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St. Pat’s Footballer Features In FIFA 22 Team Of The Week

Marty
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St. Pat’s Footballer Features In FIFA 22 Team Of The Week

During the lockdown, I adopted St. Pat’s as my own. I’m born and bred in Kilkenny and followed the meteoric rise of Michael Reddy in person at Buckley Park back in the day. With the demise of Kilkenny City came a wandering eye to the Premier League until I started to watch some Pat’s games on LOI TV. Thankfully, Pat’s themselves are better to watch than the streaming service. Anyway, I digress from my point. This week, St. Patrick’s Athletic player Matty Smith has been featured in this week’s TOTW.

Matty Smith Hattrick Verus Longford Town

Smith, a Scottish footballer who played some youth football with Celtic before starting his professional career with Dundee United. In 2020 he moved to Waterford United, before transferring to St. Patrick’s Athletic this year. He’s scored 11 goals in 30 appearances so far this year, but it’s his last outing that earned him a spot in the FIFA 22 Team of the Week.

Smith lined out on the wing in a 4-1 win over Longford Town where he went one better than bagging a hattrick, and secured the “perfect hattrick”, scoring with his left foot, right foot and head.

Despite Longford already being relegated, the performance was impressive and hard-fought with The Saints going in just one goal ahead at halftime.

In the end, Pat’s were clear victors and Matty Smith the clear man of the match.

Matty Smith Makes FIFA 22 Week 7 Team Of The Week

Matty Smith’s FIFA 22 TOTW 7 Card

While scoring the perfect hattrick is pretty cool, if Smith is a big fan of FIFA, things got a bit better yesterday. EA Sports announced their weekly round-up of the most impressive footballers from around the world. Smith’s performance against Longford earned him a spot in this week’s FIFA 22 Team of the Week.

Over the years, a few League of Ireland players have featured, one of the most recent being Bohemians’ Georgie Kelly who featured in FIFA 21’s TOTW back in May.

Smith’s regular FIFA 22 card attributes him a 60 rating, with his new TOTW card boosting that to 70, his pace getting a massive boost from 73 to 83 and shooting from 57 to 70. His TOTW card is now priced at in or around 15,000 coins according to FUTWIZ. The accolade for Smith, see’s him rubbing virtual shoulders with Italy’s legendary Goalkeeper, Gianluca Buffon and Chelsea’s Reece James.

If you’re loading up FIFA Ultimate Team this week, be sure to check out the latest packs and see if you can grab Matty Smith, available now for a limited time.

Microsoft Teams Avatars To Join Metaverse In 2022

Marty
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0
Microsoft Teams Avatars To Join Metaverse In 2022

Ugh. The Metaverse. Have you ever heard such dystopian misery. I’m planning to watch Surrogates this weekend just to complete the sense of dread. There is some good news to come from all this though as Microsoft has now also entered the race to compete in virtual worlds as virtual versions of ourselves. Why’s that good you say? Well, imagine not having to worry about turning your camera on in Microsoft Teams when dying hungover. What a time to be alive.

Microsoft Teams Avatars Coming In 2022

Microsoft Teams hit a meteoric rise in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. While Zoom might be the first name to come to mind, Teams offers a complete collaborative workspace that companies really bought into. Microsoft has been scrambling to improve Teams in an effort to translate the physical office into a digital world. When you step back, there’s not much difference between what Microsoft is doing with Hololens and what Meta is building with Oculus.

As part of this roadmap, Teams will introduce avatars in 2022. I know of countless people who hate popping their camera on and avatars offer a fun alternative to engaging with colleagues and removing the need to live stream yourself.

Image: Microsoft

Speaking to The Verge Katie Kelly, principal product manager for Microsoft Mesh explains that avatars are “not binary, so I can choose how I want to show up, whether it’s video or an avatar, and there’s a variety of customized options to choose how you want to be present in a meeting”. Avatars will also be smart enough to pick up on your verbal cues, reacting and displaying appropriate emotions to match.

The Professional Metaverse

While many people, myself included, will be somewhat resistant to Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a virtual world, the idea of a professional metaverse is much more appetising. Remote working, almost overnight, became normal for office workers in Ireland and around the world. Sure enough, some companies continue to resist the idea, but the majority have seen value in leaning into the trend. Employee morale can be greatly improved by offering remote working, owing in no small part to better work-life balance and reduced commute times.

There are also financial savings for employers. This is good news for the professional metaverse as employers can do the maths and fund the expensive hardware remote teams require to connect. The Hololens costs just over €3000, but in a world where your office is based in a professional metaverse, this would simply become an expected hardware expense, like laptops in general.

There’s a long way to go, but remote working could be the metaverse we all actually want and need.

meeting on teams in the professional metaverse
Image: Microsoft

Regardless, the good news is that if you use Microsoft Teams, in 2022 you’ll be able to join meetings with an avatar and not have to give your room that panicked tidy up at the last minute before a meeting.

Patagonia Is Boycotting Facebook And Hoping Others Will Join

Marty
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0
Patagonia Is Boycotting Facebook And Hoping Others Will Join

A couple of years back, I interviewed for a job in a tech company. One of “their things” was Patagonia fleeces. It was a funny little pull factor at the time because the fleeces were really nice but pricey. At that time I was just glad my employer paid me, let alone gave me a €100 fleece. A couple of years later and I have a fresh perspective on Patagonia. I’m more aware of the environment and perhaps most importantly the impact where I spend my money has on the world. Patagonia is a brand I gladly spend a few bob on for many reasons, one of which is the stand they’ve taken against Facebook.

Patagonia Boycotting Facebook Advertising

This isn’t even news, but it does come with renewed commitment this week from the Patagonia clothing brand. As Facebook rebranded as Meta in their journey towards creating a virtual metaverse for us all to live in, Patagonia reminded us that they care about the real world we live in. At the end of the day, hard as Mark Zuckerberg might want to create Ready Player Two in real life, we’ll always need air to breathe.

On Thursday, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said “we believe Facebook has a responsibility to make sure its products do no harm, and until they do, Patagonia will continue to withhold our advertising” before going on to ask other companies to join Patagonia’s movement. Basically, that movement is to stop spending money on Facebook advertising until Facebook or Meta starts to ensure their platforms stop projecting harm and hate into the world.

This isn’t a first and back in 2020, over one thousand companies joined a boycott on investing in advertising on the various Facebook platforms.

Today, Patagonia is one of the few companies to publically renew that boycott, with Gellert stating that “Patagonia stopped all paid advertising on Facebook platforms in June 2020 because they spread hate speech and misinformation about climate change and our democracy. We continue to stand by that boycott 16 months later”.

Power Of Patagonia. Power Of Spend.

This isn’t the first time Patagonia has taken a stance like this either. The company previously refused to work with several banks and oil companies that were seeking co-branded fleeces for their workforce. That’s the nice fleece I would have got if I joined that tech company all those years ago.

Taking stances like this is why I like investing in Patagonia clothing. It’s the ultimate example of buying what they do, not what they sell. When you buy Patagonia stuff, they’ll even repair it if it’s damaged or recycle it when you’re done with it. More and more, I aware of where I spend my money and what companies get access to my pocket. That can be difficult as a tech reviewer, but I do try and find balance in recommending the best of the best but also the least evil of all companies.

Given I’ve deleted Facebook and Facebook’s WhatsApp this year, it’s no wonder I quite like Patagonia now, is it? Do you care about what companies stand for or do you only want value?

Eir 5G Is Now Free For All Customers In Ireland

Jon
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Eir 5G Is Now Free For All Customers In Ireland

In a first for the Irish market, Eir is giving all customers free access to their 5G network. That means that if you’re an Eir customer, with a 5G phone in a 5G area, you can now get superfast mobile downloads at no extra cost. The network states this is a first for Ireland. Eir has stated that this is for all “in-market plans”, which means you need to be on a plan they are currently selling across both prepay and bill pay.

There’s some additional good news too if you’re getting back out and about and going abroad. You’ll be able to access 5G where available in 22 EU countries, Asia, Canada and the Middle East. Again, I believe that’s a first for the Irish market.

5G has seen a stumbling start in Ireland but with a growing selection of handsets on the market at affordable prices, 5G is fast becoming the norm. This is another sign that 5G will quickly become expected, instead of being a “nice-to-have”.

Will Gomo Customers Get 5G?

It’s highly unlikely that Eir’s value network, Gomo, will offer 5G anytime soon. Joining Gomo is much cheaper and 5G is one of the key differentiators that Eir will use to encourage people to upgrade onto the Eir network. For now, if you’re on Gomo you’ll still only get 4G speeds.

How Will Eir Customers Get 5G?

You don’t have to do anything from today’s announcement if you have a plan that Eir currently sells. You’ll just need to have:

  1. A 5G phone
  2. A 5G compatible plan
  3. Be in a 5G area

If you have an older plan, contact Eir’s customer care to see if they can upgrade you onto a new plan. If 5G isn’t a priority, perhaps you’re more interested in checking out the latest SIM-only offers on the Irish market?

Stopping Scam Calls With The Google Pixel 6 And Call Screening

Marty
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0
Stopping Scam Calls With The Google Pixel 6 And Call Screening

It feels remarkable that scam phone calls have been such a big problem in Ireland for the past year, or even more. Whether it has come as a direct result of the HSE cyber-attack or not isn’t the big takeaway either. I find it far more interesting that Irish network providers seem helpless to stop the calls. Google has released the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, both of which I’m currently testing. Would you believe, Google has included the solution to our scam call problems and all.

Google Call Screening

Google has gone big with promoting their new homemade Tensor chip in the new suite of Pixel smartphones. It’s designed to improve language processing, voice recognition and more. Google Assistant is expected to benefit greatly from the Tensor chip and it appears that is the case. The other night, my better half called me. As the screen lit up I spotted a new button that said “Screen Call”

The option to use Google Call Screening in Ireland on the Pixel 6 Pro

I was a bit surprised. During the Google launch event, I saw a wee footnote that suggested this functionality would only appear in the US market. Apparently, this must have referred to Google Assistant’s ability to look after your position in a hold queue when calling someone like a bank.

How Does Google Call Screening Work?

Generally speaking, the idea here is that when you get a call from a number you don’t know or are somewhere you’re can’t answer the call, you tap that “Screen Call” button. From that point on, Google Assistant takes control of your call like a full-on personal assistant.

Google Assistant talking to someone who called me.

A very polite Google Assistant informs the called that I’m using a screening service from Google and that I’ll get a transcript of the call. The Google Assistant then prompts the caller to say their name and why they’re calling.

The caller’s responses are then transcribed in realtime so you can read who they are and what they need. At any time, you can choose to accept the call or hang up. When the caller has finished answering a question, you can manually prompt for additional information. You can gather more and more of the callers details before making your decision to take the call or hang up.

Don’t worry. I had called myself from another phone. I didn’t keep a driver waiting while testing this.

How Can Google Assistant Stop Scam Calls?

So, in truth, Google Assistant can’t stop scam calls. What it can do, is give you a set of tools to better avoid scam calls and protect yourself. If everyone had these tools, scam calls would likely dry up as they wouldn’t be as effective. Right now, scammers are using Irish mobile numbers to run their scams. People in Ireland are quite likely to answer unknown numbers. For me, it’s often a delivery driver or someone I know who’s just not in my phone book.

But a large proportion of the calls are also scammers. Now, when I get a call from an unknown number, I can simply tap that “Screen Call” button and verify that I know the person trying to get in touch.

The functionality does indeed go beyond stopping scam calls from reaching you though. I plan to use this feature when in situations I simply can’t answer the phone. Whether I’m in a meeting or chatting with a friend and weighing up whether or not the caller can wait, whether I know them or not. Given my time with the iPhone 12 and Focus Mode recently, this is yet another tool that lets you take back control in terms of how reachable you are.

Will Google’s Call Screening Work In Ireland?

This is a double-barreled question. First of all, having chatted to some fellow tech reviewers, not all Pixel 6 phones in Ireland have this feature yet. I’ve reached out to Google for clarification that this feature is confirmed in Ireland. But there’s another potential issue here; culture. I’m not quite sure how many people will be comfortable letting Google Assistant handle my calls for me. One call, which I’m fairly certain was a delivery driver, just hung up. My partner simply said “huh?” and hung up. The logic of “if it’s important enough they’ll call back” applies, and I’m happy to live by that.

What this may mark is the start of Google Duplex functionality rolling out to wider markets. For now, while I continue to test out the smarts of the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, I’ll be trying this out more and more to see how it’s received.

Watch: Quick Intro To Google Call Screening

Five Best VPNs To Use In Ireland In 2021

Marty
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0
Five Best VPNs To Use In Ireland In 2021

I’m not going to grill you over “why” you want to use a VPN. Whether it’s unblocking international streaming content or just genuinely for privacy reasons, having access to a VPN is highly recommended these days. Typically speaking, Ireland lags behind a little in technology adoption, yet internet users in Ireland are amongst the highest proportion of ad block users in the world. We’re also very interested in VPNs for many reasons, not least of which is getting access to BBC’s iPlayer to watch the Rubber Bandits and other content.

With all that said, here are the five best VPN providers you can use in Ireland. It’s worth remembering that when a service is free, you are actually the product. That’s why we recommend paid VPNs. When they are free, the provider is nearly always making money from your browsing data.

This isn’t going to be an article that goes into painful detail on each VPN either. Instead, these are just the best ones so you can narrow your choice a little bit.

Ivacy

Note: Goosed.ie may receive a payment from Ivacy if you purchase a membership after clicking one of our links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but is a great way to keep the lights on for us!

Ivacy is one of the top VPNs in the business. It doesn’t hide that one of the biggest benefits of their service is unlocking international streaming services. Whether it’s Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or HULU, Ivacy should be able to unlock access and give you a reliable stream.

A general tip for all VPNs is “do not pay full price”. Shop around or wait for a sale. Ivacy will nearly always have some sort of an offer running. Right now, there’s a Halloween sale that’ll save you 75% on a two-year subscription. Just use promo code Halloween20.

If you’re a Mac user, it might be best to pick a different option as the Mac app isn’t as good as some of the others on the market.

NordVPN

This is the one you most likely heard of. NordVPN goes heavy on advertising and sponsoring various tech creators online. I’m not one of them, but I’ve used NordVPN and it’s pretty slick.

NordVPN lets you connect up to six devices at a time on one subscription. It’ll also give you access to streaming services internationally. If you need it, you can also grab a static IP address, but that’s an extra monthly cost. You’ll know yourself if this is something you’ll need or not. Never heard of it, well then you can forget about it.

Right now, NordVPN has their Black Friday sale which means massive savings. Indeed, a VPN should be top of your list of things to be on the lookout for during the sale season.

Windscribe

Windscribe is the VPN I have the most personal experience with because I use it myself. Generally speaking, Windscribe has done everything I could expect from a VPN. I’ve been able to watch some stuff in Germany that’s geo-blocked and, of course, tapped into BBC’s iPlayer too. The app is pretty easy to use and works across all devices. I even managed to get it installed onto an Amazon Fire Stick.

I can have no complaints with Windscribe. There doesn’t seem to be any special offers right now, but do keep an eye out.

Google Launches The New Google Pixel 6 And Pixel 6 Pro In Ireland

Marty
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0
Google Launches The New Google Pixel 6 And Pixel 6 Pro In Ireland

The Google Pixel has been one of my favourite phones for a few years now. The sheer power of Google’s smart software with ever improving hardware has made Pixel one of the best phones on the market. Last year’s Pixel 5 was simply incredible with one of the best, yet simple, iterations of Android I’ve ever seen. Today, Google launched the next generation; the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. I’ve only had a brief time with these phones, so the reviews are coming soon. But if you want to know the basics, here you go.

Two Phones

Google has toyed with two phones before. Whether it’s the bigger screens or two phones released months apart, it’s always felt a bit frantic. Now, Google has gone the tried and tested route of Pro. Yep, Google launched a Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Both phones are rocking a lot of similar specs and power but the Pro just packs more punch, mainly in the camera hardware.

The biggest difference is the addition of a 4x optical zoom camera and dynamic refresh rate ensuring smooth scrolling when you need it or power saving when you don’t.

Whether you buy Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits Google is offering with their homegrown Tensor processer.

Google Tensor: Google’s Biggest Hardware Leap

Everyone is talking about chips these days, amid a global shortage. Many companies, like Google, are pivtoing to gain more control over the supply chain. The solution is simple. Just make your own processors. This is exciting because true magic happens when companies create both the hardware and software to work in unison. Just look at how incredible the Apple eco-system is.

Speaking at the launch, Google’s Rick Osterloh describes the line up as “quite a bit different” and that Google has “state-of-the-art hardware, which means Pixel can deliver even more impressive real-world performance, as well as new AI-driven experiences that have never been possible before”.

Highlights of Google Tensor

Google’s biggest strength is its bordering on creepy levels of machine learning and AI-processing power. Tensor promises to not only be nearly 80% more efficient than previous Pixel smartphones, but also to deliver next level processing power in a smartphone.

Tensor will power better image processing and voice recognition. This is great because, while Google’s photography hardware is good, it needs incredible software to add some finesse. Until now, mobile processors have held Google back, but Tensor fixes that. They also promise better Assistant speech recognition and Transation, all powered by Tensor.

The Camera Bar

The primary camera setup on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro makes this one of the most unique looking phones on the market. Take a look here at the Pixel 6 Pro.

Pixel 6 Pro camera array

Speaking at the launch, Brian Rakowski said the “Pixel 6 is leagues ahead of our previous Pixel Cameras, from the hardware, to the software, to the computational photography”.

Indeed, while the hardware is great, it’s Google’s software and processing power that’s really exciting. For example, Magic Eraser lets you remove people or things from the background of your photos that’s ruining your vibe.

Also, for BIPOC, Google’s camera smarts promise to deliver more true reflections of people how they really look, making Pixel 6 the most inclusive camera on the market.

Camera highlights

There are a wealth of other features on the new Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Not all are coming to Ireland, at least not yet. The most needed is smart call screening so fingers crossed Google expands that beyond the US.

This is just the quick overview of the launch. Check back in next week when I’ll be publishing the full review.

Oh, if you’re interested, the Google Pixel 6 will be available SIM-free for €649, direct from Google. The Pixel 6 Pro will be available SIM-free, direct from Google, for €899. If you need a SIM-free plan, we got you covered.

DPC Secures Additional €4.1 million in Budget 2022 Funding

Marty
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0
DPC Secures Additional €4.1 million in Budget 2022 Funding

It may seem like a somewhat insignificant footnote on Budget Day 2022, but the Irish Data Protection Commission has today secured an additional €4.1 million in funding from the Irish government. This funding brings DPC’s allocation of budget to €23.2 million for 2022. This increased funding comes amid staunch criticism leveled at the DPC from commentators and the EU alike.

DPC Secures Additional Budget 2022 Funding

As part of Budget 2022, the Irish government has recognised the importance of data protection in Ireland by allocating an additional €4.1 million to the DPC. This marks a rather astonishing 1121% increase in budget allocation to the DPC since 2014 and 21% since last year alone. Heavy investment is understandable given Ireland’s unique position. As the EU home to companies like Facebook, the DPC is responsible for regulating many large companies from a data protection point of view.

irish government spending on data protection since 2014
Irish government investment in Data Protection Commission since 2014

On the additional funding, the Commissioner for Data Protection, Helen Dixon, stated that “as the DPC embarks on the delivery of its ambitious Strategy for 2022-2027, we very much welcome the ongoing recognition of the we very much welcome the ongoing recognition of the Government of the need to adequately resource an independent data protection authority. As societies, government and business become ever more data-driven, careful oversight by the DPC is necessary to ensure the personal-data rights of individuals are factored in and protected. Over the last 12 months, the DPC has significantly increased its enforcement activity as larger investigations have reached conclusion and this work must continue and increase alongside the DPC’s role in guiding organisations on compliance”.

But the question remains, just how good an investment this is by the government?

Is The DPC A Worthwhile Investment?

A couple of years ago, in an old job, I was assigned the job of Data Protection Officer. It was a new requirement for this particular company ahead of GDPR. Little did I know it would be the start of my keen interest in data protection. A couple of months ago, I watched a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice to discuss the performance of the DPC, at which data protection activist Max Shrems was in attendance. I was shocked at what emerged.

The DPC uses the term “handle” quite a lot and with it comes a massive grey area and questions around just how valuable the DPC as a service. To the DPC, there is no obligation to produce a decision where a complaint has been made. In fact, of the 10,000 complaints reported by the DPC in 2020, the organisation planned to deliver just six or seven decisions this year.

Indeed, I myself am left scratching my head at how remarkable it is that the DPC has been given another large chunk of change given I’ve had a complaint open against the church since mid-2018. Under GDPR, members of the public are entitled to have their data protection rights enforced by national bodies, free of charge and in a reasonable time. Over three years is hardly reasonable.

There are often winners and losers on Budget Day. Considering a press release that went out from the DPC suggests they feel they’ve won today. Unfortunately, it would appear that the taxpayers have lost. The DPC has been held to a minimal level of accountability since GDPR brought increased investment and little has changed since that Joint Committee meeting.

Max Schrems, Chair of noyb put it best when he said, “if you were to tell your boss that you interpreted ‘to handle’ as letting you dump work in the trash, you would probably get fired”. Commenting on the investment, Shrems described the investment as “throwing more cash at a broken organization”.

Huawei Contactless: Pay With Your Phone In-Store

Marty
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0
Huawei Contactless: Pay With Your Phone In-Store

It’s been a turbulent time for Huawei in Europe over the past few years. It’s been a while since the brilliant but problematic Huawei P40 Pro launched, but it does look like the P50 Series is about to launch this month. The P40 Pro is a hardware marvel, but it’s the first Huawei flagship to launch since parting from Google following the US ban. With it went Google Pay and the ability to tap your phone in-store to pay for stuff. Contactless payments are a crucial part of smartphones these days and Huawei has finally arranged a solution for Huawei HMS phone owners.

Curve Payments

I’ve been using a service called Curve for a few years now. It’s one of those funny apps that I have, but literally never even think about anymore. Curve lets me manage all my bank cards from a central app and card. As silly as it might sound, I have a card for Bank of Ireland, two for KBC, two for Revolut and another for N26. I have my reasons and none of them are dodgy before you ask.

Keeping track of all these cards is a nuisance and from time to time I might be found trying to pay for something with a card I don’t have on me. This is why I use Curve.

I can add all my cards to Curve which in turn gets linked to my final card; my Curve card. I can use this like any other bank card but it pretends to be from Bank of Ireland of KBC. The bad news is that, while it pretends, it’s spending your money.

Huawei has announced that Curve is now available in the AppGallery.

Huawei Pay Alternative: Huawei Contactless With Curve

Back before the world fell apart, I attended a Huawei launch event in Barcelona and asked the company’s CEO, Richard Yu, what plans were in place to overcome the issue of mobile payments. It’s not the solution Yu suggested it would be. I had assumed that Huawei Pay, the company’s own digital wallet, would be expanded to new markets. Instead, the partnership with Curve means that’s almost negated.

Now, you can install Curve on your Huawei HMS device, like the P40 Pro, and set up your payment cards. For example, you can add your Revolut card to the Curve app. Once set up, you just have to unlock your phone and tap to pay where ever you normally pay with a card.

Curve is also available for Android and iOS.

If you shop in the Huawei online store for something like the FreeBuds 4 (which are brill) you can get 5% back when you pay with Curve.

Why Does Down Detector Say ISPs And Networks Are Down?

Marty
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0

Down Detector is a really useful tool for confirming it’s not just you and everyone else’s phone isn’t working either. Today, Facebook platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and even Facebook’s new app for RayBan Stories, all went down. It is the worst outage for the company since 2008 and at the time of writing is still ongoing. Not that I’m feeling it much given I’ve quit Facebook and deleted WhatsApp. But a look at Down Detector suggests it’s not just Facebook and that internet service provider (ISPs) are also having a global issue. What gives?

How Does Down Detector Work?

Down Detector is a really simple concept. The people behind the service have built a platform that monitors several places people turn to when something on the internet breaks. For example, amongst many other factors, they monitor Twitter for mentions of outages or mentions of things like “is Facebook down”. Combining these many sources of information and validating as much as possible, Down Detector then provides a graph that shows spikes in likely outages.

Just one event, like a tweet, can’t cause a spike. It’s all relative and as a result, usually pretty accurate.

But tonight’s outage has shown some weakness in this approach.

Down Detector Suggests Issues With ISPs, Carriers And Mobile Networks

A look at the Down Detector status screen suggests this isn’t just a Facebook issue. On top of the Facebook estate, mobile networks and home ISPs all show similar spikes in reported errors. Why is that?

Down Detector dashboard incorrectly suggesting ISP and network issues

Well, it’s very human to be honest. When your Instagram feed stops refreshing, you’re more likely to flick airplane mode on and back off again, or reset your modem. After all, Facebook spends massive money to make sure they continue making money through even the heaviest of traffic spikes. Facebook doesn’t fail.

So when Facebook does fail, people are far more likely yo blame their phone, carrier, mobile network or home ISP. That’s what you’re seeing in the screenshot from Down Detector. And that’s the one flaw in their reporting system.

A quick trip to Google Trends validates this. Looking at queries driving Down Detector in Google Search over the past four hours, “vodafone outage” and “vodafone broadband down” are Breakout rising terms. This means people are jumping the gun and blaming Vodafone for Zuckerberg tripping over a cable in the office.

vodafone being blamed for Facebook outage

Don’t let this take away from how useful Down Detector is. It’s still the first place I go when something like this massive outage happens. It’s just important you know where to direct your anger, if you’re all that bothered about watching some telly or chatting to your housemates!

Update: So, Vodafone is actually experiencing a real outage too though they do state it’s related to the Facebook estate outage. My theory is that people are rebooting, retrying and attempting to reconnect so much that Vodafone simply can’t handle the volume of network requests. Just a theory. What an interesting night.

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