Who to follow on Twitter for Web Summit
It was the night before Web Summit and all was quiet, except Dublin which is currently hopping for Night Summit! With Ireland’s biggest tech event set to bow out on a high with 30,000 attendees over the next 3 days, here’s the who you’ll need to follow on Twitter to keep up to date and have a bit of a laugh.
@WebSummitWifi
We’re calling it. At the time of writing, this account has no more than twenty followers, but they have massive potential to be a great laugh over the coming three days. Watch this space as the WiFi quality fluctuates and the humour rises.
Enjoying the wifi? Lovely isn’t it? #websummit pic.twitter.com/EECZPJyWnn
— Wifi Status (@websummitwifi) November 2, 2015
@PaddyCosgrave
One of the Web Summit’s founding members, Paddy will be tweeting the goings on of the Web Summit over the three days. Well, whether it’s him or not, who knows, but his account is a centre-piece of knowledge and updates you’ll simply have to follow for the big event.
It’s official: Over 42,000 people will attend #WebSummit from 134 countries over the coming 3 days & 4 nights https://t.co/CnpmUr6nSu — Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) November 2, 2015
@WebSummitHQ
Okay, call me Captain Obvious, but you’d be amazed how many people forget to follow the obvious accounts! Like Paddy, WebSummitHQ will be updating you throughout the Web Summit with the biggest and latest going’s on. Lots of stuff just pops up throughout the event, so have your notifications from accounts like this turned on.
42000 #WebSummit attendees. 134 countries. Our most international event. Read the top 20 most represented countries: https://t.co/SSMxRw1kKd
— Web Summit (@WebSummitHQ) November 2, 2015
@Goos3D_IE
Oh come on, surely you saw that coming. For the second year running we’ll be covering Web Summit LIVE for you! Follow our Twitter where we’ll be posting all sorts of media and news updates as the three days unfold. Want us to ask a startup you’ve spotted a question? Let us know and we’ll try sort it for you.
We’re Asking The Big Questions At #WebSummit #wifi https://t.co/lWSdRFfnAR — Goos3D (@Goos3D_IE) November 2, 2015
@CiamhieMC
We don’t believe in discouraging competition, in fact we love the sheer number of quality bloggers, journalists, tweeters etc that will be covering Web Summit along with us this year. You’re likely to see us re-tweeting the likes of Ciamhie Mc Digital over the coming days.
Twas the night before #websummit and all through the house… Christmas is to kids what @websummit is to us!!! pic.twitter.com/sesrHXLjJy
— Ciamhie Mc Digital (@CiamhieMc) November 2, 2015
@AdrianWeckler
As per previous point, we’re not anti big fish in the pond as can so often be the case. Granted, Adrian may only tweet every now and then about Web Summit, when he does, chances are people are listening. Some of his tweets can be refreshingly down to earth too…
Web Summit app is pretty decent. — Adrian Weckler (@adrianweckler) November 2, 2015
#Liveteam
Protip! Did you know there are over 100 volunteers whose sole job it is involves covering Web Summit on every social media platform imaginable? Yup, let me introduce you to the Liveteam. After #WebSummit, #liveteam is the best hashtag to follow for the event. These guys and gals are made up of enthusiastic bloggers and social gurus who’ll be tweeting and instagramming everything they can get their smartphones locked on.
All set for #websummit. I’ll be on the #LiveTeam so be sure to say hello if you see me ? pic.twitter.com/zDfXvz9Kkn
— Lydia O’Byrne (@littlelydia) November 2, 2015
@Hughgallagherrr
Hugh Gallagher is the guy over social and the Web Summit Liveteam. Keep and eye on his social stream for his picks of the best the Liveteam has to offer.
I realised my 18 year dream by chatting with The King Gianluca Vialli ahead of Sport Summit @WebSummitHQ next month: http://t.co/xQ1Pw7XlDF
— Hugh Gallagher (@hughgallagherrr) October 16, 2015
And if you’re an attendee…
Sure enough, you’ll be reluctant in thinking about downloading the Web Summit app, but you can connect with loads of fellow attendees and their social media. You can download the iOS version and Android version now.
5 Web Summit Talks We’re Looking Forward To
The countdown clock to Web Summit is closing in on zero and excitement is building ahead of the final event before they move to Lisbon. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but we’ll be focused on how the talks of Web Summit affects everyday tech users. Here’s three talks in particular we’re looking forward to hearing.
Piloted Driving: Driving into the future
Cars are fast becoming more and more aligned to the futuristic visions of Hollywood. Tesla’s recent autopilot features are frightfully similar to the self driving cars seen in Demolition Man.
To discuss the road we’re on towards automobile automation, Audi’s Sven Schuwirth will be on hand. Sven is Head of Brand and Sales Development with Audi, as the company clearly see demand for automation growing in the future.
Swipe Right: Tinder up close
Getting the shift has been a corner stone of Irish society for many years now, with tech becoming a far less frowned upon medium. This is nowhere more visible than in the public adoption of Tinder. Tinder is like a virtual nightclub where a simple swipe is the same as giving the old wink across the bar. Founder, Sean Rad, will be having a twenty minute chat with Forbes’ Steven Bertoni to discuss what has been a roller coaster year.
What will drive adoption for home automation?
Here at Goos3D, our ultimate aim is to make tech a little more fun and approachable for the public. With that in mind, we are understandably excited to see any talk that’s interested in overcoming obstacles to technology adoption. There are more and more people trying out things like Nest or Philips Hue as uses for home automation are becoming more real to the public. This twenty-five minute talk will include specialists from Philips, Logitech and Zonoff, hosted by Andy O’Donoghue from TV3’s The Gadget Buzz.
Bringing VR to the masses
Is it simply a cool gadget, or will virtual reality touch most elements of our future lives. In what may be a talk from a slightly biased viewpoint, the inventor of Oculus Rift, the world leader in VR, will be sharing his vision for the future of virtual reality.
EyeRobot: Are machines finally catching up to science fiction
We recently looked at how past fictions of James Bond had become realities and now focus turns to our more broad connected world. With more and more devices being connected on a daily basis, representatives from Movidius and DAQRI will be discussing how “seeing” machines will impact our day to day lives.
This is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the next couple of days, but this should be enough to whet your appetite. Keep and eye on our site and social media for the latest news and updates from Web Summit 2015.
ICYMI: Doppelgängers meet aboard Ryanair Flight
Online social experiment, Twin Strangers, rose to prominence this year by trying to find strangers who could almost be considered separated at birth. A chance encounter aboard a recent Ryanair flight circumnavigated such a process.
Guy on right is the husband of my friend @elrottencrotch. Guy on left is a STRANGER he met on a flight last night! pic.twitter.com/kwBFOOEoMc
— Lee Beattie (@leebeattie) October 30, 2015
The two men, both travelling to Ireland on holiday’s are complete strangers who just happened to be sitting beside each other on the same flight. The resemblance is indeed uncanny, but the weirdness doesn’t stop there.
@leebeattie @elrottencrotch The love affair continued post flight #BeardTwins pic.twitter.com/PDeqp73S6Q — Ross Hunt (@RossJamesHunt) October 30, 2015
The two men proceeded to check into the exact same hotel, have a brief laugh about everything, go their separate ways and randomly meet again in a pub later that night. You literally couldn’t make this stuff up, with this chance encounter being retweeted almost twenty thousand times already.
Original poster of the tweet, Lee Beattie is now receiving about twenty messages per hour of ginger bearded men, something she is taking in her stride.
Getting about 20 of these an hour. Am I now the queen of ginger bearded men? https://t.co/OauJN8sFDG
— Lee Beattie (@leebeattie) October 30, 2015
I am now an agent for ginger bearded men. Not a complaint btw. https://t.co/cTRsX2K46q
— Lee Beattie (@leebeattie) October 30, 2015
We personally love the “pointing backround guy” in the original picture who has clearly just spotted the screen of the phone taking the selfie.
LEGO: Traditional Toys with Modern Tech Twists
We recently introduced you to Disney: Colour and Play, a great a traditional children’s past-time is adopting technology, but how are LEGO, one of the world’s favourite toys for kids and adults alike, using technology to stay relevant?
Perhaps the only thing to hurt your foot more than getting stood on by an elephant, LEGO has been the toy that has moulded many a childhood and I count myself among them. From spending hours a day sitting on the floor constructing my latest “flying machine” or attempting create something that I could bate my brother over the head with, LEGO was possibly my favourite childhood toy.
These tiny little insignificant blocks have been used as a gateway to open a child’s ability to create, build, interact and play for nearly 80 years and I am absolutely delighted that LEGO has made a massive comeback in recent years due simply due to their willingness to move with the times. As technology has progressed so has the LEGO experience, as big cinematic releases from Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings are now accompanied with LEGO games on the biggest consoles and mobile platforms.
Seeing the potent threat LEGO posed to the feet of the general public, the Danish company began investigating creation without actual bricks through the LEGO Digital Designer app for PC and Mac. Essentially this is a virtual LEGO box, a free virtual LEGO set you don’d have to tidy up after you empty the box out. This application allows you to build hundreds of different LEGO models on the computer screen and share them with others. The Danes also teamed up with Google to create an online virtual LEGO building platform through Chrome, and once again its free!
LEGO and Tech
There are now a number of LEGO themed apps that merge the traditional creation and building experience of the bricks with an interactive mobile experience. One former experiment was LEGO: Life of George, a game where players are timed to create a model from the bricks while simultaneously experiencing a digital element through your smartphone. After one of the 250 LEGO models was finished, a quick scan from the phone app would check it for accuracy, before assigning a score to the player and keeping track of progress. Unfortunately, LEGO closed Life of George for new players in December last year.
LEGO really have been at the cutting edge of merging technology with the physical, just check out the free LEGO Movie Maker app. Using this app and the camera on your phone it is easy for anyone to create a stop-motion animation, with the Mini-Figures and play sets. There are also loads of YouTube videos to help your along your way too. If you have seen The LEGO Movie then you already have an idea what the end product will look like. The app creates an animated sequence from your set in a similar look to that of the movie, The app includes all the tools required to create a cool animated sequence from virtual effects, music and sound effects. Once you have your raw sequence the app will then offer an editing suite and add the ability to upload to YouTube, perfect for a young budding Spielberg.
In fact the interface is simple enough that an 8-10 year old will be able to figure it out, making the only limitation the user’s imagination. Even an adult LEGO enthusiast or movie-making buff will appreciate what’s possible using nothing but the LEGO Movie Maker app with traditional LEGO toys.
Build your own Robot
So it’s obvious LEGO are no strangers to tech, but they really excel when it comes to Mindstorms. Mindstorms are a simply amazing robotics kit which basically allows a user to make and program a fully functioning robot designed around the famous little bricks.
There are roughly 17 different customizable robots which are capable of being programmed through an app that links to the robot via Bluetooth. The 3D building app offers interactive, step by step instructions for creating the various robots. It is here where the app will also offer you the tools to program the robots to handle a wide range of tasks such as walking.
The Bottom Line
Although LEGO is older than my dad and me put together, its global appeal has never been bigger. There is no other toy in history which has managed to position itself in such a way as to create a product that transcends age and gender barriers to create cutting edge entertainment.
Whether you prefer to dig out the old box from the loft and start clipping pieces together or playing an interactive and action packed video game the underlying mentality and ethos of the brand remains a constant. The focus on unleashing creativity and capturing the imaginations of children and grown ups alike has and will always be a key focus for LEGO.
Now excuse me while I break out my old box and attempt to make my very own bat mobile and play “Everything is Awesome” on loop.
5 Pieces of Bond Tech that Really Exist
In the past 50 years there have been 23 James Bond movies, all off which have featured lethal, futuristic, innovative and sometimes wacky gadgets. With the latest edition, Spectre, soon to be released we have decided to have a look at some of the tech which has transcended the silver screen and became residents of the real world. Here are our top 5 pieces of Bond tech that really exist.
Gyroplane, You Only Live Twice (1967)
The Wallis WA-116 Series 1 gyroplane (AKA Little Nellie). If you have seen movie you would know that this piece of kit has rockets, flamethrowers, guns, missiles , the works.
Little Nellie was actually flown in the film by its designer, Ken Wallis, the president of the British Rotocraft Association. Though only released in limited quantities to the public, this little flying machine was most definitely real.
Ring camera, A View to a Kill (1985)
A device from the Roger Moore era, the same ring allowed Bond to covertly investigate Max Zorin’s home during a garden party, the ring camera is tiny even by today’s standards.
However nowadays miniaturized camera are everywhere like in the “Camer-ing”, a discreet digital camera built into a ring. Designed by Hveonsik Studio & Jean Yengwon. All we await is for this secret agent tech to reach production.
Sony Ericsson K800, Casino Royale (2006)
Crazy to think how far phones have come over the last decade, as in 2006 Daniel Craig was show cases the latest and greatest in phone technology the Sony Ericsson K800i cyber-shot. Now this was an amazing piece of equipment, it has GPS and a fast 3.2 mega pixel camera, a new revelation at this time.
In Casino Royale, it was one of the few times Bond relied on a gadget anyone could get their hands on. It was such hit a limited edition was released to cash in on its supporting role in the movie.
As usual the movie version had some features such as an injectable sensor that could monitor Bonds vital signs (when he poisoned in the casino). This might sound odd but there has been talk of particular manufactures (Apple) hoping to make this feature a reality.
Remote-Controlled Doors, Thunderball (1965)
Ok, nothing new to us now but at the time this was astonishing stuff. The tech at this time was only roughly ten years old, so you can imagine the audience reaction when Emilio Largo pushes a button on a pocket size device and the doors to the SPECTRE briefing room open.
As I said this is not new to us now as it can be seen on most American garages, and private home gateways. Sure now there’s even apps that will do the exact same job but none of this is the same as the opening up of the gateway to the world’s best spies world.
Polarizing Sunglasses, A View to a Kill (1985)
Roger Moore really did get some awesome gadgets and the Polarizing sunglasses are no different. In “ A View to a Kill” these special sunglasses allowed Bond to see through tinted windows. Something that is very handy for Bond to have in his repertoire.
However Oakley , the sunglasses manufacturer’s not only created a pair of glasses with polarized lenses but it also included integrated headphones, a 128MB music player and Bluetooth! They don’t look half bad either, just imagine Mr. Bond in the Aston Martin wearing a set of these.
Roaming Charges to be abolished in EU
When going on holidays, there is always the fear you’ll bring home either a nasty itch or a shocking mobile phone bill. Thankfully half of these problems will be abolished by a new EU initiative.
By mid-June 2017, new orders from the EU will have roaming charges curtailed across the European Union. While caps have been put in place in recent years and the cost of using your mobile reduced, these new initiatives will allow you to use your mobile phone while within the EU just as if you were at home.
So now that Instagram post of your snails in France won’t have to wait until you get back to the hotel, but it will have to wait until 2017.
5 Times Tech has been completely shite
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
We’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
Technology 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
Nothing 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
Coming 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
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.
- We saw an electric car
- We saw a charge station
- 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
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
What 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
Sticking 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
First 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
The 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
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.
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.
Finally, 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.