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Dare to Care: Day three daring to use an old Nokia

Dean
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Dare to Care: Day three daring to use an old Nokia

When the idea of this challenge started going around the team, I thought to myself “this will be easy. The break from my smartphone will be good”. Two days using the old Nokia 2730 is a little tough, I’ll admit, but I’m getting used to it.

Being pretty much out of touch with the live goings on in the world it is weird. When I get home in the evening, I sit down and jump on the laptop to catch up with everything. The next day, I’ll be chatting with people in work asking if “I’d heard the latest news”. Of course, I haven’t a clue what they are talking about – I’m twelve hours behind everyone around me.

loving my old nokia

Contact

I have a couple of group chats on WhatsApp and Facebook. I do feel like I’m missing out on a bit of the craic. Both of these chat apps inject a bit of life into dull days. For the duration of the challenge, I’m using a temporary number and while I’ve forwarded the calls, maybe I’m missing a text message. Most people don’t have my temporary number. Or is the mother looking for me and getting worried? These are the thoughts you have when you are using an old Nokia instead of your smartphone.

I’ve found myself taking the Nokia out of my pocket when I’m bored. “Yup, still 2.27”, I think to myself. Martin has talked about muscle memory, and the struggle is real. I’ll admit to trying Facebook access on my Nokia. No, the browser does not support it.

New Habits

Ironically enough, I’ve started playing more games on my phone. I never played games on my smartphone, or consoles in general. I just get bored too easily. Then I rediscovered Snake – arguably Nokia’s greatest achievement. It really is the perfect game. It’s simple, anyone can play it. You can play against yourself, trying to beat high scores, or try to beat your friends (or my three friends in this instance) high scores. Currently, I’m on about 1500, but I’ll keep you posted as I improve.

On lunch breaks, I’d usually watch something on Netflix or just browse through Reddit. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I bought a newspaper: The Star. After looking through it page to page, I realised it’s practically Facebook. There is some sports news, a couple of breaking news headlines, then a load of stories you don’t care about, about people you don’t know. After briefly reading an article on Jordan and her ex, dealing with his sex addiction, I decided I’d never buy a tabloid again.

Not hating the old Nokia yet

So far, I don’t think I’ve struggled massively, but it is only day three. With at least 12 days and possibly 28 to go, I’m not sure how it’s going to go. The old Nokia will either get worse as time goes on. Hopefully, I’ll slowly get used to it, and maybe even ditch my smartphone altogether once it’s all over. It was only a matter of time until one of us said it, though it’s unlikely. If you want my suffering to continue, follow the link and donate to the Irish Cancer Society. The more we raise, the longer we go without.

support-cancer-reserach

Google Cardboard app for iPhone just launched

Marty
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1
Google Cardboard app for iPhone just launched

After previously making virtual reality affordable to the masses, Google Cardboard app for iPhone is finally available.

Just last week, Apple filed patents for a potential iPhone virtual reality headset. Now, Google has announced their Cardboard app is available on iOS. While Google Cardboard for iPhone won’t reach the level of immersion seen through the likes of the HTC Vive, the incredibly low cost means everyone can try it out.

Google Cardboard viewers are available for less than €20 online. You’ll often grab one for free from tech companies innovating within the virtual reality space. Recently, we spotted a great deal in Flying Tiger. Insanely, you could pick up a set of Google Cardboard style viewers for just €2.

What can Google Cardboard app for iPhone do?

Google Cardboard for iOS and Android does have limitations in terms of the user experience. Once you expect the viewers to be the very first step in your virtual reality journey, you are unlikely to be disappointed by them.

YouTube 360 videos, Google Map’s Photo Spheres and third party applications such as VRSE are likely to be the most interesting to iPhone right away.

Would you like a free set of Google Cardboard viewers?

We’re giving away some of the simply gorgeous cardboard viewers from Flying Tiger. Simply Like our Facebook page and we’ll pick a winner in the coming weeks.

Flying Tiger Virtual Reality Headsets €2 for Google Cardboard app for iPhone

 

Dare to Care: Day one living without a smartphone

Marty
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0
Dare to Care: Day one living without a smartphone

I am considering this to be a successful first day living without a smartphone. I might even go further to say it was somewhat enjoyable.

The morning of a man living without a smartphone

Half asleep through blurry eyes, I could see a flashing screen. Memories were flooding back to me of the simple alarm sound.

My morning routine is usually to flick through the news and my emails while still lying in bed. I wasn’t tempted to replace this with a game of Snake. The only notifications I could have had were calls and messages, but there were none. While I’m using a temporary number for the duration of the challenge, I worked out call forwarding last night. I was showered and out the door quicker than ever as my smartphone wasn’t there to delay me.

Getting to the office

It’s a funny feeling walking around with a Nokia 5110. While I know it’s for charity, the feeling is very familiar. It’s like Movember that I’ve done in the past. Basically, you look a little silly for a good cause, hoping most people understand what you’re at. Using a Nokia 5110 isn’t as obvious as a growing a moustache. People are confused but also delighted to see old faithful.

Nostalgia runs rampant as people see the Nokia 5110, but there’s laughter in the office as I get a phonecall.

The phone call was a family member, confirming they had donated to the cause this is all in aid of. The same family member texted me moments later, simply because everyone now knows every communication puts me in a slightly embarrassing position. Is the Nokia 5110 actually a more social phone?

What else have I learned from day one?

Your muscle memory is ridiculous. Without thinking, my fingers are flying across the keypad of the Nokia 5110 using little shortcuts to get the most out of the pre-T9 dictionary. More muscle memory can be seen in how many times I reach for the Nokia to check useless notifications. You know like when you check Facebook, close the app and immediately open Facebook again.

It’s going well so far, but do keep it tuned to hear more tales from myself, Jon, Dean and Gary. Also, please donate to the cause. We are aiming to raise €1000 for the Irish Cancer Society by living without a smartphone. Right now, we’re downing our phones for one week, but should we hit all our goals, that could be a whole month!

 

Call Forwarding: Prepping for our Dare to Care challenge

Marty
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0
Call Forwarding: Prepping for our Dare to Care challenge

So it turns out some modern networks don’t work on older mobile phones, leading to me looking into call forwarding.

I’m currently using one of Ireland’s MVNO networks: iD Mobile. Unfortunately, MVNOs such as Tesco Mobile, iD Mobile and Virgin Media don’t work with older Nokia phones. To overcome this problem, I just got myself a SIM on a different network. Not wanting to miss any calls on my old number, I investigated if I could use call forwarding to redirect incoming calls to my new mobile number.

Why don’t all networks work with older phones?

Mobile phone providers have changed a lot since the Nokia 5110 first emerged onto the market 18 years ago. Most importantly, our phones are now smart and connect to the internet via 4G. In Ireland, we also have MVNO networks and other technical aspects that we have to consider. Long story short: our networks got modern and older phones are old.

Which networks work with older phones?

Call forwarding network testing showing Nokia with Eircell and Digifone

To be safe, you’re best just going with Vodafone for older phones. Three operate purely on 3G signals. Irish MVNOs run on Three, meaning they are all ruled out too. I also tested out eir which initially didn’t work, though that was possibly down to the Nokia 5110. When searching for networks I was greeted with Eircell and Digifone – neither of which had any involvement with Meteor or eir. I can only vouch for Vodafone now.

Setting up call forwarding on Irish mobile networks

Setting up call forwarding is actually really simple and useful. Redirecting phone-calls is far from sexy stuff, but there are several times you can use it. For example, if you are going on holidays and want someone to handle your calls. Also, if you are giving up your smartphone to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society, it helps to keep in touch.

What you will need for call forwarding

  1. Access to your current phone number
  2. The phone number you want to forward your calls too
  3. A code to tell your network what to do

How to setup call forwarding on an Irish mobile network

  1. On the phone you are looking to forward, dial **21*(number you want to divert to without the brackets)#
  2. Would you believe that’s it? All your calls are now forwarded to that number you punched in.

When you are finished, hit ##21# and everything goes back to the way it was.

There you have it. A super simple way to redirect mobile phone calls. This was all part of our Dare to Care campaign. Getting ready to go smartphone free involves lost of testing and prepping. Just like checking out the alarm!

Support Goos3D in reaching our €1000 goal for the Irish Cancer Society.

Donate CTA

 

Dare to Care Drag Race: Nokia 5110 versus Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Marty
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0
Dare to Care Drag Race: Nokia 5110 versus Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

The Goos3D Dare to Care kitty is creeping towards €100. Of course, once €100 is hit, we will be turning off our smartphones are moving our lives onto Nokia’s. For myself, it’s a Nokia 5110 but we’ll hear from the others as we go on.

To celebrate, for want of a better word, giving up my smartphone, I decided to have a little drag race. On the left is the gorgeous Nokia 5110 and the right is the mighty Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The drag race is to determine which boots faster. Simple.

The drag race

Dramatic stuff.

You can make Martin and some other members of the Goos3D.ie team suffer longer by donating to the Dare to Care campaign below. You’ll also be supporting the Irish Cancer Society and their fantastic work.

Donate CTA

Five things Apple didn’t shout about for iPhone 7 launch

Marty
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0
Five things Apple didn’t shout about for iPhone 7 launch

Apple is well known for shouting about their “best features ever” at every product launch. iPhone 7 was launched with the usual fanfare of features but there are a few items Apple didn’t shout about. Here are our favourite five.

Jet Black is going to scratch really easily

Just an hour or so after the launch of the iPhone 7, the first images emerged from San Franciso as technology journalists got hands on with the latest iPhone. One image emerged which appeared to show scratches on the iPhone 7 Jet Black.

Sure enough, Apple has even admitted that Jet Black model customers should be aware their handset is likely to show signs of wear rather easily. On the iPhone 7 product page, you’ll spot a little 2 sitting beside the Jet Black model. Sure enough, they are admitting it may scratch rather easily.

jet-black-terms-and-conditions

Yes you read that correctly. Apple have the cheek to take the opportunity to peddle their cases! Well, to be fair you would be mad to shell out that kind of cash and not put a case on it. Jet Black throws up another unsung bit of news from the Apple Event.

Jet Black available in limited models

Sure you can still get the Black iPhone 7 in all capacities but after making a big deal about Jet Black, not everyone will be able to get it. Actually, we’d wager very few indeed! Jet Black will only be available to users purchasing the 128GB and 256GB iPhone 7. If you are one of the many who opt for the lowest capacity, which has just upgraded to 32GB, you have to settle for boring old Black. First world problems.

Listening to music on a low battery?

I remember a time when low battery meant I had to plug in my phone while I listened to music. Actually, I use a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, so that’s still the case. In truth, I actually use wireless fast charging while listening to music through my wired earphones. Apple’s flagship can’t to any of this, not even the simple stuff like charging while you listen to music on your earphones. Thanks to the combination of charging and audio into one port, you have to choose. Unless of course, you purchase yet another accessory Apple has forced onto the market.

Wireless AirPods, Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth adaptors, allow you to listen to music while you charge your iPhone 7. Apple has also created a gorgeous docking station for the iPhone 7. The dock allows users a convenient point to charge their device while also providing a good old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone socket on the back. A very nice accessory for your nightstand or desk in work.

sync and charge while listening to music on iPhone 7

You’ll pay €59 for the privilege of owning one. Apple describes it as an accessory allowing you to “listen to music while you sync and charge.”

There is no fast charging

I also mentioned there how I love fast charging. Other industry leaders like Samsung, HTC, Huawei and LG include fast charging for their flagship phones. Fast charging is great for when you need to listen to music but can’t charge and listen at the same time. It allows you to go from 0% to 50% battery in 30 minutes. Still, Apple felt their range of iPhones didn’t need it.

Honest moment here. I never thought I needed fast charging until I had it. It’s so handy.

Old iPhone models are getting a memory boost

Okay so admittedly, they did shout about this, but everyone is so caught up in new iPhone 7 news it’s not getting much attention. In the coming months, the iPhone 6s will be getting upgraded to 32GB. Now it’s important you understand what this means.

If you already have an iPhone 6s 16GB you are stuck with it. There is no scheme to get you up to 32GB. Sorry.

If you are going to a shop to buy an iPhone and they only have a 16GB model, you’ll probably be limited to that option. Retailers will need to sell through their stock before trying to sell the news iPhone 6s 32GB.

 

You can now share Netflix without sharing your password

Marty
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0
You can now share Netflix without sharing your password

You are one of two kinds of people. Either you borrow someone elses Netflix account, or you are the one who decided to share Netflix. The latter are generous and trusting. Not only do you let your friends have freebies, but you share your Netflix password too. Thankfully, your trust has been rewarded by the team at AccessURL.

Is it ok to share Netflix?

No. Sharing your Netflix details is dangerous and almost certainly illegal, resting in a grey area at best. With that said, I do it. I’m not alone. I’d wager the vast majority of Netflix subscribers have at least one person they share their account details with. Now, for a moment, ask yourself what password you use for Netflix. Where else do you use it? You use the same email to log into something else with the same password too right? Now you can see the real problem.

The people in charge of Netflix don’t appreciate you sharing your details, but more importantly, it leaves you open to data leaks. Obviously, this is not cool.

AccessURL gives access to friends and family while protecting you

Chrome extensions usually provide some kind of convenience for users. AccessURL provides convenience and peace of mind – and is remarkably easy to use.

AccessURL allows you to provide access to your password protected accounts without sharing your email and password. Furthermore, AccessURL allows you to decide how long your family or friend can access your account too. Yes, you take the power back! Of course, this works with Netflix and is the most recognisable use, but it would appear to work with any account.

AccessURL makes sharing Netflix a little safer

How does AccessURL work?

Perhaps the most important aspect of AccessURL is how simple it is to use in your efforts to share Netflix. With the Chrome extension installed, you navigate to, and log into, the service you are looking to share. You then click the AccessURL icon in Chrome, select how long you would like to share Netflix (or a similar service), and finally select “create Access url”.

AccessURL lets you Share netflix without sharing passwords

You are then presented with a unique Access URL that you can send to a friend or family member. It’s important you let them know that they will need the Chrome extension installed too.

Is AccessURL secure?

Giving access for your accounts to anyone is a bad idea. For the duration you select when creating the Access URL, who ever has that URL will have full access to your account. During that time, they can treat your account like you would. Sure, they can probably try and reset your password, but they won’t have access to your email. Of course, you could also give them another Access URL with that if you wanted to.

The question here shouldn’t be if AccessURL is secure. In truth, you should ask is it more secure than sharing your email address and password with friends and family. To this question, it’s much easier to say yes. Should you change your mind, return to the AccessURL.com website and you can revoke the URL too.

With security being so important, the team behind the extension have thought about protecting users. For example, if you log out of your Netflix account, the receiver of your Access URL will also be logged out. This is possible as the system depends on cookies (those little bits of data that track you online).

The verdict

All in all, AccessURL is a bad idea that solves a problem created by a much worse idea. People will always share Netflix and other services. This neat little Chrome extension provides you with some sort of protection. Just make sure you always select some sort of expiration for your Access URL.

 

Dare to Care: Goosed gives up smartphones

Marty
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0
Dare to Care: Goosed gives up smartphones

Dare to Care is being headed by Today FM to support the Irish Cancer Society. Funds raised by the initiative will go to support cancer researchers tireless efforts to find better ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

Donate CTA

What is the idea behind Dare to Care

Today FM will be daring their presenters to do something that either scares them or makes them uncomfortable. In return, they’ll raise money for doing it. To date, Ian Dempsey shaved his head and Matt Cooper donned a pink hairdo. This whole effort runs through September, and we here at Goosed.ie are set to do out but.

Daring Goosed.ie to give up smartphones

It’s the 16th birthday of the Nokia 3310 and we got all nostalgic thinking it would be great to go back to the days of Nokia ringtones. This escalated into dares, so you see where this is going.

We’ll be giving up smartphones for as long as you can fund it! That means Martin will be getting lost in Dublin without his sat nav, Jon will finally be pulled away from Pokémon GO, Dean will have to dig out his Discman and Gary might miss something in fantasy football.

The scene is set for utter devastation.

Turn the screw…

You decide how long we go for. Currently, we are just waiting to get our hands on some old Nokia phones. Once they are secured, I’ll be hanging up my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for my weapon of choice: the Nokia 5110. How long this ordeal lasts is in your hands.

Goos3D does Dare to Care

The goal is for Goosed.ie to raise at least €1000 for Dare to Care. All you need to do is donate. You have control over how long this lasts by helping us reach these milestones:

  • €100 will get us started
  • €250 to force us into a second week
  • €500 to force us into a third week
  • and €750 to make us go a whole month from the day we start in an effort to hit €1000.

You can expect to see freakouts, photos taken with an actual camera, Snake score updates, confusion, and a distinct lack of phone charging throughout.

 

Say hello to the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

Marty
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0
Say hello to the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

It’s the annual celebration of new iPhones and Apple announce both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

What’s new on the Apple iPhone 7

From an Apple point of view, there has been much innovation with the world’s most popular smartphone brand.

New iPhone colours

Admittedly, we’re not starting with the strongest hand here. Rolling our the colour choices for the iPhone 7 felt a little ridiculous in truth. Accompanying last years Rose Gold, Silver and Gold is Space Grey’s replacements in Black and Jet Black. Yes, Apple have opted for two different black colours this year, which seems crazier than two golds for some reason.

range of iPhone 7 colours

Bye bye 16GB iPhones

Even the most devout of iPhone supporters have admitted in the past that the lack of physical memory can be frustrating. Apple finally listened and are making 32GB the lowest memory capacity they offer.  Interestingly, they also outlined that the other iPhones in their portfolio would be upgraded too. Sorry, if you are an existing iPhone owner, that doesn’t mean you. Bigger memory will only apply when resellers in Ireland clear through the smaller memory stock.

iPhone portfolio

You need to rethink how headphones work

Listening to Spotify is possible thanks to a connector from the early part of last century. Countless earphones and headphones can be found around the home, as owners are safe in the knowledge that the trusty 3.5mm connection will always have a use.

Apple has never been ones to care about things like this. The iPhone 7 will be the first major smartphone to ditch the well known 3.5mm headphone socket. In its place, Apple promoted the use of their Lightning connection as a superior option for convenience and audio quality. Apple described this move as being on driven by “courage”. Whether or not such quality will be worth the seismic change remains to be seen. In truth, moving away from the 3.5mm jack has been on the cards for a while now. We, the customers, just needed a little encouragement to make the move.

Lightning to 3.5 adaptor

One nice inclusion from Apple is a Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor which will be included with the iPhone 7. Shoppers will also find new EarPods with a lightning connection on the end. Not included in the box are the Apple Air Pods.

Apple Air Pods

Opinion seems to be pretty straight forward on the Air Pods. Wireless earphones are a smart idea, removing the tangle of cables and adding to comfort. Apple may or may not have achieved this, but the Air Pods looks terrible and rushed. The design would suggest the brief involved a drawing of the old EarPods and some Tipp-ex to remove the cables.

Apple AirPods €179

Not only are the AirPods expensive, you can expect to lose them an insane amount of times and frankly look like they will fall out all the time.

…and the camera

Apple have continued to develop the sensor that power their 12MP primary camera and the 7MP Facetime camera. The picture would appear to be improved, I personally can’t imagine the images being better than the Samsung Galaxy S7, but I can wait to be corrected.

Apple dedicated a large amount of time to Bokeh, but i truth it felt a little laboured as HTC had a similar feature a few years back with the M8. Sure, Apple might do it better, but that’s not the innovation that excites about an iPhone launch.

Anything else?

A new watch known as the Apple Watch Series 2 was announced, along with a Nike+ partnership. Prior to Christmas, Super Mario will get his own iOS game, while Pokémon GO will enjoy new depths with Apple Watch. The iPhone 7 will have a bigger brother in the iPhone 7 Plus, which will boast a dual-lens camera. We could go on for as long as an Apple Keynote discussing it all but we won’t.

iPhone 7 pricing

The pricing at launch would appear to be aligned to iPhone launches from recent memory.

Plan

Vodafone €60 per month

Three €55 per month

Price

€229*

€279*

*Estimated pricing

Apple iPhone 7: The verdict

We are delighted to see Apple ring in the changes with water-resistant design and 32GB memory capacity as standard. We’re willing to let the removal of a traditional headphone socket slide as the belief in lightning is strong. AirPods are bordering on the kind idea that gets laughed at in a few years time. Apple has made significant strides in their design, but ultimately the best they can hope for is to be on par with Samsung in terms of the sheer power given to the user.

With that said, the gap between Apple and Android, for me a die-hard Android user, is closer than ever. I can only imagine that was the plan all along.

The iPhone 7 launches in Ireland on September 16th.

Apple iPhone 7 lauch date

 

Say hello to the Apple iPhone 7 – LIVEBLOG

Marty
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0
Say hello to the Apple iPhone 7 – LIVEBLOG

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