a parent was a tough job and that it no other job is like it and in truth its something I had wondered about how I would deal with if and when the situation arose for me….
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Should we fear CRISPR humans
by ambyrne
OpinionShould we fear CRISPR humans?

Another technology that we’re going to hear a lot about in 2018 is the gene therapy system CRISPR. Like many of the advances in science and tech that I have talked about previously, this one has been talked about and at times speculated in sci-fi television and movies for years. While many people hear about…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyIs your smartphone going to be your next laptop

It’s no secret that the cost of smartphones has gone up in the last few years, and the logical reason is because of all the bells and whistles that you now get from your handheld devices. The truth is that the internal hardware of your phone has come on leaps and bounds even in the…
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What you may have missed over the christmas break
by ambyrne
News, TechnologyWhat you might have missed

I made the decision shortly before Christmas to put my blogging on pause, thinking that there couldn’t be much happening over the holiday period that wouldn’t be massively interesting. How wrong I was, I missed so much. In the tech world it seemed like companies decided to sneak in last-minute bombshells and interesting stories just…
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Broken glass
by ambyrne
News, TechnologyNo longer walking on broken glass?

If you’re a fan of Terminator 2, you can’t help but be swept up in the idea of liquid metal. In case you haven’t seen the film, a machine from the future, sent back to kill the leader of the human resistance in his youth, can form itself into various shapes by virtue of the…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionMake something for Christmas and do it together

While I love the new gadgets and tech that comes on the market, I’ve definitely been fascinated lately by the number of retro consoles and boxes out there that emulate old Super Nintendo systems or Sega Mega Drives, or even old arcade games. There’s something really cool on top of the nostalgia to go back…
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The GDPR will have an impact on virtually every business
by ambyrne
News, OperationsWhat is this GDPR thing I keep hearing about?

GDPR is on its way, but what is it? You’ve probably at some point or another come across something about the Data Protection Act or some other form of regulation that protects personal data from being misused, sold or otherwise tampered with or exploited. It’s often the case that when consumers have disagreements with companies…
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Hacking the human body is the new ear piercing
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyAre we ready to hack the human body?

Much of the technology I look into and implement in my own home tends to be smart home technology. Voice command systems, motion sensors and the like, and, even though at first it was a bit of a novelty, through repetitive use, I really have found them beneficial in day-to-day life. At the same time…
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Knowing when to walk away is just as important as staying the course
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionKnowing when to quit is just as important as staying the course

There’s this old image of two guys digging a diamond mine and both look exhausted. Both are near to pockets of diamonds, but neither know this and one has decided to quit right before hitting the goal. It’s designed to teach people the importance of perseverance and that you should keep trying your best as…
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It's important to have a reason and not just an objective
by ambyrne
Operations, OpinionWhen setting a goal, start with the reason first

Okay, so the title of this post not only gives away the purpose, but is probably for many people a bit obvious, but I do want to put a little bit of a spin on it. Most good project managers and team leaders in any business will tell you that whenever you have a task…
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When Tech Giants Fight everyone loses
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyWhen Tech Giants Fight Everybody loses

It used to be the case that when big companies decided to engage in rivalry on the public stage the consumer could reap the benefits. It was a great way of increasing competition, getting greater brand awareness, and it often lead to reduced prices or better value for the customer. Take the examples of Burger…
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Things can be done with speed and still done well
by ambyrne
OperationsDoing things with speed doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality

So we’ve been set a goal or a target. In previous posts I discussed how we needed to visualize success in order to get ourselves in the right mindset for getting to 100%. I also discussed how aiming beyond the target could help us from that ever destructive fatigue towards the end of a target…
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Voyage 1 reconnects with us from 13 billion miles away yet we watch fake news
by ambyrne
OpinionHow can humanity be both interstellar and still so small?

I’ve always loved space exploration. Since I was a child I’ve looked up and marveled at just how big the universe above us really is and hoped one day to see a time when humanity set foot on another planet or made contact with something beyond ourselves. It may seem like a dream or science…
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by ambyrne
OperationsWhy do we slow down as we approach the finishing line?

One of the biggest challenges of hitting a goal is the strange phenomenon that as we reach 70% / 80% of the objective, people, particularly sales people seem to slow down. Perhaps its the fatigue and the work and effort that’s been put in so far in hitting what they’ve already hit. It’s a strange…
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by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologySMS changed the world in 160 characters or less

Last Sunday market 25 years since the first SMS was sent and it’s fitting that the message sent from engineer Neil Papworth’s computer was to a then director of Vodafone Richard Jarvis was ‘Merry Christmas’ as it kicked off a huge new revenue stream for Vodafone and for telecoms companies as a whole. From those humble beginnings…
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Visualize your goals for better success
by ambyrne
OperationsVisualizing success to realize goals and targets

Years ago I worked for a company that had really tough sales targets. Achieving them was a challenge for everyone on my team and often we faced the thought in our minds that we would never possibly hit the goal we were striving for. Fortunately I was training with a group in the UK that…
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Make a profit and make the world a better place
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyYou can be a profitable startup and save the world

I’d say for most people today when you hear the word startup the images that come to mind are of tech companies or guys huddled in a garage somewhere. Or if you believe the myth that all IT startups get huge funding right off the bat, you might think of brightly colored office spaces where…
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Big data has a huge amount of information about your online usage
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyBig data is watching. Do you know how much they know.

There are many things you need to watch out for when you’re online today. From scam e-mails to people phishing for your credit card details there are pitfalls when you’re browsing that thankfully have been well publicized and we are more and more aware of. But there are other things to be aware of that…
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We all need support and routine to prevent feeling alone or disconnected
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionIt’s always important to have a strong support network and a place to rest

It’s the same with everyone I suppose. As our lives progress and we get busy with everything else that comes along we lose touch with people. It’s the usual way of things, and no matter how close you are in school, college or whatever, things change. It’s not always possible to sustain the relationships and…
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Natural input to your computer is closer than you think
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyNatural input devices could replace your keyboard soon

Let’s face it, it’s a little bit artificial to use a keyboard. You may be very proficient at typing, but I’m sure everyone would prefer another way of interacting with their computer. Or then again maybe not, perhaps the idea of using the keyboard helps remind us that we are using a piece of technology…
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Chromebook is a cheap and easy alternative to laptops
by ambyrne
TechnologyWhat is a Chromebook and should I buy one?

As the Christmas period is approaching, laptops and PC’s are going to be on many people’s wish lists, either for themselves or for others. The level of choice out there is huge, and I’ve previously posted about the specifications and the requirements you might look for when buying a new device, but one of the…
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Black Friday Sales are here, what should i buy
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionWell I had to post something about Black Friday!

I’ve heard a few people grumbling over the last few days that they don’t ‘get’ Black Friday. It’s one of those strange phenomena we have imported from the US and kind of just forgotten that fact. Although its been a huge deal in the States for years, particularly in retail, I’ve only really taken notice…
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Acting has always been a passion of mine, but there are also secondary benefits to performance
by ambyrne
LifestyleAct now! But just for the fun of it

Outside of the technology and start-up space, one of my passions is for drama. I’ve always loved to act for as long as I can remember and even have memories as a child of putting on little shows and plays for family and friends before properly treading the boards in secondary school during school plays…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyNet Neutrality is important for all of us

You may or may not have heard conversations in the last few days around net neutrality and if you’re thinking it’s something tech related, or only effecting businesses and giants like Google or Facebook I’m going to be the barer of some bad news; this is a big deal for all of us. I’m picking…
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Tesla is expanding from cars to semi trucks
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyCan Tesla’s new fleet of electric trucks really deliver?

I’m a fan of Elon Musk, or at the very least I’m a fan of his vision for the future. Green energy, life on Mars and a truly self-sustaining way of living. That hasn’t stopped me from acknowledging that he is reportedly difficult to work with, demanding and even controversial. More than that his optimism…
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What's taking so long in adopting wireless charging
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyWireless charging seems to be taking forever

Back in 2012 I bought myself a Samsung Note 2, which, at the time was the answer to all my mobile concerns. It was a phone, a miniature tablet and a writing device all at once, and although the functionality is nothing like what you would expect today, this device packed a punch. Within a…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyDo micro-transactions kill the fun of computer games?

Today with micro-transactions you are paying again for a game you already own. When I was a kid buying a new computer game was a big deal. I still remember vividly the day I saw the box for Monkey Island 2 and, it being about 6 weeks away, I starting dropping hints for my birthday…
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Still not sure about smart locks
by ambyrne
TechnologyI hate keys, but I’m not quite sold on smart locks

I’ve talked in previous posts about my move to turn my home into a truly smart apartment and in the process of this I’ve been looking into smart locks. Let’s start from where a lot of my fondness for technology and gadgets comes from, my hatred of something else, in this case keys. I’ve always…
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Smart pills can help keep track of medications
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologySoon digital pills could keep track of our medication

Doctors prescribing medications have lots to think about, be it the dosage that the person will receive, whether its counter indicated with some other drug that they are taking, side effects the patient might suffer as well as dozens of other considerations that they may have before they take out their prescription pad. You would…
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Christmas comes earlier every year
by ambyrne
OpinionChristmas starting early shows we just can’t live in the now

The day after Halloween the shops had already started to change their displays from the customary ghosts and witches to festive Christmas decorations, cut outs of Santa Claus and his reindeer and so on and so forth, which really frustrated me for some reason more this year than ever before. It almost seemed that when…
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Is the tv licence still fit for purpose
by ambyrne
OpinionTV Licences don’t make sense in the digital era

Over the past few weeks the conversation about the TV licences has reared its head again in Ireland with different people from different sides making cases for and against the increasingly controversial levy that households are expected to pay. If you are reading this from outside Europe you might be a bit confused. Why a…
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Choose wisely before you buy a laptop
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyBefore you buy your next laptop think carefully about what you need it for

Between now and Christmas there will be an up surge in people buying laptops, both for themselves and for family and friends. Many small businesses will also consider replacing and updating in the sales that seem to inevitably follow the holiday season, and, although there’s plenty of choice out there, there are some pitfalls to…
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Stop making excuses and putting that idea off
by ambyrne
LifestyleIf there’s little to lose, why not risk start your idea?

I come across a lot of people who have great ideas on a regular basis. In fact the truth is that everyone has really good ideas from time to time, but so many of us there is this failure to act on these ideas that hangs over us. This can be some pipe dream that…
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Remote working isn't always the best way
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionRemote working is great in theory, but use it sparingly

About 10 years ago there was a big move by large companies in Ireland to follow the trends they were seeing coming from the US and in particular the blue chip and high value tech companies in terms of how they treat culture in the work place. Ireland, like much of the world still had…
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Cloud based storage
by ambyrne
TechnologyLive in the clouds to avoid data disaster

Everyone has probably had the same experience, a lost phone full of photos, a laptop that just packs it in for no apparent reason or even a keydrive that gets misplaced with some important documents. The chances of loosing data that is critical or images and files that have sentimental value like family photos being…
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by ambyrne
LifestyleA shredder is a new must have item for your home

A new tool against your money being taken and your identity being stolen is a really old one, the humble shredder. Time was the idea of identity theft made for good movies and heist films, and the idea of the con man seemed a little detached from reality, you got the usual fishing attempts from…
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by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologyDoes Twitter have a long term future?

Twitter is one of those weird companies that I can never really get a handle on. They are global brand which has a recognition that would probably rival the likes of McDonald’s these days, and yet the platform still seems to be having difficulty actually making all that much money. Anyone who has looked into…
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Step outside your comfort zone
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionPushing outside your comfort zone

The old adage goes that you should try to do at least one thing every day that scares you, and while, at this time of year that might mean putting on cheesy horror films or going through a scary show, what it really means is do something that pushes you outside your comfort zone. It’s…
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Fake News
by ambyrne
News, OpinionNews will always be fake as long as we don’t investigate for ourselves

Like many people I’m sick of hearing the phrase ‘fake news’ thrown about by politicians, disgraced producers and anyone who generally disagrees with the tone or content that a certain broadcaster or news medium decides to put to the public. While the term isn’t necessarily new, it’s definitely been coined to maximum effect by the…
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Smart Homes
by ambyrne
Opinion, TechnologySmart homes from scratch still seem a long way off

Given that I’ve been watching a lot of science fiction movies over the past few weeks it’s no surprise that as an early adopter in technology feel slightly frustrated at times with the progress we’ve made toward certain ideas. I’m not for one second saying that we should all have flying cars or be able…
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Artificial Intelligence
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyArtificial Intelligence should frighten us all, and not for the reasons you think

There has been so much talk in recent weeks and months about the advancement of Artificial Intelligence, or AI and for the most part it seems that people want the technology to move forward with the assumption that it will be of benefit to humanity. The current thinking is that AI will create better self-driving…
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mart Watches We Just Can't Get A Handle On
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyWe just haven’t taken SmartWatches by the hand

When they were first brought to the attention of the public smart watches seemed to be the new darling of the gadget world. Take something that virtually everyone wears and make it smart, not only that but make it something that people would actually like to have smart functionality in, unlike the ill-fated Google Glass…
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Amazon Prime Deliveries
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, NewsWould you let a courier in when you’re not at home?

Seems like the title of this post is a bit of a no-brainer. If I’m not home, how can I get a courier into my house? We’ll believe it or not that is what Amazon are proposing over in the US. While it will probably be months if not years before we see them offering…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionIs there a purpose to prepaid credit cards?

Something that I’ve always been surprised at is that, although there are many different options and suppliers, prepaid credit cards, particularly in Ireland seem to not have ever achieved the traction that i would have expected. There’s the obvious benefit for those who do not have a normal credit card from a bank or financial…
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Data Breach
by ambyrne
TechnologyPasswords are no longer enough to secure your stuff

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen news reports of high-profile hacks and data breaches from even the most seemingly security conscious companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft and more. We’ve even had a major US agency responsible for credit scores and financial rating admit to letting more than 143 million users details, not only of…
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Parting with our money
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyWhy we love new ways of parting with our money

We have a fascination today with payment services it seems. Although most of us are looking for ways of saving money for the most part, we are at times living a contradiction when it comes to how easy we want it to be when we do want us to part with our money. It’s an…
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Bitcoin
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyAll the way to the bank, or not, with Bitcoin

There’s been so much talk of Bitcoin in the last couple of years, even to the point where it’s now being mentioned in TV shows and has slowly but surely become a topic of conversation when people mention everything from gaming, to gambling to illegal activities. But what is Bitcoin, and will it have an…
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Learn to code
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyWe should all learn to code before our next job interview

A couple of decades ago not having any computer experience was something that was a non issue when going for a job interview. Even when I was growing up, it was the exception rather than the rule to be asked if you had working knowledge of a PC, but as time went on this changed…
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Raspberry PI
by ambyrne
TechnologyBake some Raspberry Pi & control the world

For most people, the idea of messing around with a piece of computer hardware might seem alien in the same way that trying to do anything with a car engine is to me, but recently several devices and kits have been released to the market that mean even the most novice techie, following a set…
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Entering Startup
by ambyrne
LifestyleStartup life is a strange kind of life

Up until a few years ago I had a really good job. It was one of those jobs that before I got it I believed was my dream job, and in truth for the first 3 or 4 years I enjoyed pretty much every minute. It was well paid, challenging and enabled me to work…
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Apple
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, Opinion, TechnologyHas Apple fallen too far from the tree?

Full disclosure before you continue reading this post, I’m not a fan of Apple and I can’t say that I ever have been. I’ve long-held the belief that they are one of the best companies in the world when it comes to marketing their products as well as being brilliant at design, but although they…
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Geeks Inherit The Earth
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyThe geek will inherit the earth, and I’m delighted

Watching the new Star Trek series on Netflix the other night a thought struck me, I’m still a geek. It wasn’t the first time I had the idea pop into my head, it was just the co-incidence of simultaneously getting a message on Facebook from someone I went to school with. These things will all…
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Oculus Go
by ambyrne
TechnologyOculus may have finally created a VR headset for everyone

Virtual Reality is one of those technologies which keeps coming around and yet somehow until recently never really seemed to find its footing. The main reasons for this were the technology itself which just wasn’t fluid enough to make for a really immersive experience, and the other major issue, its expensive, cumbersome and generally a…
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Kindle vs paper
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyPaper, plastic screen or audio? Why not to fear the changing face of books.

Living in an apartment means that space is limited at this leads to the occasional clear out of clothes, old pots and pans, and most recently DVD’s and books. Before the bibliophile’s get up in arms, please be prepared to hear me out. I do love books, I enjoy reading and I confess that over…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionWorld Mental Health Day – Let’s Talk

There are many things I would have liked to learn in school, and a lot of things I know that can’t be learned or taught in these environments, but today I was reflecting on the first time I really thought about mental health. I remember having a discussion in primary school about how, even surrounded…
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Work Life Balance
by ambyrne
LifestyleBalancing work and life with call screening in the 21st Century

I used to get a lot of calls on my mobile. I mean a lot. I’ve had the same number since as far back as I was about 13 and this means that there are so many people who have my contact details from old school friends, casual acquaintances, not to mention people I’ve worked…
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Save the world
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, OpinionDo dreamers need to be ruthless to save all of us?

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes, we’ve all heard the quote made famous by Steve Jobs during the Think Different campaign from Apple but who are today’s crazy ones and how are they making our world different? More importantly are they forcing us…
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by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologySci-Fi may have just made learning a foreign language obsolete

The universal translator has been a familiar trope of science fiction works for as long as I can remember as the idea provides the writer the ability to get past the language barriers that would make much of their stories more cumbersome, or altogether impossible. The act of travelling to an alien world and allowing…
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Amazon Echo
by ambyrne
Lifestyle, TechnologyHow Amazon’s Echo & Alexa might save your life.

At some point or another we’ve had the experience of misplacing our phones. For most people it’s an inconvenience as we know we’ve left if somewhere in our room, apartment, house or whatever, but what happens when this comes at a time when its really needed, or worse, a time when it’s a genuine emergency….
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Andy Byrne
by ambyrne
NewsAndy Appointed COO of innovation startup Playtank.net

WeDevelop would like to congratulate and wish the best of luck to our current Managing Director and co-founder Andy Byrne who has been appointed Chief Operations Officer for PlayTank.net. PlayTank is a social collaboration tool, on a mission to democratize innovation which enables participants to easily extract components of an innovation concept and reuse them in…
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What goes up, must come down
by ambyrne
Blog PostNovelty wears off. What goes up…. must come down.

So the novelty of the first few weeks in business began to wear off and the reality of what was in front of us began to loom for the first time. We needed to balance the need to get clients, keep money rolling in with trying to create the best service and solution for the…
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Moving on up
by ambyrne
Blog PostMoving up in the world, or time is on my side, yes it is…

It was January 2015…. We were away and running. The business had a small number of clients and things were on the up and up. Through a little bit of wrangling by one of the team we had even managed to secure an office above a shop in the city centre. We felt like a…
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Stepping into the unknown
by ambyrne
Blog PostWhat I learned from our first year in business: The Early Days

As I arrived in the office on the first day back in 2016 I couldn’t help get that sinking feeling. Sure the business had ended on a high when we broke for christmas on the 18th of December, but even after a couple of weeks off I couldn’t help but feel tired. I’m delighted to…
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Redg's Startup Story (Interview Highlights):
by ambyrne
InterviewAn interview with Redg Snoddgrass, CEO Wearable World

Interview with Redg Snoddgrass, CEO Wearable World for InspiredStartups.com For this interview for inspiredstartups, Andy chats with Redg Snodgrass, the founder and CEO at Wearable World, Silicon Valley incubator focused on seed stage Wearable Technology and IoT based companies. Redg is also on the founding team of SKOUT, global mobile social network for meeting new people. Redg puts on…
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