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Category Archives: Technology

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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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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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, 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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