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App of the Week: Yes Equality

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To be fair, this may not be the most functional app in the world, but the Yes Equality contains the fundamental information for the upcoming May 22nd Referendum.

Selfie for Equality

Marriage equality referendum


You’ve more than likely seen the YES watermarks appearing on social media recently. You can create your very own through the Yes Equality Marriage Referendum app. There are a variety of different messages you’ll be able to play around with in a range of colours. You can then share your Selfie for Equality on social media.


 

Marriage Referendum Information

marriage referendum yes equalityOf course, while it is great to see the public support of a Yes Vote for the May 22nd Referendum, adding a stamp to your profile photo is a small act compared to going out and having your voice heard. The Yes Equality app contains all the important info you’ll need to vote. Just in case you can even set a reminder to vote on May 22nd.

 

Where to Download Yes Equality

In a rather fitting act of equality and inclusion, Yes Equality is available for download from the Google Play Store, App Store and the often excluded, Windows Phone Marketplace. Download, show your support, but most importantly be sure to vote on May 22nd.

App of the Week: Sky Sports Soccer Quiz

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It’s always tough to admit, but the Premier League season is coming to a close. Fortunately, Sky Sports have released a cracking quiz app which will pit your wits against your mates.

Sky Sports Soccer QuizSky Sports Soccer Quiz is sure to pass some time sure the preseason months. You take on the role of your favourite team, answering questions to work your way towards scoring goals.As you progress, you earn coins, which can be spent to unlock further quiz sections. Sky Sports Soccer Quiz boasts a wide selection of quiz sections including World Cup 2014, Spot the Ball, Transfers and of course the Premier League.

What makes Sky Sports Soccer Quiz such a good app is that you can play Single Player, challenge friends via Facebook or get some games in against random opponents.

This is a rather short and simple review, because the Sky Sports Soccer Quiz really does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a good laugh, with the only draw back being the design towards encouraging the user to purchase with real money. That aside, this is a must have app for the footy enthusiasts, look to pass the summer months and distract themselves from Marco Reus to Liverpool rumours.

The Sky Sports Soccer Quiz is available now free, from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app does encourage in app purchases.

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?