The Amazon Ireland website is coming, but it’s not here yet. But I know lots of people are asking about whether or not they should shop on Amazon UK in Euro or Sterling. The short answer is, never shop on Amazon UK using Euro because the exchange rate is awful, but it comes with a big “but”. Here’s what you should do instead.
Update: Amazon.ie is now live, giving shoppers in Ireland access to 200 million products from the Irish distribution centre with faster deliveries and easier returns
Shopping on Amazon UK in Sterling or Euro
When you shop on Amazon UK from Ireland, you’ll be give the choice to choose which currency you pick from. This is common with UK online retailers servicing Ireland. ASOS was the classic example, but it has since started only offering Euro shopping, something Amazon will likely move to soon too.
For now, however, you can shop on Amazon UK from Ireland and checkout while paying Sterling, which is what I recommend you do too, but only if you’re paying with Revolut.
The reason for this is because Revolut with automatically do all the exchange rates for you without charging a fee. Traditional Irish banks will charge you for the service.
You should always try to avoid checking out on Amazon UK from Ireland when paying with Euro. This is because Amazon has a really poor exchange rate that covers their risk more than yours. on a €20 transaction, you could pay nearly €5 over the odds purely based on how they calculate the exchange rate. So don’t let them.
That means in order to get the very best prices on Amazon UK when shopping from Ireland, you should only shop in Sterling and use Revolut for all transactions.
Amazon UK Alternatives in Ireland
Of course, it’s even more important that you generally shop around. Amazon UK won’t always have the best price. Sometimes Amazon Germany has the best prices and on that site you’ll transact in Euro with no additional exchange rates.
Beyond Amazon, there are often better deals to be had in general with other retailers too. Shop around and shop smart.
I couple of years ago I wrote about how QR codes were making their final stand to be adopted during Covid. Sure enough, here we are years later and QR codes are part of daily life. So much so that the latest scam consumers in Ireland need to be aware of involves them. A woman in Greystones has reportedly been scammed out of €1,000 after scanning a QR code on a Payzone parking machine.
Payzone Parking Scam
In what is an annoyingly clever piece of scamming, bad artists replace the QR code on Payzone parking machines with their own which directs people to a replica of the Payzone website. This came to light when posted on X yesterday.
Motorists, who are likely in a hurry to an appointment and need to quickly pay for parking, scan the code and “pay online”, but really are providing all the details a scammer needs to take money from them.
To add insult to injury, the driver heads to their appointment with the potential of getting a parking fine too as they’ve not paid for parking.
These QR codes have been reported in multiple areas with drivers being reminded to remain vigilant when paying for their parking.
QR Code Safety
QR codes are a great piece of technology that helps with day to day interactions with websites and apps. But it’s essential that you remain vigilant when it comes to scanning them. Treat them with the same healthy skepticism you would a link in a text.
Taking a second to examine the QR code in this scenario would lead to you seeing it’s off colour with the surrounding print on the machine.
For me, I’d try and download the app from your phone’s app store manually instead of scanning a code. You can never be too careful.
Finally, I strongly recommend using Revolut with a disposable card for transactions like this so you can freeze them immediately after use and limit and potential losses.
My imagination gets away from me sometimes. I’m an avid Flight Simulator fan and have often wondered if I could land a plane with the experience I have. In reality, it’s likely the Dunning-Krueger effect in full swing. However, as we head towards Flight Simulator 2024 launching in November, a female passenger in the United States has proven it can be done.
Yesterday, over the skies of Bakersfield, California. An incredible passenger took the controls of a privately owned Beech C90-B King Air as the pilot was incapacitated.
This isn’t a small plane either. The Beech C90-B King Air is a turbo-prop capable of carrying 2 crew and 5 passengers while reaching a maximum operating height of 30,000ft.
The passenger took the controls of the aircraft and contacted air traffic control to inform them of what was going on. A crew was quickly gathered on the ground to coach the passenger through what was about to become one of the most incredible moments in aviation history.
The flight was originally scheduled to fly from Las Vegas to Monterey, but was diverted to Bakersfield, despite already being closer to Monterey. This made sense when we look at the data.
Flight Radar data shows the path of the flight going into several holding patterns about a 1.5 hours after take off. The team on the ground were able to help the passenger stabilise the aircraft and get onto a heading towards Bakersfield.
Bakersfield was picked owing to a longer runway and better emergency services, which thankfully were not needed in the end. The woman who had taken control of the plane landed under visual flight rules with the support of experts on the ground. But let’s face it. No amount of coaching can sum up how incredible this woman is for landing a plane with no prior experience.
If anyone is looking for me, I’ll be plugging this route into Flight Simulator and popping on my VR headset to see just how incredible a job this new honorary pilot has done.
Viele Gadgets für die Hausautomation werden als lebensverändernd angepriesen. Was mich am meisten stört, ist, wie oft intelligente Glühbirnen zusätzliche Schritte zu Ihren Abläufen im Haushalt hinzufügen, anstatt sie zu vereinfachen. Hausautomation muss etwas durchdachter sein. Genau deshalb liebe ich Aqaras intelligenten Vorhangregler. Mit ein wenig Planung ist dies zu einem wichtigen Bestandteil meiner täglichen Routine geworden.
Wie man Vorhänge intelligent macht
Die Umrüstung Ihrer Vorhänge in intelligente Vorhänge ist nicht schwierig. Es ist aber auch nicht gerade billig, also versuchen Sie, die großen Verkaufstage von Amazon zu nutzen, wenn Sie Aqara-Produkte kaufen.
Der Aqara Curtain Driver E1 ist ein einfaches Gerät, das in Ihre Gardinenschiene oder -stange eingesetzt wird (verschiedene Produkte für jede Variante) und Ihre Vorhänge basierend auf Befehlen, Zeitplänen oder Automatisierungen öffnet und schließt. Sie befestigen Ihre Vorhänge einfach mit den Clips an beiden Seiten des Vorhangantriebs. Dieser rollt dann hin und her und zieht den Vorhang mit.
Ein wichtiger Hinweis ist, dass Sie dafür den Controller von Aqara benötigen, falls Sie noch keinen haben.
Ein kniffliger Punkt ist, dass die meisten Fensteraufbauten zwei Vorhänge haben, einen, der von der Mitte nach links öffnet, und einen, der von der Mitte nach rechts geht. Das bedeutet, dass Sie zwei, nicht nur einen, der Aqara-Antriebe kaufen müssen. Das macht eine ohnehin schon überlegte Anschaffung noch etwas überlegter.
Meine persönliche Erfahrung mit dem Aqara Curtain Driver E1
Meine Situation war einfach. Mein Schlafzimmer befindet sich im Obergeschoss in einem offenen Galerie-Stil. Es gibt nicht unglaublich viel Licht oder Einblick von außen. Aber trotzdem war es etwas mühsam, nach oben zu gehen und die Vorhänge zu öffnen.
Mit Aqaras Curtain Driver E1 kann ich das Öffnen und Schließen meiner Vorhänge im Schlafzimmer automatisieren. Das hatte für mich zwei entscheidende Vorteile.
Erstens bedeutete es, dass ich jetzt die Vorhänge oben schließen konnte, ohne hochgehen zu müssen. Das ist faul, ich weiß. Aber trotzdem ist es schön zu wissen, dass der helle Raum von außen nicht einsehbar ist. Ich wäre beinahe ein paar Mal unter der Dusche erwischt worden!
Der viel größere Vorteil ist die morgendliche Automatisierung. Ich habe mit zwei verschiedenen Einstellungen für die Jalousien herumgespielt. Mein Favorit ist das automatische Öffnen um 9 Uhr morgens. Das bedeutet, wenn ich versucht bin, auszuschlafen und meinen Wecker zu ignorieren, habe ich eine letzte Barriere gegen das Ausschlafen. Das helle Licht, das automatisch hereinkommt.
Die andere Möglichkeit ist, das Öffnen der Vorhänge an das natürliche Tageslicht anzupassen, um meine zirkadiane Rhythmus-Exposition zu verbessern. Das hat mir nicht so gut gefallen, da die Motoren nicht gerade leise sind. Es ist effektiver, sie als “Weck”-Moment zu nutzen als als diskrete Aktion.
Was mich an den Aqara-Vorhangantrieben vielleicht am meisten beeindruckt hat, ist die Akkulaufzeit. Ich habe sie jetzt seit einem Jahr installiert und sie öffnen oder schließen sich mindestens zweimal am Tag. Ich musste sie einmal aufladen. Was für mich unglaublich ist.
Das Urteil: Aqara Curtain Driver E1
Ausgezeichnet. Ich liebe es absolut. Etwas laut. Ein bisschen teuer, derzeit kostet es 100 € pro Einheit. Aber eines dieser technischen Geräte, bei denen sogar meine bessere Hälfte sagt: “Ich würde es vermissen, das nicht automatisiert zu haben”. Ehrlich gesagt, ist das das stärkste Argument, das Sie zum Kauf bewegen sollte.
Leider ist es nicht die billigste Lösung, was ein bisschen ärgerlich ist, wenn Sie viele Fenster mit Vorhängen haben. Aber Sie könnten sie einfach für den Raum kaufen, den Sie am häufigsten öffnen und schließen. Aber wenn Sie wie ich sind, werden Sie die Idee lieben, einfach alle Vorhänge nach einem Zeitplan zu öffnen und zu schließen.
Aqaras Hauptabsatzkanal ist entweder direkt über sie oder über Amazon. Der Vorteil ist also, dass Sie diese oft mit einem Rabatt bekommen. Zum Beispiel können Sie diese in den kommenden Prime Big Deal Days bei Amazon UK und Amazon Deutschland mit 30 % Rabatt erhalten.
Lots of home automation gadgets can be oversold as life changing. My biggest bug bearer is how often smart bulbs add steps to your home processes instead of taking them away. Home automation needs to be a bit more considered. Which is exactly why I love Aqara’s smart curtain controller. With a little bit of scheduling, this has become an important part of my daily routine.
How to Make Curtains Smart
Converting your curtains into smart curtains isn’t difficult. It’s also not overly cheap, so try to take advantage of Amazon’s big sale days when buying Aqara products.
The Aqara Curtain Driver E1 is a simple device that sits into your curtain rail or rod (different products for each) and opens and closes your curtains based on commands, schedules or automations. You simply pin your curtains up with the clips either side of the curtain driver. This then rolls back and forth dragging the curtain with it.
One important note is that you will need Aqara’s controller for this if you don’t already have one.
One tricky part here is that most window setups have two curtains, one opening center out to left and one going center out to right. This means you need to buy two, not one, of Aqara’s drivers. This makes an already considered purchase, a little more considered.
My Personal Experience with the Aqara Curtain Driver E1
My situation was simple. My bedroom is upstairs in a mezzanine style layout. There’s not incredible light coming in or visibility from the outside in. But still, to head upstairs and open the curtains was a bit of a chore.
Aqara’s Curtain Driver E1 lets me automate the opening and closing of my track curtains in the bedroom. This has had two distinct advantages for me.
First it meant I could now close the curtains upstairs without going up there. It’s lazy, I know. But still, it’s nice to know the bright room isn’t visible from the outside. I nearly got caught a few times out of the shower!
The much bigger benefit is the morning automation. I have played around with the blinds being setup in two different ways. My favorite is the automatic opening at 9am. It means if I’m tempted to have a lie in and snooze my alarm, I have one final barrier to a sleep in. The bright light coming in automatically.
The other is aligning the opening of the curtains to natural daylight to improve my circadian rhythm exposure. I didn’t like this as much given the motors aren’t exactly quiet. It’s more effective to use them as a “wake up” moment than discreet action.
Perhaps what impressed me most with the Aqara curtain drivers is the battery life. I’ve had these installed for a year now, opening or closing at least twice a day. I’ve had to charge them once. Which is wild to me.
The Verdict: Aqara Curtain Driver E1
Excellent. Absolutely love it. Little loud. A little pricey, retailing for €100 per unit right now. But one of those pieces of tech where even my other half says “I’d miss not having that automated”. Honestly, that’s the biggest verdict that should sway you towards buying this.
Unfortunately, it’s not the cheapest solution which is a bit of a nuisance if you have lots of curtained windows. But you could just buy these for the room you open and close the most. But then if you’re like me, you’ll love the idea of just opening and closing all curtains on a schedule.
Aqara’s main outlet is either direct from them or on Amazon. So the flip side here is that you’ll often pick these up on a discount. For example, in the upcoming Prime Big Deals Days you can get these on Amazon UK and Amazon Germany with a 30% discount.
“In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.”
Every work set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 begins with a standard preamble about how hopeless and brutal life in the Milky Way galaxy has become, and Space Marine 2 is no different. Life in this setting is bleak and hopeless. Games in this setting, however? Well, they’re some of the best!
Talking to a Mechanicus Adept is the closes Titus comes to playing video games
I’ll get right to the point; Space Marine 2 is, hands down, the most fun I’ve had with a game all year, and I would urge everyone to pick up a copy. I’d happily leave the review there, but you probably want more detail so here we go!
Only in Death Does Duty End
First off, there is a lot of background to the 40K universe, possibly best summarised in this wonderful video here. What you really need to know, though is that this game (as you could probably work out) is a direct sequel to 2011’s Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine. We pick back up with Demetrian Titus, former captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company (the Ultramarines are a Chapter of 1,000 genetically and cybernetically enhanced Space Marines or “Astartes”). He was sentenced to over 100 years of penance for suspected corruption by the forces of Chaos at the end of his debut but has now been reinstated as Lieutenant by his former Chapter Master (like a General), Marneus Calgar. Serving under Acheran, his new Captain, he takes command of several squads of his brothers in order to repel an incursion of Xenos and Heretics upon the worlds of Kadaku and Avarax.
For the Emperor!
The Xenos in question are the Tyranids. A chittering hive-mind of insectoid horrors who only exist to feed on biomass. They form the bulk of the enemy forces you encounter in the first half of the game and there really was no better foe for the folks at Focus Interactive to choose. Saber interactive had previously developed the World War Z engine in order to render more enemies onscreen at once and it’s used to great effect here. There are literally hundreds of enemies for you to kill at any given time. By the time I had finished the campaign I had racked up over 5,000 kills.
There aren’t painkillers strong enough for this big a headache/
The Tyranids come in literally all shapes and sizes from the tiny skittering Rippers, and the deadly Warrior bioforms to the enormous Carnifexes, and the Hive Tyrant mastermind. The variety of foes to cut down provides ample opportunity to show off everything this game has to offer by way of combat. Whether you prefer raining firepower down on your enemies with mass-reactive Bolter rounds or getting stuck-in with a chainsword or thunder hammer, you really can play however you like in the early missions.
Who says size matters?
The game cleverly implements several gameplay systems to keep you going even when the fighting gets fierce. Performing brutal executions on enemies will let you recover some of your armour, while the Bloodborne-esque rally system lets you recover some of your lost health by quickly going on the counterattack when you take damage. Of course, you can pick up medicae combat stims to restore your health or special relics that will revive you upon death as well. As you might expect, when playing with your friends they can also pick you up if you fall.
As the game progresses you are truly tasked with putting everything you’ve learned into practice when the Thousand Sons, the sons of Magnus the Red and slaves to the will of Tzeench show up. Since they are also Astartes (accompanied by hundreds of Tzaangor daemons) they take a lot of punishment. A challenge befitting only the finest of the Emperor’s warriors.
Rubric Marines; best fought with a hoover.
This is very much a love letter to the Warhammer 40K franchise with many epic moments for long-time fans. However, it’s accessible to any and all players (though maybe try play/watch a recap of the first game beforehand at least). There were several moments during the campaign that left me stunned, mouth agape in awe. I was a hair’s breadth from screaming “For the Emperor!” while sitting on my couch.
The scale in this game really must be seen to be believed.
All things being equal though, since this is a narrative-focussed game I would have like if the main story was a little longer. There are only about 9 or 10 missions, each taking in or around an hour to complete. While this is certainly better than many other shooters out there, and the narrative wasn’t really missing anything in particular, a bit more meat to the story would have been nice.
With Me, Brothers!
The campaign mode, while good, is really just the starter course. The real long-term playability here comes in the form of the multiplayer. There’s a variety of different game modes that are sure to please everyone. The campaign itself is open to three-player co-op so you and two squad members can bring judgement to the enemies of the Imperium together.
Chapters who slay together stay together.
Alongside the campaign there are also (for the moment) six Operations missions which allow you to specialise in one of six classes each suited to a different playstyle (Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper, and Heavy). As you progress through this side-campaign you’ll earn the usual XP that you can use to level up your chosen class and your weapons. While weapon upgrades are permanent in Operations, you can’t carry XP across classes so if you’ve levelled up your defence-focussed Bulwark marine you’ll have to start all over again if you want to play as the more aggressive Vanguard class.
The competitive multiplayer, very much in keeping with the Mechanicus’ “innovation is heresy” viewpoint, isn’t anything to write home about. For now are three game modes (though we have confirmation that more are coming soon). Single point capture, multi-point capture, and Team Deathmatch. In each of these you’ll have access to the same six classes, but you’re limited to only having two of any given class on your team. I like this limitation. For one, it means you’ll never have to face down six heavies with Plasma Canons in single point capture. It also encourages players to experiment with different classes, abilities and weapons that they may otherwise not be so keen to use.
Finding a party is easy too. You can either queue up with randoms online, or you can send your friends a unique invite code that will bring them into your squad. This is the same across all three game modes. Unfortunately, while the Eternal War mode is 6v6 matches, the maximum squad size is only three marines. This means that if you want to play with more than two of your friends you might be out of luck. My friends and I have had to try and “game the system” by setting up two squads of three and then each squad leader queueing into a specific game mode. We then pray to the Omnissiah that we end up in the same lobby. This can take up to five minutes which is quite frustrating at times. When you want to chill out and play a few games with your buddies the last thing you need is guesswork and the need to rely on random chance. Personally, I think this is the way the game is run because Space Marine 2 exceeded expectations. By close of launch day on the 9th of September more than 2 million copies had been sold. This is far and away the fastest selling Warhammer game ever and they may be artificially limiting party sizes to give the servers a break while they can be upgraded.
Another frustration is the lack of any crossplay between PC players and console players in PvP. We can play together no problem in the PvE operations, but if you want to purge heretics you’ll have to stick to one ecosystem. I don’t really see much of a reason for this. If the likes of Halo and Call of Duty are happy enough to allow full crossplay (albeit via an opt-in option in the settings) then I don’t see why Space Marine 2 should be any different.
Bask in the Emperor’s Glory
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how this game looks. By the Throne it’s stunning. Not only is it one of the best games I’ve ever laid my eyes on, but it captures the scale and grandeur of the 40K setting expertly. As I was playing, I would routinely spend far longer in particular areas than I was supposed to, purely because I wanted to drink in the atmosphere. There are so many beautiful details to notice as well as stunning, bombastic set pieces that 40K is known for. It’s abundantly clear that a huge amount of love and care went into crafting each and every one of the levels and characters.
As long as one Cadian draws breath, Cadia stands!
Speaking of, there are a range of customisation options for your own Astartes in the PvE and PvP modes. Like a lot of options. There are dozens of paint schemes to choose from, at least five different options for each individual armour piece, and every weapon has a plethora of skins to choose from as well! Half the fun of the Tabletop Warhammer hobby is homebrewing your own Space Marine chapter or Tyranid Hive Fleet and they basically adopted that aspect wholesale for this game. Unfortunately, you can’t really customise your Heretic Astartes too much. You can change the livery colour as you like but as far as armour types are concerned, you’re locked in for now. You’re forced to play as one particular warband depending on your class; Black Legion for Tactical, Night Lords for Assault etc.. These all make sense thematically, like, of course the World Eaters are the battle-hungry Vanguard, but it would be nice to be able to customise your marine a little or even play as an Assault Black Legionnaire.
No Heresy Detected
So, is Space Marine 2 a candidate for Game of the Year this December? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. While it’s a lot of fun and objectively very well made, I think the dearth of multiplayer content at launch and the few server issues that we’ve been experiencing hold it back a bit. I’m happy to wear my bias on my sleeve here. I’ve been a fan of the 40K universe for 20 odd years and I’m writing this article not 10 feet away from my own growing army of Tyranids. I’m more than happy to overlook this games bigger flaws because it means so much to me that something I love is now being enjoyed by so many more people. I don’t think the server issues, or the limited mission variety are a dealbreaker for anyone. This is a live service game, after all, so we can expect constant maintenance and improvements. Focus Entertainment have even published a roadmap for when we can expect more operations and game modes (as well as new cosmetic packs!). Hopefully when they fix these bigger issues, they can work on the real problems. You shouldn’t be able to put a Crux Terminatus on Titus’s armour despite it being standard Mark X (and on the right pauldron, too!). Or they could allow us to change the skin tone and eye colour of our Salamanders marines so they more accurately match those of the people of Nocturne.
Space Marine 2 isn’t perfect but I absolutely adore it, and I think it shows a huge amount of promise for the future. I know it also means a lot to the Warhammer Community at large that Saber and Focus paid tribute to the late John TotalBiscuit Bain, a titan of the online gaming industry and whose First Impresions video of the first Space Marine game I would recommend anyone watch. It’s an exciting time for the franchise and I’m delighted that more and more people are coming along for the ride. I, for one, can’t wait for even more of Titus’s story or maybe a story that follows another Chapter altogether!
It’s been coming for quite some time, but today marks the official launch of Sky Mobile in Ireland. You will be able to buy both phones and SIM-only plans from Sky. Here’s all the info you need to know about Ireland’s newest network along with the questions you’re all asking.
Sky Mobile Launches in Ireland
Right now, you can buy Sky Mobile plans and phones directly from Sky online or from their retail booths nationwide. To celebrate the launch, Sky Mobile is offering a “Price for Life” offer of €15 per month for Unlimited calls, texts and 5G data. Sky has confirmed to me this will be a limited-time offer for launch only, so get it if you’re interested.
This introductory price point doesn’t make Sky Mobile Ireland’s best SIM-only deal. 48 still holds that title. However, the fact that Sky Mobile runs on Vodafone might be interesting if you have poor Three/48 coverage in your area. So if you’re wondering what Sky Mobile’s coverage is like, well it’s like Vodafone.
Why Network Does Sky Mobile Use?
Sky does not have its own network infrastructure here in Ireland. This meant it needs to piggyback on another network as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). Ireland has several MVNOs operating on existing networks already and it’s very common. Sky Mobile will leverage Vodafone’s network here in Ireland.
Network
Infrastructure
Eir
Eir
Three
Three
Vodafone
Vodafone
48
Three
An Post Mobile
Vodafone
Clearmobile
Vodafone
Gomo
Eir
Lycamobile
Three
Sky
Vodafone
Tesco Mobile
Three
Irish mobile networks and MVNOs along with the infrastructure they are based on
Overall, this is good news for customers as Vodafone boasts one of Ireland’s strongest networks with 99% nationwide 4G coverage and 5G across the country. Call quality should be excellent too given 4G calling is included as standard for all Sky Mobile customers.
Does Sky Mobile Sell Phones?
Yes. Nearly all of them. Sky Mobile is launching with nearly all the brands you’d expect from Samsung to Xiaomi and Nokia lookalike HMD. Given we’re in the season of iPhone launches, you might notice one glaring omission which doesn’t leave me overly surprised.
Sky Mobile is launching in Ireland without selling Apple iPhone themselves. Apple is notoriously difficult for new networks to deal with and need copious amounts of sign off. Unfortunately, this means Sky Mobile will not be selling iPhone at launch. However, the network has confirmed to me that a network unlocked iPhone will work without issue on Sky Mobile.
Buying a phone with any network over buying direct from manufacturer is usually a bad deal. Just check our bill pay versus prepay calculator before you buy anything. I do have to give kudos to Sky Mobile here for being a little different.
If you do want to buy a phone from Sky Mobile you have two transparent options. You can either buy the phone outright from day one, or enter into a 24 or 36 month agreement with 0% APR. This could become one of the most transparent and cost effective ways to buy phones in Ireland; but give me time to look at everything more closely!
Director of Sky Mobile, Aideen Chambers says, “transparency and fairness are at Sky Mobile’s core and splitting customer’s bills between their airtime plan and handset costs was hugely important to us in launching our mobile offering”.
At the launch, Sky commented that research shows many Irish networks gladly leave customers on higher plans even after the phone has been paid off, with Sky Mobile’s new model side stepping this. Chambers continues, “once your handset has been paid for, your bill will automatically reduce, and you will only pay for your airtime. Everything within the Sky Mobile offering is designed with a customer-first approach. We all use our handsets differently and Sky Mobile has the flexibility to meet everyone’s needs”.
Additional Sky Mobile Benefits
Sky Mobile customers will be able to reduce their spend in certain months by dropping the amount of data in their plans. This will be managed in the My Sky app.
Customers are keeping phones longer than ever. I’m guessing that’s why Sky’s purchase plans are either 24 or 36 months. But, if you do like keeping the latest phone on the market in your pocket, Sky will help. You can swap your phone for the latest model a year before your contract ends at no extra cost. But it’s not as good as it sounds. You have to pay off the remaining balance on your device. Sky Mobile is still a business, not a charity!
Finally, a feature called Piggybank promises to reward loyalty. You’ll be able to share data with family and friends, get discounts on new handsets, along with various other rewards including return European flights, cinema tickets and more.
Are Sky Mobile Phones Unlocked?
Sky Mobile phones are almost certainly unlocked so you’ll be able to use any network with them. I can’t absolutely confirm this just yet, but this is how Sky Mobile UK operates. Once confirmed, I’ll say for sure but it’s unusual for Sky Mobile UK and Ireland to have different policies like this. However…
Is Sky Mobile UK and Sky Mobile Ireland the Same?
No. They are technically different entities. Naturally they are separate entities with the same parent company. Sky Mobile Ireland has hired staff for the Irish business, but I would wager that they do lean on the UK business for some things, including possibly, supply chain.
Can You Use Sky Mobile Abroad?
Yes. Sky mobile will work the same as any other Irish network abroad. Handy for when you go traveling. Sky has said that “customers will also have access to worldwide roaming services, available in over 150 countries and Sky Mobile’s Roam Like Home service will be available in 44 countries including the UK and EU”.
I do recommend you give Sky’s customer care a shout before you go. Just to make sure all your settings are in order.
Is Sky Mobile Any Good?
This remains to be seen. The €15 per month offer would have been really aggressive a few years ago, but now it’s nearly a standard price in this space. It’s a clever move from Sky Mobile to hoover up customers now in the hope they’ll want phones in the next year or two. The way Sky sells phones is exactly what the Irish mobile market needs.
This is the same model iD Mobile launched with a few years ago, but poor communications and general confusion led to that, and eventually Carphone Warehouse in general, failing. Keeping the cost of the phone separate and spread out over a long period of time with 0% APR should be a great route to new phones, assuming Sky Mobile gets the pricing right. And that they hopefully get iPhone before too long too.
Most importantly, competition is good for consumers and Sky Mobile should be a real cat amongst the pigeons, doing for phone and plan packages together, what Gomo did for SIM-only.
If you have any questions you’d like answered about Sky Mobile, find us on social, drop a comment and we’ll get back to you.
If you were to ask me what my favourite video game of all time is, I’d have a hard time coming to a definitive answer. If you were to ask me for a top 10 list, there’s no doubt that Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door would be counted among them. I can remember, clear as day, the moment I booted it up in my Gamecube some 20 years ago. Until that point, the only turn-based RPGs I’d played were Pokémon and a little bit of Dragon Quest 1 and 2. After setting up my save file and getting through the intro screens, I knew this game was going to be like nothing I’d played before. It was funny, it was challenging, it had the most engaging art-style I’d ever seen. I instantly thought that this game was a future classic.
Well, here we are in 2024, and Nintendo has finally listened to the fans and given us a remake of one of the defining works of the Gamecube era. If you had told me two decades ago that the game I loved so much could be even better I would never have believed you. I’m so delighted to tell you that 2004 Alex needed to open his mind. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on Nintendo Switch is everything the original was, and so much more.
The Look
The most immediately striking thing about the game is, obviously, its aesthetic. Those of you with a keen eye for detail will have picked up on the fact that everything (and I mean everything) in this game looks as if it’s made out of paper. Some of it is printed, some of it is painted. Some of it is pristine and new, some of it is raggedy and torn. It is all paper, nonetheless.
How much glue do you think they needed to stick this all together?
Now obviously the look of this world was established in the original Paper Mario way back in the good old N64 days but, as is often the case with Nintendo, this second iteration in the series really perfected the idea. When changing direction, the characters pivot about an axis, briefly disappearing save for a (paper) thin sliver of themselves. When using one partner character’s ability to blow scenery away it wobbles and waves before peeling off the screen. Even the scene transitions scrunch the screen up into a ball before unfolding out into the next tableau. Imagine a 3D paper diorama of a Mario game and that’s literally how the game looks. It was utterly unique at the time, and I don’t think any series comes close to replicating the visual style it set down.
It helps that this new version is in shiny 900p widescreen as opposed to 480p 4:3. The crisp edges of the characters and buildings are much more clearly defined, and they pop more than ever. It’s a shame that Nintendo couldn’t get the game to run at a smooth 60fps like the original version did but since this is a story-driven RPG with a focus on the visuals, I’m not too upset about it!
The Feel
On the surface this is a very standard turn-based RPG. You navigate your way through the overworld with a rotating cast of partners in tow, each of whom has unique combat skills or ways of helping you navigate the world. Mario himself can gain powerups as your quest progresses too. From folding himself into a paper aeroplane to simply turning himself sideways to fit into narrow gaps, anything paper can do, he can do too!
Taking a cue from Super Mario 3, the battles in this game take place on a stage with an audience of all the various races from the Mushroom Kingdom watching. While this might seem like literal set dressing, the audience plays an important role in ensuring you have enough star power to unleash your devastating special moves in combat. If you pull off your attacks with enough panache (you can do backflips and bow before or after some attacks) the crowd will cheer you on and build your Star power meter.
All the world’s a stage…
Every attack you launch against an enemy can be powered up with a well-timed button press so there’s no sitting back and watching the battle play out while doomscrolling here! You can also access a wide variety of attacks provided to you by special badges that you find on your adventure. Though you’ll have to level up in order to equip more than one or two.
Speaking of, as with the rest of the core design the progression system here is pretty middle of the road. You gain one level for every 100 exp points you earn and that gives you the choice between an additional 5 HP, 5 Flower Points (essentially this game’s mana resource), or 3 BP (Badge Points). As you can imagine these allow you to take more hits, perform more powerful attacks, or wear more badges to open up more combat possibilities.
Even as a teenager I rarely struggled in combat, it must be said so there’s not a huge amount of challenge in the main path of the game. However, there’s always the foreboding “Pit of 100 Trials” which offers an ever-increasing level of difficulty as you descend towards the toughest boss in the game. This is where the true meat of the combat lies, and you’ll have to come up with truly unique strategies to clear the whole thing.
The Vibe
While they’re the most immediately obvious parts of this game, the stunning visuals and tried and true gameplay are really just preamble to the real star of the show. Where Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door really shines in the fantastic writing and character interactions. This game makes me laugh out loud at certain points and makes you feel a genuine connection to a robot similar to but legally distinct from HAL 9000.
Any game where you get to play as Bowser is an instant classic
Bowser even takes a step back from being the big bad in this game to let an entirely new character take the limelight. In fact, there are a few entirely new races in this game from the Punis to the evil X-Nauts. New characters are something that, sadly, Nintendo has shied away from in recent years but it’s nice to be reminded of a better time when the writers had a bit more leeway.
You can even chat to Luigi who is on his own adventure similar to yours! However, Mario clearly isn’t impressed with his brother’s exploits as he constantly falls asleep as soon as Luigi starts to speak!
In Conclusion
All told, I still adore this game. It never failed to keep me enthralled and none of the charm or character of the original has been lost in the 20 years since it first hit our screens. It’s one of those rare titles that I decided almost immediately that I’d be going for 100% completion (every badge, every sidekick, complete the Pit of 100 Trials) from the moment I set off.
Regardless of if you played the original, if you own a Nintendo Switch, you owe it to yourself to pick up this absolute treasure of a game.
There are two kinds of readers here right now. Those that have heard of Linus Tech Tips and those who are really struggling to read that headline. I’m going to get right into it, but apologies for the “cooking receipe” style context start to this article, because I know I had to speak to two kinds of reader here! You can go straight to the recipe if you like!
Who is Linus Tech Tips?
It’s hard to know whether I’m saying “who” or “what” is Linus Tech Tips and impossible to describe it without speaking about it over time.
Linus Tech Tips, more commonly referred to as LTT is a massive YouTube channel. It was founded by Linus Sebastian, a Canadian computer enthusiast. He started out building PCs in his teens and got a job at a computer store called NCIX. It was here he started creating videos for the company and when that company folded, he went out on his own.
Today, LTT has become LTT Group, with many YouTube channels amassing millions of views per video. The group’s videos consist of tech advice, PC part reviews, software tests and general entertainment and challenges but also several other business interests too.
For example, a recent video shows Linus touring a building he’s investing in to co-host LAN gaming parties and badminton competitions, a sport he enjoys.
LTT likely generates as much, if not more, revenue from the LTT Store than advertising, which gets mentioned in every video they create. The LTT store sells a wide range of products from apparel to tools and is best known for the LTT Screwdriver.
You can see, what started out as creating tech videos has grown substantially into a content and product empire for Linus.
LTT Taking on Google
Moving towards the crux of this story, brings us to LTT, Linus and Google. Most YouTubers have a love-hate relationship with the platform. There’s an old saying that “you shouldn’t build on rented land” and this relationship between creators and YouTube is a perfect example of that.
LTT is a great example. They have millions of subscribers who watch videos and generate ad revenue for the group. But sweeping algorithms changes, obscure demonetisation rules and general practices that are anti-viewer have lead to LTT making many changes. This has left LTT in a position of needing to decentralising the empire.
Floatplane
Floatplane is LTT’s own subscription based video streaming platform. The name has been mentioned many times on the WAN Show, the groups Friday live-streamed podcast, as deriving from the platform always floating. That is to say that while it might never “take off”, it will never cost more money to exist than it generates.
The platform is open to other creators who you directly subscribe to and support with a monthly fee for exclusive content. For example, LTT often posts videos here before YouTube with extended cuts and behind the scenes exclusive content.
I do like to think that Floatplane is also a waiting escape vehicle for LTT in the event that YouTube goes through a dramatic fold or targets LTT directly with strikes and channel removal.
YouTube Paid Feature Alternatives
For example, most creators simply make money from ads that Google injects into their videos. LTT instead has their own sponsor spots which has given birth to two meme-like segues in every LTT video. On Fridays, Linus is a co-host of the groups live-streamed WAN Show podcast which typically runs for a few hours, discussing the week’s tech news. Instead of using YouTube’s Super Chat feature, which lets people pay for their comment to be more likely to reach the hosts, LTT implemented Merch Messages. In return for buying a LTT Store product during the live-stream you can also have a message sent to the hosts. This is a great alternative to Super Chats as LTT sells a product that you get, and you get your comment interacted with.
The De-Google Your Life Series
And we finally reach the De-Google Your Life Series.
De-Google Your Life Episode 1
On 23 May 2024, the main LTT channel posted the first of the De-Google Your Life series. This was the first in a series of videos which would give you all the information you need to remove Google products from your life. Instead of Chrome Browser, you could use Firefox. Instead of Google Search, try Bing (yes, I know). Stuck in Gmail, try Proton Mail. The list goes on, even giving alternatives to Google Photos.
Are all of the alternatives better than the Google options? That’s subjective, and likely decided by how tech savvy you are and how much you want to get away from Google’s products.
As of today, the video has over 2 million views and nearly 6,000 comments.
In this episode, Linus shows how you can use password managers instead of Google’s password management options, some Google Maps alternatives and how to block Google’s ads.
But it’s likely his mention of YouTube alternatives that has led to the video being removed. Linus talks about JDownloader and Tarrube for downloading videos and introduces FreeTube and LibreTube as streaming apps that “hook” into YouTube itself.
But are these apps breaching any community guidelines or terms of service?
Relevance of YouTube Removing the De-Google Your Life Video
As I’ve mentioned, platforms like YouTube generate revenue through advertising and user engagement. By showcasing alternatives like FreeTube and LibreTube that allow users to access YouTube content without ads or potentially even without needing a YouTube account. Google could easily see the video as directly undermining YouTube’s business model.
While tools like JDownloader and Tarrube can be used for legitimate purposes, they can also be employed to download copyrighted content illegally. Even if the video didn’t explicitly encourage such use, merely mentioning these tools could be seen as promoting copyright infringement, which YouTube strictly prohibits.
It’s also possible that this is a false flag event. YouTube’s algorithms may have flagged the video for removal based on keywords or phrases related to bypassing ads or downloading content. Even if the video’s intent was informational, the algorithms may have interpreted it as erroneously breaching YouTube’s terms of service or community guidelines.
There are lots of if’s and buts, but there is one thing fore sure – the timing is uncanny. Regardless of how it’s happened, this is a bad look for Google, YouTube and Alphabet, though let’s not forget that these are all the same thing. Given this comes just weeks after a U.S. Judge ruled that Google is a monopoly. The ruling has put Google under intense public and regulatory scrutiny. Any actions they take, especially those that could be perceived as anti-competitive or censorship, are likely to be examined closely and potentially criticised. The removal of the LTT video could be seen as an example of Google abusing its market power to suppress content that challenges its dominance.
Removing a video which promotes the removal of Google from your life, adds fuel to the narrative that Google’s monopoly status allows it to act arbitrarily and unfairly, particularly towards content creators who dare to question its practices or promote alternatives. This reinforces the concerns raised in the court ruling and strengthens the arguments for increased regulation or even breaking up the company.
This could be a storm in a teacup as a single event. YouTube could reinstate the video at any moment and say it was just a mistake. However, it shows the dangers of building on rented land and the potential power a company like Google has. I know one thing for sure. I’ll be tuning into the WAN Show this week to hear what Linus and Luke themselves have to say on this story.
I could have written this yesterday given how predictable it was. After many of you followed my guide to getting Oasis tickets on Ticketmaster, the platform itself has left thousands disappointed. From social media and Google Trends, it’s clear that more fans have been left disappointed by Ticketmaster’s technical issues than have actually bought tickets.
One particular technical issue I’ve seen reported across my friends’ accounts and those of people on Reddit, is after a long wait the system crashes completely. One Reddit user said, “I was 22nd in the queue, my friend was 357,000 in the queue. I went through the whole process, got to “buy now” and then the whole thing crashed, kicked me out, and sent me back to the end of the line (which is now nearly 600k long). A complete joke, set up for failure”.
Has Ticketmaster Crashed?
Yes. Ticketmaster’s approach to selling tickets to gigs like this is to have a waiting room and let people queue up. The reason for this is to avoid 500,000 people hitting the ticket pages together and causing the website to crash.
However, this approach hasn’t worked. Which is particularly annoying when you think of the fairly excessive fees a monopoly like Ticketmaster gets to charge customers. Despite those fees, the company hasn’t invested enough in their website infrastructure.
The specific error many are seeing is “Error 503 Backend.max.conn reached. Error 54113”. This is telling us three pieces of information. The “503 Service Unavailable” is an HTTP status code that indicates the server is temporarily unable to handle the request. This is often due to, amongst some other possibilities, the server being overloaded.
Backend.max.conn reached suggests that the backend server has reached its maximum number of concurrent connections. In other words, the server has hit a limit on how many simultaneous requests it can handle, and it can’t process any more until some of the existing connections are closed or resources are freed up.
Error 54113 is likely an internal code used by Ticketmaster.
Some might be tempted to say “ah sure, lots of people wanted tickets this was always going to happen”, but it shouldn’t. The errors here suggest that Ticketmaster has configured their server capacity and queuing system incorrectly. Leaving many Oasis fans with their mornings wasted.
Are Oasis Tickets Sold Out?
Oddly, no. Sure enough, there’s a large number of resale tickets available on Viagogo, though just for the UK at the moment, from scalpers who were in early to resell at a profit. Something the band has done little to avoid. Bands like Rammstein take steps their fans cannot be overcharged massive fees for gigs, but Oasis haven’t taken that step unfortunately. Ireland doesn’t seem to appear on Viagogo or Stub Hub any more owing to our anti-tout laws.
However, tickets are still on Ticketmaster. Given the site’s technical issues, and the concerts extremely high pricing, people are either getting kicked out of the queue, hitting technical issues or deciding not to buy for the price.
Croke Park’s 82,000 capacity over two nights doesn’t appear to be sold out yet. But I joined at around 10am and was 400,000 in the queue. Given the queue and the price of tickets, I’m more than a little happy to have slept in today!
What is Ticketmaster In Demand Pricing?
There are a range of tickets on sale for the gig, but the most affordable one at the minute when you do get through is “In Demand Standing Ticket”. In Demand tickets is similar to Uber’s Surge Pricing. Something is popular, so the retailer assumes you’ll pay more for it.
Effectively, In Demand pricing lets Ticketmaster themselves become the tout, overcharging for tickets simply because it knows Oasis fans are desperate and willing to pay more than the average concert price.
After hours of queuing, Oasis fans are finding out that to get an average standing ticket costs €415.50 per ticket, before the added insult of a booking fee. That’s a regular standing ticket, no added VIP-benefits, merch or the likes. I’d expect Liam and Noel Gallagher to carry me into the venue and buy me a pint for that price.
All in all, both Ticketmaster and Oasis have quite a bit to answer for here. Ireland has a dedicated tout law but they don’t come into play here, as the issue is more Ticketmaster determining the face value price of tickets. It’s possible the band would have sat with Ticketmaster at some stage and possibly given the steer to “do what you can to maximise profit”.
You would have thought at some stage Oasis would have been worried about their image, but in hindsight that was a bit silly from me.
