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The 5 must have Alexa Skills for Irish Echo Dot owners

Ok, so now that you’ve settled on the Amazon Echo Dot as your assistant of choice and you’ve got it shipped to Ireland. Now, you’ll need some Alexa Skills to get the most out of it.

What are Alexa Skills?

Alexa Skills are Amazon’s fancy name for apps. You install the Skills that you thing you would like to use the most. The cool thing is that most apps can be activated by you simply asking Alexa to do so. Here are my favourite Alexa Skills for Irish users.

Fitbit

You don’t really need a Fitbit to use the fitness service. Once you download the mobile app, that will actually track your daily progress. I’ve been looking into lots of stuff like this for my Motivating Marty efforts. The Fitbit Alexa Skill means when you get home, simply ask “Alexa, ask Fitbit how I’m doing today” and you’ll get all your step data read out to you. With an actual wearable, you can go further and get sleep tracking data read out too.

4NextBus

The guys over at Zarley LTD get massive attempt marks for their 4NextBus Skill. This is currently the closest thing you can get to a Dublin Bus Alexa Skill right now. The Skill runs on publically available Dublin Bus data and all you have to ask is “Alexa, ask 4NextBus”. You’ll then be greeted with the latest live bus data from your preferred stop. You can also ask from particular stops once you know the numbers.

To be honest, this app goes in the pile of brilliant idea that needs a little work. Definitely, one to watch.

RTÉ Flash News Briefing

Alexa Skills have a category called Flash News Briefing. These are specifically for the latest news bulletins delivered from your preferred news network. A massive well done goes out to RTÉ who are extremely early adopters of the Alexa platform. Once you install the RTÉ Alexa Skill, just ask “Alexa, what’s new” and you’ll get the latest Irish news read out to you. A must have for Irish Echo Dot owners.

Beat the Intro

Not all Alexa Skills are totally serious. There are some cracking games in there too. Beat the Intro will play a few seconds of six music hits. The aim of the game is to name the songs. It’s not overly complicated right now and you can’t shout the names out or anything. Still, another Skill added to the pile that will surely be improving as this platform grows.

7-minute workout

Now, this is what technology is all about. Clear a little space in your sitting room and utter the words “Alexa, start seven-minute workout.” Seven-minute workouts have been scientifically proven as the ideal to increase metabolism, improve energy and lower stress. Of course, there’s also the additional benefit that these types of workout can remove fat. Just throw seven minutes of your day at this Alexa Skill and you’ll reap the rewards.

Bonus: Goos3D is available as an Alexa Skill

We’re super excited to announce that Goos3D is now available as a Flash News Briefing Alexa Skill. You can now get the latest Irish tech news read out to you by simply asking “Alexa, what’s new?” We’ve just launched this new feature and would love to hear what you think. We’ll be developing this in the coming months to work in some improvements.

 

 

 

Echo or Echo Dot? – Which should Irish shoppers go for?

I honestly remember thinking the voice controlled home was such a cool idea. From a young age, I had some sort of voice recognition software installed on the family PC. Man, has it come a long way in just a few years. I recently took a close look at the Amazon Echo and the Echo Dot to see which one you should buy.

What is the difference between the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot?

This is one of the most asked questions when it comes to these devices. The biggest differences are the price and the speakers. The Echo is considerably more expensive that the Echo Dot:


Normally, such a large price difference is justified by some fairly hefty hardware upgrades. I’ll admit the speaker on the Echo are great and plenty loud. But, the Echo Dot does have a speaker built in that’s likely to meet your needs. Even if not, just use your savings to buy a better speaker for it to run on. Honestly, the Echo just has a better speaker, but not a large wad of cash better.

Well, that’s pretty straight forward then?

Yup, it really is. The Echo Dot does everything the Echo does. It just doesn’t pack the punch in the speaker department. Even with that said, in a small apartment, the Echo Dot will hold it’s own playing dinner time Spotify playlists. You can also connect the Echo Dot to other devices by Bluetooth, a feature not available on the Echo.

How can I get the Echo Dot in Ireland?

There are a few options available to you. It’s not officially supported in Ireland, but you can still get the Echo Dot and get it up and running. You can read our article dedicated to getting your hands on the Echo Dot to learn more.

Bonus: Martin compares the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot

 

Parking Tag App: If You Have a Car in Dublin You Need This App

Dublin City parking can be a nightmare at the best of times. If you’re lucky enough to find a spot, there’s always the chance you won’t have change for the meter. Or what about if you don’t but enough in? Or worse still, put too much in. Disaster. That’s why the Parking Tag app is probably one of the best apps for Irish smartphone users.

What is the Parking Tag app?

Parking Tag is a service from Payzone that makes parking your motor much easier. It solves one of those terrible first world problem type problems. Like you know, the parking meter is a 30-second walk away from the car. So, you have to walk to the meter, then back to the car and then go to your meeting or whatever. Ugh, horrible right?

The Parking Tag app lets you control your parking through your phone. I feel somewhat smug as I park up, lock the car and sort my parking as I walk directly to where I need to be.

But that’s not a great reason to use the app

That just one of the reasons I like the app. It can also save you money. If you’ve ever paid for more parking than you need, you’ll know where this is going. Usually, to feel some kind of justice, I’ll run around the car park offering my ticket to others if I’ve overpaid my parking. That craic stopped once I started using the Parking Tag app. If you’re not sure how long you’ll be away, you can low-ball your parking time. The app will then let you know your time is nearly up so you can update it if needed. Simply genius.

The other glaringly obvious benefit is you not needing change. In a world of Android Pay and contactless cards, who carries change? You’ll never be caught out again with this app.

How does Mr. Clamper know to leave me alone?

Ah yes, those guys. Don’t worry, your reg number is registered through the app. Dublin City’s parking wardens have computers with them to check your plates.

Is this parking app just available for Dublin City parking?

Most of Dublin is covered by this parking app. Here’s a full listing:

It’s just one of those really handy apps to have on your phone for emergencies. It’s a little annoying that you have to top your account up and that it auto-renews. But, if you’re parking in Dublin City on a regular basis, this is a must have app.

Get Parking Tag for Android and iOS

 

Tech Week Ireland: 4 events you can’t miss

This week, across Ireland, national Tech Week takes place. We love Tech Week for the obvious reasons that tech grips the nation. But, more importantly, Tech Week is aimed at everyone. Our whole reason for existing is to encourage people to try out tech. Here’s our 4 tech week events you can’t afford to miss.

Monday: Electronics workshop at Blackrock Castle, Cork

Every day between 10am and 1pm, Blackrock Castle Observatory are hosting electronics workshops. Here, fifth and sixth class students can get hands-on with circuit boards and then get to test them out. Costing just €5, this should be a great interaction experience

Booking is essential for this event

Tuesday: Tech for good Dublin – VR for social impact

Technology is great fun but it also holds the fantastic power to do great things. Tech for Good is a group bringing together people with technology and making a positive impact. This lecture will kick off at 9am in Trinity and is totally free. Expect to see leading VR content creators while also having a chance to try out Tech for Good VR experiences.

Get all the details for this talk

Wednesday: Scratch finals in University of Limerick

Scratch is a visual programming language. It’s great for kids and grownups to create projects and share them. The core of the programming requires computational thinking and problem-solving. Coupled with the fact it’s fun and users don’t even know they’re learning. The Scratch finals in the University of Limerick will see primary and secondary school students coming together to claim a national title.

Get all the competition details

Friday: The Tech Week Sessions at Féile na Bealtaine

Féile na Bealtaine is an annual festival that lights up Kerry. Coinciding with Tech Week, two speakers will be describing the drive behind their tech passions. You’ll hear from both Lisa O Leary and Alan Toomey whose experience runs from TG4 to solar energy. This free event should be hugely rewarding for attendees looking to kick off Féile na Bealtaine in style.

Find more great Kerry events

These are just 4 of the hundreds of events on nationwide. Get on over to the Tech Week site and find something that suits your tastes. Make this the week you try something techie.

 

 

3 of the most important Gmail tricks to help Irish users

Gmail from Google is one of the world’s most popular email services. We recently brought you the best Chrome Extensions to de-stress your life. Now, we look at 3 Gmail tricks and how you can make your life that little easier.

Tag your emails

Gmail gives you much more than just the email address you asked for. So let’s imagine your email address is seymorebutts@gmail.com. You are also the proud owner of seymore.butts@gmail.com, s.eymorebutts@gmail.com and so on. This is great for free trials and the likes that just check your email. Far more importantly, you are also the owner of seymorebutts+whateveryoulike@gmail.com. Honestly, you can put anything you like in there. If you sign up for a newsletter, change your mail to seymorebutts+newsletter@gmail.com and then create a rule within Gmail to organise these

Far more importantly, you are also the owner of seymorebutts+whateveryoulike@gmail.com. Honestly, you can put anything you like in there. If you sign up for a newsletter, change your mail to seymorebutts+newsletter@gmail.com and then create a rule within Gmail to organise these emails into folders.

Recall Gmail email

Unfortunately, if you’ve just sent a mail and are desperately trying to recall it, you’re outta luck. You can cancel an email within 30 seconds of sending it. The only problem is that you’ll need to have set this is up already. Within Gmail, pop on over to settings and search for ‘Undo send’. Here, you can choose between a 10 and 30 second period where you can undo sending a mail. This setting simply delays the sending of emails and displays a popup after sending asking if you would like to undo.

Super simple, but I can honestly see this savings your arse on so many occasions. Set it up.

Set up two-step authentication

You will curse me for suggesting this and are probably shouting at your laptop, “but that stresses me out”. Sure, two-step authentication might slow down your logging into new machines but you know what sucks more? Losing control of your account and all your emails being available for the world to see. Yup, see? It’s all about perspective.

I personally love two-step authentication. It’s one of my favourite Gmail tricks – yeah, I’m a nerd. But I’m a nerd, comfortable knowing that my Gmail account is safe – along with the millions of services I log in with using my Gmail details. My authentication method of choice is Googles dedicated two-step app. When you’re logging in just fire up the app and tap in the code. Make sure you do set up a phone number too though. I learned that’s a lifesaver when you’re on holidays with no data.

If nothing else, set up that ‘undo’ option. Imagine the relief of recalling that mortifying mail just as you spot the boss was CC’d. That alone is one of the most valuable Gmail tricks.

 

Anotherworld VR: Combining education and terror like a country primary school

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Some say Virtual Reality is just a gimmick. Others think it is the next frontier in education and entertainment. We caught up with AnotherWorld VR, a company falling into the latter, at the recent Dublin Tech Summit. This German based company have a background in movies and video and are attempting to bring us to AnotherWorld (see what I did there).

Meeting AnotherWorld VR

With over 15 years of post production experience, it’s clear to see these guys mean business. Here’s how things went when we met up with the team from AnotherWorld VR:

So currently, these guys are working on three major projects, each of which we had the chance to play with at the summit. Not to put too fine a point on it but, holy crap. The graphics were outstanding, the story-lines clear and well thought out and in one case the educational benefits are just impossible to miss.

Have we all not dreamt of time travelling, exploring a fantasy world or going on a beach vacation for lunch break? Well, AnotherWorld VR is making this a reality. Using the latest technology in 3D production and photogrammetry this innovative production studio is aiming to create the most photo-realistic virtual reality experiences to date.

Wars Of Thomond

Now onto the good stuff! These guys love Ireland, its history, the heritage and most importantly the epic stories of the past. Wars of Thomond takes us back to the 13th-14th century during the Anglo-Norman occupation. The game tells the story of the feuding O’ Brien and Cullen families. The politics and the bloody confrontations which culminate in the Battle of Corcamore in 1317 are clear from the offset. Whichever side you select, the story is told from that perspective. Having played the demo I can say the really captures the imagination.

Ireland has a most amazing history and heritage

While at the same time brings back the rich mythology of the country during this time. Educational and fun – who doesn’t like that?

For a VR prototype, the gameplay is slick as your likely to find. Utilising the powerful HTC Vive, one hand becomes your shield while the other enacts as your sword. During the battle as the enemies flood the battlefield in beautiful detail, block sword strokes with your shield, smash them back with a face of pure wood and slash to your heart’s content using your sword arm.

Wars of Thomond from AnotherWorld VR

Wars of Thomond has an incredible landscape and tells a story to match. Couple this with the smooth gameplay and we are excited to see how the final version plays out.

Corcomroe Abbey

Following on from the impressive “Wars of Thomond”, AnotherWorld VR have created what can only be described as an educational tool. Over the summer they guys at AnotherWorld sent a photogrammetry team to Corcomroe Abbey to take over 50,000 pictures of the ruins. With this they were able to build a 3D model of the ruin in a virtual reality realm, the idea here is to free roam the world and learn about your surroundings.

Currently working with a team of historians the goal is to fully reconstruct the area to its original condition. A virtual time lapse will then transport the player back into a fully immersive medieval world, where they will be able to directly interact with historical figures and experience the events from two different points of view, by either swearing fealty to the Clan O’Brien or the rival Clan Cullen.

Remember those old boring history classes from back in the day? Now, just imagine sticking on a VR headset and immersing yourself in the historical world. Sounds much better right?

Kobold: The movie inspiring VR

This one is not for the faint-hearted, Kobold is a horror movie these guys are currently working on. Blurring the lines between cinema and VR, they take a Germanic pagan myth and bring it back to life as a horrific, evil antagonist of a horror film and VR experience.

50% film, 50% VR experience, Kobold is a terrifying new way to experience horror. Something I can personally stand as a testament too, I quite literally think I soiled myself during the demonstration. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) the movie is actually in German so I saved myself a few nightmares.

If you’re a horror fan and own the HTC Vive, Kobold is well worth a watch. Keep a close eye on AnotherWorld VR’s Facebook page for news.

Honestly, we loved meeting up with AnotherWorld VR and are super excited about what they come up with next. We found these guys to be extremely passionate about where they want VR to go and between the games, the educational benefits and the downright terrifying Kobold anyone who thinks Vr is merely a gimmick needs to look no further than AnotherWorld VR.

Fast and Furious 8 Review: It’s getting re-god-Dom-diculous

Films sequels can be a tricky tightrope to walk. Sequels need to offer the audience everything they loved about the original movie but on a much bigger scale. But, they also can’t compromise the integrity of the original story. Sounds like a simple thing to do, right? History has shown it’s not easy to make an entertaining sequel that’s still faithful to the original. I’m looking at you Blues Brothers 2000, Grease 2 and Matrix Reloaded. But what happens when you start to move beyond three films in a series? Well, you’re in danger of moving into self-parody. It took four movies for Rocky to introduce a Robot butler. Six movies in and Freddy Kruger possessed a Nintendo 64. Finally, it took a grand total of ten movies for Jason to go to space.

And maybe that’s why the ‘Fast franchise’ has rallied for as long as it has. Pardon the pun. After all, how can you pinpoint the moment a franchise went off the rails when there were no rails, to begin with?

The Fast and Furious world

It’s hard to believe that for the last 15 years the Fast and the Furious AKA: “Vin Diesel Grunts: The Musical” is now on its eighth instalment. The formula for a Fast movie is simple. Combine a paper thin plot with stupid stunts. The Fast and the Furious universe is a magical world where dying is just a mild annoyance. A world populated by female supermodels all you solve all conflicts with fast driving.

Conflict… again

Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Letty Toretto (Michelle Rodriguez) are having fun on their honeymoon in Cuba. Of course, they are partaking in the odd car race. It all goes to hell when a woman called Cipher (Charlize Theron) targets Dom. She forces Dom to work for her and he’s forced to betray his team for some mysterious reason.

It soon becomes clear that our favourite band of rogues and scallywags, led by Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) to stop whatever plot Cypher has up her sleeve. Even if that means working with his arch foe Deckard (Jason Statham).

Stupid isn’t bad you know

There’s no way to say this in any real nice way, but this is a stupid movie, there’s just no other word for it. The plot falls apart the very moment you attempt to look beyond the surface of it. If Cipher is such an amazing hacker why does she need Dom in the first place? But then again, stupid doesn’t necessarily mean bad. That’s this movie’s biggest strength. It’s aware of what it is, to the point where the actors clearly don’t take this movie seriously. Ironically and oddly, it’s the Oscar winner Theron that sticks out here in a bad way. She tries too hard to bring some gravity into the movie. Her lines delivered with poise and sobriety in a too fast movie is about as warmly received as a fart (while everyone one else loosens up and has fun with the role).

The verdict

And that’s what this movie is meant to be – mindless fun. If you treat it seriously for a moment, you’re wasting your time. But if you’re willing to turn off your brain for two hours then you’re in for quite the ride.

5 of the best movie Easter eggs

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You can watch a movie a million times and still not see everything. That’s pretty much the idea behind Easter eggs in movies. What are they and what are the best movie Easter eggs?

What are movie Easter eggs?

Movie Easter eggs are usually inside jokes or messages hidden by movie makers for fans to find. Generally, it’s the die-hard fans that will find them after watching a movie repeatedly. They are called Easter eggs because the efforts to uncover them are similar to a traditional Easter egg hunt. Of course, Easter eggs are not limited to movies. They actually first appeared in video games thanks to Atari.

What are the best movie Easter eggs?

While they started out in video games, Easter eggs quickly started to appear in movies too. Movie makers just couldn’t resist adding that extra bit of flair to their creations. Here are our five favourite movie Easter eggs:

Mel Gibson appearing in Apocalypto trailer

In 2006, Mel Gibson released his fairly decent movie, Apocalypto. As is standard with all movies, the trailer came first to whet everyone’s appetite. There was something a little strange about the trailer though:

Did you catch it? To be honest, it’s very subtle. Mel Gibson decided to put himself into the trailer smoking a cigarette. As you do.

mel gibson easter egg

Pixar movies are full of Easter eggs

Yes, Pixar movies have more Easter eggs that a sick child. Typically, Pixar movies will reference other Pixar movies. There are some other subtle references too, like this one to the shining:

the shining in toy story

Personally, my favourite is the Planet Pizza truck that appears in almost every Pixar movie:

Martin Scorsese marked impending death with an ‘X’

Not many survived the bloodfest that was The Departed. A quality movie about an undercover Boston cop. Honestly, that’s a movie that’s well overdue a rewatch for me. Even though with this knowledge, you’ll be driven mad watching it. Director, Martin Scorsese, places an ‘X’ on-screen every time a character is about to die:

departed x easter eggThis was a tip of the cap to the original 1932 ‘Scarface’.

They were riding in Hogwarts

Indeed, there was apparently plenty of wand-handling going on in Hogwarts. There’s no denying that the Harry Potter series grew with its audience, getting darker as it went along. It also got a little raunchier if this Easter egg is anything to go by. The end credits for the Prisoner of Azkaban are played over the Maurader’s Map. This map shows where everyone is in Hogwarts in a wizardy Google Maps kind of way. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted that there are two people in the corner going at it. Look at the bottom left corner of this GIF:

Sex easter egg harry potter Prisoner of AzkabanLooks like they are possibly in a closet or something. Is nothing sacred?

Time travelling Easter eggs

Is it really an Easter egg? I’m not so sure. Technically, I’d probably class this as more of a fantastic piece of continuity within a story. Still, not many pick up on the subtlety, so I’m going to call it out. I’m talking about Back to the Future by the way, one of my favourite movies of all time.

When Marty travels back to 1955, he leaves the Twin Pines Mall and lands into the Twin Pines ranch. He makes a hasty exit as the ranch owner fires shots at him. In his haste to leave he runs over one of the ranch’s pine trees. When he returns to 1985, Marty arrives at the Lone Pine Mall:

Movie Easter egg back to the future

That’s the kind of accuracy and subtlety that just makes me happy.

You could spend hours on Google looking for more movie Easter eggs. There are millions. Just search your favourite movie title along with Easter eggs and lose yourself in the internet for hours.

Home and Away cast that appeared outside Summer Bay

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Just, why? Why don’t they bloody move out? Who in their right might (looking at you here Alf) would live in Summer Bay. That place has been the epicentre of drama as long as I’ve been on this planet. That’s right, the show’s been rocking since 1988. There are a few of the Home and Away cast who legged it and escaped Summer Bay.

Leah was in the Matrix

I rewound the Matrix several times when I spotted this, but it’s absolutely true. Ada Nicodemou, or Leah to me and you, was in one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time. So, now that you’re trying to work out when the jaysus she was in The Matrix let me put you out of your misery. She appears at 1.30 in the clip below:

Ok, so she’s hardly starring in a leading role, but that’s table quiz material right there.

Kim is, well Kim is Thor

Yeah, we couldn’t start with the big pile of obvious that is Chris Hemsworth being Thor. So, we put it second. Formerly the Summer Bay lifeguard come fitness instructor, Hemsworth was actually a god all along. Using his god-like powers to survive Summer Bay, he would eventually leave for a massive movie franchise. Conveniently, the next instalment of that is on the way too:

Sam is now a proper lifeguard

Sams was one of the many kids that passed through Pippa’s gaff in Home and Away. He didn’t have an easy run of it, especially around water. He loses two foster parents in separate drownings. Maybe that’s what inspired his real-life career change? Sam, real name Ryan Clark, gave up acting as his full-time gig. Instead, he can be found in the latest episodes of Bondi Rescue. He now a proper lifeguard answering to the nickname, Whippet. No other fictional foster-parents will die under his watch.

Why was Scott Irwin so serious?

Sit down before you keep reading. One of the greatest actors that we’ve lost far too young was Heath Ledger. He played an incredible role in the Batman series as The Joker. He played a slightly less memorable role as Scott Irwin in Summer Bay:

Irwin was your typical Home and Away bad-boy. He comes in, teachers don’t like him, but the local ladies can’t resist him. For Irwin, the local girl that took a shine to him was Sally.

Remember nice girl Sally?

After Alf, Sally was one of the longest serving characters in the Bay. Shortly after leaving the show, a sex tape emerged. The female in the video looked shockingly like Kate Ritchie, the actress who played Sally. Ritchie never commented publically that she was involved in a sex tape. Probably still better than living in the Bay either way.

There are plenty of others to have graced the Home and Away cast, who’ve eventually escaped Summer Bay. Did we leave out any of your favourites? Like Isabel Lucas in Transformers or The Mentalist’s Simon Baker? Let us know.

 

 

Have you been Googling ‘World War 3’? You’re not alone

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We love Google Trends. They give you a finger on the pulse of the world. Like that time America elected Trump. We could see loads of American’s Googling information on Irish passports. Well, Trump has only been in office a few months and already, the world is Googling ‘World War 3’.

Why are people Googling ‘World War 3’

Well, Mr. Trump has made some fairly aggressive moves since taking his hot seat. Horrific chemical attacks in Syria led to the US bombing a Syrian military base. This led to a sharp worldwide increase in Google searches for ‘world war 3’:

Next up, North Korea celebrated the 105th anniversary of the nation’s founder, Kim II-sung. During colourful parades, the North Korean military showed off what appears to be intercontinental missiles. Again, the US responded by directed forces towards North Korea, “just in case”. While apparently a precaution, the world is clearly uneasy at these developments. This is obvious from the same graph above as you can see searches climb again after a few days.

Searches for ‘world war 3’ in Ireland

Ireland has a similar search pattern to the rest of the world. We have shown slightly more interest in the developments with North Korea as a potential step towards world war:

These are the highest volumes of searches for ‘world war 3’ since the shootings in a Florida Airport.

Here’s hoping these are all just unfounded fears that we’re having.