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New on Kickstarter: HearNotes Wireless Earphones

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From Dr. Dre’s Beats to Sennheiser, audio is an ever growing market in a world enjoying more and more media on the move. One company believes they can reinvent the wheel through a Kickstarter campaign and release earphone users from the constraints of cables.

The Product

HearNotes are completely wireless earbuds. the HearNote company have opted to move away from Bluetooth technology, utilising a Kleer dongle which plugs into your phones audio socket. HearNotes will last over 4 hours on a single charge and claim to produce audio to match some of the biggest audio devices on the market.

The Good

If you’ve ever traveled and shared audio playback with a friend or partner, you’ll have experienced the frustration of one person moving, yanking the earphone away from the other. HearNotes allow two users to wear one bud each with the fear of losing an ear after a sneeze.

There is also an inherent convenience about the device being completely wireless, but lets not forget that there are a huge amount of wireless and NFC/Bluetooth audio devices on the market.

The Bad

The price of HearNotes is a little insane. The entry level Kickstarter backing begins at $239 (already sold out though). Now of course, if the audio is really good, you could argue it’s worth the price…except for the design.

hearnotesThe dongle is large and clumsy. We’re already sweating at the thought of it snapping of in a pocket. This could be a great device with protective casing incorporation but the decision to use a Kleer dongle was to provide great sound, but came at a cost to design practicality. Also, the earbuds themselves appear to be quite big.

The Verdict

HearNotes KickstarterTo us, this seems like a poorly designed device with the dongle being a huge inconvenience. For us a small wire is a better sacrifice. What’s most interesting about the HearNotes is the Kickstarter reception they’ve received after just a short campaign. Already less than $7000 away from successful funding, these will surely fly past a $75,000 funding target. There is a lot of people out there who believe this design is the way forward.

What do you think?

Google search tips and tricks

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There’s hardly a day goes by where we won’t ask Google something. Have you ever Googled how to Google? If you haven’t, read on and find some of the top searching tips recently posted to Imgur.

Google Search Operators

These are some basic tricks that will allow you to get the most from your everyday searches.

Search for Exact Terms

By surrounding your search term with quotations (“text here”), Google will only return result which match the contents of the quotations exactly.

Search and Exclude

Many times when you’re searching for something, you’ll find the first page clogged with unrelated terms. Imagine you were researching the Titanic, but didn’t want anything to do with Mr. DiCaprio. Simply pop a minus in beside the terms you want removed from your search results and Google shall deliver.

Search Site

We won’t always begin our search with no idea where to start. If you know which website you want to retrieve info from, you can limit your search to a particular site. The example on the right demonstrates a Google search which crawls through the our site, returning anything with “watch” in the text.

 

Search by Filetype

This one’s a biggy for students! There are some cracking PDF files out there which will likely help your research, if only you could bloody find them! Luckily, you can limit your results to show only PDFs. All you need? Add filetype:PDF or replace PDF with PPT for Powerpoints or DOCX for word documents. Stay away from the plagiarism now!

These are some of our favorite search tricks, but by no means all of them! Here’s a really cool infographic that you’ll most likely save somewhere and never look at again. This should be handed to all students on their first day of college – seriously!

Google tips and tricks

Facebook provides over 70 gender options

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Irish Facebook users can now define their profiles more accurately, with over 70 gender options now available.

FACEBOOK

Following a successful introduction of the feature in the UK last June, Irish users can now customise how their gender appears on the social networking site. Of course, users can also set to whom such information is available to.

FACEBOOK2From the settings panel, Facebook users can now select “Custom” where a field allows the user to enter the gender definition they would like to be recognised as. Furthermore, they can also choose a preferred pronoun.

Facebook Ireland’s Managing Director, Sonia Flynn, stated to the Irish Times that “custom gender option means people in Ireland will be free to define their true gender identity allowing people to more genuinely express themselves and connect with others”.

Facebook Ireland have not followed Twitter’s suit in officially supporting a Yes vote in the coming referendum. However, such changes are occurring within a very appropriate context for changes towards our understanding of identity in Ireland.

App of the Week: Messenger gets Video Calling

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In the past year, many refused to download Facebook Messenger in defiance of it’s mandatory nature. Facebook have just announced a great new feature which may make you rethink that decision.

Skype is arguably the most popular video calling platform, owing largely to it’s longstanding nature and somewhat reliable performance. Apple battled strongly with a very fast and optimised creation in Facetime, which proved extremely popular. Facebook was widely considered to be the only platform which could challenge, and have just announced video calling in their latest Messenger App update.

You can now video call any of your Facebook contacts using Apple, Android and Windows Phone platforms. The quality is a little sketchy at the moment, but this could likely herald the real dawn of popular video calling.

Currently, the only draw back is the inability to call from mobile to computer and visa versa, but hopefully this will be addressed in the near future.

You can download Facebook Messenger or update your current app from the Google Play Store, App Store and Windows Phone Store.

Will it Blend: The Apple Watch

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Have you’ve been waiting patiently for the launch of the Apple Watch? Better look away now then. The legendary Tom Dickson is well known for getting his hands on the latest and most expensive tech on the market. Unlike us though, Tom doesn’t have much interest in reviewing items.

Tom is the CEO of Blendtec, unsurprisingly a company that prides itself on making quality blenders. Blendtec are often found in smoothie bars around Ireland, but there are no Granny Smith apples on today’s menu. Instead, we get to enjoy Tom’s strange blending addiction as he asks the question – will the Apple Watch blend?

I don’t think anyone found that too easy to watch…right Android users?

Top 4 Will it Blend Moments

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There’s something very therapeutic about watching items such as the Apple Watch being destroyed in super slow-motion.

 So sit back and relax while watching our favourite Will it Blend moments.

Will it Blend: Nokia 3310

We’re going to start with the most controversial. Following this test, Blendtec we’re called into disrepute amidst claims their blending videos were completely fake. Who could blame such accusations, as we see a mind-bending feat? A Nokia 3310, reduced to dust. To this date, the most controversial Will it Blend to date.

Will it Blend: Chuck Norris

With the Nokia under its belt, Blendtec turns their focus to Chuck Norris. Is nothing sacred…

Will it Blend: Glow Sticks

You’re probably sitting there thinking “what use is all of this”. So let’s be more practical. Imagine you’re stuck in the wilderness, needing a twelve-hour lantern, and all you have is glow sticks and a Blendtec blender. We’ve got you covered.

Will it Blend: Golf Stuff

A little birdie told us that this blender is at least on par with the rest of the market. Ok, that’s awful, but check out these two golf related smashings.

And remember. Don’t breathe this.

Netflix Ireland: Top 5 TV Shows

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While you’re dabbing on that last bit of aloe vera after-sun, listening to the lashings of rain outside, you may as well pop Netflix on. Through extensive and selfless testing, we’ve put together the best of Netflix Ireland to get you through a few binges.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

If for no other reason, it’s that damn theme song. You will be singing it for days after viewing.

Kimmy Schmidt, along with a few friends, were conned by a suave cult leader into living underground during a supposed apocalypse.   Upon her release, she must adapt to life in New York à la Brendan Fraser in Blast from the Past.

The show has been picked up by Netflix and will be continued for another two seasons. So commence your Netflix binge.

Daredevil

And from the ashes rose one of Marvel’s superheros. This isn’t a hat tip to any story lines. Instead it’s the recovery of this franchise from Ben Affleck’s  absolute mare of a movie. Daredevil, like most good superheroes, leads a double life – lawyer by day and superhero by night. Oh and he is completely blind, depending on his other senses to plow his way through bad guys.

Like Kimmy Schmidt, Daredevil’s home is Netflix, meaning you can binge straight away. Not all superhero lawyers needs a mask though…

Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul is already one of the biggest smash hits of 2015. Saul Goodman, an underdog ambulance chasing lawyer, is already known to many for representing Breaking Bad’s Walter White. Better Call Saul takes place six years prior to White and Goodman’s path’s. We can only assume that means we have at least six years of this dodgy, cheap suit wearing lawyer’s entertainment to enjoy.

While these Netflix exclusives are great, there are a limited number of episodes to be watched. If you are planning a two weeks off work binge session (we won’t judge you) you’ll need a lot more ammunition to keep you going. Netflix has a few long standing greats from start to finish.

House

A great TV show will deliver the perfect problem. You’ll want to meet the main character, not the actor, but their actual persona. Dr. Gregory House is perhaps one of TV’s greatest characters. Dr. House takes on medical cases that no one else could solve, often using controversial methods and battling his own inner demons and drug problems. It’s one of the all time greats and is a must watch of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos magnitude.

Dexter

Sure enough, Miami-Dade police don’t come across as being too competent throughout this series, but Dexter is a gripping tale that forces you to question your own morality. Dexter, a Miami-Dade blood splatter analyst, hides a dark secret. When criminals slip through the cracks of the legal system, Dexter looks after them in his own twisted way. Dexter, like House, is just a character you shouldn’t love, but you just can’t help yourself.

Dexter also has an intro which you strangely don’t get tired off, despite it being two minutes long. Hey this kind of stuff is important for binges if Netflix doesn’t cut it off.

Gaggle Giggle – McConaughey Watches Star Wars Trailer

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Surely you’ve already seen the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? You haven’t? Seriously?

Anyway, with that aside, those who have watched the trailer have reported nothing but glee and excitement that the new entry of the Star Wars saga looks epic. Just check out Matthew McConaughey’s reaction to watching the trailer. Totally real and not at all a clip from a movie used to make a funny video.

We’re not the only ones getting chills at the last part with the two lads are we?

First Impressions: Huawei Ascend P8

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Huawei’s Ascend P7 was the first major sign of intent from the Chinese manufacturer’s desire to battle with mobile’s heaviest of hitters. At a London event today, Huawei announced the P7’s successor, the Ascend P8. We’ve watched the launch coverage, so you don’t have to!

Ascend P8 Design

364100-1Learning from the shortcomings of the Ascend P7, the P8 incorporates the big buzzword in mobile right now – “uni-body”. First impressions suggest a premium aluminum body which should come close to matching the markets biggest flagships. Huawei Consumer CEO Richard Yu joked that the Ascend P8 has “no bump” poking fun at the lens housing of the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, which you may have seen in this video already.

Huawei-P8-camera-comparison.-Image-courtesy-of-Huawei

P8 Camera

Perhaps the largest portion of the launch was dedicated to the creativity stored within the devices 13MP camera. Huawei have pushed all out on innovation in this area with the world’s first RGBW sensor. With the innovative camera comes innovative software. We’re reluctant to believe that all the features packed into the new flagship will be widely used regularly, but instead are cool features that allow owners to show off their phone. Isn’t this what a flagship is all about?

https://youtu.be/t-7RJUBnRbw

P8’s Target Market

It was a real Jekyll and Hyde launch in terms of target markets for the Ascend P8. The camera features suggest this is a handset for the young, creative and fun loving out there. Still, the presentation kept coming back to features such as conference calling and for regular travelers the benefits of dual sim and quick roaming connect.

P8 Max Announcement

P8 Max next to Galaxy S6 Edge - Image courtesy of PCPro.co.uk
P8 Max next to Galaxy S6 Edge – Image courtesy of PCPro.co.uk

Just before wrapping up, Huawei announced a second handset, the P8 Max. This thing is a 6.8 inch behemoth which dwarfs the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus and the 5.7 inch Galaxy Note 4.  Furthermore this beast boasts a massive battery (4360 mAh for the speccy out there). This promises 10 hours of video streaming.

Pricing

To Huawei, nothing is sacred. Not even the ridiculous wait to find out pricing. The beans were spilled on this along with the launch markets. The Irish market will be included in the initial rollout. Huawei appear to have married quality and value, stating the entry level 16GB Ascend P8 will retail from €499.

The final verdict…

This promises to be Huawei’s most exciting handset to date. Combined with the impending Watch, Huawei are pulling out all the stops. For years, they’ve been threatening to sit at the mobile manufacturer top table. The Ascend P8 could very well be their ticket to that table. We’re holding off on a final verdict until we can get hands on  but things are looking positive.

There is still more to come on the P8 including a unique eInk case that pairs with the device. Be sure to Like, Follow and Subscribe to GOOS3D to keep up to date.

Watch Game of Thrones Season 5

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Just hours ahead of the Game of Thrones Season 5 premiere in the US, the first four episodes have been leaked. It’s believed they have originated from DVDs given to journalists prior to the premiere.

Now you must ask yourself and important question. Should you watch these leaked episodes, or live under a rather large rock avoiding the impending spoiler minefield that lays ahead. What say you to spoilers?

Where can I watch Game of Thrones Season 5?

You’ve got a few options here, including torrent sites like the PirateBay. We’re going to cover the much easier one – Showbox.

What is Showbox

Showbox is an Android app, not available from the Google Play Store. You must sideload it (install it manually yourself – it’s easy). Showbox is very similar to Netflix, but has up to date movies and TV Shows, including the leaked season five episodes of Game of Thrones.

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How do I install Showbox?

Okay, so here’s the step by step on how to download and install Showbox.

  1. On your Android device, go to Settings and Security. Look for an option to “allow installation from unknown sources”.
  2. Visit www.coolvideoapp.com to download the Showbox apk file.
  3. Once downloaded, open the file and select install.
  4. Open up the app and rejoice in the amount of entertainment available to you

It’s really that simple. Once you’ve done those steps, you’ll be able to watch Game of Thrones, season five.

Can I download Showbox for laptop?

Yes and no. You can download a program for your PC called Bluestacks. This is an Android emulator, allowing you to run Android apps on your PC. You can then install Showbox this way.