I’m going to give this movie one of the most damning assessments. In fact, I feel bad saying it given how tough the past two years have been for cinemas. But Moonfall is the kind of film that leaves you wondering why you were looking forward to cinemas reopening. A gigantic ad for several companies with a poor plot in the middle. Some great actors turned up, physically at least, but that’s about it.
What Is Moonfall About?
After a strange attack in space, a team of astronauts returns to earth, disgraced because of their failed mission. Noone believes what happened to them in space and what astronaut Brian Harper claims to have seen. Ten years later, a conspiracy theorist notices that the moon is doing some weird stuff. No one believes him at first, but at the same time, NASA is discovering the same data. It transpires that now, it’s just a few weeks before the moon falls to earth, destroying humanity.
Yeah, screw the moon.
The movie surrounds the efforts of that disgraced astronaut team and the conspiracy theorist attempting to save the world.
Is Moonfall Worth Watching?
No. The story is awful. It’s largely a metaphor for the potential evil potential within artificial intelligence wrapped up as a gigantic ad for several companies. I can only assume product placement largely paid for the somewhat impressive lineup of actors.
I didn’t expect much from this movie, but I also didn’t expect an actress like Halle Berry to end up in a movie as bad as 2012 Doomsday. I mentioned product placement. Kaspersky and Lexus are the biggest culprits here. In one chase scene, a character, who is also the owner of a Lexus dealership, says “Let me put this baby into warp speed” while in a Lexus NX. It’s just the tackiest moment of film I’ve seen in a long time and cinemagoers deserve better. Today, we are effectively paying a small fortune to see movies that are ads.
Kaspersky is even worse. A huge billboard inexplicably features in one part of the movie while a spacecraft’s critical systems are apparently running Kaspersky software too. A ridiculous idea. Also, a fairly poorly timed placement given Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
I can even look past all the product placement. But I can’t look beyond the horrible storyline. I’m getting annoyed even writing this review so I’m going to stop. If you want to watch it, on your head may it be. This film is awful.
The film’s only saving grace is that it should make for a great episode of How Did This Get Made in the near future. In a week where I watched VelociPastor, I can’t believe I’m saying something else was the worst thing I’ve watched.
Regular readers will know of my recent enough transition to the world of the Apple ecosystem. What started out with a MacBook grew into an iPad and now iPhone. While AirPods and Apple Watch still don’t take my fancy, Apple AirTags did catch my eye. Stick them on anything you own and it becomes a lot harder to lose. The most logical use is your keys and your wallet, but the latter just isn’t a straightforward solution. Or at least it wasn’t until Chipolo entered the game with the Chipolo Card Spot.
The Chipolo Card Spot: A Card Shaped AirTag
The Chipolo Card Spot is a credit card sized piece of tech that slots into your wallet. You can then connect it to Apple’s Find My app and make full use of the Find My network. That means if you lose your wallet finding it becomes a lot easier. Say you lose it in town. If someone with an iPhone walks past your wallet, their phone notifies the Find My network which then tells you where your wallet was last seen. It’s a very clever system that works really well.
I’ve used Chipolo gadgets in the past, just like I’ve used Tile tech. The problem with these platforms until now is that they depend on people using the Chipolo and Tile apps. Chipolo getting into the Apple Find My network is a real coup for the Slovenian company.
Benefits of the Chipolo Card Spot
There are a lot of reasons I like the Chipolo Card Spot, so here are the best bits.
Fits In Traditional Minimalist Wallets
I love my Secrid RFID wallet. This real leather wallet is arguably one of my longest-serving gadgets. It was also a gift from my other half. This meant I had no interest in buying a new AirTag RFID wallet or any wallet with an AirTag slot. My first solution was just jamming an AirTag into the wallet. It stretched the leather and just left an unsightly bump. It worked, but it wasn’t an elegant solution.
My Secrid Wallet with an Apple AirTag jammed in
The Chipolo Spot just takes up a card slot in my wallet like another card and makes my traditional wallet smart, and it appears in the Find My app. Thankfully, because it’s a genuine leather wallet, it’s returned to being nice and smooth without a trace of that AirTag bump.
My wallet after a few months with the Chipolo. Good as new.
Now, thanks to the Chipolo Spot, I have all the benefits of finding my wallet with Find My but the RFID protection of my Secrid wallet.
It’s Loud
On top of giving you the location of your wallet, the Chipolo Card Spot also makes noise. From the Find My app you can trigger the gadget to “Play Sound”. One criticism I’d have of Apple AirTags is that they’re not the loudest things in the world. The Chipolo Card Spot on the other hand is good and loud. This is good news because there’s one Apple AirTag feature missing that this loudness makes up for.
One AirTag Feature Is Missing
I mentioned on Twitter that I was testing this out and was posed a great question.
Apple AirTags feature a U1 chip which allows for Precision Location for even easier finding. When close enough, within one meter or so, the Find My app will point towards where your AirTag actually is. Here’s the tech working with the AirTag on my keys.
AirTag Precision Location doesn’t feature on the Chipolo trackers
The Chipolo Card Spot doesn’t have this U1 Chip and so it doesn’t have the same Precision Location features.
When looking for your wallet in the Find My app, you’ll just be able to see a map with the last known location, even when sitting beside your wallet with it stuck between the sofa cushions. Thankfully, as I’ve mentioned, the Chipolo being extra loud makes up for this.
In that video, it might be hard to make out that the Chipolo, which plays second, is significantly louder, even inside a wallet. AirTag makes about 60dB of noise while the Chipolo weighs in with a whopping 105dB.
Battery Life
There’s one other thing that’s important to mention. AirTags are easy to open and use a generic CR2032 coin-sized battery. When the battery dies, it’s easy to swap it out. Chipolo doesn’t give you such a luxury. When your Chipolo Card Spot finally dies, you’ll need to buy a new one. Far from ideal in terms of cost efficiency or sustainability.
The good news is that Chipolo runs a return scheme. Register your Card Spot online and in two years, when the battery is low, you’ll receive a 50% discount. You can also send Chipolo your old tracker and they’ll recycle it.
Despite that being a decent workaround, it’s not ideal.
Chipolo Card Spot: The Verdict
I’m very conscious that speaking about the battery last might well sour your opinion of the Chipolo Card Spot. Let me fix that. Despite this one little hiccup, I absolutely love this piece of kit. Being honest, I don’t tend to lose stuff out and about. I lose it at home. The amount of times we’re heading out and I can’t find my wallet is ridiculous.
Having something like the Chipolo Card Spot in my Secrid wallet saves me so many times and also saves me from the “I told you to leave your wallet somewhere easy to find” arguments with my other half! You too can save yourself from these arguments for the low low price of just €35.
It turns out I love coffee. It’s funny because I only started drinking it a few years ago. Today, I drink quite a lot and might even be falling into the category of “coffee nerd”. I get the perfect beans from a roastery called Imbibe near my home in Dublin 8. Hardly all that surprising given Dublin 8 is one of the coolest places in the world now. But the perfect beans alone are worth nothing. You need a great coffee machine too. The De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine Review is the ultimate all-in-one machine for people who love a good cup of coffee.
Design
The De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine (model number EC9155.MB) might first appear to be a little bit intimidating. It’s a big enough machine with enough knobs and dials to make you feel like it might just bring you to space. But after you’ve made your first cup or two, you realise that the machine is intuitively designed. While it looks big, it actually takes up less space on the counter than my Sage Bambino set-up did. That’s because I needed a separate grinder and espresso machine.
It looks big, but takes up less space than separate machines
For this De’Longhi, everything is combined into one neat machine. In fact, I could even chuck out the kettle if I wanted to. This is because the machine can make a nice hot cup of water too, whether it be for an americano or just tea.
The drip tray is very generously sized. Handy if you forget to empty it for a few days. You’re not punished with old coffee water and spoiled milk pouring onto your counter. There’s also a nice little cubby hole in the top of the machine for your accessories and bits and bobs. One additional feature that I liked was an espresso shelf. This lets you sit your espresso cups closer to the spout of your portafilter (that’s the thing with the handle on one end and where the coffee comes out on the other).
Generously sized features continue when it comes to the onboard water tank. One thing worth noting here is that the water tank doesn’t include a built-in filter. Instead, De’Longhi opted for a filtering bag which they include in the box.
Features
The De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine is a so-called bean-to-cup coffee machine. That means the one machine does it alll As a result, the machine can be split up into a few areas. The grinder on top has eight different grind settings. This is important given different types of coffee require different coffee grounds. Espresso is typically finer while coarser grinds are better for filter coffee. You can also set the height of your grind based on whether you want stronger or weaker shots of espresso. I’m a double shot guy and barely function on just a single shot. Thankfully there’s a button there that makes that double happen for me too.Next up is where the grinds come out. An unusual feature of the machine is a collar that fits onto your portafilter. This slides into a shelf. One firm press in and the machine starts grinding your coffee beans. The height of your grind along with whether you’ve picked a single or double decides how long the machine grinds for.
Once you’ve tamped your coffee (more on that later) you remove the collar and lock it into the machine. Choose between americano, espresso or just hot water based on what you want to make. If you need to froth some milk, the machine has a frother there too. It truly is everything you could need to make the perfect cup of coffee in the morning.
Using The De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine
Design is one thing. How that design works in day-to-day usage is quite another. I’ve been using the machine for a few months and love it. There are a few quirks, but the vast majority of the features on this machine are brilliant.
My favourite element is the three in one output. This machine can make americano, espresso or just hot water. Replacing the kettle is something I’ve sought for some time and this is just so practical. If you choose americano, placing your cup carefully under the portafilter and hot water spout means one button press gets the job done with no further action. It’s genius.
The gauge lets you know when you’re in the sweet spot
The pressure gauge is something that coffee nerds will like. There’s a pressure sweet spot that means you’ve got your grind size and tamping done perfectly. Tamping is the pressing down of the coffee grinds and De’Longhi has one more nice inclusion here for you. A rubber stand, perfectly designed for your portafilter. This means you can sit your portafilter, spout and all, into the stand and press down with the included tamper without fear of breaking something.
The collar works, but I still don’t get why this was the route they went down
I do have to say the collar design is odd. I really don’t get what the idea was behind that. It doesn’t hinder the coffee making much, but it feels like another thing that could break or get lost. Also, the milk frother is incredibly loud. I do like the more automatic approach of the Sage Bambino, but not something that would make me recommend one machine over the other.
De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine Review Verdict
Is the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine worth buying? It might sound obvious, but a coffee machine like this is only worth buying if you’re going to use it. That means you quite like coffee and are ready to nerd out a bit. If that sounds like you, this is a fantastic machine to offer an all-in-one coffee-making experience. You’re given a fair bit of control but not so much that there’s a steep learning curve to make a great cup of wake up juice.
The De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine is available from outlets in Ireland including DID Electrical, Harvey Norman and Currys for around €500.
Remember those two years when we couldn’t go to the cinema? They were a game-changer for home entertainment. Streaming services like Disney+ suddenly had the movies that were originally planned for the cinema. The home cinema took on a whole new meaning. It also meant that plenty of people started to look at investing in their home entertainment setup. Gadgets like soundbars have become much more commonplace. If you find yourself shopping around for one, the Sharp Soundbar 2.1 gives you an excellent value option and includes a subwoofer. Here’s everything you need to know.
Features of the Sharp HT-SBW202
I recently tested out the JBL 5.0 Multibeam soundbar. A fantastic soundbar that packs loads of punch. This soundbar offered five channels all neatly packed into a single unit. This Sharp Soundbar that I’ve been testing out takes a different approach.
Sound
In the long speaker that sits in front of your screen, you’re given two channels. Sharp then opted to include a separate subwoofer. That’s another speaker in a box that sits to the side. This speaker isn’t about sound quality, it’s all about the impact of the sound. When you hear an explosion in the movie, you feel it because of the subwoofer. There’s no messing around with cables either. The subwoofer syncs up wirelessly and is simple to set up and link to the main soundbar.
The Sharp HT-SBW202 wireless subwoofer reduces the mess of cables around your TV
The result of Sharp’s approach to their soundbar is a cinematic experience at home. I couldn’t fault the sound quality at all between watching movies and live sports. Most importantly, the subwoofer does make a massive difference. That dedicated box means you feel the big moments in big movies. Perhaps the beauty of the Sharp HT-SBW202 is its simplicity. I once tested a soundbar that was so complex, it constantly cut out and created visible lag between the video and audio.
This Sharp soundbar is beautiful in its simplicity, which also keeps the price down.
Connectivity
Sticking with the theme of simplicity, let’s talk about how you connect the Sharp 2.1 Soundbar to your TV. I opted to connect mine through an optical cable. If I recall correctly, that’s not included in the box. You do have other options too. Move modern TVs support ARC connectivity which lets you control the soundbar with your TV remote.
Bluetooth is also an option if you want to stream music from your phone using something like Spotify. Now, I do like it when speakers feature AirPlay, Chromecast Audio or better still are fully Google Home compatible. With this feature, you can create speaker groups in your home. But not everyone wants this, and that’s what Sharp is banking on. This is for people who want a nice and simple soundbar for watching movies without the expensive bells and whistles.
You do have a few more options when it comes to playback, including 3.5mm aux in and even USB support if you have a stick full of tunes.
Remote
I have to pull Sharp up on one weird thing about the soundbar, and it’s not even the soundbar itself. It’s the remote. On the remote, you’ll find all the essentials including equaliser settings with 3-presets. You can mute, change source and adjust bass and treble too. But the remote is absolutely tiny.
The remote is just so tiny.
Maybe I’m being totally unfair zoning in on this fact, but I genuinely laughed when I took the remote out. Functionally, it doesn’t have a massive impact. Though it is sometimes hard to find the right buttons. The equaliser rockers are easily mistaken for volume, but you get used to it.
It’s not a reason against or in favour of recommending the soundbar. I just felt I had to call it out.
Sharp 2.1 Soundbar: The Verdict
The Sharp HT-SBW202 is simple but effective. It’s not going to set the world alight, but it’s also not going to break the bank. It’s a nice neat and tidy soundbar that’ll sit nicely in front of nearly any home cinema setup. I’d strongly recommend it if you’ve never had a soundbar and are just looking for a little more oomph.
There are a few cult classics I’ve watched over the years. A lot of them are interesting, to say the least, but still garner sizeable budgets. Take The Room for example. That movie is rumoured to have cost $6 million but reached cult status after initially flopping. Then there are movies like Sharknado and the likes. They’re all so bad, they’re good, but they still cost a small fortune. And this is why I adored a little film I stumbled upon on TikTok called VelociPastor.
What Is VelociPastor?
Where do I begin? VelociPastor is a horror comedy that cost just €36,000 to make. The movie is all about a priest who sets off travelling after the deaths of his parents. On his travels, he ventures to China, though I’d guess the film crew didn’t leave the United States. While in “China” he is infected by an ancient artefact. Basically, when angry the priest, or pastor, turns into a dinosaur. Yep, he’s a VelociPastor.
The film surrounds the VelociPastor cleaning up his hometown and eventually avenging his parents.
It’s really interesting to see VelociPastor getting a second wind in the public eye. It’s happening mainly because of TikTok. Here, actors from the film are engaging with the movie’s cult following, the pastor usually doing so in character.
Where Can You Watch VelociPastor?
The movie has been officially picked up by Amazon Prime US. Well, I say picked up but anyone can upload movies to Prime – it’s fairly easy. So it’s not really clear if the creators of VelociPastor are making money. I have watched the full movie on YouTube and I’m somewhat sure it’s a legitimate distribution of the movie.
You can watch it right here!
Watch The Full VelociPastor Movie
Best Scenes From VelociPastor
I have two scenes I absolutely loved. You don’t have to wait long for the first one.
Opening Explosion VFX Scene
This is just my type of comedy. Low budget movies often leave the heavier lifting of some video effects until the very end. They even test the movie with some audiences before the finishing touches are added. During one test, the audience laughed so hard at the “VFX Car on fire” that they decided to keep it in. It was the first laugh the movie got and boy does it set the tone.
The creators sent the movie to one film festival. They called them back asking for the final version, thinking this was all a mistake. Really, it was just brilliance.
The Laughing Scene
This is brilliant because I’m not sure how much of it is acting, utter stupidity and genuine actors just losing their composure on camera. There are at least two moments I feel like I can see both actors genuinely break and smirk or give a full belly laugh. But it also looks like they don’t. The result is weird laughing leading to what might be the best laugh acting you’ve ever seen.
From here on out, I can’t do the movie real justice. The final fight scene deserves a massive mention, but there are so many excellent parts to it I can’t break it down. Go watch it. It’ll pass over an hour for you.
VelociPastor FAQs
When was VelociPastor made?
VelociPastor was filmed in 2017.
Where was VelociPastor filmed?
VelociPastor was filmed in North America. Despite a scene taking place in China, it’s not believed that production left the United States.
How Did VelociPastor Get Made?
VelociPastor started out as a college project. After two failed crowdfunding attempts, the movie was made with the backing of a private investor.
How long is VelociPastor?
Velociraptors were about 2 meters long. This movie is about 75 minutes long.
Can I watch VelociPastor in Ireland?
VelociPastor isn’t on any of the Irish streaming services, with Amazon US holding onto it right now. There’s a copy of it on YouTube that seems fairly full length.
Will there be a VelociPastor 2?
Yes. It’s rumoured there’s going to be a sequel. Thank Christ.
It’s not that long ago I first downloaded TikTok in a bored lockdown stooper. Today, it takes up more of my time than I care to admit. I’ve noticed a lot more crud on the platform too. Stupid trends and simply harmful comments infecting the platform as seems to be par for the course with social media. However, there are also moments of delight and hope that emerge too. One such moment is the story of Iran Ferreira and the football club, Vasco da Gama.
Who Is Iran Ferreira?
Iran Ferreira is a football fan with a keen eye for finishing and capturing those moments on social media. Ferreira is perhaps better known by his TikTok handle “luvdepedreiro“. That basically means the “guy wearing the mason glove”. Ferreira blew up on TikTok for scoring goals, mastering various juggling tricks with his own unique trademark added in. When he scores, he speaks at a frantic pace to the camera, celebrating his achievement. What’s also a fairly unique feature of his videos (at least to Irish people watching) is the dirt pitch he’s playing on.
His social media content caught plenty of attention. For a start, his TikTok has over ten million followers and his Instagram over seven million followers. But it’s not just couch jockeys like me that are watching. Professional football teams have been wowed by his first touch and ability to finish, particularly into the top right corner.
And that’s where Vasco da Gama comes into Ferreira’s story.
Vasco da Gama Brings In TikTok Viral Football Star
Vasco da Gama is one of Brazil’s oldest sporting clubs, known best for football. It’s also the club that Ferreira has loved and supported for his whole life. Vasco da Gama brought Ferreira to the club to honour him for his sporting and social media achievement. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been signed by the club on a contract thought.
As a guest of the club, he spent three days meeting with players and even shooting trademark shots on the Vasco da Gama home pitch. He’s also caused quite a stir around the club too.
Someone watching Iran Ferreira on Instagram
It’s a win-win situation for everyone really. Ferreira gets to grow his social media profiles while the club gets some extra exposure. What it shows us is the power of the individual over organisations on social media now.
Who knows? Maybe another team will come along and get him into the reserves just in case he is the next big thing.
Huawei’s Android ban left the smartphone market in Ireland with a big gaping hole in it. I know OPPO probably don’t want me to start their review with a Huawei mention, but it’s an important fact. Even more important is that OPPO is absolutely capable of filling that gap. I find flagship phones a bit boring these days. Less boring is mid-range smartphones that have incredible specs. That’s the OPPO Find X3 Lite in a nutshell. Available from loads of retailers in Ireland, I figured it’s time to weigh in on this excellent smartphone.
Design
The first thing that struck me about the OPPO Find X3 Lite is the weight. When phones are “Lite”, they mean it’s a flagship phone less some of the price-swelling specs. That’s the case here too, but this OPPO is also physically light, weighing in at 175g. The rounded body fits nicely in the hand despite it still being a generously sized 6.43-inch display.
Quad camera setup
The back does feel a bit on the cheaper side, but I’m used to glass appearing on premium smartphones. I remind myself that this phone sits firmly in the mid-range price tier and that some corners have to be cut. Pop a case on the Find X3 Lite and you’ll not notice this of course. It’ll also save you from the fingerprint smudges that completely dominate that back.
The rear camera setup is subtle but raised, so you’ll get a small bit of wobble on a table when laying the phone on its back. Around the front side, the pinhole selfie camera sits top-left. No sign of OPPO going for an under-display camera on a mainstream phone just yet.
A headphone jack!
I have to point out that this phone also features a 3.5mm headphone jack. Not something that’s all that common these days!
Camera
Let’s stick with the camera. I took some shots out and about and was surprised by the bang for buck. To be honest, I had my iPhone 13 Pro in my pocket and did some side by side shots. Naturally, the iPhone won, but it was a lot closer than expected, particularly on the primary camera.
Oppo Left | iPhone Right
It was a bit dark when I was out testing the camera. So that lack of vibrance is actually a realistic representation of a gloomy Dublin morning. The selfie camera was a bit more disappointing. The single 32MP pinhole camera is ok, but that’s as good as I can give it. It does offer selfie portraits too, but again, they’re not great. That said, it’s a more than acceptable front-facing camera for video calling. Important to point that out given how common it has become.
All in all, the Find X3 Lite offers a solid point-and-shoot camera. What I need to keep hammering home here is the price point you’re getting all of this for is very reasonable. And don’t worry. I will get to price.
Display
Brands like OPPO make certain fairly high-end specs somewhat common. That’s what keeps the likes of Apple and Samsung on their toes with flagships. The Find X3 Lite gives you a 6.43-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. That makes this a decent smartphone for gaming and not bad at all for gorging on Netflix. Interestingly, Netflix comes pre-installed too which I’m not sure I’ve seen too often.
In a smartphone with an attractive price, I’m glad we didn’t cut too much on display.
Battery
One area the mid-range can’t afford to let you down is battery. Some might be disappointed to learn that the Find X3 Lite doesn’t feature wireless charging, but it’s a big cost-cutter. You do get a whopping 65W charger in the box that gets you from 0% to 100% in 35 minutes. That genuinely negates the need for a massive battery.
Now, OPPO still pops a 4300 mAh into the phone and has plenty of OPPO’s smart power management on board. The result is a day of battery being nailed without much of a sweat. But that charger means in just a few minutes you’ll have a fair chunk of battery to keep you going.
OPPO Find X3 Lite Review: The Verdict And Price
Look. Whether OPPO likes it or not, they coming along after Huawei and Irish consumers are very much trying to fill a Huawei-shaped gap in the smartphone market. OPPO is perfect for the job. My daily rider is nearly always a flagship smartphone yet the OPPO Find X3 Lite is overreaching to the point where I could use it daily if I had to. That’s a genuine compliment to the phone. It also supports 5G so if you’re grabbing a 5G plan, that’s another win.
This phone is near faultless in most areas. Throw the price into the mix, and it’s one of the best mid-range smartphones on the market.
While there’s some distance between this phone and the bigger brother, the OPPO Find X3 Pro, this is a great phone despite the price. But an even better purchase because of the price.
I love my Mac. It’s a 2015 refurbished model. I’ve never had a laptop last this long with so little trouble. However, it’s not all smooth sailing. I bought a Mac with a relatively small hard drive and over time, it’s become a bit clogged up. I’ve come across a solution a few times called “Clean My Mac” but it’s only ever gotten mixed reviews. So I got a Clean My Mac License sorted out and decided to give it a try myself.
What Is Clean My Mac?
Clean My Mac is a piece of software that helps keep your macOS computer running smoothly. Over time, your Mac will start to gather old systems files and other junk. Essentially, your laptop starts to look like your home office. Documents lying around and taking up space, generally ruining your efficiency.
Clean My Mac helps you clean up that junk.
Once installed, you run the program and it runs around your computer. Clean My Mac finds all the system files that are somewhat redundant but very well hidden and measures the size of files in your Junk Folder. Another useful feature is Space Lens. This gives you a user-friendly view of what’s taking up space on your hard drive. For me, it puts the size of a Football Manager install into context, more particularly the face pack I’ve installed.
You can also free up RAM by using Clean My Mac to end processes that are running in the background. My Mac has 16GB of RAM and sometimes that’s maxed out. With Clean My Mac, you’re one click away from reclaiming over 10GB of RAM and speeding your laptop up.
Other Clean My Mac Features
Beyond the removal of hidden files, Clean My Mac has some additional tricks up the sleeve to keep things running smoothly. The app can help you remove programs that run on startup that you don’t use that often. This means your laptop will start faster and use less RAM during general use. The Uninstaller tab of the app lets you easily see big programs, determine what you don’t need and easily uninstall them. My Mac was running out of space and this helped me find and remove a 20GB installation of The Sims I wasn’t using anymore.
The app can also do deep scans for Malware and this is where I find things get interesting. There’s an arrogance around Apple’s computer eco-system, from both Apple and industry commentators. Just check out this thread on Apple’s Discussion Forum. I’m not sure of the science here, but my experience with the app is at odds with the comments in that thread.
Which brings me to the big question. Does it work?
Does Clean My Mac Work?
Yes. Clean My Mac is extremely helpful when it comes to keeping your older laptop running smoothly. It doesn’t do anything that you can’t technically do yourself, but it makes it easier. Stopping processes from running in the background isn’t all that hard, but with Clean My Mac it’s just a simple click of a button.
What Clean My Mac does very well is remain user-friendly. Keeping an older laptop running smoothly isn’t a job any laptop owner really wants to take on. It’s the point when most people will just cave and head out to buy a new laptop. By creating a program that makes maintenance easier, the Clean My Mac team is saving consumers money – and that’s always a good thing.
Does Clean My Mac Slow Down Your Computer?
Given the idea behind Clean My Mac is to speed up your laptop, there are a lot of reports that it does the opposite. Clean My Mac doesn’t slow down your laptop. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t constantly run in the background either. That makes it unlikely that it slows down performance.
Is Clean My Mac Worth It?
Clean My Mac costs about €40 but you’ll often see special offers appear on the website. This means you can get the app for as little as €27.97 sometimes. That’s a small price to pay for getting your Mac back up to speed. I can only say good things about this solution from MacPaw so it’s at least worth a punt.
It is important ot note that’s a one year license. You can also purchase a lifetime license that’s about triple the price. A good long term investment perhaps, but do consider whether or not you’ll still have your aging machine in a few years time. You won’t need Clean My Mac on a new Mac.
One final thing I want to say. I started reviewing Clean My Mac a couple months ago. MacPaw, the creators, are a Ukrainian company. MacPaw were prepared for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and while their office is located in Kyiv they securely host all their infrastructure and user data on Amazon Web Services; outside of Ukraine.
MacPaw is also donating funds, volunteering on-site and provided media personnel covering the war with a free year of CleanMyMac.
We need to be hypercritical of everything we see on social media today. There’s misinformation and disinformation everywhere linking to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s why many are very interested in a video released by the Kremlin today. Putin visited an Aeroflot training centre. But people are questioning if the video is real at all. The accusation is that Putin was filmed in front of a green screen and superimposed into the video. Here’s what we know.
Support The People Of Ukraine
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In the video released today, Putin is sitting at a table with female flight attendants from various airlines. In this meeting, Putin stepped up his rhetoric against Western Allies. The meeting was likely supposed to tick a few boxes for Putin. Appearing beside the (all female) attendants of Aeroflot-using airlines is to support a symbol of Russia. It also keeps his toxic alpha male macho needs in check.
Eagle-eyed viewers notice that Putin’s hand passes through a microphone that sits on the table in front of him. This has led to the internet asking; “is Putin a hologram” or “did he use a green screen”.
Did Putin Use A Green Screen?
It doesn’t appear too likely that Putin has used a green screen here. I’ll admit that the video being shared on social media does appear to show his hand passing through a physical microphone. But there’s actually a potential explanation for that.
Putin’s Compression Artifacts
Videos get recorded, edited and exported to a video file. They then end up on TV or shared on video platforms or social media. With these latter mediums, file sizes matter. Platforms like Twitter and YouTube heavily compress the video so it streams quicker and doesn’t cost so much money to host. This heavy compression can lead to “compression artifacts“.
Compression artifacts lead to areas of digital media being blurred, distorted or lost completely. They absolutely could be the cause of Putin’s hand seemingly vanishing behind a microphone. I’ve watched a higher quality version of that same video and Putin’s hand does not pass through the mic.
I’ve watched a higher quality version of that same video and Putin’s hand does not pass through the mic.
Deliberate Artifacts
I have a theory but must stress that it’s just a theory. It’s entirely possible that Putin’s team have deliberately created this video knowing it would generate online conversation. With media tightening the spread of Russian news given the sheer quantity of non-sense within, this “green screen” talk has made the video land in front of even more people.
For that reason, I’m not linking the full video. Just in case it’s all a ploy to get more reach.
Why Would Putin Fake The Aeroflot Video?
There’s good reason to question this video being real. Putin has appeared on TV several times recently. Every time he’s very far away from everyone else. In fact, he’s becoming a bit of a meme for it.
Image from Reuters/Kremlin
It’s not immediately clear why he sits so far away from everyone else. It might be a ploy to make the people of Russia believe he’s the only one in control. It may be something a lot more practical; Covid-19. Yes, Putin, like his buddy Trump, is a germaphobe.
The long tables keep him away from others and should keep him slightly safer too. Realistically, this is the most likely reason for the long tables. Which does make the Aeroflot video very odd.
Assuming the long tables are about self-preservation, why would Putin be sitting near flight attendants? Flight attendants that were likely flying with hundreds of passengers until very recently.
That would be another massive indication that the video was faked. I’ll also admit that there are several scenes where the video just looks weird. One of the biggest tricks with green screening is getting the lighting perfect. Yet in parts, it does look slightly off – like here for example.
However, it’s also entirely possible we’re just trying to find something that isn’t there. Occam’s Razor suggests the simplest answer is often the most likely. And the simplest answer here is everyone had PCR tests, Putin was really in the room and took the risk to look cool beside a load of female flight attendants.
At the end of the day, he’s up against Volodymyr Zelenskyy who is infinitely cooler and more impressive anyway.
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I’m a MacBook user. I moved over a few years ago and never really looked back. But I also regularly use Windows machines. The lack of a middle ground is massively frustrating. Yet, it does exist. That middle ground is Huawei’s laptop range which only makes up a shocking and paltry 3% of the Irish home computing market. I’ve been testing driving the Huawei MateBook X Pro for a few weeks. It’s as good a machine as you could hope for to run Windows, but it’s pricey.
Huawei in Ireland
For many years now, I’ve been testing Huawei products. The elephant in the room is just how badly their mobile division has suffered in Ireland. This is all down to the forced move to HMS and departure from Google Play. Largely owing to this, non-mobile products from Huawei are a priority for the company in markets like Ireland. And let me tell you that from audio to sunglasses, that other hardware impresses. For laptops, Huawei crucially has full access to Windows. This year’s flagship is the Huawei MateBook X Pro, so let’s take a look.
Huawei MateBook X Pro Specs and Features
One fairly common trend with Huawei product design is their likeness to certain other fruit-based products in the market. The MateBook range does bear a fair resemblance to MacBook.
Build
Huawei’s MateBook X Pro is a 13.9-inch laptop, with a light but durable and high-quality feeling metal body. The material used matters as it dissipates heat better than cheaper plastic body laptops.
Large trackpad looks familiar
The strong material doesn’t take away from the usability of the laptop though. If you’re picking this for work on the go, it’s nice and neat while remaining light at just 1.33kg.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is nice to use and has that “clicky” MacBook feel that you either love or hate. The trackpad is a generous size but Huawei has also opted to make this a touchscreen laptop. This is something Apple never really wanted to challenge their iPad base by including this. It could be a unique selling point that swings some shoppers for Huawei over Apple.
The fingerprint sensor
You do get to enjoy easier access to Windows and your apps or password managers thanks to a built-in fingerprint sensor. Combined with Windows Hello, you can sign into your laptop, apps and retrieved saved passwords all with the touch of your finger on the sensor. It’s a game-changer for laptop privacy.
Ports
The port choices from Huawei have left me scratching my head a little bit. On the right of the machine, you have an “old style” USB Type-A 3.2 port. On the left are two USB-C ports. That means there’s no HDMI, but there is an old-style USB connection. That is a bizarre choice in my eyes given which of these two ports I’d personally be using on a regular basis. If you buy this laptop, you’ll need a dongle for HDMI or a USB-C supporting monitor. The latter here is growing in popularity.
Finally, there is also a headphone port. Not too surprising on a laptop.
One thing I do find weird is having all the USB-C ports on one side. It’s a pain after years of getting used to charging my MacBook on both sides.
Display
Let’s move on to the display. It’s a 3000 x 2000 display, surrounded by very thin bezels and no notches or webcam cutouts. Huawei achieved this by keeping the 1MP webcam hidden away in a pop-up button on the keyboard. Clever for privacy and screen space, but not so clever for camera angles in meetings. Hello there double chin.
The display is crisp a nice to view for extended hours of use – unfortunately, something that many of us are familiar with. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, but you do leave fingerprints all over your screen. Yes, a natural by-product but something that irks me.
Sound
The Huawei MateBook X Pro is plenty loud and plenty clear. Four speakers and a cutout design in the base of the laptop provide this punch. Be careful with the cutouts. The laptop literally drew blood from me one day as the cutouts nicked my hand.
Power: Brains and Battery
There are many advertised power ratings and battery lifetimes offered by Huawei. I don’t believe in putting too much weight in these because every user is different. What I will say is that the MateBook X Pro will do a lot of work with very little need for charges. If it’s general email checking or Teams calls, you could get most of your workday done on battery power. Nice if you need a trip to the cafe to switch things up a bit.
The flip side of power is processing. The only model in the Irish market is the highly powerful Intel Core i7 model with 16GB RAM. Again, you might read that and think it doesn’t meet your needs. But for the vast majority of people using a laptop, that’s a lot of power.
Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021: The Verdict
The Huawei MateBook X Pro is an excellent laptop running the world’s most popular operating system. But it incorporates some of the best things that make Apple’s MacBook range too. Let’s not ignore the appeal of this sweet spot. This is an excellent laptop. It is however pricey. It’s just shy of €2000 to buy this from Harvey Norman right now. It does deliver plenty of bang for your buck though. So if you are looking to invest in a great laptop with Windows onboard, this is it.
