Search here...
Subscribe
Home Blog Page 117

Please don’t do it Snapchat

Jon
-
0
Please don’t do it Snapchat

As our avid readers will already know, we here at Goos3D don’t do ads. We don’t like them, we think they ruin the enjoyable experience of reading our lovely stories. Shame isn’t it that most other companies don’t feel as passionately about this as we do. Recently my favorite app, Snapchat could be getting unstoppable ads. Ya i’m not happy about this either.

NOOOOOOOOoooooo

Snapchat has been so revolutionary in terms of social media in recent years that plenty of companies have copied them. Think stories! Since Snapchat had great success letting people share their day to day lives with all their contacts live and in the moment, other platforms such as Faceboook and Instagram have “borrowed” this idea. As a result Snapchat have had a few issues keeping their users.

More and more people are sharing their moments on Instagram and Facebook over Snapchat. That god dam Boomerang has ruined everything! Maybe the already existing ads have contributed to Snapchats downfall and things are about to get worse, much worse indeed.

 

At the moment we can all skip the ads, so they aren’t too noticeable or intrusive but as ever money trumps experience and the fine idiots at Snapchat are rumored to be making a few changes in their next update.

Yup, unskippable ads… already the bane of many a YouTube binges or general online video content. We all hate them so why force us to watch them?

Well the answer is simple, money. Just check out this quote from Ad Age:

“Advertisers are not spending as much as they have previously with Snapchat.

“They have to do something that draws more interest from advertisers, and they are getting more aggressive to address the market’s needs.”

So basically because we as the users don’t want or like ads we are going to be forced to watch at least 3 seconds of an ad before we can skip, if we will be allowed skip at all. Whatever about me and you but the younger generation are even less likely to deal with the BS of in-bedded advertising hence this idea of forcing engagement to keep their attention for as long as possible. That’s if they don’t switch off the app completely.

Good Bye Snapchat?

This bothers me because surely innovation, customer feedback and creating an app that increased interaction through choice rather than force is more beneficial to both Snapchat and its users. Try telling that to the bean counters I guess.

Well I for one will not bother my arse watching that crap and if I feel this way I can only imagine plenty of you feel the same. At least on Facebook and Twitter we can scroll past the ads right?

Probably better off following us on them then. 😉

Twas The Night Before Goos3Dmas…

Gary
-
0
Twas The Night Before Goos3Dmas…

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Goos3D tower,

Everyone was ready, all shaved and showered.

Christmas party night, we could wait no more,

5pm came and we skipped out the door!

“Lets party!” shouted Dean, his excitement a-plenty,

He booked us an Uber, and pulled out a twenty.

We headed for town, 12 pubs was the plan,

All paid for by Marty, he’s some man for one man.

Dublin Pub Finder was installed on his phone,

And Google Maps too, so we could find our way home.

The first pub was quiet, no Christmas fun…

One very quick drink, and then we were done.

The second pub beckoned, we checked out our app,

Down the street, turn left, and straight through the gap.

Gary was eager, he ordered his beer,

And checked in on Facebook, so we all knew he’s here.

But then Dean turn around, someone was gone…

Marty looked up and said, “Where the fuck is Jon??”

Jon was outside with a lady in blue,

And he was besotted, so he left the Goos3D crew.

But now she had gone, there was no more chat,

He’d not got her number. He thought, “Well, that’s that”.

He waited outside on the cold winter night,

All of a sudden, in the sky, shining bright.

The jolly laughter, sleigh bells a ringing,

“Let it snow! Let it snow!”, someone was singing.

Jon rubbed his eyes, gave a gasp and paused.

Standing in front of him, was THE Santa Claus!

“How’s the form Santa? You out on the rip?”

“I’m working!” said Santa, and gave his ear a clip!

Dean, Gary and Martin, all rushed outside,

When they looked up and seen Santa, they all nearly died!

Jon Knew that Santa was in a bit of a panic.

“My sleighs broken down, do you know a mechanic?”

“Help me out lads”, Santa was pleading

“I’m already late, and was done for speeding!”

Dean was excited, like a happy young boy,

He’d seen Santa’s sack, overflowing with toys

“I’ll help you out, for a modest fee,

You’ve loads of toys there, you can spare one for me”

“Whatever you want, just say it, it’s yours!”

By now Santa was begging, down on all fours.

“What’s the problem” asked Martin, showing concern,

“My sat nav is dodgy, and I made a wrong turn”

“Now it’s not working, and I’m no good with tech!”

Gary knew he could help, and said “Hang on a sec”

They all checked the sat nav, it had an error displayed.

“Easy!” they said, “you just need an upgrade!”

Jon tethered the sat nav to his Samsung S8,

And within a flash, it was working great!

“Thank you so much!”, Santa said with a smirk,

“You’ve been ever so helpful, where do you work?”

“We’re all from Goos3D, empowering the nation!”

“And Goos3D tower could use a brand new Playstation”

“No problem at all, I have one right here!”

“Now back to the pub, for more Christmas cheer!”

“Thanks Santa” they shouted, “We’re just happy it’s fixed”,

And as Santa left, they were all transfixed.

“He’s gone” said Gary, “but what happens now?”

Martin said thoughtfully, “We tell people…. Somehow”

Jon said, “If only we’d caught it all on the phone,

We could tell everyone, their minds would be blown!!”

Dean looked at Jon, “It’s a bit late for that!”

“Nope”, said Jon, “I’ve it all on Snapchat!”

Who knew that Jon could be oh so clever??

This would be a night they’re remember forever.

And as they looked up and seen the stars shining bright,

They heard “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!!!”

Wishing everyone a very Merry Goos3Dmas!!!

WTF is Going on with the Dealz Ireland Facebook Page

Marty
-
0
WTF is Going on with the Dealz Ireland Facebook Page

We’ve all seen brands killing it on social media over that past few years. The likes of Paddy Power have successfully turned their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds into incredible marketing tools. This has left many other brands seeking the same success, which I can only imagine is what the Dealz Ireland Facebook page right now.

What’s Happening on the Dealz Ireland Facebook Page?

We’ve all heard of Elf on the Shelf right? The slightly creepy, always watching toy for children. Well, Elves Behavin’ Badly is another brand to enter the space with a slightly darker view on Christmas. A darker view the Dealz Ireland Facebook page has been making the most of. It’s best I just show you the posts.

The Elf Appeared in November

What an innocent post this was. I won’t dwell on it because the innocence didn’t last long with the birth of the ElfBehavingBad hashtag.

Elves Getting Nookie

Yep, that’s a Christmas elf having a threesome thanks to some Nooky Blue Pills, obviously a bargain version of viagra. That’s certainly one way to advertise your product range as Nooky is a huge selection of sex products in Dealz. The discount shop really started December as they planned to go on.

Elf Came in Like a Wrecking Ball

A naked elf swinging on a Christmas bauble held up with some tinsel. The Dealz Facebook page has gone so far, this is completely mild.

What a Bunch of Cocks

Watch this video clip to the end. It feels like this is the moment that Dealz turned a corner. The pun on the mugs is hilarious. The connection to the elf, seemingly unlikely but watch the clip to the end and it all becomes apparent.

Scratch that Itch

Now, I doubt that Dealz sells great toothbrushes. A recent trip to the dentist taught me that it’s hard to get bad toothpaste but very easy to get crap toothbrushes. Even so, Dealz toothbrushes are probably too good to buy if you just plan to scratch your arse with them. No talking to that elf though.

Star Wars: Use the Force

That’s a vibrator. That’s a vibrator from Dealz, that costs something like €1.50 being used as a lightsaber. In their defence, it’s one hell of a way to be topical.

Free Moustache Rides

Some comments called this one more subtle but in my opinion, this is the filthiest of the lot! I did enjoy the comment which pulled Dealz up because everything in Dealz costs €1.50. By now, if you haven’t worked it out, the Dealz Christmas Facebook campaign is not child-friendly.

Elves Love Teabagging

This post seems to have been the ignition point. This was the moment people really started paying attention to this campaign. That elf is teabagging a woman. Well, it’s a doll really but elves aren’t real either and you’re still reading this so let’s get passed that. Is this going too far? Possibly. Is it hilarious? Definitely. Is it controversial? Not as much as it previously was.

That’s a Twinings teabag and when this post first appeared, there was a box of Twinings in the background; hence the “spot the difference”. Twinings were less than happy to see their brand being connected with a Christmas elf teabagging a woman and took to Twitter before the original post was removed.

Dealz Ireland Facebook Page Makes a Mistake

Now, it’s probably not a mistake to them but this is a massive mistake around these parts. Dealz is known as Poundland in the UK. Obviously, they knew the Poundland brand wouldn’t be too popular in Ireland given our currency differences, but their social media team is still in the UK. They are clearly just duplicating their UK Poundland feed for Ireland. While hilarious, a little bit of extra effort in the localisation would have made such a big difference.

What do you make of all this madness anyway? Let us know in the comments below or our relatively tame Facebook page.

Black Mirror Season 4: What We Know and Launch Date

Marty
-
0
Black Mirror Season 4: What We Know and Launch Date

Black Mirror is a funny old show. It originally aired on Channel 4 and received a muted response. Muted by comparison to the reaction it got since Netflix picked it up. Collectively, everyone has watched Black Mirror’s take on human progression within the context of technology and, so far, the show has been getting things frightfully accurate. Perhaps a little too close to the bone in some episodes.

With a new season right around the corner, just how much do we know about Season 4?

Warning: Mildest of spoilers ahead

What to Expect in Black Mirror Season 4

So far, we only really have a two-minute trailer to tell us what’s going on with season 4 of Black Mirror. This trailer in fact:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ELQ6u_5YYM

The words “everything happens for a reason” are quite prominent throughout the trailer. This definitely suggests that we’re in for another six episodes of Black Mirror showing humanity’s self-destructive side.

Online Dating

We all know that dating has changed dramatically since Tinder entered the market. Thanks to a simple swiping app, people can feel the joy of rejection from the comfort of their own home. In all honesty though, many now ignore the life of going on the pull in nightclubs, opting instead for a quick Tinder surf. There’s even a Belgian guy travelling around Europe right now using only Tinder for accommodation!

But a lot of this online dating malarky has left us slightly in fear of real-world connections. From the Black Mirror trailer, it looks like this is certainly one of the themes season 4 will hit upon going by the Edna and Mike scene.

It also looks like smart assistants will cameo in this too, but it looks unlikely that Google or Amazon will have agreed to sponsor this episode.

Escaping Reality to Virtual Worlds

Virtual reality and augmented reality don’t seem to be going away. Why exactly we’re so obsessed with leaving the mundaneness of our own reality might not be a massive mystery to some, but Black Mirror believes it can have a massive impact on the mind. Season 3 had one episode dedicated to this, but it looks like this theme will appear at least once again in season 4.

Recognising What We’re Doing to the Real World

In an interesting twist for Black Mirror, it looks like the show will tackle global warming too. It’s unclear whether some clips are all from one episode or not, but it certainly looks like global warming and how humans are destroying the planet will featuring in season 4.

ArkAngel

You know the way iPhones and Android phones can be found remotely? For the former, it’s the well know “Find my iPhone”. Well, is using that to see where you’re kids are a little creepy? In an episode titled “ArkAngel”, this is the topic tackled by a slightly more modern, implantable, kind of technology.

When is Black Mirror Season 4 Out?

You’ll be able to stream season 4 of Black Mirror, on Netflix, from 29 December. Then curl up into a ball and fear the world.

Apple (finally) Admit to Slowing Down Older iPhones

Neal
-
0
Apple (finally) Admit to Slowing Down Older iPhones

We have all long suspected this to be the case, and yesterday, Apple came clean and admitted they do indeed purposely slow down older iPhones via software updates.

This came to light after various reports in the tech media recently noticed that battery life on older iPhones can have a significant performance impact on the phone. Then earlier this week, a developer shared test results on Reddit which pointed to recent software changes in iOS to prevent older iPhones shutting down, was resolved by artificially maxing out performance on older iPhones to prevent too much power draw on degraded batteries.

Apple released a statement yesterday in response to these reports –

Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components. 

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future”

So, in essence, Apple is saying they had to do this otherwise your older iPhone with a degraded battery would keep shutting down. It’s for your own benefit, we promise! There is logic to this argument from Apple, but the manner in which it has come to light will mean many people will be slightly bemused and not entirely convinced with Apple’s reasoning.

How to Check the Status of Your Battery

You can download a free app called Battery Life which displays various data about the health of your iPhone. If the results show your battery performance is degraded then replacing the battery with a new one will dramatically improve performance according to the various reports. First check with your phone provider if your phone is still under warranty, as this will mean a new battery can be fitted free of charge.

Is There a Silver Lining to this?

The good news with all of this is that if you do own an older iPhone which has slowed down significantly lately, then replacing the battery could well solve this problem. So no need to spend all that hard earned cash on a new iPhone after all!

How to Setup Your Echo Dot: Getting Started With Your Smart Assistant

Marty
-
0
How to Setup Your Echo Dot: Getting Started With Your Smart Assistant

I’m fairly sure half of Ireland now has an Amazon Echo Dot if not the full-on Echo itself. Which means most of the country is now looking at this odd little hockey puck device and wondering what the hell they need to do with it. Here’s how to setup your Echo Dot (and yes, it’s the exact same for the Echo).

Download the Amazon Alexa App

It’s with great pleasure I can tell you that this app is now available in Ireland. For an absolute age, Android users had to sideload the app and iPhone users could only access their Echo and Echo Dot through the mobile website. Easy updates and full access to all of the Alexa smart assistant features; what a time to be alive.

amazon alexa app

You can download the Alexa App for Android and iOS.

Create an Amazon Account

Setting up an Amazon account is nice and straightforward While the Alexa App and Amazon’s hardware is now supported here in Ireland, we’re still heavily dependent on Amazon.co.uk as there’s no Irish website available. So to create your Amazon account, either go through the Alexa App or head on over to Amazon.co.uk.

Once you’ve got the account set up, you can log in to the Alexa App. From here, follow the pairing instructions.

Pick Out Some Alexa Skills

Right, so your Echo Dot is setup and connected to your app. Now you’ll need to get some Skills.

What Are Alexa Skills?

Brands and companies create Alexa Skills to let you access their services. In the UK, Echo Dot owners can book taxis and order their takeaways through Skills like Uber and Just Eat. Skills will open up a world of opportunity but right now they are somewhat limited in Ireland, mainly down to the fact the Alexa App has just been made officially available in Ireland.

Flash News Briefings, which are like Skills but purely dedicated to news, sports and weather updates, are a little more prominent in Ireland. RTÉ have a news and weather Flash News Briefing, while we even have our very own tech Flash News Briefing.

Skills will certainly become more available in Ireland over the coming months as brands and companies get to grips with the sheer number of Echo Dots which are now in Ireland.

Connect Spotify

This is a no-brainer. If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, add your account to Alexa. You’ll then be able to play millions of tracks through either your Echo or Echo Dot.

Connect Your Smart Home Devices

Now, this is where the real fun starts. The Alexa App has a one-touch feature to find smart devices on your network. So, if you have WeMo Smart Plugs or Energenie MiHome Smart Plugs, your Echo Dot will find them automatically and you can easily control them with your voice. For optimal effect, plug your sitting room lamp into one of these smart plugs to control the room lighting.

Setup Routines

I can personally recommend Energenie Smart Plugs. We’ve been using both WeMo and Energenie for well over a year and both are great. The main difference is that Energenie is much more affordable so you can buy more and automate more areas of your home. Once you have a few places automated, you’ll really start to have fun by setting up Routines.

Routines let you have several things happen by issuing just one voice command. For example, in the morning, I’ll say “Alexa, good morning”. My Echo Dot will then:

  1. Turn on the lamp
  2. Say good morning back to me
  3. Give me a weather update for my locality
  4. Give me live estimated commute time to a set location

The idea behind routines is that you can effectively turn on and off you’re entire home with one voice command or at least anything that’s got a smart connection.

Play Around With It

Don’t be afraid to try some new things with your Alexa. There are some great games on there and even some easter eggs to enjoy. Here are my favourite hidden gags.

Best Echo Dot Easter Eggs

“Alexa, more cowbell.”

“Alexa, are you Skynet?”

“Alexa, supercalifragilisticexpialodocious.”

“Alexa, who loves orange soda?”

“Alexa, volume 11.” (caution: very loud if you’ve got the Echo or Echo Dot connected to external speaker)

2018 is the year of the smart speaker and is going to be the first year in which Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot can be fully taken seriously in Ireland now that they have official support here. Expect to see plenty of Amazon Apps appearing from Irish businesses towards the middle of the year.

Bonus Video

If you haven’t picked up a smart assistant yet, here’s my verdict on which one to go for:

 

What Disney Buying Fox Actually Means

Jon
-
0
What Disney Buying Fox Actually Means
Image result for DeadpoolDeadpool’s face just says it all for me really. After months of discussion, Disney has finally purchased 21st Century Fox for an eye-watering $52 billion. However, as part of this buy out the House of Mouse also gets all assets of the 20th Century Fox film studios and a 39 percent stake in Sky. Time to invest in Disney Life, things are about to get interesting.

What has Disney Gotten from this Deal?

Look I’m a big Disney fan but this Fox buyout means that Mickey and his mates now own roughly 27% of the film industry. Think about it they already own pretty much everything Pixar, they have the outrageous success that is Marvel and Star Wars. Now add all of this:

  • Avatar
  • Star Wars
  • Die Hard
  • X-Men
  • Fantastic Four
  • Kingsman
  • Planet of the Apes
  • Alien
  • Predator
  • Independence Day
  • Fight Club
  • Home Alone
  • Night at the Museum
  • The Maze Runner
  • Ice Age
  • Red Sparrow
  • The Martian
  • Artemis
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks
  • Doctor Dolittle
  • Percy Jackson
  • The Chronicles of Narnia

Image result for disney buy fox simpsons

Essentially all properties that were owned by Fox are now Disney’s. The way they have rebuilt the Star Wars and Marvel franchises should really excite movie fans as we might now actually get a decent Fantastic 4, while the Simpsons also might return to its glory days. The only downside I can see is the amount of power Disney have now as a result when you think about Fox News, Espn and Sky all now apart of the group, essentially they are now the majority shareholders of mainstream media.

Why Did this Happen?

That’s easy. Disney is really looking at making a huge leap into the streaming world. Since the launch of Disney Life, we hear this deal will also incorporate two streaming services. One will be powered by ESPN and the other to be built around movies and Tv shows.

I guess this means the Fox arsenal will be used to charge this ambition and lead a full-on assault on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Along with the already strong catalogue of shows available, we can only assume there will be a push for producing a range of original series as Fox have also contributed it’s stake in Hulu, aka the streaming service showcasing ABC content such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

Think a quarter of everything you watch on all platforms now being controlled by a Mouse, that’s what is coming.

At least the MCU will be bitchin’

If you’re a Marvel fan this news will have you doing your best Churchill the dog impression.

Since the deal was but a mere rumour, Marvel fans excitement has been ramping up at the prospect of what this could mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Remember before the global success’ of The Avengers and the Netflix collaboration, Marvel sold off a number of famous heroes such as The Fantastic Four, X-Men and Spiderman, oh and Deadpool.
Now as we all know Spiderman has been given a new lease of life after a couple of mishits and fans are hopeful that the Disney magic can bring these other titles back from the dead. While also bringing them into the MCU. Imagine Captain America and Deadpool together, or Wolverine and Starlord or my personal favourite Hulk and the Thing.
Image result for fantastic four

Although the sold off characters got their own films of varying success – the less said about the Fantastic Four reboot the better – Marvel fans have been desperate to see them fight villains alongside the likes of heroes The Hulk, Thor and Spider-Man.

To be honest, this one excites me as I was really disappointed in The Fantastic Four and X-Men was so close but so far away, the idea of seeing the rebooted characters coming into the universe alongside Iron Man and Co is just enough to make me sit up and take notice.

It’s no wonder why that Disney did not wait long to make the official announcement that yes, the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool will be joining the MCU.

We have the opportunity to expand iconic franchises for new generations of fans.

We’re also looking forward to expanding the Marvel cinematic universe to include X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool.

Image result for deadpool spiderman movie

How they plan on feeding these into the MCU is anyone’s guess but hey who cares as long as I can see Tony Stark, Stephen Strange alongside Professor X.

Our Verdict

Look, Disney now own way too much of the market and that’s coming from a self-professed fan of all things Disney. This move pushes them way ahead of their competition in terms of the sheer volume of content and brands that they own. However, with a huge drive towards online streaming services, this shouldn’t surprise anyone as now Netflix will have to keep pushing towards original content while Disney and their new Fox counterparts push all the well known into their own streaming services.

How to Avoid Your Kid Spending Your Wages in FIFA 18

Marty
-
0
How to Avoid Your Kid Spending Your Wages in FIFA 18

On Christmas Day this year, countless new Xboxes and PlayStations will get booted up around the country. The days of waiting for Stephen’s Day to wandering into Gamesworld (now GameStop) and buy some games are long gone as you can download games straight to the console from their respective stores. To do this, parents load their debit or credit card details onto the console but often ignore the parental controls that are available. In this article, I’m going to show you why you really shouldn’t ignore these parental controls and give you a great tip to avoid this problem altogether.

DLC: The Danger of Card Details on a Console

Games have become incredibly expensive, but I’m not just talking about the €70 you have to pay for new releases. When you consider the hours of entertainment they give, that’s actually a fair price for a game. The expensive element appears with DLC. DLC, or downloadable content, is extra content you can download to improve the game you own or even expand its playability. DLC can be costumes, characters, weapons, levels or even whole other versions. While some DLC is free, the really good stuff will likely cost you.

Star Wars Battlefront II: The Dark Side of DLC

star wars battlefront II

Electronic Arts released Star Wars Battlefront II this year with a game that built upon the problems of the first. Top-tier characters like Luke Skywalker would take over 40-hours of gameplay to unlock unless of course, you’re willing to pay and fast-track the unlocking process.

This pay-to-play approach to gaming has become increasingly present in the games industry with long-term hits like Call of Duty and FIFA offering a huge range of premium upgrades. The first problem with premium upgrades is keeping the game fair for those who just want to play online after paying €70 for a game. The second problem, as one Cork family just found out, is putting the payment details on your kid’s games console.

Kid Spends Mother’s Wages on FIFA DLC

StockSnap / Pixabay

From the outset, this isn’t a funny story; it sucks. A Cork mother told Cork’s 96FM about how her wages were spent on FIFA 18 DLC. After downloading the game, her details were left on the console where her son could then use to buy premium DLC. I can only imagine this was FIFA Ultimate Team which is very similar to those collectable stickers that still appear on the market every year. Anyone who’s collected those stickers knows how tempting it is to keep buying packs to get the players you want so the kid wasn’t long getting through his mother’s wages.

Sony has told the woman there’s little can be done but I doubt it’ll end there. Apparently, Sony’s defense was that the game is for adults. This is either not true or very weird from the gaming giant given the game has a PEGI 3 rating: suitable for all ages. There’s also a small bit of precident set by Microsoft.

Not too long ago, Microsoft had a similar experience where a kid ran up a €7,000 bill on his father’s credit card when buying premium DLC. Microsoft refunded that customer so I’d be shocked if Sony didn’t try and work out something.

How to Avoid Putting Your Credit Card on a Games Console

Buying games and DLC on a games console isn’t a bad thing. You can also set up automatical renewals for membership and often get pretty good deals too. However, putting your credit card details onto your kid’s games console is a dangerous idea. How many times do you have to say no to them asking for something? If it’s quite often, by putting your card onto their Xbox or PlayStation, you’re saying yes everytime they want a game.

While parental controls are a good idea, they can be tough to work out if you’re not familiar with consoles. Thankfully, there is a much easier way.

Get a Revolut Account

Revolut card

Just like game shops are fast becoming a thing of the past, so too are traditional banks. While the likes of KBC are staying ahead of the curve when it comes to tech, there are some really interesting alternatives emerging for Irish customers. In the past, we were mightily impressed by N26, but a new account from Revolut is packed full of benefits. I’m not going to go into them all here, but once you set up an account you immediately have the option of a virtual card.

The first benefit for parents buying things on their kid’s console is that you can top-up that virtual card, limiting the amount of money they have available to them. Secondly, if you don’t want them spending anything at all, you can actually freeze and unfreeze the card through Revolut’s app, making the details on your kid’s console completely useless until you want them to work again.

The only catch with Revolut right now is that it’s in big demand. It might take a few days to get your account approved, so you might want to get cracking already.

I’ll be back soon with a full review of Revolut, but in the meantime, if you’re setting up your kids console this Christmas, be sensible about what you do with your debit or credit card details. Games are designed to squeeze money out of people, whether they can afford it or not.

What Did the People of Ireland Google Most in 2017

Marty
-
0
What Did the People of Ireland Google Most in 2017

They say we tell Google things we wouldn’t tell our best friends and closest family members. Which is why Google’s annual Trends Report is our favourite insight into the psyche of the people of Ireland every year. So far we’ve had Spotify’s Wrapped and YouTube’s Rewind and now Google Trends is here.

It was a mad year. It’s actually hard to believe it’s been a year since our last annual round up. Anyway, here’s a trip down memory lane for you. The top Google Search was Hurricane Ophelia. It’s not too surprising considering the impact it had on the country. While for many there was building damage, but for others a day working at home, there were also lives lost in Ireland due to extreme weather. A tragic event to top the charts.

Donald Trump has also made an impact in Ireland, so much so he’s the second most Googled term in Ireland. Ireland’s disastrous World Cup qualifier came third while Netflix hit 13 Reasons Why is perhaps one of the more surprising entries into the top five, a top five closed off with fidget spinners. It’s actually a little hard to believe fidget spinners were this year. They feel like an incredibly distant memory.

Ireland’s Most Googled Movies in 2017

While La La Land performed well in terms of awards, there was only one movie the people of Ireland were frantically Googling; Christopher Nolan’s stunning Dunkirk. Dunkirk had an extra layer of searchability as the movie was available to watch on two different screens. Stephen King’s It terrified the nation while Beauty and the Beast‘s remake was the third most Googled movie of the year. La La Land had to wait for fourth spot before makig this Google catch up. Maybe it’s just not the kind of sing song we’re into. The top five was rounded off nicely with Justice League.

Most Googled Recipes in Ireland

Good old Spag Bol was the most searched for recipe by us adventurous Irish in 2017. Chili con carne and beef stroganoff came second and third. In fourth is my beloved guacamole. I’m a massive fan of Mexican food and probably contributed quite a few searches for guac myself. Pavlova completes the top five most searched for recipes in 2017.

What is and How to?

We’ve got a feeling that between Google Home and the Amazon Echo, 2018 will be the year of voice search. That makes searches like “what is” and “how to” become more important than ever as they are in conversational style. The very top of the list is a shocker. While extremely cool, the antikythera mechanism tops the search results list. I’m not even going to try and explain it. Here’s a video:

That was followed by some more expected results like hurricanes and the hot topic in Goos3D Tower right now; Bitcoin. To go along with Trump’s popularity, in search volume that is, covfefe also makes the top ten searched “what is…” topics, while it still quite clear that nobody in this country knows what a tracker mortgage is as that also made the list.

What the hell is slime? That’s me asking. “How to make slime” topped the “how to…” list along with one question we did out best to answer for the Irish public; how to watch McGregor vs Mayweather. How to lose weight, top up credit on Three, bleed radiators and download TV shows on Netflix all featured in the top ten and wouldn’t you know it, we answered the last one too.

What a year it was. Now we just have to wait another 12 months to see how dramatically different it all changes again.

The Simple How-To Guide to Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency

Dean
-
0
The Simple How-To Guide to Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency

Ahhhhh cryptocurrency. Most people have heard of it, specifically Bitcoin. Half of them don’t know what it actually is. And the the ones that do know probably don’t know how to actually buy it. But what if I told you that buying cryptocurrency is as simple as buying clothes online? Well thats where I come in. I’m going to provide you with a straight-forward how-to guide on how to buy cryptocurrency. But first, lets break down exactly what it is and where it comes from.

A brief history of cryptocurrency

Back in 2009, a man, or a group of men, or a group of companies if you believe the conspiracies, known as Satoshi Nakamoto invented and released an open-source software called Bitcoin. It is essentially a peer-to-peer digital cash system. 21 million Bitcoins were created. It is impossible to create more and they are impossible to counterfeit. But they can be split into smaller amounts. So you don’t have to buy at least 1 Bitcoin. the smallest value possible is 0.00000001 Bitcoin. When it was first established, they were pretty much worthless. One of the first transactions made with it was to buy 2 pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins. Those pizzas are now $20 million (Ouch).

Since Bitcoin has become so popular, more and more digital currencies are being created such as Litecoin and Ethereum. I’m not going to sit here and tell you digital currency is the future and will end the banking system. But it’s gotten quite popular in 2017 and next year, in my opinion, is going to be the year of crypto.

Where Did Bitcoin Come From?

Bitcoin is stored on a block chain. A block chain is computer software that can store information ie the Bitcoins. The Bitcoin is then stored on a network of personal computers which makes them decentralised, unregulated and open to anyone to mine. The government has no control of it, the banks have no control of it, businesses don’t control it. The software generates blocks every 10 minutes, which people can then mine and are rewarded with Bitcoin.

In layman’s terms, Bitcoin is a diamond, and this diamond then gets mined. The current reward is 12.5 Bitcoins. Every 4 years this reward is halved. When I mine this Bitcoin I can then sell it to an exchange (which I’ll speak more about later). Think of this exchange as a jewellers where I sell my diamond. The jeweller then sells that diamond to me. The whole process of mining crypto is very complicated, but we’re not here to tell you how to mine, we just want to buy.

The value of crypto is determined by supply and demand. The more that is bought, the more expensive it becomes. When Bitcoin first came about, it was new technology that nobody had a clue about and no one was interested in. In 2012, you could buy a Bitcoin for a 5er. As more and more people began to adopt technology, they become more interested in crypto, driving the price up. The price slowly climbed, then dropped, then climbed until February this year when it hit 1000 euro per coin. Then all hell broke lose. It continued to climb and in the passed month alone, the price of Bitcoin exploded by 10,000 euro. At the time of writing this article, 1 Bitcoin is now worth 14,600 euro. Now everyone wants a piece of crypto currency but no one can afford Bitcoin! That’s where we come in.

Affordable Crypto

In the first week of December, I decided to buy some Bitcoin. After buying 250 euro worth, I realised that Bitcoin had grown to the point that 250 euro is only going to make me 2-3  euro for every few hundred euro it grows. So I had a look at other Crypto. The second most popular is Ethereum, sitting pretty at around 350-500 euro depending on when you look. This was still too expensive for me. So I had another look around and found Litecoin. When I bought my Bitcoin, Litecoin was worth about 85 euro. When I decided to bail and by Litecoin its had jumped to 120 euro. I bought 2.something Litecoins for about 140 euro as I’d lost a bit on Bitcoin and had to pay a 1% service fee to my exchange.

But it seems I wasn’t the only one who had this idea. Which brings us to crypto week. Coincidentally, I decided to look into crypto at the same time everyone else was! Last week, people began buying Litecoin as it was cheap. The more people that bought it, the more it increased in value. So I bought more, and more, and for 600 euro I’m now sitting on 4.5 Litecoin. Because people are all over Litecoin, it continued to increase in value. In the space of a week, I have now doubled my original investment and my Litecoin is now worth about 1200 euro give or take.

Now I know what you’re thinking, how the hell can I get a piece of this pie? Well its not too late!

Exchanges

As I mentioned earlier, miners sell their crypto to exchanges. The most popular exchange seems to be Coinbase. A very simple straightforward website that also has a very simple app to use. You simply sign up, send a form of ID such as a licence, and enter your card details. Select your crypto of choice, Coinbase offers Bitcoin, Ethereal and Litecoin, and enter how much you want to buy. And boom! You are now the proud owner or crypto currency. However, because of all the traffic the site gets, it tends to crash sometimes, especially when the price drops. So I now use gdax.com which is a sister to site to Coinbase and is a bit more stable and offers second by second price fluctuations.

You can buy BTC or Ethereum from your Litecoin, or you can sell it and keep the money in your Euro wallet in your Coinbase account…… which we do NOT recommend. If something were to happen such as a hacking or if Coinbase crashed, you could lose your crypto or money and never get it back. Which is why we recommend downloading a wallet.

Lock and Key

A wallet is like a normal wallet. Its where you keep you crypto. My wallet of choice is called Electrum, but there are plenty of options out there. But the important thing to remember is when you create your wallet account, you will be provided with a seed. Your seed is EXTREMELY important. It is a list of 10-15 random words generate so that if you lose your password or if your laptop were to be robbed with your wallet on it, you can retrieve not on another device. It also helps if you forget your login details.

Crypto is extremely secure. There is no ‘Forgot password’ option or ‘Customer care’ to contact for security purposes. Your seed is what retrieves your wallet. many people bak in the early days of Bitcoin didn’t take notice of this as they thought it was going no where. Now literally millions of of euros worth of Crypto are on hard drives and computers and USB keys and will never be accessed again beau people have forgotten their log in details and lost their seed. When you do get your seed, write it down. Write it down 5, 10, 20 times and keep those pieces of paper safe! Your seed is like your unique key to an unbreakable safe with gold in it that could be worth thousands in a few years. And if you lose your seed, you lose your crypto and there is no retrieving it. Ever.

When to Buy and Sell

Like everything, buy when its cheap. Everything has value and that value fluctuates. In crypto, there seems to be a bit of a correlation between BTC and LTC. When BTC dips, LTC seems to go up. My theory is that the lucky people who have made their mint on BTC are selling small amounts and are buying LTC. This is driving LTC up. At midnight last night, LTC was worth about 185 euro. When I woke up this morning, it was worth 220. At about 2 pm today, the price shot up to 350 euro. And what happened next? All the cowboys that sold their BTC and bought LTC, have now sold their LTC and bought more BTC, causing the price of LTC to drop to about 280. This is when you buy and the cycle seems to continue.\

If you want to sell when it hits an all time high thats up to you. When it drops, I buy more. Personally, I think Litecoin is going to explode over the next few weeks. The reason it is rising so quickly compared to BTC which lingered around this price for a couple of years is because BTC was new technology. No one knew what it was or trusted it. Now everyone knows what it is and everyone wants some. Hence to sudden increases in value.

No guarantees

Before you do decide to invest in crypto, remember, I am just a regular guy in a standard customer service job who has hopped on this gravy boat at the right time hoping for the best. Nothing is guaranteed. This is not a get rich quick scheme. This could all implode in the morning and my coins could be worth Jack. Or it could be worth 20,000 by the end of next year and I could be putting down a deposit on a house. There’s no way of knowing. If you do decide to buy, only buy what you can afford and enjoy the ride!

There are a couple of great subreddits on Reddit that help to understand it more and give you and idea of when to buy and sell. You can find them here and here. It’s packed with newbies and also guys that know their stuff.

At the end of the day, this is just another form of gambling. But it might be worth noting, at the time when I began this article, the value of Litecoin was worth 265 euro. It’s now worth 310.

Happy Trading!

1...116117118...181Page 117 of 181

About Goosed

Welcome to Goosed.ie! We test the latest consumer electronics and tech from around the world to help you find gadgets that make your life just a little bit easier.

Must Read

Revolut Becomes Title Partner for New Audi F1 Team

Finance 0
Give me a list of things the traditional Irish...

Ireland’s Learning Wallet Could Be the Game-Changer Senior Cycle Needs

Tech News 0
It’s not every day you see real innovation in...

Boards.ie Launches Paid Membership to Save Itself

News 0
Boards.ie is one of Ireland's longest standing online landmarks....

Subscribe

© 2024 Goosed. All Rights Reserved.