Home Blog Page 168

5 Times Tech has been completely shite

0

We live in a world of high speed broadband on the go, with devices in our pockets providing more power than computers that put man on the moon. Bearing this in mind, there’s be a fair few times technology has simply been complete shite.

Smart Watch Nonsense

useless apple watchWe’ll be the first to admit to hypocrisy on this one, as we’re Pebble users and Huawei Watch fanboys. Moving that to the side, smart watches are a load of balls. They do little more than tell the time and update you on friends Facebook statuses. What do you get in return? A device you most likely forgot to bring to work because you took it off to charge, just like you have to every single day. What do you pay for this chore? A huge amound of moola, with the entry level Apple Watch costing over 400 bucks!

Google Glasses

useless google glassTechnology sometimes fails at “The America Stage”. That is where tech doesn’t get to the point where the states exports it. Google Glass kind of fits this bill, as it was extremely uncommon to see these devices out and about. We spotted two people at Web Summit last year and from that very moment, we vowed that glasses are one wearable we will not adopt. Man those lads looked so incredibly stupid. That’s all we really have to say about that. Stupid creation, looked stupid and has since gone away.

Handsfree Kits

useless headsetNothing says I’m a really busy and grumpy courier like wearing a bluetooth earpiece while you drive from A to B. Now don’t get us wrong, we’re big believers in the importance of road safety and don’t think you should be using your phone at all while driving. Handsfree kits are a distraction when you drive but they also make you look like the aforementioned angry courier. Then you forget to charge it once, or lose the charger etc and then it’s thrown in the glove box forever. No thanks.

Xbox Kinect

useless kinectComing home and shouting “Xbox On” about three or four times is great craic, but it’s not the most efficient way of powering on the old home entertainment system. You could be alone at home and you’ll still feel a bit of a pillock trying to coax the console into doing what you what by shouting at it. That said, it’ll cool when it does actually work, but you’ll have already wasted at least five times the time taken to do the job with a controller. There are also barely any games that need or use Kinect, although we’ve picked up a few yellow cards for abusing refs in FIFA 16.

Arguably, you could add all things that use voice control. Looking at you Siri.

Electric Cars

clamp
Yup, just off Aungier Street was an electric car charging and got themselves clamped.

See also, gas cars. We recently spotted an electric car parked in front of a charge station. That car was clamped. What’s funny about this is.

  1. We saw an electric car
  2. We saw a charge station
  3. The two of these were together being punished

You’re likely to never see the above yourself, as electric cars don’t like leaving Dublin. These elusive beasts feed on extremely rare charge stations only found in the most useless of places. Even upon finding these charge stations, the cars could be then held captive. A horrible life, most would rather stay away from by sticking to the tried and tested. If you hope to see the likes of Tesla on Irish roads becoming more common, we’ll be waiting for quote some time. Don’t forget, most of the electricity comes from fossil fuels…so you know…swings and roundabouts.

And yes, it’s the exact same for gas that was tried out a few years ago by like 12 people. Awful shame.

Update: Tesla and electric cars have since made fairly massive strides in Ireland, so open mouth, inster humble pie. You can read more about it over here.

The Internet VS First World Problems

0

Every day, we encounter the slight inconvenience inducing threat of First World Problems. Thankfully, the creation of the internet coupled with smart phones have built bridges for us to stroll over these minor day to day inconveniences.

Ordering Takeaway

ordering takeaway over the phoneWhat is it about actually calling takeaways we all hate so much? Perhaps it’s the fact there are 5 other people in the room that could have taken the responsibility and you’re raging that it fell to you to make the call. Perhaps instead it’s the fact they’re likely to not hear you, mess up and all your friends will blame you. What ever the reason, ordering takeaway online has grown in popularity with two massive names currently battling it out for our custom at the minute in JustEat.ie and Marvin.ie.

More than likely owing to the fact everything is written in black and white, the chances of your order being messed up are less likely online. There’s no messing around with cash and there’s no awkward shouting “number 45” down the phone a million times. Yay for ordering takeaways online.

Getting a Taxi

hailing a taxiSticking out your hand and having the taxi drive passed, is perhaps the greatest rejection many will experience since not getting the shift at a teenage disco. Well fear rejection no more, as apps like Uber and Hailo mean you can sit in the warmth of your gaff as the taxi does the chasing.

If you’ve had a few too many scoops and left your phone in the taxi, Hailo lets you contact your driver the next day. Sharing a taxi with friends? Uber lets you split the fair across different cards. And then there’s once again the fact you don’t need cash, just a card that’s linked to your account.

Renting a Movie

3f4e41b472f8d40aea4cb1e73f0167bbFirst of all, why was there never a parking spot near the video store? Why was there always that creepy guy who came out of the adult section just as you were dropping back your movies? And why did they always assume you didn’t rewind the video while giving you evils? Ah yes, the humble video store. Many’s a time you’d rock in excited to watch the latest movie only to find they’ve rented out their two copies before recommending a sub-par alternative. DVD came along with a new threat; getting a scratched DVD. Christ, the horror of it all.

Enter Netflix. Sure enough, Netflix comes with its own problems, such as a burning desire for everyone to access US Netflix, but it has really made watching movies and TV simple. Leaving the house and interacting with people is fast becoming a thing of the past. For the price of one or two rentals a month you get access to the entire Netflix database. If you haven’t already signed up, download Upflix, an app that lets you peruse the entire catalog of movies and see if it’s for you.

Queuing for Beer

giphyThe loud hearty roar of “HEAVE” is heard only during a game of rugby or ordering pints on the weekend. Getting to the bar to grab a pint can be like trying yo get U2 tickets. Even for the likes of these, there is an app. Yes, you too can avoid the queues for beer if you are in the right place. Currently in around 30 Dublin bars, Orderella allows you to have your pints and cocktails delivered straight to your table.

We’ll be living the life of Wall-E in no time!

Has technology made your life ever so slightly easier? Let us know how in the comments below.

Goos3D takes Bronze and the Blog Awards 2015

0

In just under two years, Goos3D has experienced some ups and downs, but last night we had one of our latest highs. At a ceremony in Dublin’s Tivoli Theatre, we were announced as the Bronze Winner in the Best Digital and Tech Blog category.

bronze

Given the competition that was present in this category, we’re absolutely over the moon and just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who’s got us to this point. Huge thanks to the Blog Awards Ireland, who put together and amazing roaring twenties style show.

screenFinally, we’ve gotta tip caps to the competition we came up against, in particular Ireland’s Technology Blog who brought home silver and the amazing Game-Smack who nabbed the gold. Congratulations to everyone!

From ourselves, we’re going to be pressing on from here to get Goos3D into an even stronger position and bringing you even more news, reviews and genuine tech tips and tricks that will improve your live a little – all while being a bit of craic.

Back to the Future: Now the present

30 years ago, a brave young man by the name of Marty McFly, blasted into 2015 at 88 miles per hour in a DeLorean time machine. While we’re waiting for Marty to arrive, we’ve taken a look at the predictions the Back to the Future II movie made in 1985. The film got a lot more right than many give it credit for!

Fashion

The biggest let down were the fashion predictions from the Back to the Future movies. We still tie our own shoelaces, our jackets don’t fit perfectly or dry at the touch of a button, but most importantly, we, with the exception of Miley Cyrus,  don’t look like these guys…

Automatic Dog Walkers

Okay, so we’re calling this a near miss. While we still have to take our madras for a walk ourselves, we do have hoovers that roam the house while we’re away…not a bad try Back to the Future.

Technology

Of course, this had the biggest margins for error, but Back to the Future did immensely well.

Biometrics

What is biometrics? Most new phones are stuffed with biometrics. They’re basically fingerprint scanners or retina scanners. Yup, it’s really grown in the past few years, making its way onto the biggest handsets on the market, while generally becoming quite popular with users. Chances are most people use biometric scanning at least once a week to clock in at work, unlock a laptop or unlock their phone.

Phone Glasses

One of the gadget world’s biggest failed glories in recent years has been Google Glasses. Granted, everyone looks stupid in them and they don’t do a whole lot, Google Glasses were still quite a distance from their Back to the Future counterparts. Nonetheless, a fair attempt from the guys 30 years ago.

Hovercams

Back to the Future was frightfully accurate with this one. The past year has seen a massive surge in the use of Drones for capturing still and video images. At the recent Web Summit in Dublin, it was said that these will grow steadily in Ireland as US aerospace laws are extremely strict. Regardless, they are already being used to capture media and could replace traditional cameramen at some stage!

Hoverboard

This is the biggest wish of everyone. Sure we would all kill ourselves off a skateboard in two seconds, but we’d all be able to master a HOVERBOARD. Would you believe these things are closer to reality than you may think.

So yeah, hoverboards exist. While there is an abundance of fake videos, a real company going by the name Hendo has a real working Hoverboard. Hendo has just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign and enlisted Tony Hawk to demo their product. There are flaws, but I’m pretty sure this video would have blown some minds back in the eighties…

While we’re still a bit away from the Back to the Future Hoverboard, maybe this single wheel board will do for another while.

Truth be told, Back to the Future didn’t so much predict hoverboards. They more created a massive demand for the technology leading to companies researching the skateboard-like devices for plausibility.

Flying Cars

Miss. Unfortunately, cars are well and truly planted on the tarmac, with the exception of those weird aero-cars, but that’s another story!

So there you have it. Back to the Future II didn’t do too bad of a job predicting at all. Granted they didn’t predict mobile phones and thought fax would be the next big thing, but still, some of their predictions are a hell of a lot better than Keith Barry’s Christmas predictions.

The Student Games: 100m scroll

0

Every now and then there’s a game that students will worship like a god, simply because this is was the Uni library computers are for. For me it was 8 ball pool, but how about testing your fingers versus Usain Bolt?

The 100 Meter Scroll is an amazing idea and also an extremely well executed one. You’re at the start of the 100 meter sprint, but you’re legs are no good to you now. Instead, your success will be measured by scrolling ability. Once finished, you should definitely post on our Facebook page and share a screenshot with friends to see if you can be beaten.

Now we’ve set our time with no practice and most importantly no mouse. We used a touch pad, leaving us at an obvious disadvantage. Think you can beat us?

100 meter scroll

Why is #BoycottStarWarsVII trending?

0

People are all over the tweet machine right now wondering why in the namea jaysus is #BoycottStarWarsVII trending. It’s a fair question with a simply stunning answer. Apparently, the new Star Wars movie is racist.

Yup, no word of a lie. A small group have emerged claiming that the new Star Wars movie should be boycotted as they have perceived an increase of multiculturalism, leading to the only logical conclusion that there was a white genocide and the Star Wars franchise is now anti-white.

While @genophilia is sticking to their guns and refusing to pay to see the new Star Wars movie in support of their #BoycottStarWarsVII campaign, no one can blame them for still wanting to see it right? That might explain why they re-tweeted this competition to get tickets! You couldn’t make it up. boycottstarwarsVII   So let’s take a moment to think. White supremacists have taken offense to a perceived increased multicultural cast in the new Star Wars movie, and are vehemently boycotting the new movie. Gobshites. We’re with this guy.

 Surely Jar Jar Binks was the best chance to boycott the franchise?

Fallout 4: Limited Edition Xbox One Controller

0

We’ve made no secret of our child-like excitement for the impending launch of Fallout 4, with mini games like Fallout Shelter doing little to quench our thirst for rad infected Nuka Cola. Bethesda would appear to be onto us, and are drip feeding the masses with small nuggets of nerdgasmic Fallout bits and bobs, such as a phone holding Pipboy which will be compatible with an in game mobile app.

Well they aren’t finished yet, as the latest piece of limited edition gear started appearing online today. Xbox One users would appear to be getting a limited edition Fallout 4 controller…behold the beauty…

Fallout 4 Controller

This controller will be part of a sale on the Bethesda store itself, and currently there is no sign of an equivalent controller appearing on PlayStation.

Everything is pretty boggo-standard with the controller except the fact it ditches the custom Microsoft microphone interface and replaces it with a much more user friendly 3.5mm jack (the same one your phone has). This should make the use of headphones much simpler with Fallout 4, so when you’re playing at 5am in the morning, you won’t wake the house.

Fallout 4 is set for launch on November 10th.

Dublin Donuts – Aungier Danger

0

If you are looking for Dublin Donuts, look no father than Aungier Danger.

Okay, so fair enough, we generally cover tech and entertainment, but we have a soft spot in our hearts for donuts (actually it’s probably quite a hard clogged part of our hearts).

Coming soon to Aungier Street in Dublin City Centre is Aungier Danger, a brand new dedicated donut shop. The only tenuous link that we can really cover as Goos3D is that their Instagram feed so far looks pretty sweet. What’s also bound to be pretty sweet are of course the donuts. Below is the aptly titled, “Crimescene”.

#TheCrimeScene #AungierDanger

A photo posted by Aungier Danger (@aungierdanger) on

Okay, we’re really not passing this off as a tech review rather than a brief interlude as to how much we love donuts, so we better have a quick look at their site. For now it’s just a splash screen, but it’s mobile responsive, begging the question will there be some sort of online service for order your favourite donuts?

Aungier Danger Dublin DonutsWhat we love most about their set up is the fact their opening hours would appear to be ever so slightly fluid. Aungier Danger will be open to supply you with donuts from 7.30 am until they sell out. So either they won’t have many, or this are going to be some immensely high quality donuts.

Please note, if you are an owner of Aungier Danger, Goos3D will not under and circumstances accept samples in return for media coverage. With that said, you’re welcome to offer and we see what happens?

Aungier Danger opens Monday 18th October. All joking aside, get out and support what is sure to be a tasty Irish business.

Fallout 4: The Wanderer Trailer

0

Every now and then something will happen that makes us jump around like a little school girl seeing their Disney heartthrob on TV. The latest thing to do this is Bethesda’s latest trailer for Fallout 4, entitled “The Wanderer”.

Our personal favourite bit is humanity being wiped out, but that’s just us. We’re not going to rattle on, as you’ve already read how excited we are, but check out the trailer below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YnyQTSALCE

New on Netflix: Beasts of No Nation

0

Well known for award winning TV shows, Netflix are possibly about to dip their toe into Oscar waters with their new feature Beasts of No Nation.

What’s it all about?

Directed by Cary Fukunaga, the director of the good season of True Detective, Beasts of No Nation sees a young boy left behind as his family flee an area under fire between rebels and a corrupt national regime. Alone and vulnerable, the young boy is taken under the wing of a charismatic rebel leader, played by the one and only Idris Elba.

Why the big fuss?

Netflix have shown and funded a fair few movies, but have never double screened. That is launch a movie on Netflix and in traditional cinemas. Beasts of No Nation is different, as it will feature in certain theaters across America. The reason this is quite massive news? Well as soon as it hits a big screen, Beasts of No Nation can be considered for an Academy Award.

idris-elba-lutherWho’s in it?

Nobody you’re likely to have heard of, with the massive exception of Idris Elba of Luther and ads for Sky Boxsets fame.

Is it going to be good?

Apparently, it’s going to be very very good indeed. Currently, the movie has a rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the general talk of the town being this is one to watch for the movie gongs this year. If you are a Netflix subscriber, you’ll be able to tell for yourself shortly, as Beasts of No Nation will be available from October 16th.